Ancient and Modern Reminders

"So you shall remember and do all my commands..." Numbers 15:38

Ancient and Modern Reminders
By Rev. William Dohle

Ask my wife and she will tell you I am terrible at remembering things.

Someone can tell me a date, a time, an event and if I don't rush out and write it down I will forget it. I write it down multiple places too. I have a traditional calendar(complete with pictures of my family so I remember why I AM so busy). Then I have my calendar on my phone. Just recently I found an app called "Wanderlist" that helps me list out everything I have to do throughout the week.

If I don't have it written in any of these places, I will forget. Guaranteed. Maybe you have a better memory than I do, but I need reminders.

Even as I sit here tonight writing this, my youngest son is reminding me to pay attention to him. With his book in his hand, he is calling me to read to him, to pay attention to him. He's pulling my face to the book to look at him and demanding I take seriously my calling as a father.

I am grateful that God in his mercy has understood that we need reminders too. We are a very distractable, forgetful people. One of the most used words in all of scripture is the simple word: "Remember." God says it. Christ says it. Paul says it. Everyone knows we need help remembering.

One of the first physical reminders for us is given in the book of Numbers. Here we Gentiles can understand why Jews have blue cord on the frindges of their prayer cloak. Here's what is written...

The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the Israelites, and tell them to make fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations and to put a blue cord on the fringe at each corner. You have the fringe so that, when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and not follow the lust of your own heart and your own eyes. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and you shall be holy to your God.  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God. (Numbers 15:37-41)

God instructs that blue cord be sewn into the prayer shawl to remind the people. But there is more. When you see it you WILL remember and DO THEM. The reminder actually aids in the action. God does not remind us once and then expect us to remember. God reminds us and then helps us obey so that we "shall be holy to the Lord your God."

What an awesome God we have! He understands that we are a forgetful people! Left to our own devices, we would fail and fall and forget. When left on our own, we quickly follow the lust of our own hearts and our own eyes. We care more about us and our family than we care about the rest of the world. But God gives us reminders of his love that help us, so that, through His Spirit, we may become holy.

Communion is done in rememberance of Christ. We wash one another's feet to remember our Teacher's words. And God has surrounded us with other reminders too. Creation itself. Signs of his love all around us.

So...what reminders have you seen? How have those reminders helped you follow his way and his commands? How have they turned you from the lust of your own heart and eyes to God?

Surround us with reminders, O God. Whether it be in the body and blood of your Son or in the people we have surrounded ourselves with, bring us to obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Standing Between

Father Damien - 1873

"Aaron stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stopped." Numbers 16:48


Standing Between
By Rev. William Dohle

Did you know... there are superheroes all around us! Men and women willing to stand between the dead and the living, the stop the plague from killing more than it should. These people are God's great super-heroes of faith!

One of these superheroes was a man by the name of Fr. Damien. A website dedicated to him describes him this way: "Damien was born in 1840 in Tremeloo, Belgium. He joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts volunteering for the mission to the Hawaiian Islands. In 1873 he went to work as a priest in a leper colony on the island of Molokai. He died from leprosy in 1889 aged 49. The testimony of the life he lived among the lepers of Molokai led to an intensive study of Hansens disease, eventually leading to a cure. Pope John Paul II beatified Damien in 1995. He was named a saint on Oct 11th 2009."

Damien was a superhero of the faith...why? Because he stood between the dead and the living. Because he was willing to put himself between the plague and the Hawaiian people. Because he was willing to make himself an atoning sacrifice for them in their condition.

Damien's work is nothing new. It began long before he was born. Long before even Jesus walked the earth. It began with a man named Aaron and a plague brought upon by God.

In the book of Number we read of such a plague. Here the whole congregation is rebelling against Moses for "killing the people of the Lord." They've assembled against Moses, ready to stone him, when a cloud covers the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord appears. And Moses says: "Get away from this congregation and make atonement for them. For wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun."

Now what does Moses and Aaron do in a time like this? Do they retreat from the congregation? Do they leave?

No... instead Aaron makes atonement for the people and stands "between the dead and the living." And, we are told, the plague stopped.

Now... what happened here? Why is this story of atonement in the book of Numbers? What could this mean anyway?

