I'm going to guess that our text isn't anyone's favorite passage in the Bible. In fact, I'm going to guess that it's one of those passages that actually are a little embarrassing. You read it and then you say, 'What in the world...?' Here, God tells the Israelites to go to war against this other nation. And then, when the soldiers return with some of the civilians, they are told by Moses, God's anointed spokesman, to kill them too. Civilians. Women and children. As you read this, you react to it. It feels so wrong. Then comes the counterpoint. 'But it's the Word of God'. That helps, but it still feels wrong. And in the recesses of your mind the question is quietly posed, 'What kind of God would require this? What kind of God do we worship?' But then, you quickly hide such a question, hoping no one heard you think it. But that really is the right question to ask. What kind of God would require this? You should never be afraid to ask questions of the text, even questions like this one, as long as you ask them as a submissive disciple who is eager to learn. The first goal of Scripture is to reveal to us who our God is, what is He like. This section of Scripture does that. It does pose some problems. And we need to work through those problems until we come to a good answer to our question. But once we do that, we'll be able to enjoy our God more. And that's the goal, isn't it? To get to know our God, to enjoy who He is, and out of that joy, to love Him with all that we are as we walk through this fallen world. So, let's raise our questions and see what we can learn about our God from this text.
Let's look at some options of how to understand this bit of Scripture. There are those who would like to ignore this altogether. This is one of the parts of the Bible that they just don't read or think about. Parables? Fine. Psalms? Fine. Battles and killing? We'll just skip that. In this subtle way, they edit the Bible. The nice parts stay in, and the less agreeable parts are left out. Bible story books for children do this quite a bit. Have you ever read about this text in a child's story book? But consider what we're doing if we choose this option. We are creating God in our image. We want a God who is nice, gentle and easily understood. So, we'll read those parts of the Bible that fit with those expectations. The rest we'll just ignore. But can we get to know the real God of the Bible if we do this? No, we'll just get to know some idol that we've cooked up. And what good is that? We can't ignore this part of the Bible and expect to know our God and enjoy Him.
Here's another option. This one is offered by those who are a bit more sophisticated. They'll tell us that we can set this aside because it's the Old Testament. We don't need to worry about the Old Testament now that Jesus has come. There was a popular teacher early in the history of the Church who did exactly this. He taught that the Old Testament God was different from the New Testament God. He was consistent, too. His Bible consisted of Paul's letters and bits of Luke's Gospel. No evil Old Testament God for him! There are others who are less heretical and less consistent. They just say that God acted differently in the Old Testament. He's not like that now. So, in either case, we don't need to take seriously the issues raised by this portion of Scripture in Numbers. We're part of the New Testament Church!
But listen to this. "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation." Foreign armies came and besieged Jerusalem. Something like a million people were killed and close to a hundred thousand were captured and enslaved. Is this another quote from the cruel Old Testament God? No, Jesus said it. He was condemning Jerusalem; men, women ... and children. When the Roman armies came, in obedience to Jesus' words, the people of Jerusalem suffered greatly. What we see in the Old Testament is not limited to the Old Testament. We see it in the New Testament also. We see it in Jesus.
What shall we conclude from this? Shall we say what so many have said? Shall we conclude that our God is cruel, harsh, inhuman? If we did, that would profoundly affect our religion. It would profoundly affect how we live. In one way or other, every person becomes like the god that he worships. So, back to our question. What kind of God requires the things that we see in our text? What kind of God do we worship? Describing Him in terms of cruel and harsh seems wrong. Have we missed something?
When I quoted Jesus' words over Jerusalem, I left out something very important. I left out the previous sentence. 'And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying...', and then comes the condemnation. That little bit of information, that Jesus was weeping over the city, changes everything, doesn't it? And this isn't just a matter of the New Testament. Listen to the supposedly inhuman Old Testament God. “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: 'Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?' Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why will you die, O house of Israel?” God speaks to a people who think that they are beyond hope because of their sins. And what does He say? He pleads with them to turn, to repent. He pleads with them that they might live. And He does this because He takes no pleasure in the death even of the wicked.
Our God, in the Old Testament or the New, is not cruel, harsh or inhuman. He is a compassionate God. And we can see that clearly because we have looked at more than just one little bit of what the Bible reveals about our God. When only a portion of the truth is presented as the whole truth, we end up with a lie. Our God is not cruel.
