FORGIVE MY MESS
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
Psalm 51:17

I had a hard time sleeping last night. My day yesterday was a good day for the most part. The kids were with their mom, celebrating her birthday, and it allowed me to have a good portion of the day to myself. I tried to stay productive during that time, doing some house work and preparing for a Torah study coming up. But during the day I felt the Holy Spirit talking with me about something I was not to do. To put it bluntly, I felt Him warning me. I understood what He was saying and where He was guiding me from and had every intention of staying away. The problem started, though, when I opened my mouth. How did I allow myself, after being warned and seeing the caution signs, to still be caught up in the mess? As I went to bed last night I felt a pit in my stomach which led me to cry out for forgiveness. Tossing and turning during the night, trying to get any sleep at all, I finally drifted off. When I awoke this morning, I heard these words on the radio.

“We pour out our miseries, God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are, the honest cries of breaking hearts,
Are better than a Hallelujah”
Better than a Hallelujah – Amy Grant

Hearing these words coming softly from the radio, I was reminded of Psalm 51:17. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” I know I have shared on this verse before, but in light of my day yesterday, and in light of the fact that this is the season of Teshuvah, I feel strong on my heart to share on this verse again.
The Bible has much to say about forgiveness as we see that the whole Bible itself is based on the relationship God desires to have with us and the way He has made for this to happen. Because God cannot look upon us when we are covered in sin, He has made a way through the sacrifice of His Son for us to be forgiven. But what does forgiveness look like? To answer this we can look at the life of King David. In II Samuel 11 and 12, we read the details of David. In short, David coveted another man’s wife and took her into his chamber to sleep with her. When she became pregnant, panic set in and he looked for any way to cover up his error. At first he called her husband home and got him drunk, hoping he too would sleep with his wife. When that didn’t work he took a more drastic approach and had the man killed. Without saying a word to anyone David was exposed still when the prophet Nathan approached him and shared a simple story about a man stealing a sheep from his neighbor. David’s initial reaction was to cover up his sin, but once it was in the light and he saw it for what it really was, he came before God in confession.
Now please understand I did not sleep with another man’s wife, or anyone. But it is the details of forgiveness I want to bring out. In Psalm 51 we reads David’s confession, and in Psalm 51:17 we read of the heart that God is looking for. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” For as many times as I have already messed up, and as many times as I still will, I want my heart to reflect a brokenness and contriteness. Yet what does this really mean? In Hebrew the word for ‘broken’ is SHABAR, meaning to break down or break in pieces, wreck, crush, or quench. When we sin we puff ourselves up and begin feeding the monsters of pride and selfishness. So then, as the Holy Spirit works on us, the monster we are either begins to fight it or surrender in humility. In surrendering, however, we find the true brokenness we are in need of, that then leads to true forgiveness. Still, it is both a broken and contrite heart that God will not despise. ‘Contrite’ is defined in Hebrew as DAKAH, meaning to be crushed or collapsed. So desperately we need to be crushed by God’s Spirit and void of the desire to sin that stands in the way of our relationship with God. It is this type of repentant heart that should follow our weak moments of sin that God will not overlook and not despise.
Asking for forgiveness can be hard, and extending forgiveness can be even harder still. Yet God asks us to do both. We are to confess our sins to each other (I Jn 1:9) because it places us in a position of humility, a place in which we become broken and contrite. But we also need to remember that God will forgive us when we come to Him broken and contrite in heart. So maybe as the words of the song I heard on the radio suggest, He hears our pray of forgiveness as better than one shooting Hallelujah. And the greatest part of God forgiving us is what He does with our sin. He remembers them no more. In fact, Psalm 107:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” I don’t know your situation fully and what you may be going through, but I urge you to come before God with a broken and contrite heart, for this is the heart He is looking for and will work in and through. Let us repent in this season of Teshuvah, when with the sound of the shofar He is calling us back home, back to forgiveness.

