CRUEL AND UNJUST PUNISHMENT?

ALL HE DID WAS GATHER WOOD ON THE SABBATH

Numbers 15:32-36, "While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.' So the whole assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses." (NIV)

He did it anyway! It was posted, made known to the whole assembly, no work was to be done on the Sabbath on punishment of death. (Ex. 31:14, 15, Ex. 35:2) The first test of the Sabbath law was, "does God mean what He says?" There would be no forgiveness or mercy granted to anyone who violates the Sabbath law. I mean how serious can this be? All he did was gather some wood on the Sabbath; on any other day this would not be a crime. He could present a good case in his defense; perhaps his wife or one of the kids was sick and he needed to light a fire for some heat. Does the death sentence for this infraction constitute cruel and unjust punishment? Then again, should we look at this law as a shadow that points to the substance that is to come? This being true, then the shadow loses its significance when the substance comes. (Col. 2:16,17)

ALL SHE DID WAS TRY TO HELP HER HUSBAND

Deuteronomy 25:11,12, "If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no mercy." This lady just wanted to help her husband, Wasn't that a good thing to do?

I could not help but notice the little footnote attached to this law, "show her no mercy." Certainly she would ask for mercy, and promise never to do this again. She would present a good case for her action. Perhaps she would say the other man was much bigger and he was hurting her husband, or, "how am I going to hold my little baby?" Then again she could say, "I will be forever a social outcast among the women in Israel and all who see me will know what I did." Cruel and unjust punishment, or is there a bigger picture that we should see? The law demands that we do it or suffer judgment. It does not seek our approval. There are no acceptable or extenuating circumstances to lessen the seriousness of any offence. When God instituted the law through Moses, He did not give the law the necessary equipment to show mercy or offer forgiveness; it can only condemn those who violate its demands. The commandments of God are not a shadow or a type; that means they never lose their authority over us. (Matt. 5:17,18 and Rom. 7:1-6)

MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE LAW AND DO WHAT IT TELLS YOU

II Samuel 6:6,7, "And when they came to the threshing floor of the Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the Ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the Ark of God." (ESV)

We move forward 400 years from the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. God has not changed His mind about the law.

Uzzah just wanted to do the right thing; there was no evil intent on his part. Keeping the Ark of the Covenant from falling off a moving wagon seems like a good deed, even his duty. If there are any extenuating circumstances regarding some flex in the law, this is a case where we could find it. If Uzzah understood the law regarding the Ark, he or his brother Ahio with him would have stopped that cart and waited for the Levites to carry it as commanded. The Ark was placed on a new cart, not an old one. This may be a show of respect for the Ark itself, even if it was not done according to the exact command. However, it was done in willful defiance of this clear-cut law. (Numbers 4:15 - 7:9) Whether Uzzah understood it or not, but by touching that Ark, he was approaching God, based on his good works. Why do people still think they can work their way to God? Like Uzzah, they don't understand the law of God, nor do they believe it should be taken too seriously. Many think of God's Commandments as being flexible saying, "I just don't believe God expects us to be perfect." My answer is, "Oh, yes, He does!" Understanding the Law of God makes this clear. Because we do not perfectly keep God's commandments does not mean God meets us halfway by dropping His demand for perfect obedience to the commandments He gives us.

THE LAW OF GOD DOES NOT FLEX OR BEND

Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Jesus kept the law perfectly so that in Him do we fulfill all the requirements. The demands of the law are given to us by way of promise, through faith in Christ.

