Category: 1 Year Bible Reading Plan

Number 35 records the distribution of property for the Levites. They didn’t get a specific area of land, but rather 48 cities with land surrounding them for pasturing their animals. These cities would be located throughout the Promised Land. Six of the cities were to be set apart as “Cities of Refuge.” Their purpose was to provide refuge for any who killed another person accidentally. Murder was punishable by death, but if someone killed another person accidentally, the perpetrator could flee to a city of refuge and be safe there from being punished.

Numbers 36 concludes the book with a restating of the principle that women could inherit property in tribes where there were no male heirs to receive the property. While the culture was extremely male-centered, indeed, the entire world was at that time, the laws of the Israelites gave some assurances to woman, and the right to see their family’s property remain with their tribe was one of them.

John 14 contains one of Jesus’ most quoted statements, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The statement comes to us in the context of Jesus telling the disciples He was returning to heaven to prepare a place for them. After telling them, He said, “You know the way to the place I am going.” Thomas spoke up and said, “We don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” After Jesus told them He was the way, truth, and life, Philip spoke up and said, “Show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus responded that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father. Imagine, what it must have been like for Jesus to have been with the disciples for three years, to have invested everything into equipping them for taking over after He died, rose from the dead and returned to heaven, and then the night before His crucifixion they seemed so clueless. Most of us would have been angry or frustrated, but Jesus seems to have explained patiently the details of who He was and the significance of His coming.

John 14 also contains Jesus’ statement: Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. What an incredible statement! Jesus  healed the sick, cast out demons, and even raised the dead, yet He said we would do greater works than He did, if we believe in Him. All Jesus’ statements are true, and we can see the truth of this one through a few examples: 1) Billy Graham preached the gospel to millions of people. Jesus never did that.  2) Many people have preached the gospel in multiple nations. Jesus never did that. 3) Thousands of people have been saved through the ministries of many different churches and mission organizations.  Jesus never did that.  While Jesus is the source of all those actions, they are greater than anything He did personally while He walked the earth. That was His plan. He called us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every nation. As we respond to that call, we will continue to do greater things than He did–just as He promised!

In Numbers 31 we read of God’s command for the Israelites to destroy the Midianites. You might recall the Midianites had led the Israelites into idolatry. God had the priests lead the people into battle. When it was over, the Israelites had not lost a single soldier, and all the Midianites except the young women who were virgins were dead. The carnage seems extreme, especially given Moses called the Israelites to kill the women and male children who the Israelites had spared after the battle ended. Why would he do such a thing? The short answer is: God’s on-going commitment to the Israelites being a holy nation. Moses was unwilling for the Israelites to permit the women who had led the Israelites into idolatry in the first place to live. The “spoils” of the battle were divided among the Israelites. A disproportionate portion was given to the men who fought in the battle. The rest was divided among the whole people of Israel, with a portion going to the Levites. This would continue to be the process used by Israel as they moved against the people of the Promised Land.

In Numbers 32 the leaders of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, went to Moses and asked to receive their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River. At first, Moses was angry, because he thought they were trying to get out of conquering the Promised Land, and that their unwillingness to fight would discourage the whole nation from moving forward, as the bad report of the ten spies had done a generation before them. When they explained they would go and fight with the rest of the tribes to overtake the Promised Land, and then return to live with the wives and children on the east side of the Jordan, Moses agreed. The half-tribe of Manasseh also joined in making their home on the east side of the Jordan.

Numbers 33 recounts the travels of the Israelites through the wilderness. It makes each of the places they went, where they stand, and some of the significant events that took place. The end of the chapter tells us of how the Israelites were to distribute the Promised Land among each other after they had gone in and defeated the people who lived there. Numbers 34 records God’s declaration of the geographical borders of Israel. It was within those boundaries the land was to be divided among the tribes. At the end of the chapter we also read the names of the tribal leaders who would be responsible for participating in the distribution of the land.