TESTING
“Regard it all as joy, my brothers, when you face various kinds of temptations; for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance. But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2-4

With school already underway, my daughter has started taking spelling tests. This last week she scored a 70%. While the grade is descent, I took a minute to go over the words with her that we had studied together, to see where she was having trouble. I was interested to know if she wasn’t hearing the word right, if she didn’t comprehend the rules of English spelling, or if she had just been goofing off. As I started this task she said to me, “Why do we have to take tests anyway?” What a great question. Why do we have to take tests? In school a test only shows what we have retained, but in life it seems like there is more. The tests of life seem to exhibit our faith.
For a while now I have felt like I have been living in a test. I will admit that while I like my job of processing medical claims, I have begun to lose my zeal. I have begun to find myself dreaming about the ministry, wanting to spend the full day in the study of God’s Word, and waking in my sleep from giving altar calls. And yet, when I pray and ask God when I will be released, His response is simply, “Soon.” Waiting for ‘soon’ is the test I am in. Having this dream and being so close to the door being opened has been my greatest test.
But wait, what season are we in? We are in the season of teshuvah, of seeking forgiveness. And how long does it last? It lasts for forty days. Lastly, forty is Biblically related to? If you have been following from last week you will remember that forty is a number related to testing and trials. So then, it is not uncommon for me to feel antsy in this season, for the feeling of being tested is because I truly am being tested. Coming to grips with this idea, then, leads me to James 1:2-4. James writes, “Regard it all as joy, my brothers, when you face various kinds of temptations; for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance. But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.” Let’s break this down, though.
To save a little time and not make this devotional so long that you see its length and pass on reading it, I ask that you trust me when I say I have looked up each of these words in the Greek. I do, however, want to point out a few of the words. First, James tells us that we will face various temptations. The word ‘face’ is the word PERIPIPTO, meaning to fall into as to be encompassed. The temptations, the PEIRASMOS, (experiments, attempts, trials, provings, integrities, enticements), that we are encompassed by are to be considered in joy. But why? It is because in these moments we are being tested in our convictions as we endure. For me, this makes sense. I have not been released into full time ministry yet, but the test is to see if I will patient and wait for His timing or jump ahead.
But I like how James says this next part. We read it as “let perseverance…”. Perseverance is the Greek word HUPOMONE. It is the same word Paul used when talking about patience as one of the fruits in Galatians 5. It means steadfastness, endurance, and deliberate purpose. The word ‘let’, however, means to wear. We are told to wear our deliberate purpose until the testing is complete. I may not be in the ministry yet, but I have His promise. Therefore my purpose becomes the wearing of His promise for me until it has been fulfilled. Is it easy? No, that is why it is a test. I am being tested to see if I will give in.
I realize I have only given you a brief snap-shot today of the depth I am learning both in this testing time, as well as in this verse. But I wanted simply to get your feet wet. I want you to consider your own tests. And I want to challenge you as I myself am being challenged, to pass the test with flying colors. We can do it; we can score an A+ on this thing, but we will not do it if we give up. In closing, I want to share with you James 1:2-4, with each word looked up already for you. In the Greek it reads, “Regard it all as an occasion of joy, my united family, when you are encompassed with various attempts of proving; for you obtain the knowledge to perceive that the trying times of your convictions result in deliberate purpose. But wear that deliberate purpose till it is brought to an end in your undertaking; so that you will be lacking nothing, indeed complete in all parts, destitute of nothing.”

JESUS AND FORTY
“Then the Spirit led Yeshua up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary. After Yeshua had fasted forty days and nights, he was hungry.”
Matthew 4:1-2

