Numbers 21:4-22:20
This bronze snake was referred to by Jesus just before he dropped his Superbowl Soundbite in John 3:16. He did well (!) in choosing this one as it is a deeply evocative picture of salvation. The people are living in the wilderness, separated from the promised land due to their contempt for God (see the 12 spies passage from a couple of days ago) and moaning that God is rubbish because he has put them in a situation that is boring and difficult. (They sound a little like my boys when they moan about being on the naughty step and they, just like my boys, fail to acknowledge that they are only in this less-than-perfect situation due to their own disobedience.) They then reap the consequences of their rebellion in graphic terms with snakes coming and inflicting them with death. It is a pretty bleak picture. But incredible salvation breaks in through a bronze snake being lifted on a pole and people looking at it to live. It is amazing to note that the salvation was God’s idea (he told Moses to make the snake), was incredibly easy for people to receive (who could help but look at a massive bronze snake being waved around on the end of a pole?) and was a truly miraculous act of mercy - how could looking at something counteract the poisonous effects of a snake-bite? God has always been willing to break rules and defy logic just for the sake of bringing life to his people.
Luke 6:12-36
Will you forgive me if I don’t tackle the bulk of this blessing and woes passage. I just don’t know how I could begin to do it justice. The Vineyard has, I believe, often suggested Jesus is talking about an Upside Down Kingdom which is a very intriguing concept and one to ponder on at some length - even Jesus had to pray about it all night beforehand!
The bit where I feel I can start to say something is in verse 35 - ‘love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.’ The key themes that Jesus is pushing are 1) the ball is in your court - you can decide what your fate will be by how you choose to live. 2) Factor God into everything - in every calculation you make over what is best for you to do always remember that God is watching and that he will reward you appropriately. 3) Kindness, mercy and generosity will particularly be rewarded by God because they define who He is 4) God’s rewards are not fleeting or temporal but are changes in status and in identity - you become sons of God and he becomes your Father.
There is so much more to say but time is short and I these four points are more than enough to keep me going for a while! What an amazing thing we are involved in!
Psalm 37:21-31
To think that the Lord could delight in what we do....
