Leviticus 5:14-19 (Numbers 15:17-31) : Go and Sin No More

Presented to Nipawin Corps, 29 March 2009
and in Winnipeg, November 2006
also Swift Current, 21 July 2012
By Captain Michael Ramsay

Many, many years ago I went to university to become an elementary school teacher. This was a lot different than many of the other programmes at University in that we had ‘extra’ rules to follow: we needed a minimum of a ‘B’ average, we had recommended dress codes, we had be on time. And these were important because we would be example for the young people we would be teaching.

I remember my first day of University. I wake up, my alarm clock doesn’t work. The power has gone out during the night. I wake up right when class is supposed to begin; so I throw on my clothes, grab my books and fly out the door. I jump in my car. I put the key in the ignition and... it doesn’t work. My car doesn’t work. At this point I am quite loudly practicing my… creative English skills, you know what I mean – and I run into the house and one by one call all of my friends who have cars. Most of them are still asleep but I get a hold of Dan. So he comes and gets me and drops me off at the university and, flustered and not wishing to stand out too much I try to sneak, half an hour late, into my first class of the day. I am caught by the professor who calls me to front of the class, issues me a recorder and asks me to play then and there in front of everyone. I do … and am promptly asked to stop playing as my teacher grimaces exaggeratedly. I am absolutely flustered and embarrassed at this point as the teacher asks for my name in order to check it off the attendance. Michael Ramsay. Michael Ramsay? That name isn’t on my list. What?!… All this and I am in the wrong class anyway

I was late for class, unknowingly disrupted the class and was guilty of breaking a rule. As we turn to our text in Leviticus, we discover a whole community of people who are guilty of breaking rules and are held responsible”

In 5:14, it specifies that, “If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible.” At some point everybody has sinned and even if we do not know that we have sinned we are still guilty and responsible - Romans 3:23, 2 Chronicles 19:10. And whatever the offence and the circumstances surrounding it, when we are wrong, we are obligated to God and society to make it right,[1] (cf. Numbers 5:6) God loves us so much, He wants us to make it right.

There are couple ways that this specific law in 5:14 might come into play.
1) The Israelites are aware of the law but do not know that they have even broken it; or
2) Since there are so many more than just the 10 Commandments to follow, someone might not be aware of a law and thus unknowingly break it. As it states in verse 17, you are guilty and will be held responsible. In the case of ancient Israel, the price is a ram without defect and one HAS to pay. Even though they did not know that they did anything wrong, because God really wants them to be right with him, they HAVE TO PAY.

In some ways in our world today we still have to pay. There are many such situations. There are times when people don’t notice a new speed limit and the red and blue lights come on behind us. I remember a discussion that I had about J-walking in Vancouver. I was convinced that if we crossed the street at a back alley it wasn’t illegal. The police officer told us otherwise.

How many of us have forgotten an appointment? We miss it or are late and have to reschedule. There is a penalty. We have to pay.

Back in Leviticus: They have to pay. Sacrifice is required. When they sin, on purpose or not, it gets in the way of their relationship with God. God is gracious though. He’ll let them make it up to Him. If they bring him a sacrifice (sort of a cross between a fine you have to pay or the flowers you might bring your wife after an argument) If they bring him a sacrifice, He will forgive them - but they need to pay.

Now in our text there is a time when you need to pay EVEN MORE– that’s when you sin against the Lord’s holy things. The Lord’s holy things' points to all that is property of the Lord in a special way:[2] that can be anything - an object, money, or a location. In our text, verses 14-16 address that specifically and the penalty in this case is not just the a fine of a ram but it is also restoration PLUS 20% (a double tithe.) So if they may mistakenly take parts of the sacrifice that are meant for the Lord OR they may use tithes inappropriately OR you even unknowingly or inadvertently use something inappropriately that is dedicated to God.

The training college where we were learning how to be officers had a lot of neat things: Camcorders, computers, microphones, key boards and white boards. All of this is for the Lord. All that is The Salvation Army’s is really set apart for God, including the college vans.

We are allowed to use the college vans for coming to Weetamah here. We are allowed to use them to get back and forth from school. We are allowed to use them for things during the week and occasionally we are allowed to use them for personal use as well. But, we must remember that in reality these vehicles are dedicated to the Lord.

