Wilderness Wanderings

…the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger… you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess….The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive…There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath (Deuteronomy 4:24-31).

In our text we find two statements about God that appear contradictory. The first is, "the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God" (24) and the second, "the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors" (31). Both describe God as equally passionate, one passion destroys, the other gathers and heals.

Can they both be true? Can God be "a consuming fire" and "merciful" at the same time? Moses thought so. And God describes himself as such. Consider these things.

The Israelites had seen God's consuming fire from the foothills of Mount Sinai, ironically, they were not consumed. We commonly view jealousy as a negative reaction akin to envy or covetousness. However, in the Old Testament, it usually speaks of a legitimate passion aroused when a proper relationship is threatened by a third party. We still accept this type of jealousy as legitimate when someone attempts to woe a person already married. The Lord of Israel is an impassioned God, who treasures Israel as his covenant people. This jealous love is fueled, not by an abusive need to dominate, but by the zeal for Israel's well-being.

God's consuming fire on Sinai, demonstrated with spectacular cosmic pyrotechnics, was not meant to create physical fear, even though it did do that. Rather, it revealed the passion of his redeeming love which had brought his people out of the fires of slavery. Such love can tolerate no rival. He was committed exclusively to Israel to bring shalom to the world. Israel's only appropriate response is an equally exclusive commitment to God.

Thus, if Israel pursues another lover, she will arouse this jealousy. it would entail a reversal of the covenant with Abraham: 'only a few of you will survive' (27) clearly contrasted with the promise of 'descendants as numerous as the stars'. Scattered into far away lands, the Israelites would worship man-made gods. God's irony: under judgment they will have to do what they had freely chosen to do, serve other gods. In exile, they would discover the powerlessness of those gods. If these gods cannot perform even basic human functions, what hope is there of any saving power from them?

But that is never the end of the story. No place would be too far and no time too distant for Israel to come back to God. Beyond sin and judgment there is always hope. Israel knew this already. After her apostasy with the golden calf (cf. Ex. 32-34), Israel discovered that her survival depended not on her ability to keep the covenant but on God's willingness to sustain it. God's forgiving grace and unswerving commitment to his promise to Abraham guaranteed Israel's survival. God would not forget God's word.

In Exodus 34 God identifies himself as, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness" (6). Thus, if scattered because of their idolatry, they turned back to God, he would allow himself to be found by them. Unlike the gods of the peoples, he is not limited to a place; rather, he is the personal God of Israel, his ear is always listening for his people. His mercy is warm and tender affection, like the love of a parent toward a child.

Like Israel, we cannot depend on our own righteousness. We will always come up short. But God has provided. Paul writes, "righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe" (Romans 3:22). When we turn to him, we find God. Always. A jealous, consuming fire God? Absolutely. Zealous enough for us to enter death's dark domain that we might know his shalom. Turn to him and you will experience his mercy.

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Leviticus 23:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS

1. What are the similarities and differences between the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

2. In what sense is the Unleavened Bread the "Bread of Affliction"? In what way does Jesus embody and fulfill this meaning?

3. In what sense is the Unleavened Bread the "Bread of Redemption"? In what way does Jesus embody and fulfill this meaning?

4. In what sense is the Unleavened Bread the "Bread of Hope"? In what way does Jesus embody and fulfill this meaning?

5. Which of these themes do you most resonate with in your own life? Where do you long for affliction, decay, and death to be removed? For Redemption to come? Or for hope to be restored? Lift up these situations to Jesus in prayer, asking him to be your Bread of Life today.

You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. (Deuteronomy 4:15-19)

The first two commandments receive an extended treatment in chapter 4 of Deuteronomy. That is, the commandments about loving the Lord by having no other gods, images, or idols before him. These commands dictate that there is only one God for Israel. Their hearts and loyalty cannot be divided, for as Jesus will later say: the human heart can only follow one master.

These commands that place God at the centre as the only God show up here in chapter 4 as the heart and foundation of the rest of the law. Everything flows from this: from God and his primacy in the Creation and Redemption of Israel. There is no other who has created Israel's life, saves them, or sustains them.

And yet, with a God who remains as mysterious as Israel's God does—so invisible and seemingly unapproachable—there is a strong desire to create something more tangible for our faith. It's hard to trust in what we cannot see, and so we are endlessly distracted by the things that we can see, touch, count, carry with us, or control. The human heart is an idol-factory.

