Parashat Chukat 2022: Don't Get Your Faith Stuck!

Numbers 19:1-22:1

It was another pivotal point in Israel’s history. They were well into their forty year period in the wilderness and through many bouts of faithlessness, doubt, and complaining God was still reaching for his people. The parashat begins with the regulations for the red heifer and the waters of separation that were used for cleansing those who were exposed to a corpse and were unclean. This law was significant because the whole of Israel (except Joshua and Caleb) was going to die in the wilderness. The red heifer gave a means of ceremonial cleansing so that Israel could continue to worship at the tabernacle and not be excluded from the sacred community. God is always reaching toward his people and in compassion making a way for us to continually come to him.

In Numbers ch. 20, scripture records that while the congregation abode in Kadesh (which means holy) Miriam died. Then the water the congregation was drinking was gone and the people again began to complain and accuse Moses. The long journey in the wilderness, deaths of many, constant complaining, and now the death of his sister added a lot of stress to Moses’ hectic life and in anger he spoke to the people and struck the rock, instead of speaking to the rock as God commanded him. Though the water still flowed out Moses was judged because he did not believe (trust) what God had said and did not sanctify God in the eyes of Israel. Now Moses would not accompany the Children of Israel into the promised land and would be stuck in the wilderness.

What can be gleaned from this incident? The first thing is to trust God’s method, timing, and seek to honor his person in all that is done. The second is to understand the importance of sanctifying our strengths and weaknesses so that we do not derail the moving of God in an outburst. Many times we also get stuck in our faith because instead of seeking how God wants to accomplish something or when, we stay focused on how we did things last time. Faith and spiritual excellence is needed, but we cannot be bashful to change our means or methods when God is moving. Cultures change, different revivals require different methods, and God may require acts of faith that are unique. If we stay focused on what we did last or what we have always done, when God shows up, he may tell us to cast our nets on the other side of the boat (John 21:6) and we must be ready to obey.

Another way we get stuck is when God gives us his plan, we don’t follow it because is does not make sense to us. The divine wisdom God gives is sometimes geared to drawing us out in simple faith. Other times we don’t understand enough about what is needed to act effectively and God’s direction seems out of place or foreign. Another place the direction of God doesn’t make sense is when God is calling us to align our action within a specific prophetic method that was designed to lead us and others to a prophetic truth. In Joshua 6 (breaching of the walls of Jericho) and 2 Samuel 5:24 (when God told David to delay his attack until a rustling could be heard in the mulberry trees), both illustrate times when the direction of God did not make sense.

We get suck when we give up are worn out, and stop reaching. In 1 Kings 19:4 scripture tells the story of the Prophet Elijah who fled when his life was threatened by Jezebel. In verse five God sent an angel to intervene and ultimately Elisha took his place. Another variation of this is when we give in to sin. David almost violated his place when he had an affair with Bathsheba and had her husband killed to cover for his mistake (2 Sam 11).

Lastly we get stuck when we don’t appreciate what God has Given us. In Gen 25 Esau was the first born but did not appreciate his promise. One day while hungry Esau agreed to sell his place for a bowl of beans. In verse 34 the scripture records that Esau despised his birthright and in the end Jacob obtained it.

In all things we must sanctify God in all that we do. Accomplishing the will of God may involve our creativity, our intellect, our strong bodies, our courage, our patience, and discipline. The grace and anointing of God interacts with us on many levels but each place is a place of surrender that is submitted to the Almighty. In all things we direct attention, praise, and credit away from our egos and person and dedicate it to glorify God. In doing so we point to the Father in all things and provide an opportunity for others to come in contact with the goodness of God. Sanctifying God in the eyes of others is not a false humility, it is about loving God enough to be grateful for what he has done in public and loving others enough to point them to life eternal.

Rav Calev Apostolic Messianic International-Gulf Coast