John 13 records details of the Lord’s Supper we don’t find in the other gospels. This has caused some to say the gospels are inaccurate, because they record differing details of various events. In my experience, it’s when two or more people offer exactly the same details of an event that I start wondering whether the story is true. My brother Kenn and I used to rehearse accounts of events for our Mom that would show us in a better light than was true. She would see through the accounts, because they were the same. John’s gospel was written much later than the rest of the gospels, and as we have noted, was written more for the purpose of showing Jesus as God, than to record a chronological history of His birth, life, teaching, death, and resurrection. First, John 13 records Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, which no other gospel records. This action shows us Jesus’ heart for serving. He carried out this menial task to show the disciples that as Jesus’ followers, even as leaders among His followers, no task was too small, unimportant, or humiliating for them to do.

John 13 also gives us more detail about how Jesus identified the one who would betray Him. We’re told Satan “entered” into Judas, when Jesus had identified him as the betrayer, by handing him a piece of bread. The rest of the disciples still didn’t understand Judas would be the betrayer. John adds Judas went out immediately after receiving the morsel of bread and states “And it was night.” If we remember back to John 3, Jesus told us people who are doing evil love the darkness. This reminder of Judas carrying out his betrayal at night, underlines the truth of evil being carried at night.

Jesus also told the disciples He was giving them a new commandment: to love one another. Jesus said everyone would know they were His disciples if they loved one another.  If we stop to think about that statement for a moment, we might think Jesus would tell us people would know we were His disciples if we loved them, but Jesus didn’t say that. The command was for us to love each other. As we love one another as Jesus’ followers, people will see the example and be aware of the difference from the world. In the world people love others who are like them, or who have done something for them, but not simply because they do. As Jesus’ followers we are commanded to love each other regardless of our backgrounds, our previous relationships or anything.

John 13 ends with a brief record of Jesus telling Peter he would deny knowing Him three times. Peter had claimed he would lay down his life for Jesus, but we know Peter didn’t do that, and he did deny Jesus three times. While that reality is so hard to handle, it reminds us we have all denied Jesus in some way.  Thankfully, we live on the resurrection side of Easter and we know Jesus forgave and restored Peter to serving Him. Peter went on to serve Jesus in great ways. That gives us comfort to know Jesus will forgive us when we fall short, as He already did by dying on the cross in our places, and He will empower us to serve Him in great ways, too, as we repent, and turn back to Him.

Numbers 28-29 record an extensive list of offerings the people of Israel were to present to the LORD. The first offering listed was the “daily” offering, and was to be presented 365 days a year. All the other offerings were in addition to the daily offering.  The Sabbath offering was to be presented each week. An additional offering was to be presented on the first day of each month. Then we are presented with a list of offerings for the various holy days of the Jews. These offerings include: animal sacrifices, grain, and “alcoholic drink.” The number of animals and quantity of grain and alcohol varied with the particular holy day or feast being celebrated, but the principle is clear: God is to be worshiped through the giving of offerings daily. While we no longer present such offerings to the LORD, the principle applies to us as well. We speak often of presenting our time, talent, treasure and touch to the LORD as a response of gratitude for who He is and all He has done in our lives. The practice is not just for Sunday, or the weekend, but is to be carried out daily. As we become more and more generous with our time, talents, treasure and touch, we reflect the heart of God who is the most generous being in the universe. While the extent of the sacrifices God required of the Israelites, might seem significant to us, let’s remember every animal, quart of grain, or ounce of alcoholic drink given and poured out as offerings to God were provided by God in the first place.  The same is true for us. God created us, and God gives us every good and perfect gift we possess. That we are here to present our time, talents, treasure and touch in offering to the LORD and in service to others is a gift God has first given to us. All we give is merely a response of gratitude to Him, and a token of His great blessing to us.

Numbers 30 offers us a restatement of laws concerning vows and pledges. The principles we learned in past chapters and books are the same:  If a man made a vow, he was bound by it. If a woman made a vow and her father or husband didn’t object the day he heard of it, the vow stood. But the father or husband had the right to nullify the vow or pledge when he first heard of it. When Jesus came to earth, He would tell us not to make vows or pledges, but simply to say, “Yes,” or “No.” In Moses’ time, the vows and pledges people made demonstrated their commitment to the LORD.  The LORD called them to honor those vows and pledges or suffer consequences for it. Once Jesus came and established the new covenant, and gave each of us the Holy Spirit to empower us to carry out our commitments, He removed the requirement for the external vow or pledge to keep us to our commitments. That does not mean our yeses, or noes are not binding. It means we don’t need an external source of confirmation to make them binding.

