Aaron's God

Shortly after Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 elders went up on Mt. Sinai and to see God. He was standing on pavement that had an appearance like clear blue sapphire (Ex. 24:9). These men had a close encounter with the eternal God, yet God withheld His consuming fire and allowed these men to eat and drink and return to their camp in the wilderness.

A few days later while Moses was still on the mountain, the people of Israel came and told Aaron to make a new god to go before them. Aaron did not hesitate or council them to turn back to the one true God, but immediately used his God-given gift to fashion a molten idol from their gold jewelry.

It's hard to believe somebody with great authority like Aaron could have a direct, personal encounter with God and then turn away to false gods so quickly. What happened to the "Angel of God" who was sent to lead them through the wilderness into the promised land? He did not leave them; they simply weren't following. You see, the people of Israel weren't really following Christ, they were following Moses. When Moses was gone, it became apparent that they didn't really have true faith.

I've had extended times in my life where I was only living to please Christians, instead of living to please Christ. It's pretty hard to tell the difference from the outside, but during this time I knew on the inside that I had become weak in faith. Like the children of Israel I spent years wandering around the wilderness following whoever I was with on that day of the week. I even encountered God directly at times, but my mind quickly wandered back to my wilderness, and my heart and spirit gradually grew cold.

Aaron didn't have a strong personal faith in God, and he allowed Israel to stray into idolatry, even making the very idol that brought God's wrath. Yet by God's mercy, Aaron remained the high priest and patriarch of the Levitical priesthood. Aaron and the rest of Israel were under the covenant of the law. Moses and his protege Joshua were under the covenant of grace. In a manner of speaking Aaron's god was Moses, who kept him under the bondage of the Torah law until the age of grace came to all men through Jesus Christ. With the exception of a few great men and women of faith, the entire nation of Israel was under this law of sin and death.

I think God sometimes allows godly men like Moses to be drawn away from their followers to separate those who are following God from those who are following men. It is times like these that test our faith and reveal whether it is built on an everlasting foundation. When I finally realized that I was following men and not God, I became desperate to find a deeper personal faith that could not be shaken. Praise God, I think I found it!

Brush Strokes From Heaven

A friend of mine from college occasionally writes a prophetic message under the title "Brush Strokes from Heaven". I hope he doesn't mind if I borrow his title, but when I saw this sunset last night those were the words that came to mind.

Occasionally I like to watch the science channel when they talk about the universe. In the last decade or so since the Hubble telescope became operational, scientists have been able to identify thousands of planets in nearby solar systems. What they have learned should come as no surprise to Christians - our planet is unique, and as we discover more planets in space we come to a deeper appreciation of this unique gift that God has given us. God gave us both dominion and stewardship over this beautiful blue planet. I will look to heaven with gratefulness in my heart as long as my eternal father gives me breath!