Altar or Egypt

Your life will go better if you learn to listen to God all day long and let Him lead you along the path of life.

“Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said…Go and count the Israelites…But Joab replied…My Lord the king, are they not all my Lord’s subjects? Why does my Lord want to do this?…This command was also evil in the sight of God…David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this…I have done a very foolish thing…the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord—days of plague in the land…David said…Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great…I, the shepherd, have sinned and done wrong…David went up in obedience…David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord…Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my Lord the king do whatever pleases him…King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.” 1 Chronicles 21:1-6

Think back to the Garden of Eden, where the snake encouraged Adam and Eve to doubt God. Often, it is when we open the door to the enemy and choose to listen to the lies of the evil one that we end up steeped in sin. The text said that Satan rose up against David, and David counted his troops.

At first glance, this might not seem so bad. But look deeper at David’s heart. What was Satan convincing David to do? He wanted David to fall into the trap of believing that his army and his assets were enough and that he did not need God. All of a sudden, David’s poor decision is decidedly relevant for us today. David was relying on his own strength and turning from a life that depended on God. Will we?

If you evaluate your life, do you live as though you need Jesus? Do you depend on God’s provision, protection, and strength to be the person He made you to be? Or are you sufficiently wealthy and wise enough to do life in your own strength? Are you on autopilot, just going through the motions or following deeply ingrained patterns?

David sinned. You will sin. The bigger question is what you will do once you realize you have fallen short. David confessed his sin and turned to God. He accepted the consequence and built an altar that cost him something. These steps are so important if we are to be God’s faithful people. Again, we see how healing comes through confession and repentance. God wants us to run to Him, not from Him.

David refuses to take the easy way out. He denies the gift of land on which he will build his altar. He commits that he will offer a sacrifice that costs him something. Would you do the same thing in that situation? Jesus said to count the cost of following Him. Are you willing to give up everything that is temporary to gain the eternal? Martyred missionary Jim Elliot said he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Many people have called on Jesus to be Savior but have not experienced the blessing of transformation that comes from carrying one’s own cross. We live in a world that loves grace but hates truth. We like lottery tickets and millennial millionaires. We want intimacy with God but immediate answers to prayer. That’s not how God works. We want God’s blessing in our timing. That’s not how God works. What will following Jesus cost you today? What time, what treasure, what of your talent?

Understand that Satan wants you to do the opposite of what God wants. He wants you to run and hide. He wants you to listen to his lies. He wants you to take the easy way out so you never grow stronger in your faith. He wants you to try to avoid every consequence and take no responsibility for your actions. Which voice will you listen to today? Only one voice leads you to life.

“Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me; look on my plight! You are my strength, I watch for you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely. I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.” Psalms 59:1-17

The song was written when David was on the run. David did not have much of a choice. He had to rely on God because he had nowhere else to turn. Often, this is our experience. When we are comfortable or things are convenient, we can make abiding with Christ an afterthought. But when the storms of life are raging, we know there is only one Savior who can calm the seas with a word.

What would happen if we changed our approach? What if we sought God in the morning and sang of His strength? What if, rather than living with apathy when we have abundance or crying out when we are in crisis, we chose to be disciplined in how we live? What if each day we lifted up the name of the Lord and sang of His strength before we took a step out the door? Would that not help us know what to do and how to do what needs to be done?

Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God. We were made by God for God. Every day, our lives will be better if we learn to listen to His voice and trust Him as He leads us. Jesus said the Holy Spirit is our greatest gift. Do we treat Him as such? He gave His life that we might receive Him. Are we treating our bodies as a temple of the greatest treasure Jesus said we could receive? God in us. What good does it do to have the Holy Spirit if we live as though He is an object to be kept in a coat closet?

“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding— indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from those whose words are perverse…from the wayward woman with her seductive words…Thus you will walk in the ways of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.” Proverbs 2:1-20

Everything starts with understanding your identity. You are a son or a daughter of the King of Kings. Live as a child of God. Solomon starts by saying son because if you let go of who you are and whose you are, then you are already lost. What does it mean to you to be a son or daughter?

