PURGE

The next chapter – Chapter 11 – again covers much of the same ground as the previous chapters. It really feels like Moses is labouring the point now. He must really feel that this teaching bears repeating again and again. This is how important it is that the Israelites never forget.

• love the Lord your God
• obey His commands always
• remember the great things the Lord has done
• then you will be blessed; then I will provide in abundance
• be careful not to get distracted
• teach these things to your children
• then no one will be able to stand against you
• you have a choice – a blessing or a curse: a blessing if you do what I say, a curse if you do not

The one main way that the Israelites are to be different from the the people around them is that they do have many gods with many different places of worship scattered all over the place. They worship one God with one designated place of worship. Of course, during the journey, it has been different. The Ark has travelled with them and the tabernacle has been set up in camp for the duration of each stay. When they settle for good, God will choose ‘a dwelling for His name’ and there they will have to travel to worship –

There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you. Deuteronomy 12:7

The offerings to God can only be made and eaten in this special place. Of course, any other meat can be eaten at any other time, as long as it is prepared according to the regulations (no blood is to be eaten remember). And

Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.  Deuteronomy 12:19

The final point of chapter 12?

Be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.”  Deuteronomy 12:30

And the final line?

 See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.   Deuteronomy 12:32

Chapter 13 covers new territory – woohoo! It’s all about the different people that may lead the Israelites astray and entice them to worship other gods. Firstly there is the prophet or dreamer – the one who does amazing things and then says ‘Let’s follow other gods’. Or it could be a close relative or close friend who entices them – ‘Let’s go and worship other gods’. Or it may be troublemakers rising up in a town and leading the people astray – ‘Let’s go and worship other gods.’

For all three, the punishment is the same. They must be put to death. Show no pity. Spare no one. In the last case, the whole town is to be destroyed and left as a ruin.

This is how important this is. The consequences need to be severe so that the Israelites will hear and be afraid and not be tempted to do the same.

You must purge the evil from among you.  Deuteronomy 13:5

Of course, the problem is that this purge can be taken too far. And is still taken too far today. Zealous individuals thinking they know the mind of their God committing atrocities to defend the honour of their God. We saw it in France last week. We see it examples of it all over the world.

And it happens in our churches too. When I was in my late teens, I had a friend who fell in love with a divorced woman. He’s been actively involved in the work of the church and worked his faith out in all that he did. When they got married, he was told that of course, he was still allowed to attend worship, but that he would never be allowed to receive Communion in our church again. I was horrified. I was told I was young and idealistic and didn’t understand such things. Now of course, the bar has moved on this issue and practicing homosexuality would be the issue of the day in that church.

I’ve seen the damage caused by that issue  too. As part of my degree, I had to spend a year in France. I chose to go to Chartres, a beautiful town 50 miles outside Paris with the most amazing cathedral. I chose there because I had previously been on a Christian mission there and had met some great people. One of those was Graham, an Englishman who had been an assistant in a school (as I intended to be) and had never come back! He was actively involved in the mission and we shared a lot of good times together. And then when I arrived for my year abroad, he was no longer part of the church. I sought him out and found out that he had come out as gay and had been told he could no longer be involved in the church. Again, I was devastated.

Not as much as he was, of course. He was cut off from his Christian community. His friends now were no longer willing to be seen with him, in case they got in bother with the church leadership. He became lonely, isolated and very, very bitter. Understandably. He tried to work out his faith on his own and we had lots of probing discussions, but he couldn’t let go of the hurt that had been caused to him by people of God. He got more and more involved in the gay community and there, he found the acceptance that he craved. I stood by him much to the disapproval of the church hierarchy. Again, I was considered to be young and idealistic, clearly unable to understand such things.

Human beings acting in the name of their God have a lot to answer for. Not just the loss of life that they have caused, which is appalling of course, but the damage done to the faith that they are professing to act in the name of.

Within the church, we have an awful lot to be accountable for, too. In our efforts to keep our church community pure and our newest Christians free from enticement and mixed messages, we have been guilty of silencing genuine questions, ignoring genuine doubt, sweeping genuine issues under the carpet, shunning individuals who do not behave exactly as we would like. This has caused untold damage in itself of course.

And, as a passionate Christian, I may well have ‘led individuals astray’ in my time. Never with intention, that’s for sure. But I have been zealous and passionate and have ardently fought for justice and fairness. Once, there was someone who I’d tried to get to know and encountered some resistance. I just naturally assumed she didn’t like me. It happens. After a few months, she came to me and told me she’d got me wrong. When she’d started coming to the church I attended, she’d been told to steer clear of me by the church leadership, because my beliefs were a bit odd. So she had. And she’d missed out on being welcomed into a warm social group of friends because of it (so some of my thinking may be a bit unconventional, but I make a mean ginger cake!).

I don’t know. That just doesn’t seem right to me. I don’t always get it right and I am very happy for people to disagree with me. I don’t expect anyone out there to agree with everything I write and say. I am on a journey of faith and am trying my best to make my faith authentic and relevant and living. I want that for everyone around me and want to communicate Bible truths in an accessible and interesting way.

So sorry for when I get it wrong. Tell me. I want to know. But don’t stop walking with me on this journey – we’re only just getting going!