John 12 marks the turning point in John’s gospel. From here to the end of it, Jesus moved toward His death and resurrection. The first significant sign of that transition was Mary’s anointing of Jesus at their home in Bethany.  While some complained of the “waste” of the money, because the ointment could have been sold and the money given to the poor, Jesus affirmed Mary’s extravagance, and said she was preparing His body for burial. (As a side note, some religious leaders were in attendance at this event, and they decided not only to kill Jesus, but Lazarus as well, because Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Killing Lazarus would remove some of the evidence of Jesus’ miraculous power.)

The next significant moment in John 12 was the triumphal entry. While all four gospels record this event, only John tells us they put palm branches on the path before Jesus. This is where we get the term “Palm Sunday,” in reference to the day of the triumphal entry.  In the remainder of the chapter, Jesus told the crowds of His impending death. They didn’t understand, because in their view the Christ or Messiah was to live forever. They couldn’t understand how Jesus could say He must be “lifted up” or crucified. As we remember from John 3, this method of death, was foretold by Jesus, and His cross would have the same saving effect eternally, that Moses’ bronze serpent had physically for the Israelites, when they were bitten by the poisonous snakes the LORD sent as punishment for their disobedience. The Jews continued their disbelief and unwillingness to trust Jesus as Messiah.

In Numbers 25 the Israelites end up being cursed by the Moabites, but not because Balaam offered a curse. The Israelites managed to bring the curse upon themselves, by intermingling with the Moabites sexually and in worshiping their pagan gods. God sent a plague on the Israelites, while Moses called on any who were faithful to God to put to death those who were sinning with the Moabites. Eleazar ended matters by killing an Israelite man who was with a Midianite woman. When the carnage had been counted 24,000 Israelites had died. What a severe lesson! The people of Israel would soon repeat this sin of intermingling with the people of the Promised Land, but God was determined to have His people remain holy. As Jesus’ followers, we are called to be in the world, but not of it. The challenge to do so can be great, because the more we spend time among those who fail to follow the Lord, the greater the opportunities to be influenced in that direction ourselves.

Numbers 26 records a second “numbering” of Israel. God called Moses and Eleazar to count the fighting men aged twenty and older as had been done at the beginning of the Exodus. The people were getting ready to move into the  Promised Land, and God was preparing them for this important transition. Once in the land, and having overcome their enemies, the tribes would be given allotments according to the numbers of their groups.

In Numbers 27 Zolophehad brought a complaint to Moses about her clan missing out on an inheritance, because no sons were born to her father. After consulting with God, it was determined she and her sisters would receive an inheritance. In the remainder of the chapter God directs Moses to select Joshua as his replacement. At first, God told Moses it was His time to die, but Moses asked God to appoint someone to replace Him so the people wouldn’t be like sheep without a shepherd. God granted Moses’ wish and had Moses appoint Moses before the people, which Moses did.

In John 11 we read the record of Lazarus’ death. Jesus knew about Lazarus’ illness, because his sisters sent word to Jesus about it, but Jesus didn’t go and heal him right away. He let Lazarus die, then came four days later. Lazarus’ sisters Martha and Mary each went out to Jesus and confronted Him in their own ways. Jesus told Martha her brother would rise from the dead. Martha agreed, but thought Jesus meant the resurrection on the last day. Jesus countered by saying, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he died, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in m shall never die.” Those statements have comforted many believers throughout history, because we realize when we face death it is only a temporary set back. Ultimately, Jesus talks with Martha, weeps with Mary, and then raises Lazarus from the dead. We would think this would convince the Pharisees that Jesus was the Messiah. Instead, it convinced them to plot Jesus’ death! They reasoned anyone with Jesus’ power would ultimately draw the Romans’ attention and Israel would be crushed, so better to have one die than the entire nation sacrificed. This statement was prophetic: Jesus would die not only for Israel, but for the entire world.

