Surely, picking up some sticks is innocent, right? God would never care if someone took a few minutes to gather a few limbs and branches, right?
Not so fast, my friend. Let us examine the matter carefully.
Consider with me what is recorded in Numbers 15:32-36.
Here we read about a man who was observed gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.
Today, it is very common to see folks doing yardwork on Saturday (Sabbath). It is even common to see lawns mowed, trees trimmed, and sticks gathered on Sundays. We don’t think much about it when such activities take place.
But, for the man in Numbers 15, he lost his life as a result of gathering sticks on the Sabbath!
How could this be? How could God warrant ending someone’s life just because they gathered sticks? Was picking up sticks really worthy of death?
Yes.
We answer in the affirmative because the man engaged in what is known as presumptuous sin.
He knew God’s command and ignored it. He knew God had forbidden work (they were not even allowed to kindle fires in their homes on the Sabbath!), yet he did it anyway.
The 4th of the 10 Commandments was crystal clear – “you shall not do any work” (Ex. 20:8-11).
Additionally, the whole community was called together and instructed – and it was reemphasized how there was to be NO WORK done on this day (Ex. 35:1-3)! So, there were no excuses to be made.
It wasn’t the magnitude of the sin per se – gathering sticks seems so innocent.
The problem was willingly ignoring God’s command (Num. 15:30-31).
For New Testament Christians no longer living under the Law of Moses, we do not have to be concerned with Sabbath laws and customs (Gal. 3:23-25; Eph. 2:14-16; Col. 2:14). However, we do need to be very concerned about knowing, loving, and living the Word of God!
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17)
“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” (Heb. 10:26-27)
The smallest of actions or attitudes can have the biggest of consequences and repercussions.
If we know what God has called to be and to do, let us do it with all of our hearts!
The stakes are too high not to…
