Impatient Because Of The Journey

Numbers 21

Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.

The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.” So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.
Numbers 21:4-9

Once again we find the Israelites complaining, rebelling against Moses and God. Because of their rebellion, the LORD sends venomous snakes as a form of discipline. Yet even in His discipline, we see His grace, as He then provides a means for them to be saved from the penalty of their rebellion. As I read this chapter in Numbers, I was reminded of what the author of Hebrews writes in chapter 12:

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

“For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up. In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:

‘My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly
or lose heart when you are reproved by him,
for the Lord disciplines the one he loves
and punishes every son he receives.’

“Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had human fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

“Therefore, strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed instead.”

Dr. Constable wrote: “God’s discipline moved the Israelites to confess their sin and to request Moses’ intercession…Each individual Israelite need[ed] to take the confession of sin and the need for God’s deliverance to heart.”

A phrase that really struck me was “the people became impatient because of the journey”. It made me think of how often I can become “impatient because of the journey”. It’s easy to focus on my current circumstances rather than resting in the promises of God. (see my last post)

I recently read a quote by William Bradford who wrote Of Plymouth Plantation. In speaking of the troubles and trials that the Puritan Pilgrims knew awaited them in the new land, he wrote, “But these things did not dismay them, though they sometimes troubled them; for their desires were set on the ways of God, to enjoy His ordinances; they rested on His providence and knew Whom they had believed.” The Pilgrims faced unknown troubles upon the sea and in the uncharted wilderness, they endured disease and death, and yet their hope remained fixed upon the providence of God. This is the same call given to us who have put our faith in Christ as we wander this earth as foreigners and temporary residents, to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”

Thank you, LORD for these reminders to fix my eyes on You despite my circumstances. I’m so encouraged by the men and women whose faith allowed them to persevere through trials and difficulties. Their passionate, unwavering love of You challenges me to see my own struggles through the lens of faith, focusing on what is unseen rather than what is seen. AMEN!

Demonstrating His Holiness

Numbers 17-20

The entire Israelite community entered the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and they settled in Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there.

There was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord. Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It’s not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates, and there is no water to drink!”

Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting. They fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord spoke to Moses, “Take the staff and assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.”

So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence just as he had commanded him. Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you?” Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that abundant water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me to demonstrate my holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.” These are the Waters of Meribah,where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord, and he demonstrated his holiness to them.
Numbers 20:1-13

The Israelites have been wandering in the wilderness for nearly 40 years at this point. Most of the previous generation that the LORD had said would not enter the Promised Land had died off. God had provided for them and sustained them for decades, and yet they were still prone to complain when their circumstances weren’t perfectly ideal. You would think by now they would have such a strong faith that was rooted in God’s constant faithfulness, but I think that their story is more relatable than I like to admit. We are emotional creatures, and so often our emotions are rooted in our circumstances rather than in what we know to be true. It’s easy to say that we trust God on the mountaintops where everything is going well, but when crisis hits and we are we are brought down low into the valley, we have a tendency to lose faith and question, “Where are You God?”

The LORD could have made the wilderness journey easy. He could have provided a gushing oasis, fruitful vines, and flocks of birds for the people to feast upon. He could have had them lie down in a carpet of cool grass with a pleasant breeze always at their back. Yet throughout the narrative of the Israelites journey, we see that there were times when the food was scarce, the water ran out, and the people were sick and tired of the same old manna every day. While on the surface, it could seem that God just didn’t care enough to make sure that they were constantly provided for and kept comfortable. Isn’t that what a good, caring Father would do? Yet the cycle we see in these instances points us to the greater purpose of God. Every time the people would cry out and complain about their circumstances, Moses and Aaron would fall down before the LORD. The glory of the LORD would then appear to them and give them instructions on how to provide for the people’s needs. God desires our dependence on Him, because dependence increases our faith. It’s why Jesus says that we must have faith like a child – a child knows they are incapable, but they trust that their mother or father will take care of them and provide for their needs, even if they don’t fully understand how.