We could title Numbers 21 “God’s Victory Over Israel’s Enemies!” As we read the chapter we find three external adversaries came against Israel: the Canaanites, the Amorites, and the Bashanites. In each case, God gave the Israelites victory. We also see Israel once again became their own enemy, by complaining against God and Moses. As usual, the complaints focused around the food God provided, and how much they hated it. Their lack of gratitude for God’s provision resulted in God sending poisonous snakes into the region. Many Israelites died from snake bites, and as usual they cried out for Moses to do something. As he interceded, God told him to build a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. When an Israelite was bitten by a snake, if he or she looked up at the bronze serpent he or she would be healed. While my thought was, “Wouldn’t that lead the Israelites to idol worship, because the bronze serpent was a tangible symbol?” Jesus would later refer to the serpent as a type of His own cross. He said just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so will the Son of man be lifted up (see John 3:14).

Numbers 22-24 records the interaction between King Balak of the Moabites and Balaam, son of Beer, a prophet. Balak’s goal was to get Balaam to pronounce a curse on Israel. At first, Balaam wouldn’t go to Balak. Then when Balaam did go, he had a miraculous encounter with the angel of the LORD, which included Balaam’s donkey speaking to him. When Balaam finally arrived, he told Balak he could only pronounce a blessing or a curse based on what the LORD told him. Each time he inquired of the LORD, the result was Balaam  pronounced a blessing on Israel. Each time Balak became more incensed with the result.  In reading the account, I couldn’t help but see the bigger picture: God only listens to prayers or petitions that are in keeping with His will.  When we turn to God with our requests, we do well to turn first to God’s character and nature and ask, “Is my request aligned with God’s will and purpose?”

John 10 shows us clearly Jesus is the Messiah. He refers to Himself as the “door” of the sheepfold as the “Good Shepherd” who lays down his life for the sheep, and He tells us He and the Father are one. As we would expect, these claims incensed the Jewish leaders. In fact, they wanted to stone Him for these proclamations. Jesus challenged them by asking for which of his works it was that they wanted to stone Him to death? They answered it wasn’t for any of his works (so at least they were acknowledging His good works in a back-handed kind of way), but for claiming to be God. Jesus answered that statement by quoting Scripture, which gives us incentive to read and learn the Scriptures ourselves. That way, when folks question us about our faith in Jesus, we will have reasonable responses.

In John 10, Jesus makes a powerful statement about the difference between Himself and the devil. He said, “The thief (that is the devil) comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” When we experience threats to our well-being, we can be sure they don’t come from Jesus. It isn’t His will for us to suffer, although at times God does permit us to suffer. Jesus came to bring us life, abundant life, here and now, and forever. We do well to remember that statement when we experience challenges, difficulty, and outright evil in our lives. In those times remember Jesus is for us, and is on our side.

Numbers 18 records God’s commands concerning the priests and Levites. The first part of the chapter tells Moses how they are to be disciplined, while the larger portion of the chapter tells the Levites they are to receive the majority of the people’s tithes and offerings to use for their food and livelihood. The Levites would not be given a portion of land along with the other tribes when they entered the Promised Land, but would receive a tithe of all the produce of the land from each of the other tribes. We’re not told here, but the Levites were also given cities in which to live, and land where they could keep their flocks, so God ensured they would be cared for well. An important detail in this chapter is God told Moses only the priests and the Levites could come near the Tabernacle. If anyone else came near they would die. In addition, only the priests could enter the holy places in the Tabernacle and touch the holy instruments, so a hierarchy was being established among the Israelites, which would lead to a regimented priesthood. We will see when we get to the New Testament that system was superseded in the new covenant Jesus established. In the new covenant each of us has the right to go before God personally, and as Peter would put it to be a “kingdom of priests.”

Numbers 19 records the difficult to understand command to sacrifice a red heifer, then to burn it along with scarlet thread and hyssop, and afterwards to gather the ashes and to use them in “the water of purification.” In one commentary I reviewed, the author tells us King Solomon (the wisest man to live before Jesus), was said to have stated this was the only sacrifice he did not understand! The point of the process is obvious: when someone touched a dead person, or an object was in the vicinity of a dead person the person or object had to be “purified.” This was a spiritual process, but some authors point out the hyssop was a natural antibacterial agent, so the water of purification might have had medicinal qualities, and been an early anti-bacterial agent.  Moses would not have known this, so God’s purposes could well have been both spiritual and practical. In any case, the practice was intended to ensure God’s people would regain their “cleanness,” after coming in contact with a dead person.

