Understanding about the loaves

• March 5th, 2008

“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.” (Mark 6:45-52, emphasis added)  In all the gospel accounts of Jesus walking on the water, Mark is the only one who includes this insight (underlined).  They were amazed that Jesus had authority over the wind and the sea.  Until now they had seen Jesus do some remarkable things, but never controlling the elements.  In Matthews account of this story, he adds that “those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:32)  This was such an amazing feat that because of it they received revelation that Jesus is the Son of God.  But Mark adds that they were amazed because they didn’t understand about the loaves and therefore their hearts were hardened.  There must be more to this miracle of the loaves that we need to understand, if the disciples lack of understanding caused their hearts to be hardened, wouldn’t it cause ours to be hardened too?

The disciples had not understood something which was key to their understanding and walking in the Kingdom of God.  This lack of understanding at the time, distorted their thinking and affected their interpretation of other things Jesus would say.  If we don’t understand about the loaves and the fishes, we too will be led astray in our thinking and our understanding of scripture.  After the disciples had witnessed two accounts of the multiplication of food, they still didn’t get it, but Jesus tried to connect the dots for them … “the disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” ”Twelve,” they replied. ”And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?“ (Mark 8:14-21)  The point Jesus is making is that our physical needs are not what should consume our thoughts, our Father in heaven knows what we need and will take care of everything.  In a land of plenty, where almost everyone has too much food, too many clothes and more home than they need, how is this relevant.  I believe Jesus was emphasizing a fundamental Kingdom principal, that of removing our thoughts from day-to-day concerns.  We need to be excellent in all that we do, in our work, in our home, in our finances, but we must not be consumed by them, and we must not find ourselves worrying about our physical needs.  How much of our thoughts turn to finances, retirement, our home (or our next home), our cars (or our next car), to clothing.  Jesus is saying that these things are non-issues, we have the Father’s business to take care of.

There were many other illustrations Jesus gave his disciples so they could remove themselves from worldly concerns.  When the disciples were asked to pay their temple tax, Jesus didn’t think that they should, but so that they didn’t offend the temple officials, he told Peter to “go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” (Matthew 17:27) Do you find yourself complaining about the taxes you’re paying?

It’s not about becoming careless, but become careful of the right things, so the Father will care of the other things.  After all, it’s “the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant” (Deuteronomy 8:18)

Jesus is so clear about our being removed from worldly concerns, that until we do our faith remains little, “and why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?“ (Matthew 6:28, emphasis added)  Again in the same chapter, Jesus says that it’s the unbelievers who set the minds on these things.

If our thoughts are not intended to dwell on material needs, where should we find our thoughts?  The author of Colossians writes, “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2) What are the things from above that we can set our thoughts upon? “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” (Romans 14:17)  There is much to be said about where our thoughts should be, on righteousness, peace, joy, on thanksgiving, on praises, on prayers and intercessions.  These are the Fathers business.  We are in this world, but not of it, not meaning that we’re fools in the world, but that we’re Joseph and Daniel to the world because we have a strength and wisdom far beyond our own.  Daniel was recognized as being a man, but that the spirits of the Gods was in him, and so too it will be with us.

Walking blameless before our God

• February 22nd, 2008

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless“” (Genesis 17:1, emphasis added)

What a high calling God had given to Abram, to be without blame.  Does being without blame, mean being without sin?  Should we strive to walk to the same standard?  Can we walk before Him and be blameless?

Although David lived before Christ, he knew of the coming of the Messiah, and he knew what it was to be blameless.  It can’t be the same as being sinless, for there is only one man without sin, David even writes about the extents of his transgressions, “O LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.” (Psalm 25:11)  Like all of us, he was a man of unclean hands and lips, even so in the very next Psalm he says, “Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.” (Psalm 26:1, emphasis added) David acknowledges the greatness of his sin, but he also declares himself blameless before God, which he explains as having “trusted in the LORD without wavering.”  David’s trust in God never faultered.  Through everything he had been through he believed God.  In the sight of God, our trust “is far more valuable than perishable gold.” (1 Peter 1:7) Our sin has been paid for, our guilt as been atoned for… “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (1 John 1:9) What God wants is for us to be blamess, to live a life of complete trust in Him.  This is what our life on earth is about, it’s about trusting Him; it’s for this very reason we experience trials and tribulations; it’s for this very reason that when God could (and wants to) give us happiness, prosperity, health and more, he holds back so that our trust in Him can come to it’s fullness.

