Tag: details

No expiration date?!?

The expiration date on the partially used bag of milk powder in my pantry was no longer visible. Gulp! Sometime during the last ten years (gulp again!) I had evidently deemed this a necessary purchase… and so put it in an airtight container to keep it fresh (ha! ha!)… and then obviously forgot about it. I only discovered the well-concealed bag this morning, much to my chagrin.

Expired. No longer able to be used. Worthless. Cast aside.

I came across an interesting, somewhat-concealed tidbit a few hours later. This time, I wasn’t in the kitchen but rather reading the Old Testament book of Numbers. The theme of the book is the gradual fulfillment of the promises to Abraham that his descendants would be the people of God and occupy the land of Canaan. 1 It begins with Israel preparing to leave the wilderness of Sinai, and then follows their journey — giving important instructions, but also recording where they messed up so that future generations could learn (hopefully!) from their mistakes. They, as a people, were called to represent God to the nations around them, which meant they needed to pay special attention to His instructions.

I’m still in the part of the story where this huge group of people (over 600,000 — and that’s only counting men from 20 years old and upward) is preparing to travel by foot from Egypt to the Promised Land (what we refer to today as Israel). They’ve already faced some obstacles, some detours… but what I found interesting this morning was regarding the Levites.

The Levites were descendants of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. They were given a very specific role: to assist the priests in worship and to transport all the “stuff” involved in setting up and breaking down a portable “Tent of Meeting” or “Tablernacle.” A LOT of details enumerate their duties — trust me! But what surprised me was that God even gave instructions regarding their retirement.

“… Levites from twenty-five years old and upward… shall enter to perform service in the work of the Tent of Meeting, but at the age of fifty years they shall retire from the service of the [Tabernacle] and serve no longer. They may assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no [heavy or difficult] work.” (Numbers 8:23-26)

They HAD to retire. At the age of 50!!!

But… that didn’t mean they were no longer able to be used. Worthless. Cast aside.

On the contrary! Instead of feeling like this was some sort of “putting out to pasture” mandate, it was actually communicating some important truths:

  • Transporting the Tabernacle, setting it up in a new location, breaking it down for the next move was back-breaking, heavy work. “Early retirement” meant that these men could graciously bow out from this physically demanding job and let the younger men flex THEIR muscles.
  • They still had an important role to play: that of keeping guard. Why was that so important? The Tabernacle was an opulent traveling “tent.” It housed precious objects — a lampstand made of pure gold, a table overlaid with gold, a special wooden chest also covered with gold, various other objects also from gold. The curtains, outer covering to protect it from the elements… everything was of the very best quality and workmanship. These needed protection.
  • The Levites also camped around the tabernacle so that “there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel.” God was very specific about who could and could not enter the Tabernacle. To do so unauthorized would mean instant death… and so the job of the over-50 crowd was vitally important to the well-being of the entire nation. They were not being marginalized by their new job-description… they were doing something worthwhile. Necessary. Valued.

Age is the great equalizer. We all eventually succumb to how it ravages our bodies as they begin to slow down and wear out. Our roles in life, in our society may change as we get older… but we never really retire!

Each season of life has its challenges, and with that our abilities and limitations may change. But we never are — like my milk powder — expired. No longer able to be used. Worthless. Cast aside.

No matter what season of life you find yourself in now — newly graduated, eager to continue with higher education or start a new job; recently married and figuring out how two lives can mesh with the least amount of conflict; starting your family or adjusting to an empty nest; preparing for retirement and the unknowns that accompany it — remember that you are ALWAYS able to be used! ALWAYS of great worth! NEVER cast aside!

May we also remember that God ALWAYS has something of value for us to do. We never retire — just change jobs. We may need to remind each other from time to time that we have no expiration date from God’s point of view! And as we do that, may we have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

  1. ESV Bible Study Notes: Numbers ↩︎

Bogged down in details… Me?!?

photo credit: https:// thesaurus.plus

Aargh. Stuck again. Caught in the quandary of too many things to do, not sure where to start/how to prioritize, needing to make order out of the chaos of my untamed inbox and other projects around the house that have too long been neglected.