We are on our final day concerning the number forty, even though the season of Teshuvah is just now getting under way. I am sure that this term will come up a few more times as the season progresses. But today I want us to look at the number forty, and how it relates to Jesus, Yeshua. There are two specific instances relating our Savior with this number, and my goal is to look at both. However, in both I think you also will see that this number is in fact related to the testing and trials that we have learned it to relate to.
We start with the events following Jesus’ baptism. Matthew 3 concludes with Jesus coming out of the waters of the Jordan and having the Spirit come upon Him as a dove, and the voice of the Father declaring His pleasure in His Son. Then in chapter 4, we are told that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. Before we go on, let us define a few words in the Greek concerning this portion of scripture. First, I think it is good for us to define ‘wilderness’. In the Greek this is EREMOS, meaning a solitary, lonely, or uninhabited place. Second, let us define ‘tempted’. This is the word PEIRAZO in the Greek, and its meaning is one of a trying to see if a thing can be done, a malicious test, or a testing for the purpose of determining quantity and behavior. In short, then, we see the Spirit leading Jesus into a solitary time and place to determine through the malicious tactics of the enemy just what Jesus was made of. When offered the ‘things’ of this world, would Jesus buckle under the pressure, or buckle up in character?
After a time of forty days of being tested, with the enemy offering food, safety, and the kingdoms of this world, and all the while Jesus overcoming each temptation with the Word, the enemy left him alone (Mt 4:11). I would like to point out real quick the relationship between this event and the words of James 4:7. When we resist the enemy, he will flee. It was in this season, these forty days, that the enemy wanted to see what Jesus would do. In His weakness, the enemy probably expected Jesus to give it to the temptation. Yet He held His ground and fought the Word the enemy knew with the truth behind the Word that Jesus knew. Let this also be a reminder to us in our times of testing that God’s Word remains our weapon.
Lastly, I want us to look at Acts 1:3. Following the death of Jesus we read that He appeared to the disciples and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive over the course of forty days. As we just read, Jesus Himself was tested for forty days, and now we see that the disciples were being tested for forty days. The fact that Jesus had to convince the disciples it was Him speaks volumes. Yet Jesus gave proofs, TEKMERION, the assurance that He was surely and plainly known with evidence to support Himself. In these forty days following Jesus’ victory over death, He made it His mission to prove that He was the fulfillment of Scripture.
So what does this say to us? Perhaps over the past few days as you’ve been reading these devotionals you have seen yourself. Maybe you have realized that you are in a time of testing. I am convinced of it in my own life. Just yesterday I was out fishing with my children and on the way home we stopped for lunch and a little waltzing around the shopping center. Things were going well and we were all enjoying ourselves. When I went to put the key in the car to come back home, however, nothing happened. Right away, as if on cue, my daughter starting crying about never getting home again and my son started yelling at her about her crying. My reaction, for once, was laughing. I knew right away it was a test. I calmly looked back at my daughter and said, “Let’s stop crying and start praying.” We prayed for peace, for help with the car, and for any expenses related to the fix to be affordable. I am happy to say we are home and it was only a dead battery. I believe, however, that God was watching me to see how I would react. I am convinced He was determining my attitude toward Him in this situation. Maybe you find yourself able to relate these past few days because you too are in that season. Let us then fix our eyes on Him, give no ground to the enemy, so that we pass this test and enter into the forty-first day and the joy that awaits.

EAGLES AND FORTY
“Young men may grow tired and weary, even the fittest may stumble and fall; but those who hope in Adonai will renew their strength, they will soar aloft as with eagles’ wings; when they are running they won’t grow weary, when they are walking they won’t get tired.”
Isaiah 40:30-31

Did you know that King David ruled for forty years (I Kin 2:11)? His son, Solomon, also ruled for forty years (I Kin 11:42). Additionally, one other king is credited as ruling for forty years, that being Joash (II Kin 12:1). We have been looking at the number forty the past few days and I want us to look again at a few more times that this number is used. In I Kings 19:8 we read that with the angel of the LORD coming a second time to Elijah to provide for him food and drink, the meal was enough to suffice him for forty days while he went toward Horeb. God called Ezekiel to do something bazaar in Ezekiel 4:6, commanding him to lay on his right side for forty days to bear the guilt of the house of Judah. And finally, in the book of Jonah, we read that the prophet who first protested, was now in Ninevah declaring that in forty days God was going to overturn Ninevah to its enemies. The city took this personally, and as a whole they sought God in teshuvah and God relented.
There is no coincidence that forty is such an important number in the Bible. But did you know that forty also links the Bible to eagles? Let me explain. In Isaiah 40 (no that is not the link), we read that they who wait on the LORD will renew their strength. In addition to researching the number forty lately, I have also done some research on eagles. Check this out. When an eagle begins to feel old, he will fly up to the mountain and get as close as he can to the sun. Then, one by one he will begin to pluck out each feather. It is said that the eagle is not concerned with the pain in this process, as much as he is the progress in this process. Then, newly de-feathered, the eagle bathes and waits. Animal scientists have studied this behavior and have found that the waiting process is purposed, and that it takes forty days for the re-growth of new feathers. Forty days! When the feathers have grown back, the eagle is renewed in strength and ability.
How does this relate to us? I am glad you asked. I know for myself I have times when I feel ‘old’. There are times when my spirit feels weak, weary, and unable to keep pace. It is in these times that so as the eagle goes up the mountain toward the sun, that I need to find myself going up the mountain to the Son. My strength can only come from Him. But, I cannot have renewed strength until first I remove the ‘feathers’, or the weights that hold me down. These need to be removed, one by one, regardless of how much they hurt or how bald I may look. It is only in striping these feathers that I will find the renewed strength I so long to have. Yet as the feathers do not grow back on the eagle overnight, so I must remember that they will not also grow back on me overnight. It is a time of waiting for the new feathers to come in. It is a time of decision, where lifestyle is reborn.
I am not saying that what I am about to suggest is what you also need to do, but God has been stirring my heart now for about a month or so. Knowing that the forty days of teshuvah were closing in, I began to seek God for how I should repent in this time. Again, teshuvah is forty days of our hearing the call to repentance, and doing so. I feel He has called me to be like the eagle in this time. As strange as it sounds, and as sure as I know I will be questioned and receive looks, I am ready to obey Him and find my strength renewed. Tonight, once evening rolls in and the first day of teshuvah is celebrated by the shofar’s blast, I will remove my ‘feathers’ by removing every piece of hair on my body. Will this make me a better person, or give me brownie points with God? No, I won’t get brownie points, but I will put my heart in a position that is humbled and willing to be renewed by Him.
Again, I am not saying you have to do the same. I will encourage you, though, to hear the shofar and in your own way, find teshuvah. Be obedient to Him, and more concerned with the progress as opposed to the pain. May He direct you and may you find renewed strength.

