The first time Moses ascended Mount Horeb (also called Mount Sinai) to be with God, he was given the first set of stone tablets, with the laws of God written on them, by His own hand. Moses was on the mountain for quite some time when the people below grew restless. They were concerned that Moses was not coming down from the mountain, so they convinced Aaron to build a golden calf so that they could have a god to worship (Exodus 32). When Moses did return, he saw that the people were out of control and a menace to anyone who might oppose them. This was a problem!
So, Moses spoke up and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side – come to me!” and all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. He said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” So, the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother” (Exodus 32:25-29).
This is a difficult passage for many of us because we can’t reconcile the God of the Old Testament with the “grace” of Jesus in the New Testament. But they’re both One in the same. Jesus said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). And if we pay close attention to both the Old and the New Testament writings, we’ll see many parallels to the stories in both. Perhaps this account in the book of Exodus is what Jesus was remembering when describing to His followers what it would take to follow Him: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘seta man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."
Both of these passages are saying the same thing, in different ways, that God is all about loyalty. Moses had to draw a line in the sand, so to speak, to find out who was still on God’s side, which pitted family member against family member. Those who found themselves opposite God, faced death! The wicked, even if they were relatives, had to be destroyed lest the whole camp perish under God’s judgement. The people were then told to “consecrate” themselves, in other words, turn completely back to God in the hope that He would receive them in blessing again.
Jesus commands that same type of loyalty and consecration from us. If we find ourselves on the wrong side of God, we face death from our sin, “For the wages of sin are death” (Romans 6:23). It’s inevitable. However, when we choose Christ, our Messiah, we have life, “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ, Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Choosing to follow Jesus means choosing to follow His ways, and Jesus followed the ways of His Father. This means, as believers, we should be taking the side of Jesus – always - even when it comes to social and spiritual issues of the day. We are not to take the side of an unruly crowd, nor a disobedient politician. We are to prove faithful, even if, like Moses being on the mountain for a long time, Jesus is delaying His return upon the earth.
Taking this position could ultimately pit us against those we love, friends and family both. Are you willing to draw that line in the sand? Are you willing to come out from among them to be separate? Are you willing to use the sword of the Lord, His Word (scripture), to pierce between soul and spirit and expose lies and hypocrisy, even within our family? This is a question we should all be pondering in the days ahead.
Let the words of Moses and Jesus ring true for you today. It’s time for believers to pick a side. It’s time to pick up our cross and follow Him.
Be a blessing to someone today!
JCM
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