Now I do my best to use other people’s things properly. AND I do my VERY best not to misuse God’s things. I really don’t want to upset Him. I can remember one day, though, I get a nice little letter for the Attorney General’s office: “You were recorded at travelling at 70 km / hr in a 50 km / hr zone.” I have misused something dedicated to the Lord AND there is a penalty AND I have to pay

And today there is more… in Matthew 5:17 Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” And James 2:10 says that “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

There is an even greater penalty for us to be aware of: we have all committed sins knowingly or not but we also have committed capital offences – crimes worth the death penalty – Look here in Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death. If we ever knowingly or not commit adultery even in our minds we are guilty of that same sin – in the law, the prescribed penalty is death. If we commit murder in our own mind we are guilty – and the penalty in the law is death. If we blaspheme the Lord, whether we know Him at the time or not AND whether we do it on purpose or not, the punishment is death. As Adam and Eve, before we were ever born, on our behalf disobeyed God - the penalty for us is death. We are all guilty (whether we know it or not). We have all sinned (whether we believe it or not). We have all sinned and the wages of our personal sins – the punishment, that we deserve! is death. And that is a little more pricey than a ram plus 20% mentioned here. This is bad news.

There is good news though. There is good news in the text – in Leviticus – right here. Do you see it? Did you catch it? After approaching the Lord, in their guilt -Verse 16: “In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the wrong he has committed … and he will be forgiven” and again, verse 18: the priest will make atonement for him You know what atonement is? It is just making it okay. Making things right again so we will be forgiven. The priest will make atonement for him for the wrong he has committed … and he will be forgiven.” The priest then will go to God FOR THEM and smooth things over. Even if one has acted out against those holy things of the LORD God himself, he will be forgiven. He will be forgiven. God will forgive them. It doesn’t matter that they are guilty. Even though they are guilty and do not know it. Even though they thought that they had done nothing wrong and they found out quite differently. Even though they are guilty, God loves them and God has provided a way for them to be restored.

When they go to the priest, they are confessing their sins (saying their sorry and meaning it) and he makes it okay. When they approach the priest they are repenting, turning from their error, and he will make it okay. When they approach the priest he offers their sacrifice for them and it makes them okay with God.

And how much more is that the case for us in our world today. When we admit our sins and ask forgiveness, Jesus makes us okay. I did not give a priest a ram when I missed class; I did not have to pay a ticket plus 20% for speeding in a van dedicated to God. I did not. And we do not have to pay the penalty in our world today, we don’t have to pay for Adam. Jesus already did. Jesus made us okay. He already paid our death penalty. He is both the ram AND the High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). We do not have to pay for committing adultery or murder in our minds. Jesus already paid. Jesus has made us okay. We don’t have to pay for those sins we commit by accident or without even noticing it. Because Jesus died on that cross, we don’t have to pay for our sins, no matter how horrible…whatever we have done, Jesus has already paid. Jesus has made it okay as long as we go to him and repent: say we’re sorry and mean it, Jesus has made us okay with God.

As we go to Jesus, the High Priest, and confess our sins and repent, we are forgiven. We will be forgiven. Jesus has already made it right for us. He is the sacrifice. He died (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) He died so that we do not need to suffer the consequences of our own guilt. All we have to do is go to him.

So, as Jesus is both the priest and sacrifice in our text, and it has been made right. It is okay. He died so that we can be forgiven. We can be okay with God.

I don’t know what sins you have committed but they have been atoned for. You are forgiven. We have been made okay with God – Jesus died; so, as Jesus told a woman who was actually caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). “Go…[now that your guilt has been atoned for]…and sin no more.” “Go and sin no more.”

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

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[1] John E. Hartley. Leviticus. (WBC 4: Dallas Texas: Word Books, 1992), 76.
[2] Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. Leviticus. (NIB 1: Nashville, Abingdon Press 1994), 1040.

Numbers 22-24: A Balaam Blessing

Presented to Nipawin Corps, 22 March 2009
and Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army 29 July 2012
By Captain Michael Ramsay

God has a plan for Israel’s Salvation that could not be thwarted here in this story. We know – because we have the Book and have read the beginnings and the endings – that God promised Abraham that his descendants would occupy the land promised to them – at least for a time[1] (beyond that is up to them to remain faithful to their covenant responsibilities; cf. Exodus 19:5, Leviticus 23:33-35, 2 Chronicles 36:20-21, Amos 3:1-2, etc.).[2] As we are reading through the Bible together we notice that He used Moses to deliver people from slavery into the wilderness and Joshua to deliver them from that wilderness of Sin into the Promise. Today we have a very interesting story before us. One of the most interesting – I think – in the book of Numbers, complete with even an angel and a talking donkey: the story of the prophet Balaam and King Balak of Moab. Now we know that God’s plan for salvation will not be thwarted[3] but listen to this, it is interesting.

A king of Moab, Balak, sees how God is using the Israelites to devastate many Amorite communities.[4] Israel is fresh off a couple of military victories and they are on the move and Moab is just south of them and King Balak is concerned. He is worried about them not only because of their military might but also because he fears that if he lets them come across Moab’s land they will use all its supplies (Num 21) so Moab won't even have enough left for their own people. You often here this same logic from people who are opposed to immigration: 'if we let those people in we won't have any jobs for the rest of us'. To be fair though, Balak's logic isn't quite as backward as that.

Remember that there are about 2 million descendants of Israel here in this story.[5] Can you imagine if – in the days of limited transportation, before highways and railroads when we couldn’t quickly and easily get more supplies whenever we wanted them – can you imagine if the present day population of Vancouver just showed up on Nipawin’s doorstep[6], cranky, hungry, needing food, and having just wiped out the city of P.A? What would we do? We couldn’t supply their needs.

Balak couldn’t supply Israel’s needs. He was worried. Now being at least smart enough to believe in God. Even if he does not know the Lord specifically, being Theistic, he figures that he best call in a prophet of some sort to curse these people in order to save his people and his land. Balak sends for Balaam. Numbers 22:5b-14:

Balak said: "A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed." (Balak knows he is powerless on his own! He knows to turn to God.)The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. (Balaam didn't work for free!) When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said. "Spend the night here," Balaam said to them, "and I will bring you back the answer the LORD gives me." So the Moabite princes stayed with him.
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 Now I need to interject here. This is significant. You will notice in your Bibles that the word ‘LORD’ has all of the letters capitalised in verse eight – that means that Balaam is not just referring to some nebulous idea of God. ‘LORD’ when we see all the letters capitalised in our Bibles like this is referring to God’s divine name: YHWH. Balak, himself, may very well know the LORD too: the Moabites are descended from Lot after all, Abram’s relative who travelled with him to the Promised Land (Gen 19:63-37). Balak could very well know God and Balaam says that he will tell them what YHWH tells him and then, verse 9ff:[7]

God came to Balaam and asked, "Who are these men with you?"
Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 'A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.' "
But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed."
The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak's princes, "Go back to your own country, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you."
So the Moabite princes returned to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."
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 Balak, as we have read, is wondering what he should do with this impending crisis. He has an idea so he sends for this prophet of God to ask him to bless his plans. So far this doesn’t sound too out of the ordinary, does it? In our world today when calamity strikes we often call on the name of the Lord. In the USA when they were feeling vulnerable after 9/11, church attendance shot way up as people were concerned with what was happening and as they realised that they really needed to rely on more than themselves - for a time anyway.

So this is interesting. Balak is not an atheist. He knows that there is a god and more than that. When he faces possible destruction, he seeks a prophet who intercedes for him with the god of his ancestors, the one true God, YHWH. Balak recognises the sovereignty of God even though he does not realise the plan of salvation yet. This is a good thing (sort of). This is faith. He recognises the power of prayer, the power of sacrifice and the power of coming before the Lord.

The problems for Balak and Balaam in this story really start after they come before the Lord - when they don’t get the answer they want. Verses 15-20:

Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. They came to Balaam and said:
"This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me." (He's persistent!)
But Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God. (Now this is true and something that actually we need to remember in our lives too: we can't do anything beyond the command of God - it's not good. But...Balaam doesn't stop there. He says:) Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the LORD will tell me."
That night God came to Balaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you."

To this point as far as Balaam is concerned this seems good, right? - God has told Balaam not to curse the Israelites and Balaam says that he will not do anything that the LORD -his God (verse 18) does not command. And still this is not apparently so bad yet for Balak either. Here Balak is like the persistent widow (Lk. 18:1-8), right? He didn’t get the deliverance just like he desired from his perceived enemies so he doesn’t give up; he comes before the Lord through Balaam again.

I think - so far – if our society was even this good, we would probably be saved from a lot of the problems that are besetting us these days: divorce, pornography, escalating crime rates, increased disparity in the distribution of wealth… Canada used to pray more. We, until very recently, even prayed at the opening of sessions of parliament. Maybe in the years just before we stopped, many MPs didn’t know the LORD but they still came before him. Balak did not necessarily know the LORD but it was YHWH who he is seeking and it is YHWH who he is finding in this story (Cf. Matt 7:7-8).

There are problems though. The first problem is for Balaam, who was the one to whom the LORD was speaking. It says in Numbers 22:22 that the Lord was angry with Balaam for going with Moab’s princes. We’ll come back to this but first, let us read the rest of the story because it is interesting. Verses 21-38:

Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.
Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he beat her again.
Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"
Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now."
The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?"
"No," he said.
Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
The angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her."
Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back."
The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn't you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?"
"Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."
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 So he does. The king of Moab asks him to curse Israel so Balaam travels all the way to the top of one mountain[8] with the king of Moab, where he can see his enemies, and after that long hike and all that time together, Balaam… blesses Israel. Balak, believing in the power of God, is obviously upset. Numbers 23:11-12: Balak says to Balaam, “‘what have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!’