The law cuts hard against our tendencies. "You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire," Moses says, and so it must remain. What they have received from God is his speech, his voice, his word. And this is how they are to know their God—through his spoken word—a thing which is organic, relational, and memorable, but which is also momentary, fleeting, and invisible.

But that doesn't mean God has left us without a visible witness of himself. This verse recalls the opening chapter of Genesis. As all the various facets of creation that may not be turned into an idol or object of worship are rehearsed, one is reminded that the only image of God that we have been given, has been given by God. And that image is humanity itself—for "in the image of God he created them."

At this point in the Bible, we may interact with an image of God only by interacting with the living, breathing, enfleshed reality of one another. And we may interact with God himself only through the dialogue of speech—listening and responding. One does not have to think hard to understand why Jesus came as the Word of God in Human flesh.

There is something good and life-giving about this arrangement. When these laws are observed and obeyed, we find ourselves growing deeper into a loving, relational connection with both God in prayer and with our fellow-image-bearing neighbours in conversation. When we transgress this command however, we subvert relationships by enslaving the creation or being enslaved by it—the very things God had Redeemed his people from.

So live as the people that God has created and redeemed by loving the Lord your God whose voice you now know in the form of Jesus.

Only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb (Deuteronomy 4:9,10).

Today's text reminds us that we are in the season of Lent. Lent's purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ—to consider his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial, and resurrection. This 40-day period is based on two episodes of spiritual testing in the Bible: the 40 years of wilderness wanderings by the Israelites and, after his baptism, Jesus' 40 day fast in the wilderness ending with Satan's temptations.

Moses already understood that self-reflection would be essential to living a faithful life with God. Yesterday, Pastor Anthony reflected on the truth that the law of God is "holistic, relational, and interested in a life of flourishing Shalom for all". Selfishness and competition for resources get in the way of this vision. Such things come from the human heart, as Jesus said, "For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly" (Mark 7:21-22).

Such things live in all our hearts. They hide in crevasses, closets, and the dark attic corners of our souls that we don't visit. Sometimes they slink out of hiding through the back door so that we do not observe them until they are well established patterns in our lives. Other times they jump out so unexpectedly that, before we can stuff them back out of sight, they have caused all sort so damage.

Jeremiah wrote, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). This is why Lent is necessary. We need dedicated time to examine our own hearts. Of course, the hope is the 40 days of Lent will create healthy patterns in our lifestyle that stay in place long after it is over.

Early in the church's history, Christians realized that doing this hard work of examining the heart's motivations was difficult in the rush of daily life. Thus, a movement developed called the "Desert Mothers and Fathers". These Christians moved out to the wilderness to be alone with God. They have left us a wealth of wisdom regarding 'self-examination" rooted in the prayer, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life" (Psalm 139:23-24, NLT).

This is the sort of thing Moses encouraged Israel to engage in as they entered the promised land. They were to remember how they had met God at Mount Horeb, how the thunder had rumbled, and the lightning had flashed. God was impressive, worthy of both worship and obedience. Moses wanted them to remember, but he knew life would get in the way, just as it does for us. We need to 'watch ourselves closely', to ensure that we don't move subtly from a life of justice to one of injustice, from a life of helping others flourish to one in which we are concerned only about our own flourishing.

And we need to teach this way of life to our children and grandchildren, passing on an ethic of Shalom from one generation to the next. An ethic rooted in the grace and commands of God. God took Israel out of Egypt because they could not flourish there. Egypt was a place of death, not life for Israel. After deliverance came the law. Learning healthy patterns for life, happens best in a community where it is practiced with joy. What better place for this than in families and churches?

Christian families and churches are places in which living is rooted in grace not duty. Paul articulates this when he writes to the Colossians, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Colossians 3:12-14).

To know ourselves as chosen, holy and dearly loved, is to know ourselves as people safe, secure, and connected to God by the bond of the cross which cannot be broken. Knowing ourselves as such, gives us the safe place to examine our own hearts, offering our failings to God and sometimes to other Christians, knowing that we will be handled with gentleness. We will be uplifted, not beaten down. In such environments, children can safely discover the beauty of God's law.

See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? (Deuteronomy 4:5-8)

Yesterday we heard how obedience to the law is tied to life. Today, Moses gives more and different reasons for a life of obedience.

The overarching theme is that Israel's keeping of the law is their way of witnessing to the nations around them. The first reason to keep the law yesterday was so that Israel itself might have life. Today the reason is to show their life as a life in God that other nations might just want to partake in themselves.

