It seems harsh, cruel and unusual punishment just for collecting firewood on a Sabbath day. Being stoned to death was not a quick nor as painless as possible way to go!
Why would the LORD command Moses to tell the whole assembly of Israel to do so? The punishment does not seem equal to the perceived crime.
Collecting firewood on a Sabbath seems such a petty thing. Obviously, God took a different view. God is holy and just, and to be obeyed. After all, the Israelites did agree to the terms of the covenant given to them through Moses.
God meant business and He was and still is, not to be trifled with. God looks upon our sin seriously. There are harsh consequences for rebelliousness and disobedience. We each need to take warning.
A call to accept salvation through Jesus Christ is a must to avoid the consequences of sin,
"The wages of sin is death ..." (Romans 6:23).
Death, then Hell when there is no repentance. But when there is repentance,
"...the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
Moses seemed unsure of what God would have them all do in regards to the lawbreaker, wood-collecting man. In custody, there would have been time for the man to reflect. He must of known he was in trouble. He had time to repent. God is a merciful God. Was he to be punished by the hands of the people or directly from God? Moses was unsure. The answer involved the whole congregation of Israel.
I'm feeling it would have turned my stomach to have had to participate in such a gruesome punishment - throwing stones at someone until they died. Yet the Israelites had to learn the seriousness of sin, as do we.
In our own life, in our own churches, is sin allowed to go on unfettered? Not to go on witch hunts, so to speak, and nitpick, of course! But the seriousness of false teachers and teaching; of slander, gossip, adultery, unforgiveness and the like needs investigating. When we read the New Testament letters of Paul, Peter and John, we'll see what they were getting at and warned against. They didn't do so to bring a man or woman down but to show the purity of the gospel and life of living for Christ.
During the early church times we read of Ananias and Sapphire (see Acts 5:1-11), God dealt with their duplicity in a trice. They could not deceive the Holy Spirit and so lost their lives immediately at the hands of God. God was again showing His seriousness in these matters and giving warning to His people. We do well to take heed.
This may sound like God is not a very loving and kind God to you. I too grapple with this some. I think the key is to see how sin looks through the eyes of God. He is also a just God.
He is so holy and wants us to be holy too. However, when there is repentance, God responds to that too, even if we must still bear some of the consequences of our actions.
Think of the example of the incestuous brother in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5. It was not to destroy him. It was so that,
"...his spirit [may be] saved on the day of the Lord."
This man had to be put out of the assembly of the believers. Later, we read of his being reinstated. He had repented and was brought back (see 2 Corinthians 2:5-11). This involved the whole assembly who were also admonished to forgive and comfort the man.
This was a happy ending for him.
Yet in many assemblies of believers they seem to want to continue to rake an erring brother or sister over the coals ad infinitum. They suspect the person still has not repented enough. I do not know what scale quotient they use. So on and on goes the vicious cycle of unforgiveness, lack of grace and mercy quite UNlike Christ.
It's a travesty.
No doubt, there needs to be that time of reflection and seeking God's wisdom in each matter and to have the discernment to perceive what the Lord has to say to us. Like Moses' pause to seek God's will. Let's be open to hear His voice upon such respective matters. Let's not overwhelm the repentant ones with excessive sorrow. After all, we are supposedly living in the Day of Grace.
~ERC may 2024~
Based on Numbers 15:32-36 NIV; Galations 3:10; Deuteronomy 11:25-27 and 30:1, 15, 19.
Sing, Grace is the Sweetest SoundGrace is the Sweetest Sound.
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