Numbers 20 records three specific incidents in the Israelites’ travels through the wilderness. In the first, the people ran out of water, and started complaining intensely to Moses and Aaron about the hardships they faced, and that they ought never to have left Egypt.  Moses and Aaron appealed to the Lord for water, so God told them to “speak” to a particular rock and water would come out. Moses disobeyed God, and said, “Must we produce water for you?” and “struck” the rock with his rod. This action proved to be a serious mistake–and sin. Moses took credit for God’s action. In effect, Moses “stole” God’s glory.  God will never share His glory with anyone. The result of this action was God told Moses neither he nor Aaron would enter the Promised Land.  In the second incident, the Israelites wanted to pass through the land of Edom, where the descendants of Esau lived. The Edomites denied passage. Much later in Israel’s history this action would be remembered and the Edomites would be the object of the Israelite army’s wrath. Finally, we read of Aaron’s death. The account is straightforward. God tells Moses it is time for Aaron to die, so he, Aaron, and Eleazer, Aaron’s son, go up on a mountain, and Aaron dies. The people of Israel mourned for Aaron for thirty days. This chapter shows us the consequences of our actions can be severe. God is a just and holy God. That means all our actions, whether good or evil, have consequences. While we live on the resurrection side of Jesus’ life, and our salvation and redemption are in and through Him, we need to remember the principle: actions have consequences.  God calls and expects us to live in obedience.

John 9 records another amazing miracle of Jesus, and another example of the Pharisees being more concerned about Jesus’ performing the miracle on the Sabbath than about His ability to perform miracles! In this case, Jesus healed a man who had been born blind. The disciples asked Jesus a question that reflects the beliefs of the culture in their day, and one which has held on through the ages: “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” We often think bad things happen because of sin, and bad things do happen because of sin, but Jesus answered neither had sinned. In this case, the man’s blindness was going to glorify God. How? Through Jesus healing the man! Jesus helped us see not all physical ailments, and we can imply not all negative circumstances in our lives, are the result of sin. We live in a fallen world, so sometimes bad things are part of our reality. Thank God, He is there to be with us, and at times to heal the situation completely.

The Pharisees’ insistence on focusing on the miracle taking place on the Sabbath as breaking the Sabbath, rather than the man’s blindness being healed, shows us one of the problems with religion: religion sees the rules as more important than the suffering and healing of people. Jesus’ concern was for the man’s well-being. He didn’t care what day of the week it was. We see Jesus healing people on the Sabbath throughout  all four gospels, so we know  His healing of the blind man wasn’t an isolated incident. He established the principle that the welfare of people is more important than the observance of human rituals. We do well to remember this as we live out our faith in Him as well.

Numbers 14 offers us one of the best examples of what happens when people lose faith in God and make their own decisions. Hearing the report of the ten spies who said the Promised Land was impossible to overtake, the people cried all night. They decided to elect new leaders and go back to Egypt. Moses and Aaron fell face down before God and interceded for the people. God responded by telling Moses He was going to destroy the people and start a new nation from him. Can you imagine being told you and your family are going to be the source of a new nation? Moses’ response was not, “Yes!!!” He pleaded with God to spare the Israelites. He even told God the Egyptians would say God was not able to lead His people.” The LORD agreed with Moses, but the consequences of the disobedience was significant: the ten spies who gave the bad report died of a plague. The rest of the Israelites who had said they wouldn’t go into the land, were banned from ever going into it. Those twenty years and older were told they would die in the wilderness. The response was predictable: they all decided to go up and try to enter the land. They were immediately pushed back. The quick lesson here is when you don’t like what God tells you to do, don’t vote against it–do it anyway.

Numbers 15 offers us a step away from the wilderness wanderings, and presents some additional commands regarding offering sacrifices to God. One significant detail in the commands is at the end we are told those who brazenly disobey God’s commands cannot offer a sacrifice to be forgiven, but are to be cut off from the people. The chapter concludes with the example of a man who broke the Sabbath. The penalty was death. Wow! God was serious about having His laws obeyed. While we’re grateful Jesus died and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins, and to give us new lives, we must remember Jesus died to forgive our sins and rose to empower us to live in victory over them. Jesus isn’t simply our “get out of jail free card,” so we can sin as much as we want, but He offers us new lives, so we will live in the freedom and victory of the Holy Spirit.

