Digging The Word

Preparing For The Future

2026-05-15T10:04:40.419-04:00

God's people will cross the river to the Promised Land despite our failures.

Numbers 27:12-14 One day the LORD said to Moses, "Climb one of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, 14 for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin.

When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters." (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

In my study of the Torah, I have seen that God has given us plenty of overwhelming evidence of his majesty, power and his everlasting love for us, but I have also seen that it isn’t enough, we have all rejected the evidence and gone astray (Isaiah 53:6).

God's people drift so easily:

The first generation that came out of Egypt saw God’s mighty acts before they left. They watched as He split the sea wide open, walked through it on dry ground, and still had the nerve to complain about lunch the next day (Exodus 14–16).
The second generation of God’s people, almost 40 years later, were still reluctant to believe and commit to God’s ways. After the generation that worshiped the golden calf had died, the younger generation also broke the first commandment en masse by worshiping the Moabite gods—just a few months before entering the Promised Land.
The second generation was still complaining about their situation. Life was harder now and the food was worse than it had been in Egypt. Even Aaron and Miriam complained. All of this was too much for Moses to handle (Numbers 11:1-15, 12:1-16).

Drifting away from God is what they did best. It is no wonder Moses was concerned about what would happen to God’s people after his departure. As God prepared Moses for his death, Moses became especially concerned about the nation and their future

God Prepares Moses

Numbers 27:16-17 "O LORD, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. 17 Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd."

God tells Moses that his ministry to God's people is almost over because of the incident at Meribah where Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it. God is going to keep his promise to Moses that he would not enter the Promised Land, a fact that is difficult for us to understand, Moses was a reliable leader that served Israel faithfully in many ways.

Moses served God's people as a picture of Jesus (Hebrews 3:1-6), he was a man that knew God intimately (Deuteronomy 34:10) and God came to his defense when Miriam and Aaron criticized him. (Numbers 12:5-9)

Moses tells God that his people need a replacement, something that God already knew and had been preparing for, the new guy was already being trained for almost 40 years even though it seems that nobody realized it.

Moses Prepares Joshua

Numbers 27:18 The LORD replied, "Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him."

Moses did what God told him to do to transfer his power to Joshua, he laid hands on him and presented him to the priest in front of everyone so there would be no question about who the new leader is.

God has been preparing the new leader for a very long time, the smooth transition of power was easy to accomplish because Joshua had been serving under Moses beginning with the first military conflict with the Amalekites not long after the Red Sea crossing. (Exodus 17:8–16)

The Bible does not tell us how Moses knew that Joshua was the right man to lead that battle 40 years ago. Maybe Moses knew Joshua before they left Egypt, maybe Joshua served in slavery in Pharaoh's household or in some way that supported the military.

Joshua proved to be a man of God as he served under Moses, he relied on God for that first victory in battle, he was not in the camp when the people worshiped the gold calf and he was one of the two spies that gave a favorable report when the people refused to enter the Promised Land.

Moses Prepares the People

A new beginning is almost here with new leaders and a new generation of God's people that will enter the promised Land. Moses will remind the people before his death that they are on a mission from God despite their unfaithfulness to God.

It looks like a long goodbye when you look at how many chapters it spans from the last section of the book of Numbers through the entire book of Deuteronomy, that's 44 chapters, but it all happened rather quickly. (See the timeline here)

Moses goodbye message will be a reminder of God's goodness to them over the years as he chose them, redeemed them, protected them through the wilderness and now he can be trusted to take his people home. But all of this experience will not keep them faithful unless they wrestle with the natural tendency to drift.

To fight the urge to drift from God, remember:

Obey God’s commands when they enter the Promised Land
Don’t forget God when life becomes comfortable and easy
Every moment presents a choice, choose life and blessing by following Him
Teach the next generation what God has done so they can know him

They had plenty of experience with God over the past 40 years but as the old hymn says "prone to wonder, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love."

God sought them and bought from their slavery as a picture of the truth found in that same hymn, "Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood."

Grace To Start Over

Psalm 103:7-12 He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. 8 The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. 10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. 11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

There is hope for our drifting, unfaithful hearts! As sad as the history of God's people is in the wilderness (Psalms 78:1-72), God refused to curse them despite the fact that they were still the same people 40 years later, a truth that is still true for us thousands of years later.

Our fickle hearts still rebel against God as much as they did back in the Garden of Eden, the same as they did in Babylon as we built a tower to Heaven and the same as the multiple rebellions in the wilderness.

God's faithful heart to his people is greater than our fickle hearts! He has compassion and mercy that are new each day to forgive us that he has promised not to curse. We can be sure that he will bring us home to our Promised Land. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Timeline - Moses To Joshua

2026-03-20T06:35:07.274-04:00

The last phase of Moses' life and the transition to Joshua.

Numbers 27:12-13,18-19 One day the LORD said to Moses, "Climb one of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron,

18 The LORD replied, "Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. 19 Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people.

Moses is barred from entering the land due to the incident at Meribah (Numbers 20:12; Deuteronomy 32:48-52). The biblical text provides specific Hebrew calendar dates for some events, showing a compressed period of roughly 6-7 months from early in the 40th year to Moses' death.

The beginning of the end for Moses is found in the last section of Numbers through the entire book of Deuteronomy, that's 44 chapters of Moses talking to the people, giving them final instructions and talking to God about his successor.

The following timeline was created using Grok.com to help me understand the last days before Moses death and the transfer of leadership to Joshua.

The Last Phase Of Moses' Life

The appointment of Joshua as Moses' successor is a key event in this final period. It is first recorded in Numbers 27:12-23, where God instructs Moses to commission Joshua publicly by laying hands on him before Eleazar the priest and the assembly, transferring some authority.

This occurs shortly after the second census (Numbers 26) and the case of Zelophehad's daughters (Numbers 27:1-11), placing it in the sequence of events after the Israelites' arrival in Moab but before the bulk of Deuteronomy's farewell speeches.

Timeline of Events (40th Year After Exodus)

1st month (Nisan/Abib, roughly March/April):

Israelites arrive back at Kadesh. Miriam dies (Numbers 20:1).
Water crisis at Meribah, Moses strikes the rock and God decrees neither Moses or Aaron will enter the land (Numbers 20:2-13).
Edom refuses passage (Numbers 20:14-21).

5th month (Av, roughly July/August):

1st day: Aaron dies on Mount Hor at age 123;
30 days of mourning. (Numbers 20:22-29; 33:38-39)

Following months (roughly 6th–10th/early 11th months):

Continued journey and events in Moab area:

Victory over Arad (Numbers 21:1-3).
Fiery serpents and bronze serpent (Numbers 21:4-9).
Conquests of Sihon (Amorites) and Og (Bashan) (Numbers 21:21-35).
Encampment in plains of Moab opposite Jericho (Numbers 22:1).
Balaam hired to curse Israel but blesses them (Numbers 22–24).
Sin at Peor with Moabite/Midianite women; plague (Numbers 25).
Second census of the new generation (Numbers 26).
Case of Zelophehad's daughters and inheritance laws (Numbers 27:1-11).

Appointment of Joshua as successor:

God tells Moses to view the land, announces his impending death, and commands him to commission Joshua publicly. Moses obeys, laying hands on Joshua before Eleazar and the people, transferring authority so the congregation will obey him. (Numbers 27:12-23)

In standard biblical timelines (using an early Exodus date around 1446 BC), both the commissioning and Moses' death fall in 1407–1406 BC, confirming they were close together in the final months of Moses' life.

The focus is on a smooth transition of leadership rather than a long delay. Moses lived only a short additional time, probably several months, after commissioning Joshua in Numbers 27:22.

End of the book of Numbers:

Daily/weekly offerings, vows (Numbers 28–30)
War against Midian (Numbers 31)
Land allocation east of Jordan to Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh (Numbers 32)
Journey summary (Numbers 33)
Land boundaries, cities of refuge (Numbers 34–35)
Final inheritance rulings (Numbers 36)

Deuteronomy begins, 11th month (Shebat, roughly January/February):

Moses begins his extended farewell addresses (Deuteronomy 1:1-5 dates this explicitly to the 40th year, 11th month, 1st day).

Deuteronomy records these speeches:

Historical recap (chapters 1–4),
Law restatement (chapters 5–26)
Covenant renewal/blessings/curses (chapters 27–30)
Moses' song/witness (chapters 32)
Tribal blessings and final instructions (chapters 33)

Within these addresses, Moses reaffirms Joshua's role as successor and he encourages Joshua publicly including a tent of meeting ceremony where God commissions Joshua directly.

God instructs Moses to ascend Mount Nebo (Pisgah/Abarim) to view the Promised Land and die (Deuteronomy 32:48-52; 34:1-4).

Shortly after (likely still 11th month or very early 12th):

Moses ascends Mount Nebo, views the land, and dies at age 120 (Deuteronomy 34:1-7)
God buries him in an unknown spot in Moab (Deuteronomy 34:5-6)
Israelites mourn for 30 days (Deuteronomy 34:8)
After mourning, Joshua assumes full leadership and leads the crossing of the Jordan in the 41st year, 1st month (Joshua 3–4; Joshua 4:19)

This final stretch from their arrival in Moab through Joshua's commissioning to the Deuteronomy speeches and Moses' death emphasizes preparation, a review of the law, covenant renewal, and orderly leadership transition.

One More Day | Sons Of Sunday

2026-03-19T08:18:35.943-04:00

What more can I say but hallelujah, thank you Jesus!

Video: One More Day | Sons Of Sunday

I'm a sinner grace is still healing
I'm a story time is revealing
I'm all of these things
But mostly, I'm thankful, yes, I am
I'm a fighter caught in a struggle
A survivor rising above it
I'm all of these things
But mostly, I'm thankful

'Cause You gave me one more day
To say I love You
You have brought me all this way
To testify Your grace
What more can I say but Hallelujah
Thank You, Jesus
Thank You, Jesus
Thank You, Jesus
'Cause You gave me one more day
One more day

Ooh, when the night was closing in on me
Didn't know if I'd see the morning
You held onto me
And Jesus, I'm grateful, yeah
When my enemies turned up the fire
El Shaddai, You were right there beside me
You showed up for me
And Jesus, I'm grateful

'Cause You gave me one more day (Hallelujah)
To say I love You (oh, God)
You have brought me all this way
To testify Your grace
What more can I say but Hallelujah
Thank You, Jesus

Reluctant Believers

2026-03-09T05:30:00.092-04:00

God's people continue to have problems being loyal to him.

Numbers 25:1-5 While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women. 2 These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab. 3 In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the LORD's anger to blaze against his people.

4 The LORD issued the following command to Moses: "Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the LORD in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel." 5 So Moses ordered Israel's judges, "Each of you must put to death the men under your authority who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor."

In my recent post we saw that God was in control of situations and protecting his people at times that they didn't even know about. Israel wasn't aware at all that King Balak was trying desperately to have God's chosen people get "unchosen" with a curse from Balaam. The king was desperate to keep his job because he saw the success of the Israelites in recent battles but God never changed his mind about Israel despite the fact that they changed their mind about him.

God was not reluctant to bless Israel, he went to great lengths in dealing with Balaam to bless Israel and to announce one of the first prophecies about Jesus.
Balaam was reluctant to bless Israel, he didn't care about the people he was asked to curse and he was careless about his own life because of the greed in his evil heart.
Israel was not reluctant to give in to their neighbors when they received an invitation to join them in worship, despite God's loyalty to them.

In Balaam's last prophecy he told about Israel's amazing future and the coming Messiah but right after he tells about it they are sinning against God the same way their ancestors did at Mt Sinai. I started to compare the two eventsfound in Exodus 32 and Numbers 25.

Comparison of the Rebellions at Sinai and Moab

1. Both of these rebellions took place immediately following a great display of God’s care for His people.

At Sinai, He performed miracles to deliver them from Egypt and brought them through the Red Sea.
At Moab, He reaffirmed their blessed future by turning Balaam’s intended curse into an amazing blessing.

