Month: February 2023

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The Cost of Complaining

be ye thankful

Num 11-13 Where has God supplied your “every…thing?” Are you grateful, or are you still seeking more and more to satisfy today? That is the problem the Israelites had. They were seeking more and more and more, not realizing that what is given today, like the manna, only lasts for today. Tomorrow you need to go and gather more. You don’t save the leftovers from today for tomorrow because they will stink and rot. No, you need to go and gather each day which is a principle we need to glean. We glean today in our reading for today but not tomorrow. We must glean and gather truth each day. That is so contrary to how we think about our reading and meditation. It is for today to be gathered and rejoice in what God has given.

The Israelites missed that principle, and we do as well, and that is where complaining and grumbling come in. We fail to be grateful for the manna of today. In fact, it isn’t the manna but the quality of what God has given. We want meat, but we fail to realize that God doesn’t provide meat until we have savored and chewed on the manna thanking Him for that.

Today be grateful for the manna and chew on that.

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Saved for Service

Saved for Service

Numbers 8:23-26 Work, Ministry, and Order

God spoke, and the world was created. God spoke, and men were created in His image. The phrase God spoke is noted over and over. Now, God speaks to Moses about many things, and he listens attentively.

God spoke about the Levites and what He designed for their tribe. They were to assist in erecting, dismantling, carrying, and the daily duties of sacrifices and offerings of the Tabernacle. They were to serve Aaron and the priesthood in their daily responsibilities beginning at age 30, but on their 50th birthday, they were to step down from this work. That seems very young to us, but perhaps it was not so in the time of Moses. Then, at age 50, they were to no longer be about the daily work but turn their attention to ministering to the needs of their colleagues in the tent of meeting.

Today we step down from work near the ages of 65 to 70. But, just as then, when we “retire,” it is not to sit down in the recliner, but we are to minister/serve the younger colleagues because God has given us the wisdom gleaned from those twenty years of work.

Where are you ministering to the younger generation? God has a place for you so that your wisdom gleaned in your younger years can be utilized.

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Be Still to hear God’s Voice

Be still and listen

Numbers 7 Over two thousand times in the scriptures, we find the words “listen” and “hear.” A hymn writer Emily Crawford captured those truths as she wrote: “Speak, Lord in the stillness while I wait on Thee;” Moses and Samuel are examples of men who heeded that counsel. God clearly marked Moses as his chosen leader and spoke to him audibly. Do we experience this on a daily basis? In Num. 7:89, we read, “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.” In addition, later, the priest Eli told Samuel when he heard God speaking,  he was to answer: “Speak for your servant is listening.” [1 Sam 3:10]

As you sit down to read each day, quiet your heart so you can hear the voice of the Lord speaking.

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Off with the Old, On with the New

Shedding the Old for the New

Numbers 6 Last night a precious friend shed his earthly garments for the garments of the righteous in heaven. He now stands clothed in the garments that had been prepared for him in eternity past because “no one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.” [Mark 2:21] He has now heard: “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’” [Mt 25:21] We, who are left behind waiting for our day, grieve with those who grieve, yet we rejoice that he is no longer suffering. He stands whole before the heavenly realm and the Savior he loved. He had been spiritually blessed with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm, and now he sees them in perfection. [Eph 1:3]

We weep with those who weep and grieve with those who grieve. To you, we offer these words: Numbers 6:24-26 “The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you, and give you peace.

Are we ready as our dear friend to shed our earthly garments for the garments fit for the kingdom of God? 

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Kingdom Workers

Numbers 3-4 God directed Moses to guide Aaron in selecting those workers to erect and dismantle the Tabernacle for “moving day” and established duties that brought order by choosing the clan of the Levites with one leader, Aaron. He was to have many followers/workers for the erecting and dismantling of the Tabernacle in an orderly fashion.

Just as the tribe of Levi was responsible for serving Aaron, so likewise, today, we have many servant duties and responsibilities for our churches’ leaders, elders, and deacons. Designation of duties brings order where there might be chaos. [1Cor 14:40] God wanted the children of Israel to remember that all work in the kingdom of God is royal service, whether upfront or behind the scenes. The psalmist noted: “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of the wickedness.” [Ps 84:10]

God has a role for you to serve in His kingdom work; where has God placed you to serve? Are you praying for the servant leaders in your church?