II Corinthians 5:21, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

THE MYSTERY OF GOD

The mystery of God in His own nature and majesty is to be left alone. We have nothing do do with Him, nor does He wish us to deal with Him. He speaks to us in Christ; we cannot approach or deal with Him apart from Christ. We are to occupy our self with God incarnate. That is Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Luther

Reference:

Matthew 5:48

Deuteronomy 18:15-18

IT GOES WITH THE TERRITORY

If you could be anyone you wanted to be other than yourself, what or who would you be? Think big, you know, outside the box. We have all thought about it at one time or another. Let's start with a lion, a big ferocious "no one to mess with beast" who does not pay tax on anything. To some people, this is a "would if I could" dream. If you want to be a lion, you must consider the territory that goes with being a lion. Some things you might want to think about. First the down side, you would have to live in an extremely hot jungle. For your livelihood, you would have to chase down other animals, kill them, and eat the meat raw. You will have a short life; you will die in a fight with another lion or a hyena, or else you will starve to death. To survive, you must be mean and scary. You will not have a funeral or a burial; the vultures will act as undertakers and take care of the final arrangements. However, on the upside, you could live in a nice clean zoo, locked up in a cage with a chunk of raw meat thrown into your cage daily. Will this work for you? On the other hand, would you be better off being you?

How about a rich and famous movie star, "the glitter, the glamour, Hollywood?" Sounds a lot better than being a lion living in a hot sweaty jungle, going around killing for a living. Before you decide whether this would be better than being a lion, you need to look beyond what you see on the silver screen. Just about anything can sound appealing on the surface until you look at the territory that goes with it. There's somethings you need to consider. If you could be a rich and famous movie star, you would be subject to temptation at a level much higher than the average person has to deal with. Because you are rich and famous, you can never know who your friends are and who is using you. The rich and famous are just as famous for notorious failures in their personal lives. It's hard to name one of the rich and famous movie stars who has not had at least one divorce. If you have high standards, you will have to change your values to conform to Hollywood standards. Your personal life will be at high risk for divorce, drugs, and alcohol. Because you are rich and famous, you can abundantly afford to pursue a life of debauchery in an environment that makes it sociably acceptable. You may also have to deal with anorexia and other forms of eating disorders to maintain your star status; after all, "only thin is in." You will live on a diet; you will not eat as you once did. Your beauty and good looks are the most important things about you. Will this work for you? On the other hand, would you be better off being you?

REALITY CHECK

The difference between the lion and rich and famous movie star is a chunk of raw meat or hard-boiled eggs. What it means to be you and not a lion is that you have to pay tax on just about everything, but you are not forced to be a mean, scary person. You also increase your chances of a longer life, and you can cook your own food. Not being rich and famous means when you meet someone for the first time you will have to be introduced; they will not know your name and will not ask for your autograph. However, you can keep your privacy and not be hounded by scandalmongers. You do not have to worry about growing older and losing the love of your fans. You can have true friends who love you for who you are and not for what you can do for them or how they can use you to benefit themselves.

WE ARE WHO WE ARE

I Corinthians 15:10, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace which was with me." NKJV

Paul was comfortable in his own skin, at peace with who he was. Paul begins this statement with grace and ends in grace, with himself in the middle. We cannot change who we are, but we can change what we do with who we are. This determines the quality of life we live. We are who we are by the grace of God; this cannot be changed or altered in any way.

Lions are called the king of the beast. That means, "Respect! You don't mess with me." Likewise, it's not so much being a rich and famous movie star that we want, as it is the unconditional love and adoration they receive from their fans. No matter the scandal, the drugs, notorious failures in their personal lives, or the DUI arrests, we love them unconditionally and that is the end of it. We do not see the lion or our favorite rich and famous actor doing any wrong.

RESPECT AND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Lions are fearless, but if they were only known as scavengers, who would want to be a lion? The lion represents respect; we want what he has, not the territory that goes with it. Our favorite idols are glamorous, thin, beautiful, and well mannered on camera with their talent running a poor fifth. What they do with their personal lives, no matter how bad or good, is not a factor for taking them off a pedestal. They are unconditionally loved by adoring fans all over the world. Love and respect are inseparable; we love what we respect and we respect what we love.

ROMANS 3:11: - "NO ONE SEEKS AFTER GOD"

No one seeks after God; we seek the benefits of God apart from God. God's love is unconditional, and His respect for His creation is clearly seen in John 3:16, "That God so loved us that He gave His only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." God's unconditional love for us is based on who we are, not on what we are or what we can do for Him. Nor does He love us because we have earned it. God loves us and He accepts us, even with the territory that goes with it.

Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

and that is the end of it