NOTEABLE FORTIES
“Meanwhile, the Philistine approached with his challenge every morning and evening for forty days.”
I Samuel 17:16

We have already seen how the number forty played a part in the lives of Noah and of Moses, but today I want us to take a look at a few more people and events where the number forty affected them. Again, remember that forty is a number related to testing and trials, and as we will see today, these people and events found their share of testing in the forties. Let us begin back in Genesis.
Following the flood which we have already talked about, the next ‘forty’ is found in Genesis 25:20. It is here we are told Isaac was forty years old when he wed Rebekah. In the next chapter over we read that Esau was forty years old when he married Judith and Basemath, much to his mother’s disgust (Gen 26:34). And completing the book of Genesis, we read that as Jacob was in Egypt when he passed away, the custom of Egypt was for him to be embalmed. This process took a full forty days (Gen 50:3).
While those events may not seem off-hand like times of testing and trials, these next few definitely are. Forty years the nation of Israel wandered in the desert because of the spies response concerning the Promise Land after their return forty days later (Num 13:25). This meant that for forty years the people ate the same meal of manna and quail. That alone would be enough to test me. Yet in the end, God comforted His people in Deuteronomy 2:7 by letting them know He had provided for them during the full forty years. With this, they entered the land and were renewed. I think it also good to point out here that Moses was forty when he left Egypt on his own. Forty years later he returned for God’s people. And forty years following still, he looked from afar into the Promise Land as the people entered. Joshua also said in Joshua 14:7 that he was forty when as one of the spies, he surveyed the land. This then places him at eighty when he took over as the commander of the Israelite people.
In Judges 3:11 we read that the land of Israel had rest for forty years following the death of its judge, Othniel, and the stand he led the nation in. At the end of Deborah’s song in Judges 5:31, we see another forty year rest as again the land began its revised stand for God. Following the leading of Gideon (Jud 8:28), another period of rest for forty years was found in the land. But in Judges 13:1, we find that because the people forsook the ways of God, they were slave to the Philistines for forty years. Following the stand of Samson to break this forty year time of testing, events led to Eli being judge for forty years as recorded in I Samuel 4:18. All these past events lead us to today’s text in I Samuel 17:16.
“Meanwhile, the Philistine approached with his challenge every morning and evening for forty days.” It wasn’t until just recently this verse jumped out at me. For forty days already, the army of Israel stood at attention to hear the condescending blasphemy of the giant, Goliath. For forty days he spit out his usual chant of defiance against God and His people. But what Goliath did not know, was that this day was day forty-one. Remember, forty is equated with testing, trial, probation, or chastisement. For forty days the men of Israel were being tested in the Valley of Elah. Guess what Elah means. Elah is the Aramaic word for ‘awesome’, its origin meaning ‘reverence’, and is one of the names of God. Goliath and his fellow soldiers were standing in the Valley of an Awesome God. An awesome He was indeed, for on this forty-first day, His Spirit came over David and the victory over the giant was had. Remember again that following a forty day, week, year, or anything period comes a period of restoration, revival, and renewal. Israel had just walked into their time of renewal.
Maybe today you feel like you have been standing face to face with Goliath. Perhaps you feel as though you have been tested for forty days yourself. Maybe forty years. But I urge you to notice where you are standing. You may find that you have been standing in the Valley of Elah. And looking at your calendar, you may realize that today is day forty-one. Prepare yourself, then, for you are about to see His Spirit move you into a period of restoration, revival, and renewal. Are you ready for it? I know I am.