Now, with a better understanding of the teaching of the Word, we can return to our question, 'What kind of God do we worship?' For one thing, He is a holy God of justice. That's what was going on in our text. That's what was going on in Jesus' words over Jerusalem. Our God is the Lawgiver of this universe. He establishes what is right and then expects all His creatures to submit to Him in this. This is His creation, and He can run it any way He wants. And He does. That's what His Law is all about. But He is not a selfish tyrant. His laws are good and wise and life-giving. And so, those who reject God's Law are foolish. They are chasing death. And at some point they will have to deal with the Lawgiver. He has been clear. His zeal for what is just and right is no secret. 'Vengeance is Mine. I will repay.' For centuries God had been calling to His wayward people, sending prophet after prophet. And then He said, 'I will send my Son. They will listen to Him.' But they didn't. They murdered Him. What does justice require for such rebellion? Remember, there is a hell, and it exists for a reason. Justice! This is important to our God.
But be careful. That's not the whole story. We saw that our God is also compassionate. He weeps over sinners. He pleads with them to repent. 'The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.' Jesus' words of condemnation come after centuries of rebellion, after centuries of pleading. I find myself continually amazed as I read and re-read the Gospels and see Jesus in action. He is surrounded by people who have been crushed by the impossible standards of the Pharisees. And so, now that any hope of holiness has been stolen from them, they give in to their sins. They are guilty, worthy of justice. And yet, Jesus reaches out to them, to these sinners. 'Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavily laden and I will give you rest.' That is an appeal offered to rebels. He is compassionate toward them, compassionate without compromising God's Law.
Our God is just and compassionate. And best evidence for this is the cross. In the cross of Jesus we see God's demand for what is just and right. Our God will not compromise that demand. 'The wages of sin is death.' He will not compromise that demand. Justice is still important to Him. He sent His beloved Son to suffer hell on the cross to prove that to us. The cross is about the justice of God. This is something that we should never doubt. But our God is also compassion toward sinners. Jesus offers Himself as the substitute for wicked sinners like us. The compassion of God sent Him to suffer on that cross. Can there be a better example of heartfelt compassion? In the cross, we see both of these expressions of God's heart. He is a God of justice and a God of compassion. Can anything be clearer?
Earlier I told you that every person becomes like the god that he worships. We worship Jesus. So, part of what that means is that we are to be people who are both just and compassionate. Justice according to God's Law is to be important to us. Compassion as expressed from God's heart is to be important to us. We are to be people who are just and compassionate, just like our God.
Let me be a bit more specific. People for whom justice is important take sin seriously. They take it seriously in themselves first. So, let me ask you. How are you doing at taking your own sin seriously? Here's one way to evaluate that: confession and repentance. Are your prayers peppered with confession of sin, honest expressions of remorse and a desire to be changed by the Spirit? If you are serious about your sin, they will be. But before you can confess and repent of your sins, you need to be able to see them. Are you asking that the Spirit of God point out your sin so that you can repent of it? Is that a part of your communion with your God? Justice - as defined by the Laws of our Creator - is important to us. That we are now Christians, rescued from the penalty for our disobedience to those Laws, does not change that. Some of you are doing well in this. Let me encourage you to continue on. As you do, you will see more change, more holiness, more living according to God's Laws. And life will make more sense and your experience of joy will grow. But some of you, I fear, are not doing well in this. You are not taking God's sense of justice seriously, and so you are not taking your sin seriously. This is not good. I urge you to consider your ways that you might 'do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with your God'. And the place to start is with your prayers.
But then there is compassion. While some of you are way too easy on yourselves when it comes to your sins,others of you are way too hard. You beat yourselves up. Do you know why? It's because you forget that your God is a compassionate God. Didn't He prove that at the cross? 'For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.' Your sins have been dealt with because of Jesus. He died on that cross so that you could enjoy the Father's smile. Don't miss out on that because of some unbelief. Believe the Gospel and enjoy your God.
As we pursue being just and compassionate, we will become more like Jesus. Try to imagine a group of people who are just like Jesus. How powerful! How refreshing! How attractive to so many who are so lost! This is what Jesus has called us to be. And by His grace, that is exactly what we will become.
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