2. Both of these instances reveal the wickedness of our hearts, our desire to worship but our lack of wisdom about worship, that's why the first of the Ten Commandments told us to worship the one and only real God.

3. In both instances worshiping false gods led to immorality, the Bible shows us a very strong link between satisfying our desire to worship the wrong way and satisfying our desire for physical pleasures the wrong way.

4. Moses ordered the death penalty in both situations. The reaction of certain people to this command proved their loyalty to God and earned them a special place of service in the temple.

At Mount Sinai, the Levites' killed the people involved and they were designated as the tribe that the priest would come from. It is important to know that all priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests, just the Levites that were sons of Aaron.
At Moab, Phinehas was the zealous priest, a grandson of Aaron, that executed judgment. Moses had just told the judges to judge but before they could start judging somebody comes along and jumps to the front of the line to be executed.

5. What a contrast between Phinehas and his grandfather. Aaron was responsible for bringing judgment on God's people due to his role in the creation of the gold calf but Phinehas quickly reacted to the man's sin and killed the Israelite man and the woman both at the same time.

As you can see, it only took them one generation to forget about the rebellion at Sinai and do it all over again at Moab, this pattern continued throughout the Old Testament as God's people were reluctant to trust and obey. Breaking the first commandment caused so many deaths in the wilderness and it was the reason that God's people were in exile before Jesus' arrival.

God's People Continue To Be Reluctant

Matthew 11:2-3 John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?"

Even a man as great as John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11) was not immune to wavering in his faith when Jesus actions were so confusing. Early in his ministry John stated that his reason for coming was to reveal the Messiah to Israel (John 1:29-31) but he was still overcome with doubt as he sat in prison without any assistance from his cousin. I'm sure that John had no idea how true his words were when he said "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)

Even the twelve men that gave it all up to follow were not sure about Jesus and struggled with faith even as they were experiencing him in supernatural ways. Jesus did miraculous things that prove his identity but nobody was as sure as the evil spirit that Jesus cast out. The evil spirit knew but a few chapters later the disciples are asking "Who is this man?" (Mark 1:23-28, 4:35-41)

We Are Reluctant Disciples

Even today with all of the evidence we have in God's word:

We are reluctant to worship properly. It is easy to look back at the people that God chose back in the Old Testament and be amazed that they worshiped wrong after all of their supernatural experiences with God but we are the same.
We are reluctant to trust and obey. Doing things our way will never measure up to God's ways and his plans, it is so hard to let go of absolutely everything and acknowledge that God is in control, instead we want our way just as much as Balaam and Jonah did.
We are reluctant to get rid of our pride. As we look at our evil hearts and see the darkness within, it should help us defeat our pride but instead we embrace it and it is a strong proof that Jesus was right when he told Nicodemus that we love the dark. (John 3:19)

Our own lives prove to us what the Bible shows: the ongoing struggle to trust and obey God. We are just like the people in Scripture, but the good news is that God is just as faithful as He was back then. Their imperfect faith and God's perfect, gracious response to it should be a great source of encouragement for us today when we struggle to fully believe.

The wilderness is still God's classroom where he leads us into situations that give us opportunities to exercise our faith, helping us become less reluctant to believe and trust Him. We will always have room to grow in this area, it's a slow, lifelong process that we can't simply check off of our to-do list and move on.

Mark 9:23-24 "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

Just like the believing father that desperately wanted his son to be healed, our belief will always be tested with some degree of unbelief that we should pray to overcome. Despite our imperfections and inconsistant faith, we can expect the same grace and faithfulness that God offered His people long ago as he takes us to the Promised Land.

Reluctant Prophets - Balaam and Jonah

2026-01-28T11:21:00.000-05:00

Be willing to seek out God's plan and adopt it as your own.

Numbers 22:31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.

Jonah 4:11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?"

One of the predominate themes that runs through the Bible is the contrast between something true and something that is false. There is true and false: worship, doctrine, believers, and as we have recently studied there are true teachers and prophets and there are also false teachers and prophets.

In my study of Balaam I have learned that God used the ungodly prophet that had every intention of cursing God's people and preventing them from receiving the blessing that God swore to give them. That study made me think of another prophet that was unwilling to bless a people that he would rather curse.

Reluctant Prophets

I started considering the contrast and similarities of Balaam and Jonah and how God worked through both of these men despite their desire to allow people to perish. God had much better plans for the people that they were called to bless that could not be stopped by man's free will.

It is interesting to notice that after sparing Nineveh from the punishment that Jonah prophesied they would be raised up against God's people to bring God's punishment to the Jews. The Jew and the Gentile were both used by God to bless and to punish their enemies.

God's undeserved mercy is available to everyone, the reluctant Jewish prophet and the reluctant Gentile prophet both saw God's undeserved mercy given across ethnic barriers to their most hated enemies.

We like to think that we are in control but Balaam and Jonah help to prove that man's free will isn't as powerful as we would like to think it is. Neither one of these men were willing and they both actively resisted God's will but that didn't stop God, he changed their plans, not his own.

Rebuked Prophets

A refusal to obey God isn't going to hinder his sovereignty, both of these men experienced life threatening situations with nature that were sent to correct them so that God could use them as a tool for his purposes and his glory.

Saved by a donkey - Balaam had a visit on the road to King Balak that was probably God himself and Balaam suddenly finds out that he owns a talking donkey. (Numbers 22:20-22)

Saved by a fish - Jonah's intervention with God that also involved nature, he had an experience with a huge storm and a huge fish that ate something he didn't like. (Jonah 1:17-2:10)

In church circles we like to say that we need to be willing to be used by God, that' a great attitude to have, but Balaam and Jonah prove that God can use us and have great outcomes even when our hearts are not in it.

God Is In Control

God's plans cannot be opposed successfully, he often works through human resistance or ignorance to bring about his will. (A few more examples: Genesis 50:20, Isaiah 10:5-10, Romans 9:17)

God's control causes Balaam to bless Israel and he goes even further and includes a prophecy about King David and the victory that he would have over many nations including the people of Moab that Balaam was trying to help. (Numbers 24:15-19 // 2 Samuel 8:2)

God's control causes Jonah to bless Nineveh as he reluctantly gives them God's message of repentance that brings a great revival that puts off their destruction. Jonah's short sermon brought about a greater response than the prophet ever saw from preaching to Israel but he didn't like the response. (Jonah 4:1-3)

God's control will bring a greater blessing, the ultimate fulfillment of these two prophets are seen in Jesus. Balaam and Jonah both give us a picture of who Jesus is and what he will do, Jonah gives us a picture of Jesus resurrection and Balaam tells us that we still have the reign of Jesus to look forward to.

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

God's will takes over our story, even when we don't want it to, his will is causing everything to work together in harmony for his unstoppable purposes but we still think that we know better. Since it is all working out to God's good purpose, we should be more willing to seek out his plan and adopt it as our own.

Faithful Prophet

Jeremiah 10:23-24 I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.

Jeremiah's willingness and faithful obedience despite suffering stands in contrast to Balaam and Jonah. His concern for the people really stands out as he is called the weeping prophet, Balaam and Jonah were never for the people.

I need to remember the prayer of the prophet Jeremiah, he knew that "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." In fact Jeremiah came from the Tribe of Levi so being a priest was probably his plan but God called him at a young age to become a prophet instead. (Jeremiah 1:4–10)

I need to remember that my life is not my own, I need to hold on loosly to my plans and be anxious to change when God shows me what his plan is. Thankfully he has bigger and better plans than I have ever made for myself so I need to trust and obey.

We Have Seen His Star

2026-01-09T13:09:00.004-05:00

The light showed the way to the Promised Land and the way to Emmanuel.

Numbers 24:17 I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel.

We saw in the previous post that God is always in control, it is difficult to understand this idea, but somehow this is true even when he is allowing us to have free will. We saw this truth in action in the life of Balaam, we learned that God let him have his way so that he could use this unwilling false prophet.

God shows us in his word that he is sovereign at all times and he will use anyone to work out his divine plans and his purpose despite our free will. We saw that Balaam had no desire to bless God's people and he certainly had no desire to announce the ultimate blessing.

Balaam's prophecies concluded with one of the earliest predictions of the Messiah:

A Savior that would be the redeemer of God's people, the Star that would bring light to our darkness.
A Ruler that would be the Lord of God's people, the Scepter would establish an eternal kingdom.

Each time that God came to Balaam there wasn't anything spectacular about it, God spoke to him like he had done so many times before in scripture, it was just a normal conversation. There are plenty of times when this was true like when God spoke to Adam and Eve, or to Abraham, or Hagar or Jacob. (Genesis 3:8-9, 6:13, 12:1, 16:7-12, 28:12)

But that was not always the case, as we will see, sometimes God's presence was very visible.

The Light To The Chosen

1 John 1:5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.

Sometimes when God interacted with people, his presence was an impressive display of light so spectacular that it is amazing that he interacted with some people without his glory being on display.

Abraham was the first to directly experience God's glorious light, not the first time when God called him from his homeland but later when God showed himself in a ceremony to confirm the covenant to bless Abraham's descendants. (Genesis 15)

Moses saw the light as it got his attention when God's glory caused a bush to light up as if it were on fire yet it was not consumed. The voice from withing the bush makes it clear that the source of the light was not natural. (Exodus 3:1-5)

God's people saw the light as it led them away from the darkness of Egypt to the land that was promised. But first the light led them to Mount Sinai where they saw the light as a sign of God's presence.

And now we will see the same Light that was revealed to God's chosen people throughout the Torah will also guide the nations to the new Promised Land. (Isaiah 9:2; 60:1–3).

The Light Of Christmas

Matthew 2:2,9-10 "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him."

9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!

The same God that occupied the mountain in the wilderness came without the grand entrance that he deserved to occupy a lowly manger in Bethlehem. It seems that the Light was revealed only to a very select group of people that God chose.

The men that saw the star were not part of God's original chosen people, none of the Jews, including the religious leaders in Jerusalem seem to know anything about the star even after the Magi asked about it. Even if they looked outside for it, they may have missed it because the star did not always appear or maybe the star wasn't for them.

The special star that led them to Bethlehem reminds me of the Old Testament pillar of fire that gave direction to a specific people to go to a specific place. Think about the unique characteristics of the pillar, it appeared and disappeared, it moved in various directions and it started and stopped at various times and locations.

It is very unlikely that either of these lights were natural, it seems to me that God's glorious presence that led his people in the Old Testament is the same source of light that led the Magi. It makes more sense that God was personally guiding these men in a similar manner instead of trying to explain the source of light as a natural star or astronomical event.

The understated entrance didn't confuse the Magi, they knew this was divine revelation that the King of the Jews was here, they had anticipated this event because they knew God's word, they knew that this wasn't an ordinary star and this was no ordinary baby.

Once again, God chose to guide men on the right path as he did for his people in the wilderness, but this time he is lighting the way for the nations to come to him. (Psalms 119:105, Isaiah 60:3, Matthew 28:19)

The Light Of The World

John 3:19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil."

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

The light showed the way to the Promised Land and it showed the way to Emmanuel. The same God that said "Let there be light" was now with us in our world as the Light that dispels the darkness of sin and death for anyone who follows Him.

When Jesus announced at Sokkot that he is the Light of the World the people knew without a doubt that he was claiming to be the Messiah. Many rabbis and prophets understood that the blazing lights that filled the temple on the Feast of Tabernacles was pointing to the coming Messiah. (Zechariah 14:16–19)

Jesus ministry to everyone was an invitation to leave the darkness and come to the light to become children of the light that would then also become the light of the world that would show God's glory to others. (Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 5:8)

The Light Of Eternity

Revelation 22:5 And there will be no night there-no need for lamps or sun-for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.

Our Savior proved that the light cannot be extinguished, even in death, he defeated death in his own life and he will defeat it again in each of our lives as well. He will take us to our Promised Land to dwell with him in light that is unending.

The end of the story is bright for those that have seen the Light, miss the light and you will spend eternity in darkness.

