Week 55, Day 1: The Census
Today’s Reading: Numbers 26:1-65
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
In this chapter we have Moses and Eleazar counting the people again. This time however we are told that all of the previous generation have now perished in the wilderness (64-65). I don’t know if this indicates that the last of those who were to perish remained until the sin with the women of Midian (ch 25) and subsequent plague. But we know for sure that at this point in time all that remains from the generation that came up out of Egypt are Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb. All the rest had perished as punishment for not obeying God. And soon Moses and Aaron would die as well.
The Census does remind us of the children born to each of the heads of the tribes. And it is important to have them numbered because we are told that the inheritance would depend upon the size of the tribe. This makes sense because each person is to be given their portion of the land as an inheritance.
Question: Why were Caleb and Joshua spared from the doom of perishing in the wilderness? Which tribe was the largest?
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Week 54, Day 5: Invitation to sin
Today’s Reading: Numbers 25:1-18
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
The daughters of Midian invite the people of Israel to come to the sacrifices to Baal. There they ate and bowed down to their gods. Thus Israel was enticed to enter into sin through the daughters of Midian. The anger of God is aroused by this and he strikes the people with a plague which kills 22,000. I want to point out how many this is when you compare it to the census in chapter 26. The tribe of Simeon was one of the smaller tribes and had 22,200 men in it. The total number of men in Israel was 601,730. Almost 4 percent of the people fell at this one time. Much more than they would have lost in any battle with Moab or Midian and more than the tribe of Simeon had in it. As mentioned yesterday, this “strategy” was employed by Moab because of the advice given them by Balaam (31:16). Balaam had told Moab how to get Israel to stumble and be punished by God. And thus Midian was able to trick Israel (18).
Question: Why do you think the jealousy of Eleazar for His God pleased God? How do you think this example might apply for us today?
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Week 54, Day 4: Held back from honor
Today’s Reading: Numbers 24:1-25
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Balaam has now blessed Israel three times. Balak’s anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and told him to flee to his place. Balaam seems to have learned the lesson from the angel of the Lord that he must speak only the word of the Lord. And now he is in trouble with Balak. Balak tells him that he would have greatly honored Balaam but God has held him back from honor (11). Sometimes people are more concerned about receiving honor from man than from receiving honor from God. People sometimes view God’s commands as keeping them back from pursuing “honor” or esteem. What they miss is that God’s commands do keep us to a certain track. His commands are a light to our path, guiding us and directing our steps. So yes, His commands direct us away from certain things and “keep” us away from certain practices. But we should always recognize that God knows what is best for us, what will be for our good. And we need to recognize that we do not need to be worried about receiving honor from man. So many get caught up in being praised or “patted on the back” by others that they let go of keeping God’s commands. Soon you see prominent preachers willing to “bend” or teach more leniently in order to be more popular. Or Christians are willing to do underhanded, corrupt practices at work to make their boss happy.
After chapter 25 we start to go away from hearing about Balaam so much. If this was all that was said about Balaam you would think that he has held to his principles and only said what God had spoken to him. But when you consider what we mentioned in 2 Peter 2:15 and Jude 1:11, something went wrong with Balaam. Verse 25 says Balaam rose and returned to his place. So it sounds like Balaam left. But we will see Balaam still around and mentioned in chapter 31:8 & 16 and he has a direct hand in what happens in chapter 25. I think that it is interesting that we find out about some of Balaam’s actions and motives by other passages or references later. The text at this point seems to focus on the words of blessing directed toward Israel.
Question: What other areas of life might someone choose to set aside the commands of God in order to receive honor from man?
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Week 54, Day 3: Arguing With God
Today’s Reading: Numbers 23:1-30
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
As Chad pointed out in the last post, Balaam was determined to only report to Balak exactly what God had said. But, that was not satisfactory to Balak. He had in mind the message that he wanted to hear from Jehovah. He had called Balaam to curse the people of Israel, and he wasn’t going to be satisfied until that was accomplished. Twice in Numbers 23 Balak tried to get Balaam to change his report from a blessing to a curse. He was convinced that there had to be some way that Balaam could do what he asked, if he just gave him enough opportunities.
In reality, what we see in this chapter is Balak was arguing with God. The message had been delivered, but he was unwilling to accept it. He kept sending Balaam back to try and get the answer that he wanted. Balaam once responded:
19 “God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Balak could keep sending Balaam to inquire of God, but the message concerning Israel was not going to change! People today seem to have the same tendency as Balak. They act as if they are willing to accept an answer when inquiring (praying) to God, but when they get an answer they don’t expect, or don’t like, they try to argue with God. They are sure that they are right about what they want, and that God just doesn’t understand what they are asking for, or what they are saying. If they could just give God a different perspective, surely He would see it their way, and give the answer that they want. And so, they climb to the top of a different mountain, and inquire again of the Lord.