So firstly, God is near to his people. Near enough to care how they lived—not only with him as the first table of the law speaks to, but also with one another as the second table of the law speaks to. Israel was to love their God AND their neighbours. This is a call to be in relationships of flourishing: in communion, in shalom/peace/flourishing with God, neighbours, even the Creation itself. It all started by God being near enough to his people to know them and be known by them in a dialogue of prayer.

This was secondly, therefore a righteous set of laws: a set of laws that promoted and guarded righteousness not just in relationship to God, but also in society. It's not strange that Western law codes are based in no small part on the ethos and values of the Judeo-Christian legal ethic. We are not a law unto ourselves (as if our individual choice was all that mattered), nor is it just about us and Jesus. The law concerns all of life and all of relationships, even our relationship with the Creation! This law is holistic, relational, and interested in a life of flourishing Shalom for all. This is what God means by justice and righteousness.

In keeping this law, the Israelites would thirdly appear wise and understanding to the nations around them: able to govern society holistically and well with harmonious attention to the relational flourishing of all—even with the foreigners within their gates.

But again, beyond the values embedded in this law like the dignity of image bearers, neighbour love, and peace/shalom/flourishing for all (from which come our modern notions of human rights), one value outstrips them all as central: God himself.

One critique that Christians rightly raise in regard to new laws produced by our Western governments, is that if they are no longer based on Judeo-Christian values, what values are they based on? Often when one drills down: the values are missing. And so the means become the ends. Efficiency or progress or choice for their own sake become the values we drive at, never thinking to ask whether these "means" of getting somewhere are actually going to drive us to the sorts of "ends" we might wish to arrive at, like Shalom and human flourishing. More often they turn out to bankrupt the Creation, set people against one another, and make us lonely cogs in someone else's wheels.

There is much wisdom to be gleaned from the laws of Deuteronomy, but this perhaps is one of the more important ones for our cultural moment. Deuteronomy helps us to recognize that living righteously is about more than progress, choice, and efficiency. It is about communion and conversation with our God who is near to us and who calls us to be in communion and good, relational conversation with the Creation and our neighbours as well. There is a wisdom to this. An attractive, witnessing wisdom.

Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you (Deuteronomy 4:1).

Moses continues talking. I hope there was some shade for his listeners. He has many words left before he will finish. His passion and purpose are becoming quite clear: he wants Israel to live. He is not sure they are up to it, so he will keep talking, hammering home the same points. Of course, he has good reason for his scepticism, having little confidence that Israel will remember his words. In his 40 years as leader of this flock, he has noticed that their capacity to listen to and follow the law of God is limited.

His main point is this: obedience is life, disobedience is death. Life here is not eternal life as Christians understand it, but the full enjoyment of God's blessings in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The land will be given to them. That promise will not be taken away. But for Israel to dwell, to possess, to enjoy the land, each generation must commit itself to following the law of God. Moses is not sure they will.

This positive view of God's law is celebrated with unrestrained delight in Psalms 19:7-11 and 119. Here is a taste of Psalm 19, "The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb" (8,10).

It's worth our time to wonder how different we are from Israel. Recently, I listened to a podcast on which theologian John Stackhouse warned that some Canadian evangelical Christians do not take the Bible very seriously. We are reluctant to conform our lifestyle and thinking to what the Bible says. The way we function suggests that do not have a high view of scripture. So, its worth asking, does it taste like honey or like vinegar to us?

John asserts that in Jesus, someone better than Moses' has arrived. Many are familiar with his words, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (1:14). And he adds, "From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth happened through Jesus Christ" (John 1:16-17). The contrast is not between law and grace, but two ways of expressing grace, the latter better than the former: Moses only spoke it, Jesus embodied, lived it. Moses spoke the law; Jesus spoke it and lived it.

And Jesus agrees with Moses' emphasis that obedience is life. He said, "If you love me, keep my commands…If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love… I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" (John 14:15, 15:10-11).

Israel was gifted the land, but only through obedience would they enjoy the life God offered them. Likewise, for Christians, we cannot receive the gift of God's grace in Christ and ignore what he says. We are saved by faith in Christ. But faith goes to work. Paul wrote, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:8).

Peter used more words, "make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:5-7). I think Moses would agree.

We cannot embrace eternal life without producing its fruit. Take some time to make a plan, a goal. How will you live your faith today? How will you embrace the life God gives by sharing it in some way?