We might recognize this story, not as the story of Aaron, but as the story of Christ. Christ is the one now who stands between the living and the dead. Christ is our high priest who "is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."(Hebrews 7:25). Christ is the one who calms the wrath of God, who takes the plague on himself. Christ is our mediator.

Because we are followers of this one. Because we are followers of this Christ, we too stand beside him as he stands between life and death. We too can stand between the bully and those bullied, between the haters and those being hated. We too can stand up for those in need, giving ourselves and our own life to save them temporarily for we know that we have a savior who saves them eternally. We too can stand with Aaron against the wrath of God and say, "No! We love them! We claim them! And we won't condemn them to hell!"

We too can be like Jesus!

Thanks be to God, for his super-heroes who have followed in the footsteps of his Son, who have given of their own lives and their own hearts to save this world in need.

Almighty God, pour your Spirit upon us today that we may love and serve and care for others as you have. Give us the courage to stand between the living and the dead and join your Son there. Amen.

the church is in "an urgent situation" in which "the ELCA's leadership is overweight, inactive, depressed and, therefore, prone to diseases such as heart disease."  It placed the leaders' physical and emotional conditions in the context of declining church membership and fewer young leaders preparing to relieve them. - See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/4542#sthash.cEgQw21f.oO52g7wt.dpuf

the church is in "an urgent situation" in which "the ELCA's leadership is overweight, inactive, depressed and, therefore, prone to diseases such as heart disease."  It placed the leaders' physical and emotional conditions in the context of declining church membership and fewer young leaders preparing to relieve them. - See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/4542#sthash.cEgQw21f.oO52g7wt.dpuf

the church is in "an urgent situation" in which "the ELCA's leadership is overweight, inactive, depressed and, therefore, prone to diseases such as heart disease."  It placed the leaders' physical and emotional conditions in the context of declining church membership and fewer young leaders preparing to relieve them. - See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/4542#sthash.cEgQw21f.oO52g7wt.dpuf

the church is in "an urgent situation" in which "the ELCA's leadership is overweight, inactive, depressed and, therefore, prone to diseases such as heart disease."  It placed the leaders' physical and emotional conditions in the context of declining church membership and fewer young leaders preparing to relieve them. - See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/4542#sthash.cEgQw21f.oO52g7wt.dpuf

the church is in "an urgent situation" in which "the ELCA's leadership is overweight, inactive, depressed and, therefore, prone to diseases such as heart disease."  It placed the leaders' physical and emotional conditions in the context of declining church membership and fewer young leaders preparing to relieve them. - See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/4542#sthash.cEgQw21f.oO52g7wt.dpuf

the church is in "an urgent situation" in which "the ELCA's leadership is overweight, inactive, depressed and, therefore, prone to diseases such as heart disease."  It placed the leaders' physical and emotional conditions in the context of declining church membership and fewer young leaders preparing to relieve them. - See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/4542#sthash.cEgQw21f.oO52g7wt.dpuf

Who's "In Charge?"

"They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them,'You have gone too far!'" Num. 16:3

Who's "In Charge"??
By Rev. William Dohle

It's fascinating how our "current events" shape how we read the text.

As I write this, we are now a week past the day when the Supreme Court ruled that marriage was legal in all states between two of the same gender or two of different genders. No one can withhold a marriage from same-gender couples. And with the license came the legal rights it guarantees.

The reactions to this decision have been all over the place. Some praise the decision and celebrate what has been done. Others aren't quite as happy about it. Some would say that the courts were right in their decision making and had the power to do so. Others would argue that the courts have no power to decide what the states and the people should and shouldn't do.

At the heart of this debate is one central question...

Who's in charge??

Who has the authority to make decisions on who gets married and who doesn't? Who decides what the definition of "marriage" is anyhow??

Who's in charge of all of this??

That question isn't a new one. In fact, it's as old as the human race.

The people of Israel faced that same question too when a man by the name of Korah and two others, Dathan and Abiram, stood up against Moses and Aaron.

"You have gone too far," they said. "The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly?"(16:3)

Do these arguments sound familiar? They should! They're at the heart of every single debate over lately. First comes the accusation: "You've gone too far..." Then the argument: "The whole community is holy, every one, and the Lord is with them!" And finally what they want, "Why then do you set yourselves above us?" In other words... step down!

