Questioning God

Scripture passage that caught my attention today: Numbers 14:15-20 Now if you kill this people all at one time, then the nations who have heard about you will say, 16 ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them that he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, therefore, let the power of the LORD be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying,
18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love,
forgiving iniquity and transgression,
but by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children
to the third and the fourth generation.’
19 Forgive the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now.” 20 Then the LORD said, “I do forgive, just as you have asked;

Observation: Once again Moses successfully negotiates with the Lord. In the Old Testament the Lord is presented as a juggling act between divine and human characteristics. Yes God is sometimes presented as almighty and powerful. God is also portrayed, as is the case in the passage above, as one whose mind changes, who cares what others think, who gets upset and then settles back down, as one with whom a mere mortal can sometimes reason. In the God of the Old Testament we catch a glimpse of the character of Jesus whom the Christian church understands to both fully human and fully divine.

Application: At a good number of times in my life I’ve been around people who are incredibly good at what they do and are revered by many. In each case the ones I’ve appreciated the most were the ones who were somehow still approachable. These are folks who, with all their talents, still reveal and understand their humanity.

I hope I’m not just trying to make God into my own image here, but I am often drawn to the stories in the Bible where the human characteristics of God are most revealed. So when Moses or Abraham or others are in a discussion or debate with God, I’m paying close attention to how God responds. And it leads me to wonder how God responds when I am personally in discussion/debate with the Almighty One. It’s not a case of lack of respect. I’ve got tons of respect…plus another ton of questions that, people like Moses, give me the courage to at least ask.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for allowing us to at least ask our questions and be in dialog with you. You did create us in your own image after all. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Scripture Readings today included: Numbers 14-16 and Mark 3)