Numbers 11-13, Sovereign Orchestration

“Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you wept in the Lord’s hearing, ‘Who will feed us meat? We were better off in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. 

But Moses replied, “I’m in the middle of a people with six hundred thousand foot soldiers, yet you say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ 

The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm weak? , Now you will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭11‬:‭18‬, ‭21‬, ‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

Everyone was complaining against God…asking for more than they were given and God responds by providing superabundantly in an impossible way.  This was also a tragic moment, because the complainers died after seeing Gods provision and even Moses didn’t believe God could follow through on His promise.

When do I view God as incapable or unable?  What an insult, a slap in the face to the One who created the universe, planned salvation and has always provided abundantly for my every need!  Lord, strengthen my faith to never doubt Your ability to accomplish Your will.  Your arm is not weak, but powerful. Your Sovereignty is over every detail and You personally weave every scenario to perfectly accomplish what is best for us all.  Help me to never doubt your power or love for me!!!

Leviticus 5-7, Following God

 “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.”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭9‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I wish following God in my life was as obvious as this.  What a blessing to physically see what God was asking them to do.  At any moment they could look and see where God was leading them.  Although, they still had to wait for instruction moment by moment.  They didn’t have a predefined plan for what the future held…still walking by faith!

Numbers 7, Knowing God

 “When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him  from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim.  He spoke to him that way.”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭7‬:‭89‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Contexr

Although these offerings are extravagant, I think the most impressive is that God shows up to talk to Moses.

Lord, help me to be in awe that I can know You…that I can read Your Word and that You want to hear my prayers!  Help me to know You more intimately!!!

Numbers 5-6, Salvation Trumps

 “He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, while the mark of consecration to his God is on his head. He is holy to the Lord during the time of consecration.”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

Interesting how making a vow to the Lord trumps all other relationships.  It seems like the Lord is pointing out that a decision to follow Him should become the lens for viewing all other decisions.  Just like our salvation should shape every following choice, path or venture.

Lord, help me to thoughtfully consider every idea, word or action that I make in light of knowing You!

Numbers 3-4, Share the Load

“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 ‭4‬:‭49‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

The division of duties was clearly laid out and there was plenty of people whit whom to share the load.  So many times when something new is started, there are just a handful of people to do all the work.  God is making sure that the necessary work will not overburden but can be shared effectively.

Lord, help me not to attempt to take on too much, but help me to be intentional about sharing the load and working with others to train and encourage their participation.

Numbers 1-2, Order Ordered

 “The Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; they camped by their banners in this way and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral family. ,”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭2‬:‭34‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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God must appreciate order.

Leviticus 26-27, Obedience = Flourishing

 “For the land abandoned by them will make up for its Sabbaths by lying desolate without the people, while they make amends for their iniquity, because they rejected my ordinances and abhorred my statutes. Yet in spite of this, while they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or abhor them so as to destroy them and break my covenant with them, since I am the Lord their God.  For their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God; I am the Lord.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭26‬:‭43‬-‭45‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

God cares so much about us living according to His plan, that He tells them that they will suffer if they don’t obey…but He will not completely destroy them.  He will remember the promises and restore them after they have endured suffering.  Remember this suffering is only intended to bring them back to their senses and finally obey Him.

Seems like the best way is just to obey from the start so that we don’t have to also endure more suffering…why is that so challenging for some of us?

Lord, build my faith so that I can trust You...  So that I can fully believe that in EVERY situation Your ways are best and literally bring flourishing to me.

Leviticus 24-25, Promised Provision

 ““You are to keep my statutes and ordinances and carefully observe them, so that you may live securely in the land.  Then the land will yield its fruit, so that you can eat, be satisfied, and live securely in the land. If you wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we don’t sow or gather our produce? ’ I will appoint my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭25‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

Gods promise of provision is amazing here.  It is dependent on following Gods instruction, but results in supernatural harvest that will carry them through obedience to sabbath the land.

When we worry about living the way God commands we are demonstrating our trust in our own abilities rather than trusting what He says.  Whatever He calls us to, He will provide sufficiently.

Lord, help me to follow You without fear, knowing that You will provide for all of my needs!

Leviticus 22-23, Restful Provision

 ““These are the Lord’s appointed times that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting food offerings to the Lord, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day. These are in addition to the offerings for the Lord’s Sabbaths, your gifts, all your vow offerings, and all your freewill offerings that you give to the Lord.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭23‬:‭37‬-‭38‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

I love how God wants His people to stop the daily grind and celebrate what He has done.  It is definitely once a week, plus several week long celebrations to focus on Gods provision, community and food.  When He talks about these times of celebration, I would think that the warnings have to be about not taking it to an extreme…but they are reminders not to do our normal daily tasks.  We must exhibit self control to not work!

This seems crazy, but it is exactly the thing I am tempted to do…keep working, get ahead a bit so that the next few weeks can be a little easier… but I think God is asking that we trust Him for providing enough time to do everything that needs to be done.

Lord, help me to rest in Your provision!  Thank You for giving me opportunity to rest,..help me to sacrifice those days to You!

Leviticus 19-21, Foreigner Policy

 ““When an alien resides with you in your land, you must not oppress  him. You will regard the alien who resides with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself,  for you were aliens in the land of Egypt;  I am the Lord your God.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19‬:‭33‬-‭34‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

Interesting how the Lord instructs his people how to deal with immigrants and people who are not originally born as Israelites.  If this was Gods intention thousands of years ago, why do we not all agree that we should still treat immigrants in the same way?

