Number 15: Gathering Sticks

For some reason I have always been struck by the story of the guy gathering sticks.  I don’t know why. It’s a tiny portion of scripture tucked away inconspicuously in Numbers 15, just 4 verses that are never mentioned again in scripture, but for some reason “the guy gathering sticks” has always stuck with me.  This time I read it and had to camp for a moment.  In the very likely event that this portion of scripture isn’t fresh in your minds, check out the story:

“While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.  And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him.  And the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the LORD commanded Moses” (vv. 32-36).

Does that struck anyone as completely tragic? Every time I read that story I think, “What a stupid sin.” Of course all sin is stupid–it all stems from pride and arrogance and independence from all that is good, namely God. So all sin is stupid, but really, gathering sticks? Come on!

I can understand someone getting caught up in lust or coveting something so much that they steal it or falling into putting one’s trust in something else–all still wrong but I can understand how the lust of the flesh can cause those kinds of stumbles.

But gathering sticks? Why?  I mean, come one–this guy lost his life, was stoned to death, was recorded in scripture, all because he was gathering sticks on the Sabbath. Wow.  Stupid sins.

And then I got to thinking, to me this sadly shows a man who just a complete disregard for the law.  God had clearly told them to refrain from all work ont he seventh day, a Sabbath of rest.  He had just told the nation that and now here this guy is gathering sticks of all things.

A disregard for the law. A blatant disregard for authority, for the very clear commandments given by God to Israel. And then I started thinking how sobering this is to think about as parents–how if we fail to train our children and teach them to obey and to regard and respect authority, we are setting them up to do something like this–a stupid sin.  But then something from our Bible study made it even more convicting.

This man did not fear God.  He did not reverence God.

Beth Moore says, “God is not harsh, He is holy.”  Like a slap in the face this hit me–we have lost the fear of the Lord in our culture.  This man did not have a healthy reverence for God, and he therefore completely disregarded the clear directives God had given. It wasn’t as if this man was swept away with lust or stumbled because of some weakness. He committed the stupid sin of gathering sticks because he did not reverence God.

I believe that is why God responded the way He did. It seems harsh to us, to stone this man with stones because of what seems like a small sin. But, it seems to be that God is pointing out exactly what this man’s root error was (not reverencing God), and making sure everyone else in the assembly wouldn’t make the same grievous error.  The consequences are severe not because God is severe but because He is set apart–holy.  Reverence, or the fear of the LORD, is critical to everything else in Scripture. And, I’d say, is sadly neglected in today’s world.

A very similar story is found in 2 Samuel 6 and we’ll talk about that later, when we get there. God kills Uzzah because the entire nation of Israel needed to learn the holiness of God and reverence Him.  To disregard His clear directives was not an option.  Again, reverence is key. God is God and we are not.  He is not our brother or our buddy. He is the Maker of the universe. He is our King.

This is where it gets WAY convicting.  I was thinking about my daily life. It is wonderful that God has torn the veil and made a way into His holy presence for all believers. We are a royal priesthood, all of us, so we don’t have to approach God in this same way. And yet the coming of Jesus certainly doesn’t do away with a need for reverence. Certainly not!

Just this morning I was spending time in prayer for some friends.  My mind went on to something and I looked at my computer about it, then I saw a response to an email I’d recently sent, then I started thinking about something on my blog, then I sent Jeff a quick email about what I was thinking about, and the next thing you know I was totally off track, having completely abandoned what I was doing which was praying. That is, communicating with the GOD of the universe.

In other words, gathering sticks.

I was because in my heart there was a lack of reverence.  Yes, I am thankful that we can enter straight into God’s presence, but I am frightened by how quickly irreverence can creep into my heart and I can forget how holy God is.  Prayer is not text messaging.

All this to say that in my house and in my heart reverence is becoming a major theme.  I still want prayer and Bible times of course to be fun, but tonight at prayer time I was challenged to teach Dutch more about approaching God with reverence and respect, rather than just shooting up silly prayers or sneaking bites of food or making faces. Yes, kids are kids, but God is God, amen?   I ask God right now to forgive us for the ways that we have taken His name in vain, used or taken it lightly, applied it to things that are not of Him.  I ask Him to give us a godly fear and reverence, to give Him the respect and honor due His name.

And I ask Him to be merciful and protect us from stupid sins.  Protect us from gathering sticks.  Amen?

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In what ways has irreverence crept into your relationship with Christ?  How can we restore a healthy fear of God into our lives? Please share your thoughts on what this looks like for you!