Would you like to hear God more clearly? Do you want to know what to do in every moment? Would you like more wisdom? Jesus speaks all day long, every day. He says my sheep know My voice. Learning to listen to Jesus is not a lazy pursuit. Solomon uses many action verbs: accept, store, turn, apply, call, cry, look, search. Wisdom tells us that listening to Jesus is not a last resort but should be an activity we do early and often.

It is very easy to get off track. It is easy to stumble. Solomon warns us not to follow wicked men, listen to perverse words, or allow temptation to turn us through seduction. These are three very common stumbling blocks in our world. Very few people intentionally pursue the wicked, the perverse, or the seductive instead of God. More often, what happens is like what happened to David. They subtly allow Satan to speak, and before they know it, they have given a foothold to the enemy.

This is why Solomon says it is so important to practice discernment and understanding. Solomon says they guard and protect us. Are there any areas in your life where you have let your guard down? Are there any areas where you have not given enough thought to what is right and what is wrong? What is holy and what is unholy?

“Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” Ten days later the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. He said…If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you…Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’ “However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey the Lord your God, and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt…If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.” Jeremiah 42:3-16

Like David, the people of Israel turned to God and sought His instruction. Pay close attention to that area of the passage. The text said that it took 10 days before Jeremiah returned with a word from God. Ten days! Would you wait that long?

Are you willing to wait however long it takes to hear from God? We live in a world where it’s hard to stay focused for two minutes or stand in a long line. Patience is not what we are known for. The most common prayer in our world is help me, Jesus. It’s fast and it’s furious, but it is not faithful. It is not patient. It tells God what we want when we want it. Last time I checked, Jesus is Lord and we are not. If we want God’s help and His words, we have to be willing to wait and work in His timing.

When God responds, He speaks life. He gives hope. He promises restoration and redemption. He tells them He has a plan, and they do not need to be afraid. The truth is, He gives us the same message today. We all will face uncertainty and issues. We all wonder how things will work out. God sees and God knows. Things go much better when you follow the One who can see the whole road.

God said do not go back to Egypt. What was He really saying here? He is saying that He rescued you from your past, from the place where you were enslaved, where you could not thrive, so do not go back to that place. How many of us go back to Egypt? How many times do we return to destructive patterns or wayward seductions? God cannot bless disobedience. He wants to bless you, but He will not honor people who turn their backs on Him and return to their old lives of sin. Where have you gone back? Where have you returned to old patterns rather than pursuing a life planted in Christ’s love?

“Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story…As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”…even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life…The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch…Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea.” Acts 11:4-29

God makes all things new. He gives us the Holy Spirit, and He guides us to a life of generosity. Look at the contrast in this passage with David’s sinful approach to counting his troops. When the people of the early church in Acts felt pressure, they responded by being more generous and giving what they could.

Three of the passages had plagues. Expect that challenges will come your way. Times of suffering will come to the faithful and the unfaithful. Jesus said in this world you will have trouble. The question is whether we will be like David and build an altar, turning to God during our trials and sacrificing, though it may have a great cost, or whether we will run to our old safety nets in Egypt. The early church was called Christians because they turned to Christ in the midst of life’s pressures.

Let us not overlook that giving can be hard. There is a cost to giving. You may look at your bank account or your calendar and realize you have less. But giving is one of the greatest signs of whether you trust God. He does not need your resources, but He does know how easily our hearts can be impacted by money. Remember how David said he would not make an offering that cost him nothing.

So where do all these passages lead us today? They lead us to listening to God. We are invited to listen before we move, listen before we decide, listen before we return to what is familiar rather than our relationship with God, and listen before we trust in our own strength. Will you take time, even if it takes 10 days, to listen to God?

Truth tells us that He speaks. The Holy Spirit is not merely with you during times of crisis; He is God in you, ready to lead you along the path of life through each and every moment. Keep your ear turned toward Jesus, keep your heart surrendered to His Spirit, and keep going forward. He has great plans that you will find if you stay on the path of life.