Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 15-19

What struck me through my study this week was the repeated faults of the Israelites, and how easy it is to just throw our hands up and say "Really? Your doing what? Don't you know what will happen to you?" when in reality we are exactly the same. Day by day we make the same mistakes, hurt our God the same way, make Him frustrated and angry so that his wrath is kindled against us. Thank goodness that we have the immediate intercession of Jesus, better than Moses whom the Israelites had. Moses shows us what Jesus does for us every time we sin against the Lord.

Moses went to God, pled for the people, and even had Aaron move through them offering a sacrifice to appease and atone for the sin and rebellion of his people. How much more does Jesus intercede for us, moving between us and God's wrath.

Next time I feel a little bit of "ha!" at the Israelites as they move through the wilderness, watching them stumble, grumble and rebel, I need to look at my life, and the ways in which I am in constant rebellion against the Lord.

Thank you Lord for your unending mercy and grace, for your forgiveness no matter how many times we sin against you and disobey your commands. You are almighty God and you deserve our utmost devotion. Help us to remember that we all sin and that you alone are the way to redemption and ultimately to righteousness.

Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 13-14

"If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them." Numbers 14:8-9

This passage defines faith versus fear for me. How far are you willing to trust the Lord? When it seems impossible? When it seems dangerous? When you think you will not only fail but hurt or die because you fail?

The need to trust the Lord is implicit. If you do not trust the Lord you will fail. But then there is the phrase 'do not be afraid' and it occurs frequently. The things of this world, the situations, the people, the problems, are not to cause us fear. The only fear we should have is a healthy respect and fear of the Lord. He is the one we should be concerned about. If we are in his will, nothing should cause us to be afraid. Death should hold no fear for us. Pain is a passing thing. Struggles are not the end! When we belong to Him, when he dwells with us, there is nothing in this world that we should be afraid of. There is nothing in this world that should deter us from following Him.

Instead, we should be afraid of living a life without Him! We need to impress that fear on those who don't have a relationship with Him! There is a reason that hell is described as a lake of fire with weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is separation from the Lord and it is agony. Our fear should be living without the Lord.

So what does that mean? It means stepping out in faith and defeating the fear. Nothing is impossible with Him. Unfortunately our culture is such a non-confrontational culture - focused so much on compromise and comfort. But God doesn't call us to mediocrity and we need to not be afraid to step out in faith. We need to be bold in our trust in our father, call out that which we need to call out, pursue that which he calls us too and do not be afraid.

Do not be afraid. Trust in the Lord.

Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 11-12

    Complain, grumble, whine. These two chapters show the Israelites, and then Moses and then Aaron and Miriam, complaining about circumstances. These are three different kinds of complaints. 

1. Israelites: surface level. They don't want just manna anymore. This is like us complaining that our house is too small, or why spaghetti again? These complaints ignore the blessings God has given to us.

2. Aaron and Miriam (no this is not in chronological order) they complain that God shouldn't be just using Moses, they were leaders and had spoken with God too! This is like is complaining when someone gets the promotion ahead of us, or lands the job we wanted, or gets credit for something we don't think they deserve. 

3. Moses - bringing his complaints about what he sees as his afflictions and burdens to the Lord. This is us crying it to God when we feel overburdened or like we have been given more than we can handle. 

     The lesson? We need to see the blessings of God all around us, in our food, in our jobs, in the ministry God has called us to. And we need to learn to rely on Him and Him alone for the answers to our complaints. We shouldn't complain to others about things that do not matter. And we should bring all of our burdens to God and lay them at His feet. For He is the God who provides. 

Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 1-10

“On the day when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle and had anointed and consecrated it with all its furnishings and had anointed and consecrated the altar with all its utensils, the chiefs of Israel, heads of their fathers’ houses who were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were listed approached and brought their offerings before the Lord, six wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two of the chiefs, and for each one an ox. They brought them before the tabernacle. Then the Lord said to Moses “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting…” Numbers 7:1-5a

I may be reading this passage completely incorrectly, but as I read this, Moses wasn’t expecting these offerings. He wasn’t expecting these offerings for the tent of meeting, which means that he hadn’t commanded them. Not only did the tribes bring these of their own accord, or maybe of the prompting of the Lord, but then the Lord instructed Moses to accept their offerings and how to use them. We have seen the Israelites being generous before: “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do…” Exodus 36:5b. But this is the first time that the people have come up with and then executed a sacrifice of worship and service to the Lord without the prompting of Moses or any of the priests. And the Lord not only honors that sacrifice, but uses it to bless the Levites who are now set apart. They are not going to be able to take care of themselves the same way as the other tribes but they are at the mercy of the 12 tribes by partaking in the sacrifices that are given to God. This is a sacrifice of goods and God shares them with his Levites, giving them to them so that they may use them in his service, in the service of the Tabernacle.

My favorite part of the passage though is the fact that God takes what at face value is just a valuable gift, and makes use of it. He takes what we can give him, no matter what it is, and uses it for his purpose and for his glory. No gift is more elaborate than another, no gift is more useful than another. The Levites needed these goods in order to serve the Lord. A tithe in the church is just as important as a pastor. The gift of a vehicle, or the use of a building is just as important as an usher, greeter, or Sunday school teacher. God can use whatever we are willing to offer to him. It doesn’t have to be asked for, it doesn’t have to fit the need that the church thinks it has. God will use what we are willing to give. And sometimes we need to be willing to give more than we think God can use. I think sometimes we get stuck in the “one ministry, 10% tithe” world of our American churches. We think - oh, I’m a greeter - or I’m teaching the children - or I’m on the worship team - so I’m doing my part. And - I’m giving 10% of my income - so I’m doing my part. God wants us to be dedicated in our service and our giving. But he also wants us to be generous. Maybe this year you can afford to give more than 10% - then do so! Maybe this month you can afford to volunteer more than once, or in more than one area - do so! God will never let a sacrifice, of time, money, energy, etc go to waste. He will always use them to his purpose and advantage. Even if the leadership isn’t expecting them and doesn’t know what to do.