From Dust to Glory

1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace.

4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” 5 So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. 7 And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses. – Leviticus 10:1-7 ESV

Chapter 9 ended with the statement: “And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces” (Leviticus 9:24 ESV). In this fiery display of divine power, God demonstrated His acceptance of all that had taken place during the last eight days. The ordination of Aaron and his sons as priests had been carried off without a hitch and God gave His approval by consuming the various sacrifices they offered in dramatic fashion. The Tabernacle, the priests, and the people of Israel were purified, consecrated, atoned for, and properly prepared for God to grace them with His glorious presence.

This was a moment of unparalleled joy and reverent worship. Through their careful and faithful obedience to all of God’s instructions, the people of Israel had accomplished His will and been rewarded with a glimpse of His glory. They had not earned the right to witness His glory. Their efforts had not obligated God to show up and grace them with His presence. But everyone involved, including Moses, Bezalel, and Oholiab, as well as Aaron and his sons, had demonstrated their willingness to trust God and carry out His will based on the promise He had made.

“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.” – Exodus 25:8-9 NLT

God had commanded the people to contribute all the materials needed to build the Tabernacle and the list included “gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread; fine linen and goat hair for cloth; tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; onyx stones, and other gemstones to be set in the ephod and the priest’s chestpiece” (Exodus 25:3-7 NLT). And Moses records that the people gave willingly and abundantly.

All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the LORD. They brought all the materials needed for the Tabernacle, for the performance of its rituals, and for the sacred garments.

So the people of Israel—every man and woman who was eager to help in the work the LORD had given them through Moses—brought their gifts and gave them freely to the LORD. – Exodus 35:21, 29 NLT

In fact, the people gave so freely that Moses was eventually forced to end the fund-raising campaign for the Tabernacle.

“Men and women, don’t prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough!” So the people stopped bringing their sacred offerings. Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project. – Exodus 36:6-7 NLT

Again, their sacrificial giving didn’t earn them the right to see God’s glory. But their obedience made possible the construction of the place where His glory would eventually dwell. Their willingness to do what God had commanded allowed God’s plan to come to fruition. The Tabernacle, the priests’ garments, the bronze altar, the altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant with the mercy seat where God’s presence would dwell, would not have existed if the people had not obeyed. And those various elements had made their atonement possible and God’s holy presence among them probable.

Moses followed every one of God’s commands. Bezalel and Oholiab didn’t miss a detail of God’s design instructions for the Tabernacle and its furniture. They built everything according to God’s will and with an unwavering commitment to excellence that reflected their concern for His glory. Even Aaron and his sons faithfully observed the seven-day ritual of ordination, ensuring that they were properly prepared to serve in their role as priests and mediators on behalf of the people.

But something went drastically wrong. As chapter 10 begins, the Lord’s fire once again shows up, but this time to consume the lives of Aaron’s two sons. These two men, along with their father, had been given the right and responsibility to serve in the house of God. They had been set apart for this special role and given clear instructions as to their responsibilities.

“You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.” – Leviticus 10:10-11 ESV

Yet, as chapter 10 opens up, Nadab and Abihu are accused of offering “unauthorized fire before the Lord” (Leviticus 10:1 ESV). The New Living Translation provides a bit more clarity as to the nature of their sin.

…they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. – Leviticus 10:1 NLT

Moses provides no timeline for this event. But it would appear that it took place not long after the dedication of the Tabernacle and the ordination of Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu. Once these men had completed the final phase of the eight-day-long ceremony God had prescribed, they went to work serving as intermediaries between the people and God. They would have begun their daily responsibilities in the Tabernacle, which would have included carrying coals from the brazen altar in a hand-held censer in order to burn incense on the altar of incense in the Holy of Holies.

“…he will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the altar that stands before the Lord. Then he will take two handfuls of fragrant powdered incense and will carry the burner and the incense behind the inner curtain. There in the Lord’s presence he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant.” – Leviticus 16:12-13 NLT

This role was reserved for the high priest. Perhaps Nadab and Abihu took it upon themselves to enter the Holy of Holies and perform the role that had been strictly reserved for their father. Or it could be that they used coals from somewhere other than the brazen altar. Whatever they did, God deemed their actions as “strange,” using a Hebrew word that means “unauthorized, foreign, or profane.” They failed to follow God’s command.

They probably thought their actions were appropriate and made perfect sense to them. It could be that they chose to cut corners and gather the coals from a more accessible spot. But it could also be that they violated God’s protocol and took on a role that was not rightfully theirs. If they attempted to burn incense in the Holy of Holies, they were overstepping their bounds and attempting to assume their father’s role as high priest.

Whatever they did, it was egregious enough in the eyes of God to call down His divine judgment. It would seem that their offense involved entrance into the Holy of Holies because Moses states that “they died before the Lord” (Leviticus 10:2 ESV). It was only in the Holy of Holies, above the mercy seat, that the presence of God’s glory dwelled. So, this “strange fire” must have been offered in God’s presence, and was done in violation of His clear commands.

These two men decided to play fast and loose with God’s divine dictates and they paid for it with their lives. As His sacred servants, they were expected to pursue holiness at all costs. Their sacred garments, though purified by blood, did not render them holy. They were still required to conduct their lives in accordance with God’s will. Walking around in their “robes of righteousness” did not automatically make their actions righteous. In fact, the prophet Isaiah warns, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6 ESV).