At that time I pleaded with the Lord: "Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do? Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon." But because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me. "That is enough," the Lord said. "Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see." So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor. (Deuteronomy 3:23-29)

Here at the end of chapter three, after Sihon and Og, the Kings of the Amorites have been defeated, Israel is ready to enter the promised land. The anticipation is growing, and on this threshold between the wilderness and the promise, Moses prays. God has shown him so much, will God not show him just a little more by allowing him to go over to see this good land for himself?

Moses already knew the answer, of course. God tells him that this answer will not change. However: God does grant half of Moses' request. God will indeed allow him to "see" the promised land: "go look at the land with your own eyes," God says. But Moses is not to confuse the land of God's promise with God himself. God and God's word of promise will have to be enough for Moses. This is as far as he will go. It is the one named Joshua, meaning, "the Lord's Saves"—he is the one who will lead the people across to their inheritance.

One direction this devotion could go is to speak to all of us on the threshold of life transitions that force us to relinquish all that we still would wish to be and to do. Getting married, having a baby, sending a child to school, graduating, starting a job or career, retiring, downsizing, contemplating death as Moses was—all of these are just that sort of transition that entail a loss of some kind. The question to us would be: in these transitions, is God enough for us? What if it's just him and his promises and nothing more? Can we let go and rest in the peace of God, trusting that that is enough for us?

Another direction this devotion could go is to recognize something curious about Moses himself. One of the commentators we've been following (Patrick Miller, Interpretation) does this, and I think it's worth a few words. Moses says that it is "because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me." In the end, Moses also accepts this word from God. In a strange way: Moses, the faithful servant of the Lord takes on the punishment for the people. The people will enter the land. Moses will not—and somehow that is because of their sin (as the book points out elsewhere too).

The suffering servant of Isaiah plays a similar role. As does Jesus, who was the second Moses. Here in Deuteronomy 3 then is Moses' Gethsemane prayer: praying for the cup to be taken away. And yet in the end, Moses resigns himself to the will of God—"not mine but yours be done." Moses remains in the wilderness.

We as Christians—"little Christs"—are also called into this priestly role as we follow our Saviour, Jesus. We are called to bear the sins of the world and of our families, neighbours, and friends—to accept slaps and slanders, persecution and whatever else. We are to bear it in our souls where all this evil and sin can be put to death in the death of Christ such that what comes back out of us in return is the life of Christ. In this way we are priestly agents of God's transformation in the world: turning evil to good, sin to forgiveness, decay into hope.

What Gethsemane prayers might you need to lay before God in order to live this this priestly role faithfully today?

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Deuteronomy 16:1-8 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS

1) What is happening behind the scenes with the 10 plagues? What is the essential message of the Passover?

2) Why the firstborn?

3) What element gets added to the Passover celebrations while Israel is in the Land of Promise? How does this connect with the Lord's Supper?

4) In what two streams of the Passover Celebration merge in Jesus?

5) How does the story of the Passover become a source of encouragement to Christians? Is it worthy celebrating?

When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz, the Lord our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army. At that time, we took all his towns and completely destroyed them—men, women and children. We left no survivors (Deuteronomy 2:32-34).

The Old Testament is often difficult to read. Many of us fret over the violence authored by God himself. How can we reconcile this account of complete destruction with Isaiah's description of the coming Saviour, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth" (53:7)?

Many have addressed this concern without full success. It is one of those aspects of the Bible that we must wrestle with, even if, in the end, we cannot satisfy our reservations and even revulsion of such stories. Yet, let us attempt to understand what happened.

As I mentioned in my sermon on Saul this past Sunday, God enters the human realm using the cultural elements at hand. The greatest example of this is Jesus' incarnation; he became a Jewish baby, incubating for nine months in Mary's womb. This has always been God's manner, coming to us in ways that we can understand. Theologians have often argued that the Bible itself is like this. In it, God condescends to use human language to give us a picture of himself. Yet, God is greater and more dynamic than mere human words can express. God uses our language even though it is inadequate.

And so, as Israel took possession of the promised land, she used methods that she understood and that were practiced by the other nations. But compete destruction? This is a technical term which the NIV footnote defines as "the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them". There are very few examples of this happening.

There are two criteria offered in scripture for the destruction of the nations. One, those who directly opposed God's purposes and promises to Israel, as in Sihon and Og, in these early chapters of Deuteronomy. God wanted Israel to travel through their territory, on the way to the promised land. Instead of giving permission, these two kings marshalled their armies to destroy Israel, essentially saying, "over my dead body". So that is what happened.

Two, those who posed in a unique way the problem of religious contamination and syncretism, as in the Canaanites and Amorites. The reason for such strong measures is that these nations will turn Israel and her children away from worshipping the Lord her God.

