When God Rejects His Leaders

{Numbers 20:2-13} 

2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

9 So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.

Before we unpack this passage, let’s review just who Moses was:
– raised in the household of pharaoh, having access to the best education and lifestyle of the day
– God appears to him in a burning bush, speaks to Moses face to face
– especially set aside by God to bring the Israelites out of 400 years of Egyptian bondage
– Used by God to cross through the sea on dry ground, while drowning the Egyptian army
– the intermediary between God and the people,
– first hand witness to the miracles of the manna, quail, and the fact that their clothes did not wear out during the 40 years of the desert
– strikes a rock with the rod that God had changed into a snake and water comes out
– interceded for the people before God
– had received the tablets with the commandments written by the very finger of God, twice
– of whom God, Himself said, that He spoke face to face as with a friend

There is just not another resume in the Old Testament or New, outside of Jesus like that of Moses. No he wasn’t perfect, yet God used him. Yet for all that Moses was and did, one mistake kept him from entering the land that had been promised to him. One. It wasn’t the murder of the Egyptian, or the marrying of a foreign wife. It wasn’t breaking the tablets with the commandments written on them in a fit of anger. What then, was it? That is the subject of Numbers 20: 2-13.

The children of Israel once again find themselves in a position in which they must trust God for the provision of water. This was not the first time. Previously, God has told them: “I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.” {Ex. 17:6} But this time, it was different.

Pent up frustration with a complaining disobedient people tempted Moses to assume that he was too important.  When the problems came, they went to Moses. They came in droves, and he became overwhelmed with the load. A restructuring helps and added judges help, but through the trials of desperate needs the people complained about God and Moses’ leadership. There might have been some sense of defense of his ability to lead in the action mentioned in Numbers 20. There could have been a need to show that he, Moses, still had the power to lead by proving that he would bring them water. As for what personal motivations there might have been, we will probably never know, for Scripture is silent. However, God was not silent in explaining to Moses what displeased Him so much that God would cut Moses off from entering the land he as dreamed of for 40 years.

God had commanded to “speak” to the rock; much different that the command to “strike it” before. Notice that even in Moses’ disobedience, God still provides for the needs of the people. God’s will and plan not be thwarted by man. Water flowed, the people drank, and everything on the surface looked fine. However, there was one issue: Moses had struck the rock rather than speaking to the rock. If fact, Moses actually strikes the rock twice. God’s commentary on the situation was quick, austere, and final:  “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” [20:12] One of the most amazing figures in all the Old Testament drops the ball toward the end of his life and ministry. What is going on? How could God do that?

Stop and think about what God had just said:
You didn’t believe Me enough to just speak to the rock; 
You didn’t believe me enough to regard me as separate, absolutely holy, different than you. 
You did not trust me to provide, even after all the miracles you had seen Me perform. 
Moses, you wanted to have the glory for yourself; you wanted the people to see how big and important you were. 
But, Moses, I share my glory with no one. 
You did not honor me as holy in the sight of those whom you were trying to lead.  
Moses, this is too serious to let slide by; you cannot enter the Promised land. 
Moses, I don’t always do the same thing the same way. Don’t presume to have figured me out. 
I AM God. There is none other.

As a worship leader who serves in front of a congregation, I am painfully aware of the many well meaning church members who appreciate the work and ministry, but who would place you on a pedestal and focus praise and attention on you. Those of us in highly visible ministries are at the constant temptation to allow the fruit of the hours of preparation just go to our ego and heart and miss the real blessing.  Music leadership must work hard at developing the craft, talents and skills to lead and play, yet we must never let the words spoken to Moses get very far from our hearts and seek out the praise of those for whom God has called us to minister.  We must always have an awareness that our obedience and inward lives and character cannot substitute for allowing the Spirit of God to shine through in simple transparency, to trust in Him enough to honor Him as holy.

As James said “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” {James 3:1-2} Leadership in the ministry will be judged more strictly. We must be models worthy of following. When leadership stumbles, it does not stumble alone, it causes many to fall as well. Any taking of the glory from Christ so as focus it on ourselves is a form of idolatry. It is a serious matter to God and He takes serious measures to correct such actions.

I am totally at the mercy and grace of God. I am ashamed at how many times I have failed in this area, and even more amazed that God would forgive me, especially when I see that it was just this one time that made Moses loose his position. As I enter the last part of my life and ministry, I want to finish well and one way toward this process is to “trust  enough to honor Him as holy in the sight of His people.” I pray that many would join me in the this prayer that in all we do that we live and lead in such a way that we trust in Christ to honor Him as holy.

"Unplugged" Worship

“Be Prepared” is not only the Boy Scouts’ motto, it is a necessity for those who lead worship. Recently, the air conditioning system went out at our church sanctuary on a Saturday causing a rapid change of venue. Tracks, lighting, video, mics, were all ready for use in the sanctuary, however the AC issue caused us to call in a “Plan B,” which was go to our Fellowship Hall. Now with only two microphones and a older piano. All my planning was envisioned in another place with greater facilities, and now had to be thrown out as the last minute. Our congregation graciously accepted the change and we had a meaningful time of worship, However, the incident did make the wheels of my mind begin to spin. What do I really need in order to worship?