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God Speaks…

Numbers 1-3 God spoke in Genesis to create, and it was so. God spoke in Exodus to reveal His power to gain release for the children of Israel from bondage. In Leviticus, God spoke the Ten Commandments and the Law. Finally, God spoke orderly instructions regarding the tribal locations and the placement of the Tabernacle. All of these illustrate how God is a God of order, not confusion. [1Cor 14:40] Lastly, in Revelation, God spoke to the churches and ended each with these words: “he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says…” [Rev 2:7]

God continues to speak today through the inspired word so that we might be a righteous and holy people. “Men were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak the words of God.” [2Pet. 1:21]

Today, we are to be the living stones building up the temple of God. [1Peter 2:5]

God has spoken; are we listening? Are we a righteous people?

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Want a Blessing? Do this.

Leviticus 26 Way back in Exodus 20, we learned that God alone is to be worshiped. Because the Israelites had lived 430 yrs. in Egypt, they had witnessed pagan idolatry in carved images, sacred pillars, or engraved stones crafted to represent a god, but God is different. Instead of recalling the miracle of the plagues and the Red Sea crossing, they crafted a golden calf and called it god. But God, Jehovah, Yahweh is not contained in any of those. In Egypt, the various priests used incantations and other means to get the messages but no longer. Now Moses would be their intermediary, and Aaron, the high priest.

As Moses closes the book of Leviticus, he returns to the words of Exodus 20. They were not to have many places of worship but only one; the Tabernacle. They were to learn and obey the Ten Commandments. They were to observe the Sabbath and recall His provision for them. That is how God would bless them.

Just as back in Exodus and Leviticus, we don’t need crafted images; we have the breathed-out scripture, which is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. [2Tim 3:16] It tells us all we need to know about how to worship Him alone and receive His blessings.

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Careless Words

Lev 24 Today in our secular world, men “yawn” at the Ten Commandments, but this chapter proves that God takes any violation seriously. When a young man lost his temper in a fight, he uttered a curse against God, thereby [Ex 20:7] disavowing the Commandment to not take the name of the Lord in vain. Others heard of it, resulting in him being isolated and in custody. In today’s world, we hear God’s name taken in vain, but men often sigh or yawn and go on their way. Our ears have become less inclined to understand the gravity of this sin, but God sees this as a travesty against His character, for He is a jealous God and will not share his glory with another.

Moses sought the wisdom of God and His counsel. James said as much; if you need wisdom, go to God. [James 1:5] God’s instruction seems harsh, but God sees it as a lesson to remember what He said: “I AM the Lord,” I will not share my glory with another.

Where are we careless with our word choices? Where are we failing to correct those who disobey it out of ignorance or choice? The Commandment is clear; revere God and His Name.

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Commemorating and Remembering

The Lord's Supper

Lev 22, 1 Cor 11:26 God loved his people so much that he established memorial days that they might focus on who He is and His provision for their every need. The seven feasts all pointed to Christ, who was yet to come. When He came, he established communion, or what we call the Lord’s Supper, to point to God’s eternal plan to be completed. As NT believers, we are not responsible for keeping the OT memorials but for studying them as a way of enhancing our faith. Only in the NT are we commanded to keep the Lord’s Supper as a way of remembering Jesus Christ as our perfect sacrifice.

The Hebrew word for “feasts” is (moadim) and means “appointed times.”  They reveal God’s story of the plan of redemption of the Son of God’s death and resurrection and the promise of his future coming. The one requirement for all is seeing them as a sacred observance. We are to honor the Lord as his called sanctified saints, and it should be done in holiness and reverence. With that comes the reminder that they were not to profane or treat what is sacred with irreverence.

The principle in this chapter is a reminder of what we are not to do with the Lord’s Supper. When we observe the Lord’s Supper, we are to be reverent as it reminds us of the price paid for our redemption.

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Rules for Holiness

Study to know

Lev 19-21 God’s “do’s and don’ts” seem a bit outdated today, but when we look at them through the lens of God’s Word, we see the practical and the wisdom. For example: Do you like leftovers? Cold leftovers are unappetizing, but heated ones remind us of the first meal when it was tasty and lovely to behold. God reminded the Israelites that leftovers could be appetizing, but after the third heating, toss them! Why? Without refrigeration, they spoil.

After each set of rules, God signs His name: I am the Lord, I am Jehovah. So he is saying, I am the authority, and for Me to bless you, you must do it my way, even down to the simple rules about leftovers!

God’s rules are simple and wise because holiness is easy when we are a pure people. Therefore, God desires that we study His Word, follow, serve, and love His way.

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