Even in their role as priests of God and dressed in the sacred robes designed for them by God, these men managed to live in disobedience to the will of God. And immediately after God struck them down for their judgment-worthy act, Moses reminded their grief-stricken father of the words of God.

“I will display my holiness
    through those who come near me.
I will display my glory
    before all the people.” – Leviticus 10:3 NLT

As painful as it must have been to watch his sons consumed by the fire of God, Aaron needed to understand that God’s holiness and glory can be displayed through both blessings and curses. Just as the fire had consumed the sacrifices on the altar, it also consumed the lives of these two men, providing vivid evidence of God’s holiness and glory. Nadab and Abihu had been turned to dust by Israel’s glorious and praise-worthy God.

But before the smoke cleared, God ordered that the bodies of the men be removed and demanded that Moses appoint their replacements.

Then Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his other two sons,  “Do not dishevel the hair of your heads and do not tear your garments, so that you do not die and so that wrath does not come on the whole congregation. Your brothers, all the house of Israel, are to mourn the burning that the Lord has caused.” – Leviticus 10:6 ESV

Their disobedience and ultimate demise proved to be no problem for God. The show would go on. God’s plan for the people’s atonement would not be derailed by the thoughtless acts of two unrighteous men. And, as difficult as this may sound, God forbade Aaron and his remaining sons from mourning their loss. They were not allowed to display any of the normal signs of grief associated with the death of a loved one. Instead, Eleazar and Ithamar were immediately thrust into the role of replacing their deceased brothers. As the scorched and lifeless bodies of Nadab and Abihu were removed from the Tabernacle and taken to the outskirts of the camp, Eleazar and Ithamar were quickly sworn in as priests. They went through some kind of expedited consecration process in which they were anointed with oil. Then Moses instructed them not to “go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you” (Leviticus 10:7 ESV).

These men had work to do. There was no time for grieving over the loss of their brothers. God would assign that task to the people of Israel. It was up to Eleazar and Ithamar to step into the sandals of their brothers and perform their priestly duties. And the text declares that “they did according to the word of Moses” (Leviticus 10:7 ESV).

God was not going to allow the disobedience of Nadab and. Abihu to stand in His way. His people needed atonement and forgiveness and the priests were indispensable in accomplishing that objective. So, though Nadab and Abihu had disqualified themselves, God raised up replacements. And this entire scene reminds me of a statement made by Jesus. On the occasion of His entrance into the city of Jerusalem, the crowds were cheering, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest” (Luke 19:38 ESV).

But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples” (Luke 19:39 ESV). To which Jesus responded, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:38-40 ESV). God will be glorified, with or without us. As strange as this may sound, Nadab and Abihu brought glory to God even in their deaths. In striking these two men down, God demonstrated His holiness in no uncertain terms. He was glorified in that His greatness was displayed and His intolerance of sin was clearly manifested. Our holy God doesn’t wink at sin. He doesn’t turn a blind eye to man’s indiscretions, especially among His chosen people. Nadab and Abihu were out of sight, but it would be a long time before the memory of their deaths was out of mind or forgotten. Their once pristinely white garments were now covered in the dust of their own annihilation, rendering all who touched them unclean and in need of purification. But because God acted swiftly and justly, cleansing and atonement were still available to all who needed it. Even the unrighteousness of men can never thwart God’s plan to make His righteousness available to all those who seek it.

As the apostle Paul states about the sacrificial death of Jesus, “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 BSB).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God’s Unlikely Spokesman

1 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram. 3 And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, 4 and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 5 And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. 7 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

“From Aram Balak has brought me,
    the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:
‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
    and come, denounce Israel!’
8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
    How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the crags I see him,
    from the hills I behold him;
behold, a people dwelling alone,
    and not counting itself among the nations!
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob
    or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
    and let my end be like his!”

11 And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” 12 And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?” – Numbers 23:1-12 ESV

In the following two chapters, Moses will reveal a series of oracles or divine pronouncements from Jehovah but delivered through Balaam, a pagan and profit-hungry diviner. For whatever reason, God had chosen to use this unworthy vessel to deliver a series of blessings upon His chosen people, the nation of Israel. And this unexpected turn of events would leave King Balak in a state of confusion and rage. After all, he had offered Balaam a sizeable reward to pronounce a curse upon the unwelcome Israelites who had invaded his realm.

This story, recorded by Moses for the benefit of the people of Israel, was meant to accentuate the sovereign will of God and provide encouragement to the Israelites. In it, God reveals His unparalleled power over any and all forces that might attempt to stand against His chosen people. Jehovah could utilize any and all resources to accomplish His divine will, including a pagan diviner who had hoped to score a big payday from King Balak by issuing a curse on the Israelites.

Neither Balak nor Balaam were a threat to the people of God. They were both nothing more than pawns in the hand of the all-powerful, all-knowing Jehovah. No curse uttered by this pseudo-prophet would have made any impact on God’s people. Yet, much to Balaam’s surprise and Balak’s chagrin, God would use this imposter to deliver a series of powerful and irreversible blessings on the descendants of Abraham.   