What if the electricity had gone out, what would we have done?  The Sanctuary has side doors, but no windows, so a lack of breeze would be an issue. We could use the piano, maybe an acoustic guitar, but no organ, electric guitar, lighting, air conditioning, or projection screens. Without proper lighting even hymnals would be questionable.  If you were to go bare bones, with just your hearts and voices what changes would you have make? It is easy for our security to become trapped by the all the non-essentials. Perhaps we’ve become so dependent on a wall of sound that for some musical worship  would be difficult, if not impossible.

No, I’m not about to suggest that we return to the caves and push to renounce every modern convenience. Years of serving overseas as a missionary provided plenty of experiences of bare-boned worship that was meaningful [and some that was not]. Now, living in south Louisiana in the heat and humidity without air conditioning would not be pleasant and most likely would demand that we move our time of worship to a time of the day when the weather would be less oppressive. However, I would like for us to think about worshiping “un-plugged” for just a moment.

By “Unplugged Worship,” I mean, worshiping God without all the technology that has facilitated and complicated our time together as the Body of Christ.  The music in worship services in England after the Reformation was reduced to the singing of the Psalms in unison, that is, just melody, no harmony. Light was provided by windows, sound by the acoustics of the room and the strength of human voice. [The simplicity is tempting, yet I know how important good accompaniment is to supporting congregational singing.]

The question is this: What if our churches had to worship “unplugged” for a month? A year? Would we see the attendance increase or decrease? Would those that seek to be entertained lose interest and go somewhere else or no where at all? Would we be able to worship without the “extras” that have become so much a part of what we do? Is it just enough to gather as the Body of Christ and center our hearts and focus on Him, whether or not we are even able to sing or not? Is Jesus alone enough? 

If there is something we have to have besides God’s Word and Holy Spirit in our lives as we gather and focus on God, then have we made that object or thing an “idol” that separates us from  worship? 

Perhaps we need to “unplug” every now and then and see what are those things on which we are really depending for worship individually and corporately.  Just some thoughts....

Do You Have Any Bronze Snakes in Your Worship?

In 2 Kings 18, the biblical author records an interesting occurrence when describing the reforms that Hezekiah accomplished in the early part of his reign:

In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.) [2 Kings 18:1-4, NIV]
       
Notice the last part of verse 4, “He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)” It is just a passing reference, but demands that we stop and take the time to unpack it.  The bronze snake had its origin when the people of Israel began to gripe and complain during their wilderness journeys. We find the story in Numbers 21: 4-9:

They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.  The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
                                       
Remember that not long before they had witnessed some of the greatest miracles in the Bible, the parting of the sea, their crossing on dry ground and the defeat of Pharaoh’s army. They were being fed manna by God, Himself, and many other miracles of God’s provision and protection had occurred.  Although it is easy for us to play armchair quarterback as we read the story, when we are honest with ourselves, many times we forget all that God has done as well when a sudden crisis arises and we are in deep need.   The needs that arose in the wilderness served as tests to see if they would believe God and trust Him. Unfortunately, almost every time, they failed the tests. When the crisis hits us, or the phone comes with bad or tragic news, it is difficult to respond in faith, but as our relationship with God deepens, it can and will happen.

Back to our story. The pole with the snake that Moses made soon fades into the background of Israel’s history and doesn’t surface again until the days of Hezekiah. Scripture doesn’t give us a detailed account, only that by the time of the writing of 2 Kings, what once had been a symbol and memorial of God’s justice and redemption, had become an object of worship.  The people had even gone so far as to give it a name, Nehushtan, which sounds like the words for bronze and snake in Hebrew. I do not want to make more of this than does Scripture, but over the years the snake must have been kept by the priests and it must have been more accessible and visible than the ark, which the people could not see.

Where or how really isn’t that important, but what must have happened was a gradual shift in how the object was viewed. Over the years as the story was told the emphasis must have changed from God’s power and Moses’ obedience in making the snake to the people just looking at the snake. They must have forgotten that God used an object that represented their own disobedience to bring about their restoration. Instead of realizing that it was in obeying God’s command to look at the snake that they were healed, they focused on just looking at the snake, as if it in its own power it could perform miracles. What was meant to be a memory or memorial of God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness had become an idol of worship.

The snake was not the only idol worshiped when Hezekiah became king, but it was probably one of the few, if not the only one that was directly related to objects within their own religious history. As painful as it must have been for the King to destroy something that Moses, himself had fashioned and used and that had been such a powerful symbol in their history, Hezekiah knew that it has lost its true meaning and was actually leading people away from God, instead of reminding them and turning them to Him. There was only was only one way to stop the idolatry and that was to destroy the idol.

Although this is a fascinating account, what does it mean for us today?  We don’t have poles with bronze snakes on them in our sanctuaries, do we?  Well, that is a great question. Anyone that knows me, knows that I love history and am passionate about our understanding where and how we have gotten to where we are so that we can better understand where we are going. To ignore our past is to take a path to destruction.