Numbers 16-17 records the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. They were Levites who thought Moses and Aaron held too much power. The ensuing “battle” between these three and their clans, and Moses and Aaron gave God another opportunity to tell Moses He was going to destroy all the people. Once again, Moses, this time joined by Aaron, interceded for the people. God destroyed only Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their families and the 250 others who rebelled against God. At the conclusion of this demonstration of God’s preference for Moses and Aaron, the people continued to complain, so God sent a plague. Moses and Aaron once again interceded, but 14,700 Israelites died before God ended the plague. Finally, Moses had the leaders of each of the tribes bring a staff to him. These were placed in the Tabernacle overnight with Aaron’s staff. The next morning Aaron’s staff had budded with almond blossoms, another clear demonstration of God’s presence with Aaron and Moses and selection of them as leaders. This quieted the people for a time, and they could move on in their wilderness wanderings until this faithless generation died.

The Israelites of this era show us how difficult it is for human beings to be  convinced of God’s presence and power. They saw the LORD’s work firsthand, and yet they complained, rebelled, and disobeyed. This is a short course in human history up to the present day. I don’t write that statement to judge us, but rather to observe how seldom we offer God the worship and praise He deserves, how seldom we live in obedience to Him. As we go about this day, may we put God first, so others around us will see His presence and power and give Him glory!

John 8 is filled with Jesus’ proclamations of Himself as God and Messiah, and of the religious leaders arguing and debating those proclamations. It starts with an encounter between Jesus and some religious leaders who brought to Him a woman caught in the act of adultery. (While many of the earliest Greek manuscripts of the New Testament don’t have this account, the interaction is consistent with Jesus’ manner of teaching and acting.) Jesus’ response to the men, when they told Him Moses’ law required the woman to be stoned to death, was they were right, so the one who had never sinned could throw the first stone. We’re told they walked away from the oldest to the youngest. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized why the order–oldest to youngest. The older we are, the more certain we become of our imperfections. Sometimes in our youthful zeal, we can forget our flaws, but not so as we mature. When everyone had walked away, Jesus asked the woman where her accusers were. She said no one had condemned her. Jesus’ response was amazing, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and leave your life of sin.” Jesus freed her, but He didn’t release her from the obligation of a holy life. What a reminder for us all! We are free from our sins, and the freedom is given so we can live a godly and holy life, not a life of licentiousness.

After the encounter, we read an extensive interaction between Jesus and the religious leaders.  Jesus told them He is the light of the world, that the truth will set them free, that they are of their father the devil and that “before Abraham was, I am.” Any one of those statements is the source for a long discussion, and can be applied to bring transformation to us. All of them together point out Jesus was no ordinary human being. He is God. Such statements made it impossible for the religious leaders to remain neutral. They had to accept or condemn Jesus. How sad that they let their preconceptions rule rather than Jesus’ words and life. He backed up what He said through how He lived. What an important reminder to us as we continue to read these accounts each day–it is impossible to remain neutral toward Jesus. His claims won’t allow it. He is either a liar, a lunatic or Lord. We must choose, and then our choice dictates how we live. After all, as Jesus said, when we know the truth, the truth sets us free!

In Numbers 10, we read of the silver trumpets God commanded Moses to make. These trumpets were to call the Israelites or their leaders to assemble before the Tabernacle. In addition, once they entered the Promised Land, they would be used to call the Israelites to battle or to celebration. This “technology” was vital for the people, although it seems so primitive from our perspective. The remainder of the chapter tells us of the Israelites first move from one place in the wilderness to another. The detail of which tribe was to go first, and the order in which clans of Levites who carried the various parts of the Tabernacle and its contents were to travel, is–as we have come to expect–extensive. The planning was such that by the time the last of the people of Israel had arrived at a new destination, the Tabernacle was already set up and ready for use. As I read this account, I was reminded of how often I am not nearly that intentional with the details of my life. While we live under grace and not under law, at times I can use my “freedom” as an excuse not to be as disciplined as would be helpful. Our reading in Numbers, helps us see how important order and discipline were for God’s people. They remain important for us as well.