The True Prophet, Priest And King

2025-12-19T08:26:00.000-05:00

The bright morning star will return with the royal scepter to rule the nations.

Numbers 24:15-19 This is the message Balaam delivered: "This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, 16 the message of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:

17 I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab's people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.

18 Edom will be taken over, and Seir, its enemy, will be conquered, while Israel marches on in triumph. 19 A ruler will rise in Jacob who will destroy the survivors of Ir."

We have seen in the past few post about Balaam and King Balak that a false prophet, a false priest and an evil king cannot stand against the will of God. They were sure that God's people didn't deserve the promises after the way they have been behaving in the wilderness so they tried but failed to change God's mind.

There are a lot of images of Jesus seen in the Old Testament, types of Christ, but this is the only opposite type of Christ that I am aware of. Balaam and King Balak have formed an unholy alliance against God's people that looks similar to the unholy trinity that the Bible shows us in Revelation.

The Unholy Trinity

As a prophet and priest, Balaam is:

A false prophet that is an unwilling messenger for God, he wants to prophecy that God's people are cursed in order to please the king but God is in control so he is forced to bless
An unholy priest that used excessive sacrifices multiple times in high places the way the pagans did to manipulate their "gods" to try and get different outcomes

As a king, Balak is:

Trying to be in control against God's will in order to protect his own interest
Furious that his money, military threat, and religious activity are powerless (Numbers 24:10-11)

It is easy to see how Satan is using these men to imitate what is holy, these men give us a clear preview of what is going to be seen in the end times. Satan, the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet will be defeated as God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit win the ultimate battle with a permanent outcome. (Revelation 16:13)

The True Prophet, Priest And King Comes With Blessings

Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the LORD's favor has come."

Jesus came to earth on a mission to bless, he makes it obvious at the beginning of his ministry by applying the verses in Isaiah 61:1-2 to himself in Luke 4:18-19. It is interesting that Jesus stopped reading in Isaiah mid-sentence to omit the next phrase that talks about his second coming as the king that will judge the nations.

Jesus came to be Emmanuel, God with us, to be a blessing to us. Because of God's great love he came to redeem his people from slavery to the kingdom of darkness where we live still today. Scripture gave us a picture of this when God took his people out of Egypt and made them into a holy nation that would bless the world.

Jesus told us that he came to seek and save the lost to save us from the day of judgment that has been postponed until after the church age when grace and salvation will be replaced by judgment and wrath. (John 3:16-17, Luke 19:10)

Jesus is our:

Prophet, Jesus spoke only what the Father gave Him, blessings instead of curses (John 7:16; 8:28; 12:49–50)
Priest, Jesus blessed us by offering himself as the true sacrifice that became cursed for our sins (Galatians 3:13-14)
King, Jesus established a new, eternal kingdom that is not of this world and he transferred our citizenship there (John 18:36, Colossians 1:13-14, Revelation 11:15)

Thankfully the prophet and priest came first, we need the true high priest to forgive us of our sins and the true prophet to help us know God so we can prepare ourselves for the arrival of the king. The same Jesus who came as the gentle shepherd to care for his sheep in this life as he prepares us will take care of us eternally as he prepares a place for us to live with him. (Revelation 19:9 21:4–5; 22:3)

The Bright Morning Star

Revelation 22:14-16 Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. 15 Outside the city are the dogs-the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie. 16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star."

The end of the story, way back in the end of our Bible in Revelation, assures us that the star that was to come from Jacob really did come! When Jesus was with us the first time he told us that he is the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46) and at the end of our Bible he makes it clear that he is the bright morning star.

The Bright Morning Star will return but this time he will arrive with the Royal Scepter to rule the nations. When the king returns to reign he will allow those who have washed their robes to enter the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. We will dwell with him in his kingdom where no sun or moon is needed as Jesus himself will be our everlasting light (Revelation 21:23; 22:5).

The same King who gently calls, "Come to me, all who are weary and I will give you rest" will one day say to the unrepentant, "Depart from me" (Matthew 11:28, 25:41).

This Christmas, as we celebrate the Star that rose over Bethlehem, the question remains: Will the King invite you in?

Come to him today willing to accept him as your High Priest so that you can live with the King for eternity.

The False Prophet Becomes A False Priest

2025-12-11T13:14:00.001-05:00

Giving God bigger and better worship will not help you get your way.

Numbers 23:1-3 Then Balaam said to King Balak, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for me to sacrifice." 2 Balak followed his instructions, and the two of them sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stand here by your burnt offerings, and I will go to see if the LORD will respond to me. Then I will tell you whatever he reveals to me." So Balaam went alone to the top of a bare hill.

In the previous post we learned that Balaam is not at all who he seems to be from a casual reading of his life story in the Book of Numbers. We have to look at all of the scriptures about him to get the rest of the story. This is a double minded man that God will use as a tool to tell us about his chosen people.

After Balaam encounters God on the road he arrives to find that the king is irritated with him for taking so long to get there, this would have been a great opportunity for Balaam to tell the king what happened that caused the delay, instead he suddenly changes the conversation. Maybe he didn't want to give a testimony of what God had done in his life because it may lead to the king changing his mind and canceling the offer to pay him big for his services. (Numbers 22:35-41)

Balaam didn't testify about his experience with God on the road but later he does testify that he cannot say what God doesn't allow. But the king doesn't care about the disclaimer, in the morning Balak took him up to a location that was a good lookout to see God's people. The people of Moab are so involved in worship to false gods that every time the king takes Balaam to a high place it is a location that is used to worship Baal.

The False Prophet

The blessing is the Lord's and a prophet for hire cannot change what God has declared about His people. Balaam is paid to speak the king’s desires, but he is shrewd enough to protect his reputation. If he curses Israel and God still blesses them, his credibility—and future business—is destroyed. Who would hire a prophet proven so wrong?

Balaam demonstrates that even the most extraordinary revelations from God can be squandered by a stubborn heart. God revealed Himself multiple times—sending an angel with a drawn sword, even opening the mouth of Balaam’s donkey—yet Balaam still sought to curse God’s people for profit.

The False Priest

To become more effective as a false prophet, Balaam tries to gain God's favor by also pretending to be a priest, he is probably hoping that he can get a different answer from God after he sacrifices a bunch of animals. Balaam ordered the building of too many altars, and he sacrifices too many animals as if he were trying to impress God with his worship in order to get what he wanted from God.

Balaam seems to know the number seven is used by God to signify that something is set apart as perfect, complete or holy. The number seven shows up hundreds of times in the Bible starting in Genesis with the days of creation and the day set aside for the Sabbath. Seven's continue throughout the Bible to Revelation where there are seven churches, seals, bowls and more.

Balaam tried to give God "better worship" in order to get his way, instead of serving God as a real priest should, this priest is self serving, trying to manipulate God to get the desired outcome. That might work on the other "gods" that he is familiar with but not the God of Israel.

"Better Worship" Didn't Change God's Mind

Numbers 23:20-21 Listen, I received a command to bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it! 21 No misfortune is in his plan for Jacob; no trouble is in store for Israel. For the LORD their God is with them; he has been proclaimed their king.

Balaam has done everything possible to gain favor with God and change God's mind about his chosen people but none of it has made any difference. God sees the heart of his worship and is not impressed, instead of Balaam getting his way, God's will is still going to happen. Balaam will be used as God's tool to confirm and clarify the blessings of God's people.

This false prophet, false priest and the ungodly king are a picture of the opposite of Jesus (anti-type). This unholy trinity will come against God's people but Satan's power is limited in strength and it will only last for a season. (Revelation 12–13 and Revelation 16:13)

Just as God had a plan for his people in the wilderness in the days of Moses he has a plan for his people in the wilderness of today's world. God has declared a blessing in my life that can not be reversed. I can be confident that God will take me to the Promised Land despite the accusations of Satan about all of my shortcomings.

The Blessing Of Consequences

2025-12-01T05:00:00.018-05:00

Sometimes God gives us what we want so we can learn from the results.

Numbers 22:7-8 Balak's messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel. They went to Balaam and delivered Balak's message to him. 8 "Stay here overnight," Balaam said. "In the morning I will tell you whatever the LORD directs me to say." So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.

In the previous post we saw that God's people are almost home despite themselves, they have proven that they are not worthy to be God's people that will inherit the promises made to Abraham, but they will do so anyway. We saw that the blessing is the Lord's and nothing that they can do will change the blessing. God always knew that they would be undeserving so there isn't any reason to change his mind hundreds of years later.

As the story of Balaam continues to unfold we will see that it creates a lot of questions than it doesn't explain. We will see that God and Balaam will both say and do things that are surprising and confusing, they will both go against what we expect. If you disregard the other scriptures about Balaam and just focus on the next couple of chapters of Numbers it will seem like Balaam is a pretty good guy, doing the right thing most of the time, but don't forget that is how Satan always presents himself.

God's people are probably unaware that King Balak is so afraid of them that he is planning to attack them, they are in their camp minding their own business, unaware that God is working to protect them in supernatural ways even though they are probably complaining about him while all of this is going on.

Balaam Has Visitors

Numbers 22:9-12 That night God came to Balaam and asked him, "Who are these men visiting you?" 10 Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message: 11 'Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come and curse these people for me. Then perhaps I will be able to stand up to them and drive them from the land.'" 12 But God told Balaam, "Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!"

A delegation sent by King Balak visits Balaam to hire the false prophet to curse Israel. When Balaam receives the invite to curse God's people he seems to react the way that he should, you would think that he would not hesitate to make some quick money but Balaam responds wisely, stating he will seek God's will first and he would only do whatever God tells him to do.

God takes the initiative and visits Balaam and opens the conversation with a question. When God begins a conversation, especially with a question, there is usually a very good reason to be afraid, but Balaam seems very comfortable talking to God. It seems like he has probably done it before, instead of fear, the prophet seems to be acquainted with the idea of talking to God or possibly with other spiritual beings.

Balaam appears obedient and spiritually sensitive when he sends them away because God said no. We are not told that he felt disappointed about missing out on the large sum of money and fame that could be his. At this point, all we know is that Israel is a nation blessed by God, and Balaam’s role is to stay home and not interfere.

Balaam receives visitors again, this time it is another delegation from the king and also a return visit from God. The king sent more important people with bigger prizes, what a picture of how Satan works, he is the best at making his offer better and better to try and wear us down.

Numbers 22:18-19 But Balaam responded to Balak's messengers, "Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD my God. 19 But stay here one more night, and I will see if the LORD has anything else to say to me."

Balaam never sounded more spiritual than when he referred to God as “the LORD my God” but don't be fooled. Balaam wants a God he can manipulate and negotiate with, he knows God and he knows his will but he is pretending to love God more than money. He is constantly searching for a loophole that will let him have both God’s approval and Balak’s money.

Balaam Gets What He Wants

Numbers 22:20-22 That night God came to Balaam and told him, "Since these men have come for you, get up and go with them. But do only what I tell you to do." 21 So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the LORD to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along,

Imagine the delight Balaam had when God told him to go to King Balak, he was probably as delighted as we are surprised that God seems to make a complete turn around from what he said before without any explanation. And then surprise again, God is angry that he went. What's going on?

What looks like permission was actually God letting Balaam have exactly what his stubborn, money-loving heart insisted on. Balaam is going to learn that God's permission is not the same as God's approval. God is going to graciously give Balaam the opportunity to learn more about the God that he thinks he already knows.

It is difficult to understand that God’s sovereignty means nothing happens outside of his ultimate permission, but he permits things that are contrary to his perfect will that grieves Him. We have the freedom to choose to accept God's will or go our own way. (Matthew 23:37, Romans 1:24-28)

This not the first time that God allowed something outside of his will, we will see this concept play out after Israel was settled in the Promised Land, they will ask to have their heavenly king replaced by an earthly king, despite God's will.

