The Lutheran Hour
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"Worn In"
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Text: Numbers 20:13
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It’s one thing to be worn out. It’s another thing to be worn down. And it’s something entirely different to be worn in.
Do you have a favorite worn-in possession? A hoodie or a Hawaiian shirt? A pair of slippers or a purse, a set of exercise pants? A baseball glove or an old guitar? Something that didn’t fit until you wore it a while? And once it’s worn in, you never want to get rid of it. I have a friend who wore in her old purse for so long that people started gifting her new purses, hoping she’d get the hint. She didn’t. And she’s not alone. You probably know someone who says, “Who cares if my Hawaiian shirt’s thread-bare?” Or that the elastic is shot on my exercise pants. They’ve only got a couple of holes. But that’s what gives them character. That’s what makes them mine. You say they’re worn out. I say they’re worn in.
Some things have to be worn in. It’s not “worse for the wear,” but better. I’ve got a sturdy leather bag my family gave me as a gift. They gave it to me when I started this job seven years ago, serving as Speaker for The Lutheran Hour. They knew I was going to be traveling more. And I’d worn out too many cheap bags to count. But this bag is different. It’s full grain leather—not the thin imitation stuff, but full grained, old school, tanned leather, like the leather artifacts they unearthed from the pyramids from the time of Moses—that’s the quality of leather used to make this bag. And it’s got no snaps or zippers, but stainless steel buckles and D-rings. And the seams are stitched with marine-grade thread—the kind used in boats sails and parachutes. The company that makes it promises a 100-year warranty. So, they over-engineer everything; they hold themselves to the highest standards. They like to say about their bags, “Your kids will fight over it when you’re dead.” Seven years in so far, for mine, 93 more to go. We’re just starting to wear it in.
I suppose that’s how it should be for people, too, right? But that’s not always the case. How is life wearing on you? Are you wearing in, wearing down, or wearing out? Most days, I can muster a cover of decency and civility, but the world wears me down. People wear me down. They grate on me. Some days I feel like a thin imitation of what I could be—or what I should be. And my worst parts show.
When was the last time you came apart at the seams, when you were so worn down, so weathered and beleaguered, it exposed you? It showed off your worst parts. How long has it been? The people closest to me could answer in my case. They see me at my worst. I suppose I wear on them as much as they wear on me. This is partly why I appreciate reading the Bible. I can relate to the people I meet there. The Bible doesn’t depict thin imitations of people, but people as they are: worn in, worn down, and worn out, sometimes. Take Moses, for example. Second only to Jesus, Moses probably has the longest and best character arc of the entire Bible. His name is mentioned around 850 times in the Bible. And he’s directly or indirectly involved in the action of at least 140 chapters of the Bible, including his own Psalm, Psalm 90, which simply calls him “The Man of God.”
But there’s a pivotal moment, in the Old Testament book of Numbers 20, when Moses gets worn down. At this point in the biblical narrative, he’s nearly 120 years old. This ain’t his first rodeo. He’s been an orphan, raised as Egyptian royalty. He’s been a hot-headed young prince who killed a fellow Egyptian in cold blood. He’s been an outlaw on the run, a stranger in a strange land, a husband, a father, a shepherd, and a reluctant representative of God.
He’s held conversation with God, spoke to the Almighty face-to-face, dialogue that made his skin light up like a skyline at sunset, which really freaked people out—”Uh, Moses, your face is glowing again.” Moses has been appointed by God to lead a grumbling nation of former slaves, who have tried to assassinate him on at least one occasion, and maybe more. And for the last 40 years, he’s been haplessly wandering through the wilderness with them. Also, Moses has a history of anger issues. He got so angry one time, he literally broke all the Ten Commandments—the original ten God etched on the two tablets of stone. Moses smashed them to smithereens because he was so mad at the people. Now, anger itself isn’t a sin. But it can lead to sin. And in this, case Moses’ anger was justified. The people were cheating on God, worshipping an artificial god that they had made. God was angry, too.