Why would Korah say such things? Why start this rebellion to begin with? Googling Korah's name reveals that Korah "claimed that since he too was a great-grandson of Levi he too should be allowed to draft Law."

In other words... Korah thought HE should be in charge and not Moses and Aaron.

So what does Moses do? Well... "In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy and he will have that person to come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him."(16:5)

After going back and forth, God finally makes this right by swallowing up Korah, Korah's men, and all their possessions in the ground. They are known as the ones who go down to Sheol alive!

Where is the answer in all of this? How does this help us decide who is in-charge?

Well... we don't have a heavenly sign like Moses did. Contrary to what some say, doom will not come upon our country because of this decision, any more than it has come upon other countries because they legalized gay marriage either. We are more likely to be punished for our lack of concern for the environment than we are for who we allow to marry whom.

So...without some heavenly sign...how do we determine who is right? Some would say that God's law is clear...but clear on what? God's law itself is up for interpretation. The Jewish holy book, the Talmud is a great illustration on how many questions and answers can be given exploring God's law. Volumes upon volumes have been written in commentary to the words found in the first five books of the Bible. But no clear answers. God doesn't give clear black and white answers. He begins a conversation.

So we can't get our answers from heavenly signs or from the Law itself... where will they come from?

Maybe there's something to be redeemed in Korah's statement. Korah himself is half-right. He says, "The whole community of God is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them." That is correct! The whole community of God is holy, every one of them. God is with us! Korah is correct here.

Korah's rebellion against Moses is wrong, but he is right in his reasoning.

We too might say that we are originally holy, every one of us, because we are made in God's image. Even when we factor sin into the equation we are left with a picture of uniqueness. Every one of us is unique and special and different. Therefore, we should not put ourselves over and against another person. We have no right to dictate the lifestyle of another. We have a right to stand against injustice and violence. We have the right to rescue the oppressed and liberate the captive, but we have no right to decide how other human being peacefully lives his or her own life. That isn't in our power.

Korah rebelled against this. Korah wanted to be law-giver. Will we? Will we stand with Moses and Aaron and trust the decisions made by others chosen by our society? Or will we rebel in our hearts against them?

Maybe its not about looking for God's answer in the heavens or even in the books of the law. Maybe it's our choice. As it was Korah's. Will we choose life? Or will we be swallowed up by death itself? Will we use what has been given us, the gentle rule of love that permeates scripture and faith, or will we get sucked into the details and become law givers ourselves?

The choice is ours to make...

Almighty God, your Spirit is alive in our world, bringing life. We thank you for the work that others do on our behalf. Help us accept their decisions and continue to work for justice. Amen.

Why we really don't listen...

"Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding...
She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her." Prov. 3:13,15

"Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." Matthew 26:52

Why we really don't listen...
By Rev. William Dohle
The world is united it seems. At least on Facebook.

This past week, my timeline has been covered by South Carolina. Everywhere I look there are prayers and petitions, cries for help and calls for action. Articles on gun control or on the value of such guns. Ignorant statements made by one politician or another. And even some heartwarming stories too.

More than anything else is the call for justice in our country and the call for awareness. If rascism hadn't a face before, it certainly has one now.

And as an ELCA Lutheran, I ponder this deeply. I wonder how the perpetrator could have been one of our own. What happened in this young man between Confirmation and that moment he started shooting? What was said to him as he went through Confirmation and at church? Did he go to services? What did he hear there? And what now should we say to our kids today? What should we tell them about all of this?

A piece of me places the blame on us. We Lutherans have been lax at raising up the goodness and the image of God in everyone, no matter what. Falling back into the "we're all sinners" creed, we forget that we are created by God in God's image. We are beloved by God. We are God's children, adopted into his family through Christ Jesus. We have a right and a duty to look for the good in other people. Even the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, and the imprisoned are reflections of Christ. What we do to them, we do to Christ. We have a duty to see each other, not as poor, miserable sinners, but as beloved children of a God willing to sacrifice everything to save us!

Part of me blames us.

And part of me blames our human nature. Let's face it, we are creatures that ignore warnings and consequences.