It is our trust that makes us clean before God, as Paul wrote “for I am not ashamed of the Good News, since it’s God’s powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who keeps on trusting, to the Jew especially, but equally to the Gentile.  For in it is revealed how God makes people righteous in his site; and from the beginning to the end it is through trust - as the Tanakh [Law] puts it, “But the person who is righteous will live his life by trust.”" (Romans 1:17)  God considers us clean before him through our trusting in our Savior, but even in the Old Testament, the trust of the ancients is what made them clean.  The trust of the ancients was and is highly regarded, they walked out lives of unwavering trust that I believe will be restored amongst His people.

For an example let’s take a look at the life Abram in Genesis 12. 

• “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. ”I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:1) Abram was to leave everything he knew, and to leave for some unknown place, that God would show him.  The only thing he knows is that his name would be made great and that he would be a blessing.  There were no specifics.  Are we willing to follow God into the unknown without any specifics?
• “Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:6-7)  God did not inform Abram of the Canaanites that were already occupying this land, and these were a nation of giants.  God tells him that this is it, this is the place I have for you.  Not only is the land already occupied by giants, but God tells Abram that his offspring will inherit this land.  At the time Abram was 75 years old, and without any children.
• When Abram’s descedants (probably around 500 years later) went to check out the land they found that a cluster of grapes was so large, it needed to be carried on a pole by two people, they said the land indeed flowed with milk and honey (Numbers 13), but this was not what Abram saw.  In fact, “there was a famine in the land, so Abram went down into Egypt to stay there, because the famine in the land was severe.” (Genesis 12:10)

It’s no wonder the Jewish nation considers Abraham the “Father of their faith,” he was a remarkable man, blameless before God.  One of the challenges I think we face is that when God gives us a promise and we face adversity, we immediately doubt the promise.  Our trust in Him wavers.  Building our trust is what Jesus is doing through us, He is “the author and perfecter of our faith,” (Hebrews 12:2) and will “present you before his glorious presence without fault” (Jude 1:24).

One of the characteristics of walking blameless before God is that our heart remains steady, David writes, “He [the righteous] will not be frightened by bad news; he remains steady, trusting in ADONAI [the LORD].  His heart is set firm, he will not be afraid, till finally he looks in triumph at his enemies.” (Psalm 112:7-8) When our trust is unwavering, bad news is only an opportunity for our trust to grow and God’s power to be revealed.  Perhaps my favorite account of a steady heart is that of Moses when himself and the entire nation of Israel (just the men alone totalled 600,000) were pursued by Pharaoh’s army and chariots on one side, and trapped by the red sea on the other.  Moses told the people, “Stop being so fearful!  Remain steady, and you will see how ADONAI [the Lord] is going to save you.” (Exodus 14:13) God did save them, he parted the sea so they could cross over on dry ground.

“Why do you put the LORD to the test?”

• January 27th, 2008

“The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.  So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?“ (Exodus 17:1, Emphasis mine)

It’s an interesting reply that Moses gave them… “Why do you put the LORD to the test?”  They were without water, and they were thirsty, and they did ask God through Moses to provide for them.  In what way were they testing the Lord?  Many years later (almost 38 years), just before the Israelites were going to cross over into the Promised Land, Moses reminded them of all God had taught them, and he reminded them of this incident, “Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah.” (Deuteronomy 6:16) Just after Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit, before entering into His 3 year ministry, he was lead into the desert we he was tested by the adversary.  Jesus had to pass a similar test when the Adversary took him to the top of the holy city and setting him on the highest point asked Him to jump so that Heavens angels would catch Him.  Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:7) If both Jesus and the Israelites were required to pass this test before entering into the fullness of what God had called them, we too will need to pass this test before entering into the fullness of all God has called us to.