“The most arresting element of the introductory section is in the words ‘God met with him’ (v. 4) and ‘the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth’ (v. 5). Despite the pagan and unsavory actions of this ungodly man, the Lord deigns to meet with him and to speak through him. This is utterly remarkable. We often say that God will never use an unclean vessel. This is not quite accurate. God may use whatever vessel he wishes; the issue concerns what happens to an unclean vessel when God has finished using it for his purposes.” – Ronald B. Allen, “Numbers.” In Genesis—Numbers. Vol. 2 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary

It is no coincidence that, earlier in the story, God spoke to Balaam through a donkey. When the revered soothsayer had been unable to see the angel of God standing in his path with a drawn sword, Balaam’s donkey had seen the danger and veered away from the danger. This prompted Balaam to beat the donkey severely and, much to his surprise, the donkey responded by questioning Balaam’s unjust treatment. Much to Balaam’s surprise, the donkey spoke to him. This “dumb” beast held a reasoned and well-articulated conversation with a man who was renowned for his ability to “speak” with the gods. 

And now, Jehovah would use Balaam to deliver His divinely ordained words of blessings on Israel. Through the lips of this pagan oracle from Aram, God would issue a series of powerful messages concerning the fate of His chosen people. And each time Balaam opened his mouth, his hopes of making a profit diminished and Balak’s anger increased exponentially.

The whole scene has a somewhat theatrical flavor to it. One can almost sense Balaam’s desire to buy himself time. He is still harboring some hope of turning this entire affair in his favor. He has not given up on the idea of issuing a curse and gaining his reward. So, he buys himself time by having Balak set up an elaborate altar complex.

“Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for me to sacrifice.” – Numbers 23:1 NLT

This bit of showmanship was probably intended to impress Balak. It had all the trappings of a cultic sacrificial ceremony and would have given Balak the impression that Balaam was preparing to call down the wrath of the gods upon the unsuspecting Israelites. Balaam encouraged Balak’s hopes by offering a series of blood sacrifices on the altars, signifying his attempt to call on divine aid. But nothing happened.

By this time, Balaam knew that he was dealing with the one true God and he would have to seek His will. So, he left Balak standing by his blood-soaked altars and went to the top of a nearby hill to see if Jehovah had a word for him.

“Stand here by your burnt offerings, and I will go to see if the Lord will respond to me. Then I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.” – Numbers 23:3 NLT

And Jehovah didn’t disappoint. Moses states that “God met Balaam” (Numbers 23:4 ESV) and the Almighty gave him a message to deliver to Balak. And Balaam must have felt a sense of panic and fear as he heard the words he was to repeat to the king. This was not going to go well. But Balaam, motivated by his earlier vision of the well-armed angel, wisely obeyed God’s command and delivered the message he had been given.

God had Balaam begin by recounting the nature of Balak’s request.

“Balak summoned me to come from Aram;
    the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills.
‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me!
    Come and announce Israel’s doom.’” – Numbers 23:7 NLT

Then, he dropped the bombshell.

“But how can I curse those
    whom God has not cursed?
How can I condemn those
    whom the Lord has not condemned?” – Numbers 23:8 NLT

This was not what Balak wanted to hear. And it was going to get worse. What Balaam said next would leave the king in a rage. Rather than hearing a pronouncement of doom, Balak would have to listen to Balaam wax eloquent about Israel’s numbers and seemingly charmed status as a nation. They were blessed by God.

“I see them from the cliff tops;
    I watch them from the hills.
I see a people who live by themselves,
    set apart from other nations.
Who can count Jacob’s descendants, as numerous as dust?
    Who can count even a fourth of Israel’s people?” – Numbers 23:9-10 NLT

This rather cryptic-sounding message was crystal clear to Balak. The Israelites were uniquely gifted people who enjoyed the favor of their God. Their extensive numbers were evidence that Jehovah’s hand was upon them and no one would be able to stand against them. And Balaam makes things even worse when he states his own jealousy of their status as God’s chosen people.

“Let me die like the righteous;
    let my life end like theirs.” – Numbers 23:10 NLT

What Balaam didn’t realize was that the words God had given him to speak were intended to reflect the words of the promise God had given to Abraham centuries earlier.

“Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.  I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” – Genesis 12:1-3 NLT

God had Balaam express his own desire to be blessed rather than cursed. To stand against the people of God was a death sentence. Anyone who chose to resist them would face the judgment of God. And Balaam was learning the painful lesson that any attempt on his part to curse God’s people would end in futility and failure.

But Balak was incensed. He felt that Balaam had deceived him.

“What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies. Instead, you have blessed them!” – Numbers 23:11 NLT

And yet, Balaam admitted that he was powerless to resist the sovereign will of Jehovah. He was dealing with a force that was unlike anything he had ever encountered before. And he confessed that he was unwilling to the will of God.