Without these seasons of need, we would be prone to begin trusting in ourselves, or perhaps our “good fortune” that things just seem to always work out for us. It’s in our valleys that we have the opportunity to draw closer to our Heavenly Father, to trust that He is there with us, and that He will provide and demonstrate His holiness to us in far more intimate ways than He does on the mountaintops.

It can be hard to be thankful and trust when our circumstances are difficult. I think I am more like the Israelites than I like to admit in these moments, allowing my emotions and feelings to cause me to grumble and complain and lash out at people rather than turning to the Father. I love this quote from the wise Elizabeth Elliot, “The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.”

LORD, help me to not allow my circumstances to dictate my heart, but rather let my heart cry out to You to be the One Who sustains me in every circumstance, good or bad – because ultimately, You are working everything together for my good – and that includes my sanctification! AMEN!

Tents Of The Wicked

Numbers 16

Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took two hundred fifty prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses. They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to him, who is set apart, and the one he will let come near him. He will let the one he chooses come near him. Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans, and tomorrow place fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord. Then the man the Lord chooses will be the one who is set apart. It is you Levites who have gone too far!”

Moses also told Korah, “Now listen, Levites! Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelite community to bring you near to himself, to perform the work at the Lord’s tabernacle, and to stand before the community to minister to them? He has brought you near, and all your fellow Levites who are with you, but you are pursuing the priesthood as well. Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the Lord! As for Aaron, who is he that you should complain about him?”
…
The Lord replied to Moses, “Tell the community: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. He warned the community, “Get away now from the tents of these wicked men. Don’t touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, children, and infants.

Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord sent me to do all these things and that it was not of my own will: If these men die naturally as all people would, and suffer the fate of all, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the Lord.”

Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people, and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.
Numbers 16:1-11 & 23-33

God’s judgment and wrath can seem extreme to us in our finite, limited understanding. Surely there could have been a gentler, more tolerant way of dealing with the rebellion of Korah’s clan. But Moses makes it clear that their rebellion was not just against him and Aaron, but against the LORD Himself. They rejected the authority that He had placed over the people, the roles of the Levites and priesthood, and thus expressed that they had rejected and despised God.

It is a true sign of God’s limitless patience and grace that He does not consume us in our sin and rebellion! Jesus Himself stands in the gap, making intercession between us and God, clothing us in His righteousness. We cannot ever be saved aside from the grace of God, but we as His people have a responsibility to guard our hearts from being impacted and influenced by the wickedness that is in this world.

This passage in Numbers reminded me of Psalm 1:

“How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

“The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

“For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.“

Moses told the people to remove themselves from the tents of the wicked, for he knew that destruction was about to come upon them. These wicked men would soon not even stand in the assembly when God’s judgment was poured out, but God watched over the way of Moses and Aaron.

Our world today continues to call evil good and good evil. We are bombarded with lies, deception, and wickedness celebrated everywhere we look. As God’s people, we must be intentionally purposeful in whom we are allowing to inform and guide our hearts and the hearts of our children. Are we walking in the advice of the wicked or seeking biblical counsel from those who are following after Christ? Are we putting ourselves in situations where we are standing beside and perhaps giving silent consent toward the lifestyles of sinners, or are we refusing to compromise our convictions so that we ourselves are not tempted? Are we sitting among mockers and those who despise God, or are we boldly standing up for and speaking the truth?

Now that doesn’t mean we don’t pursue relationships with the lost. Jesus Himself sat and ate with sinners. But He didn’t adopt their lifestyle, He didn’t condone their sin, and He always spoke the truth.

As a parent in today’s society, Psalm 1 and Numbers 16 feel even heavier as we try to protect our children from the wicked influences that are constantly trying to take a hold of them. Voddie Baucham said, “If Psalm 1 is to be believed, we must not allow our children to stand, sit or walk with those who deny biblical truth. Instead we must place them in situations that will aide them in meditating on the Law of the LORD day and night.”

