Chalcedon Blog

In my recent post on the laughing revival I presented the central thesis that Charismatics had latched onto this ridiculous revival because, like Israel, they despised the manna and were seeking something more from heaven. Here again is one of the verses I cited:

But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. (Num. 11:6)

I didn't realize how accurate this assessment was until I read an article entitled "The Cloud Has Moved" by J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma -- the foremost magazine for charismatics. He writes:

So the Lord let us languish in the wilderness until we realized that His cloud had relocated. Then, in the 1990s, many of us realized that we desired His presence more than we craved stale manna.

There you have it -- straight from horse's mouth. Stale manna is set over against the presence of God as a false antithesis. God's law is stale. It's daily, tedious to tend to, bland, and unchanging. Surely there is something greater God has in store for us, right? In Mr. Grady's mind there is. And for him, as well as a good many Charismatics, the key is to "follow the cloud" to the next move of God.

The Leading of the Spirit

Following the cloud is a common motif in Charismatic parlance. The idea is simple. Like Israel followed the cloud, so the church must follow the Spirit of God as He leads them from one movement or emphasis to the next. The assumption is that the Church is transitory and isolated to a wilderness sojourn. Simply stated, following the cloud is wilderness thinking.

Yet, many Charismatics have chosen the wilderness guidance of the cloud-pillar as the ideal. They frown upon permanency -- staying in any one place too long. They fear becoming dead and a part of the "frozen chosen."

The wilderness was a proving ground for Israel. The "church in the wilderness" (Acts 7:38) was kept on their endless trek due to repeated acts of disobedience. Following the cloud was not the ideal for God's people. God was leading them to something better -- something without a cloud by day or fire by night.

Promised Land Thinking

Wilderness thinking is plaguing a good many in the church. They view themselves as pilgrims moving through the temporary wilderness of the world. They see their earthly task as one of evangelism and experientialism. In one sense they are soul-winners, and in another sense they are seeking greater spiritual experiences as the measuring stick of their spiritual progress.

But, God had called Israel to the promised territory of Canaan. This was the reason for Israel's deliverance from captivity. This was the purpose to her great exodus -- she was to inherit the land promised to her father Abraham (Gen. 13:14-15; Ex. 3:8). Therefore, spinning her wheels in the wilderness was not the ultimate intention. Yet, many today see "pulling laps in the wilderness" as a spiritual ideal.

God's ideal was Canaan, and Canaan would be the opposite of the wilderness. Drastic changes were to ensue as Israel crossed the Jordan River, and life as she knew it would be radically transformed. In fact, the point of her contention was about to cease:

And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna anymore; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. (Joshua 5:12)

This was not all that would cease. The pillars of cloud and fire also disappeared upon entrance into Canaan. How then would the children of Israel be led? How would they know when it was time to move? The answer would be found in the law of God and their national permanency in the promised land. There would be no more moving. Their national direction would now come directly from God's law.

Following the cloud is wilderness thinking. Following God's law is promised land thinking. Following the cloud is a transitional phase for slaves. Following God's law in Canaan was the means to establishing kingly rule. We are in great need of a similar transition in the modern church. Christians must put off this elusive seeking of the contemporary cloud chasing and establish themselves as God's vicegerents who build the city of God in terms of the laws of God.

Out of Hills Thou Mayest Dig Brass

Canaan was a fruitful land in need of cultivation, and Israel was in training for the great labor of carving out a godly civilization. Would Israel be up for the task? Remember, the Israelites were accustomed to bread falling out of the sky and water shooting out of rocks. Now they would be growing their own food, and extracting their own water.

For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills. (Deut. 8:7)

The Israelites would have to work at putting off a "miracle mentality." Water wasn't going to spring from rocks anymore. They would have water in abundance, but they would have to irrigate it themselves. This would also be the case in terms of their food:

...a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land where thou shalt eat bread without scarceness... (v. 8a)

All things would be gained by the sweat of their brow:

... thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. (v. 8b)

These are telling lessons for the modern church that constantly looks for miracles. They give money in hopes that God will give them more back. They pray and "confess" their faith in hopes of God working a miracle of prosperity. This again is wilderness thinking. But, God's desire is that somebody in need of money would actually go to work!

There were hills out of which the Israelites would mine brass and iron. There was plenty of land to build homes, but trees had to be cleared and houses erected. They would have to labor long days in creating a permanent civilization.

Power to Get Wealth

When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (Deut. 8:10-14)

The temptation of Israel was to forget the Lord. They would be working long hours for six days per week, and it would soon appear that their abundance was the exclusive result of their labor. Moses was warning them of losing a proper "miracle mentality" -- to see the miraculous in the mundane.

And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. (v. 17-18)

It was not the power of their hand that would bring them their wealth. It is the Lord that would give them power to get wealth. The Hebrew word used here for "power" means vigor, force, or a capacity to produce. It was an ability to produce given to them by God Himself. In this sense it is equally miraculous to that of bread falling out of the sky. In other words, pulling 14-hour days, six days a week, was just a "powerful" as any wilderness miracle.

Forgetting the Lord

If Christians are not careful they can forget that the Lord works through them in the tedious and mundane efforts of daily living. Instead, they seek something more miraculous. They hear of great testimonies of miracle financial provision and seek something equal for their own lives. They view faithful laboring in a vocation as somehow less than God's best. Everything should come by miracle. This is an ungodly and detrimental perspective.

It's difficult to "forget the Lord" if you were visited weekly by an angel with a sack of money. It's only easy to forget the Lord when the provision comes through your physical efforts. But, as I already reiterated, this was the lesson of the manna. It was daily, tedious, bland, and unchanging. It was everyday. Isn't that how the majority of life is? Therefore, a simple change in our thinking can dramatically enhance our sense of purpose.

The only way to avoid spiritual boredom, or despising of the manna, is to remember the lesson of the manna. Had Israel seen the daily gathering of manna as a lesson in cultivating tedious obedience they would have created excitement about obeying God's commands. Obedience was to be rewarded, and the manna was intended to prepare Israel for obtaining God's blessings. The contemporary Christian must also shake off all despising of God's lessons in obedience and see the miracle in the mundane -- they must realize that it is God that is empowering them to work. When we see daily life from God's perspective it will make glorious our "everydays."

The cloud is gone. The days of exclusive miracle provision are over. This is a lesson for all of us. God has prepared an abundant world and our duty is to extract that abundance by the fruitful diligence of our labor. It doesn't get any more spiritual than this. By applying God's law to the affairs of life we are truly living in the Spirit:

For we know that the law is spiritual... (Rom. 7:14)