REPEAT THE FORTY
“The Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”
Exodus 24:18

Yesterday I shared with you that it takes forty days for a human fetus to be formed within the womb. However, it also takes forty weeks for the fetus to fully grow into a baby child, ready to face the world. All through life we see the details of forty. We claim “Life begins at forty.” And whether talking concerning the 40 weeks for the baby or the forty years for the person, this is a true statement. But why forty? It is said that it takes 21 days to form a habit, but it takes 40 days to form a lifestyle. Let us look today at the lifestyle that God was outlining for His people, then, in relation to His servant Moses.
After leaving the land of Egypt, Moses led the people from Rameses to Succoth, and then on to Etham on the edge of the desert before eventually landing at the waters of the Red Sea. As ordered by God, Moses stretched out his staff and the waters parted, allowing all of Israel to pass. After defeating the Amalekites, and learning a few lessons from his father-in-law, Jethro, the nation rested at the base of Mount Sinai. It was here that the people received the Ten Commandments and the instruction for the Tabernacle, for it was here that Moses left the camp and met God on the mountain for forty days and nights (Ex 24:18). In this alone time with Adonai, Moses was being given the download of the ages. Every blueprint for the Tabernacle, and every stitch concerning the garment of the priest was being explained to Moses. Yet when he descended down the mountain, his eyes landed on the sights of the people worshiping an idol. In anger he destroyed the image (Ex 32:19).
According to tradition, it was on the 17th of Tammuz that Moses descended and saw the golden calf. History would later show that this date became associated with all sorts of calamity for the nation of Israel. It is thought by many that in Exodus 32:30, when Moses states he will go before God to make atonement, that Moses may have again remain on the mountain top for another forty days. The Bible is unclear of this fact, but we do know that Moses did ascend in Exodus 34:28, separate from speaking to the people again in Exodus 33:4. It was in the time that again God continued in the giving of the blueprints for the lifestyle He desired. Details concerning the Ark, the lamp stand, and the altar to name but a few were given in precise order, as they would be used to draw His people to Him.
So here is the question I have for you today as we consider once more this number, forty. What lifestyles have you formed? This past winter I took part in my first 21 day, water only fast. Personally, the fast helped me to make a habit in the way I sought God during the day, listened for His voice, and sought His ways. But I want more. I want a lifestyle change and not just a habit change. I do not want only to form a standard prayer time, but rather I want to create a lifestyle of prayer. I want to form a lifestyle of drawing close to Him, of removing any part of ‘me’ that gets in the way and prevents me from truly knowing Him. I want to go up the mountain and like Moses, speak with Him. I close by not giving you a “40 Day Challenge”, so to say, but rather to challenge you to look at the lifestyle you are living in. Perhaps, like me, you desire more.

FORTY
“’For in seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; I will wipe out every living thing that I have made from the face of the earth.’”
Genesis 7:4

