Little Things vs. Big Things

(Bible study by John Myers)

Frequently, we see incidents in life as “little things” and later we learn to our regret that God sees these same incidents as “big things.”

And vice-versa, we often put our priorities on what we see as the “big things” only to find out we were wrong when God reveals to us that He sees the same as “little things.”

We would all say being a good provider for our families is a “big thing.” But nobody ever said on his deathbed, “I wish I’d spent more time on the job” – unless the job in question is serving the Lord. I’m sure we will never regret one second spent serving God.

This theme that God is interested in “small things” is found throughout the Bible.

Zerubbabel rebuilt the foundation of the temple in Jerusalem after the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity. But then he was stopped for 17 years by opposition from the Samaritans from rebuilding the temple. It seemed his small beginning would come to nothing. But God didn’t forget. The Lord sent encouraging words to two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, for Zerubbabel to finish the work. Zechariah 4:8-10 says, “⁸Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ⁹‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands shall also finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. ¹⁰For who has despised the day of small things?’”

Rebuilding the foundation was despised and called a “small thing” by those who opposed rebuilding the temple. But it was no small thing to God. Doing His work is always a great thing, even if it’s only a small beginning, like rebuilding a foundation.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

Let’s look at a couple of examples of big things vs. little things in the life of Moses.

I was speaking to a church group a while back and asked at the conclusion if anyone had any Bible questions. One gentleman asked, “Why did God try to kill Moses?”

One preacher commented to me when he read my Bible Question & Answer column on that topic later in the paper, “If God had tried to kill Moses, Moses would have been dead.” But that’s what the Bible does say, that God “sought” to kill Moses in this little-known incident that is related in only two verses in Exodus with almost no explanation.

The incident happened when Moses was on the way back to Egypt after his 40 years in exile in the land of Midian, where God spoke to him from the burning bush and sent him to deliver the Jewish people from their slavery.

During his 40 years of exile in the wilderness, Moses had married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian, and had children by her, including some sons.

But for reasons the Bible does not explain, Moses had not circumcised his sons.

Exodus 4:24-26 says, “And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. ²⁵Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, ‘Surely you are a husband of blood to me!’ ²⁶So He let him go. Then she said, ‘You are a husband of blood!’ – because of the circumcision.”

Apparently from her violent reaction, Moses’ wife Zipporah had opposed her husband’s wishes to circumcise their sons. Maybe Moses gave in to keep peace at home.

And God had not made an issue of this with Moses until he left Midian and headed back to Egypt on the mission God sent him. Why had God “sought to kill” Moses then?

Why did God see a “little thing” in the eyes of men, like circumcision – after all, it’s only a little piece of flesh – as a “big thing,” big enough to kill Moses over?

Genesis 17: 9-14 explains it. “And God said to Abraham: ‘As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; ¹¹and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹²He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. ¹³He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.’”

So circumcision is the external sign God gave Abraham that set him and his descendants apart from all other nations. This was not God’s “suggestion,” but His commandment that all male Jews be circumcised or they would be “cut off.”

We’re not Jews, but there is a principle here that applies to all Christians today.

God may allow sin in our lives to continue for a period, but there always will come a time when He will challenge us to confront it or pay the consequences – even death.

And Moses’ time came when he set off on a mission from God. Here’s another principle. God cannot use us to speak to others if we have unconfessed sin in our lives.

What would have happened to Moses’ credibility if the Jews in Egypt found out he had sons who were not circumcised? They would have truthfully called him a hypocrite.

And any preacher or simply any Christian who attempts to witness to someone while not confronting the sin in his own life is likely to be told that old saying, “I can’t hear what you’re saying because what you’re doing is speaking too loud.”

Another question I was recently asked about Moses was why did God not allow him to enter the promised land because of the “little thing” Moses did in the wilderness?

In Exodus 17:1-7, at the beginning of their 40-year journey from Egypt as God led the children of Israel from the aptly-named Wilderness of Sin, they came to a place with no water and complained that Moses had led them out of Egypt only to let them die.

God told Moses there to strike a rock. He did so and out of the rock came water.