He answered, ‘Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?’” Fine. So Balak and Balaam decide to try again and Balak brings him all the way to the top of another mountain (23:13-26) and asks him to curse Israel. Balaam travels all the way to the top of the second mountain with the king of Moab, where he can see all his enemies, and after that long hike and all that time together, Balaam… blesses Israel; so – verses 25 & 26: Then Balak says to Balaam, “‘Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!’

Balaam answered, ‘Did I not tell you I must do whatever the LORD says?’” Fine. So Balak and Balaam decide to try again the persistent King Balak and Balaam again travel all the way to the top of the third mountain, where he can see all his enemies, and after that long hike and all that time together, Balaam… comes before the LORD, and Balaam... is not empty handed but he has a significant offering for the LORD, and then Balaam.... blesses Israel again. And Balak is mad! Numbers 24:10-13: "Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, 'I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the LORD has kept you from being rewarded.'

Balaam answered Balak, 'Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, 'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD -and I must say only what the LORD says'?" Balaam doesn’t stop there he goes on to tell Balak how Moab will be crushed through Israel. Balak, who hired Balaam, Balak who has spend all of this time with Balaam, Balak who has spent all of this energy on Balaam, Balak is not pleased. Balak, it says, is angry.

Three times Balak comes before the LORD not wanting salvation for his enemies but wanting them to be cursed. Three times, the Lord tells Balak that He will instead save his enemies. Now as Balak is standing in the way of their salvation, Balak finds himself cursed (Numbers 24:17).

Are there times when we stand in the way of the salvation of our enemies (Cf. Matt 5:44, Luke 6:37; cf. Romans 5:10-11, Colossians 1:21-24; cf TSA doc. 6) and in the process risk calling down a curse upon ourselves? Do we ever say that we couldn’t possibly speak to THOSE people? I have mentioned here before that there were churches in this very community that were not open to smokers, for one example. There are congregations where single mothers did not feel welcome. There are even congregations in this town who have even been called racist. Do we ever -like Balak- call curses upon those whom God has already blessed? Do we ever seek punishments for our enemies? Do we ever call curses upon those for whom God has a plan of salvation? Do we ever refuse to forgive our Christian brothers and sisters and thus risk sacrificing God’s forgiveness for us (Cf. Matt. 6:12-14, 18:15-35, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:37, 11:4, 17:1-3)?

Romans 5:10: “For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” All of us before we are saved are God’s enemies. And those who stand in the way of God’s plan for salvation –like Balak- are still his enemies. Do we ever do this? Do we ever stop people from coming to church? Do we ever make it so people don't want to come to Jesus? Do we ever stand at the top of the proverbial mountain and call curses down on people that we don't like or that we are afraid of? Do we ever stand in the way of other people’s salvation? This was Balak's sin; he was interfering with the Israelites' salvation and actually asking God to curse people that He has already blessed.

There is more to this story than this though and if we leave it here, I fear we might wind up giving Balaam more credit than he deserves. You see Balaam doesn’t curse those God has blessed here, he obeys God (albeit unintentionally) but that is not the end of his story. Now for the rest of the story:

Balaam is not a hero of the faith (Cf. Hebrews 11). Not even close. Num 31:7-9 says: "They [the Israelites] fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man. …They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder." Numbers 31:15-17 continues, "Have you allowed all the women to live?" he [Moses] asked them. "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people..."

So what happened to Balaam, the prophet who communicated with God? He is actually mentioned a lot in the Bible outside of the book of Numbers: Deuteronomy 23:3-5, Joshua 13:22, 24:9-10, Nehemiah 13:1-2, Micah 6:5, 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, Rev 2:14[9]? Jude 11:1 records that people will be punished who 'have rushed for profit [money] into Balaam’s error’. 2 Peter 2:15 says that Balaam ‘loved the wages of wickedness” and Revelation 2:14 tells us Balaam ‘taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.’

Balaam’s blessing of Israel was not of his own accord. He wanted to curse them (for money). He is mentioned over and over again as a bad guy rather than a hero and he made his decisions based on his pocket book rather than on what the LORD told Him. Deuteronomy 23:5, “However, the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.” Balaam went up those mountains with Balak these three times because Balaam did want to get paid for cursing the Israelites - God just wouldn't let him. Even though - for money - he sought to curse those whom God had blessed, God thwarted his plans and God saved whom God chose to save – not whom Balaam chose to save and Balaam, in the process, rejected this salvation offered to God’s people and Balaam by opposing God in his heart perished in his wickedness.