Take for instance, a little story from the book of Numbers. Numbers 15:32-36. Most of us probably ignore this passage since it's not a popular story and it doesn't fit in with what we know of the Bible, but this little tale speaks a warning. It speaks a warning to those who would break the Sabbath.

When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the sabbath day. Those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses, Aaron, and to the whole congregation. They put him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him outside the camp.” The whole congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. (Num. 15:32-36)

Now what do you notice about this story? It's a warning! A warning of what could happen to you should you break the Sabbath law. It's a rather graphic tale, one without a happy ending, but it serves its purpose, to tell you: If you break the Sabbath law, you will be stoned. If you break God's law, there will be consequences.

So... why don't we know this passage? Why don't we heed it? Maybe because we really don't believe these consequences will happen. We really don't follow its logic. Despite the text saying in no undercertain terms, "This action has a consequence." We don't believe it.

We're pretty stubborn creatures. Even when Jesus himself tells us, "Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.Those who live by the sword, die by the sword..." we still choose the sword and fill our homes with weapons that kill. We fight for our right to have weapons rather than look at what having those weapons actually does to us.

Why don't we listen? Why don't we change? Why don't we look at our culture that's obsessed with violence and put a stop to it?

Because we don't want to. Because it feels so good. Because maybe those consequences are avoidable. Maybe they're exaggerated. Maybe there is no consequence for our violent ways.

Or maybe it really is sin. Sin that has infected our souls and in lives. Sin that blinds us to our own participation in this culture of violence and death. Sin that divides and subdivides us.

I don't know who's to blame, but I know who's the answer. That answer is God. The God who doesn't leave us to wallow in our consequences. The God who rescues and saves us. The God who is the only hope of transforming our culture and rescuing us from this violent world. That God didn't stand idly by, but took the consequences of a culture obsessed with violence upon himself, suffering death, in order to bring us to a new creation, a new life.

In the wake of this tragedy and in so many others, I pray. May God open our eyes that we may see our participation in this culture of violence. May we be advocates of peace and justice in the world. May we see each other as Christ sees us. And may his kingdom come, here and now. For we need it, more than ever!

Holy God, we cannot imagine the pain that you endure as we blindly participate in our culture of death. Heal us, redeem us, and bring us to the kingdom where swords and guns are ground into plowshares. Amen.

The Most Repeated Command

You and the alien shall be alike before the Lord. Numbers 15:15

The Most Repeated Command
By Rev. William Dohle

"How many times do I have to tell you??"

Oh! Teenagers! My family has two of them in the house now. One just turned a teen and the other celebrated his second birthday as one and believe me...it strains the patience.

For instance...let's say you want them to do the chores that you have arranged for them to do. Countless times you have met with them and discussed exactly what they're to do and how they're to do it. They agree it needs to be done and agree that they shall do it. As you part ways, do you then sit back will they do it?

No!

Instead even after the lecture, they just sit there and stare at you. When you remind them, they say, "Oh sure..." or they groan and moan and then continue to sit there. Or they get up and look like they're going to do it, but they don't. Or they start doing it and get distracted and then leave the job. Or they never get up. Or...

Yeah, getting teenagers to work requires a whole lot of work and a whole LOT of repetition. "Do it...do it...do it...I said do it...if you don't then I'll..."

Shall adults be any different?

No. Adults need repetition too. And the most repeated things are usually the things God wants us to do most.

Of all the commandments in the Bible, there is one which is the most repeated. Rabbi Daniel Boggard often stumps his congregation with this one. The most repeated command isn't anything that we'd think it would be. It has nothing to do with the Ten Commandments or anything that we've ever memorized. No, the most repeated commandment concerns the alien residents among us and sounds something like this:

An alien who lives with you, or who takes up permanent residence among you, and wishes to offer an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord, shall do as you do. As for the assembly, there shall be for both you and the resident alien a single statute, a perpetual statute throughout all generations; you and the alien shall be alike before the Lord. You and the alien who resides with you shall have the same law and the same ordinance.(Num. 15:14-16)

The most repeated commandment is: Treat the alien resident with respect!

This may come as a shock to us given our culture's emphasis on other commandments, but God cares more for how we treat the outsider than he does for anything else! That's the commandment that he repeats over and over again. That's the one we read over and over again!

