February 14 – Day 45 Numbers 31-34; John 13 Day 320 – Acts 17-19; Matthew 7

[NOTE: For those who are continuing the 1-year Bible reading plan we started on April 1, 2018, just go to the end of this entry and you will find the Day 320-Acts 17-19; Matthew 7 summary!]

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 their 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 marks each of the places they went, where they stayed, and some of the significant events that took place. The end of the chapter tells us 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.

Day 320-Acts 17-19; Matthew 7

In Acts 17, Paul and Silas went first to Thessalonica, then to Berea. Some of the Jews and Gentiles received the message of Jesus, but many didn’t, so Paul and Silas had to leave the city and go to Berea. We’re told the Bereans were of more noble character, and they examined the Scriptures to see whether what Paul said was true. This is always the best course to take: examine the claims of Jesus to see whether they are true. They are! At the end of the chapter, Paul has some time alone in Athens, while he was waiting for some of the others to come. He took the time to speak to the philosophers there. The end result of their dialogue is a few people trusted Jesus. Paul shows us how to meet people where they are and lead them to Jesus through reasoned conversation.

In Acts 18, we read of Paul’s time in Corinth. It was a time of building up the church and mentoring individual leaders. The Lord gave Paul a personal message of encouragement while he was there, letting Paul know he had many people in the city. 

In Acts 19, Paul visits Ephesus. While in Ephesus, Paul performed many signs and wonders in Jesus’ name. As a result, seven sons of a Jewish priest decided to cast out demons in Jesus’ name. One of the men from whom they attempted to cast out a demon “in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches,” responded “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” At that point he attacked and beat the seven sons severely. The news of this caused many to respond to the gospel. As the gospel gained traction in Ephesus, a silversmith realized their business would be impacted greatly if people stopped worshiping idols and started worshiping the invisible God of the universe. He couched it in religious terms, but convinced the people to riot against the gospel, because of the implicit attack it made on their “gods.”

As we return to Matthew 7, Jesus closes out the Sermon on the Mount. In this chapter Jesus reminds us how crucial it is to always put Him first. In a number of different ways, Jesus reminds us when we pray in faith to the Lord, He responds, when we cry out, “Lord, Lord,” we better be following the Lord, and at the end of the day every “tree” is known by its “fruit.” The end result of Jesus’ message was the people were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one with authority, and not as the teachers of religious law. In every era, the teachings of Jesus carry an authority not found in any other type of speech. Jesus was and is the Son of the living God. His words arethe word of God. That means when we speak them in His love, they still compel people.  Of course, anyone can reject their truth and authority, but the truth remains they are the word of God, and when we respond to them appropriately, they change us from the inside out, and advance the cause of God’s Kingdom.