The Faithful

Exodus 24:1 ESV

Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.

“Past performance is the best predictor of future results” is a mantra I learned while working. The idea was that if the process didn’t work the first time or the second time, we shouldn’t expect it to work the third. Weather that be people or machinery. This has flowed into my parenting I am afraid.  In trying to help one of my children understand why I won’t allow them to do things that the others get to do. It recently comes down to a familiar mantra “but I won’t do _______” to which I must refer back to two minutes previous when said action had just taken place. Then I am told “but I won’t do ______” and my response is “its not that you won’t its that you already did.” It still hasn’t sunk in so the circle continues until I simply say no.

This quickly moves me to my own short comings. How often do I long for those blessings that I have already shown I don’t have the ability to manage, by how I have used the small things? Recognizing that “he who is faithful with little” (Luke 16:10) applies to me is a terrible reality I don’t often enjoy thinking about. I desire a newer car, bigger house, more kids, more discs… the list is as large as my own depravity. The lack of contentment is palpable and odious. Then the question is laid before me, have I been faithful with those things I have? Have I kept GOD’S cars, house, and children to the level that more would be reasonable? Am I using the house such that a bigger one would grow the kingdom or just my status?

Then comes the scripture. The flash of light and brilliance of God’s word strikes deep at the heart of my sin. Seeing my self in the scripture instead of God is a fault laid bare time and time again. Yes, conviction of sin is there to be found, but the text is not about me nor is it about you. Reading of God’s call to Moses and the elders struck me by who is allowed to come up. The seventy elders are not listed by name but Aaron’s sons are. Nadab and Abihu go down in infamy a few pages from this point. Desiring to worship God in the wrong way, and they are sentenced to death and consumed by the fire of God (Leviticus 10).

“Does God know all things?” Is one of the questions we work on with our children. The answer being, “Nothing can be hidden from God”, applies in this instance. God knows that these two priests will disobey him. That they will leave their positions to Eleazar and Ithamar. Yet, he calls them up to him. As we have worked our way through the scriptures on Sunday morning, we are often confronted with the command to remember or be reminded about something. Looking at scripture we must remember that God is faithful and merciful to those who are least deserving. He walks with Judas for three years knowing what will transpire. He weeps of Jerusalem, knowing they would reject their salvation. He calls us up to fellowship with him, knowing we will fall short over and over. He calls us to dine at his table, on his body and blood, knowing that we have lightly esteemed it and we will go out lightly esteeming it. Yet, he does it anyway. Not because we are faithful, but because he is faithful. The faithful is a singular term.

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO