“if then the Son may make you free, in reality ye shall be free” (Joh 8:36, YLT)
Day 32 dealt with the fact that believers often live in an imaginary world which is void of God. Day 33 considered the fact that if we are not led by the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14) in all facets of our life, then it leads to immense frustration in our faith and it often results in us being stubborn, rebellious and discontent. In today’s teaching we need to put these two aspects together and show that believers who are unfulfilled often long back to their existence before their conversion and rebirth, they escape into the desires of that life, but are then, ironically, bound into a construct by those very desires.
We often feel trapped in our walk of faith, thinking that we did not receive the perks that we thought were part of the package deal. It results again that we naively and romantically long back to the seemingly uncomplicated time when we were still in the world – we long for the meat pots of Egypt.
Ex 12:38 tells that the group of Israelites took with them a “mixed multitude” who weren’t Israelites; they were probably ‘buddies’ in the land of slavery or people who saw that God was concerned with this grouping of people and felt that they also want to go along. Although they were called “proselytes”, i.e. people who converted to the Jewish faith, they were not all whole-heartedly part of the transformation of a new nation. We read, for example, in Num 11:4: “Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving.” This “mixed seed” or unholy alliances tempted the Israelites: “… so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ‘Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic’” (verses 4-5).
That which God had given, the manna, was no longer sufficient. If you are tempted, your palette for sin is far more pressing, risky, extreme, wild. The impossible becomes possible. And before you have what you desire, you are already dreaming about it and you build a construct of desire in which you can feed your fantasy to your heart’s desire. Thus they emulated their companions and said: “… but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” (verse 6).
It is interesting that the Midrash, which is the writings over the centuries of the rabbis’ commentaries on the Torah, gives this commentary at the part about the manna: The manna was like miniature sweet wafers. But for the person in the desert, who walked in righteousness and who was thus in right standing with God, when they put it in their mouth, it became the taste of whatever their heart’s desire was! Thus, if I felt like roast leg of lamb and potatoes this morning and I put the sweet wafer in my mouth, then it tasted like roast leg of lamb and potatoes! Or like fresh salad or whatever one’s desire was! But only if you walked in righteousness before Him. It’s only God who could come up with a patent like this. J
The people who were overcome with cravings were thus not in right standing with God. It’s a fitting illustration which shows how true James 1:13-15 is: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
Furthermore, James says in verse 16: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” Deceive can also mean mislead – what should have been 11 days in the desert turned out to be 40 years long!
The cult film The Matrix’s slogan has become a general end-time motto: “Welcome to the real world.” It is an age-old, accurate description of one of the greatest crises regarding faith. Faith, per definition, has to do with an unseen reality, it is “the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Os Guinness makes this statement: “[M]any modern Christian believers are atheists unawares. Professing to be believers in supernatural realities, they are virtual atheists; whatever they say they believe they show in practice that they function without practical recourse to the supernatural.” Most Christians confess with their mouth, but their heart is far from God’s reality (Matt 15:8). Dallas Willard says it aptly: “Spirituality is a matter of another reality.”
This physically unseen spiritual reality is not unreal. It is a world with its own dynamics, a unique energy, and a totally independent mode of operation. Although Paul spells out that we are in the world and not of the world, it remains theoretical knowledge for most believers and not everyday execution. And even if they see it, few live it: “It is quite common for people to trumpet that they have been ‘born again’ yet exhibit no signs of living in the supernatural dimensions of the reality they have been born into.” (Guiness).
Know today: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matt 5:6).
- Sela: This teaching touches on a wide range of issues: a spiritual construct void of God, and how you build on it with discontent and muttering. And how wrong alliances and desires can cause you to wander in circles causing you not to fulfil your purpose. Pray with a sense of urgency about the two quotes by Guinness above and come into right standing
- Read: Gen 34 & 35; Ps 34 & 35; Matt 5 & 6
- Memorise: See how much of Matt 5 and 6 you can memorise – you’ll be surprised.
- Going deeper: Read Merlin Carothers’ excellent book: Prison to praise.