At the same time, we must be honest with ourselves and others if we are allowing things in our past that perhaps at one time were pillars of our faith to become bronze snakes. Perhaps at our conversion a particular pastor, song, place, etc., was instrumental in our coming to Christ or for many to come to Christ. The memory and emotions linked to that time were strong, perhaps even overpowering. Yet, with time the focus has morphed into one where the joy of the memory is more with the association of the song, place, etc., than God who brought it all together. If we are not careful, we can allow these very precious people, or things to become bronze snakes that steal away the worship that only God, Himself deserves.  God has zero tolerance for idolatry. We can and should thank God for the important people and events that have been instrumental in our relationship with God, but careful to remember it is God and God alone who is the center and focus of our worship.

Gideon’s Lessons for Worship Leaders [Judges 6-8]

1. Size and importance doesn’t matter. By Gideon’s own comments, he was from the “weakest family in Manasseh and the youngest in his family”. Being useful for the Lord, is not dependent on the size of the group to which you minister, or if you are serving “in one of the great congregations” of the area. God’s understanding of “greatest” is not measured the way our culture measures it.

2. He was faithful and brave in little things. When God calls out Gideon for service he is threshing wheat in a wine press, a place that he could help provide food for his family, but in a way that the enemy would not see.

3. He was called of God to do what he did; he didn’t dream it up on his own. Gideon did not have dreams and aspirations of becoming a great general and winning fame and riches for himself . He had no delusions of grandeur. After attending a mega meeting and seeing all the glitz and fame some worship leaders seem to have, it is easy for that to become an attraction and for some to want to desire that for themselves. That is not a call from God, only an ambitious desire.

4. When he realizes that it was an angel of the Lord that had been speaking to him, his first response is worship, not boasting about what had happened. Judges 6:23 states that after the angel of the Lord had vanished from his sight, Gideon cried out in fear, but God tells him not to be afraid. His first response was to build an altar, which he names “The Lord is peace.”

5. Before he could do great things for God, he had to deal with the idolatry in his own household. He worship experience is followed by obedience to what God tells him to do. God then instructs Gideon to tear down the altar to Baal that was on his father’s land and offer a sacrifice using the wood from the idol, which he does. Even though he is ridiculed for what he did, he remained obedient.

6. The Spirit of God did not come upon Gideon until he had been obedient in what God had called him to do by tearing down the idol of Baal. Obedience in the little things is prerequisite before we are useful for the larger tasks. As Jesus said in the parable of the talents, he that is faithful in little, will be given more. There must be a willingness to do what seems to be insignificant jobs with an uncomplaining spirit, before we are entrusted with greater tasks.

7. He was humble, and needed reassurance that this was what God wanted him to do. There have been many sermons on the weaknesses of Gideon’s “throwing out a fleece,” or asking God for proof for what God was calling him to do. And in one sense, it is true, because of a lack of faith, he did ask for confirmation. However, Gideon is listed in faith’s “Hall of Fame” in Hebrews 11, so there must be something more here. Consider, that he did probably did not have easy access to scripture, and no prophet is even on the scene until Samuel, years later. He was well aware of his inability to accomplish the task. He did not doubt that God could do it, only his own involvement in the task.

8. God looks for those who will give Him the glory. God reduced the number of soldiers from 32,000 to 300, which is a great study in itself, but we’ll save that for another time. God’s desire was to work in such a way that the Israelites would not say that is was by their own skill and strength that they defeated the enemy, but that would realize that it was by God’s hand alone. Such is a model for our ministry in leading worship: it must be for God’s glory, not done in such a way that we become the focus of attention, or used as a stepping stone to a “better situation.”

9. Once Gideon acts on faith, God provides a sign to reassure Gideon that the victory was God’s. The first sign, the fleece, was at Gideon’s request, but the next, Gideon’s overhearing the enemy’s soldier’s conversation [Judges 6:9-15] was God’s initiative, showing Gideon that He was already working on his behalf. Notice that Gideon’s first response to God’s sign, is worship.

10. Gideon followed God’s plan, and taught others to do what he was doing. When it was time, Gideon tells the 300 men under his charge, “Watch me, and do what I do.” [Judges 6:17]. Worship is not something we tell other to do, it is something we do and ask others to follow in what we are doing.

11. God brings the victory for Himself as Gideon was obedient to do what God had instructed. The army was defeated, God was glorified, all because Gideon was obedient, and believed what God had promised.

12. Gideon was persistent. The battle that followed was tough. The previous night’s destruction had left 120,000 men dead, but 15,000 had fled. Gideon didn’t say that his part was over, but took his 300 men after them. Even when denied help [Judges 8:4-9], he kept on pursuing until he had captured the kings of the enemy.

13. The reminder of his victory, became an idol unto itself. Gideon refused to become Israel’s king, stating that only God was their king, but did take a ring from each of his men’s share of the war booty. With this he made an ephod, a gold woven garment, similar to what the priests wore. This symbol of Israel’s victory over the enemy became an idol that they worshiped, rather than the God that had given them the victory. Any victory we might experience, any experience we might have can become an idol in and of itself and take us away from the very One who gave the victory or experience.

I trust these lessons can be of help to all of us who lead in worship.