LORD, thank You for Your limitless grace and patience toward us who are rebellious in our hearts toward You! Give me wisdom and discernment in this evil world to guard my heart and the hearts of my children from being swept away because of the sins of the wicked. AMEN!

Compromising and Deviating

Galatians 2

Now from those recognized as important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism)—they added nothing to me. On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised, since the one at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles. When James, Cephas, and John—those recognized as pillars—acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do.

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party. Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?

We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild those things that I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
Galatians 2:6-21

I love this chapter that teaches us that our justification is through Christ alone. Rereading what I wrote the last time I was in Galatians reminded me that it is not legalistic observance of the law that makes us righteous, but God through Christ.

This time, I looked up Dr. Constable’s notes to get a little bit more context for Paul’s admonishment of Peter:

Peter at first “used to eat” meals with the Christians at Antioch, who were both Jews and “Gentiles,” until some Jewish visitors came from Jerusalem (cf. Acts 10:28; 11:3). They may have been from the group that believed Gentiles needed to undergo circumcision before they could become Christians. If so, they were not “from James” in the sense that James endorsed their views; he did not (v. 9). Perhaps they were simply Jews who came from the same church as James.

When these “certain men”—Paul did not call them brethren—came, they intimidated Peter (cf. Prov. 29:25) who gradually separated himself from the Gentile Christians, evidently to avoid conflict. Some other Jewish believers living in Antioch followed Peter’s example, as did “even Barnabas.” They were being hypocritical, saying one thing and doing another.

Peter had a tendency to compromise his convictions when he was under pressure…Paul concluded by affirming that he did “not set aside (nullify) the grace of God,” as Peter had done by his behavior. He did this by putting himself back under the Law, saying in effect that obedience must accompany grace to make it sufficient. If that were true, Paul ended, “then Christ died needlessly.” It would then be obedience that saves, not Christ.

Peter’s compromise not only lead to his own hypocrisy, but caused others to stumble as well. But ultimately his actions were a deviation from the true Gospel – the one that says we are justified not by our works but by the grace of God.

I think today the church continues to be under pressure to compromise our convictions to gain the acceptance of the world. In order to make the Gospel more palatable, we tone it down, we try to appeal to people’s feelings instead of pointing them to truth. I’ve read that the Gospel, though it truly is the GOOD NEWS, is the most offensive message because it challenges our innate pride and self-righteousness. It forces us to come to grips with the fact that we are sinners, that we cannot save ourselves, and that we in turn need a Savior. When we dilute that message, whether it be for approval or fear of offending people we are compromising the Truth.

In these times of feelings over fact, of seeking personal affirmation and approval, of preaching tolerance instead of repentance, may we who have been justified by Christ alone, who have been crucified with Christ, live by faith in His death and resurrection, and may it make us strong in our convictions so that we will never compromise on the Gospel – whether it be through legalism or through acceptance and affirmation of the things Christ died for. AMEN!

Tassels For Remembrance

Numbers 15

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels for the corners of their garments, and put a blue cord on the tassel at each corner. These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the Lord’s commands and obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes. This way you will remember and obey all my commands and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.”
Numbers 15:37-41

There are so many traditions of the Jewish people that I love and admire. Things that they still do today, things that God commanded them to do while they wandered through the desert looking toward the Promised Land. These traditions are steeped in the importance of remembrance. This is a concept that I feel is lost in modern society. More often than not I feel like the past is only looked back upon to be condemned, rather than learned from, and we charge forward with idealistic hopes of a better future while refusing to take with us the lessons of our history.

So I love Jewish traditions like tefilim, mezzuzahs, feasts, and tzittzit (tassels). They are visible focal points that call us to remember God – His promises, His commands, and His faithfulness. It’s almost like God knows it is in our human nature to forget, so He designs ways to help us.

As with so many things, these tassels pointed to something greater. There would be a day when God’s people would not have to rely on visible reminders to obey God’s Word, because His Word would be written on their heart. Jeremiah writes,

“Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”—the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.”