I always wondered why God chose Saul as their first king but now I think that God gave them exactly the type of king that he warned them about so that they would be blessed to learn from the consequences. (1 Samuel 8:1-22, Numbers 23:21)

Balaam did what we all do, we assume that the path of least resistance, with wide open doors, is the will of God but Balaam shows us that we need to be careful about that logic.We fail to see that God's permission is not the same as God's approval and he often permits things that he doesn't approve of.

Balaam Enters God's Classroom

Numbers 22:22b-23 As Balaam and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam's donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road.

Balaam wasted no time getting on the road without any idea that he was entering God's classroom where the angel of the Lord stood ready to teach him, opposing his path with a drawn sword. It is amazing that Balaam is in this situation without any understanding of what is going on because it isn't until God allows himself to be seen that Balaam becomes aware of his presence. (Numbers 22:31-33)

Balaam's knowledge of God continues to show after he sees the angel of the Lord, he isn't afraid because he sees an angel with a sword, Balaam is afraid because he believes that the angel of the Lord is actually God. We know the angel is not an ordinary angel because he speaks in the first person as God and Balaam responds in fear with a confession and repents.

All of these encounters with God should have drawn Balaam to God but instead he is dangerously close to God's drawn sword. Ultimately Balaam chooses the path that leads to the sword, tragically he dies by the sword because he ignore God's kindness. (Numbers 31:8, Joshua 13:22)

The “way of Balaam” proved to be the way of destruction, Balaam is proof that intellectual knowledge of God, spiritual experiences, the ability to speak true words about God, and even miraculous encounters with God does not guarantee your eternity with God. (2 Peter 2:15, Matthew 7:22–23)

Balaam Reminds Me Of The Prodigal Son

Let's compare the two, both men know the father, they know the fathers will and they both chose greed and lived to please themselves. God was merciful to both men and blessed them with a wake up call while they were in the middle of the consequences of their sin. (Luke 15:11-32)

Both men show us that getting our own way can be the severest judgment of all. However, they also offer a stark contrast in how to react to the consequences of rebellion. God's blessings were wasted on Balaam as he failed to learn his lesson, leading to an unhappy ending. The Prodigal Son, in contrast, repented and returned to the Father.

Their stories should make us think twice about our demands. Instead of demanding that God agree with us, we should ask God to help us agree with Him. We need His wisdom to discern which "open doors" are truly His will and which are paths He is merely allowing us to walk against His perfect plan.

These two men should make me think twice about what I ask for, instead of demanding that God agree with me I need to ask God to help me to agree with him. I need to remember that God might let me have my way and he may let doors be wide open that he may not want me to enter.

I need to pray to discern God's will without asking for my own, I need to realize that he may have plans to use my will to teach me more about his will. (Romans 2:4)

The Blessing Is The Lord's

2025-11-07T08:12:00.001-05:00

Will God keep his promise after 40 years of grumbling and disobedience?

Numbers 22:3-5 And when the people of Moab saw how many Israelites there were, they were terrified. 4 The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, "This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!"

So Balak, king of Moab, 5 sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said: "Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me.

After wondering around in the wilderness for decades, God's people are approaching the Promised Land again, but this time it is the grown children of the previous generation that God said would not enter. The first generation refused to trust God but the second generation seems to be doing better as God has given them success in battle against their enemies because they put their faith in his ability.

But their success brought about a new problem, the nations fear God's people and will do anything to protect themselves even when Israel didn't threaten any violence against them. As they approach the Promised Land the attacks begin with King Sihon, this win for Israel gave the Moabites their independence from King Sihon but instead of being thankful King Balak and his people were fearful that Israel would be their new captors.

Balak didn't know that God already told Israel not to attack Moab, his unfounded fear reminds me of Pharaoh's fear of God's people while they were living under his reign in Egypt. (Exodus 1:7-10) Satan used that unjustified fear to try to get rid of God's people once and he is about to use fear again to get rid of the threat that God's people would have a Messiah that would be the end of him.

The Ways Of God

The only way to defeat God's people is to reverse the blessing that God gave to Abraham and his descendants. But God has already confirmed the blessing with Abraham, Isaac and again with Jacob seven times and then he reconfirmed it again with his people at Mount Sinai so how could there be any doubt?

But there will always be doubt because the blessing is so amazing and God's people are so undeserving. This is the way we think today, shouldn't we have to do something? How could it be a gift that can never be taken away? How could such a blessing come to such a faithless and disobedient people without some strings attached?

Is God Really For Them?

Exodus 19:5 Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.

Didn't God say that if they obeyed him then they will be blessed? Perhaps Satan is hoping that God will take the promise back after the way God's people have behaved for the past 40 years in the wilderness.

The covenant God made with Moses had an obedience clause (Exodus 19:1-6)

Just before the law was given at Mount Sinai, including the Ten Commandments, God promised that he would treat his people in accordance with the way that they treat him. In the covenant God made with the people through Moses it was clear that they would be blessed for following the rules and disobedience would bring punishment which could mean that he would hold back his blessings.

So this covenant was conditional, maybe Satan was hoping that this covenant was a good sign for him but the promise made to Abraham didn't have any of these terms.

The covenant God made with Abraham was unconditional Genesis 12:1-3)

God's people have disobeyed and complained about God so much that maybe Satan is counting on God's holy justice and wrath to overrule his mercy and grace. But when God made this covenant he knew how the people would be, he knew his people would fail to live up to his standards.

God gave the covenant anyway even though the laws that he was going to give them in the future at Mount Sinai wouldn't be followed. God would hold back some blessings but their disobedience would not cancel out the blessing of the Promised Land.

Is The Blessing Still True

Moses reminds Israel multiple times that the Promised Land is due to God’s oath to the patriarchs, not because Israel did anything to deserve it. None of their bad behavior could cancel the promises to Abraham but they could delay the fulfillment of the promise.(Deuteronomy 6:10, 9:5, 29:13, 30:20)

It will seem like God has good reason to cancel it and Satan will make sure to accuse them but thankfully what Satan says about them and what they think about themselves is not what matters.

The most important question for any of us is what does God think about us?

Excerpts from "John Darby Synopsis of the Bible" explains it so well:

It is of the highest interest to see the special character of this prophecy. It is God who, of His own will, interferes to take the part of His people against the enemy, and that even without their knowing it, or asking for it.

The people know nothing about it; they are perhaps still murmuring in their tents against the ways of God with them. It is God declaring His own thoughts and confounding the malice of Satan.

He can see no iniquity in the redeemed people. How could He see any in those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb?

It is amazing that God's people were so unfaithful, Satan comes along to point out this fact by accusing them like he accused Job, but once again God wins the debate with Satan in the life of his children in the wilderness wonderings just as he did before in the life of Job.

New Testament Fulfillment & Final Confirmation

The New Testament shows us that God's unconditional promise is partially fulfilled with the arrival of Jesus. (Luke 1:68–73, Hebrews 6:13–18) And they knew that it was fulfilled in spite of their imperfections. Just look at what Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians:

Galatians 3:17-18 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God's promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

The promise was made to bless us even though God knew the law that was given later would not be fulfilled. Man hasn't changed, we are all guilty still today for not fulfilling the law but thankfully God is also the same today and he will complete the fulfillment of his blessing despite what we do.

Galatians 2:16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.

I must strive to obey God's rules even though I will never come anywhere close to the command to be holy as he is holy but thankfully my performance doesn't terminate the promise. (Matthew 5:48 // 1 Peter 1:16)

God could not and would not revoke his blessing to his people no matter how bad they have been on the short trip across the wilderness that turned into 40 years. The wilderness experience shows me that God is willing to give grace and mercy that cannot be lost.

Balaam could not prophecy or give a curse against God's people way back in the Old Testament and despite his efforts God is still for his people and he will see them through to the Promised Land.

The great promise of eternity with him is still good!

The Battle Is The Lord's

2025-10-08T08:27:00.000-04:00

God's people will struggle to be faithful in life's battles.

Numbers 21:1-3 The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelite's were approaching on the road through Atharim. So he attacked the Israelite's and took some of them as prisoners. 2 Then the people of Israel made this vow to the LORD: "If you will hand these people over to us, we will completely destroy all their towns." 3 The LORD heard the Israelite's' request and gave them victory over the Canaanites. The Israelite's completely destroyed them and their towns, and the place has been called Hormah ever since.

The only place the nation of Israel has ever lived since they became a nation has been out in the wilderness. The time in the wilderness may seem like a waste but God didn't let their time in the wasteland go to waste.

God could have taken his people straight out of Egyptian slavery and put them in a safe place at the border of Canaan or he could have destroyed the Canaanites himself and put his people in the Promised Land without any battles and without any casualties.

God has a timeline and a purpose for each chapter of his story. His timeline moves at a slow pace that is very frustrating and difficult to understand. Remember how slowly God's promise to Abraham progressed, Abraham was 75 years old already, he had to wait 25 more years for a son and he till had a small family when he died.

Over six hundred years later God's people have grown enough in size to be seen as a nation, they have learned about God and now they have established a military.

Accomplishments In The Wilderness
Receiving the Covenant and the Law at Sinai - How to live for God (Exodus 19–24) Construction of the Tabernacle - How to live with God (Exodus 25–40) Establishment of the Priesthood and Worship System - How to be made right with God. (Leviticus 1–10; Numbers 3–8) Military Organization and Training (Numbers 1–2, 10:11-28)

As they approach Canaan they were not looking for a battle but they didn't avoid it either, they defended themselves for the first time and God gave them their first win. (Numbers 21:1–3)

But God's people will go from great victory to great defeat, trusting God for victory in the battlefield didn't turn into trust in God's goodness in providing their food but instead of appreciating him they doubt his goodness again and bring God's judgment upon themselves. (Numbers 21:4-9)

God forgave his people and gave them more wins east of the Jordan River in the territory that would belong to Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. This area isn't the wilderness but it isn't the Promised Land either, they are not home yet as they will realize that the plains of Moab is a place of battles.

Numbers 21:23-24 But King Sihon refused to let them cross his territory. Instead, he mobilized his entire army and attacked Israel in the wilderness, engaging them in battle at Jahaz. 24 But the Israelite's slaughtered them with their swords and occupied their land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. They went only as far as the Ammonite border because the boundary of the Amorites was fortified.

Numbers 21:33-34 Then they turned and marched up the road to Bashan, but King Og of Bashan and all his people attacked them at Edrei. 34 The LORD said to Moses, "Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, along with all his people and his land. Do the same to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon."

The Israelite's rack up three wins and they haven't even crossed the Jordan River, they were being attacked while they were trying to get access to the river to get to the other side.

Victory over Sihon, King of the Amorites (Numbers 21:21–31):

The Israelite's requested safe passage through the territory of Sihon, king of the Amorites, promising not to plunder or disturb his land. But Sihon attacked and Israel defeated Sihon and captured his territory..

It looks like the Amorites have finally experienced the Lord's judgment that he told us about in Genesis 15:16.

Victory over Og, King of Bashan (Numbers 21:32–35):

It doesn't take long for another battle to come, God's people faced Og, the king of Bashan and defeated him and his army.

Israel already has a lot of territory outside of the Promised Land just because they were protecting themselves. With God’s favor, the Israelite's defeated Arad, Sihon, and Og, despite being outnumbered or outmatched.

The Lord Is With You

The last time God's people were this close to the Promised Land they lacked the faith to go to war to claim the Promised Land as their own but this time it seems that God is allowing them to experience victory through his strength so that they will trust him.

2 Chronicles 20:17 But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD's victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!"

Even after God's people have had many more victories and have taken possession of the land they will continue to struggle with the idea that the battle is God's and they can rely on him to ensure another victory.

But the struggle isn't just for them, it is our struggle, even when it's much more simple. My faith wavers and I am not homeless in the wilderness, I have a kitchen full of food and water and I am not dealing with an approaching military threat.

When God is for me who can be against me? Because of his presence I can have peace in this troubled world. I should be thankful and have confidence that the same God that brought me to this trouble will bring me through and take me to my Promised Land. (John 16:33, Romans 8:31)

Moses' Snake - Healing From Our Sin

2025-10-05T06:30:00.001-04:00

The picture of deception and death will show us the means of grace and eternal life.