In Numbers 11, the Israelites complaining to Moses gets stronger. Their complaints focus on a lack of variety in their diet, and how much better it was in Egypt. They cry out for meat to replace the manna, which God provided daily. God’s responses might seem extreme. First, He sends fire, which kills some of the Israelites. They cry out to Moses for help. Moses cries out to God and God stops the fire. Then Moses cries out to God, telling God he needs help. God sends the Holy Spirit on seventy elders of Israel. This shows us how different it was in Moses’ time than in ours when it comes to the Holy Spirit. Each of us who knows Jesus as Savior and Lord have the Holy Spirit in our lives, but only Moses and the seventy elders held that blessing in Israel. Eventually, God responds to the Israelites cry for meat by sending thousands and thousands of quail to the camp. The sight must have been incredible, given the account tells us each Israelite gathered fifty bushels or more. As they started to eat, God sent a plague on the people. Again, from our perspective this seems extreme. Why would God kill people for wanting meat? We need to look to the plan of God once again. He was creating a people set apart, a holy people. They thought first and foremost of themselves and their own needs. How easy that is for each of us. God wanted the Israelites to be grateful for what He provided, not to worry about what they lacked. Another vital lesson for us!

In Numbers 12, the complaining turns from the nation as a whole to Aaron and Miriam, Moses’ brother and sister.  They complained because Moses had a foreign wife, and asked whether God only spoke through Moses? God’s response was immediate. He reminded Aaron and Miriam that Moses was His friend, and then struck Miriam with leprosy. Moses cried out for God to restore Miriam. God said He would, but only after seven days. Human nature is a complaining nature. Moses found favor with God, because He submitted His nature to God, because He lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Time after time, Moses cried out to God for His people. Such a response models God’s intention for us. We are called to intercede for others even when they have turned against God, and when they’re complaining against God and us. That is never easy, but it is part of our calling as those God has treated as friends.

In Numbers 13, we read the account of Moses selecting twelve spies, one from each of the tribes of Israel, to go in and scout out the Promised Land. When they returned, the spies reported the land was amazing. It produced incredible fruit, crops and was a land “flowing with milk and honey.” Once they had offered that report their work was done. Moses had chosen them to scout out the land and bring back a report. But the spies didn’t stop there. They told of the people who lived in the land, including giants, and then concluded, “We can’t go in there!”  Caleb, one of the twelve spies disagreed. He believed with God’s support they could take the land. As we’ll see tomorrow, the people didn’t wait for Moses to give them instructions. They voted. We don’t read about the people voting often in the Bible, but when they do, it’s not a good thing. More about that tomorrow. For today, let’s remember, when God gives us a task, it’s always best to carry out the task, and not to worry about analyzing the situation and making recommendations. I’m not saying we ought not to think when we’re obeying God. I’m saying we need to obey God, and not let our observations change our obedience into disobedience.

In John 7, we read of Jesus going to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths. His appearance there caused a great stir, because the people were amazed at His teaching, as they had already been amazed by His signs and miracles. Arguments arose over whether Jesus was the Christ or Messiah,. The religious leaders attempted to arrest Jesus, but the arresting officers they sent, were caught up in Jesus’ teaching, and didn’t arrest Him. This caused the religious leaders to condemn the arresting officers and the crowds. They said the people didn’t know anything, and the testimony of the prophets was the Messiah would be descended from David and come from Bethlehem, not Galilee. (They were apparently unaware Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and was, indeed, descended from David.) As they were condemning Jesus, Nicodemus stood up for Jesus by pointing out it wasn’t the habit to condemn someone before giving him a hearing and a trial. The rest of the religious leaders turned on Nicodemus, asking whether he was also from Galilee.

Throughout John’s Gospel, we find extended discourses between Jesus and the religious leaders. The result is always the same: Jesus reveals something vital about Himself, in this case that He has streams of living water for anyone who wants them; then the religious leaders condemn Jesus and anyone who follows Him. This cycle is repeated until the point when the religious leaders arrest Jesus, give Him a “trial,” condemn Him, and then pass Him on to the Romans for execution. As we read these passages, we might automatically side with Jesus, because we live on the resurrection side of the cross. If we attempt to consider why the religious leaders took the position they did against Jesus, it becomes apparent they had many preconceived notions of who the Messiah would be, from where He would come, and the purpose of His coming. Jesus didn’t measure up to these preconceptions, so rather than examine the preconceptions to see whether they were true, they condemned Jesus. We would do well to learn from their mistakes. We might also have preconceived notions about Jesus based on what others have told us, or what we have read in books. The key is to read the book, the Bible, and then draw our conclusions about Jesus from what we find there.