“I will speak only the message that the Lord puts in my mouth.” – Numbers 23:12 NLT

This so-called “wise” man was increasing in wisdom with each passing minute. And while it is doubtful that his original intention had been to call on the name of Jehovah, he had now discovered that the God of Israel and His chosen people were not to be trifled with.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Divine Intervention

1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. – Genesis 6:1-8 ESV

Once again, Moses reveals that mankind was keeping the divine mandate to “multiply and fill the earth.” They were doing what God had commanded them to do. But the problem was that, because of the fall, mankind was no longer able to bear God’s image as He had intended. They had become damaged goods. Like a dirty mirror, their ability to accurately reflect His divine glory had been marred. Yet, according to chapter five, there was a still remnant of individuals who still chose to worship God. The ungodly line of Cain was balanced out by the more faithful line of Seth, illustrated in the life of Enoch, a man who “walked with God” (Genesis 5:21 ESV).

The genealogy of Adam, recorded in chapter five, provides an explanatory backdrop upon which to view the dark and depressing events of chapter six. Moses ends the genealogy with an introduction to Noah, who will play a major role in the next phase of God’s pre-ordained plan for mankind. Noah is not just one more name in a long list of Adam’s descendants. He is the whole point of the genealogy. Moses wants us to know that God planned for the coming of this one who would play the role of “savior,” bringing rest to those who had grown weary living under the curse that God had imposed because of Adam’s sin. Even Noah’s father somehow recognized that his infant son would play the role of a deliverer.

“Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” – Genesis 5:29

When pronounced in Hebrew, Noah’s name sounded like the Hebrew word for “rest” or “comfort.” Lamech believed that his son would bring some form of relief from the constant struggle of attempting to eke out a living from the ground that God had cursed. He and his fellow inhabitants of the earth were looking for some form of salvation from the divine condemnation under which they suffered.

But even under the curse, mankind seemed to flourish. They continued to procreate and produce more of their kind. Moses declares that “man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them” (Genesis 6:1 ESV). Due to the extended life spans experienced prior to the flood, the reproduction cycle of humanity was greatly extended. As a result, they were able to “fill the earth” in a relatively short period of time. The lines of Cain and Seth both expanded rapidly, creating a perfect storm. These two divergent branches of Adam’s family tree would soon find themselves interacting with one another. The godly and the godless would inevitably end up crossing paths and even intermarrying with one another.

The next section of chapter six has developed a controversial reputation. In it, Moses states that “the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose” (Genesis 6:2 ESV). There are those who interpret this verse to mean that fallen angels procreated with the daughters of men. They arrive at this conclusion because every other time the phrase, “sons of God,” is used in the Old Testament, it refers to angels (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). Proponents of this view also claim that the New Testament books of 2 Peter and Jude provide support for their assertion.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly… – 2 Peter 2:4-6 ESV

And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. – Jude 6-7 ESV

But it would appear that these two passages refer to the original fall of Satan and the angels who joined him in his failed coup attempt against God. There is no other reference in the Genesis passage to angels. In fact, the very next verse reflects God’s anger with mankind, not angelic beings.

“My Spirit shall not abide in man forever…” – Genesis 6:3 ESV

It seems much more likely that “the sons of God” and “daughters of men” are intended as references to the godly line of Seth and the ungodly line of Cain. These two branches of Adam’s family tree had begun to merge through intermarriage, and the result was a further degradation of the spiritual seed of Seth. The appearance of men like Enoch became increasingly rarer. And God’s anger with mankind is reflected in His decision to dramatically shorten the average lifespan. The reference to 120 years, found in verse 3, is most likely a warning concerning the pending judgment of God. It refers to the length of time before God would destroy the earth with a flood. And as a result of this cataclysmic event, human lifespans will begin to drop precipitously.  No longer would humans live for seven to eight centuries. These protracted periods of existence had produced many children, but few faithful followers of God.

And it seems that with the longer lifespans, humans had enjoyed prolonged growing periods. Each stage of life, including adolescence, lasted longer in those days. As a result, men not only lived longer but grew larger. That seems to be the best explanation for Moses' reference to the Nephilim. These were so-called “giants” who intermarried with the daughters of men and became “the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown” (Genesis 6:4 ESV). There is only one other reference to the Nephilim in the Bible and it is found in Numbers 13:33. While some assert that the Nephilim were the offspring of angels who procreated with humans, this seems unlikely, since the Scriptures seem to teach that angels do not marry or reproduce (Matthew 22:30).

The entire focus of this passage is on humanity and not on fallen angels or some antediluvian super-species. Verse 5 clearly states the problem.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. – Genesis 6:5 ESV

This isn’t about disreputable angels performing despicable acts with human beings. It’s not about a race of superhuman X-Men polluting the DNA of humanity. The problem is wickedness – pure and simple. The wickedness of man was great in the earth. And this wickedness included attitudes as well as actions. In fact, “everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil” (Genesis 6:5 NLT).

And what follows is one of the saddest statements found in Scripture.

And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. – Genesis 6:6 ESV

With this emotionally charged statement, Moses attempts to describe God’s sorrow over the state of His creation. Humanity’s downward spiritual spiral has come to the point of no return. God is not second-guessing Himself. He is not questioning the goodness of His original creation of man. At that time, He had declared all that He had made as “very good” (Genesis 1:31), including Adam and Eve. But their rebellion had brought death into the world. It had permanently marred their relationship with God and damaged the entire creative order. And the longer man lived and the more of his own kind he created, the worse the situation became. Until God intervened.

