Saturday, January 9, 2010

Knowing His Ways

Think of someone you know really well, maybe your spouse, or a close family member. Have you ever sensed something was wrong? You ask “What’s the matter?” But they say “Oh nothing”. But still, you know better. You don’t believe them because you know them well enough to sense when things aren’t going well. In other words, you know their ways. So how did you get to “know their ways”? That happened by spending time with them.

You can probably think of other examples, like knowing someone so well you know what they’re going to say before they say it- like being able finish a sentence they’ve started. At any rate, we can see from those examples, knowing someone’s ways is a good thing.

What about people you don’t know so well? What about your boss or your co-workers? Can you tell what they’re feeling by simply being in the room with them? Can you, without any doubts, vouch for their character? Know what they’ll say before they say it? The answer to that, in most cases, is likely no. They’re simply people you know “about”. You may know their hobbies or some things they’ve done, but you don’t “know” them.

Which one do you think is better, knowing someone ways or only knowing about them?

In Psalm 103, there’s a very interesting verse which, unfortunately, is often overlooked..

He made known his ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. (Psalm 103:7)

So God revealed Himself to Moses on a more personal level, but to the Israelites He only revealed His actions. Have you ever wondered about that? Let’s look at a few verses that show how the Israelites, and how Moses, related to God.. First we’ll look at the Israelites.

After the ten commandments, the sons of Israel come to Moses and said these words..

If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer, then we shall die. Go near and hear all that the LORD our God says; then speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it. (Deut 5:25,27)

First of all, that statement is not true. Hearing God’s voice might have been unfamiliar to them, but it would not have killed them. They were simply afraid and didn’t want to hear. They were the ones who stated how they wanted to interact with God. They wanted Moses to tell them what God said. Doesn’t that sound like a lot of Christians? Attending church so they can hear what God’s telling the pastor, instead of hearing God themselves.

Let me ask your opinion. Does that type of relationship with God really work in the end? Did the sons of Israel obey what God said through Moses? Most of the time, they didn’t. Do Christians usually live their lives according to what their pastor teaches? Usually not.

Typically, when someone we don’t know tells us something, we’re much more likely to disregard what we’re told. But if someone we know and love tells us the same thing, then out of respect for their wishes, we have more incentive to listen to them. Reason for that, there’s simply no major incentive to follow the advice of someone we don’t know well.

What kind of relationship do we seek? Do we want to be like the sons of Israel, knowing about God? Or know God on a more intimate level like Moses? Hopefully we want to be like Moses.

Forgive me Lord

Forgive me Lord for sins long past, and those for which I haven't asked. Forgive me when I neglect to pray; instead, desiring my own way...