You may or may not know this, but numbers are important when it comes to the Word of God. For instance, a quick look at the number three and you may see it to mean “entire”. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, making up the entire God-head. In Hebrews 13:8, we read that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever/tomorrow.” Jesus also rose from the dead on the third day, showing the entire work of the enemy defeated. We can look at seven the same way. Seven is known as “spiritual perfection”. In Genesis 7:2, Noah is instructed to take seven of every clean animal into the ark and only two of every unclean animal. God rested on the seventh day as we also are commanded to (Ex 20:8-11). On and on we could go concerning the number seven. So as you can see, numbers are important. But I want to direct your attention to a number that you may not think of right away. I want us to look at the number forty.
Now we are not going to take forty days to learn about the number forty, but I will be bringing it up a few more times over the next few days. The reason why is because starting this coming Sunday evening, Jewish believers begin what is known as the season of Teshuvah. As I plan to speak more concerning this season soon, the quick outline of this time can be defined as so. Every day for forty days, the shofar is blown as a wake up call for all people to repent and seek God for forgiveness. This season ends with Yom Kippur, which is the holiest of all Jewish holidays. But I am getting ahead of myself. For now, let us understand that in this forty days the shofar is heard for our sake. What we chose to do concerning the horn’s blast is between us and God.
But why does Teshuvah last forty days, and is the number forty really all that special? To answer that I point out that the number forty is named in the New International Version of the Bible 141 times. That is quite a few times for us to just sweep this digit under the rug. Yet, did anything of significance happen concerning forty? I bring your attention now to Genesis 7:4. It is here that Noah hears from God that He is sending a flood to wipe away the sinful people, and that through Noah, and because of his devotion, the world would be renewed. The rains that were to come would last forty days and forty nights. Forty in the Bible, then, is referred to as a time of testing, trial, probation, or chastisement, but not judgment. A forty day, month, or year period ends with a period of restoration, revival, and renewal. We see this also in the events following the flood, where the earth was reborn.
So then, why does Teshuvah last forty days? According to Jewish tradition, Teshuvah is a sort of death and rebirth. This season is likened to the forty days it takes for a human fetus to be formed within the womb. This then is a season of moving past the barren, dead womb and into a time of new life. More so, it is a season of our awakening from the sleep of our sinful ways and into the ways of our God. The shofar is blown daily in these forty days, serving as our alarm clock to wake up from the sinful slumber we are in. Do we really need forty days to repent and confess our sin; to prepare ourselves? Maybe this is better answered by again looking at the meaning of forty. I can confess my sin now, but who’s to say that on day ten I will not move back into my sin. I need to stand in these forty days, to be reminded with each daily blast of the shofar of the trial I am in, and the victory I want to see. Relief from my sin may come on day one, but restoration is proved on day forty-one.

STIFF-NECKED
“Therefore, understand that it not for your righteousness that Adonai your God is giving you this good land to possess. For you are a stiff-necked people!”
Deuteronomy 9:6

As I read through the Torah my eyes land on certain words or phrases that catch my attention. I have shared a few of these over what has almost been a year now. In studying again today, my eyes landed once more on another nugget of gold. In fact, this nugget was so bold that it practically screamed of a challenge. Look with me at Deuteronomy 9:5-6.
In Deuteronomy 9:5, God begins to explain via Moses to the children of Israel who are about to enter the Promise Land, the reason for why they are entering the Promise Land. Now if you remember, the people were not the most righteous or right of heart. Looking back over their forty years we recall the golden calf, the rebellion of Korah, the allowance of the Midianite intermarriage, as well as a number of instances where they grumbled and complained. Yet, in all these areas, God was still allowing them as a nation, entrance. So then, God states boldly, “It is not because of your righteousness, or because your heart is so upright, that you go in to take possession of the land; but to punish the wickedness of these nations that Adonai your God is driving them out ahead of you, and also to confirm the word which Adonai swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
They were allowed entrance because of two reasons. One, the people who currently lived in the land were more wicked than what the people of Israel had been over the past forty years. And two, God had made a promise to the fathers of the people. So then, in verse 6, He continues by saying again, “Therefore, understand that it not for your righteousness that Adonai your God is giving you this good land to possess. For you are a stiff-necked people!” This is the part I want to catch. This is the part I want us to consider. Are we stiff-necked?
Honestly, I had to look up this word. Going into the Hebrew I found the word defined as QASHEH, meaning hard, cruel, obstinate, or difficult. God was making a point to inform these people that they were hard to work with. In many cases, they argued with His anointed, disobeyed His commands, and fought against His ways. Am I describing anyone out there? I know for a fact I am describing myself. If it had not been for the fact that He had made a promise, and that those already in the land were worse, then I have to assume based on these words that Adonai would have forbid Israel to enter.
I look at my own life. My life has been botched up with sin, disobedience, and flat out rebellion toward His Word. Yet, He calls me. He calls me to minister to His people. At a young age He called me with a promise, stating that I would be a minister. But I have been stiff-necked. My right deeds, or lack of them, do not equal the opportunity to receive His promise. Still, one day it will happen. The question maybe more so then is will I continue to be stiff-necked? I do not want to be. I want to be in His will, obeying all His commands, and moving in His ways.
God, I pray you show me all the ways in which I have been stiff-necked, so that I can even now begin to change. I repent for my stiff-necked behavior.

