Reflecting His Image

On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather (manna), but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 16:27–30)

God's Word is clear that God created people in His image. That signifies that we reflect that image or echo or display it. Of course sin mars it and doing our own thing replaces it. 

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

By the gift of redemption through the death of His Son, and by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, it is possible to be like Him.

. . . .  let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43–48)

How is that possible? Only because God knows our hearts and needs. He knows how to make life a classroom. Our challenge is to listen and obey as He works: 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

As for the Sabbath, think of this as imitating God. He wasn’t tired and needed a nap every seventh day, but to be like Him, I am to stop the regular activities of life and totally trust Him for my needs that one day — which is another classroom. In keeping this command, He teaches me to trust Him for other things, even all things, even all day. Far too often, it is this inner nagging that says “I must get this done” that keeps me from doing the will of God, the inner nagging that comes from sin that rises up and is full of ideas that reflect my desires rather than the will of God.

Yes, Sabbath is a physical rest, but as the NT brings out, it points to resting in Christ, trusting Him in every area of life. The Gospel declares it and the Sabbath is the place to start learning it.

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:8–11)

Jesus, most teaching on Sabbath rest can be the extreme of doing nothing that involves physical effort, or even fun, or just doing something different, or napping, or other visible activities. I can see now that it is a classroom where You want to teach me to fully trust You for everything rather than having this DIY mentality. It is a learning curve to stop my efforts to be like You and instead trust You with the transformation. I could say more but can only think how badly I want to be a more faithful student who cares deeply that I reflect You to this dark world.

 

Constantly tested?

Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” (Exodus 15:22–26)

This bout with illness, rare for me, has raised a question to the Lord. Why me? Why this? And today His Word suggests an answer, a very sobering one. He reminds me that when the OT saints were released from bondage in Egypt, they went through a long period of testing to see if they would obey their Deliverer. He connected that testing to their health as the above passage shows. In other words, obedience means well-being and sickness means something is not being done as it should.

A fuller description comes in a much longer passage that details this spiritual principle:

“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land… and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full… then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God… Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power…(Deuteronomy 8:1–20)

The result of their failures was that they would not enter the good land. I can see that this promise with its testing is a partial answer for my questions about being sick. Not only was the enemy trying to stop me from praying, but God was showing me that my desire to pray has far too much relationship on how good I feel. Being sick stopped my obedience or rather, failure to obey with my whole heart had an effect on my health. 

Years algo, I read a book written by a doctor and called “None of These Diseases”. He connected the emotional and other negative results of sin to their effects on our physical bodies. Stress of that sort produces illness. Getting lax or becoming proud of my prayer life is sin for it does not honor God. Not only that, when not feeling well, I stopped praying. No wonder it is taking so much time to get better.

Lord Jesus, I recognize the lack of zeal that You have exposed and confess it as one of those “practice what I preach” issues that are so easy to ignore when life becomes challenging in other ways. For me, the gap between knowing the truth and doing what I know trips me up far too easily as I’ve been ill. I need You more than ever to keep sincere prayer happening, not as a duty but as obedience to Your Holy Spirit, no matter the excuses. Your tests and disciplines do not always feel good but I can see the importance, not just for my health but that You are glorified when You hear and answer the prayers of an obedient little child, and not the whining of one who isn’t too happy about their health. 

 

Our reminder…

“When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” (Exodus 13:11–16)

This seems a terrible way to remind God's people of their deliverance from slavery, but knowing how quickly I forget even the important things, I understand why the shedding of blood was an important thing to remember and to pass along to the next generation.

The OT tells of many rituals of remembrance, not only for the Exodus delivery but for many things that God had done for them. Again, my own forgetfulness tells me the need for reminders. 

As for a corresponding reminder to Exodus, we do it monthly in our church — with a communion service, a way to remember our deliverance from the penalty and power of sin and how that happened.

And when the hour came, (Jesus) reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke 22:14–20)

There is something powerful in this practice. As I go up to receive the elements, and as I watch several hundred others do the same, the sense of communion and of family is so powerful, as is the wonder that Jesus would die for me. Sometimes my thoughts turn to Exodus and the blood of many lambs, but rarely. Almost always I’m thinking of Jesus and why He shed His blood that day.

Today, I’m not at the church service. I’m still coughing and that could make my forever family nervous. I could wear a mask, but singing becomes difficult. Instead, I’m on YouTube and glad to sing along with familiar faces and music, and hear the message, and worship.

Jesus, I’m forever grateful that You are the Lamb, the one that all those lambs could only point to but not do for sinners what You have done. As we now sing: “This is our God. . . . who bore the cross and beat the grave. . . .  this is our Jesus” I can praise You for Your strong hand who brought me out of sin and set me free to love you.

Genuine repentance…

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go. (Exodus 10:12–20)

Evangelicals often say if we confess our sin and ask for forgiveness, that means we are saved and our lives changed. This did not work for the Pharaoh. Odd, and many are offended that the Bible says God hardened his heart:

And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. (Exodus 4:21)

It is a bit shocking, but the Bible says that God knows the human heart and those who try to manipulate God with confessing sin so He will do what they want Him to do are only fooling themselves. Note, this man wanted forgiveness “just this once” indicating a lack of true repentance.