The prominent Christian philosopher, Ravi Zacharias says of Balaam[10]:

“He was given an extraordinary privilege. God told him, “Whatever you bless, I will bless. Whatever you curse, I will curse. It was a gift entrusted with honour. But Balaam fell victim to his greed. A group of his people’s enemies, came and asked him to curse his own people and they would pay him handsomely. Balaam knew that God did not want that. How was he going to get around it? He told this delegation: “I will come with you to their camp, but I will not curse them” Why did he go, one wonders, if he was not going to curse them. As he drew closer, God spoke to Balaam and said “Don’t do it”. So Balaam looked at this delegation and said “I’m sorry I cannot disobey God.” Next day, they offered him some more money. He said, “All right, I’ll go with you, but will not curse them” Again, God warned him. This happened three times, each time they offered him more money. Finally, he laid his scheme. “I can’t curse them, he said, “but I will give you a plan such that they will end up disobeying God, and in effect curse themselves.”
Balaam got what he wanted, but gave the appearance of being clean. Years later, God warned His people not to be like Balaam, who God did not stop, when he was determined to do it his way.
How often we too, in our lives and in our homes are determined to do it our way rather than God’s way. We find in the end that we squandered God’s blessing by selling ourselves to lesser causes. C.S. Lewis said: There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who bend their knee to Him and say, “Your will be done”, and those who refuse to bend their knee, and God says to them, “All right then, your will be done.” If you are determined to do it your way, God will step aside and second your motion. Why don’t you pause right now and choose to go his way.”

Rom 5:11: “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

Let us remember that and let us refrain from going our own way and let us refrain from putting barriers in the way of other people’s salvation. Sometimes the church doors are the most difficult doors to walk through and sometimes I think that is because sometimes there are churchgoers sitting in their chairs, like Balaam on his mountain, trying to exclude others from God’s salvation. I am sure that that is none of us here but it is good to remember that as recorded in Colossians 1:21-24: “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel” (cf. TSA doc. 9). So then let us, realising that God has a plan for all of our Salvation that can not be thwarted, let us openly offer his blessing to all those called into His promised rest (Heb 4) that none of them and none of us will reject this salvation and parish outside of the promise.

Let us pray: Thank you Lord that you died so that we may live. Thank you Lord that it is your wish that none of the ones you have chosen would perish. Thank you Lord that whosoever believes in you may indeed have eternal life. Lord please help us to do our part in fulfilling the great commission and in place of grumbling, unholy judgements, and curses, let us offer only the blessing of your salvation to everyone we meet.

Amen.

http://www.sheepspeak.com/
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[1] Cf. Thomas E. McComiskey, The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Pradis CD-ROM:Amos/Exposition of Amos/III. The Prophetic Oracles (1:3-6:14)/B. Oracles of Judgment Against Israel (2:6-6:14)/2. A lesson based on cause and effect (3:1-12), Book Version: 4.0.2
[2] Cf. Karl Moller. “‘Hear This Word Against You’: a Fresh Look at the Arrangement and the Rhetorical Strategy of the Book of Amos,” Vetus Testamentum 50, no. 4 (2000): 502. And Thomas E. McComiskey, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Amos/Introduction to Amos/Theological Values of Amos/The doctrine of election in Amos, Book Version: 4.0.2
[3]Cf. Ravi Zacharias. Determined to Go Wrong. Available on-line: http://www.rzim.org/USA/USFV/tabid/436/ArticleID/8993/CBModuleId/1133/Default.aspx
[4] This is after He has already granted them 400 years of grace! (Gen 15:12) Cf. Michael Ramsay, Journal of Aggressive Christianity, Issue 52, December 2007 – January 2008: 5-10. Available on-line at: http://www.armybarmy.com/pdf/JAC_Issue_052.pdf
[5] Cf. Thomas B. Dozeman, Numbers. (NIB II. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1998), 177.
[6] Statistics Canada, www.statscan.ca. Vancouver has approximately 2 million people; Nipawin has about 4000 people, and Prince Albert (PA) has 34 000 (2006).
[7] But Cf. John H. Tullock and Mark McEntire. The Old Testament Story, 7th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 1992), 91.
[8] The mountains be more like hills or vantage points than what we would necessarily think of as mountains but an important point is that they are travelling together all of this time and expending all of this effort for there goal.
[9] Balaam is infamous. He is also mentioned in other non-Biblical texts. Cf. John H. Tullock and Mark McEntire. The Old Testament Story, 7th Ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 1992), 91.
[10] Ravi Zacharias. Determined to Go Wrong. Available on-line: http://www.rzim.org/USA/USFV/tabid/436/ArticleID/8993/CBModuleId/1133/Default.aspx

Numbers 6: 1-21: Nazirites, the OT Salvationists?

