Day 76 – March 17, 2021

Day 76 – March 17, 2021
Scriptures: Numbers 25, John 7
Condemning sin.
 
Within the Israel camp, there has been a terrible deviation from the way of God. Moses has warned and told the Israelites to not marry outside of the people of Israel. 
 
This law was for the protecting of the Israelites, not simply for their sexual purity, or for the protecting of their family line. God has shown repeatedly that He can work with those outside of Israel to accomplish his purposes.
 
The point is, that the sexual immorality leads to the worship of other gods. Their hearts have turned from the God of Israel, to the gods of the land. When they make one step away from God, they seemingly make 1000 more.
 
Sin has a way of doing that. One step turns into many. One deviation of our heart, unchecked turns into a long disobedience, in the wrong direction.
 
Fast forward to our New Testament text. We have the Pharisees who are stringent in their observance of the law. We get the opposite of the Israelite’s who have their hearts turning away in immorality. The Pharisees have been known for making the law even more strict. If the fence is the boundary of the law, they’ve drawn a 6-foot line in front of the fence. They don’t want a hint of impropriety. 
 
And this has caused another sort of problem. The Messiah who they longed for, God himself, is right in front of them, and they can’t hear, see or know who they are dealing with, the Son of God!
 
The end of chapter 7 is a debate about the Messiah. Where he will come from, what he will do. There is much debate between the crowd and the Pharisees. The Pharisees, in their certainty, become foolish. They are so certain Jesus isn’t the one, the Messiah, that they too have turned from God. They are so certain, in fact, they condemn God himself.
 
Jesus stands in the midst of our own certainty and ignorance. He stands in the midst of our brokenness and sin. He stands between us in our wandering and our obedience. He says to us all, ”Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, Scripture has said, rivers of living water will come from within them.”
 
God’s Spirit now, is something that we can receive. And God’s Spirit stands in the gap of our hastiness to condemn, and our propensity to wander. The Spirit is there, within us, leading us to life of Grace and Truth.
 
Holy Spirit lead us in a long obedience, in the direction of Jesus.
 
God bless,
Jordan