But God never told Moses to break the tablets. In fact, later God gives Moses a hard time about this. God more or less says—”Hey Moses, here’s another set of commandments. Careful this time; they’re like the last ones. Remember those—the ones you broke?” So, Moses has issues. And by the time we get to Numbers 20, Moses is worse for the wear.
Listen to how it goes. See what stands out to you. Then the children of Israel, the whole community, came into the wilderness of Zin, in the first month [the first month of what, we’re not told, but probably the first month of their 40th year wandering in the wilderness, the year Moses turned 120]. So, the people were in the wilderness and stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam [Moses’ older sister] she died there and was buried there.
Now there was no water for the community. And the whole congregation gathered together against Moses and against Aaron [Moses’ older brother]. And the people quarreled, they squabbled with Moses. They spoke to him, saying, “If only we had expired when our brothers expired before the LORD. Why have you brought the LORD’s community into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? Why did you make us go up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place, this place not fit for seed or fig tree or grapevine or pomegranate? And there’s no water to drink.”
And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting [where God would appear to Moses and speak to him]. And there, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother, Aaron. And you speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will pour out water. And you will make water go out for them from the rock. And you will cause them and their livestock to drink.
So, Moses took the staff from before the presence of the LORD as he was commanded. And Moses and Aaron assembled the community before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels! Do we have to make water come out of this rock for you?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff, two times. And water poured out, abundantly. And the community and the livestock drank.
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Since you did not trust Me, to uphold Me as holy in the eyes of the children of Israel, so you will not lead the community into the land that I have given them.”
These are the waters of Meribah—the waters of quarrelling, where the children of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and He showed Himself holy through them. Numbers 20.
Now I’m thinking this had to be the most bitter, most regretful moment of Moses’ life. He’d run a 40-year marathon but couldn’t cross the finish line. It seems harsh for God to do this to him, doesn’t it? But we have to remember that Moses isn’t just anyone. He’s the guy with the glowing face, the guy who talks with God, the guy who’s supposed to represent God. Rightfully, he’s held to a higher standard, like how we expect people who work with nuclear reactors to be held to a higher standard, or people who perform brain surgery. One little mistake, one wrong move and things can go wrong, badly. The stakes are higher.
So, there must be higher standards for those who would represent God, because God is holy. Not holey, like your old exercise pants, but holy, like enough nuclear power to create and destroy the universe, or any number of universes, enough power to create the human brain, the most complicated and mysterious invention in the universe, as far as we know.
God’s holiness is His power to make beautiful things, high-quality creations, hundred-plus-year-warranty artifacts, things that last. God creates like this, with precise specifications, exacting standards, a passion for quality, because it won’t work any other way. Any other way, it won’t wear in. It’ll wear out. So, the standard is higher for Moses. The standard is higher for anyone called to represent the living God as the image of God, which is you, by the way, and me. All of us. That’s why God created you, to be His image, to represent Him to the world.
So, Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it. It seems like a small thing, like eating from the one fruit tree God told you not to eat from. It seems like a small thing, not to trust God’s Word. But if you don’t trust God, you’ll fear and love and trust something else. And that becomes your god. And from those little imitation gods, every evil comes. The universe doesn’t work right, anymore. And we wear ourselves out.
God has a high standard because He wants His work to last, to get better for wear. But with God, this standard isn’t a checklist. It’s not a set of faceless, unforgiving demands. God’s standard is love—self-giving, sacrificial love. The standard isn’t a list, it’s in the heart of God—the God who doesn’t just hold people to His high standard, but holds them, even when they fall short. God still gave the people water, remember? He worked through Moses’ broken faith. Moses messed up, but God gave them abundant water out of the rock, anyway. Why? Because they were thirsty. Because God promised to take care of them. Because He loves them. So, when people wear out, God doesn’t throw them out.
God has a rock-solid, enduring commitment to quality, but He also works creatively within the standard. And when we fail to reach it, God raises us to it. Because sacrificial, self-giving love is the standard. That’s what it means for God to show Himself holy. He raises us to His standard, the only standard that works. Now, that includes holding us accountable for our actions, dignifying us with the responsibility of bearing the consequences of our choices. But when it comes to His relationship with us, even when we break faith with Him, He does everything to shield us from the consequences, because love is His standard.