Presented to Nipawin Corps, 15 March 2009

and Prairie Division Men's Camp, 21 February 2010
By Captain Michael Ramsay

Today we are talking about an important covenant, a significant vow in our text, the Nazarite vow. It is not unlike the Soldiership oath or the Christian marriage covenant. Susan and I, like every married Christian couple, made our wedding covenant and took these very serious vows with our spouse before the Lord. We promised to forsake all others and be joined by God with this one other person – separated from all others - until our death (Cf. Romans 7:2,3).

Covenants, vows, and oaths are very important to God. They are quite common in the Bible.[1] Covenants are a way for God to bind us to the vehicle of Salvation, his Son. This is very important. People used to enter into covenants more in this country. People used to call God as a witness and/or mention Him right in official documents. Even our national anthem and our country’s official motto refer to God (cf. Psalm 72). There was a time not too long ago when people would take an oath in our public courtrooms, on the Bible, before God, that they would be honest and tell the truth. And when people took oaths they used to realize their significance as well (cf. Joshua 9; Judges 2, 11; 2 Sam 21).

Canadians used to realise the importance of marriage – a very important oath that people still take before God today – before the 1970s. Between 1971 and 1982, however, the annual number of divorces more than doubled from 29,684 to 70,430. They peaked some years later in this country.[2] It seems that the ‘good old days’ where one’s word was one’s bond are long gone and it seems that now people tend to forget how important covenants are and that covenants before God do not end just because we have difficulty living up to them.[3]

In our congregation today, we have people who are considering two very important covenants. One with God and The Salvation Army: their Soldiership oath; and the other with each other, before God: their marriage covenant. In our text today, Numbers 6, we have another sort of vow –similar to these– that the Lord used to greatly bless some of the ancient Israelites: the Nazirite vow.

Numbers 6:1,2: The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the LORD as a Nazirite…” There are some things she must do. But first can anyone name for me any famous Nazirites from the Bible to help us sort things out a little bit? (Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist.) I invite you to keep these fellows in your mind as we are thinking today.

Off the bat I should tell you that there are some key differences between their vows and other people who took a Nazirite vow.

1) None of these three people - Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist -entered into the Nazirite vow of their own accord;

2) And their vows, which were made on their behalf (Samson's and John's were initiated by God and their parents), were for their entire life – which is the default position for vows, covenants, and oaths unless otherwise specified.[4]

This is different than most times when a Nazirite vow would be taken; in general, the Nazirite vow was voluntarily entered into by both men and women and it was for a specified period of time (verse 4). And unlike Soldiership vows and Christian marriage covenants, the typical Nazirite vow has an expiry date. The vow itself is interesting and I think it is important for us today because it is not entirely different from our Soldiership vows that we take with the Lord in The Salvation Army.[5]

Verse 3: “He [the Nazirite] must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.” And 4, “As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.”

1) No Grapes

This is interesting. Now, as many of us may know, in general The Salvation Army Soldier (with some exceptions, i.e.: France) does not drink. He swears that, he “will abstain from alcoholic drink…and all else that could enslave the body or spirit.” Abstaining from fermented drink, alcohol, is common to both the Nazirite and the Soldier; you can see how this could be beneficial for setting people apart for God. In The Salvation Army, when God raised us up in London’s East End over a century ago, alcohol was one of the primary things that the enemy was using to enslave people. They would even serve drinks to young children. We were separated from that societal evil of alcoholism for God.

Today, we can see how much good God can do in delivering people from alcohol still. We even have an AA group that meets here on Wednesdays. It is exciting because in AA you can hear more than one testimony of people who have actually found God through the Alcoholics Anonymous programme. The first seven steps that they take in enjoying sobriety are as follows:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Now in order to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understand Him (step 3), we need to seek God and when one truly seeks out God, God promises that we will find Him (Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10; cf. also Matthew 6:33). One anonymous friend of mine recounts almost every week how when he told a priest that he didn’t believe in God; the priest asked him, well what if God didn’t believe in you? This gave my friend some food for thought and he – like so many others through AA – came into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ as he abstained from alcohol.

There is more than abstaining from alcohol to this part of the vow though. This separation from alcohol for the Lord is part of it but there is more. You see the Nazirite is not permitted any grapes – not just fermented grapes- so Welch’s grape juice is out of the picture[6] as well as those little packages of Sun-Maid raisons that so many kids have in their lunches. Many people, like I said, could readily find reasons why one might want to abstain from alcohol at least for a time but why do you think we would want to abstain from raisins, grapes, grape juice, etc.?