What is this test really about?

Reading a little further on in Exodus, “But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”" (Exodus 17:3) Here we see that their request for water was rooted in deeper concerns.  Their concerns for their life.  They so doubted Gods promise and plan that when they looked at the severity of the circumstance around them, their hearts failed them and they came to doubt the God who had just parted the Red Sea, who had just wiped out the Egyptian military, and with ten incredible plagues, set them free from a life of slavery which they had come to know for almost 400 years.  Still they doubted God’s promise, and out of this doubt came their request for water.  They needed God to change their circumstance so they could trust His promise, if God provided water, perhaps then they would come to trust Him.  Isaiah wrote of these people, saying, “they say, “We want God to speed up his work, to hurry it along, so we can see it!  We want the Holy One of Israel’s plan to come true right now, so we can be sure of it!”" (Isaiah 5:19)

If God gave them what they asked for, would they trust him then?  David the Psalmist said of them, “but they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.  They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved. (19) They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the desert? (20) When he struck the rock, water gushed out, and streams flowed abundantly. But can he also give us food? Can he supply meat for his people?”" (Psalm 78:17-20)  When God delivered them from slavery, still they doubted, when God parted the Red Sea and swallowed up their enemies, still they doubted, when God provided water from a rock, still they doubted, when God provided bread from heaven, still they doubted, and when God provided meat, they still doubted.  They tested God ten times in the desert and continued to doubt His faithfulness and His provision.

Contrast the trust of the Israelites to that of their forefather, Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice His only son (Genesis 22:1-18), his son of promise which he his wife Sarah had born to him when he was 100 years of age.  Abraham did not doubt God as he packed the firewood but no sacrifice, and when his son asked his only response was that God would provide.  The angel of the Lord stopped Abraham just before harming his son and provided a ram caught in the bushes for the sacrifice.

Gods love for us cannot be determined by our circumstance

We run the risk of putting our God to the test when we determine God’s love for us by looking at our circumstance.  We must look at our circumstance through His Love.  The book of James puts it this way, “Regard it all as joy, my brothers, when you face various kinds of temptations; for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance.  But let your perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4)  God is interested in our happiness, and it’s true that he does want the best for us, even on earth, however, more important than us being happy is that we be found having trust.  To God our trust is worth far more than pure gold, “even gold is tested for genuineness by fire.  The purpose of these trials is so that your trust’s genuiness, which is far more valuable than perishable gold, will be judged worthy of praise, glory and honor at the revealing of Jesus the Messiah.” (1 Peter 1:7)

The bible has many accounts of those called by God and as a result faced great opposition, it was this opposition when endured with faith that established the promise.  When Abraham had not withheld his only son, God said, “that because you have done this, because you haven’t withheld your son, your only son.  I will most certainly bless you; and I will most certainly increase your descendents to as many as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the seashore.” (Genesis 22:16b-17)

Conclusion

Before we will enter into the fullness of what God has called us to, we will need to pass the same tests the Israelites did during the wilderness, one of which is learning not to put our God to the test by doubting His love and faithfullness for us.  When God gives us an assignment, there will be opposition.  God will not always seem near to us either, but we must come to trust Him even when he seems distant.  When the Israelites wandered the desert facing their trials and the harshness of the desert, “There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” (Deuteronomy 1:31) We may not see God carrying us through our trials, but He is there not only helping us, but carrying us.  “Who among you fears ADONAI?  Who obeys what his servant says?  Even when he walks in the dark, without any light, he will trust in ADONAI’s reputation and rely on his God.” (Isaiah 50:10)

Gentleness and humility

• August 26th, 2007

Two Pathways to Humility - Part 2

• December 23rd, 2006

By far the easiest and least painful path to humility is to obey His Word, in order to obey we must first meditating on His Word (Joshua 1:8). The second path to humility, is to disobey, and (by default) take the road of hard work, it takes much longer, you may reach the point of exasperation, but you will come out humble and obeying His Word. During the time of hard work, the Lord would say, “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I am calling you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the water, I will be with you; when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched - the flame will not burn you.” (Isaiah 43:1b-2)
When we have decided, or learnt to be prompt-to-do-it obeyers of His Word, God is able to lavish us with His love and demonstrate His power in our lives, without us forgetting him. Although the Promised Land, is everything we hoped it would be, and more, there are some pitfalls we must avoid them if we want to remain dependent on Him, the true source of life.

