God spoke to me... Did he? Really?

Can God tell a preacher some revelation that contradicts God's written Word? I read with some amount of reservation this article by a well-known pastor. And after reading, not feverishly, I feel the need to offer some comments, all easily verified by reading the Bible on your own. But let me first post the article, verbatim, straight from the horse’s mouth, for you:    

“One day when I was studying God’s Word, the Lord told me, 'Son, study the children of Israel from the time they came out of Egypt until they reached Mount Sinai. Not a single one of them died though they murmured. And that is a picture of pure grace.'” When I heard that, I turned to the Bible feverishly to check—as if to prove to God that someone did die! Until then, I had never heard anyone preaching about this! And indeed, I could not find any record of anyone who died before the law was given at Mount Sinai. You see, God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt and provided for them, not based on their goodness, but based entirely on His goodness. Similarly, because we are under the new covenant of grace, God’s blessings and provision for us are based not on our performance, but entirely on HIS goodness.”

I believe the writer must be referring to the biblical timeline from Exodus 14 (deliverance from the Egyptian Army) to Exodus 19 (at Mount Sinai). While it is true that these chapters do not record the death of anyone, that does not mean that there was no Israelite dying or getting killed before they reached Mount Sinai. Consider Exodus 17:8-16, the Israelites’ battle with the Amalekites. “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim” Exodus 17:8.

The people of Israel had just come out of Egypt on their way to the Promised Land. They were at Rephidim, likely a rest stop before proceeding on their way. This location being the Desert of Sin was probably hilly and rocky, ideal geographic conditions for a hostile attack. And so the Israelites were attacked without warning. Their aggressors were the Amalekites who claimed the area for their own. So they felt they had the right to attack and plunder the Israelites.

Before this, I am sure the Amalekites were already carrying a grudge against the Israelites. Amalek, the founder of the Amalekite tribe was actually the grandson of Esau, firstborn son of Isaac (Gen 36:12). The Amalekites would have known of their past history between Jacob and Esau. In Gen 27, Jacob tricked Isaac, their father, into giving him the blessing that was supposed to be given to Esau. The Amalekites would have claimed that Jacob had cheated Esau, their patriarch of their inheritance. So it was personal for the Amalekites. They not only wanted Israel out of their territory, they wanted to prevent the Israelites from reaching their inheritance in the Promised land. If possible, they would want to destroy Israel. To them it was a blood feud and they didn’t fear that God had chosen the Israelites.

Let’s look at the condition of the Israelites. They were still weak as a nation and had no military experience. The only military engagement they had with the Egyptians was at the Red Sea and even then it was the hand of God that delivered them. They had no army and no actual general at this point. That’s why the Amalekites were able to kill the weak and weary who were at the back and straggling into the Rephidim camp.

So with such a bitter history between them and the Israelites, the Amalekites would be in a take-no-prisoner mindset. Considering the fact that Exodus 17:11 says, “… whenever he (Moses) lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning”. Wouldn’t that mean that Israelites were getting killed in the battle? This point is bolstered by Deut 27:17, “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and CUT OFF all who were lagging behind.” ‘Cut off’ is regularly used in the Old Testament as a synonym for killed. I think it is a fair conclusion that there were Israelites who died on the road before they reached Mount Sinai.

The truth is that we are all fallen people. Sin is prevalent in all of us, including preachers. Therefore, it is imperative that all of us must use our minds when we examine God's Word. God gave us a mind so why shouldn't we use it? However, it is not just using a mind that is purely critical and cynical about what others say about the Bible. When we do that, we may end up being like the Pharisees who thought they were the gatekeepers to Heaven. How do we avoid that? We bring the mind under the lordship of Christ by emulating his attitude and actions, “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Phil 2:3). Pastors should not milk their followers’ ignorance by elevating themselves as God’s special mouthpiece.

So did God really speak to this pastor with a special revelation in this posted reflection? I noted that the post had more than 1K shares. Did God speak or was it vain imagination? I will let God decide that. However, I believe God is consistent and he will not contradict his own written word. I don’t need extra-biblical revelation when his Word clearly counsels in the way I should go. The medieval Popes spoke ex-cathedra which implied infallibility in the declarations they made. Those days are gone. Pastors today too must avoid ‘ex-cathedra’ declarations with phrases such as “the Lord told me”, “the Lord spoke to me” implying extra-biblical infallibility. God has already given us his written word. If we can follow it faithfully and obediently with our lives, we will not need anyone doling out extra-biblical revelation.

I really love preachers to handle God’s Word responsibly, with fear and trembling. Sometimes when I hear some church preachers, I am saddened and ashamed that they handle our glorious Lord’s Word so flippantly. I am not a gifted communicator. But somehow, even though many preachers are gifted communicators, they handle God’s Word loosely. It seems like they take advantage of their hearers' ignorance. Christians today must be like the Berean church in Acts 17:11 "Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Even though Paul was an apostle, after hearing his message, the Bereans went back to feverishly examine the scriptures to see if Paul had handled the scriptures responsibly. That’s how every Christian should be.