“I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” – Genesis 6:7 ESV

The one who had created it all would choose to destroy it all and start over. God would begin again. The Creator would re-create. The life-giver would choose to destroy all life and then reanimate and rejuvenate His creation once again. But His destruction would not be complete. He would graciously spare some. God would preserve a remnant of His creation in order to fulfill the plan of redemption He had developed long before He pierced the pre-creation darkness with the light of His glory. God would use a man named Noah to act as His agent of redemption and recreation. In the midst of all the moral darkness and spiritual apathy of his age, this one man found favor in the eyes of the Lord. He would become the vessel through whom God was spare a remnant of fallen humanity and carry out His grand plan of redemption.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Beyond Healing

11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

When I restore the fortunes of my people,

1 when I would heal Israel,

    the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,
    and the evil deeds of Samaria,
for they deal falsely;
    the thief breaks in,
    and the bandits raid outside.
2 But they do not consider
    that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
    they are before my face.
3 By their evil they make the king glad,
    and the princes by their treachery.
4 They are all adulterers;
    they are like a heated oven
whose baker ceases to stir the fire,
    from the kneading of the dough
    until it is leavened.
5 On the day of our king, the princes
    became sick with the heat of wine;
    he stretched out his hand with mockers.
6 For with hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue;
    all night their anger smolders;
    in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven,
    and they devour their rulers.
All their kings have fallen,
    and none of them calls upon me. – Hosea 6:11-7:7 ESV

Not all of God’s condemnation was reserved for the ten northern tribes of Israel. He also had more than enough reasons to appoint a “harvest” for the southern kingdom of Judah. In essence, God is warning both nations that they will one day reap what they have sown. Their iniquity will produce a bounty of God’s righteous judgment, and they will end up eating the fruit of their labors. Their years of feasting on faithlessness will be followed by a time of spiritual drought and famine. They will experience leanness of soul.

But even as God reveals His pending judgment, He offers His assurances of future blessing. He speaks of restoring the fortunes of people. That is the desire of His heart, and He will end up doing so for the southern kingdom of Judah. While He will eventually punish them for their sins, sending them into captivity in Babylon, He will also restore them to the land. Because He has plans for them that include the sending of His Son as a descendant of David, born of the tribe of Judah. For that to happen, the tribe of Judah will have to be in existence and living in the land of promise. God will redeem and restore Judah from their exile in Babylon, but not because they deserve it. He will do so because His plan of redemption requires that the Messiah be born of the tribe of Judah and of the seed of David. God would eventually restore the fortunes of rebellious Judah so that He could reconcile sinful mankind to Himself through the Lion of Judah, the Messiah of Israel.

But even as God hints at the hope of restoration for Judah, He confesses that He is unable to offer the same outcome for Israel. While He longs to heal them, He can’t look past the egregious nature of their sin. Everywhere He turns, He is confronted by their wickedness and immorality. From the largest tribe of Ephraim to the capital city of Samaria, the entire nation is filled with iniquity and infected by sin. Their rejection of God had resulted in moral decay and social injustices of all kinds. They were dishonest, uncaring, deceitful, cruel, and completely driven by self-centered motives. In fact, they seem to illustrate the very kind of people Paul warned Timothy about.

…in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. – 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NLT

And the worst part about Israel’s sinful behavior was that they failed to recognize that could see everything they were doing.

Its people don’t realize
    that I am watching them.
Their sinful deeds are all around them,
    and I see them all. – Hosea 7:2 NLT

They had lived without God for so long that they were no longer aware of His presence or feared His punishment. He was completely out of sight, out of mind. But He was watching. And He was appalled at and incensed by their behavior. But, unlike God, the king of Israel derived a perverse sense of joy in it all.

The people entertain the king with their wickedness,
    and the princes laugh at their lies. – Hosea 7:3 NLT

Those who should have been concerned by the growing wickedness in the land were actually pleased with it. When there is chaos among the people, it provides the government with justification for increasing its power and asserting its authority. A peaceful and well-behaved populace does not require the heavy hand of government. But civil unrest and a breakdown in the moral fabric of society create the perfect environment for the growth of dictatorial rule. Anarchy tends to breed tyranny.

God describes a society that is completely out of control. From the prince in the palace to the peasant in the street, everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes. It was a moral free-for-all, with no one adhering to any sort of standard for justice and righteousness. The signs of ungodliness were everywhere. But that shouldn’t be surprising. When they abandoned God, they also left behind His law. There was nothing to regulate and guide their behavior. They were each operating according to their own moral compass and the outcome was not a pretty picture.

The nation of Israel was marked by literal and spiritual adultery. The upper echelons of society were known for their drunken parties and immoral behavior. God describes their sinful actions like a baker’s oven that is maintained at a constant high temperature, with its fire never going out. Their sinful lifestyle could be “cooked up” at any time, day or night. 

Their hearts are like an oven
    blazing with intrigue.
Their plot smolders through the night,
    and in the morning it breaks out like a raging fire. – Hosea 7:6 NLT

They never gave their sin a rest. And a lifestyle of unrepentant sin has a habit of escalating in intensity. It becomes like a fire raging out of control. With no godly means of regulating its sin-prone behavior, mankind is destined to endure a steady downward spiral of moral and spiritual decay. It is exactly what happened after Adam and Eve sinned. Their decision to disobey God led to an immediate collapse in the social fabric of society. One of their sons ending up killing his brother. And before long, the descendants of the first couple had polluted the earth with their wicked and ungodly behavior. So much so, that God decided to destroy all that He had made.