The Risk of Satisfaction
As strange as it seems, we are at great risk when we are satisfied, throughout scripture we find stories of those who went before us and fell to the pride of life. When God’s people were in the desert, “they were fed, they were satisfied; when satisfied, they became proud. Therefore they forgot me.” (Hosea 13:6) The Father wants us to prosper, to be satisfied, and to wear fine clothing, so that we can make a name for Him on the earth. He has chosen us and loves us enough to withhold prosperity if it would lead us astray. He led you through your desert experience, “humbling and testing you in order to do good in the end - you will think to yourself, ‘My own power and the strength of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’” (Deuteronomy 8:16b-17) The Father has taken great care in preparing us for our calling, Joseph was humbled for fourteen years before he was ready for a life of prosperity and fame. God made us to cling to Him, and when we are satisfied, He wants us to continue to cling to Him, perhaps even more. Moses reminded the people before they were going to enter the Promised Land of their human tendencies, “Be careful not to forget ADONAI your God by not obeying his mitzvot [commands], rulings and regulations that I am giving you today. Otherwise, after you have eaten and are satisfied, built fine houses and lived in them, and increased your heards, flocks, silver, gold and everything else you own, you will become proud-hearted. Forgetting ADONAI your God - who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 8:11-14a, emphasis added)

Of the prince of Tzor, God had said, “Sure, you are wiser than Daniel! No secret can be hidden from you! By your wisdom and discernment you have acquired wealth, you have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and it is because of your wealth that you have become so proud.” (Ezekiel 28:3-5, emphasis added)

And of the Jerusalem, God had said, “I also clothed you with an embroidered gown, gave you fine leather sandals to wear, put a fine linen headband on your head and covered you with silk. I gave you jewelry to wear, bracelets for your hands, a necklace for your neck, a ring for your nose, earings for your ears and a beautiful crown for your head. Thus you were decked in gold and silver, your clothing was fine linen, silk and richly embroidered cloth; you ate the finest flour, honey and olive oil. You grew increasingly beautiful - you were fit to be queen. Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, because it was perfect due to my having bestowed my own splendor on you’ says ADONAI ELOHIM. “But you put your trust in your own beauty and began prostituting yourself because of your fame, soliciting everyone passing by and accepting all comers.” (Ezekiel 16:10-15)

The Father takes a risk when he pours out His blessing on us, when we are satisfied we might forget him, when we become famous and wealthy we might trust in the fame and the wealth instead of in Him who gave it all to us. He longs to love us lavishly, he longs to use us to demonstrate His power and glory. Jesus talked about this risk too, “Yeshua looked around and said to his talmidim [disciples], “How hard it is going to be for people with wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!” The talmidim were astounded at these words; but Yeshua said to them again, “My friends, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It’s easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” They were utterly amazed and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” yeshua looked at them and said, “Humanly it is impossible, but not with God; with God, everything is possible.”" (Mark 10:23-27) It is so hard to cling to Him when we’re wealthy that Jesus described it as being easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. The only way to enter the Kindgom of God and be wealthy is by the grace of God. It’s good to believe God for His Promises, but we must “seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) Do we really want prosperity at the cost of our relationship?