I love this promise! Jesus affirms this to His disciples as He is preparing to go to the cross in John 14, “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”

How fortunate are we to have the Holy Spirit as our Guide, our Helper, and the One Who reminds us of and points us to truth!

And finally, I always love looking into Hebrew words for deeper meaning. The word for tassel in Hebrew is tzitzit (צִיצִ֛ת). When I look at these letters I see two tzadis (צִ) separated by a yod (י) and a tav (ת) at the end. The tzadi is representative of a righteous person, while the yod is representative of a hand, specifically the hand or work of the Holy Spirit. The tav is representative of a cross or covenant. In this word I see the reminder that though we are called to live righteously (obedience and observance of God’s word which leads to righteousness Romans 6:16), ultimately, we are made righteous, through the power of the Holy Spirit in us because of the ultimate covenant Christ fulfilled on our behalf on the cross. Paul writes in Romans 5, “So, since we have come to be considered righteous by God because of our trust, let us continue to have shalom with God through our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. Also through him and on the ground of our trust, we have gained access to this grace in which we stand; so let us boast about the hope of experiencing God’s glory.” In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul writes, “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

We don’t need visible reminders to walk faithfully with the LORD, remembering His instruction and His promises (though I’m sure they wouldn’t hurt!). Instead, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to remind us of God’s truth and to teach us to walk in His ways! How amazing is that!?! AMEN!

Set Apart and Called By Grace

Galatians 1

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ.

For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.

Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.

Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. They simply kept hearing, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.
Galatians 1:11-24

I’m going to be reading a chapter of Galatians each week as part of an attempt to help our foundation group women grow in their desire and accountability to be in the word more consistently. I love Paul’s introduction to the Galatians, it’s a perfect example of a quick, thorough testimony – “I was this way, God intervened, now I’m this way.”

Paul spent likely the first 30 years of his life, devotedly and zealously observing the Jewish traditions. Once Jesus came of the scene and “the Way” as it was called, began to grow in number and influence, Paul began to persecute Christ’s followers, believing them to be a threat to the very religion and traditions that he had spent his whole life adhering to. As I was reading this, I thought about how the character of Simon the Zealot is portrayed in The Chosen. The zealots believed it was their God-given duty to defeat the Roman Empire and to end the oppression of the Jewish people. All that they needed to be fully successful in their mission was for the Messiah to come to conquer the enemy under His feet. But when Simon encounters Jesus, he doesn’t meet the warrior king that he had expected; instead, he meets the humble, compassionate Rabbi who has come to preach the Kingdom of God.

My perception before God was pleased to reveal His Son to me was that there were basically good people and bad people. Sure the bad people could be saved if they repented and trusted in Jesus for salvation, but the basically good people (of which I of course included myself) were already pretty much counted among the flock. We could get in based on our own good merit, while others needed the salvation and forgiveness that Christ offered. Clearly my perception was waaaay off from the truth of the Gospel, and this lead me to be prideful, self-righteous, and completely unaffected by the sinfulness that was rampant in my heart and mind.

But when God…

I always love seeing that phrase. God interjects Himself into our mess and calls us to Himself. He knew from the moment we were conceived that He would be pleased to reveal Himself to us, to set us apart and call us by His grace. Paul writes in Romans 8, “For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.” David writes in Psalm 139,

“For it was you who created my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will praise you
because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.
Your works are wondrous,
and I know this very well.
My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.”

There’s such a peace in knowing that my Creator has set me apart and called me by His grace! What a gift and undeserved blessing that He would be pleased to reveal Himself to me!

And I love the next part of Paul’s story…that now that Christ has been revealed to him, he can preach the Gosple among the Gentiles. God doesn’t just save us for ourselves, He saves us so that we might be used by Him in furthering His Kingdom. In Ephesians 2, Paul writes, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” God chose us, called us by His grace, set us apart, and has prepared good works for us to do. Those who knew of Paul’s former way of life – when he was persecuting and trying to destroy the faith he now preached – gave glory to God – not because of Paul, but because of Christ’s work in Paul. That is what we get to be a part of now, bringing God glory because of our set apart, grace-filled lives! AMEN!