This idea should not be confused with “persistence.” Consider Luke 11:5-10. There, we are told of a man who, because of his persistence, received what he asked for. Sometimes, we might have to ask God for something that we desire more than one time. But, even in that process, we need to remember that we must ask within the confines of His will. If we are persistent in asking for something that is contrary to His will, the recurring answer will be “No!” Balak was told that his desires were outside of the will of God, and that should have been enough to make him stop asking. No amount of persistence would change the outcome, and no change of perspective could make God do what what he wanted done. The same is true for us! If we ask amiss, then no amount of persistence will change God’s response for us. It is not God who may need a change of perspective, but us!
Question: What types of things do people ask for that are not in keeping with the will of God?
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Week 54, Day 2: A Prophet for hire
Today’s Reading: Numbers 22:1-41
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
In chapter 22 Israel now comes to the plains of Moab, just outside of the promise land. They are on the verge of entering into the land. But here we have yet more trouble for Israel. They have defeated Arad, Sihon king of the Amonites, and Og the king of Bashan. So when they come into the plains of Moab it is only understandable that the king of Moab would be in great fear. But their king, Balak, realizes that he cannot defeat Israel without help. So he sends off to a city thought to be on the Euphrates river (all the way to the region of Mesopotamia). This would be a far journey and would take a while to get there. At first he sends messengers to request that Balaam come to aid them by cursing Israel. Balaam is an interesting person because he appears to be some sort of prophet or priest who God speaks to. God tells Balaam not to go with the men to Moab because the people of Israel are blessed. When Balak receives the response he sends another group but this time leaders more numerous and more distinguished than the first group. They ask again for Balaam to come. Balak has promised to honor Balaam richly and do whatever he wants him to do. Balaam’s response sounds good, “though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the Lord my God.” But then he goes back to inquire of God again. I believe that God was angry with Balaam beause He had been very clear in telling Balaam the first time that he was not to go. Thus God sought to kill Balaam along the way, even though God told him to go with them.
Later Balaam is warned again to only speak the word which the Lord tells him. We see from NT passages that Balaam is described as a man who “loved the wages of unrighteousness” 2 Peter 2:15 and that “for pay have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam” Jude 1:11. Even though Balaam said he wouldn’t do anything contrary to the word of God, even for all the riches of Balak’s house, we find out that the temptation of riches and honor did indeed lead to his downfall. Balaam at some point turned away from only speaking what God told him to say. We will see that he paid for this with his life.
Question: Why do you think God opened the mouth of the donkey to speak to Balaam and also open his eyes to see the angel of the Lord?
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Week 54, Day 1: Fiery Serpents
Today’s Reading: Numbers 21:1-35
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
I want to point out that in reading about Israel’s wandering in the wilderness that a long amount of time has now passed. The text does not say, “in the twentieth year” of their wandering but we know that Israel was to wander in the wilderness for 40 years because of their disobedience (Num 14:32-34). We can guess that there has been a long period of time pass now because Israel is beginning to make their way towards the east side of the Jordan, where they will cross into the promised land. They are coming closer and closer to the time when the next generation will cross the Jordan. So the exact timing cannot be determined, but I bring this up because when we are told that Israel becomes impatient because of the journey and begins to speak against God and Moses. I wonder how many of the people who are speaking out are of the younger generation who will be entering into Canaan. We cannot tell but I think that it is interesting to consider.
Because they speak out against God, He sends fiery serpents among the people to bit and kill the people. The people cry out to Moses that they have sinned and request Moses to intercede for them. God directs Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. Those who were bitten and looked to the bronze serpent would live and not die. God took mercy on them and provided a way for them to be saved. I want to ask you this question. Would you say that they people earned their salvation by looking at the bronze serpent? Those who didn’t look at the bronze serpent died. I don’t think that anyone would say in this situation that the people were “earning” thier salvation. God provided the way for them to be healed and they followed His instructions in order to be saved. I think such examples are good to consider when talking to someone about baptism. So many say by being baptized you are trying to earn your salvation. No. God has provided a way to be saved. If you want to be saved, then be baptized. Just like if the Israelite wanted to be saved from the serpent bite they looked at the bronze serpent. It is not doing something to earn salvation, it is doing what God said to do to receive His salvation.
Question: This question will take some research. The bronze serpent will show up later in Israel’s history. Then it is an object of worship. What name was given to the bronze serpent and who destroyed it?
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Week 53, Day 5: Waters at Meribah
Today’s Reading: Numbers 20:1-29
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Once again we have an occasion where Israel comes into an area where there is not water (they are still in the wilderness). The people contend with Moses for bringing them out here. They say this as if Moses himself decided to drag the people out into the wilderness. The people also say that this isn’t a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates. This to me seems like a jab at Moses for deceiving them. Before they left Egypt, Moses had told the people that God would bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey. The people seem to be accusing Moses of lying to them about doing this. But we all know that the reality is that they would have been already in that land had they believed God and followed Him. Also, the fact that they are contending with Moses because there is no water verses requesting that Moses petition God for water shows that there has been little change in their attitude even though they had been shown so many signs.
Moses goes to the tent of meeting and is told to go before the people and speak to a rock and it will bring forth water. What Moses and Aaron do however is to disobey God. Instead of speaking to the rock Moses strikes the rock twice and also speaks to the people, “shall we bring forth water for you?” I have wondered at times if the way Moses and Aaron spoke to the people showed a lack of respect toward God because they didn’t say that it was God bringing the water forth for them. This one occasion is what prevents Aaron and Moses from entering the promised land. They had “not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel”. Disobedience shows a lack of respect and certainly not giving God the glory for providing for His people is not treating God with esteem. I have often cited this passage in studies on authority because what you and I could think of as only a minor thing causes Moses to not be able to enter the land. Afterall, Moses had served faithfully for years out in the wilderness and had such a close relationship with God. How could one occasion be all it took to keep him out? Man sometimes sees things from only his perspective. Man can try to reason that his actions should be accepted by God or that doing something contrary to God’s word is not a big deal as long as we have good intentions but keep in mind what we see happen here. Man’s ways are not God’s ways. God demands that those who come near to Him must treat Him as holy. We risk much when we think we “ought” to be okay to do something or that we think God will be pleased with doing something. God has told you oh man what is pleasing to Him. The Bible gives us all we need to make us complete and furnished completely for every good work (2 Tim 3:17).
Question: Why do you think water came forth from the rock even though Moses had disobeyed God?
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Week 53, Day 4: Waters of Purification
Today’s Reading: Numbers 19:1-22
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
We are told about how the Israelistes were to make waters to remove impurity. They are told to bring an unblemished red heifer for sacrificing. After the sacrifice they are to put the ashes into water. This water is then to be used in the process of cleansing a person from becoming unclean from touching a dead person (vs. 11). This practice is interesting to consider. One could ask how the waters had anything to do with actually cleansing the person. I doubt that there would be any logical explanation or medical explanation for how this would cleanse someone. But it was what God commanded to be done in order for a person to become cleansed. In a way this makes me think about baptism. So many want to say “there’s nothing magical about the water” or “I don’t understand how this takes away your sins”. Whether or not someone understands it, baptism is commanded to be done in order for someone to receive the washing away of their sins. With the cleansing process in chapter 19 the sons of Israel were told if anyone did not cleanse himself with these waters remains unclean (vs 13) and shall be cut off from the assembly (vs 20). It wasn’t optional, it was required for someone to be clean and to continue worshipping God properly.
Question: Why was it important for someone to cleanse themself?
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Week 53, Day 3: The Portions
Today’s Reading: Numbers 18:1-32
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
I appologize for missing the post yesterday. I will be posting twice today to keep up with the scheduled reading.
What I wanted to point to today was the way in which this text mentions that the Levites received the tithe they were still expected to give an offering from that to the Lord. So they gave a tithe of all that they received. It was a tithe of the tithe. They were to treat it as if it was the grain that came straight from the threshing floor or from the wine vat. Like they had harvested it or produced the wine themselves The tithe was given to the Levites in return for their service in the tent and as their inheritance in Israel. I just find it interesting that they were still expected to each one give/ make offerings to God even though the source of these offerings were from the requirements of Israel to give the tithe.
Question: If the tithe was given to the Levites for their service. What was given to the priests for their service?
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Week 53, Day 2: The Rod of Aaron
Today’s Reading: Numbers 17:1-13
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
In order to lessen the grumbling against Moses the Lord has Moses perform a certain task. Moses ask for rods from the head of each tribe. Each rod is labelled and then placed before the ark. For the tribe of Levi Aaron’s name is written. The next day Moses retrieves the rods and behold, God has caused the rod of Aaron to sproute, put forth buds, blossom and produce ripe almonds. All in one night. No one of Israel could deny this as a miracle. So yet again God has given a sign to further show His selection of Moses and Aaron. We shall see if this quiets the grumblings against Moses.
Question: What miracle would it take to convince an unbeliever that God exists? Or to convince them that they need to obey God? Is there a miracle that could accomplish this?
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