The prosperity message has been strong over the years, and while this is what the Father wants for us, we need to be careful not to “imagine that religion is a road to riches.” (2 Timothy 6:5b) Our relationship with Him is not to attain prosperity, but to cling to him, to live in His Presence and do His will. Paul continued to write, “Now true religion does bring great riches, but only to those who are content with what they have. For we have brought nothing into the world; and we can take nothing out of it; so if we have food and clothing, we will be satisfied with these. Furthermore, those whose goal is to be rich fall into temptation; they get trapped in many foolish and hurtful ambitions which plunge them into ruin and destruction.” (1 Timothy 6:6-9)

We need to have the heart of David who said, “I rejoice in your instruction more than any kind of wealth.” (Psalms 119:14) and prayed, “Bend my heart toward your instructions and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; with your ways give me life.” (Psalm 119:36) David talked about his road to humility through his own personal desert experience, “It is for my good that I have been humbled it was so that I would learn your laws. The Torah you have spoken means more to me than a fortune in gold and silver.” (Psalm 119:71)

Remaining humble in the Promised Land
In due time, we will enter the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey. God will prosper us in ways I don’t even think we can imagine all because of His love for us and that we would bring Him glory, but in being satisfied we want to remain humble. God gave the people of Israel clear advice on remaining humble even in the midst of prosperity.

1. Remember the Lord your God and obey His instructions. The humility that came by hard work or obeying His Word needs to be continued. We must meditate on His Word and obey. When Joshua was about to enter the Promised Land, God said to him, “Yes, keep this book of the Torah on your lips, and meditate on it day and night, so that you will take care to act according to everything written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper, and you will succeed.” (Joshua 1:8) God also warned the people before they entered the promised Land, “Be careful not to forget ADONAI your God by not obeying his mitzvot [commands], rulings and regulations that I am giving you today. Otherwise, after you have eaten and are satisfied, built fine houses and lived in them, and increased your heards, flocks, silver, gold and everything else you own, you will become proud-hearted.” (Deuteronomy 8:11-18)

2. Remember from where you came. In the book of Ezekiel, God describes in one chapter his relationship with Jerusalem, how he found them, how he blessed them and how they forgot him. We were in the same condition when we were found, “I Passed by and saw you there, wallowing in your own blood; and as you lay in your blood I said to you, “Live!” Yes, I said to you, as you lay in your blood, “Live! I will increase your numbers just like plants growing in the field.” And you did increase, you developed, you reached puberty, your breasts appeared, and your hair grew long; but you were naked and exposed. Again I passed by you, looked at you and saw that your time had come, the time for love.” (Ezekiel 16:6-8) After which God describes how he made her beautiful, clothed her (See Ezekiel 16:10-15 quoted above). After she had fallen into pride, God said to her, “In all your disgusting practices and fornications you never remembered the condition you were in when you were young - naked, exposed and wallowing in your own blood.” (Ezekiel 16:22) One of the keys to remaining humble through the wealth, prosperity and fame is to remember from where we came, when we remember where we came from we also remember that it was Him who brought us into this place. In the Allegory of Ezekiel, God also said, “Because you didn’t remember the condition you were in when you were young, but enraged me with all these things, therefor I will bring the consequences of your ways on your own head’ says ADONAI ELOHIM.” (Ezekiel 16:43)

3. Remember His deeds. Remembering where we came from is important, and remembering the miracles He has done for you in bringing you to the place you are on the other side of the Jordan will also keep us clinging to Him. Of the Israelites God said, “Then they believed his words, and they sang his praise. But soon they forgot his deeds and wouldn’t wait for his counsel.” (Psalm 106:12-13) We can also use this as a test, if we find that we are no longer waiting for His counsel, we have forgotten what he has done for us. “They forgot God, who had saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, wonders in the land of Ham, fearsome deeds by the Sea of Suf.” (Psalm 106:21-22)

4. Teach your children. Afther the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, they humble, devout followers of God’s Word, they remembered the miracles he had performed, remembered where they had came from and meditated on His Word, but they did not teach their children. The blessings of the Father lasted only a single generation because “when that entire generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation arose that knew neither ADONAI nor the work he had done for Israel. Then the poeple of Israel did what was evil from ADONAI’s perspective and served baal.” (Judges 2:10-11)