Some say that having a hard heart is the natural result of sin. In other words, if a sinner does “not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gives them up to a debased mind” (Romans  1:28) and if they resist the Spirit, He “takes his holy Spirit from them” (Psalm 51:11). That is, if anyone sins against the light He gives, He withdraws that light. If anyone stifles their natural affections of kindness or compassion, it is a spiritual law that those affections wither and decay. This could be what happened to Pharaoh. It was not so much God's abnormal interference with his attitude, but the natural effect upon his soul when he faked repentance to get his own way. He was not after forgiveness, only wanted the locusts taken away. 

True repentance is about yielding all to God, about accepting His way of doing things. I cannot say, “I will serve You if You remove my problems” as if salvation involves a bargaining chip. My example is Jesus:

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you. (1 Peter 5:6)

Jesus, saying yes to You means yes to all things, trusting You to either use them or lose them, depending on Your perfect will, not mine. I can fight and resist the enemy’s lies, but I cannot fight or resist Your will or what You do in my life that makes me upset or uncomfortable. It is yielding to You in faith that brings peace.

 

What is God saying in disasters?

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.” ’ ” Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field. (Exodus 9:13–21)

My imagination could be way off, but for some reason, this warning seems to fit some of the stuff that is happening in today’s world. The weather and many events are as if God is saying, “See my power? Pay attention for no one is safe unless you are listening to me.”

The words ‘innocent victims’ gets tossed around too, but is anyone innocent? The Bible is clear on that matter: “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:22–23) Certain some are worse than others, some are closer to innocent than to evil, but no one hits the godly target apart from faith in Jesus Christ.

That said, God has every right to judge the world just as He had the right to put Egypt through many plagues. He tested and found that some paid attention and many did not listen.

Yesterday I watched two fictional crime stories on television. They had the effect of prompting prayer for those who actually are involved in crime, either as perpetuators or as victims. I prayed that they would not only hear God but fear Him, pay attention to Him, that their conscience would be alive and they would realize their need for His mercy and grace.

Personal tragedy does this. A death in the family makes us think of our own mortality. An accident on the highway, even a minor one, makes us realize how vulnerable we are. An illness does the same. Everyone wants to be healthy, wealthy, and wise but it is in sickness, poverty, and foolish mistakes that we realize our need for God — or therefore we should. He is our only safe shelter. 

Jesus, I know that no matter what happens to me, You use it for good, to make me more like You. Even death, for it is in dying that the transformation is complete:
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2–3)
For that reason and hope, the news, even the worst news and the nastiest events, should therefore turn my heart toward You and listen to You — and do what You say. 

Because He says “I will…"

The Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:1–7)

Sometimes it’s the small things. We drove to the registry office to renew my driver’s license, a place usually full of people. My husband prayed for ‘no line up’ and as we pulled up, there was an empty parking space at the door. He thanked God, we went in, and not a customer in the place. Again, we thanked God.

Sometimes it is bigger things. Sometimes we don’t get to see the answers. Yet look again at the words of the God who hears: “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.”

Then He told Moses what to say: “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

Unlike all communication with God, He told them what He was going to do before He did it, and He did this because of who He is and what He promised to do. Therefore, He did it. This is the same God that I cry out to and can rely on, not because my prayers have any power but because He is who He is and will do what He says He will do. He is totally faithful to who He is and that does not depend on who I am.

Do You promise parking places? Not that I can find, but You do promise to be good to me, to take care of my needs, to grant answers that will bring You glory and build my faith. You told the Israelites that You would delivery from slavery. It didn’t look possible, but You did it. Therefore, I trust You, and if the parking lot had been full or the lineups long, maybe in Your great love and wisdom, You decided I needed a walk or a rest!


Opposition = Warfare?

Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.” (Exodus 5:3–9)

The past couple of weeks have been difficult. Monday, I felt good. Yesterday I aced my driver’s medical, but by supper, I could not stop coughing. In the middle of the night, cough medication kicked in so some sleep helped, but I feel yucky this morning and wonder if this virus is ever going away.

Reading the above passage reminds me to consider spiritual warfare. Not all illness is a slam from the dark enemies of God, but the way this came on and the effect it has had on my prayer life has me hearing the devil cheering. I’ve not been praying. Not only that, any efforts to pray seem to increase my sense of helplessness. I struggle to focus on talking to God.

Not that there isn’t anything to pray about. The news headlines invite prayer. Events in the lives of other Christians invite prayer. But as soon as anything comes to mind, it seems more weight is added to this illness and the focus to pray turns into “I need to sleep” or some other distraction. For this, God gives me another “therefore” passage:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:10–13)

Before the virus hit, I had been praying and seeing startling answers. People’s lives were changing, including my own. Then, for about two weeks, all interest in prayer vanished. Is a virus one of the enemy’s ways to lay on a heavier load to keep God’s people from the sacrifice of prayer? Seems this is so.  

Even as these thoughts tell me to not to let anything keep me from talking with God, I still don’t ‘feel’ like praying — and I can hear the Holy Spirit say, ‘do it anyway’ knowing that I need the Him to obey God and to be enabled to fight the lies of the enemy.

Jesus, prayer is hard work, not like slavery to sin but living for selfish comfort often seems much easier than it does to take prayer seriously. I need You to fill me and help me get out of this listless and unfocused mindset that only wants to sleep.