CALL TO ME
“’Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’”
Jeremiah 33:3

When I was a child, probably around the age of thirteen or so, a guest speaker came and spoke to our youth group. I didn’t know much about him personally. Sure, he had gray hair in where hair still sprung, and wore a suit in the midst of a bunch of teenagers, but other than that, the only characteristic I remember was him being introduced as a man who heard from God. The youth leader shared with us that his desire was for the man to go up and down the rows, giving us a verse personally as God was speaking to him. So he began. When he landed on me he called out, “Jeremiah 33:3.” He continued by sharing what the verse said, but then also stated, “God wants you to ask Him, and not to be afraid to ask Him.”
Jeremiah 33:3 reads, “’Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’” I remember going back home that Wednesday night after church, both excited by the truth of this verse, but also questionable in what I should ask. What were the unsearchable things I did not know? And was there possibly a question that God would not answer? So then, as a teenager I just asked what I thought was safe. Sitting in bed, waiting for sleep to come over me, I remember asking, “What do you want me to know?”
I have grown up a little since then, but I still find myself asking the same question. Grated these days I have more of a spring board to ask from. Seeing certain events at the time, my questions now are whether I should move out in something specifically, or should I go to that place. And occasionally there is still the question of what am I going to be when I grow up. But the truth is that in every question I always receive an answer – if I am listening. And why? Well the answer to why is because God honors His word. God guarantees us that if we call to Him, He will answer.
But can it really be this easy? Well to answer that, let us look at a few key words in the Hebrew and see just what they mean. First we should look at the word ‘call’. The word ‘call’ is the Hebrew word QARA’, meaning to utter a loud noise; to cry out as if for help. There have been many times when both desperately and non-desperately I have needed His help. Crying out to Him in these times is what I have done, and what He wants us to do according to this verse. “Cry out to me, asking me for help, and I will answer you…” ‘Answer’ is the Hebrew word ‘ANAH. Its meaning is to respond or speak. So far this verse is translated literally in that if we cry out, God will respond. There is no hidden meaning, no hoop to jump through, no special prayer to recite. It is just literally us voicing and Him responding. His response, as we see, is the great and unsearchable things we do not know. Simply put, these are the GADOWL BATSAR, translated as the important secrets and mysteries. These are the things that God wants us to call out to Him concerning so that He can reveal them to us.
This definition from the Hebrew wording makes me think of Penn and Teller. I was recently watching a show of theirs where they performed the trick of cutting someone in half. First they did it in the standard black boxes a magician uses. Then they performed the same trick in clear plastic boxes. In the black boxes, the trick was a mystery. In the clear boxes, I finally saw how they moved around to give the appearance of a woman actually cut in two. It is the same here in this verse. God is acknowledging that we see our situation, our questions, and our future, as something of a black box. But in calling on Him, He answers us and begins to show us the truth, uncovering the mystery by showing us the things we do not know.
Jeremiah reminds us in Jeremiah 33:3 that we are to call to the LORD and He will answer us and tell us the things we do not know. As we cannot see the end result of every decision we make, would it not be best that we inquire from the One who can see it all? Sure, this may put a damper on spontaneous decision making, but if it saves me from making a decision I may regret or pay for later, then I think I will take my time and see what God says. In the end, I want to be one who is yielded to God and followed His ways.