5. Praise Him. “These curses will be on you and your descendents as a sign and a wonder forever. Because you didn’t serve ADONAI your God with joy and gladness in your hearts when you had such an abundance of everything.” (Deuteronomy 28:46-47) “Keep on being filled with the Spirit - sing pslams, hymns and spiritual songs to each other, sing to the Lord and make music in your heart to him; always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.” (Eph 5:18b-19)

The time is coming, when we will be humble, prompt-to-do-it obeyers of His Word, the time of love will also come when the Father will take us into the Promised Land, let us be faithful and continue to be humble esteeming His word above any kind of earthly things. Let us obey His Word, remember where we came from, remember and journal the miracles he has done for us so that we can praise Him and teach our children of the awesome things he has done. Praise be to the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Troy Dalldorf

All scriptures are taken from “The Complete Jewish Bible”.

Two Pathways to Humility - Part 1

• December 17th, 2006

The scriptural definition of humility could be summed up as “prompt-to-do-it obedience to God’s Word.” For those whom he has called and chosen, He requires of us, humility.

In the beginning…
Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden and given a couple of commands (God’s Word), “ADONAI, God, tool the person and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it. ADONAI, God, gave the person this order: “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it, because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die.” (Genesis 2:15-17). So basically, two instructions, the first being to look after the garden and the second to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Before they disobeyed, Adam and Eve were completely humble, they obeyed God completely and the garden yielded an abundance of fruit with only a little effort required on their part. After they had disobeyed, Adam was cursed with hard work, “…the ground is cursed on your account, you will work hard to eat from it as long as you live. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat field plants. You will eat bread by the sweat of your forehead till you return to the ground.” (Genesis 3:17-19) What was required of Adam and Eve was humility, they could choose to obey God and receive humility by their obedience, or disobey and attain humility through hard work.

The two pathways to humility
God delivers us from problems, from hurts, from addictions, from pain, from financial difficulties, family problems. Sometimes God pours out His power and in minutes or hours our circumstances have changed, but there are times when everything seems like an uphill battle, we may even begin to doubt that God has given us a situation we can handle (1 Cor 10:13), it all seems so difficult. As time passes on and we look back on our lives, we see the handiwork of God, we are being changed from glory to glory, we are being transformed to His likeness. These two paths to the same result can most often be explained by the two pathways to humility: meditating on His Word and obeying, or hard work.

David said in the Psalms, “Before I was humbled I used to go astray, but now I observe Your Word.” (Psalm 119:67) David, in this verse separates his life into two parts, before he was humbled, and after he was humbled. The difference between the two was in going astray. Even although he loved God, he went astray, working hard to learn God’s ways which would lead Him to humility. God’s Word teaches us His ways, if you “keep this book of the Torah on your lips, and meditate on it day and night, so that you will take care to act according to everything written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper and you will succeed.” (Joshua 1:8) The progression is interesting, if we saturate ourselves in His Word, we will take care to obey everything written in it. This is humility, complete prompt-to-do-it obedience to His Word.
We can also choose the alternate path, which is an inherent choice when we disobey His Word. Once we have gone astray, we learn God’s ways by working hard and facing difficulties. The people of God were tested in the desert to learn their humility. After their hard work, Moses explained to them what was happening in the hearts, “You are to remember everything of the way in which ADONAI led you these forty years in the desert, humbling and testing you in order to know what was in your heart - whether you would obey his commands or not. He humbled you, allowing you to become hungry, and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, to make you understand that a person does not live on food alone but on everything that comes from the mouth of ADONAI.” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, emphasis added) The desert road was a choice selected by disobedience. Because God loved them so much, he let them learn His ways their way. We don’t have to meditate on the Scriptures to learn His ways, He will teach us by paths of hard work. If you think you don’t have time each day to spend in His Word and in His presence, you have been deceived, honestly, the path of hard work is very hard and takes very long. We will do well to learn from the desert journey.

A lesson from the desert
The journey of Israel serves as an excellent example for us. Most of the times, I find I learn best by how not to do things (this is also due to my lack of humility), but let’s at least learn from others lack of humility. God’s plan was to bring the Israelites from Egypt, to Mount Sinai where they received the Word of God which they were to obey, humbling them, and then straight ahead into the Promised Land.

