Numbers 7 today! This chapter talks about the consecration of the tabernacle. This is another chapter that would have seemed dry and repetitive to me not too long ago. I would have wanted to skip right over it! But today, I learned something important by really taking the time to read through it - no matter how many times it repeated itself. ;)
In the first 11 verses, we see wagons and oxen being given to Moses by the chiefs of the tribes to be given to the Levites according to their service. So, not everyone was given the same amount of everything. And shock of all shockers, no one complained! Do you know why this stuck out to me? Because it just wouldn't fly today, even in a lot of our churches. Maybe it's our good ol' American pride, but we just can't stand it if someone gets even a slightly bigger piece of the pie than we do. We don't rejoice when God blesses someone if we think it means they've received more than us. We're too busy trying to catch up, or complaining about how unfair it is, or worse, trying to drag them down. How refreshing the attitude is in these verses. I don't know the hearts of the Levites here, but I'm going to choose to believe that they had had it very viscerally brought home to them that God is the giver of all things, and it all belongs to Him anyway, to be given back to Him in service. So why should they be upset? Maybe that's a lesson we can learn.
The other thing that got my attention is sort of the other side of the same coin. The rest of the chapter (excluding the last few verses) describes the various offerings brought by each tribe to the tabernacle. This occurred over a span of twelve days, and guess what? You got it! They all brought the same thing. There was no one trying to one up the guy before him, no one trying to outdo anyone else. No jockeying for position in the eyes of either Moses or God. Too often, we don't have that attitude. We want to vie for the pastor's attention. We want to try to serve more or better than our brother or sister in the trenches next to us so that we can get a little extra glory. If we just give a little more money, a little more time, a little more prayer than the next guy, we'll be just a little higher up on God's favorites list. Blech. All that kind of thinking does is obscure the gospel by causing you to focus on yourself. We need to remind ourselves of two verses when we start to fall into this trap: Matthew 6:5 and Phil. 2:5-11.
You see, though we may be gifted or the recipients of God's blessings differently and in different measures, we are all equally in need of His grace. We are all sinners who desperately need a Savior. None of us is perfect, and none of us is deserving of anything. Only One is, and His name is Jesus.
So the next time you feel that green-eyed monster rising up in you because someone else got something you want; the next time you find yourself coveting your neighbor's blessings or the attention you desire; take a step back and pray. Remember who you are and who He is. Contemplate the blessings you've received and the grace and mercy you've been given. That ought to humble us all pretty quickly! Then, "rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another." (Romans 12:15-16)
Lord, thank You for Your blessings-to me and to others. Thank You for the great grace You've lavished upon me, an undeserving sinner. Forgive me for the times I've tried to take Your glory for my own. Forgive me for the times I've harbored resentment and jealousy against others for their good fortune, believing myself to be more deserving. It is only discontent with You and Your blessings that would allow me to feel that way. Root out covetousness from my heart. Allow me to feel joy with those who are rejoicing in your blessings and help me to recognize my own. Amen.
In the first 11 verses, we see wagons and oxen being given to Moses by the chiefs of the tribes to be given to the Levites according to their service. So, not everyone was given the same amount of everything. And shock of all shockers, no one complained! Do you know why this stuck out to me? Because it just wouldn't fly today, even in a lot of our churches. Maybe it's our good ol' American pride, but we just can't stand it if someone gets even a slightly bigger piece of the pie than we do. We don't rejoice when God blesses someone if we think it means they've received more than us. We're too busy trying to catch up, or complaining about how unfair it is, or worse, trying to drag them down. How refreshing the attitude is in these verses. I don't know the hearts of the Levites here, but I'm going to choose to believe that they had had it very viscerally brought home to them that God is the giver of all things, and it all belongs to Him anyway, to be given back to Him in service. So why should they be upset? Maybe that's a lesson we can learn.
The other thing that got my attention is sort of the other side of the same coin. The rest of the chapter (excluding the last few verses) describes the various offerings brought by each tribe to the tabernacle. This occurred over a span of twelve days, and guess what? You got it! They all brought the same thing. There was no one trying to one up the guy before him, no one trying to outdo anyone else. No jockeying for position in the eyes of either Moses or God. Too often, we don't have that attitude. We want to vie for the pastor's attention. We want to try to serve more or better than our brother or sister in the trenches next to us so that we can get a little extra glory. If we just give a little more money, a little more time, a little more prayer than the next guy, we'll be just a little higher up on God's favorites list. Blech. All that kind of thinking does is obscure the gospel by causing you to focus on yourself. We need to remind ourselves of two verses when we start to fall into this trap: Matthew 6:5 and Phil. 2:5-11.
You see, though we may be gifted or the recipients of God's blessings differently and in different measures, we are all equally in need of His grace. We are all sinners who desperately need a Savior. None of us is perfect, and none of us is deserving of anything. Only One is, and His name is Jesus.
So the next time you feel that green-eyed monster rising up in you because someone else got something you want; the next time you find yourself coveting your neighbor's blessings or the attention you desire; take a step back and pray. Remember who you are and who He is. Contemplate the blessings you've received and the grace and mercy you've been given. That ought to humble us all pretty quickly! Then, "rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another." (Romans 12:15-16)
Lord, thank You for Your blessings-to me and to others. Thank You for the great grace You've lavished upon me, an undeserving sinner. Forgive me for the times I've tried to take Your glory for my own. Forgive me for the times I've harbored resentment and jealousy against others for their good fortune, believing myself to be more deserving. It is only discontent with You and Your blessings that would allow me to feel that way. Root out covetousness from my heart. Allow me to feel joy with those who are rejoicing in your blessings and help me to recognize my own. Amen.
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