Do you love getting a deal? Some of my readers remember Monty Hall and the game show, “Let’s Make a Deal.” More recently Howie Mandel hosted, “Deal or No Deal.” Maybe you, too, have talked to the television, advising the contestants, “Take the deal!”
My family has a long history of making deals. Our great-grandfather was a mule trader in Missouri. His son, our grandfather, had a store called Brooks Trading Post in Wapato, Washington. Our dad put us through college by fixing and selling used cars. I remember the first time I negotiated to buy a car. My brother had given me instructions: “if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.” So I made my case, bought the car, and believed it was a good deal.
In the Old Testament, God made covenants with his people. In each case, God named the terms and paid the price to seal the deal. Moses ascended Mt. Sinai to confirm the covenant God was making with Israel. He gave them the law, offered God a sacrifice, and the people promised to obey everything God said (24:7). While Moses met with God, the people saw the Lord’s glory as a consuming fire on the mountain. Moses stayed close to the Lord. He descended the hill glowing, but like the burning bush he had seen, he was not consumed.
Years later, Christ came to earth, offering to us the greatest deal in history. He paid the price not with the blood of animals but with his own blood. His sacrifice purchased our pardon. The writer of Hebrews remembers Moses on the mountain as he reminds us, God offers us an unshakeable kingdom (Hebrews 12:28-29). Our part is to worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for “Our God is a consuming fire.” We must not trifle with fire. God is not a cosmic Monty Hall. Instead, he sets the terms and invites us to accept his love and forgiveness. Knowing this, why would we ever try to bargain with God? If we are consumed with God, we will never be consumed by God. Take the deal. For heaven’s sake, take the deal.
