The Christian life is often like a maze, especially when it comes to our battle with sin. When we are tempted to sin, when the desire to do that which God has forbidden or we refuse to do that which God has commanded us to do, the twists and turns, dead ends and loops of life produce frustration. At times a sense of urgency to go the right way may take a hold of us, desperation may make us hurry, only to come to a crashing halt with our noses firmly pressed against the wall, going nowhere. We battle the same issues over and over, knowing that our choices are not honoring to God, that our wandering in the maze is not what God has in mind. We may wonder, if God is so good, why doesn’t He just provide an escape valve, an emergency exit? Why does He let me get in these situations? In 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul tells us that when we are tempted God provides a way out, so that we can stand up under it. But how helpful is that verse? Sure, it tells us there is a way out when our lives are spiraling out of control, when our choices of bitterness, anger, materialism, lust are far from what God demands. But what is the escape? It is feels like God is looking down on us in the maze of our sin, yelling at us to get out, but we can’t figure it out and He is only getting more and more annoyed at us for wandering around so long. Temptation would not be near so tempting if it were not so appealing. It is with good reason that Oscar Wilde once said: "I can resist anything except temptation." Learning to "just say no" may be a cute marketing slogan, but it is ineffective when we find the allure of evil far too seductive. Dietrich Bonhoffer, in his book Temptations, said, "When lust takes control, at that moment, God is unreal to us." That is the trouble - when our desires run rampant, God feels so distant. So how then will we know there is an escape? What will make us chose a way out of what we are enjoying? God may get our attention through a harsh reminder that He does not tolerate our behavior. As in my journey in the maze, my urgency to get out increased over time. But being told I was lost, that I was confused would not get me out any more quickly. We’ve seen that approach over the past several weeks as God confronted His people wandering in the maze of the desert. Their constant complaining, their doubting God’s promises were meet with the discomfort of plagues and death. The negative incentives were constant and necessary. We all need to know how odious our sin is to God. But those disincentives can’t make us holy. But in a flash of grace in the midst of sin, God creates a miracle to prevent more lives from spiraling down in sin. In Numbers 17 God announces He will do something that at last will put an end to the constant grumbling against God. Having punished the sin, He now works to prevent it. The problem of complaining may not appear that crucial. If we were to categorize our sins, we might start with something much more evil than griping. We get more bent out of shape with murder, with immorality, with anything that could cause you to be arrested and thrown in jail. But the reason God becomes so vexed at their whining reveals the root of all our sin. When I chose what displeases God, when my thoughts go toward the sensual, when I covet, when I speak or think unkind words to another, I am at some level murmuring against God. What lies behind each sin is a lack of contentment with what God has given and so when we choose that which is wrong, we are complaining against what God has given us. When we find ourselves in the maze of sin, complaining about the hand God has dealt us, murmuring about how we would orchestrate our lives so much better, our Father may certainly threaten with punishment, but He always holds out grace as a way of escape. He does so in our passage here. GOD PROVIDES AN ESCAPE THROUGH HIS CHOSEN ONE While Korah challenged Aaron as head of the Levites and died trying to prove he was good enough for the task, now is the time to show all of God’s people that the choice of who would represent the people before God would be God’s choice. Each of the twelve tribes was to produce a staff. The staff was a sign of authority, an emblem of that tribe. We often think of the staff as only a walking stick, but it stood for much more. It was a symbol of power and authority. This connection is understood as the Hebrew word for "staff" (matteh) is the same as for "tribe." The test was simple. The twelve staffs were placed inside the tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, in front of the ark. The ark here is called the Testimony, referring to its contents: the two tablets of God’s Law. Whichever staff would sprout is the one God had chosen. The test was not one of who had the most merit or who could do the job best. With the staffs in front of the Ark where the stone tablets were stored, the test was not one of inherent merit of the twelve tribes, but of God’s sovereign grace. Now that it is clear that Aaron is to be respected among all the Levites. Korah learned that lesson too late. God now shows that the Levites are to be respected among the twelve tribes. But their position comes not out of their own abilities but out of God’s choice. So the first thing we see here is that God will get rid of the grumbling on His own terms through one He will choose. The use of a staff to represent an entire tribe was common to not only the Israelites, but also throughout the ancient world. Often leaders would take an oath by means of their staff, like someone might say: "On a stack of Bibles I promise…." In Homer’s epic Illiad, Achilles is enraged against Agamemnon. He swears an oath saying:
