The Slaughter of the Midianites - Numbers 31

The Bible is quite violent. Any one reading a-Bible-through-a-year plan knows this, thus the blog posts have been a bit intense lately. Yesterday I read about the slaughter of the Midianites, in Numbers 31, where during Israel's conquest into their inheritance--the Promised Land--God directed them to kill every male, every male child, and every woman who was not a virgin of the people of Midian. This, according to Holy Scripture, was a war of the execution of "the Lord's vengeance on Midian" (31:3). God through Israel was judging the nations, specifically, the nation of Midian.

Why? Well, one of the reasons God gives, is because of the sin of Peor where the Israelites "play[ed] the harlot with the daughters of Moab" because "they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods" (Numbers 25:1-2). This made God angry, because God hates idolatry. He hates that which is elevated above Himself, and He hates it when His people bow down to false gods. Israel, in fact, spared the women, but God would have none of it, and would only spare the "girls who have not known man intimately" (31:18).

Let's be honest, to put it mildly, seems a bit drastic doesn't it? Yes, it is drastic. It is severe. It is extreme. It is so, because God is holy and He is just.

Why did God do this and yet spare so many other evil nations throughout history? I do not know; but it is a lesson, and not just a metaphor, because this really happened--sword and screams--and all that goes with it, but I know from this story, from this happening, that God is holy, righteous, and an avenger of His own Name.

Christopher Wright tells us how to read this difficult story:

"I have to read the conquest in the light of the cross...when I do set it in the light of the cross, I see one more perspective. For the cross too involved the most horrific and evil human violence, which, at the same time, also constitututed the outpouring of God's judgment on human sin. The crucial difference, of course, is that, whereas at the conquest, God poured out his judgment on a wicked society who deserved it, at the cross God bore on himself the judgment of God on human wickedness, through the person of his own sinless Son--who deserved it not one bit." The God I Do Not Understand, 107.

Maybe one of the reasons why you and I turn away from the slaughter of Midian and mostly choose to ignore these types of passages is because we are the Midianites. We are the idolatres. We too deserve God's judgment.

Maybe we ignore these kind of stories, because our view of the cross is too small. We see the cross-event as a nice picture of God's love and forget that it is the culminating point of God's great wrath and His triumphing love. Sin is judged at the cross and it is judged in horrifying violence upon one perfectly innocent. We are stunned at the fact that God wouldn't spare the idolatrous Midianite women, but the cross should stun us more--God would not spare His own innocent Son, but instead gave Him up. The Midianites weren't innocent. Jesus was and is, yet the son of God died a violent and Godforsaken death, in the place of sinnners so sinners would never face the judgment of God.

Read the slaughter of Midian in light of the slaughter of the son of God.

What the Selah!

Eugene Peterson, one of the best living Christian wordsmiths, offers this humorous take on the meaning of Selah--an oft repeated word in the Psalms--of which biblical scholars still can't figure out the meaning:

"Lacking a clear consensus from the scholars I have felt free to offer the less scholarly but more entertaining suggestion that Selah is a Philistine expletive that David learned during those hard years when he was banished from Saul's court and knocking around with ruffians and outlaws in the wilderness. He used it whenever he broke a string on his harp." Answering God, 148.

I like it.

Selah.

Spirit & the Word - Calvin's Institutes 5

John Calvin: 

"But I answer, that the testimony of the Spirit is superior to reason.  For as God alone can properly bear witness to his own words, so these words will not obtain full credit in the hearts of men, until they are sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit.  The same Spirit, therefore, who spoke by the mouth of the prophets, must penetrate our hearts, in order to convince us that they faithfully delievered the message with which they were divinely intrusted...the only true faith is that which the Spirit of God seals on our hearts."  Institutes of Christian Religion, Vol. I, 72-73.

Awkward Conversations with a Father-in-Law

Jacob the patriarch's conversation with his to be Father-in-law Laban:

"Then Jacob said to Laban, 'Give me my wife, for my time is completed, that I may go in to her.'" Gen. 29:21

A Good Verse for the Eve of a New Year

Go Read Psalm 90.

A reality check as a pathway to wisdom:

"The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away...So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

A prayer:

"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes establish the work of our hands!"

Reading the Bible (and Calvin) in a Year & Other Links

Have you ever wanted to read a Christian theological classic?  Probably not. Why not try it?  The gentlemen over at ref21 offer a 2009 reading schedule for John Calvin's Institutes of Christian Religion, which is considered one of the greatest books in Christian history.  I am looking forward to doing it this year.  

NFL has some good games this weekend: Favre vs. Pennington, Chargers vs. Broncos.  Chargers are lucky to be in that position, but they have played well down the stretch.  Most other divisions and they wouldn't stand a chance for the playoffs, but weak division ='s a fighter's chance for the playoffs.  Pennington's old team kicked him out for Favre, and now it comes down to a must win for each team for the playoffs.  Favre's Jet's have choked as of late, and Parcell's dolphins have played much better this year with Pennington at the helm.  There are many more great games Sunday as well...

Trueman, again, this time on the economy and idolatry.  That is a must read.

Thinking about a Bible reading plan for next year?  Here are a few recommendations I have enjoyed in the past: Robert Murray McCheyne's has a great plan for reading the OT once and the NT twice, yet requires much committment to stay on plan; the Discipleship Journal plan, recommended by Pastor John Piper, is a good one and helps one finish the Bible in a year without as much reading.  

A few others I haven't tried that look interesting is: A 61 day chronological plan which traces key events and people throughout biblical history.  That looks like a solid one to get a good sweeping view of the Bible.  It could be a great one for mothers with kids who have a hard time committing to the entire Bible in a year or a good one for those who struggle reading the Bible and just want to start somewhere.  One should be able to nail 61 days out of 365, right?  What about a Bible reading plan with the Apocrypha?  Now, I hesitate to call that a Bible reading plan at all, but if you are interested in some other literature held to be of historical importance to Jewish people and held to be inspired by Roman Catholics--give that a shot.  However, the Apocrypha is not canonical and should never be read in the same way as God's Word inspired by the Holy Spirit, rather it should be read carefully and critically just like any other fallible text.

Meaninglessness is the Mother of Meaning

In light of the Book of Ecclesiasties, under the fear of God, the following is true:

"...meaninglessness is the mother of meaning: enjoy life while you can." (Dr. Bruce Waltke, An Old Testament Theology, 961)

Don't Waste A Funeral

"It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will lay it to heart."  Eccl. 7:2

Don't Pray So Much!

"Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is heaven and you are on earth.  Therefore let your words be few."  Eccl. 5:2

A Comprehensive Prayer

A wonderful prayer to start one's day out with:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer." Ps. 19:14

I love the comprehensiveness of the prayer: covering the "abundance of one's heart," and the mouth that displays it.

What a great thing to pray for. Can you imagine if for just an hour both your words and meditations were acceptable to God?

Maybe one of the reasons it is not so is because we do not ask for it to be so.

Happy Valentines Day

This is a very good Valentine's day verse, and one that is striking in the way in which it is said:

"Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God." Joshua 23:11

Be careful to love God.