Numbers 21:6-9 So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, "We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take away the snakes." So Moses prayed for the people.

8 Then the LORD told him, "Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!" 9 So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!

Snakes have been a part of God's story from the beginning, just about anybody that knows something about God's word knows about the snake that deceived Adam and Eve in the garden, but that is just the beginning.

God's people learned about the importance of snakes while they were living in Egypt. The Egyptian people saw the snake as a political and religious symbol that they worshiped. The cobra goddess was supposed to be the protector of Egypt so imagine how surprising it must have been when God used the snake as the first miraculous sign to validate Moses' and Aaron's authority.

God proved his superiority when he changed Aaron's staff into a snake but then it went to the next level when Pharaoh's magicians did the same. God had Aaron's snake swallow all of the other snakes so that there should have been no doubt about who was in control. (Exodus 7:8-12)

The next encounter with snakes was forty years later while God's people are on their extended tour of the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. They have already been to the edge of the Promised Land once but they doubted their ability to be victorious against the Canaanites.

They could have been eating the awesome food in the Promised Land but instead they despise the food that God is still providing for them in the wilderness. The same God that was miraculously brought them out of Egypt proved to them daily that he was still in control of nature as he provided them with food but they didn't respect that power.

They were anxious to tell God that he wasn't coming through for them. God's power and his blessings in there lives was not appreciated so God used his power through snakes again. This time be uses them to discipline his people by sending poisonous snakes. God is very good at making his people aware of their sins so that they can repent and beg for mercy.

God provides salvation for his people

God reveals the method that he will use to allow his people to be healed from the wound that the snake caused. Moses had to craft a snake out of bronze and attach it to a pole so that the people could look to it and be saved.

It is interesting to note that bronze was used in the Tabernacle on the altar of burnt offering where the sacrifices were made for sin and also for the basin that the priest used for purification. The use of bronze stands in contrast to the use of gold in the Holy of Holies.

It is also interesting to consider that the cure did not come immediately, it would probably take a few hours or maybe a day or so to make the bronze snake, we don't know why used human interaction as a part of the remedy instead of healing them instantly. It seems likely that more people died before the cure for the snake bite was in place.

Perhaps God was showing us that we don't usually get relief from the fallout of our sin immediately, the consequences can be severe and long lasting.

But why did God choose to use a snake?

It is ironic that the snake brought healing to everyone that could look up in faith and see it. The snake already has a bad history of deception, pain and death. so it seems a bit peculiar to see the snake in a positive light as a source of hope and healing.

God doesn't erase the negatives, he works through them for a much greater good, he took the symbol of everything wrong in our world and repurposed it into a symbol of life and healing. That sounds a lot like what he did with the cross.

It's just like God to re-purpose a negative into a positive.

John 3:14-16 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 16 "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

I don't know how you feel about snakes but it seems a little bit disturbing to think that the snake on the pole is a symbol or type of Christ but even Jesus compared himself to this symbol in his first recorded gospel conversation with Nicodemus.

The snake on the pole was a foreshadowing of Jesus redemptive work. God's judgement was on me until I looked to the cross and saw my Savior there. Jesus took the curse of sin and redeemed me from the kingdom of darkness. The same cross that was an instrument of death and shame became a symbol of victory and salvation!

The snake points to Jesus, but Jesus surpasses it, embodying the ultimate expression of God’s love and grace. Jesus isn't like the snake at all, he is actually the antithesis of what the snake represents, as with every foreshadowing of Jesus the symbol has limitations.

The man made snake didn't have any power on it's own, through God's power it offered physical healing but it was powerless as a remedy for the consequence of sin. It did not offer forgiveness or eternal life. When Jesus was lifted up on the cross he became the means for my spiritual healing. Jesus sacrifice went beyond judgement and discipline to offer me complete redemption and reconciliation with God. (Romans 5:10)

The dead snake on a pole pointed to Jesus but perhaps it also foreshadows the ultimate fate of Satan as the serpent in Revelation. Just as the bronze snake was destroyed by King Hezekiah because it became a source of idolatry, Jesus will destroy the serpent at the end of time. (2 Kings 18:4, Revelation 12:9)

God's story began and it ends with the snake. Satan is described as “that ancient serpent, called the devil,” linking him directly to the snake in the Garden of Eden. Remember God's promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head? That day is still in the future but it will finally happen as Satan will be powerless against God's judgement.

Thank you God for going above and beyond the temporary, physical healing to provide the only eternal, spiritual healing that I desperately needed. I was powerless to help myself on judgement day but I know how to overcome by relying on your power to reverse the curse of the snake so I will not share in his fate!

Moses' Rocks - Trust And Obey

2025-09-20T08:26:00.001-04:00

God's people need to do things God's way for his glory.

Numbers 20:1-5 In the first month of the year, the whole community of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin and camped at Kadesh. While they were there, Miriam died and was buried.

2 There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people blamed Moses and said, "If only we had died in the LORD's presence with our brothers!

4 Why have you brought the congregation of the LORD's people into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock? 5 Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place? This land has no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates, and no water to drink!"

Every since God redeemed his people from the kingdom of darkness they have refused to react to difficult situations with any degree of faith in him. You can't help seeing the evidence of God's love and his power long before their dramatic exit from Egypt and then again when God showed up for his people again right after that with the miraculous Red Sea crossing. (Exodus 14:31)

Seems like God's people would respond better after all of that but the display of God's love and his power to save didn't keep his people from doubting him. You can see how fickle they are by noticing the scripture address for each of these events, it is one verse or one chapter right after the other., God's people quickly went from singing his praises (Exodus 15:1-21) to grumbling about Moses leadership and the lack of food and water. (Exodus 15:24, 16:1-3)

God was testing their faithfulness to him, all they had to do is:

"Listen to the voice of the Lord and do what is right" (Exodus 15:25-26)
"Follow my instructions." about the food that God rained down. (Exodus 16:4)

God told them that he was testing them and he told them what they needed to do to pass the test. Sounds very fair, shouldn't be too difficult to pass. But while they were being tested by God, as Moses put it, they were also testing God. (Exodus 17:2) After all of the works of God that his people have seen on their behalf they still didn't get it.

Fifteen months later when they safely reached the edge of the Promised Land, they still didn't trust and obey, that's why they are on a 40 year trip extension. If they had moved into their new land they wouldn't be here complaining about the lack of water.

God's people failed the test

They are still blaming Moses for doing all of this to them.
They wish that they had died along with their rebellious relatives that God already killed.
They wish they had stayed in Egypt.

Instead of remembering how bad it was at the end of their stay, they seem to be recalling the good old days when they first got to Egypt. These people are probably not old enough to remember the day when the Egyptians treated them good.

Moses and Aaron responded well to the complaints of the people, they went to the Tabernacle and God showed up and tells them how to provide water. Moses and Aaron didn’t try to solve the problem on their own or argue with the complainers. Instead, they went to the Tabernacle, sought God’s presence, and received divine guidance. So far, so good, but wait.

Numbers 20:10-11 Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. "Listen, you rebels!" he shouted. "Must we bring you water from this rock?" 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill.

Moses didn't respond well to God's instructions, the great way that Moses reacted to the people didn't last for long. Moses didn't follow the details of God's instructions, he has made water before, it involved a rock but the details were more important than he thought. In order to get God's blessing you need to do things they way he tells you.

Moses seems to be frustrated with the people he was called to lead, he seems to lose his composure and lashes out at the rock instead of simply speaking to it. To make it worse it seems like Moses is taking credit for providing the water instead of giving God the glory.

You see, it isn't just the nation that struggled, the leaders of God's people have their own fears, doubts and frustrations with God and with his people. God has dealt with Moses as he has with the rest of the nation, with patience and grace, but this time Moses will have to face serious consequences.

God's leaders fail the test

After everything that Moses has been through with these people it seems harsh to us that God tells Moses that he will not lead Israel into the Promised Land. The next time they reach the border Moses would get a preview but he will not get to enter.

We want to defend Moses and tell God that it isn't fair to treat him so severe, that's a natural reaction that comes from our own experience with God, we all know that we have been worse than Moses and we got away with it. We know that there are plenty of times when God didn't give us what we deserved.

When Moses failed earlier in life God gave him grace but as Moses grew in his faith God's expectation that he would grow in faith and obedience.

Numbers 20:12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!"

God requires the leaders of his people to be held to a higher standard and they often experience greater consequences that are a lot more severe. (1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:6-9, James 3:1)

A leaders faith and failures affects other people, when their faith is strong it is a blessing to those under them but the opposite is also true. When they fail they can ruin their own lives and the lives of the people they are supposed to influence for good.

If you think about it, the severity of God's punishment to Moses and Aaron in this situation is similar to the punishment when God's people refused to trust and obey and enter the Promised Land.

The death penalty is the result in both the failure of God's people and the failure of their leaders. The people that voted to not go into the promised land died as a result of wandering in the wilderness and the leaders that failed also died in the wilderness because they didn't trust God.

Just before God allows the next generation to enter the Promised, Moses warns them that they must choose for themselves, he reminds them that trusting and obeying are often linked to God's blessings. (Deuteronomy 28:1-68)

I need to see the ugliness of my sin in light of God's holiness, I need to remember that living in grace is not a license to sin, I will not have prosperity, peace, and divine favor if I live like the world. (Psalm 1:1-3, John 15:10-11)

I need to be careful to trust and obey in times of prosperity and also when I am walking through the wilderness, especially as a leader in the church. As a child of God, my story should bring glory to him, without shame.

I need to give God the glory for the great things he has done. (Deuteronomy 8:17)

Broken Leadership (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

Timeline - Israel In The Wilderness (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

Aaron's Staff - Resurrected From The Dead

2025-09-04T07:15:00.007-04:00

A dead stick brought back to a fruitful life.

Numbers 17:4-5, 8 Place these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark containing the tablets of the Covenant, where I meet with you. 5 Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose. Then I will finally put an end to the people's murmuring and complaining against you.

8 When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron's staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds!

My study of the Old Testament has taught me a lot about priest and their special calling to serve God and his people. One of the ways that God set his people apart from other cultures was in his rules for worship.

It seems that worship has always included sacrifice, ancient cultures around the world offered sacrifices to their "gods" long before the Levitical priesthood. Even in the Bible there are examples of priestly roles being performed by ordinary men. (Cain and Abel, Job, Melchizedek, Noah, Moses)

But when God chose a people (the nation) he also chose a people (the priest) to lead them in worship and to be his ambassador to mediate for his people. Unfortunately God's people would challenge his decision to use a particular group of men to be their religious leaders.

Man Wants To Be In Control

In my recent post about Korah's rebellion we saw that Korah wanted more privileges than God allowed, he had a special God given job in the Tabernacle but he wanted to get a promotion. But it wasn't just Korah, he was able to convince a group of men to follow his ideas instead of following God. (Numbers 16:1-11)

God already made his choice and told his people that Aaron’s descendants were set apart for the priesthood “forever, from generation to generation.” But that wasn't good enough to keep Aaron's position from being challenged by the men that served under the priest.

Man has always wanted to be in control of his life even if that means worshipping God in a way that God doesn't want. Being in control didn't work out well for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-24) or for Abraham and Sarah but we still struggle with the same temptation today. (Genesis 16:1-16)

Miracles Confirm That God Is In Control

God's reaction to Korah's rebellion made it clear that he is in control and if you rebel there may be severe consequences. But after his wrath and justice is revealed his people still don't get it. God will give his people another lesson about his desire for the priesthood.

This time God teaches his people in a softer response that demonstrates his grace and mercy. The people will get an object lesson, a visual that should help them to remember that God is in control.

God told Moses to place a bunch of dead trees (walking sticks) in the Tabernacle so that God can prove to his people that Aaron is the High Priest. The other sticks had the name of the tribe on them but Aaron's staff had his name on it so that it was crystal clear that he is God's choice from the tribe of Levi.

