Anybody out there like vacations? Getting away from it all? Allowing yourself to melt into a state of mental decompression away from work, pressure, stress and well, just getting out of the grind of your "everyday?" I do to.
As I write this, I look out at the swaying palm trees of the Mayan Riviera on the East Coast of tropical Mexico. The warm humid air wanders in through the balcony door, it has its own sweet smell and feel upon my skin. The cottony white clouds hang above the deep turquoise Caribbean, a backdrop for the perfect beach day. It’s easy on the eyes. For those of you that know us well, you know that we love to get away, to travel, to see and experience God’s beautiful creation and God’s beautiful people. But as we do, we have to be careful with just exactly what we are getting away from. You see, you can get away from the rat race. You can get away from the nasty DFW traffic. You can get away from your daily monotonous grind. But you cannot ‘get away’ from God.
This morning in Numbers 15 we see the beginning of a new division within the book. By now, the Israelites have refused to enter the Promised Land. In chapter 13 they sent spies into the land and then made up their minds in chapter 14 to listen to the negativity of the 10 spies instead of the faithful pair of Joshua and Caleb. God judged the people and as a result the people tried to replace their God given leaders, Moses and Aaron, and even proposed stoning them to death. The result of all of this? God sends them back into the wilderness to wander for 40 years. Why 40 years? Two reasons. First, it’s one year for each day the spies were sent to unfaithfully check out the Promised Land. (Num 14:34) Second, that’s the time God deemed it would take for this entire rebellious generation to die. (Num 14:33) That’s some tough love from God. Another fascinating fact about the 40 years in the desert is that God’s Word almost goes dark on it. Very little is accounted for. A 40 year period wasted as rebellious hearts die before God.
But what you will notice is that even though the Israelites were not on a tropical vacation, they were “getting away” from God. In fact, they had already gotten away from God, this is the reason He sent them into the desert. You see, God looks deep within us, He sees us for who we truly are.
“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees, man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
God saw deeply into the maw of their chests at the border of the Promised Land and He saw what these hearts were capable of. They were void of Him. Instead of hearts that were capable of repenting and turning to God, we see hearts that just wanted to get farther away from God. Let’s take a look at the ways that they, and us, can move far away from God as we try to get away from it all.
1) They did not offer sacrifices and offerings to God. (Amos 5:25) For 40 years they were in rebellion to God by not observing His commandments to bring sacrifices and offerings. Folks, God’s commandmnets are not optional. They are not up for negotiation. They are not meant to be convenient or easy for you. If God says do, you do. A rebellious heart marches to its own drum and ignores the commandments of God….at a cost. By the way, regarding modern giving and tithing to God. Marge and I went to a local Mexican bilingual church yesterday and they preached a message in “anticipatory giving” under the guise of Deuteronomy 26, the first fruits offering. People, hear me on this, learn your Bible. How do you know you’re sitting under the truthful teaching of God’s Word if you don’t know what it says. As far as scriptural giving to God, God always gives to His children first and then asks for a portion to be given back to Him with a joyful heart. God does not ask for us to give first and then expect His blessings back in return. That is prosperity gospel and not found anywhere in God’s Word. Know your Bible and protect your heart.
2) They worshipped idols. (Amos 5:26) You see, as we get away from God (big G) another god (little g) will quickly take His place. And it’s usually the face you see in the mirror every morning. An idol can be defined as anything that creates distance between you and God. That distance-maker can be pride (self-worship) money, power, sexual immorality, alcohol, materialism, drugs, social media, work, pornography, family and on and on. Key in on the word ‘anything’ there. Anything can create distance between you and God, if you let it. And think on this, If I’m walking hand in hand with God, how much room is there in between us for other things? You see typically the first thing that happens with idols in our lives is that we first create space for them by moving away from God.
3). They did not circumcise their children. (Joshua 5) God demanded that the children be dedicated to Him through this act. It was a commandment from God that was forgotten for the entirety of the 40 years. I’ve noticed that if your willing to forsake one of God’s commandments, you’ll be willing to slide on another, or several, or all.
Folks, this world today is just like the wilderness. We are wandering through a strange land, one that is not kind and easy on followers of Jesus Christ. Satan and his dominion are in control of this world and as a result, the ways of God are strangely silent all around us. (John 14:30) But as we see so many others take a little time to get away from the rigors of following God, we see their days away from Him turn into a lifetime away. You see it’s one of the hardest things in the world to get into a daily rhythm of walking with God. A daily study of His Word, daily prayer, a daily practice of meditating on Him day and night. A daily practice of following Him, not yourself or the world. It’s impossibly difficult to establish, yet oh, so easy to stray away from.
Today, stand firm in your walk with God. It’s as necessary as the air you breathe, claim it as so today. As life starts to grind on you and you feel like you need a vacation or some time away, make sure that God is not one of the things you’re getting away from. Keep Him close in all you do, and get ready…as a follower of Jesus, He has gone ahead to prepare a place for those that call Him Lord. A place that will be the ultimate vacation. And it will not be time away from God, but time in the very presence of God.
Praise Jesus for His work upon that Cross, as a result, His children are citizens of Heaven.
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