Faith Over Feelings

Numbers 10-14

Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”

While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.

The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people despise me? How long will they not trust in me despite all the signs I have performed among them? I will strike them with a plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and mightier nation than they are.”

But Moses replied to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your strength you brought up this people from them. They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among these people, how you, Lord, are seen face to face, how your cloud stands over them, and how you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. If you kill this people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will declare, ‘Since the Lord wasn’t able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them, he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

“So now, may my Lord’s power be magnified just as you have spoken: The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in faithful love, forgiving iniquity and rebellion. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generation. Please pardon the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of your faithful love, just as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”

The Lord responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested. Yet as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, none of the men who have seen my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested me these ten times and did not obey me, will ever see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have despised me will see it. But since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it. Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: “How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about me? I have heard the Israelites’ complaints that they make against me. Tell them: As I live—this is the Lord’s declaration—I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. Your corpses will fall in this wilderness—all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you twenty years old or more—because you have complained about me. I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it. But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness.Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness. You will bear the consequences of your iniquities forty years based on the number of the forty days that you scouted the land, a year for each day. You will know my displeasure. I, the Lord, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against me. They will come to an end in the wilderness, and there they will die.”
Numbers 14:1-35

All but two of the Israelite scouts relied solely on their feelings about the Land that they had been sent to survey. Yes it was good and fruitful, just as the LORD had promised, but it was also full of people that appeared to be stronger and mightier than them. How quickly they had forgotten that the same God Who had promised this good land, was the same God Who had defeated on of the most mighty nations in the known world, was the same God Who had brought them through the Red Sea by parting the waters, was the same God Who provided food and water in the wilderness, was the same God Who appeared to them in terrifying fire on the mountain and called them to be His own special possession.

It’s so easy to allow our feelings to rule over us, despite the past faithfulness of God. One of our pastors often says, “Feelings are real, but they aren’t reliable.” It’s much more natural for us to allow our feelings to become our guides, even mini gods. We begin to trust, rely and obey them in ways that we shouldn’t. Often, our feelings lead us into sin and false beliefs about God. Eve trusted her feelings when she took a bite of the forbidden fruit, instead of trusting that the God Who loved her and created her had a good and righteous purpose in instructing her and Adam not to eat from that tree. Despite all the love and provision and protection – all the faithfulness God had already demonstrated, she chose to trust her feelings instead of her Father.

Feelings can not only be destructive to ourselves, but they can negatively impact others. The 10 rebellious spies were so set in their feelings of fear that they quickly infected the rest of the camp with their false reports about the land. They were so intent on gaining support for their misplaced feelings that they were willing to lie in order to get others to join their stance. The rest of the camp was flooded with emotion, weeping all night, and longing to be slaves in Egypt. When Caleb and Joshua contradict the false reports of the other spies, the people are so angry that they would counter what they have deemed “true” that they begin to plot to stone them to death. Then God intervenes, He promises that the faithless Israelites who complained about Him will surely not see the Land He had promised, but that their children would be the ones to enjoy it.

When allow our feelings to form our perception of truth, we are prone to act out emotionally when we are confronted with facts, evidence, or contrary opinions that go against what we have accepted to be true. This is so clearly evident in our society today. People lash out angrily toward people who have come to different conclusions on a topic, and it doesn’t matter how much their stance might be disproven, if they have attached too much feeling to their belief, they are likely going to respond with negative emotions. We can’t allow feelings to inform our truth – truth must always inform our feelings. When it doesn’t, we will open ourselves up to the deceptive lies from the enemy meant to cause us to question the nature and character and truth of God.

LORD, help me to not be formed by feelings but to hold fast to what is true. May Your truth sanctify me and deepen my faith. Help me to remember Your past faithfulness and Your future promises so that I can walk faithfully with You in every circumstance. AMEN!

At The LORD’s Command

Numbers 5-9

On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. It remained that way continuously: the cloud would cover it, appearing like fire at night. Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped. At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at the Lord’s command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped.