DRIVE THEM OUT
“…you are to expel all the people living in the land from in front of you. Destroy all their stone figures, destroy all their metal statues, and demolish all their high places.”
Numbers 33:52

We have seen it time and time again in the scriptures – God is a jealous God. We have read it in the Commandments, we have read it in different passages throughout the Bible thus far, and here again we see it once more. Because God doesn’t appreciate competition, His command to the people of Israel is to drive the pagan tribes out. Now please note that God is not in the business of killing people, but God does come to a point where He has had enough. In that time He gives them over to the ways of their flesh (Rom 1:24), and the people move outside of His covering. I pray I never find myself outside His covering.
The nations were, however. And it was against them that Israel was to expel all the people. The command was simple and the words of God stated that in order to inherit the land they would have to destroy the ba’als and drive out the people. But notice the words of Numbers 33:55. “But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land from in front of you, then those you allow to remain will become like thorns in your eyes and stings in your sides…” Why was God so determined to have the Promised Land clean of these people? The number one answer to this question I believe rests in the fact that the wicked would sway His chosen people away. This was the case with the golden calf. The people reverted to the ways of sin. This is the case with us still today. While there is a bend toward God, there is still our freewill and human nature that, when left alone, we will lean toward sin.
The way to prevent the sway is to remove the cause. This too is the way it is with us today. When the drunkard wants to be free he doesn’t leave a beer in the fridge. No, he removes it. What happens when it stays there? It will eventually get drank.
We know in looking ahead in the book of Joshua that this was their fate. Because the army of Israel failed to remove completely the people of the land, they fell into their ways. Treaties were signed, peoples were allowed to live, and in the end, years later, Israel slipped into captivity because it failed to remove the pagan peoples from the land. As we examine our lives, I hope we are leery about what we allow in our land. I hope we see this truth as a reminder to ourselves that even a hint of sin, even one person left un-removed, can be the thorn in the eye and the sting in the side. What is it you need to drive out?

SECRET CRUSHES
“From a distance Adonai appeared to me, [saying,] ‘I love you with an everlasting love; this is why in my grace I draw you to me.’”
Jeremiah 31:3 CJB

Alright, I am about to let you enter into the deep depths of my childhood love life. I know, you’re both excited and scared, right? Well rather than taking you all the way back to my flirty age of 5, I will rest my travels in my college days. Many times growing up it seemed as though my sister and I would bump heads – literally. One time I actually hit her in the head with a wooden baseball bat. And then there was the time I sprained her arm playing dodgeball. And then…, well you get the point. Anyway, dad would always discipline me and leave the conversation with, “One day you’re going to be glad you have a sister because she is going to have cute friends.” I always shrugged the comment off, knowing that she was four years younger than I, and that seemed like too much of a gap in age.
Then it happened. I came home from college one summer with the intent of making a few bucks and working on my senior paper as opposed to going on a mission trip. Nothing seemed different. My family was still strange yet fun to be around, church was still the same, and my old friends from high school still were single like me. Life picked up from where it left off. Except, my sister’s friend had grown up. I had just been home the winter before and she was still a kid, but now? Now I found myself looking for excuses to be around my sister and her friend. Now I was the willing taxi driver to wherever they needed to go. Now I was offering to use my money to pay for my sister and her friend. What came over me? I began to have a secret crush on her.
I write this story, knowing that my family is going to try hard to figure out who it was, if they don’t already know, because it reminds me of how God sees me. Granted I was never the ugly cousin or the buck toothed kid in His eyes, but there came a point where I was looked at by God with eyes of love. There came a point in which I mattered to Him. He began to have feelings for me. He began to woo me from a distance, unbeknownst to me, because He had a crush on me. Little by little He began to flirt, to offer me something, and to make promises that He did keep. As Jeremiah heard God say over Israel, so God was saying over me. “I love you with an everlasting love; this is why in my grace I draw you to me.”
I think these words are words we all need to hear. As a divorced dad, raising two children mostly alone, with no real time for dating it seems, I find myself alone often. Yet recently I have been comforted, not by a woman, but rather by God. I have heard in the underlining tone of friends’ counsel just what is recorded in Jeremiah 31:3. And this is my strength. The knowledge of the fact that God is wooing me, that He has a crush on me, is a joy that cannot be explained. Yet it is a joy I want you to be aware of also. I don’t know your situation, whether you’re having marriage problems or not, whether abuse is rampant in your relationships, or whether you are trying to fill the void in your heart with anything that comes passing by. But I do know this. God is so in love with you! God sees the pain you feel and He wants to be the one that takes care of you. God is admitting to you, coming out of the secret and confessing to you His love. Hear His words for they are for you. “I love you with an everlasting love; this is why in my grace I draw you to me.”