Numbers 7 records the offerings the Israelites brought for the dedication of the Tabernacle. They brought a collective gift of wagons for carrying the Tabernacle’s supplies, then each tribe brought the same gift on successive days: a silver tray with a grain offering, a golden incense holder with four ounces of incense, and various animals to be sacrificed.  The ritual continued for twelve days, the same each day. At the end of chapter seven we’re told whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle, God spoke to Him. This again established the importance of Moses to the people of Israel. He was their true mediator, because he spoke to God directly for them, and brought to them God’s instructions.

Numbers 8 offers brief instructions concerning the lamps to be used in the Tabernacle and how they were to be directed, so the light would shine a certain way. Then the remainder of the chapter presents the Lord’s instruction for the dedication of the Levites to Himself. Each Levite was to wash in the water of purification, then shave his entire body. Then he would be clean. After that, the entire nation of Israel was to place their hands on the Levites, symbolizing that the Levites were becoming the substitute for the first born of each of the other tribes. This is a significant action. We see this, because the Levites were then to lay their hands on the sin offerings before they were sacrificed. That means all the Israelites would see the Levites as being “sacrifices” of a type for themselves. The final instructions concerning the Levites was their years of service. They were to start serving at the age of twenty-four and then to “retire” at the age of fifty. Retire is in quotes, because while they could no longer serve directly before the Lord after the age of fifty, they could continue to serve as guards of the Tabernacle. They wouldn’t quit working, but their work was not in a supportive role rather than a direct one.

Numbers 9 records God’s command to celebrate the Passover for the second time. The instructions (as usual) were quite explicit, and those who were ceremonially unclean at the time of the Passover were required to wait exactly one month and then to celebrate it. The remembrance was so significant that anyone who failed to celebrate it was to be cut off from the people. In the second half of the chapter, we read of how the cloud of God would hover over the Tabernacle. At night, it turned to a pillar of fire. When the cloud moved the people broke camp and followed where it led. We’re told the cloud would sometimes only stay overnight, while at other times it would stay a few days, a month or even a year. Regardless of when the cloud moved, the people followed. How awesome would it be to have God’s direction laid out that clearly in our lives? It must have been a helpful reminder to the Israelites that God was always with them, because the cloud was always there, and gave them clear direction.  Thankfully, we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us daily. We need to be sure we listen to His voice and direction and follow where He leads, because as we do, we will gain deeper discernment

John 6 is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament. In it we read the account of the feeding of the five thousand. This is the only miracle of Jesus recorded in all four gospels, which tells us of its significance. In John 6, we find after Jesus performed the miracle, the people wanted to make Him king. Jesus’ response was to go off by Himself to pray. Later He joined the disciples who were on a boat, which meant Jesus walked on water to join them! The next day the crowds came after Jesus asking Him to show them a miracle. (What was feeding five thousand men, along with woman and children with five loaves of bread and two fish, if not a miracle?) In the midst of the discussion, Jesus told the crowd that their “work” was to believe in Him. Think about that for a moment: our work as Jesus’ followers is to believe in Him. That believe in Jesus is not a mere acknowledgement of His existence, but faith that He is God’s Son, and Savior and Lord of our lives.

Jesus had demonstrated His worthiness to be their king the day before, but the crowd started questioning Jesus more, and eventually Jesus told them they need to eat His flesh and drink His blood, a statement pointing to the Lord’s Supper, but one the crowd interpreted literally. This caused a great many of Jesus “disciples” to fall away. When Jesus saw the mass exodus, He turned to the twelve and asked, “Are you leaving, too?” Peter answered Jesus by saying, “Where would we go? You have the words of life!” Many times in our lives, people raise questions about Jesus, about our faith in Him,  about the miracles and exorcisms of Jesus and they want to know how we can believe all those things. That is where our faith is put to the test. Jesus is true, and faith in Him results in salvation in every age, but unless we do have the faith Jesus requires, we never experience the fullness of following the one who’s words are life to us–here and now and for eternity!