Even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites carried out the Lord’s requirement and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for only a few days. They would camp at the Lord’s command and set out at the Lord’s command. Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning; when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out. Or if it remained a day and a night, they moved out when the cloud lifted. Whether it was two days, a month, or longer, the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle. But when it was lifted, they set out. They camped at the Lord’s command, and they set out at the Lord’s command. They carried out the Lord’s requirement according to his command through Moses.
Numbers 9:15-23

This morning got off on the wrong foot. Early risings, fussy loud demands, and toys getting dumped in the toilet…all before 7:30am and my first cup of coffee. I admit that I struggle to respond with love and kindness when my comfort and control are threatened. I bristle against change, and I really don’t like it when my normal and/or expected routine is challenged. I did not handle it well, yelling in response to my children’s perceived neediness and loud demands.

Shortly after I read this from the Risen Motherhood account on Instagram: “So, what are we to do when anger begins welling up? How can we combat these feelings the moment they occur? We can start with a deep breath and a not-so-simple, simple question: Do I have a good reason to be angry?”

The truth is, no, I did not have a good reason to be angry. Many of the actions of my two children were just kids being kids, but I am the mature one…Right?

I wish I could say that I didn’t struggle with anger. My mom had the tendency to yell, to step on a soapbox and berate us with scoldings til she was blue in the face. I swore I would never be like that, but here I am 37 years old and my number one struggle in motherhood is anger. But anger is really the surface idol that is rooted in my desire for comfort and control. I will never fully battle my anger until I completely surrender the heart idols from which it grows out of to the LORD.

Motherhood has become the most sanctifying experience of my life and I feel like my ugly sin is constantly on display – under a microscope no less! Yet, I have to remind myself that this is a season God has brought me to, and, therefore, He will bring me through it, sanctifying my heart in the process; provided I allow the Holy Spirit to do His work. I can often find myself annoyed by a season or stage, hoping that the next season will be easier or more fulfilling. But more often than not I realize that the next chapter often comes with its own struggles and frustrations.

This makes me think about the Israelites in the desert wilderness, and how they were at the whims of this pillar of fire and cloud that encamped over the Tabernacle. They would set out and set up at the command of the LORD. I’m not much for camping, but I can imagine how much work goes into setting up and breaking down the camp. I could see myself being annoyed if we set up our family’s tent, only to have to pack it all up the very next day; and yet, I also don’t know how patient I would be if we were stuck in the same place for months at a time.

I loved the commentary in Spurgeon’s notes: “We cannot tell what changes may come to any one of us, and, therefore, we reckon on nothing that God has not plainly promised. Be certain of nothing but uncertainty, and always expect the unexpected. We cannot tell between here and heaven where our Guide may take us – happy will we be if we can truly say that we desire always to follow where the Lord leads.“

The truth is life, and motherhood in particular, is full of setting up and settling in, and sometimes those seasons are more difficult, unglamorous, exhausting, or frustrating than others. Because I was really feeling that this morning, I reread this portion from the book Risen Motherhood,

“God allows us to experience the pain, difficulty, and discomfort of transitional seasons so our faith is tested and purified because this results in eternal glory and praise for Christ.The transition you just want to end isn’t a throwaway season – it’s a time full of God’s purposes, when hindsight will tell a story of sin and need driving us to the Father and making us love more like the Son…

We endure whatever God has for us until the very end, believing God’s promises even when we can’t see the outcome. God doesn’t promise our current hard season or transition will end the way we want it to, but He does promise He’ll be with us all the way through…

Just as He provided an oasis for the tired, thirsty Israelites on their journey in the desert, He can provide refreshment in our transitional times when we cry out to Him in faith…

I needed to see the value in the season of transition, when God was shoveling, tilling, raking – messing up the hard soil of my heart. He was ready to plant new seeds of faith that could later produce a great harvest for the Kingdom. He was not content to let the field of my life remain dormant.”

God is constantly at work, moving us, shaping us, making us uncomfortable, so that we can become more like His Son.