But why? Why repeat this? Why not repeat the commandment to love or the dietary laws or anything else?

Because, I believe, this is the one commandment that we ignore more than any other.

We're pretty good when it comes to loving our neighbor(as long as we can define that neighbor as the person we like). We're okay when it comes to not doing the things that destroy us(as long as we're not liking those too much either). We'll think about keeping God's name holy and worshiping only him.

But the resident alien? What?!

Think about America in the 21st century. How many God-fearing people quote all the other commandments but ignore the commandment that God gives the most times that says, "You and the alien shall be alike before the Lord?"  How often do we hear one Christian politician or another stand up to speak while showing no compassion to the illegal immigrant? How often have we seen hatred funneled to the "resident aliens" among us?

"Those illegal immigrants..." we say with disgust, as though being from another country in our country makes them somehow less than human.

God is clear "you and the alien shall be alike before the Lord." God doesn't look at our nationality. American or illegal immigrant to America are all the same to him. God doesn't care whether we speak English or not. He's doesn't say the pledge of allegiance. He doesn't salute our flag. God considers us all the same. American and Palestinian, Israeli and Saudi, Russian and German and Irish. All of us the same. There is no distinction.

If we claim to be a Christian nation, shouldn't we look to treating everyone equally, regardless of their nationality or language or creed? If we claim to follow the path God gave us, should we not look to this most repeated law of them all?

God reminds his people too why they're to treat the resident aliens this way. Later he says, "Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm..."(Deut. 5:15) In other words: Remember you were just like they are once.

And we were. Each and every one of us. Few people in America can claim not to originate from somewhere else. Our country was founded on immigration and an open door policy. So...why do these immigrants now consider themselves natives? Why do we shut out and shun people who are resident aliens now just as our ancestors were?

It's time we listen and respond. It's time to listen to what God is repeating to us over and over again. It's time to give the grace that has been given us. Let the Holy Spirit change our minds individually. Let him change our perspective on things and together, the mind of our country can be changed too.

God, we are all of us pilgrims on earth. Give us grace that we might see and love our fellow pilgrims whomever they might be. Amen.

While We Wait...

"After you come into the land to which I am bringing you..." Numbers 15:17

While We Wait...
By Rev. William Dohle

Waiting...is not my favorite thing in the world to do. Of all the gifts of the spirit(Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control), I find myself praying for patience most often. Usually my prayer is...

"Lord, give me patience RIGHT NOW!"

Waiting patiently doesn't come naturally to us today. In our world of instantaneous communication and instant messages, we abhor waiting. Think about the last text message you sent where you actually had to wait. Were you thinking to yourself... "Where are they?! What's taking so long to respond!?"  Sometimes I do.

Waiting is hard in the short-run. Imagine waiting for years. Worse than that, imagine waiting for a generation!  40 years to be exact!

That's how long the people of Israel were instructed to wait before entering into the Promised Land.  When God told them "...none of the people who have seen my glory and the signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness...shall see the land that I swore to give to their ancestors..."(Numbers 14:22)  he was telling them that there's going to be a VERY long wait before the promise comes.

So...what do the people do? They start dreaming with God of what that day will be like.

"When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, and you make an offering by fire to the Lord from the herd or from the flock..."(Numbers 15:1-2)

Now you might read this verse and those after it and think, "How boring! It's just more laws!" But these are no simple laws. They're dreams. Dreams of what the world will be like, not for them, but for their descendants! Remember, nobody who is hearing this will be alive to see the promised land. It's out of their reach. But that doesn't mean they can't dream!

And dream they do. Twice God says, "After you come into the land to which I am bringing you..." and twice God dreams with them what that day will be like.

What dreams do you have for the future? And are they out of your grasp?

There's a story about a man who was a stonemason at one of the great cathedrals in Europe. The cathedrals themselves took almost a generation to complete. Many of the workers who began the work never saw it to completion. This stonemason was asked once what he was building. He said, "A great cathedral. Can't you see it!?" He never lived to see the cathedral completed, but he could dream of what it would look like.