Then, 40 years later as they neared the promised land, a similar episode occurs in the Wilderness of Zin and this time God tells Moses to speak to the rock – not to strike it.

Numbers 20:7-8 says “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸‘Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.”

But Moses disobeyed God this time. He lost his temper with the people and Numbers 20:10 says, “And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?’”

Disobedience of God is always a “big thing,” but this was even more serious than that. Note Moses says “we” referring to himself and Aaron. He and Aaron are preparing to take credit for the miracle of water coming from the rock themselves, rather than reminding the people that God is their provider in the wildness.

And Numbers 20:11 says, “Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.”

So it was disobedience plus taking credit for what God did that cost Moses so dearly. And not only did his disobedience cost Moses, it also cost Aaron, his brother, who stood with him that day. Disobedience to God will always cost us and it may cost our loved ones, too. Actions always have consequences, both to us and to others around us.

Numbers 20:12 says, “Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’”

Moses and Aaron both died in the wilderness and never entered the promised land.

Now let’s look at this incident with the benefit of New Testament “hindsight.”

How many times was our rock, Jesus Christ, stricken by God with death, so that from Him might flow the waters of eternal life for us all? Once, twice, three times?

Paul writes in Romans 6:10, “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”

God is establishing a principle here with Moses that His Rock would be stricken only once, just as His dear Son would die “once for all.” There are no “little things” in the Bible. Everything God has written to us in His book is for our great benefit and learning.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Now let’s look at another “big thing” in God’s eyes that many call a “little thing.” Jesus asks in Matthew 16:26, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Which is bigger in God’s eyes, one single, solitary life, one soul, or the whole world? That’s the value God places on one soul, worth more than the whole world.

In the conclusion of the movie “Schlinder’s List,” there’s a scene where the end of World War II has come and the Jews who were saved from the Nazi Holocaust by Oskar Schindler give him a going-away present. One Jew has pulled a gold filling from his own teeth and the Jews melted the gold to forge a ring. And they inscribed inside the ring a Jewish proverb, “Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”

This may be what Jesus is paraphrasing with His comment on the value of one soul.

The Jewish Holocaust was a great tragedy. An estimated 6 million Jews lost their lives. But there’s another holocaust under way that has continued unstopped here in America for 33 years and has almost been forgotten. An estimated 46 million “little lives” have been discarded in America under the banner of “a woman’s right to choose” since abortion was legalized in 1973. When we stand before Christ in judgment, will that be a “big thing” or a “little thing” with Him? We all know the answer to that question.

And let’s look at the life of Oskar Schindler as another example of a “little thing.”

Schindler is rightly praised for being one of the few courageous Germans who stood against the tide in his own country and helped save the lives of thousands of Jews. A book on his World War II exploits and the Oscar-winning movie, based on that book, immortalized him.

The newly formed Jewish nation of Israel honored him after the war by planting a tree in his name on the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations in Jerusalem, where Gentiles who have helped save Jewish lives during the Holocaust are remembered.

But I read a recent biography on Schindler and it had hardly any mention of his faith. He was raised in a Catholic family, but all his life – before, during and after he rescued thousands of Jews – he was a drunk, a womanizer and a spendthrift of other’s money.

Had it not been for the love and support of his former Jewish factory workers, he would have died penniless after the war. They supported him until the end of his days.

I hope and pray I will meet Oskar in heaven. But there was precious little evidence of his faith in Christ during his life, other than his one, shining moment when he truly did as Christ commands, putting his own life at risk many times to save the lives of others.

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends,” Jesus says in John 15:13.

On more than one occasion, Oskar literally put his own life at risk for his Jewish friends. He was arrested twice by the Gestapo on suspicion of conspiracy to rescue Jews, but apparently used bribery or the influence of Nazi friends to be freed both times.

But good deeds won’t save us. If Oskar Schindler neglected one “little thing,” putting his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, then he has already found out as he entered eternity that this one “little thing” is the biggest thing of all.

Jesus says in John 3:3, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Submit Bible questions by email to writeme@johnwmyers.com

(John Myers has been a Christian lay speaker, Sunday School adult teacher and newspaper Bible study columnist for more than 25 years.)