Part of my downfall is being a detail person. I think in bullet points, after all! I’m married to a wonderful guy who is detail-oriented as well, but in different ways. For example, our first — and last! — attempt at wallpapering revealed an attention-to-detail side of him that had previously been hidden. I was… well, let’s say, a bit less perfectionistic! For the good of our marriage, we (he!) quickly decided that this task needed to be a one-MAN job. Thankfully, I bowed out… and he painstakingly used a plumb line and level to make sure the job was done well. The end result was superb!

Being a detail-oriented person also means that order, efficiency, and punctuality are high values for me. This is one reason I believe God has a sense of humor: He sent us to two different countries in two totally different parts of the world, countries with completely different languages and cultures, to live the majority of our adult lives where these values are NOT all that important. Seems He has a few lessons for me to learn in this area!

Hmm… Not getting bogged down in the details of life. Not being stuck, unable to move forward. Not feeling overwhelmed. Making order out of chaos.

Earlier this summer I started a daily read-through-the-Bible plan. There are a LOT of details in those early books! And for a person who wants to have everything neat and tidy in one’s mind, it’s sometimes been challenging to keep motivated in my reading. But certain themes keep surfacing. In particular, making order out of chaos.

The very first sentences of the Bible describe how “earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness.” (Genesis 1:2, the Message) Other translations refer to earth as being “formless and empty,” meaning without order. Chaotic chaos, so to speak. And yet God enters the scene and over the next six days brings order to this chaos.

Another incident that grabbed my attention was when Moses, the man who led the nation of Israel out of their slavery in Egypt, was in the desert with this huge group of people (over 600,000 men — so even more when you count the women and children). One of his tasks was to act as judge when they had disputes. With that many people, you can be sure there were a LOT of disputes! His father-in-law Jethro observed,

What you are doing [Moses] is not good.
You and the people with you
will certainly wear yourselves out,
for the thing is too heavy for you.
You are not able to do it alone.

Exodus 18:17-18

Jethro then advised Moses to find others to help him. The criteria was that they be wise and experienced, trustworthy men who feared God and hated bribes. He then “made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens… Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.” (Exodus 18:25-26)

Order out of chaos. A brilliant plan to organize things so that one person (Moses) had some much-needed respite from leading so many people. A plan in which the character of those helping was crucial to implementing what was necessary.

There are even more examples that keep popping up — and I’m only in the fourth book of the Old Testament (Numbers)! The attention to detail — everything from how to build and outfit a movable Tent of Meeting (think portable church) to who is responsible for its transport to how this horde of people were to pick their campsites to who went first, second, third, etc. when they set off towards the Promised Land — is astounding.

So… what might God be wanting to show me through all this?

  • He is a God of order! His spoken word caused the formless void to become the heavens and the earth. “God is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order.” (I Corinthians 14:33, Amplified Bible)
  • Sometimes, to have order in our lives, we need to recognize our own limitations and weaknesses and enlist the help of others.
  • If God is so specific in how to build something and how to transport it, then how much more is He committed to what may seem like meaningless details in my life!

Yep. I still have the tendency to get bogged down in details, but I’m encouraged by seeing that details CAN be something positive. They can be reminders that I have a Father who can make order out of the chaos of my life. Sometimes it will mean asking for help, admitting I can’t go it alone. Sometimes it will mean being intentional in doing what I can to tame my unruly inbox, for example. Like hitting the “unsubscribe” button and answering emails in a more timely manner. Sometimes — often! — it will mean laying aside my bent towards punctuality and enjoying the go-with-the-flow culture in which we live. And not getting bent out of shape when something/someone isn’t very efficient. As I do these things, I’m pretty sure it will enhance my ability to have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life.” I hope you’ll join me!