Bible Reading Reflection from Numbers 11-25

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (FG), a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day] 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙𝟙:𝟙𝟝

"So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness."

Moses, the great leader of Israel had a moment when he felt incompetent to lead. There were no other people whom he could entrust the leadership. He was so discouraged and was in despair, longing to die.

Sin makes people weary [not only the perpetrators but everyone]. As Paul said that his greatest sufferings were not the personal sickness, beating, or even shipwreck experiences, but they were his concerns for the church. True leaders suffered from the sins of the members. That's not hard to imagine. When a part of your body suffers, your whole body suffers.

It's said of apou Dimngampou (now IRB) that when he got into a bus accident, he had the probability of living the rest of his life crippled, he is said to have told, "I'd rather die than to live without the ability to walk." A weak member of the body wearied even the healthy members of the body.

Well, Moses, even in this situation did not have a higher view of self, but a wretched view of self. He saw not only the wretchedness of his people but even his own wretchedness.

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙𝟚:𝟛

"(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)"

There's such thing called false humility according to Philippians 2. Therefore, let not the world define what humility is and is not. Get used to the biblical understanding of everything.

Now, Moses was given the title, humble man of God, which was surpassed only by Lord Jesus Christ.

Humility is recognizing "God is God and we aren't God. We live in God's world and must live to please Him. He has the right to do whatever He pleases."

That would shut up all our pride, arrogance, boasting, complaints, jealousy, and disappointment.

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙𝟛:𝟛𝟘

"Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.’"

Caleb and Joshua were willing to risk their lives to possess the God-given land. They had confidence in God that they shall not only survive but overpower the enemies and enjoy the fruits of the land.

Disobedient people are cowards. Also. cowardice leads to disobedience.

God was pleased to bless Joshua and Caleb above every one of that generation!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙𝟜:𝟚-𝟛

"All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’"

Do we not find ourselves often complaining about what we do not have than being grateful for what we have been given?

The Israelites were given freedom; instead of being eternally grateful, they crave temporal onions and garlic (Num.11:5).

Learn to thank God. Learn to count God's blessings. Learn to be contented, satisfied. Learn to enjoy what you have.

It doesn't mean we should not have high ambition. It just means learning to enjoy life, God's gift, God's universe, and God Himself!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙𝟝:𝟚-𝟛

"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, then make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed times, to make a soothing aroma to the LORD, from the herd or from the flock.’"

God wants an offering because offering symbolizes many things. One of them is gratitude.

Learn to give offerings to God!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙𝟞:𝟟

"And put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the LORD tomorrow; and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!"

There are times we have gone far enough. It's good to have the practice of a quiet time to examine ourselves in the Lord.

Psalmists often did that!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙𝟟:𝟠

"Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds."

It not only blossomed but yielded fruits, yes, fully grown, ripen fruits. Unarguable confirmation!

God has the habit of doing exceedingly than we can ever imagine as well! Trust Him!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙𝟠:𝟛𝟙-𝟛𝟚

"You may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your compensation in return for your service in the tent of meeting. You will bear no sin by reason of it when you have offered the best of it. But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, or you will die."

The tithes they received from the other tribes of Israelites they shall take for themselves after paying tithe from them [the tithe from the tithes received]. They should do so in reverence, gratefulness, and faithfulness.

Surely, wasting, negligence, and mismanagement wouldn't be tolerated!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙𝟡:𝟚𝟘

"But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself from uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean."

The teaching on the purification of the unclean magnifies the holiness (otherness) of God. That God is totally different from His creatures. His people must also be different from the rest of the people!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟚𝟘:𝟙𝟚

"But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’"

There's no excuse even in wrath. God must be treated holy at all times. Some people speak uncomely things in anger. Well, that shows how shallow their religion is.

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟚𝟙:𝟝-𝟞

 “The people spoke against God and Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.’ The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.”

God will not back down because of complaints. Rather, He sent serpents to stop them from complaining. It's not God to stop, it's man who should stop complaining!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟚𝟚:𝟙𝟠

“Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, ‘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.’”

Balaam really had a great philosophical tongue, but a hypocritical heart!

One can really speak sweetly godly, and live out very differently!

Balaam is a great example and lesson to this!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟚𝟛:𝟚𝟟

"Then Balak said to Balaam, ‘Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be agreeable with God that you curse them for me from there.’"

Haven't we ever thought of God in this way, changing (modifying) the circumstances and the environment around us?

God is not a man, He will not back down. He will not change, because He is perfect. He does only the best thing, and everything He does is the best!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟚𝟜:𝟙𝟘

"Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, ‘I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!’"

Who can be against those whom God is with them? Will they prevail? No!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟚𝟝:𝟙𝟙-𝟙𝟚

"Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. Therefore say, 'Behold, I give him My covenant of peace;"

A Covenant of Peace given to a wrathful guy by a wrathful God.

Godly wrath and godly peace go hand in hand. Jesus was not just gentle but wrathful too. Look at how he cleansed the temple.

