Raising rebellious children
When your children were toddlers they probably were very active. They were exploring, touching, putting things in their mouths. As a parent you probably said "No, no" thousands of times, perhaps a light smack on a chubby little hand or even a short time out.
You wanted to keep them safe from breaking glass, electrical outlets, pans on a stove, and germs. Once I lost power in my house and happened to notice a tweezer sticking out of an outlet, tripping a breaker. Courtesy of a little blond angel.
As your children grew they may have grumbled under their breath about you, complained to their friends or even outright defied you. You probably let it go up to a point. But at some point you had to remind them that you were the parent - the authority of the household.
During the 40 years I have been wandering through the desert with the children of Israel I have seen them disobey many times. They made an idol. I thought it particularly teen like when Aaron more or less shrugs his shoulders and says "Well, I just threw the gold in the fire and out came this calf." Uh huh. Sure.
They grumbled, "Manna again/" (Broccoli again?). What about food and water for our flocks? What about pop and chips from the store? They mumbled among each other spreading their discontent towards Moses and Aaron.
God was often angry that they didn't trust Him to provide what was necessary and to protect them from harm. As they complained about manna all the time he gets so angry he sends meat in the form of quail. So much of it they can't possibly eat it all and they are left with a big mess to clean up. He repeatedly threatens to destroy them but Moses always intercedes and saves them. Finally it comes to head. God has already said no adult will live to see the Promised Land. (Your grounding me? It was them not me! Now he destroys 250 of the rebellious and sends a sign in the form of a budding walking stick that Aaron and his sons are the only priest holders.
Does this stop the rebellious murmurs? Not even close. Now it is complaining about no water questioning why God would bring them to such a place. God had Moses strike a rock with a stick and water gushed forward. These are called the waters of Meribah. That word means quarreling because the Israelites quarreled with the Lord.
As God watches over us today he sees nothing new. We still break all the laws given in Leviticus, the Commandments, we are still rebellious children. We don't trust enough to be assured he will care for us if we obey him. We do our own childish things and lead ourselves into situations that we cry out to him to fix for us. There will be a day of reckoning. A day that entrance to a Promised Land will be denied to many. Fortunately we have Jesus who intercedes for us. All we have to do is sincerely ask and listen to the Holy Spirit inside us as we make decisions.
You wanted to keep them safe from breaking glass, electrical outlets, pans on a stove, and germs. Once I lost power in my house and happened to notice a tweezer sticking out of an outlet, tripping a breaker. Courtesy of a little blond angel.
As your children grew they may have grumbled under their breath about you, complained to their friends or even outright defied you. You probably let it go up to a point. But at some point you had to remind them that you were the parent - the authority of the household.
During the 40 years I have been wandering through the desert with the children of Israel I have seen them disobey many times. They made an idol. I thought it particularly teen like when Aaron more or less shrugs his shoulders and says "Well, I just threw the gold in the fire and out came this calf." Uh huh. Sure.
They grumbled, "Manna again/" (Broccoli again?). What about food and water for our flocks? What about pop and chips from the store? They mumbled among each other spreading their discontent towards Moses and Aaron.
God was often angry that they didn't trust Him to provide what was necessary and to protect them from harm. As they complained about manna all the time he gets so angry he sends meat in the form of quail. So much of it they can't possibly eat it all and they are left with a big mess to clean up. He repeatedly threatens to destroy them but Moses always intercedes and saves them. Finally it comes to head. God has already said no adult will live to see the Promised Land. (Your grounding me? It was them not me! Now he destroys 250 of the rebellious and sends a sign in the form of a budding walking stick that Aaron and his sons are the only priest holders.
Does this stop the rebellious murmurs? Not even close. Now it is complaining about no water questioning why God would bring them to such a place. God had Moses strike a rock with a stick and water gushed forward. These are called the waters of Meribah. That word means quarreling because the Israelites quarreled with the Lord.
As God watches over us today he sees nothing new. We still break all the laws given in Leviticus, the Commandments, we are still rebellious children. We don't trust enough to be assured he will care for us if we obey him. We do our own childish things and lead ourselves into situations that we cry out to him to fix for us. There will be a day of reckoning. A day that entrance to a Promised Land will be denied to many. Fortunately we have Jesus who intercedes for us. All we have to do is sincerely ask and listen to the Holy Spirit inside us as we make decisions.
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