Jesus will come, whether unexpectedly or expectedly depends on how you are living your life. So live your life expectantly knowing that He will come anytime. Stay alert and “clear-headed” as Paul says. This is the opposite of being asleep (I think this means lazy, apathetic, disregarding the warning or in denial), and being drunk (impulsive, short-sighted, terrible decision-making). And remember, to be on the alert 24/7 is impossible – unless with the power of the Holy Spirit.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. (‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭9-11‬ ESV)

‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭3‬ ESV)

No matter how sincere and active our vertical relationship with God is, if we neglect our horizontal relationships with others, our relationship – or more accurately – our attempt to have a relationship with God will amount to nothing.

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭37-40‬ NLT)

The second is not less important, it is of equal importance.

This is the true fast: not only are we to humble ourselves before the Lord (vertical), we to be an instrument of God’s justice, grace, and blessing. As we learned last Sunday, to serve others.

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? (‭Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭6-7‬ NLT)

God will be with you. On our next fast, we need to consider both the vertical and horizontal.

In the previous chapter we learned that the Israelites were not granted a shortcut through the land of Edom. The way Moses asked, I am guessing (might be wrong) that the Edomites were probably the descendants of Esau. Anyway, they were somehow related, they asked nicely, and yet they were denied passage. This happened after the waters of Meriba incident. Did God have a say in this?

Now because of this they have to go a longer way. Then, surprise, impatience kicked in and they were complaining and grumbling again. Moses, Moses, again Moses. We don’t know how Moses responded this time – because he usually runs to God to vent his frustrations. I am guessing he has learned a valuable lesson, to not let these things get to him. This time, it was God who made the move, sending fiery serpents that bite and caused people to die.

This must have been a sight for Moses. He left Egypt with much more people, there’s still a lot, but they are definitely a smaller group than when they left. It was not the strong, nor the rich, nor the influential that survived, those that remained were those who were faithful and humble before the Lord.

Is this an analogy? Again, hard to think that it’s not. As we go through our own personal journey, we have to remove from ourselves those which are not pleasing to the Lord. We bring a lot of baggage from our old selves when we were still slaves to sin. As we journey – and it’s going to be through deserts and dangerous territory – God will reveal these sinful tendencies in us, and will help us remove it. Because we are not built to withstand this purging, left to ourselves we would either give up or die in the process. So God has made the way – Jesus, raised up on the cross. That if we only just look to him and believe in him, we will be healed.

Israel had some great victories after this event. They seem to be back on track again (yay!)

The journey continues…

Poor Moses.. pushed to his limit, and probably in exasperation, had his emotions take control of his heart and his hands. I really feel bad for him. He had a heavy burden to bear. This is a reminder that we should keep our emotions in check, especially when provoked by external circumstances. God takes his name, his Holiness seriously. Even Moses was not exempt.

But I wonder, Moses seemed to not be as affected by this as we expect him to be. If it was another Israelite, there would definitely be even more groaning and moaning. So Moses was taking this relatively well. Ah, there must be something different! It’s because Moses knows God. In a very real and personal way. The promised land? It is a gift, a physical one even, it was a task given to him. But his eyes were not on the gift, not on the task. His eyes were on the Giver, on the Master. Not being able to enter the promised land is a small setback compared to the greatness of knowing and serving God, and the closeness that they have shared, and will continue to share in eternity. He has the right perspective.

Their riches, possessions, land and even freedom was taken away from them, but they still have their music, their song. Music gives hope, and it allows the heart to speak much more than what can be said by just words. Our God understands this, and I believe He has a special heart for music as well. It is a very powerful thing.

The psalm ends quite violently, and I am sure people have used this line to show a very dark side of Christianity. But hold on, this is Christianity – real people with real issues dependent on a real God. The Israelites wished this much harm to their captors. If you have been wronged, you have experienced wishing that the person who wronged you receive the same level of pain you’ve experienced. It’s human nature. What would make the Israelites say such things? Unless they themselves have experienced such great pain and loss. If left on our own, humanity will be wiped out. We see it even now, when we are supposed to be wiser and put more value in human life. We need a Just God, we need a Merciful God, we need a Gracious God. A Powerful God, that can mold men’s hearts. Not by force, but by his amazing relentless grace.