So many dead sticks sitting in the same environment but only one came back to life!

A dead stick doing something that only a a live stick can do while it is still attached to a tree is a miracle that only God could do. Aaron's staff was the only one to produce buds but God took it a step further and proved the buds were for real by having some of them produce fruit.

God had to be in control of every detail in order for this visual lesson to work, the buds and blossoms was pretty amazing but even the fact that the staffs were sticks from an almond tree is not a coincidence.

God's people would have remembered the golden almond buds and branches of the golden lamp that God told them to make for the Tabernacle. Without sunlight, the golden lamp provided the light that is needed in the darkness of the Tabernacle o that the priest could do their work. (Exodus 25 and 37)

Jesus Is The Light

John 1:4-5,9,18 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father's heart. He has revealed God to us.

The light that shined in the Tabernacle was a picture of better things to come. Jesus was the true light, fulfilling the lamp's symbolism but expanding it's reach as the greater light of the world.

God wants all men from around the world to worship him, Jesus’ light extends universally, offering salvation and truth to all people that will culminate in Heaven where "the Lamb is its lamp” (Revelation 21:23).

Jesus Is The Branch

Isaiah 11:1 Out of the stump of David's family will grow a shoot- yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.

Zechariah 6:12-13 Tell him, 'This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the LORD. 13 Yes, he will build the Temple of the LORD. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.'

Aaron's dead branch that produced fruit was a picture of something far better. The tree like lamp and the branch of Aaron's staff are a symbol of the promised Messiah that came up from a stump that was presumed to be dead.

The promised Branch that would produce an amazing amount of fruit had a lowly starting point in our world. Born in the disappearing lineage of King David in a small town to a humble family without status or renown yet he rose to become a "hero" in his day.

But he would lose all of his followers and finish his life even more lowly and humble than he was at the start. All of his fans would disappear as opposition grew against him, he became despised, rejected, betrayed and crucified.

How ironic that The Branch would be hung on a dead tree!

Ephesians 2:1,4-5 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)

What a paradox! The life giving Branch hung on a lifeless tree but unlike the dead wood of the cross this dead wood came back to life and turned his defeat into victory for my benefit. The dead Branch would come alive in a greater way than Aaron's staff ever did.

In God's wisdom, the source of our physical life was put to death on a dead tree to also be the source of our spiritual life. Without Jesus I was just as dead as Aaron's staff that could not produce fruit. But if I become a part of the life giving vine that the Branch offers then I can also be used by God to produce fruit. (John 15:1-16)

Thank you Lord for making this dead man come alive. I pray that my life will produce righteous fruit that proves that I am alive physically and spiritually. (Galatians 5:22-23, Philippians 1:11)

Rejecting The Power Of God

2025-08-18T11:30:00.004-04:00

Mediators are necessary because of God's power and our rebellion.

Numbers 16:1-2 One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben. 2 They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly.

Numbers 16:39-41 So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and the bronze was hammered into a thin sheet to overlay the altar.

40 This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person-no one who was not a descendant of Aaron-should ever enter the LORD's presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. So the LORD's instructions to Moses were carried out.

41 But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the LORD's people!"

Over and over again, God's people have rejected his sovereign rule in their life. We have already seen that God's people have rejected the pleasures of God and they have rejected the promises of God and in the last post we saw that God's leaders rejected their ministry that God blessed them with and desired more than he allowed.

A small group of men were able to get 250 followers to united against Moses and Aaron and demand better positions. And now there are the 250 bronze incense burners that belong to nobody.

The men also demanded that there be consequences for a lack of leadership in Moses. Why did God give them a leader that couldn't get them to "a land flowing with milk and honey." Where is our new home? Where are the fields and vineyards? (16:13-14)

Everything that was wrong with their situation was somebody else's fault. The entire trip from Egypt to the edge of the Promised Land was full of signs and wonders to help them learn that God is in control and he loves and wants to bless his people.

Being in this wilderness at this point isn't God's idea, they rejected God's exit strategy then they rejected God's leaders and now they are rejecting God's power. (14:1-4)

God Shows His Power So They Will Know

Numbers 16:30 "But if the LORD does something entirely new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the LORD."

Moses shows great wisdom over and over again in Numbers 16, Moses says "the Lord will do something powerful and then they will know" over and over again. The Lord came through, he showed his power but sadly the people did not learn.

First God's people made Moses their excuse for not being in the Promised Land and now they blame him for the death of God's people. God's grace and mercy are coming dangerously close to an end

The power of God could not be more obvious and it couldn't be any more ignored. When you think they have learned their lesson, think again, it never took them very long to forget and lose their fear of God and his power.

Man Rebels Against God's Power

Numbers 16:41-42 But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the LORD's people!"

42 As the community gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the LORD appeared.

43 Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle, 44 and the LORD said to Moses, 45 "Get away from all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!" But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.

God’s people ignored His power to conquer the Canaanites and claim the Promised Land. They ignored His power again when He judged 250 rebels. Now, they seem blind to the danger of their own demise.

Moses and Aaron understand the situation, the power of God is coming against his people, Moses command to Aaron helped to affirm Aaron's role as the High Priest as God's wrath is turned away from his people.

It is difficult to understand that some people received the benefit of Aaron's work as High Priest while 14,700 people died before Aaron could get busy to save the rest. (Numbers 16:47-50)

Mediators Are Necessary

The Israelites stood at the edge of the Promised Land, yet they doubted God’s power to defeat the Canaanites. They rebelled again during Korah’s uprising, ignoring God’s authority, and now 14,700 more perish.

Yet, in His mercy, God used Aaron to intercede, as he rushed to offer incense. This act affirmed Aaron’s role as High Priest and revealed God’s heart to save. But Aaron’s work was only a shadow of something greater that was needed, something that could fully bridge the gap between sinful humanity and a holy God.

That’s why we need Jesus, our perfect Prophet, Priest, and King. As our Prophet, he reveals God’s truth; as our Priest, he offers Himself as the ultimate sacrifice; as our King, he reigns over all creation (Hebrews 7:27).

Thankfully, God’s power to judge is matched by His power to forgive. The story of Numbers 16 points us to Christ, who saves us from our endless rebellion which started way back in Genesis 1.

Today, reflect on this: Are you trusting in Jesus as your Mediator? Thank God for His grace, which provides a way to peace with Him!

Mediators In The Old Testament (thegospelcoalition.org)

What does it mean that there is one mediator between God and man? (gotquestions.org)

Rejecting The Position Of God

2025-04-22T06:42:00.004-04:00

It is dangerous to demand that God give you what you deserve.

Numbers 16:1-4 One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben.

2 They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly. 3 They united against Moses and Aaron and said, "You have gone too far!

The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the LORD, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the LORD's people?"

4 When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground.

Today we are looking at another way that God's people have rejected his sovereign rule in their life. We have already seen that God's people have rejected the pleasures of God and they have rejected the promises of God and now we will see that God's leaders are not content and will reject the limits that God has on how they can serve him.

As soon as God chose this people and made them a nation he gave them the rules for life and worship. Unfortunately it is way too easy for us to become unhappy with God's design, Satan doesn't have to work very hard to get us to reject God's promises, his pleasures and the position that he has for us.

Moses has already dealt with challenges to his God given authority, it started way back when they were still in Egypt and right after God brought them out of Egypt the people were still rebelling against Moses. (Exodus 5:1-23, 15:22-27)

God gave his people a social and religious structure to live by and he made the duties of Moses and Aaron and every other lower level of leadership very clear. God also made the penalty for doing things the wrong way very clear so it is difficult to understand how God's people rejected the rules that God made.

The people that became unhappy with their job assisted the priest in worship and they had an important job when the Tabernacle was being moved but they were not content, they wanted to do more than God allowed.

They could not go into the most holy area during worship and they could not go in that area to remove the holy objects so that the Tabernacle could be moved when it was time to break camp. The priest had to go in and cover the holy items and then bring them out the Kohathite clan. (Numbers 4:1-20)

Their God given authority to work for him in ministry was not enough for them, they wanted a promotion, God set the rules for the priesthood and he already showed us how serious he is about enforcing the rules.

Moses response was so wise! These guys better be right!

Numbers 16:5 Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us who belongs to him and who is holy. The LORD will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence.

Numbers 16:10-12 Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well? 11 The LORD is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?"

12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, "We refuse to come before you!

These rebels are so bold that they ignored Moses' summons to meet with them and then they accuse Moses with outrageous allegations. The good old days back in Egypt should have been replaced with a new land that is also at least as good as Egypt was.

For them to say that they experience the good life in Egypt, "the land of milk and honey" and demand the new "land of milk and honey" that they were promised. (Numbers 16:13-14) They seem to forget that they rejected God's promised land!

These rebels should have been terrified at the idea of "playing" priest just to see if they were allowed to do it. They were aware of God's response when Aarons sons didn't perform their duty as priest the correct way but they didn't seem to care. (Leviticus 10:1-3)

God handles the rebellion and the rest of God's people prove that they are just as bad as the men that God killed. The people had the nerve to accuse Moses and Aaron of being responsible for the death of these men.

Numbers 16:41 But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the LORD's people!"

Really!?! Everybody knew the rules for coming into the Lord's presence. Moses didn't make the rules, God used Moses as the messenger to reveal his rules to God's people. (Proverbs 19:3)

God's people must be very careful about negative thoughts because they have a habit of growing very quickly and they spread to the people around us. A lack of contentment in where God has chosen to put you and the ministry that he has given to you can spiral out of control and infect the rest of the church.

Whether in the government, the church, or the home, God never grants authority for the power or benefit of those in authority. Serving God requires that you be his servant as well as a servant to those around you.

We must decide for ourselves if we are going to argue with God.

Galatians 1:10 Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant.

God's people must remain humble and be content with their God given ministry. We should strive to do our best in whatever God has called us to do, but be careful not to do our best to promote ourself. (John 3:30)

God's choice to use me and in what capacity is totally his choice. I can choose a different area of ministry and attempt to work "for him" on my own but the consequences can be very severe to myself and to the people around me that I was trying to serve. (Galatians 6:7-19)

Lessons From The Life Of Korah (biblicalcounseling.com)

Who Were The Sons Of Korah (gotquestions.org)

Oh Death - MercyMe

2025-04-20T07:27:00.004-04:00

You ain't nothin' but a stone, that my Savior rolled away!

Video: Oh Death by MercyMe

Oh death, I will not be afraid

In the end you will lose

I will dance on your grave

With the One who buried you

You ain't nothin' but a stone

That my Savior rolled away

Set you straight and set me free

Oh, death, you arе dead to me

Luke 24:5-6 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee,

Rejecting The Promises Of God

2025-03-06T12:57:00.001-05:00

God's people still have trust issues that hold them back.

Numbers 13:28-31 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley."

30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. "Let's go at once to take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!"

31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. "We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!"

One of the main points of God's story in the Bible is the promise of God to take a group of chosen people to a Promised Land. God took his people from the depths of despair in the dark kingdom of Egypt and treated them with great grace and mercy as he lovingly guided them to live in a better place.

God also taught them to live a better way that reflects his values, he paused the trip at Mount Sinai to prepare his people to live in that land in a way that is totally different from the nations around them. Their new kingdom should have been a reflection of God's future kingdom that we are all longing to see but they failed to complete their mission.

But their struggles and failures are very much like ours. We all have the tendency to doubt God's goodness as we focus on our immediate circumstances and we begin to compare ourselves to others and sometimes we even think that the people that are not God's people have a better life.

It seems logical from a human perspective to believe that God's people should be treated the best and have the easy life, but God didn't separate us from the troubles of this life, When the trouble comes we can be tempted to believe the lie that the joys and blessings that God has for his people are somehow inadequate and not worth the sacrifice.

There is a lot that we can learn from God's people in the Old Testament that will help us on our journey across this wilderness that is our temporary home as we move towards the amazing destination that God is preparing for his people.