We too have promised lands beyond our reach. They are places and times that we'll never physically see. What will the world be like in 2100? What do we want it to look like? We may not be alive to see it, but that doesn't mean we can't dream of it. The seeds we plant today, the dreams and the plans we make, will be ripe then. Just as the people of Israel did as they waited to enter the promised land, we too can dream of the future, put down foundations for it today, and trust God with the rest.

For the God who brought us to the border of the Promise Land will see the next generation into it and beyond.

God of Promise and Dreams, we exist in just a tiny fraction of time and space. Give us vision to look beyond ourselves and to dream of what is to come. Amen.

Would You Intercede??

"But Moses said to the Lord, "Then the Egyptians will hear..." Numbers 14:13

Would You Intercede...Again?!
By Rev. William Dohle

If God took you aside and told you he was going to destroy America but save you and your family...what would you do??

Would you go along with God's plan? (After all, he is God after all!)
Would you negotiate with God? (Come on, God, do I have to bring ALL my family?)
Or... perhaps... just perhaps now...
Would you argue with God to save the whole lot of them??

And if God came to you a second time? Would you do the same? Would you have the guts to stand up to God if God made the same offer again? Or as many times as God offered it to you?

That's what happened to Moses...in the middle of the desert in fact!  The people of Israel have complained one too many times and God is sick of it! God offers Moses a way out. God will destroy the people and raise up Moses as a new nation.

God's already made the offer once. The first time was at Sinai when the people made the Golden Calf and began worshiping it instead of God. There God's anger rained down upon them...but Moses intervened.

Now in the wilderness, the same thing happens. Here God appears in front of the tent of meeting and tells Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they."(Num. 14:11-12)

Now what would you say to that?  Yes?  Go ahead, God? Maybe I was wrong to save them on the Mountain, God? Let's talk details, God, about this nation you're going to make of me?

I know many Christians in our world who would shake the dust off their feet, wash their hands of the whole mess, and say, "Go for it, God! I've been waiting for you to intervene like this for awhile!" Maybe not the first time God offers, but certainly the second time. I admit, I too have been tempted to wash my hands of the mess of the community of faith before. When people fight, when arguments arise, and when we wonder where God is in the messiness of life, then we too may want to give up.

But Moses doesn't. Moses, the righteous man of God, shows us what righteous men and women do. What do the righteous do? They stand up for the people, even against God himself! Even when the people are complaining against you and abusing you, Moses still stands up for them. Moses does it in two ways. First...he appeals to God's self-image.

"Now if you kill this people all at one time, then the nations who have heard about you will say, 'It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them that he has slaughtered them in the wilderness."(Num. 14:15)

What is Moses saying here? "What will they say about you in Egypt? What kind of God are you showing yourself to be?" In other words, Moses is appealing to who God wants to be. But who is that, you ask? Who is God? Well... Moses needs to remind God here of who God is too.

"And now, therefore, let the power of the Lord be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying, 'The Lord is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression...Forgive the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have pardoned this people, from Egypt until now.'"(Num. 14:18-19)

Reminding God of who God is, Moses appeals to the promises God has made. Promises on which he and the people stand. These promises tell them that God is not a God of wrath and anger, a God who strikes out at people for no good reason, but this God is a God who forgives, who is slow to anger and has steadfast love and faithfulness. This God is ready to relinquish in punishing. This God is good!

If we believe in this God, if we truly believe that God is this good, than we are not compelled to do the same? Are we not compelled to appeal to God on our people's behalf and intercede for them?

In our world today, we are polarized. Republicans against Democrats against Libertarians against Catholics against Protestants against Muslims against Jews against Palestinians against...ahh! The list goes on and on. Jump on Facebook sometime and read how many polarizing shares you get. People so desperately want us to agree with them too. "Share if you love Jesus..."... "Like if you think like I do..."..."Share and Like if you hate Obama!" Many of these posts and much of the media that is produced, isn't loving or forgiving the other side. It is mean and bitter and cruel, especially to those we disagree with.

What if we took a cue from Moses here? Instead of condemning the world, why not intercede on its behalf? God is good and gracious and merciful and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love...and everything he promises to be. Shouldn't we, God's followers, be the same?

God of life, give us boldness to stand up, even to you, just as Moses did, for your people. Give us hearts of grace that we may give ourselves this way, even as Jesus did for us. Amen.