Achilles says his word is as good as his staff never sprouting again. A fairly safe bet. But what God promises is the exact opposite. God makes a promise not based on dead, dried out wood, but in making dead wood come to life. GOD PROVIDES AN ESCAPE THROUGH HIS RISEN ONE The contest is a short one, lasting just that night. What they found the next morning more than illustrated the means by which grumbling was to be excised from God’s people. While all that had to happen is for the staff to sprout, the next morning it is in full bloom, with sprouts, buds, leaves and fruit. Almond bloom early, in January, with white blossoms and highly prized fruit. The flowers come out long before the leaves and the peach-like fruit contains the almond nut. Why almonds? We’re not really told. In Jeremiah 1:11-12 God uses a vision of an almond tree, making a play on the words for "almond" and "watch." In Hebrew the words are similar. The almond was an early fruit and its appearance was a sign of spring. God identifies Aaron as His chosen one by taking a dead stick and making it a living branch, producing fruit. The Lord guarantees to His people that His word is true by means of making that which was dead come to life. This is important in the recent events as people have been dying right and left. Anyone who crosses God finds the ground opening up to swallow him or being consumed by a plague. While God promised the land of Canaan, right now it seems they do not have what it takes to receive God’s promise. The temptation to complain is too great. But here is the answer: that which was dead can be made to live, to provide fruit, to have a promise for the future. GOD PROVIDES AN ESCAPE THROUGH HIS PERFECT ONE Now that Aaron’s rod is chosen, has come to life, he is vindicated as the one through whom the Lord will work to reconcile the people to Himself. While the other tribes receive back their staffs, their symbols of their own authority, Aaron’s staff is kept in the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron’s staff is to be kept in front of the Testimony; it stands between God’s perfect demands found only in the Law, and the people. The work of Aaron symbolizing the work of Christ as mediator is seen in the staff’s placement. The staff there will be a sign to the rebellious: their rebellion is removed by another. They will not die. But despite God’s promise, the people are afraid they will die. Are they still so unbelieving that they do not have hope? This is an exclamation of fear, perhaps as they remember both their sins in the recent past and knowing that future lapses into murmuring are very real. Their certainty of death is expressed in a phrase that doesn’t really mean "lost," but that means to die by suffocation. They can not even draw a breath enough to stand before God. At last they repent. At last they recognize that there is nothing they can do; they must keep their distance. They can not rush into God’s presence, claiming their own holiness is sufficient to please a holy God. They need a mediator; they need one who will not die, who is perfect. Who Aaron is, what he did, the sacrifices offered, the intercession for those who offended God, were all shadows, sketchy illustrations of realities which were realized in Christ. The author of Hebrews makes much of the comparison between Aaron and Jesus. He sees in Jesus the fulfillment of what is promised. CHRIST IS THE CHOSEN ONE Hebrews 7:20-22 Just as Aaron was chosen to be the mediator for all Israel, Jesus too was chosen from eternity past to be the priest for God’s people. In Hebrews 5:4-5 this is made even more clear. Just as it was not Aaron’s idea to be the High Priest, just as it was not manipulated by Moses, how much more was Jesus, the Father’s Son who was to be the only mediator between us and God. CHRIST IS THE RISEN ONE Hebrews 7:23-25 Aaron served and died. His sons took over, but they too died. For there to be a real guarantee of our standing before God, what is needed is One who lives forever and is always making certain that we will not die, even though we deserve death every day. Jesus is that staff which was placed before God’s Law in death. But that which was dead bloomed to new life. It is this victory, this vindication by God of the sacrifice which He made on the Cross, that alone constitutes the final answer to the murmurings and rebellions of men’s hearts, for in His death and resurrection there is wrought a full and final reconciliation between