Travel Tips For The Road To The Promised Land:

Do Not Doubt God's Word

In Numbers 13:1-3 it looks like it was God's idea for his people to scout out the land and the people that are there but 40 years later when Moses gives final instructions to God's people, it seems like God was just giving the people what they had already asked for.

Deuteronomy 1:21-22 "Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don't be afraid! Don't be discouraged! 22 But you all came to me and said, 'First, let's send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter."

The Israelites lacked the courage, and faith to take the land that God told them is theirs. After all of the protection that God provided since the plagues way back in Egypt, especially that last one, and after all of the care and protection on the way through the wilderness, they still didn't put their faith in God's word.

Do Not Discourage God's People

Negative talk can be all in your head or it can come from someone around you, we have to remember that it is way too easy to be discouraged and the negative talk that we listen can keep us from listening to God's voice.

It's bad enough when one person does it but in these verses there is a committee, that's usually a bad sign, this committee was reporting about their research. You could call it opposition research, they found that God was honest about the goodness of the land but, they had a very big "but."

Numbers 13:28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!

Deuteronomy 1:26-28 But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in. 27 You complained in your tents and said, 'The LORD must hate us. That's why he has brought us here from Egypt-to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, "The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there-the descendants of Anak!"'

It only takes one negative voice to stop the work of God but this was the majority of voices in a committee so it would be almost impossible to overcome their recommendation. The negative voices set them back 40 years.

Certainly there must have been other travelers that they met along the way during those 40 years in the wilderness, those people must have been amazed that God didn't get his people to the place that he promised. But it wasn't God that failed, his people still had more to learn about how dependable he is.

Do Not Defy God's Will

Numbers 14:1-4 Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2 Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. "If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!" they complained. 3 "Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4 Then they plotted among themselves, "Let's choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!"

Everyday God's people are forced to make a choice, will we follow the leader that God has given us or will we elect a new leader and go back to Egypt. Negative people in the church discourage God's people and stir up a rebellion against God's leaders.

Do Not Disobey And Deserve God's Judgement

Numbers 14:10-11 But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?"

God showed up with some serious questions for his people, and suddenly his people are concerned about the consequences of their sin. They have always strived to have the easiest life possible and now that they know how God is going to punish them they decide it is better to obey his first command.

Numbers 14:40-42 Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. "Let's go," they said. "We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the LORD has promised us." 41 But Moses said, "Why are you now disobeying the LORD's orders to return to the wilderness? It won't work. 42 Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you.

Taking the land isn't an option any longer, since God isn't going with them, they will not have a victory over the Canaanites. They couldn't win no matter what they did, they were sentenced to death in the wilderness but if they rebelled and tried to defeat the Canaanites they would still experience death.

We love the Bible verse that says "If God is for you, who can be against you," but turn that around. If God is against you, it doesn't matter who is for you.

Reacting To God's Will
We need to know and understand God's will: Ephesians 5:17,20 Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to find delight in his will: Psalm 40:8 I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart." We need to whole heartly obey his will: Ephesians 6:6 As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart

Reacting To God's Will

We need to know and understand God's will:

Ephesians 5:17,20 Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to find delight in his will:

Psalm 40:8 I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart."

We need to whole heartly obey his will:

Ephesians 6:6 As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart

I need to appreciate the promises of God and totally trust him to come through no matter what the evidence around me seems to be saying. God gave me the example of our ancestors found in the Bible to help me.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

Help me Lord to grow in faith and obedience to your will despite the fact that what I feel, what I see and what I think may be telling me to doubt your goodness. I want to trust and obey so that you will be glorified.

Rejecting The Pleasures Of God

2025-02-10T07:38:00.002-05:00

Remember how good the pleasures of the world are? Don't kid yourself.

Numbers 10:33-34 They marched for three days after leaving the mountain of the LORD, with the Ark of the LORD's Covenant moving ahead of them to show them where to stop and rest. 34 As they moved on each day, the cloud of the LORD hovered over them.

Numbers 11:1-4 Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the LORD heard everything they said. Then the LORD's anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.

2 Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the LORD, the fire stopped. 3 After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means "the place of burning"), because fire from the LORD had burned among them there.

4 Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. "Oh, for some meat!" they exclaimed.

Nobody likes to move so it is no surprise that along the way some people start longing for home back where life was so good. Life was pretty good for God's people when they first arrived in Egypt but that's not the situation that these people experienced in their lifetime.

God took them to Egypt hundreds of years before to bless them but then he also took them out of Egypt to bless them. When he took them to Egypt it was to rescue them from a famine and when he took them out of there it was also a huge relief.

But God's goodness to his people wasn't appreciated for very long, it only took three days for the nation of Israel to start complaining after they left the shores of the Red Sea, and then a year later after leaving Mount Sinai God's people repeat history and begin complaining three days into the journey.

They didn't know it at the time but it was only an eleven day trip to their destination. (Deuteronomy 1:2) Somewhere on this move towards the promise the people start counting the cost and they compare the current situation with their life back in the good old days. Even with a promised, glorious future ahead of them they begin to long to go back to the life of slavery in the kingdom of darkness.

Deuteronomy 1:32-33 "But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God, 33 who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

God has worked in amazing ways in their lives, rescued them and made them his own and gave them visible signs of his presence but when God asked his people to trust his plan and his process they couldn't keep the faith for eleven days.

Yes, food and water was scarce, yes the menu was the same everyday and yes, Moses is still the leader. Everything that they needed from a human perspective was provided graciously by God but none of those provisions were good enough. (Exodus 17:1–7; Numbers 12)

Numbers 11:20b For you have rejected the LORD, who is here among you, and you have whined to him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'"

The hardship is the wilderness, even for such a short time, made the pleasures of the world look way better than they really are. Don't kid yourself! Today might be tough but God's people have a glorious future ahead!

The pleasures of the world have always been an enticement for God's people. It started back in the Garden of Eden and hundreds of years later God's people are still struggling with the pleasures of the world versus the pleasures of God.

Numbers 11:23 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!"

After all of the time that God that showed his power and his love for his people they still arrive at the border to the Promised Land and make the wrong choice. They doubted God's word and trusted the word of the scouts.

They reported that God was telling them the truth when he said that the land was awesome BUT they didn't believe God was telling the truth when he said he would go before them and fight their battles. (Numbers 13:1-33)

Numbers 14:1 Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night.

What an extreme reaction! Where is the faith that God had been cultivating in his people for the past few years? The way God moved to defeat Egypt and bring his people to this moment in time and they still don't trust God's promise to give them the land.

God has a bright and glorious pleasure filled future for me in the Promised Land. I need to:

Invite others to come along to experience God's blessings. (Numbers 10:29-32)
Remember the worlds pleasures cannot compare to the pleasures that God has in store for me.
Keep the faith when life gets hard by keeping my eyes on the goodness of God.

Experience The Direction Of God

2025-02-03T05:30:00.018-05:00

The only navigation equipment Israel needed was the Lord's presence.

Numbers 9:23 So they camped or traveled at the LORD's command, and they did whatever the LORD told them through Moses.

Numbers 10:11-12 In the second year after Israel's departure from Egypt-on the twentieth day of the second month-the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle of the Covenant.

12 So the Israelites set out from the wilderness of Sinai and traveled on from place to place until the cloud stopped in the wilderness of Paran.

13 When the people set out for the first time, following the instructions the LORD had given through Moses,

Numbers 10:33-36 They marched for three days after leaving the mountain of the LORD, with the Ark of the LORD's Covenant moving ahead of them to show them where to stop and rest. 34 As they moved on each day, the cloud of the LORD hovered over them.

35 And whenever the Ark set out, Moses would shout, "Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!" 36 And when the Ark was set down, he would say, "Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel!"

It has been a busy year since God redeemed his people from Egypt and took them to Mount Sinai to meet with them. Sinai would be the place where God would help his new people adjust to their new life. As we will see, getting his people out of Egypt was easier than getting Egypt out of his people.

God's people had a lot to learn about him and about the kind of people that he wanted them to be. God wanted his people to became a nation that looked very different, they would worship different, they would eat different and they would be governed different. The only way they could enjoy this special relationship between a governor and his people is for them to know the rules.

The big bonus that should have motivated them was that knowing and obeying God's rules was the only way that they were going to be able to make it to the Promised Land. They are going to need God's presence to guide and protect on the way and the only way to have that is to live his way.

God's Itinerary

God's people had to do what their forefather Abraham had done hundreds of years before when he left home. Once again God is asking for blind faith as he tells his people to take the next step without the details.

God didn't give Moses a brochure with an itinerary about the trip and he didn't share an online calendar or GPS coordinates to help them know the way. The way to the Promised Land is God's way and the only way to know his way is to have a relationship with him.

God's people obeyed his orders that he gave in the beginning of the book of Numbers, as a result they moved out in the formation that God demanded and they walked for three days following God.

Watching The Cloud

They didn't have any doubt about what the cloud looked like, this is the same cloud that led them away from Egypt, from the very beginning of this trip God's presence was manifest in the cloud to show them the way.

Even in darkness the presence of God could be seen and enjoyed. The light of God in the cloud overcame the darkness, it revealed the next step of the path when they traveled and it gave them protection when they camped.

Watching a cloud and paying attention to the details about where it is going is something that you probably would not do for very long. We don't pay much attention to clouds before we lose our focus and get distracted.

Listen For Trumpets

To ensure that everyone was ready to break camp and move, God's people also had an audible warning, the trumpets got the attention of anyone that didn't know that the cloud moved. I have to wonder about the size of the cloud, maybe the entire nation could not see the cloud so maybe that is the reason that God told them to use the trumpets.

It seems that God loves trumpets, after the nation moved into Canaan the trumpet was used as the signal for special days on God's calendar. Don't forget that God has promised us that another very special day is on the way that will include the blast of a trumpet.

Matthew 24:31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world-from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

The most anticipated trumpet blast is the one that will lead us to the Promised Land that Jesus said that he is preparing. The trumpet sound we are waiting for will not be a signal for war, when this trumpet sounds the Promised Land will be ours, the only war that will be started is the final battle between God and Satan.

VIDEO: Promised Land by TobyMac

Just like God's pilgrim children in the wilderness, we are also pilgrims, just passing through as we wait for God's signal to move to our heavenly home. Until that day we have the Holy Spirit in us as our guide, the Word of God before us to light the way and our Savior above us interceding before God's throne on our behalf.

The entire trinity is at work to keep me safe and guide me as I travel this wilderness waiting for my Promised Land.

Timeline - Israel In The Wilderness

2025-01-22T06:18:00.005-05:00

Israel's journey from their exodus from Egypt to entering the Promised Land.

The timeline of Israel's journey in the wilderness covers a span of 40 years, traditionally dated from approximately 1446–1406 BC is found in the Bible from Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The timeline features the seven major complaints that the people had against God and Moses along with God's response.

This timeline was created using Grok.com

Timeline of Israel in the Wilderness

Year 1 (c. 1446 BC): Exodus from Egypt and Early Wanderings

Month 1–2: Israel departs Egypt after the Passover (Exodus 12). God leads them through the Red Sea, which parts to allow their escape from Pharaoh’s army (Exodus 14).

Complaint 1: Bitter Water at Marah (Exodus 15:22–25)

Location: Marah, shortly after crossing the Red Sea.
God's Response: God instructs Moses to throw a piece of wood into the water, making it sweet. God promises to protect them from diseases if they obey.

Complaint 2: Lack of Food in the Wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16:1–3)

Location: Wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Sinai (15th day, 2nd month after leaving Egypt).
God's Response: God provides manna from heaven and quail in the evening, establishing daily provision and Sabbath rest.

Month 3: Israel arrives at the Desert of Sinai and camps at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1). God gives the Ten Commandments and the Law through Moses (Exodus 20–24).

Months 4–12: Israel constructs the Tabernacle, receives further laws, and organizes as a nation under God’s covenant (Exodus 25–40; Leviticus).

Year 2 (c. 1445 BC): Departure from Sinai and Rebellion

Month 1: The Tabernacle is set up, and priestly duties begin (Exodus 40:17; Leviticus 8–9).