Grapes were generally seen as frivolous for the Israelites. They were seen as extra. They were dessert while they were in the desert (which is where they are in the book of Numbers). No one needs to drink grape juice; we can just drink water. This is reminiscent of the primitive Salvation Army as well. In the old days we were not allowed to wear earrings (Cf. 1 Tim 2:9) or even engagement rings. Soldiers weren't even allowed to have a feather in their hat. These we seen as frivolous; they weren't necessary so why would we want to spend the money that God has given us stewardship over on something as frivolous as a feather or an engagement ring? In the Army we have moved away from that and both Susan and I have rings – and before my daughter pulled it out, when she was two, I had an earring as well (cf. Exod 32:2-3, 35:22; Num 31:50; Judges 8:24) and I know many good Salvationists who even have tattoos (cf. Lev 19:28)!

That being said, we do come back to our roots of self-denial at this time of year. During the Lenten season, The Salvation Army concentrates on missions and we used to even call this season ‘Self-Denial’. It is when we put aside money every day and every week that we would normally spend on dessert, going out for dinner, or renting a movie, for example. We are – for this season – to deny ourselves, take up our cross in this way for Jesus and His mission through us (Matt 16:24, Mark 8:34, cf. Luke 14:27).[7]

2) No Haircut

That brings us to the next part of the Nazirite vow and this refers to the hair. (Show old picture of myself). Nazirites were not supposed to cut their hair for the whole time that they were separated from society for God.[8] We, of course, are all familiar with the story of Samson (Judges 13-16). This was the straw that broke the camel’s back as it were. He strained against his covenant more than once in his life but it was when he provided for his hair to be cut, that the strength of his covenant was no longer available to him – for a time (16:20,21).

This part of the vow is certainly noticeable, as the bulk of the Israelite population at this time - Israelite men, anyway - would have had short hair. People separated for the Lord would let their hair grow long (Num 6:5; cf. Lev 21:12, 2 Sam 14:25-26). It was a distinctive feature of their vow.[9] The Nazirite would intentionally stand out, drawing attention to the fact that he is separated; he is holy unto the LORD.

This is akin to The Salvation Army uniform. We are noticeable when we are in uniform and if someone knows anything about the Soldiers’ covenant then they know that we are separated from a number of societal behaviours – ‘all that can enslave the mind and the body’ – for God. They know that we are separated for God. This has come in very useful for my ministry here in Nipawin, and in Winnipeg’s North End and Stony Mountain Penitentiary before that, an even in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside before that. When in uniform, we are immediately recognizable for someone who finds himself in need of help from a servant of God.

I have literally had people running up the street behind me yelling ‘Captain, Captain!’ and even ‘Priest! Priest!’ The uniform also came in very helpful when offering emotional and spiritual care after Hurricane Ike struck Galveston Island in the fall and immediately following the explosion that hit Nipawin a year ago. After the tragedy, a number of the clergy in this town here even lamented that they did not have some sort of uniform –like ours - to show themselves as distinct, separated for God. The uniform, like a Nazirite’s long hair, is a way that people can know that indeed we have been set apart, we have been made holy for God. This is of course what holiness is –in this context – it is a setting apart, a separateness for God. Therefore, when we don our uniforms, as every soldier in The Salvation Army is eligible to do, we are recognisable to people, as an instrument of hope from the Lord; therefore, let us indeed be holy as the Lord our God is holy (Lev 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7-8; 26).

3) No Dead Bodies

The third aspect of the vow is no less significant than the first two and I can’t say that it really has its direct equivalent to our Soldiership vow but it does have its parallels: that is the prohibition against contact with dead bodies. Verse 7 states specifically that the Nazirite is not to come in contact with a dead body: even if the dead person is your own mother or father. If your mother or father passes away during your Nazirite vow, you may not attend the funeral ceremony. You may not! Ordinarily the Israelite has very special responsibilities pertaining to the passing of one’s parents, even though it would make her ceremonially unclean (Num 5:2, 19:11; Lev 21:1-3). For the Nazirite, she is not allowed to be unclean – even for her parents (Cf. Lev 21:10-12). One must choose between one’s family responsibilities and one’s responsibilities to God (cf. Lev 21:10-12; Matt 10:35,12:22-48, 19:29; Mark 3:23-35, 10:29-30, 13:1-28; Luke 8:19-21, 14:25-26; John 19:27). This is important. God is more important than anyone else in the holy person’s life. To the covenanted Nazirite, to the covenanted Soldier, to the devout marriage partner and to the fully committed Christian, God is first. What good is it to gain the whole world and yet lose your very own soul? (Matt 16:26, Mark 8:36).