God and man. CHRIST IS THE PERFECT ONE Hebrews 7:26-28 In Christ we have the perfect High Priest. He needs no sacrifice for his sins, like Aaron did, but instead his life was sacrificed for us. That perfect sacrifice of that perfect life is the certainty we have that we can come before God without fear of death. Given all this, how does this answer the problem of our being tempted? How does this help us find the way out, the escape we need when murmuring bubbles up, when our desires for things and people cease to be appropriate? In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul describes all the calamities which occurred to the Israelites in the desert. He then concludes that these events are recorded for a reason. In verse 11 he says that they were written down as examples for us. Why? because it is far too easy for us to think we’ve conquered temptation, far to easy to foolishly imagine that we are above sin, that our faith in God is so strong that we’d never commit adultery, we’d never steal, we’d never murmur…well, we’d never murder. "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12) Temptation is in fact a very real problem. What comes through our minds is not unheard of, not out of the ordinary. But there is good news: God is faithful. God will provide a way out. Here we are back at the same problem: what is the way out? I’ve seen the escape value as reading Scripture more - that’s great, but that is the means, not the solution itself. Others have said to divert your attention - not a bad idea, but no solution. What keeps us from sinning is not our choice not to sin. That lasts about five seconds, a few days, perhaps, if we are strong. Forget about your resolutions to do what is right. When you are faced with the overwhelming urge to do what is wrong, you will justify the wrong at the drop of a hat. We cannot "just say no," we cannot just do it. We will, in time, buy into the lie that sin always offers: that there is a better way. The way of escape is found in that which was dead becoming alive. The answer is found in Christ. The escape is found in not trying hard, not in doing better. It is not found in aversion to evil or focusing on what God hates. Rather the cure to the murmuring was the dead staff becoming alive, bearing fruit. The answer you and I have to conquer sin is found in faith in Christ’s work for us, in finding our joy in Him. When we find ourselves lost in a maze of our own sinful choices, the answer is not to despair nor try harder. The answer is to look in faith to Christ, God’s chosen One, who died for that sin, who rose again to give us His perfect, sinless record. In Homer’s Odyssey, we are told of the exploits of Odysseus and the Argonauts seeking the famous golden fleece. During their travels they came upon the Isle of Sirens. In Greek mythology, the Sirens are creatures with the head of a female and the body of a bird. While perhaps not your ideal date, they had the irresistible charm of song to lure mariners to their destruction on the rocks surrounding their island. In order to keep his men safe, Odysseus filled his men’s ears with wax, so they could not hear their song. But he wanted to hear it, so he had his men tie him to the mast. The Sirens sang when they approached, their words even more enticing than the melody. They would give knowledge to every man who came to them, they said, ripe wisdom and a quickening of the spirit. Odysseus's heart ran with longing but the ropes held him and the ship quickly sailed to safer waters. But their journey took them past the Sirens another time. This time their approach differed. One of the crew. Orpheus, who was the greatest musician and poet of Greek myth, whose songs could charm wild beasts and coax even rocks and trees into dance, had a better idea. He took his lyre and enchanted his crew with a melody superior to the alluring song of the sea nymphs, and so, without needing to fill the Argonauts' ears with wax or to bind himself to the mast with knotted thongs, he passed the sorceresses' shore not only safely, but with disdain. Odysseus’ tack is that of the moralist who through personal will power seeks to withstand the power of temptation. But our Father offers a better way. Rather than the tormented torture of listening to the music of our age, thinking we can with sheer will power overcome all evil, Jesus makes far better music. The "sirens" of this world hold little appeal for those who are listening to the music of Heaven. The music of the ospel is found here. The escape from temptation is found in Christ. It is for this reason Paul turns from his discussion on temptation in 1 Corinthians 10 to talk about the Lord’s Supper. Here we are reminded of God’s grace for sinners like us. The escape from the siren call of sin is not found in fear of the negative repercussions for that sin, not in personal disciplines to be strong to stand up against that sin. Rather our escape is provided for us in one who was tempted in all ways like us, but never sinned. Our escape is found in listening to the wonderful music of the Gospel. |