Bible Reading Reflection from Numbers 1-10

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (FG), a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙:𝟝𝟛

"But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no wrath on the congregation of the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony."

Only those who are old and strong enough to go to war were counted. The Levites weren't counted because the greatest war is not with flesh and blood, not even with swords or bows, nor with guns and bombs, nay, even virus and bacteria; the greatest battle is ungodliness. The Israelites must make sure they remember God always, and for that, the whole tribe of Levi was called upon to let the Israelites remember God!

After all, all other wars are designed to discipline the ungodly and to make them godly! Pursue godliness. God will make sure it will cost you everything to achieve that.

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟚:𝟙-𝟚

"Now the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ‘The sons of Israel shall camp, each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers' households; they shall camp around the tent of meeting at a distance.’"

Unity is not uniformity; there can be unity even in diversity.

The Israelites were told to camp according to their tribe. Moses saw this to be fitting and effective!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟛:𝟜𝟞-𝟜𝟟

"For the ransom of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites, you shall take five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs)"

The firstborns of Israelites were more numerous than all the people of Levi. Well, there was no excuse, nor did they come up with a population-control policy. Rather, they have to pay money for every [excess] single child.

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟜:𝟚𝟛

"From thirty years and upward to fifty years old, you shall number them; all who enter to perform the service to do the work in the tent of meeting."

Those who will serve God on behalf of the people are matured but [still] energetic people. They aren't younger than 30. They aren’t kids. They are old enough to be mature. They should be younger than 50. Not old enough to forget things, and not old enough to get weak. God deserves the best. It's a 20-year span of service.

If church leaders are properly trained before 30, get them to pastoral staff by 30, make them a lead-pastor by 40, and promote them to some other leadership by 50, wow, it will [could] be a great church. But I don't think there hardly exists such church. Denomination enforcing this model would actually retard the growth of a church because we can't just follow a principle without a substance.

So, like Apostle John who was still the leader in his 90's or like the prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah who were in their 20's, God's ministers have no hard and fast rules concerning age in matters of induction and retirement.

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟝:𝟜

"The sons of Israel did so and sent them outside the camp; just as the LORD had spoken to Moses, thus the sons of Israel did."

Wouldn't it be great if such refrain is our way of report whenever we meet one another in the church? Saying, "I read the word of God says such and such, and I did it", "I did this week as it was taught in the sermon last Sunday".

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟞:𝟟

"He shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head."

Jesus likewise said that every Christian who cannot leave behind the most precious people, things, dreams to follow after Him will not receive eternal life. There's nothing realistic, better, deeper, blissful than to be owned by God.

Have a high view of God. A God-honouring perspective of life.

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟟:𝟠𝟡

"Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, so He spoke to him."

Hmmm! This is the 2nd longest chapter (in numbers of verses) just next to Ps. 119, which has 176 verses, almost twice of Num. 7. In terms of words, it's the 4th, having 1939 words. Sometimes, a statistic like this is interesting! Now to the point. Notice the word "mercy seat".

That's where God is, that's what God does—mercy. That's where we seek, what we need, where we want Him to be found. We want the mercy of God. And this mercy is "from above," it's heavenly, perfect, genuine, no side-effect, no strings attached. Given freely to us.

Every time, we come in prayer, let's remember, that God is seated on the throne of Grace, on the throne of Mercy. This is refreshing to think about!

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟠:𝟚𝟜-𝟚𝟞

"This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work any more. They may, however, assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, to keep an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations."

All the Levites by the age of 25 shall enter into service and retire by 50.

The strength of Levites to the rest of the Israelites would be from 1:6 to 1:13 [ratio]

All in temple service, no other works. Can you imagine that?

And how many leaders do we have in a church?

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟡:𝟙𝟟

"Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would then set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp."

God leading them through natural means—using the clouds. Whenever the Israelites saw the clouds even after they have reached the promised land, they must really have remembered the Providence of God.

 

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝟙𝟘:𝟛𝟝-𝟛𝟞

"Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said, ‘Rise up, O LORD! And let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You.’ When it came to rest, he said, ‘Return, O LORD, To the myriad thousands of Israel.’"

When we are thankful and want to thank someone, everyone knows we are, but that doesn't stop us; we [still] say "Thank You" anyway. There's satisfaction in saying, even if it's known, even if it's one of the most common words.

That's true in our communication with God as well. God knows everything we need. He is a perfect lover, who keeps loving us even in our weirdest and vilest sin. He loves us so much that He will do everything well (even our sin) for our own good (leading to His glory). He will still be our God and bless us even when we fail to pray. Yet, if we are truly His people, we shall truly pray and thank Him.

This verse 35-36, is not just a ritual. It has meaning, significance, and is effective. This is about the leading of God through clouds in the wilderness, yet we can picture this in our life's journey, the presence of God, the providence of God, the direction of God.