Our Covenant remains secure

There is even more to this though – believe it or not. Look at Verse 9ff. This is very important. This is extremely important for the Nazirite and it is equally significant for Soldiers in The Salvation Army or anyone else taking a covenant before the LORD. If a person dies in the Nazirite’s presence, the Nazirite is STILL guilty of sin. Even though the Nazirite did not mean to break his vow, he still broke it and needs to be restored in his covenant relationship. Take a look, reading from Verses 9-12 (NIV):

“If someone dies suddenly in his presence, thus defiling the hair he has dedicated, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day. Then on the eighth day he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him because he sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day he is to consecrate his head. He must dedicate himself to the LORD for the period of his separation and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The previous days do not count, because he became defiled during his separation.”

Not only is he guilty of breaking his vow but the covenant remains in tact. It is even renewed: the previous days do not count; he gets a fresh start. This is important. The covenant remains until it is fulfilled. We are not released from covenants and vows simply for disobeying them. This is VERY important. The covenantal tie is not broken when we disobey God. Even when we are faithless, God is faithful (Romans 3:3,4). There are consequences for transgressing the covenant. There are natural and logical results of not living up to our vows, our promises, our covenants with or before the Lord – but we are not released from them for simple disobedience.

This is one of the very important aspects of covenants that we enter into with and before the LORD. When we disobey the covenant – there are consequences – but He is still there for us. Until the successful completion of our covenant, if it has an expiry date, or until our death (Romans 7:1-3), if it does not, our covenants remain to bind us to the Lord.

Our covenants in this way are like seatbelts. When the car crashes, we don’t take off our seatbelt and say that we are never going to wear it again. No, this is when we praise the Lord for it more than ever before.

It is like last spring when my daughters and I were coming home from Tisdale. We were driving that highway like we did a couple of times every week when all of a sudden we hit black ice, we swerved into on-coming traffic and then off our side of the road where the car proceeded to flip: it rolled over a time and a half. We did not see the accident coming and therefore could do nothing to prepare for it anymore than a Nazirite could prepare for someone suddenly dying in his presence. Even though the experts admitted that there was nothing we could do to avoid the accident, I guarantee you that SGI (the insurance company) declared that it was our fault. This is the same with the Nazirite. YHWH Insurance, so to speak, declares that they are at fault and requires payment. In this case the payment is their hair and as far as their clean driving record is concerned, they have to start over again – but the insurance isn’t cancelled. Similarly when the Soldier runs into troubles her covenant isn’t cancelled; it remains in place to protect her.

It is the same with seatbelts. In my accident the seatbelts did not break and this too is like our covenants before the Lord. Even though the car was totalled, the seatbelts held. This is important. Like sometimes an alcoholic makes a mistake and has a drink; like a husband sometimes does not operate perfectly as a loving husband; like at times we might sin before the Lord and like there are times when our lives just come crashing down all around us; when my car rolled over, there was that moment of panic as I looked back to see if my daughters were all right. To my relief they were safe and sound – even though we were all dangling upside down after the accident – they were all right because the LORD protected them through their seatbelts that did not break. We are safe and sound and soon restored to our normal life because of the Lord and our seatbelts.

Likewise, for all of us when our lives come crashing down around us, we will be safe and sound as long as we rely on the strength of our holy seatbelt -our covenant with the Lord- because the Lord will not let His covenant with us break no matter what happens to the automobile of our life. So then, let us enjoy the security of this holy seatbelt and, like the ancient Nazirite, through our covenants, let us rely fully on His strength rather than our own so that we may indeed be holy unto the LORD even as the LORD our God is holy.

Let us pray.

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

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[1] Cf. Michael Ramsay, Journal of Aggressive Christianity, Issue 40, December 2005 – January 2006, pp 16-17. Available on-line: http://www.armybarmy.com/pdf/JAC_Issue_040.pdf
[2]Jane F. Gentleman and Evelyn Park,Health Report. Vol 9. No. 2: Divorce in the 1990s, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/studies-etudes/82-003/archive/1997/3242-eng.pdf
[3] Cf. Michael Ramsay. Do you know JAC about covenant? Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsays_opinion.htm
[4] Cf. Michael Ramsay. Samson. To be Publish in The Officer Magazine.
[5] The Salvation Army's closest approximation on baptism which I AM NOT discussing here
[6]…and non-alcoholic communion wine, if it existed then; they, due to this art of the oath, were separated from rituals as well.
[7]Cf. Irving L. Jensen, Numbers: Journey to God's Rest. Moody Press, Chicago, 1964., P.37.
[8] CF. Expositors’ Bible Commentary, re: Priest cutting their hair.
[9] Cf. Irving L. Jensen, Numbers: Journey to God's Rest. Moody Press, Chicago, 1964., P.37.