Month 2: First census of Israel’s fighting men (Numbers 1). Israel departs Mount Sinai, led by the cloud of God’s presence (Numbers 10:11–13).

Mid-Year: Israel complains about hardships and food (Numbers 11). God provides quail but sends a plague for their grumbling.

Complaint 3: General Grumbling at Taberah (Numbers 11:1–3)

Location: Taberah, shortly after leaving Sinai.
God's Response: God sends fire to consume some outlying parts of the camp. Moses prays, and the fire stops.

Complaint 4: Craving Meat at Kibroth Hattaavah (Numbers 11:4–35)

Location: Kibroth Hattaavah, near Taberah.
God's Response: God sends quail in abundance, but in anger, strikes the people with a plague for their greed, and many die.

Complaint 5: Miriam and Aaron’s Rebellion (Numbers 12:1–16)

Location: Hazeroth, after Kibroth Hattaavah.
God's Response: God defends Moses, strikes Miriam with leprosy, and she is healed after seven days outside the camp following Moses’ intercession.

Complaint 6: Refusal to Enter Canaan (Numbers 13–14)

Location: Kadesh-Barnea
God's Response: God decrees 40 years of wandering as punishment—one year for each day the spies scouted (Numbers 14:34).

Total Time Summary So Far:

From Egypt to Mount Sinai: 2 months.
Stay at Mount Sinai: 11 months.
Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea: 1–2 months.
Total: Approximately 13–15 months (from spring of Year 1 to summer of Year 2).

Years 3–39 (c. 1444–1407 BC): Wilderness Wanderings

The Bible provides fewer details for this period, as it focuses on Israel’s disobedience and wandering in the Desert of Paran and surrounding regions.

Key Events

Korah’s rebellion against Moses’ leadership; God judges the rebels (Numbers 16).

Complaint 7: Lack of Water at Kadesh (Numbers 20:1–13)

Location: Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.
God's Response: God instructs Moses to speak to a rock to bring water, but Moses strikes it twice in anger. Water flows, but Moses and Aaron are barred from entering Canaan for disobedience.

Aaron dies on Mount Hor (Numbers 20:22–29).

Israel defeats early Canaanite and Amorite kings, including Sihon and Og, east of the Jordan (Numbers 21:21–35).

The generation that rebelled at Kadesh-Barnea gradually dies out, fulfilling God’s judgment (Numbers 14:29–30).

Year 40 (c. 1406 BC): Preparation to Enter Canaan

Month 1: Israel camps on the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho (Numbers 22:1).

Balaam’s Oracles: King Balak of Moab hires Balaam to curse Israel, but God turns the curses into blessings (Numbers 22–24).

Second Census: A new generation is counted, preparing to enter Canaan (Numbers 26).

Moses’ Final Instructions: Moses delivers the book of Deuteronomy, summarizing the Law and renewing the covenant. He appoints Joshua as his successor (Deuteronomy 31).

Moses’ Death: Moses views the Promised Land from Mount Nebo and dies at age 120 (Deuteronomy 34).

Entry into Canaan: Under Joshua’s leadership, Israel crosses the Jordan River into the Promised Land, beginning the conquest (Joshua 3–4).

When Santa Learned The Gospel

2024-12-23T08:07:00.002-05:00

Everyone is on the naughty list until they receive God's perfect gift.

Video: When Santa Learned The Gospel

Follow Santa's journey in this unique Christmas fable as he learns about Jesus' message of grace and discovers what it means for both the naughty and the nice.

This video sits alongside the book, written by Simon Camilleri and published by 10Publishing.

(No compensation for any links.)

From Naughty

Romans 3:10-12 As the Scriptures say, "No one is righteous- not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one."

Ephesians 2:12 NLT In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.

All around the world the message has been told that trying to be good enough is good enough. That's the message that we are told in the story of Santa, it's the best that Santa could hope for, if people were good enough then he would get to keep his job.

According to God's standards, no matter how well you do at being nice and keeping the rules, you are still on the naughty list. God's requirement for us is to be righteous, a word that we over use in our culture, so we fail to realize that the standard of righteousness is defined by God's holiness.

Holiness sounds like a crazy goal for anyone to be required to obtain, even God's people in the church neglect this principle so that we can be more acceptable to the world and not be seen as strange. But when you dig into God's word you will find out that the Bible has over 900 references to the holiness of God and it also tells us that we are required to be holy.

To Nice

2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

1 Peter 1:21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

We need a rescue from our sin nature but we had no way to get away from the consequences that we deserved. Our situation was just like God's chosen people in Egypt, enslaved to the kingdom of darkness, we didn't have any hope of getting out unless God sent a rescuer.

The good news of the gospel is the only way that we can get on God's list that he will check. When he opens the Book of Life my name will be on his list because of his forgiveness that I could have only received from him by accepting Jesus work on the cross.

Why Do I Need A Savior? (thebonhoefferproject.com)

Jesus Didn't Call Us To Be Nice (relevantmagazine.com)

Why Do We Need A Savior? (gotquestions.org)

Perfect Gifts: Mercy

2024-12-21T09:04:00.001-05:00

Our mistakes do not have to haunt us.

John 8:7-11 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

Do you think that your life has been full of mistakes and poor choices and you think that God couldn't want to have a relationship with you? It's pretty easy to see that we all deserve some pretty severe consequences for the things that we have done against God but God does not want our relationship with him to be full of fear and despair.

As good and perfect as God is, we can easily see that we fall way short of his standard but we don't have to live with this hopeless situation hanging over our heads, in an incredible display of mercy, God has given us the opportunity to receive eternal life if we believe on his son.

We are as bad off as the adulteress with a group of Pharisees hanging around with rocks in their hands. Even the most popular person needs to realize that it is short lived, we will never measure up to the world's standards for very long, even the best of us will have someone that is ready to throw rocks at us.

Beyond our inability to measure up to the world's standards is the God's standards. God is the only one that has the right to throw rocks at us and we deserve it just as much as she did but thankfully he has given us a way out of judgement.

God's love is merciful

Titus 3:3-5 Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. 4 But "When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, 5 He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

The only way out of our desperate situation is his perfect mercy that is beyond comprehension. Sin takes us places that we really don't want to go and it cost us more than we think that it will but as Christ followers we have received the wonderful gift of mercy which completely eliminates the judgment that we deserve.

Without Jesus we are foolish and disobedient rebels making choices that are rooted in our rebellious thoughts. But God, the judge of the universe, is so full of kindness and love to us that he gave us mercy!

John 3:16,36 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 36 And anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment."

It's hard to imagine a God of perfect justice would also have perfect love for us to the point that he would give us the opportunity to receive his perfect mercy. The perfect wrath of God is upon us before we accept his son as our substitute, the death and punishment we deserve is no longer in our future!

"Mercy Came Running" by Phillips, Craig and Dean

I was bound by the chains, from the wages of my sin
Just when I felt like giving in, mercy came running
Like a prisoner set free, past all my failures to the point of my need
When the sin that I carried, was all I could see
And when I could not reach mercy, mercy came running to me.

The woman that was surrounded by judges that found her deserving of death but mercy came running to her at her greatest need. What an incredible picture of my life, I was sought out by God to receive the gift of mercy without doing anything to deserve it.

I need to remember to regift this extravagant gift to the people around me. God, help me follow your example and be just as passionate about giving mercy to help those that don't deserve it.

Perfect Gifts: Heaven

2024-12-13T05:30:00.004-05:00

I have a priceless inheritance because of Jesus.

Ephesians 1:5, 11, 14 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.

11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.

14 The Spirit is God's guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.

1 Peter 1:4 and we have a priceless inheritance, an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

God was very pleased to adopt me into his family and he would love for you to be a part of his family as well. Did you know that God loves adoptions? All of his family has been adopted even though none of us deserved the honor, it is just part of his perfect kindness and love for mankind.

I am not talking about an adoption that is tainted with favoritism, to God an adopted child has the same rights as a natural born child, we all have the same rights that his own Son has. Because of Jesus we have an inheritance that is beyond equal anywhere else.

Jesus has been preparing my inheritance for a long time now and he is using building materials that make our construction supplies look like junk. What we have in store when we leave this earth is beyond our imagination.

This world and it's pleasures that we strive to obtain and love to hold onto are going away. As good as we may have it here, all of the goodness of this life is just a peek at the ultimate goodness that we will enjoy in our eternal home.

What's in your future?

Revelation 21:1-4,7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be My children.

We usually keep God and man separate, we think of God living in heaven and our place to live is here on earth, but there is a day coming when we will be together again similar to the relationship that mankind had before sin.

We will all have eternal life BUT to spend eternity in heaven with God you must make the decision to accept Jesus and his perfect gift of salvation now!

Experience The Goodness Of God

2024-12-11T06:06:00.004-05:00

Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 23:6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

Romans 2:4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

Every one of us has experienced God's goodness in their life to some degree and most of us have experienced a very high level of God's goodness in comparison to thousands of other people that have lived. But despite how good he is God's people always need to be reminded of this fact.

We have a difficult time appreciating the goodness of God, it goes all the way back to the garden of Eden, no matter how good we have it we always think there is more that we should have. Living in the garden was the greatest experience of God's goodness that mankind has ever known but that didn't guarantee the best outcome.

If Adam and Eve can feel that there is something that they were missing then we are surely guaranteed to doubt the vast amount of God's goodness as well. In our social media world we have the ability to compare ourselves and the stuff that we have with a multitude of other people. We need a way to stay focused when we have the fear of missing out that causes us to doubt God's goodness.

Taste

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

To focus on God's goodness you need to taste it and taste it again just like you would taste again and again a delicious food. Don't be satisfied with just the aroma, don't walk by the kitchen and catch a whiff, step in and grab a plate and have a taste!

The joy of tasting is a personal experience, somebody else can help you know a little bit about the taste but you must have your own taste. The flavor is something that you can know only through your own experience. A taste this good should motivate you to taste it again and again.

Trust

Nahum 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.

Thankfully the most powerful being is also the most good! Very few people with power are very kind, if you or I were powerful we would probably do like everybody else and use it for our own advantage, but thankfully the most powerful is perfectly good.

If the most powerful was any less good we couldn't trust him enough to draw near, we wouldn't have a strong refuge that we can trust and draw close to.

We need to remember that we cannot measure the goodness of God with problem free living. The person with the most trouble in this life may be living the most in God's will. Just like the religious leaders that Jesus rebuked, we cannot accurately discern why they have the trouble so we should not blame them for their situation. Nobody in the Bible was rewarded with an easy life as a reward for obedience.

Isaiah 48:10 I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.

The goodness of God is always there, even in suffering, our holiness is usually becoming more perfect in difficulty. This is a reality that will change your perspective of "good" and "bad" circemstances.

How can anything be bad if God is using all things for my good? (Romans 8:28, Hebrews 12:10) We all want the easy life but the most important thing to God is for us to be like him.

A more difficult truth to accept is maybe the hard time you are going through has nothing to do with you? Just maybe your country, your church or your family is being disciplined and you are affected by what God is doing in others. How much did good people suffer in the Old Testament because the rest of the group was being punished by God?

A great example of this is Joseph in an Egyptian prison or Daniel and his friends in Babylon. We focus everything on ourselves but God's story is not all about us.

Treasure

Ephesians 1:7-8 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

To remember God's goodness we need to treasure the most important gift ever! God made the most extravagant purchase ever, what an incredibly high price for such lowly, undeserving creatures.

You may be so kind that you would die for your family or a small group of friends but God showed us perfect kindness by taking his perfect wrath upon himself, through his perfect son. God's awesome goodness could stop there and we should be eternally grateful but there is more goodness coming our way eternally if we accept Jesus sacrifice. (Romans 8:32)

1 John 4:9-10 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

The greatest gift, the one that I really needed the most, is the reason we celebrate Christmas but his arrival was just the beginning of the story of God's plan to destroy the work of Satan so that everything bad can be made good. Don't take his kindness for granted.

Perfect Gifts Series (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)