Would we proclaim with our tongue, "God, I rejoice in Your ways: In Your rising, I shall go; and in Your rest, I shall rest”? May it be so! Not just in mind, in thought, or action. Open-mouth prayer, confession, testimony are parts of a Christian's life!

Bible Reading Reflection from Leviticus 17-27

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (PG), a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟙𝟟:𝟝

"The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to the LORD, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD."

A proper sacrifice, a legitimate sacrifice, a sacrifice that will please God; a sacrifice that will not be rejected; a sacrifice that will not bring wrath and judgment upon those who sacrifice is done through the priest and by bringing to the temple (they were still in the wilderness, so, in a tent).

No man (past, present, future) should think he can come before God without the priest. No man should think he can meet God anywhere but, in the temple, (the house of God).

Jesus has become our priest, and our body has become the dwelling place of God. So, now we can pray to God anywhere anytime without needing to go even to the church.

But the negative implication still applies. He who thinks he can please God on his own shall be cut off. He needs a mediator, either the Levitical priests or the Heavenly Priest.

Another elucidation is, worship is both private and public. People these days have made worship private and not public anymore.

 

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟙𝟠: 𝟛

"You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes."

It's a call to be different. But many want to live just like the world.

I've seen professing boys and girls staying together before marriage, that's fornication; yet their consciences are seared, excusing themselves in saying "everyone's doing only"

 

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟙𝟡:𝟚

"Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.’"

Our motivation to live a life of holiness is God. If we love God, if we want to dwell in His place, if we are His people, we must be holy indeed!

 

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟚𝟘:𝟚𝟛

"Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them."

Some cultures are better than others' cultures.

What may be good, perfect, and legal in some cultures may be evil and sinful in the sight of God.

Activities mentioned in this chapter weren't uncommon, even from the dawn of humankind [apparently]. But the people of God were and still are instructed to live differently.

 

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟚𝟙:𝟙𝟟

"Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘No man of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect shall approach to offer the food of his God.’"

While some people get disqualified, others are unqualified.

God deserves the best, the most competent, the most perfect things.

 

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟚𝟚:𝟛𝟚-𝟛𝟛

"You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the LORD."

We are not our own; we don't do what we please. We don't live for ourselves; we live for God. Or we can quit calling ourselves believers and perish!

 

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟚𝟛:𝟚𝟚

''When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the LORD your God."

The Lord wants to demonstrate His grace, mercy, kindness, and providence to the poor and needy through those who have much!

Something to think through again and again, both for self and to teach others!

 

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟚𝟜:𝟙𝟡-𝟚𝟘

"If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him."

This is how true justice looks like. In fact, nobody wants true justice. Nobody can stand true justice. We all want mercy. We love to go in the street and protest "we want justice" when we are the victims, but when we are the perpetrators, we want mercy crying, "This is not fair."

Only God gives true justice for the "tiny" sins of Adam and Eve. They were spared because God decided to kill His Son, which Adam and Eve couldn't endure [even their own sins], the infinite wrath of God.

Both the Gospel and the Law actually point us to be merciful, and to leave vengeance upon God, who alone knows to give true justice!

#Mercy, Justice, Vengeance#

 

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟚𝟝:𝟚𝟛

"The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me."

And in the New Testament, God says we are not our own, we are bought, not even with precious gold but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We belong fully to Him and Him alone.

Yet, how we want to live an independent life! Even the “Lord's Prayer” teaches us to be dependent on him daily, “give us our daily bread.”

With this perspective, we will not fear nor worry about tomorrow or today. We will not be attached to the things of this world. We will not be jealous nor covet the things of others! On the contrary, we shall be productive knowing we are just stewards; we can't afford to waste, it's not ours!

Indeed, everything, life itself, belongs to God. Even the sinner's soul belongs to God and will be kept in hell. Nothing is independent of God!

 

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟚𝟞:𝟛𝟜

"Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths."

Sabbath is of God. God rested on the 7th day. Man ought to rest as well. But man is greedy. They want to work and work. They let their employees and animals work and work. They thought if they work and work, they will get more and more. But is it not God who produces anything? At best, man can water the seed; it's God who let the seed sprout and grow.

Even when they get more, they never get satisfied. Millionaire wants to be billionaire. Greed, greed, greed!

In Leviticus 26, God told the Israelites to rest on the 7th day, or else, God will not let their crops grow. God fed them with manna, even without them working for 40 years, not to talk of 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, or 1 year.

Working or not, it's God who sustains life. Working greedily is tantamount to stealing credit from God, in that they trust themselves, and not God.

Sabbath was made for man primarily, and if the Israelites wouldn't be grateful for that, God would remove them and give the Sabbath for the animals and the lands!

 

𝕃𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕋𝕀ℂ𝕌𝕊 𝟚𝟟:𝟛𝟚-𝟛𝟛

"For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD. He is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; or if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed."

Good or bad, it belongs to God. No other intention is acceptable. Just obey.

How often have we heard "that's not what I mean" "that's not my intention" Hmmh!

Obedience is indeed better than all the best intentions of a man carried out in disobedience!