The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the LORD said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” – Genesis 6:5-7 NLT

And the state of affairs in Israel was no better. The extent of human wickedness in Israel was beyond belief. Everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. And God points out that their spiritual decline had reached such a low point that the nation had become self-destructive. They were literally annihilating themselves.

Burning like an oven,
    they consume their leaders.
They kill their kings one after another,
    and no one cries to me for help. – Hosea 7:7 NLT

And that last line says it all. In the midst of all the chaos, confusion, societal decay, and moral decadence, no one was bothering to seek God’s help. There was no godly remnant within the society calling out to God in repentance and begging for His intervention. The cancer of sin had spread so deeply that it had left no one free from its influence. The spiritual health of the nation had been completely compromised. They were beyond healing and in need of complete purging.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Children of Light

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. – Ephesians 4:1-10 ESVNotagain!2018

So, in the last post, we looked at whether God finds satisfaction with the degree of our sanctification. And, to some of our shock and amazement, we discovered that God does not require more from us. Our sanctification, like our justification, was made complete through the finished work of Christ on the cross. He blood cleansed us from all unrighteousness and established us as holy in the eyes of God. If I died today, I would find myself in His presence. There would be no further sanctification required of me. I would not be damaged goods in need of further purification or requiring additional proof of my holiness. My right standing with God is based on the righteousness of Christ, which was imputed to me – in full – when I placed my faith in Him as my Savior.

But, as we saw in yesterday’s post, my status as a sanctified saint, made righteous and acceptable to God by the blood of Christ, does not mean there is nothing left us to do. Paul clearly demands that we “pursue…the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14 NASB). He told Timothy to “pursue righteousness” (1 Timothy 6:11 ESV) and the Ephesian church to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (2 Timothy 2:22 ESV).

So, it is clear that God still expects His chosen ones, who have set apart by Him, to live lives that reflect their status as His children. They are to behave differently. Their righteous standing is to show up in practical, visible ways. But it is essential that we understand that the pursuit of righteousness of which Paul speaks is not a call to increase our righteousness. He is not suggesting that we are deficient or lacking in righteousness. No, he is calling us to live out or exhibit our new nature, provided for us by Christ and made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

It is not about earning, but about expressing. It is not about adding to but about living out.  Look at the passage from Ephesians 4. It starts out with a call to imitate God. That sounds impossible and implausible, doesn’t it? But notice how Paul qualifies that statement: “As beloved children.” As followers of Christ, we have been united with Him and have become sons and daughters of God, adopted into His family and made joint-heirs with Christ.

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. – Romans 8:16-17 NLT

As God’s children, we have been given new natures and have the capacity to reflect His glory through our lives. When we live in submission to the Spirit and in obedience to the will of God, we bring Him glory. And that is what Paul is trying to tell the Ephesian believers and, by extension, us.

Paul tells them to “walk in love,” emulating the very same love that Jesus expressed to them. God showed His love for them by sending His Son to die for them. Jesus showed His love by sacrificing His life for them. And Paul was calling them to love in the same way, imitating both the Father and the Son.

The in verses 3-8, Paul takes a negative turn, expressing all the things the Ephesians were to avoid if they wanted to imitate God. Notice that all these things are illustrations of unholiness. They are the actions of the unsanctified, those who have not been set apart by God and who are still slaves to sin and unrighteousness. The list is dark and depressing, including such things as sexual immorality, all impurity, and covetousness. But then Paul adds a few seemingly innocuous things such as filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking. Filthiness has to do with that which is obscene or shameful. Foolish talk is a reference to morally flippant conversation that has no regard for God. It is the talk of fools. Psalm 14:1 states, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.” The fool’s conversation flows from his heart, where God has been dethroned and self reigns supreme. Crude joking refers to those clever-sounding things that make others laugh, but that are actually vulgar and lacking any moral boundaries.

Paul associates these seemingly innocent actions with the sexually immoral, the impure, and the coveteousness. They are the unrighteous fruit of the ungodly and the unsanctified. Then Paul drops the bombshell:

…everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. – Ephesians 5:5 ESV

Those who are unsanctified, having refused to accept the gift of salvation made possible by the death of God’s Son, remain separated from Him. They are still dead in their trespasses and sins, lacking the indwelling presence of the Spirit, and are devoid of the righteousness of Christ. And, as a result, they have no place in the kingdom of Christ and God. They have no access into the presence of God. They face the wrath of God because they are the sons of disobedience. They are the descendants of Adam and have inherited his sin nature and the penalty of death that sin deserves.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 5:12 NLT

And Paul clarifies that the sons of disobedience, those people who remain separated from God because of their sin, are people of the earth. They have not been made new. Their natures remain unredeemed and their status before God remains unsanctified.

Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. – 1 Corinthians 15:47-48 NLT

And Paul warns the Ephesians believers to “not become partners” with these people. Remember, Paul opened this chapter with the words “imitate God.” And God cannot and will not associate with ungodliness. The unholy and unrighteous have no place in the presence of God. Now, Paul is not telling the Ephesians to refuse contact with unbelievers. He is calling them to live as those who have been set apart. Their lives were not to emulate or mimic the lost. Paul clarifies his point in his letter to the church in Corinth.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. – 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 ESV

Paul was demanding godly behavior from the godly. He was expecting those who had been sanctified to live as what they were. Paul makes it clear that something had changed in their lives. At one time, the Ephesian believers had been living in darkness, separated from God because of their sin. Paul reminds them, “at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8 ESV). Don’t miss that little phrase, “but now you are.” It is essential to understand what Paul is saying. He does not say, “but by now you should be.” He doesn’t tell them “you should be becoming.” No, he states, “but now you are.” And what are they? Children of light. And their lives should reflect their new identity and their Spirit-enabled capacity to live in the light.

And Paul reveals that “the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true” (Ephesians 5:9 ESV). Living as children of light requires that our lives exhibit the fruit of light: that which consists of goodness, righteousness, and truth. And it is possible because we possess the light of Christ. The apostle John reminds us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). And he goes on to say, “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 ESV). Children of light walk in the light of God, casting His shadow on the world around them. Their lives reflect the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of the Spirit, and the fruit of the light. And their lives not only please God, but they also bring glory to God, because He is the sole reason they can produce what is good, right, and true.

And it was his knowledge of that wonderful truth that led Paul to express this heart-felt prayer on behalf of the believers in Colossae.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:9-14 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

When God’s People Live Ungodly.

Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said, “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!”

So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.

Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.” So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.” And there went out after him Joab's men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier's garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh, and as he went forward it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab's hand. So Joab struck him with it in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow, and he died.

Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. And one of Joab's young men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway. And anyone who came by, seeing him, stopped. And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. – 2 Samuel 20:1-11 ESV

David had not yet made it back inside the walls of Jerusalem when another disaster struck. He had just eliminated one rebellion, when another one raised its ugly head. The ten disgruntled tribes of Israel, unhappy with what they viewed as David’s favoritism for his own tribe of Judah, decided to throw in their lot with Sheba, a Benjaminite. This “worthless fellow” took advantage of the unstable conditions in Israel and called for another rebellion against David. It is impossible to read this account and not recall the curse God had placed on David as a result of his affair with Bathsheba.

“Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.” – 2 Samuel 12:10 ESV

There was going to be more bloodshed. And more people were going to die unnecessarily, all as a direct result of David’s sin. The conditions in his kingdom remained unstable and insecure. Even when he finally made it back to Jerusalem, David had to deal with the ten concubines whom Absalom had sexually violated and publicly humiliated. It must be remembered that what happened to them was also tied to David’s adulterous affair with Bathsheba. God had told David:

“Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.” – 2 Samuel 12:11-12 ESV

So these women were shamed and forced to remain in a state of widowhood, not because of anything they had done, but all because of the sins of David. The wake of human misery and destroyed lives that David left behind him is unprecedented. He had lost three sons to death. His daughter had been violated by her own brother. Tens of thousands of his own people had been killed in an unnecessary civil war. And the death toll would continue to rise. When David called for his troops to put down the uprising led by Sheba, he put Amasa in command. It’s important to remember that David had replaced Joab with Amasa, as the commander of his army, all because Joab had disobeyed a direct order and had killed Absalom. Now, Joab was going to take the life of Amasa, in an attempt to eliminate the competition and get his old job back. And the day would come when Joab would get what he deserved. But it would not be under David’s watch. Once again, just as we saw with Shimei, David would put off meting out justice and leave it to his son, Solomon, when he took the throne. It would be Solomon who would eventually deal with Joab and his murders of Abner and Amasa.

“Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, and thus take away from me and from my father's house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. The Lord will bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men more righteous and better than himself, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. So shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” – 1 Kings 2:31-33 ESV

But there was no peace in Israel. At least not during David’s day. The body count was mounting. The violence was escalating. And the instability of David’s kingdom seemed to be getting worse, not better. All in spite of the fact that David was a man after God’s own heart. David’s relationship with God did not protect him from failure or inoculate him from the ramifications of sin. The people of God are just as prone to bad decision-making as anybody else. Believers can undervalue the wisdom of God and overlook the sins taking place around them. We can surround ourselves with bad counselors, put off making difficult decisions, give in to impulsive desires, and leave God out of our daily lives. And when we do, we can find ourselves facing the same kind of unnecessary outcomes. David loved God. He had a deep-seated desire to serve God. But our desires must who up in our behavior.  His love for God must be accompanied by a commitment to obey God. Any hope he had of serving the people of God as the faithful shepherd of God was totally dependent upon his complete reliance upon God.

As believers, we are God’s people living in a godless environment, surrounded by ungodly people who don’t share our views or our love for God. It is difficult to live as child of God on this earth, but we can make it even more difficult by refusing to rely upon Him. There will always be a temptation to do things our own way and simply assume that our relationship with God will provide us with some kind of invisible force-field, protecting us from the dangers of sin. But our salvation, while it has delivered us from the judgment of sin, does not inoculate us from the temptation to sin. That is why Paul so strongly urged his readers to rely upon the Holy Spirit.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. – Galatians 5:16-17 NLT

A man after God’s own heart who refuses to let God have is heart, will find himself surrounded by discord and difficulty. Our ability to survive and thrive on this planet is dependent upon our commitment to remain totally reliant upon God. David would continue to learn that invaluable lesson. He would discover the reality that being God’s hand-picked king meant nothing if he did not live as a God-dependent man.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

The Fool On the Hill.

Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.

Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. – 1 Samuel 26:1-12 ESV

Chapter 25 provided us with a brief respite from the ongoing conflict between Saul and David. But chapter 26 picks up where chapter 24 left off. When we last left Saul, he was headed home after his near-death encounter with David. He had unknowingly walked right into an ambush, choosing to relieve himself in a cave where David and his men had been hiding. But David had spared Saul’s life, choosing instead to confront him face-to-face and assure Saul that he posed no threat to his kingdom. He was not going to lift his hand against Saul. And we’re told that “Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold” (1 Samuel 24:22 ESV).

Chapter 25 introduced us to a new character, Nabal, who displayed all the classic characteristics of a biblical fool and whose unwise actions almost caused the unnecessary deaths of everyone associated with him. But Abigail, his wife, had intervened and prevented David from doing something he would long regret. Nabal’s rashness and ungodliness were going to be the death of him – literally. This fool would die a fool’s death. But while David had been able to walk away from Nabal with his integrity intact, he would soon discover that there another fool in his life who had not gone anywhere. Saul may have gone home, but he wouldn’t stay there for long. While he had shown signs of remorse in his last encounter with David, he had not given up his quest to see David put to death. And when the Ziphites betrayed David to Saul a second time (1 Samuel 23:19), informing Saul of his whereabouts, he mustered 3,000 soldiers to hunt him down.

Verse three tells us, “Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon.” Saul’s stubborn refusal to give up the hunt is truly remarkable. His remorse-filled words, spoken to David during their conversation outside the cave had sounded so sincere.

“You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil.  Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the Lord put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn’t do it. Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule.” – 1 Samuel 24:17-20 NLT

But Saul was a fool. It's interesting to note that the name of the fool in the last chapter, Nabal, actually meant “fool”. It refers to a particular type of fool, one who is overly self-confident and particularly close-minded. He tends to act as his own god and freely gratifies his own sin nature. This type of fool is the worst kind and can only be reproved by God Himself. The prophet Isaiah describes this type of fool (nabal):

For fools speak foolishness
    and make evil plans.
They practice ungodliness
    and spread false teachings about the Lord.
They deprive the hungry of food
    and give no water to the thirsty. – Isaiah 32:6 NLTThis kind of fool is typically godless in nature. It is not that they don’t believe in God, but that they act as if God does not exist. This was Saul’s problem. He kept pursuing David in spite of the fact that God had clearly ordained him to be Saul’s replacement. Saul refused to accept God’s will and was willing to risk anything and everything in his attempt to circumvent God’s divine authority. He was so busy chasing David, that he had no time to meet the needs of his nation or its citizens. David had become much more than a distraction, he was an obsession.

So, Saul and his troops set up camp on the hill of Hachilah. He foolishly thought he was in the right. He foolishly considered himself safe, falling asleep that night, surrounded by his 3,000 well-trained soldiers. But David and Abishai, his nephew, snuck into the camp that night and crept right up to Saul as he and his crack troops lay fast asleep. Samuel goes on to qualify that their heavy sleep was God’s doing: “a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them” (1 Samuel 26:12 ESV). Once again, David found himself in a tempting situation where his arch-enemy was seemingly handed to him on a silver platter. Even Abishai recognized a golden opportunity when he saw one, begging for permission to put Saul to death right then and there. But David’s response was firm and and crystal clear:

“No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let’s get out of here!” – 1 Samuel 26:9-11 NLT

David had learned a lot from his encounter with Nabal and Abigail. While the timing seemed perfect and his justification for killing Saul seemed plausible, he knew that he had been given no green light from God to take the life of the king. If vengeance was necessary, that was up to God. If Saul was meant to die an untimely death, that too was up to God. David refused to make evil plans or practice ungodliness. In other words, he refused to act like a fool. He wasn’t going to lower himself to the same level as Nabal or Saul. He chose to do the godly thing. He determined to leave his own destiny and the fate of his enemies in God’s hands. We find in the Proverbs a number of verses that provide apt descriptions of David’s actions:

One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,
    but a fool is reckless and careless. – Proverbs 14:16 ESV

The anger of the king is a deadly threat;
    the wise will try to appease it. – Proverbs 16:14 NLT

Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
    Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. – Proverbs 3:7 NLT

But the Scriptures also provide us with insights into the nature of Saul’s perplexing behavior.

Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
    There is more hope for a fool than for him. – Proverbs 26:12 ESV

Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark. – Ecclesiastes 2:13-14 NLT

Two men stood on a hill. One was a fool, the other was wise. Both knew God. Both had been appointed and anointed by God. But one was living his life as if God didn’t exist, the quintessential trademark of a fool. As this chapter unfolds, we will continue to see a stark contrast between these two men. Their lives were inseparably linked, but the outcome of their lives would prove to be radically divergent. Wisdom and folly. Two ways of life that lead to two very different outcomes. 

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson