Tag: israel

A Desperate God Part Deux

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Last week, I wrote about God’s desperation to have a relationship with us on this blog and the Huffington Post.

As I read I Samuel for my Old Testament class, I’m seeing this recurring theme of God wanting to stay in relationship with us, even when we don’t want the relationship with Him. In I Samuel 9, the Israelites have a hissy fit about not having a king. Though they’ve been led by the spirit of God through the wilderness, through intercessors like Moses and judges like Deborah, the Israelites wanted to be like the nations around them and have a monarchy.

After all their pleading and begging, God finally gave it to them. Having a king, however, would come with a cost.

“‘…appoint for us, then, a king to govern us like other nations,” Israel cried. Samuel prayed to the Lord and the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them… you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’” I Samuel 8:4-9 NSRV (paraphrased)

As we all know, Saul was appointed king over Israel and he got caught up in all kinds of mess, but what I’d like to point out is God’s heart toward the Israelites in I Samuel 9. Even though God didn’t want Israel to rule under a king, and even though He let them have their desires, He still took ownership of them. Speaking of Saul to Samuel, God says, “[Saul] shall save my people… he it is who shall rule over my people.” God still takes ownership of Israel even though they didn’t want Him. They still belonged to Him in spite of a natural ruler being in place. He still wanted to have them as His own in spite of that same love and commitment not being reciprocated.

Wow.

How this speaks to our own desires that may pull us away from God! Even while we fight to have what we think we should (and God forbid He lets us actually have it!) He’s still wanting us, desiring us, hoping that we’ll choose Him over this world and what the world says we should have.

This makes me want to break myself even further for Him — let loose of what I think should be and take hold of His heart and hand. Having those two things is what matters most.

So how can we shift our hearts towards God’s desires over our own?  I think it’s time we try to reciprocate His love back to Him. Though we’ll turn to dust before we could even give back one thousandth of His love for us, knowing that we are putting His desires before our own can only result in a life full of peace and contentment.

On the Chase,

Alisha L.

Exile from Egypt: Real or Fake?

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Here are some thought/ramblings about Exodus. Enjoy.

Many argue whether or not the accounts in Exodus are real: the enslavement of the Hebrews, the plagues, the death of first-born Egyptian sons, the parting of the Re(e)d Sea (some scholars believe that the sea the Hebrews crossed was full of reeds, a marshy area that caused the chariots of the Egyptians to get stuck). Some can’t deal with the idea that such a loving God would kill innocent children to “prove a point.” Cross referencing Egyptian history records, there’s no account that any of these happened, including a slave revolt. Many have given a number of reasons that the Hebrews’ escape from Egypt is hogwash.

Whether or not it happened is, in essence, is of no importance. What those stories show us, however, is that God’s divine plan for mankind exceeds anything we could imagine and He would go to MANY great lengths to redeem us — from those who oppress us and even ourselves.

Exodus 9:16 says, “This is why I have let you live: to show you my power, and to make my name resound through all the earth.” How can we apply this to our own encounters with a proverbial “Pharaoh”? When God redeems us, it is for that very reason: so He may be glorified and His name made great.

Sometimes, we find that people don’t believe the miraculous things that were done on our behalf by Him. Car accidents where your car was crushed completely but you got out without a scratch, still-born babies who were suddenly revived, barren wombs that produced multiple births without the help of fertility drugs… miraculous occurrences that were unexplainable.

Some of my friends and classmates determined that God is narcissistic, desperately desiring the praise and glory for all good things that happen to us. The Hebrews’ encounter with Pharaoh had nothing to do with Moses, Aaron, or the burden of proof that such things happened in the land of Egypt. It had everything to do with God’s insatiable desire for all to understand (friend or foe) that He’d do anything for His people — including you and me.

I challenge you to take hold of this idea that God desperately wants to save and redeem us — from the oppressor and even ourselves. He wants to orchestrate our lives in such a way that only He could receive glory for what has occurred. He wants to make us free to live and not be so concerned about long-standing traditions and tales. What has He done in YOUR life? That, my friends, is the true burden of truth.

On the Chase,

Alisha L. (The Seminarian)

You Got’tah Be Crazy!

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While talking to my sister-in-law the other day, I came to the conclusion that you must absolutely, positively, be crazy to do what God tells us to do.

Just think about it: the people who achieved the greatest exploits for God had to be c r a z y.

Abraham took his son on top of a mountain to slice his neck because God told him to.

Moses led millions of Israelites through the red sea with a stick because God told him to.

Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights with no food or drink because God told him to.

There is no way that the natural mind could understand and obey those types of commands without being crazy.  Continue reading →