Because of God’s love, He sees us something like how you see your raggedy old set of exercise pants. He looks past your worst parts, even when you’re worn out, even when you wish you could be thrown out, Like the children of Israel after 40 years in the desert, God still claims you as His own. He still gives water from the rock.
The New Testament of the Bible has a strange assertion here. It says that “the Rock was Christ.” See 1 Corinthians 10:4. Jesus is the Rock, who gives in abundance even when we fail to meet the standard, because God’s love is the standard. And Jesus gives, even when our quality doesn’t pass the test. That’s what He did for us by dying on the cross. When we did everything wrong; when we failed to hold the standard; when we came apart at the seams and struck Him, Jesus gave in abundance. He suffered our consequences so that we could know God’s love.
God wants for each of us to reach this standard. But first, He wants us. So, He wears us in. Jesus put on our flesh. He wore our frame. And when God raised Him from the dead, He raised us to His standard. He showed Himself holy among us. And with His Spirit in us, over a lifetime, God gradually wears us in. The Bible says that God wants His people to cling to Him like a worn-in set of exercise pants. It actually says “loincloth,” but you get the picture. And in Jesus, God has put us on like a garment.
But the image works the other way, too. The New Testament calls us to “put on” the love of Christ, to remember that by Baptism in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we have been clothed in Christ. And this Christ is of such a quality, that He doesn’t wear in to us, but the other way around. We wear into Him.
I mentioned that 100-year warranty leather bag I was gifted. Over the last seven years, I’ve worn that bag across the country. And everywhere I go, everywhere I go, people comment on it. “I love your bag,” they tell me. The quality catches their eye. And I’m realizing that I’m not wearing the bag, the bag is wearing me. I’m just along for the ride. That’s how it is with Jesus. We’re just along for the ride. And He is raising us to His quality, His standard, to love like He loves, until the day He returns in glory, and we’ll finally be all worn in.
Recently, I learned that the people who started and still run the company that made the bag I was given are Christ-followers. They are a husband-and-wife team, Dave and Suzette, who are inspired by what God has done for them in Jesus. So, they want to help make something beautiful that lasts. It includes bags and other leather products, but there’s more. They say they’re a people business disguised as a leather company.
Near the factory where they make the bags, they offer free childcare to their workers, staffed by teachers who show and tell the love of Jesus. Dave and his wife, like many Christian business owners and workers, are inspired to bring God’s standard into their work. So, they offer high quality products and services and serve in love, because that’s what God did for them.
Dave tells a story about one of their workers at the factory. The man was surprised that they would offer free daycare, that they would treat their workers like family. And it started to wear on him. One day he says to Dave, “Why did you do that? Please, I gotta know.” He had come into Dave’s office. He was crying. He said, “It’s changed our lives. Why? Why did you do that?”
He really wanted to know why. So, Dave says, “Well, it’s because God loves you so much. And He loves you so much that He wanted your family to be whole. And so, He put it inside of us to do that. So, I can’t help it, I want to. I hope you like it.”i
i “Not Dead Yet: Beauty, Business and Faith at Saddleback Leather,” Faith & Co. by Seattle Pacific University. Accessed on Sept 10, 2025 at https://faithandco.spu.edu/film/not-dead-yet-saddleback/
Reflections for October 26, 2025
Title: Mountaintop ExperiencesMark Eischer: You’re listening to The Lutheran Hour. For previous messages, FREE online resources, and our mobile app, go to lutheranhour.org. Once again, here’s Dr. Michael Zeigler.
Mike Zeigler: Thank you, Mark. Today I’m visiting with Dr. Reed Lessing. He’s the author of a book titled Hope in the Wilderness. Just came out recently, it’s a practical commentary on the book of Numbers. Reed, let’s talk about how Numbers fits in the whole story of the Bible. As you know, you were one of my professors at seminary, and one way you taught me to understand the biblical narrative is as a journey between mountaintops or mountaintop experiences with God. So we start in the Garden of Eden, which is described as a mountain. Then we get to Mount Sinai and then eventually to Mount Zion in the Promised Land. Three mountains there. What are some details that we should fill in first in that outline?
Reed Lessing: When the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are involved—the end is never the end. It may look like the end, smell like the end, taste like the end. It is not the end. You might think that’s the end for Moses. Not so! Go to another mountain, right? The Mount of Transfiguration and there, Peter, James, and John see Christ transfigured before them. Jesus is speaking to Elijah and of course to Moses! So Moses bodily, bodily makes it into the Promised Land on a mountain, probably Mount Tabor, right is the Mount of Transfiguration where all of that happens and is recorded for us in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Mike Zeigler: So why is the mountain significant? As I understand, I think I remember from my class notes from you, it’s this overlap between heaven and earth. It’s a place where God’s meeting earth. Is that right?
Reed Lessing: That’s right. So where do you meet God? There’s a lot of places in the Bible where people meet God, but the initial idea of this mountain imagery in the Bible is, as you said, Eden, the Garden of Eden is actually on a mountain. And how do we know that? There’s kind of an obscure verse in Ezekiel 28 that talks about that, but just kind of figuring out the water is going to flow downhill. So Eden is described as having a river, and then the river breaks into four parts, right? The Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris and Euphrates. So Eden is up with the river, and then we have these four tributaries that are going to flow down. So that’s important. It’s to kind of pay attention to the hydrology and geography of Genesis 2. Then, what biblical authors are going to do is that when God shows up on a mountain, this is going to be heaven.
The Garden of Eden, like maybe 2.0 or 3.0. We have a number of these in the Bible, of God coming down, not only present on a mountain, but doing His work of re-creation on a mountain. Like Isaac, he’s almost dead, now he’s alive again. Israel is recreated as a people on Mount Sinai. “You’re a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,” and then now the transfiguration. We see God restoring all things. We see Christ in His heavenly exalted glory even before the crucifixion to assure us that the crucifixion isn’t the end. But then if you track with this and you go to the last book of the Bible, Revelation 21, and John is going to describe the renewed creation. He tells us in verse 10 of Revelation 21, that this angel carried me away in the Spirit to a great high mountain, a mountain. So biblical authors invite us to connect these dots that when we see God on a mountain, He’s restoring creation and taking us back to Eden. And it’s a wonderful Gospel promise to hold onto in all times, all places.
Mike Zeigler: So you’ve got Numbers starts at Sinai, right, and then we get to the foothills of the Promised Land at the end of Numbers. But most of Numbers is going to take place in the deep valley, like you mentioned, Numbers 20. This is sad, Moses failing and Aaron’s death and Marian’s death and everybody’s death except for Caleb and Joshua. So what does Numbers teach us about how God meets His people in those valleys between the mountains?
Reed Lessing: He doesn’t give up on them. You can imagine God’s frustration with these Israelites. And in fact, in one moment in chapter 14 of Numbers, God wants to wipe ’em all out and start again with Moses, which that only happens one other time, right in the Bible, in the Old Testament, in Exodus 32. And yet, God threatens that He’s just going to wash His hands of the whole mess and start over with Moses, but He simply can’t do it because He has bound Himself to an oath, to a promise, to a covenant. And we talk about that in a previous segment on our time in Numbers, Genesis 15, where we have the blood sacrifice connected with God’s Word of promise. So we can hold God to His promises that are sealed in the blood of Christ. So that’s what we can expect of God. God is ehmunah, that’s the Hebrew word where we get the English word, “amen.” God is ehmunah; it means “faithful,” even in the darkest, most desperate times of our lives. I can’t help but think of Lamentations 3:23. “Your mercies are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.” And Jeremiah writes Lamentations in a very dark valley of the shadow of death, and we see that same ehmunah faithfulness throughout the book of Numbers.
Mike Zeigler: Thank you so much for writing this book, and hopefully it will inspire many, many Bible studies and devotional readings of Numbers. Thanks for joining us, Dr. Lessing.
Reed Lessing: Thank you, Mike.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Crucifer” by Sydney H. Nicholson, arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Salvation Unto Us Has Come” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House) Used by permission.