The command for total destruction is rooted in the concern that Israel will be easily swayed to abandon God. That she will quickly ignore God's first command, "No other gods, only me" (Deut. 5:7, The Message). This appears to be Moses' main concern in this entire book. As he says in chapter 6, "Attention, Israel! God, our God! God the one and only! Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!" (4,5).

Israel's subsequent history proved this to be a valid concern. Here we do well to ponder her history. Do we love the Lord any better than Israel did? Aren't we too, easily swayed to add other gods to our religion?

This was a particular time and place in history. These stories do not give us permission to use such tactics today. There is too much in scripture about the humane treatment of other persons, about special regard for the weak and powerless; and about a very different way of dealing with enemies, with the power of love, rather than hatred, belligerence, or destruction.

When Jesus was asked about the centre of the Law, he quoted Moses' words in 6:4,5 followed by Leviticus 19:18, "Love others as well as you love yourself". These are the heart of the law. Paul expands on this by quoting from Proverbs: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head" (25:21,22; cf. Romans 12:20).

This is the culture of the church established by the Lamb who was silent before his executioners. We can be grateful that God calls us to a different way of life then Old Testament Israel. Yet, we must ask again, "Are we different then they were?" We may not strike with swords, but what about with words? How have you blessed your enemies this week?

And the Lord said, "Now get up and cross the Zered Valley." So we crossed the valley. Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. The Lord's hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp. Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, the Lord said to me, "Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar. (Deuteronomy 2:13-18)

In the land of Esau, the land south of the Zered Valley, the last of Jacob's unfaithful descendants die. Does the text mean to recall more through this geographical point of interest? I think it does.

If you recall from the story in Genesis 32-33, Jacob is filled with "great fear and distress" (Gen. 32:7) at the prospect of meeting his brother Esau again after so many years in exile with his uncle Laban. Jacob wrestles, alone, all that night with a man who he later understands to have been God. In some way, this is a story of Jacob's fear wrestling with a God who proves to be for Jacob, not against him. Jacob had a hard time believing that God really could be faithful to his promise of establishing Jacob in the promised land, given the frightful prospect of Esau and his 400 men. And so, Jacob's fear wrestles against the promise of God 'til daybreak where he is given the name "Israel," the "one who wrestles with God." As it turns out, Jacob's desire for blessing proves stronger than his fear. He survives the encounter and lives, though not without a God-induced limp to humble him and remind him that he always lives by God's saving, and not his own.

Our present story in Deuteronomy is similar. It is in the land of Esau, south of the Zered Valley, where Israel once again becomes Israel. For a 38-year-long night their fears have caused them to disbelievingly wrestle with God's promises. At the end of this long night: their desire for blessing wins out and they are still alive, but not without a significant limp. All the fearful fighting men have died and Israel is reminded that they live by God's promises, God's provision, and God's saving—not their own.

It's worth noting that this is the first Holy War described in the book of Deuteronomy. "The Lord's hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them." This language is the same as in other God-directed military campaigns that Israel will undertake. It is important to remember, therefore, that the first Holy War is not against the enemies of Israel, but is waged within Israel itself. Fear had to die out of the camp before Israel could trustingly receive the promise of God's victory.

The promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob could only be received by a people of Abraham's faith, who were willing to go on nothing more than the word of God, trusting that whatever was needful would be given by God. Or perhaps more accurately: a people of Jacob's limping faith, that through wrestling with fear and doubt would have to discover again and again that God's blessing was worth pursuing, that God was faithful to his promise, and that anyway: God was the only hope for salvation they had.

The language of fear vs. faith and fear vs. love will show up again and again in the Bible. It is at the heart of the account of Saul vs. David that we've just finished off. Read 1 Samuel 18—the passage is just dripping with the contrast between the fear encircling Saul and the love buoying up David in the promises of God. Or again in the New Testament, go back to the passages cited by Pastor Michael yesterday like that from 1 John 4: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…"

This dynamic shows up in our own hearts still today. So take time to examine: what fears in your heart cause you to wrestle with the promises of God rather than receive them? We tritely and simply accuse others we disagree with these days of being "fearful," particularly when it comes to the culture war battles being fought within the church. The accusation may very well be correct. But remember: the first holy war is fought within—not without. Before we can go crusading against the world—we have to wrestle through the fears of our own hearts. Having done so, we may just find that there's actually no battle to be fought at all on the other side… just gifts to be trustingly received from the God of promise and blessing who saves us still.