But you have followed what I teach, the way I live, my goal, faith, patience, and love. You know I never give up. [2 Timothy 3:10 (NCV)]
After Israel accepted the Lord’s Covenant, Moses returned to the base of Mt. Sinai with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. It was then that every one of those men gazed upon the God of Israel from afar and ate a covenant meal in His presence. Before Moses departed to climb up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, he entrusted the Israelites to Aaron and the elders who then went back to their camp. Moses, accompanied by his servant/apprentice Joshua, climbed a short way up the mountain and a cloud covered it. The two men made camp and stayed there for the next six days. On the seventh day, God called to Moses from within the cloud and the Israelites’ leader disappeared into the mist.
By this time, Israel had seen the waters of the Red Sea part and Pharaoh’s army drown, watched as bitter water turned sweet, received manna from heaven and water from a rock, and experienced victory over the Amalekites. Israel saw the glory of the Lord like a consuming fire on Mt. Sinai’s summit and, during the Covenant ceremony, they all promised, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” Seventy-three of the elders saw the God of Israel and ate a meal with Him! Yet, despite the miracles they’d experienced, Israel lost faith and grew impatient during their leader’s forty-day absence. Fearful that Moses was lost and wanting to set their own time line for getting to the Promised Land, they decided to fashion another god to lead them. After doing so, they celebrated with a pagan feast. When God saw their disobedience and corruption, he sent Moses back down the mountain.
While we know that Moses was on top of Mt. Sinai communing with God, there is no mention of Joshua’s whereabouts or activities during those next thirty-three days. We can only assume that, after watching Moses disappear in the mist, Joshua patiently remained there until Moses’ return. If I’d seen someone vanish into the fog, I’m not sure I would have lasted four days alone in the cloud-covered wilderness but Joshua lasted more than four weeks! As the days wore on, did he worry that Moses may have been eaten by lions or consumed by what appeared to be fire? Did he wonder how long he should wait before giving up? Waiting alone in the wilderness, did he fear for his own safety? Think of the patience and faith it took for the young man to remain there day after day waiting for Moses’ return.
We think of Joshua as a scout, military strategist, and leader but do we ever think of him as a man of patience and faith? Yet, the same man who waited day after day alone in the wilderness had to wait an extra thirty-eight years before setting foot in Canaan! His faith and patience, however, were rewarded when he arrived in the Promised Land.
Faith and patience go hand in hand. If we have patience, we won’t lose faith in God’s plan and timing as did the Israelites. And, if we have faith, we can be patient, even when things take longer than expected, as they did for Joshua.
The principle part of faith is patience. [George Macdonald]
Following Jesus’ resurrection, the Apostles met regularly at the Temple where they boldly preached and healed the sick. Alarmed at this turn of events, the high priest and his officials had the men put in jail. That night, an angel freed them and told the men to return to the Temple and speak to the people there.
The Resurrection story didn’t end on Easter with Jesus’ appearance to ten disciples, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and John, Salome, and Joanna, along with Cleopas and another believer who broke bread with Him in Emmaus. Appearing and disappearing at will, Jesus remained on earth for forty days. While He probably appeared other times, Scripture tells us He later appeared to Thomas and the ten others, to seven of the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee, to His half-brother James, to over 500 believers at one time, and to the disciples on his last day with them.
We once had neighbors who left our church for what I’ll call the “church of what’s happening now.” Its members have a variety of beliefs about God and, while they acknowledge a “higher power,” they do not share a concept of it. It could be God, a sacred force, or the spirit of life and there is no right or wrong way to understand Him, Her, or It. While some may regard Jesus as a great moral and spiritual leader or prophet (and possibly even supernatural), they don’t believe He was God and reject the Trinity. Theirs is an eclectic mix of beliefs with each person having his or her own personal truth. Embracing uncertainty, some believe there may be an afterlife and/or reincarnation but, for others, this life is all there is. Although they look to the Bible for wisdom, they also find spiritual inspiration in texts like the Bhagavad Gita, Dhammapada, and Tao Te-Ching. Our neighbors were loving caring people who believed in good things like justice, compassion, peace, protecting the environment, and the dignity of the individual. Nevertheless, while some of their thinking was correct, their conclusion was very wrong.
We know Jesus prayed all night before choosing His Apostles. What made Him select those twelve men for His inner circle? Perhaps Andrew and John, having previously been disciples of John the Baptizer, were primed for the arrival of the Messiah but why did Jesus choose Andrew’s brother Simon/Peter and John’s brother James? Jesus called John and James the “Sons of Thunder,” implying they were bold, rash, and quick to anger. Why would Jesus choose them rather than men more even-tempered and less impetuous? For that matter, why four fishermen instead of students of the Torah? You don’t have to know how to cast a net to go fishing for people!
Jeremiah 29 consists of two letters written by the prophet to the exiles in Babylon. The first (29:1-28) was sent to the recently deported elders, priests, and prophets as well as to King Jehoiachin, his mother, and the officials, craftsmen, and artisans who’d been taken as Nebuchadnezzar’s captives several years earlier. Countering the message of the false prophets promising a quick return to Jerusalem from Babylon, Jeremiah bluntly told the exiles that Israel’s captivity would last seventy years. This was unwelcome news and, preferring to believe comforting lies rather than the painful truth, people accused Jeremiah of being crazy and a false prophet. The second letter in this chapter addresses one of his accusers.