God described the Promised Land (after it had been conquered) in this way, “I sent the hornets ahead of you, driving them out from ahead of you, the two kings of the Emori - it wasn’t by your sword or your bow. Then I gave you a land where you had not worked and cities you had not built, and you live there. You eat fruit from vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” (Joshua 24:12-13) The scriptures are clear about God’s plans for us, not being a life of hard work. God intended us to work, but with supernatural success. The wicked worked at accumulating wealth, building cities, cultivating the lands, the humble just took over. What God had promised was truly amazing, His people would live a life not too different from that originally planned for Adam and Eve.

When the twelve spies returned with their report (Numbers 13) and “the people of Israel cried out in dismay and wept all night long.” (Numbers 14:1) Joshua and Caleb who were the only two with a positive report, believing God’s Word and ready to obey. Of Joshua it is was written, “Joshua the son of Nun was full of the Spirit of wisdom” (Deuteronomy 34:9). Joshua was already full of the Word of God, he used to linger in the Tent of Meeting after Moses had left, because he meditated on God’s Word, he also obeyed God’s Word, this was not so for the rest of Israel, they chose the path of disobediance, causing everyone to go astray for forty years.

God’s chosen people learnt His ways their way, the roamed the desert learning humility, “So He humbled their hearts by hard labor; when they stumbled, no one came to their aid.” (Psalms 107:12). Here are a few excerpts that describe life in the desert:

• “They wandered in the desert, on paths through the wastes, without finding any inhabited city. They were hungry and thirsty, their life was ebbing away.” (Psalm 107:4-5)
• “Some lived in darkness, in death-dark gloom, bound in misery and iron chains” (Psalm 107:10)
• “vast and fearsome desert, with it’s poisonous snakes, scorpions and waterless, thirsty ground” (Deuteronomy 8:15)

After forty years, their hearts had been tested, they were prompt-to-do-it obeyers of His Word. Moses reminded them of the lessons learned in the desert, “You are to remember everything of the way in which ADONAI led you these forty years in the desert, humbling and testing you in order to know what was in your heart - whether you would obey his commands or not. He humbled you, allowing you to become hungry, and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, to make you understand that a person does not live on food alone but on everything that comes from the mouth of ADONAI. During these forty years the clothing you were wearing didn’t grow old, and your feet didn’t swell up. Think deeply about it: ADONAI was disciplining you, just as a man disciplines his child.” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, emphasis added) They had arrived at the place of humility, of dependence on the God’s Word. They were now ready to cross the Jordan river into the Promised Land.

Why humility?
We can see that God requires humility of us, and that our accomplishing what God has called us to on earth is completely dependent on humility, but is this simply to live a life devoid of hard work? God’s plan is to save the nations of the earth.  “He will give a signal to faraway nations, he will whistle for them to come from the ends of the earth; and here they come, so fast!” (Isaiah 5:26) God wants to see all the nations of the earth return to Him, but His plan is to pick the weakest among us and demonstrate His power in us, “for the eyes of ADONAI move here and there throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of those who are wholehearted toward him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9) God chooses us because we are “the fewest of all the peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7), and then shows himself strong on our behalf so that the whole world will know the glory of the Lord. God said just before the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, “As for me, I will make the Egyptians hardhearted; and they will march in after them; thus I will win glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, chariots, and cavalry. Then the Egyptians will realize that I am ADONAI” (Exodus 14:17-18a)

God wants to use us powerfully, demonstrating His power in our lives so that the whole earth can be saved. The truth is that when he demonstrates this kind of power through us, our hearts become proud and we forget God. “When they were fed, they were satisfied, they became proud. Therefore they forget me.” (Hosea 13:6) The very promise God offers, the very tools needed to save the whole earth are the same ones that cause us to become proud and forget Him. He loves us so much that He will lift His blessing in order that we may be humbled.  We can choose to immerse ourselves in Him, in His Word and in His Presence and be humbled, or he will discipline us in desert-like experiences and test our hearts so that we can be ready to be used by Him and for His glory!