The Big Picture

Image of the four evangelists - unknown artist.

I am often slow on the uptake. For the past nine months I have been blogging about Torah without pausing to consider its overarching structure. It was not until this week that it struck me (or perhaps I remembered, for surely I have heard this before) that the five books of Moses mirror the four gospels plus Acts. Perfect symmetry! Genesis comes before the four books of Law. It sets the stage for the story of God’s deliverance of Israel by recounting mankind’s descent into lawlessness and God’s promise to save the world through Abraham’s seed. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy each, in turn, recount the story of Israel’s escape from Egypt and her wanderings with God in the wilderness. In a similar way, the four gospels each tell the story of Jesus (Abraham’s seed) and His sojourn on earth. The four gospels, like the four books of the Law, are full of signs and wonders. The book of Acts goes on to trace the expansion of the gospel from Jerusalem into the whole world. Both sets of five books are foundational, historical texts recounting God’s intervention in human history for the purpose of our salvation. The Pentateuch lies at the heart of Jewish faith; the four Gospels plus Acts relate the stories essential to Christian faith and practice.

I remember how surprised I was to learn there were four gospels! It was Easter of 1974 and I had received my first grown-up Bible as a gift. In truth, my “Bible” was only a New Testament, but I did not understand the difference at the time. I was just excited to own such an adult book, and I set out to prove myself deserving of the honor by attempting to read it straight through. I finished the gospel of Matthew in a couple of days and started on the second book, Mark, only to discover that it was a repeat of the story I had just read. I was so confused! It would be many years before anyone helped me understand why we needed four gospels. Taken together, they provide four witnesses to the same story. Considered individually, each emphasizes a different aspects of Jesus’ ministry. Each writer brings a unique perspective, or context, to the telling of Jesus’ story.

There is not quite as much overlap between Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy as there is between the gospels; however, the same pattern holds. Exodus paints the broadest picture of Israel’s deliverance and her wanderings. Leviticus retells some of the stories, but emphasizes the laws given to Moses concerning sacrifices and the temple duties of the Levites. Deuteronomy focuses on the moral obligations of the entire people - especially the obligation to love God with all one’s heart and soul and strength. In contrast to Exodus, Deuteronomy emphasizes the end of Moses’ ministry. It concludes with a prophetic song Moses sings before his death. Numbers, I think, reads like Moses’ personal journal. It retells many of the stories recorded in Exodus in greater detail, and in greater sorrow. The theme of Numbers, I believe, is the burden of leadership.

Numbers is packed with more action, more pathos and more tragedy than I remembered. There is nothing boring about the book except its beginning. Modern writers would never consider opening a novel with a census. But Moses was not writing a novel. He was leading a nation on an impossible mission. He carried the burden of 603,550 men twenty years and older - not counting women and children. He was charged with leading more than two million souls through the desert, preparing them to possess a land they had never seen. The burden of carrying a nation’s collective fears, her discontent, her pride and jealousy was great. It pushed Moses to his limits. It required him to walk in absolute dependence upon the LORD.

There are many thoughts on my heart as I write today - most of them unformed, in need of prayer. Because I often hear the Lord in the process of writing, I will be blogging on the themes of leading and following in faith for the next few weeks. Today I will simply record some initial thoughts which have been playing on loop in my soul.

I am struck by the exchange between Moses and the LORD in Numbers 11.

 Now the rabble who were among them had greedy cravings; and the sons of Israel also wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?  We remember the fish which we used to eat for free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;  but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna! …..

 Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each one at the entrance of his tent; and the anger of the Lord became very hot, and Moses was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have put the burden of all this people on me?  Was it I who conceived all this people? Or did I give birth to them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms, as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’?  Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat so that we may eat!’ I am not able to carry all this people by myself, because it is too burdensome for me.  So if You are going to deal with me this way, please kill me now, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my misery.”

 The Lord therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit who is upon you, and put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it by yourself.

Lord, it grieves my heart to hear Moses say that he wants to die because the people are grumbling against him. I know that they were really grumbling against You, and I know You felt the pain as well. As Paul later says, “their god was their belly.” They craved meat even though they could look upon the fire of Your Presence! And I am no better! I crave the comforts of the flesh, especially when I am afraid or stressed. I find it easier to watch a movie than to worship. Sugar is a quicker, though less satisfying, balm for pain than prayer. I know Your Spirit lives within me. I know that the eyes of my heart can always behold the burning fire of Your love. But I am often tempted to indulge in temporary comforts of the flesh rather than setting my gaze on the “joy set before me.”

That is the sorrow I feel when I read this chapter as a disciple of Jesus. I do not want to be a slave to my flesh. I long to stand up straight and walk in full confidence that the Good Shepherd will “lead me beside still waters and restore my soul.” I want to praise Him rather than accuse Him.

Reading this chapter as a leader, I feel different emotions. I certainly do not carry the weight of 2 million souls on my shoulders! I am thankful for the smallness of my role. Even so, I am reminded that there is a weight in “carrying” people before the Lord. That burden may be expressed in political leadership, pastoral care, intercession or teaching. The more burdens we carry, the heavier the weight; and the greater the burden, the stronger our temptation to depression or escape. This is why we must pray for our leaders with all sincerity. And why we must walk with one another - to encourage, to give witness, to remind one another of the high calling which we share.

I love the solution You offered, Moses, my Lord! It is the solution You had in mind from the beginning. It is the glory which You released on men when Your Son ascended to heaven. You took Your own Spirit and placed it in the hearts of men. This is the solution to the cravings we face. This is the help for our heaviness. Your Spirit within us is the fire that sustains us. It is the hope, the joy, the lovingkindness which is better than life. Thank you, Father, for the gift of the Spirit! We pray for a greater infilling. May all Your people prophesy! And in so doing, may the lusts of our flesh fall to the dust.