Do not open until...
Wait to Open...
Never Open the Box!
From the Exodus until the building of Solomon's Temple, the God of Israel lived among His people. Even in the Tabernacle, there was no perceived barrier (e.g. - a solid wall) between Him and His own.
Prior to the creation of the golden calf, God lead (literally) His ransomed children through the wilderness as a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night. One can see the similarly between this time and the Garden of Eden prior to the Fall.
The golden calf and the forbidden fruit are the things which sever the otherwise honest relationship. The similarity doesn't end there either, in both cases the real sin lay in trying to replace God. Either being "like God" or making a god of our own design,
"Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.” -Exodus 32:1
We do this still today. We may not cast our graven images from gold anymore, but we're chasing after a lot of bull with our gold. Aren't we?
Adultery was a serious sin in the Old Testament not only based on matters of paternity, but it also represented our going after other gods. When Jesus spoke of an "adulterous generation", He wasn't speaking only to those unfaithful in their marital relationship, he was addressing their need for more signs of His validity as Messiah.
Had they been faithful to the God who lead them from bondage in Egypt, they would have known. All had become so confused and bewildered they couldn't recognize their own Savior. As a faithful wife should know her husband by the sound of his footsteps, the people of Israel should have known their Messiah, but they didn't.
This unfaithfulness is what initially caused the riff between man and his Maker, and it still does. God doesn't change and neither do we.
God can be an unsettling Being, especially when you don't know what He expects of you or even more so when you do know. That's what the Israelites determined shortly after they traded God for some bull.
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” -Exodus 20:18-19
Best to leave the Almighty-to-Adam relationship to the professionals. This allows us to remove ourselves from direct contact (and scrutiny) by hiring a priest to deal with Him for us.
Then we build a box to keep the "Pandorian Deity" safely contained. Pen in this lightening bolt throwing, plague spreading, wrath dealing, and brimstone raining threat for our own (sense of) safety. He's the God in the box. Any box of our own choosing, our favorite brand, color, size, and jurisdiction will do.
We forget that God doesn't change and neither do we. He is eternally parental and we are eternally willful. It's a relationship model with which many of us are familiar.
How does Dad always know, not only what mischief we intended, but also our motives? If only we could be all grown up then we could do whatever we wished. We could make up our own rules, or have no rules at all. Right?
As we mature we realize that this is not the case. Adults have as many, if not more rules, than their children. The adult rules are even more beguiling and seemingly arbitrary than having to eat vegetables or being in bed by eight o'clock on a school night.
Who cares if you hold your neighbor to higher standards than yourself?
What's the difference if you sleep around on your wife?
So what if you are more important than anyone else, that's the way it is?
As long as you never have to open that scary box that contains the highest lawgiver, none of them matter. We do as we please, or can justify.
We can find some really smart, like minded, people who will reassure us that the box is empty. There was nothing in it at all... Ever. Just a fanciful tale told by our parents to keep us in line. The Almighty in the box is an old-fashioned bogeyman used to make us do the things that passe people think is important. People who don't understand that the world has changed, it's all different now, a new morality, Reality 2.0.
We're too smart, too advanced, and certainly too technological to believe in miracles, magic, Santa, Tooth Fairies, or Zeus. Keep that to yourself, I've got a therapist, motivational MP3's, and an open prescription for Zoloft. I'm fine.
Can't you see the damage that specter in the box has done to us? Ban the box and all that comes with it.
Forgiveness? I need payback payback!
Introspection? I need entertainment!
Relationships? I need social media!
Integrity? I got a mission statement!
Community? I've got 1,200 Facebook friends!
Values? I need a seven figure net worth!
As long as we can keep God out of sight and out of mind, we can continue to live the life which we (are told and eventually really believe we) want to live.
A productive (a good work ethic), respectable (producing sufficient income to participate in the unceasing consumption crusade), and acceptable life (always coloring inside the lines). Just like
It's a one size fits all most recipe for the status quo. You don't rock the boat, don't ask too many questions, never loose faith in "the system", keep your nose to the grindstone because heaven forbid you wouldn't want to cut off your own nose to spite your face. Those are the rules, so that is what you do.
Oh, and never, and I mean never, look inside the box.
With all the emptiness on the outside of the box, you may not be able to handle what you find.
May God bless you and keep you...
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