As if God hadn’t reaffirmed this heart check enough today, another person I follow on Instagram posted this later in the morning:

My attitude adjusted rather quickly as I came to terms with the fact that this is exactly what I needed to happen in this exact moment to become more Christlike and I need to become more Christlike by the power of the Holy Spirit. Who am I to whine when the Potter fashions me a certain way? I cannot grumble when the Lord of all shapes this lump of clay in the way He sees fit. It is only because of His grace and mercy that I’m not a vessel of wrath. As a vessel of mercy I will choose to praise Him in all. She went on to say, “Whatever happens in your day is exactly what needs to happen to make you more like Christ. God is more concerned with you being Christlike in spirit than being comfortable in your flesh, yet He is also good in that He is our comfort as we are being conformed to the image of Christ.“AMEN, sister!

LORD, help me to respond with grace toward the mundane, frustrating, overwhelming moments in my day that You are using to sanctify me in a manner that grows me to be more like Christ. Where You move me, I want to follow! AMEN!

God-Ordained Tasks

Numbers 1-4

But the Levites were not registered with them by their ancestral tribe. For the Lord had told Moses, “Do not register or take a census of the tribe of Levi with the other Israelites. Appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They are to transport the tabernacle and all its articles, take care of it, and camp around it. Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to stop at a campsite, the Levites are to set it up. Any unauthorized person who comes near it is to be put to death.

“The Israelites are to camp by their military divisions, each man with his encampment and under his banner. The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the Israelite community.” The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Numbers 1:47-54

The Lord spoke to Moses: “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. ⁷ They are to perform duties for him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites. You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”

The Lord spoke to Moses: “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to me, because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the Lord.”
Numbers 3:5-13

“The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects. Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the testimony with it. They are to place over this a covering made of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles.
…
“Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.

“Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.”

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects as they are covered or they will die.”
…
This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: They are to transport the tabernacle curtains, the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of fine leather on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.

“All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
…
This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, pillars, and bases, the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
…
Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families, from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it. Their registered men numbered 8,580. At the Lord’s command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the Lord commanded Moses.
Numbers 4:4-6, 15-20, 24-28, 31-33, & 46-49

Each clan of the Levites were given a specific, God-ordained task when it came to the care and transport of the Tabernacle. Some of these tasks were more significant and weighty than others, like the transportation of the most holy items, and some seemed more menial and less important, like collecting the tent pegs and posts; yet each was a necessary assignment in order for the Tabernacle to be properly assembled, disassembled, and transported throughout the Israelites travels in the wilderness.

I’ve been studying spiritual gifts a bit over the past couple of weeks and it’s a good reminder that God has given each of us gifts and tasks to accomplish in His Name for His Kingdom. Paul writes in Ephesians 2, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” We are all called to work together and use our gifts as the Body of Christ, for the benefit of the Body, but also for the building up of God’s Kingdom. We have been purposefully stewarded unique gifts so that we can be usable vessels for the LORD to work through.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3, “So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.” I don’t think that Paul is saying that some God-given work is less significant than others, but that how we have stewarded our talents, time and treasures will be revealed when we stand before the LORD. You can clean toilets every day or travel to unknown parts of the world to preach the Gospel…but as long as you used what God equipped you with to serve His Kingdom, that is the work that will last.

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “There was a wise division of labor. I wish every member of the church occupied himself in that to which God has appointed him. But some want to do what they cannot do and others do not care to do what they can do. God is not the God of uniformity. There is a wondrous unity of plan and design in all that He does, but there is also an equally marvelous variety.”

Charles Surgeon also said, “What little we do we ought to aspire to do for eternity.” Perhaps if we are feeling burnt out, without purpose, struggling to find meaning in our task, we out to shift our mindset. I love what Paul says in Colossians 3, “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.”

The only work that matters in this life and that will last into the next is what we do for Christ and His Kingdom. Let us be sure that our efforts are not so heavily tilted toward the temporal that we neglect those things that are above. AMEN!