Lord, help my friendliness toward immigrants and foreigners be shaped by Your perspective, rather than that of my culture.  I pray that my heart and attitude would help others to think critically about what You would call them to do.

Leviticus 16-18, Critical Confession

 “Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess  over it all the Israelites’ iniquities  and rebellious acts #— #all their sins.  He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness  by the man appointed for the task. ”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭16‬:‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

The value of confessing sin is undervalued in our culture.  But I believe there is a reason the priest has to confess all of Israel’s sin out loud before setting the scapegoat free.  The act of confession roots those sins in reality.  They are no longer nebulous ideas that we feel bad about, but they are real, disgusting acts, thoughts or words that hold weight…completely different that when it is an internal struggle.  Internally it is uncomfortable, and we feel some guilt, but only when it is spoken does it carry the full meaning and weight that it truly is.  Confession to a brother is critical to freedom from our sin.

James 5:17 says, “therefore confess your sin to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed.”

The Christian life is a team sport, and if we want to walk in victory, we will link arms with other men of God and confess our sin and regularly pray for each other!

Leviticus 14-15, Holiness Permeates

 “He must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons on the eighth day, come before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and give them to the priest. The priest is to sacrifice them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.  In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord because of his discharge.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭15‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

Gods concern about holiness goes beyond sin and covers even natural conditions of humanity…even things we have zero control over.  He is serious about how we approach each other, our belongings and His house of worship.

Lord, give me eyes to see where in my own life, Your demands for holiness still need to penetrate!

Leviticus 11-13, Set Apart

 “For I am the Lord your God, so you must consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy. Do not defile yourselves by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy. ”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭11‬:‭44‬-‭45‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

God gives all these laws to help us to be more like Him.  Set apart from anything bad, any sin, anything that will contaminate.  He desires that we be transformed into Holy people who can live lives that demonstrate that we are different than the rest of humanity.  Living set apart is a tough thing to do, because culturally we are taught to fit into most situations.

Lord, help me to live like You are calling me…set apart for righteousness.

Leviticus 8-10, Beyond Obedience

 “Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do. Then fire came from the Lord   and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. ”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

I have am sure there are people who have a clear understanding of why these men’s creativity got them toasted, I don’t fully understand it, but they were going beyond what God instructed.  And that is dangerous…honestly it was likely exposing their pride.  They appear to be showing off or highlighting themselves rather than the Glory of God.

Lord, help me to follow Your instructions rather than take it to the next level.  Keep my pride from bringing glory to myself.

Leviticus 5-7, Catching Holiness

 “Any male among Aaron’s descendants  may eat it. It is a permanent portion , throughout your generations from the food offerings to the Lord. Anything that touches the offerings will become holy.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

It’s very interesting that most of the laws about touching things will bring the touches down to the level of the “unclean” thing…this seems logical.  Contamination of germs and illnesses work like this. But the sacrifices are the opposite, anything that touches them, becomes holy like they are!  This is a pointer to Jesus who had the same impact on people who were sick, they could touch Him and be healed…He would ultimately become the sacrifice for my  sin.

Leviticus 1-4, Sinful Ignorance

 ““Now if any of the common people  sins unintentionally by violating one of the Lord’s commands, does what is prohibited, and incurs guilt, or if someone informs him about the sin he has committed, then he is to bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for the sin that he has committed. He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭4‬:‭27‬-‭29‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

Interesting that there is a whole chapter dedicated to sacrificing for people who unintentionally sin, but someone tells them about it.  Obviously when it domes to sin, ignorance is not absolution…you are still guilty of sin if it had been committed!  This is an example where Gods standards are so much higher than ours.

I am so thankful that God points this out, because I think it is easy to slip into shrinking God down to our size, or making Him like us, only a little better…but there really is no comparison!  He is incomparable to us, just so much higher and more holy.

Lord, thank You for caring enough about me to make a way for relationship with You.  And thank You that because of Jesus, the process is so much simpler.  Lord, help me to trust You at every moment of life!

Exodus 39-40, Organized & Orderly

 “So all the work for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was finished. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.  Moses inspected all the work they had accomplished. They had done just as the Lord commanded. Then Moses blessed them. ”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭39‬:‭32‬, ‭43‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

The order and organization to accomplish all these things just the right way is pretty impressive.  God was clearly energizing this work and the people were blessed to have done it well!

Lord, help me to be as motivated and organized as the Israelites when You call me to a task!

Exodus 36-38, Superabundance

 “Then all the artisans who were doing all the work for the sanctuary came one by one from the work they were doing and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than is needed  for the construction of the work the Lord commanded to be done.””

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭36‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

I love how we see God supplying superabundantly for the work He has commanded.  It is not just scraping by, but Moses has to tell the people to stop giving because they have too much!  

Exodus 33-35, Supernatural Equipping

 “Moses  then said to the Israelites, “Look, the Lord has appointed by name Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. He has filled him with God’s Spirit, with wisdom, understanding, and ability in every kind of craft”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭35‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

God giving His people all the skill required to accomplish His plan is such a blessing.  This is one place where special gifts are given to unique individuals, but I know that if He asks me to do something He will equip me to accomplish that work…He doesn’t throw us into an impossible task and let us flounder.  This is something I need to remember more constantly.

Exodus 30-32, Ransom for Many

 “The wealthy may not give more and the poor may not give less than half a shekel when giving the contribution to the Lord to atone for your lives.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭30‬:‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

This atonement ransom interestingly points to the gospel.  The amount of the ransom is not correlated to how much they can afford, or their position or even reputation…they all needed the same ransom, just like we all need the same payment for our sins.  Jesus is the only possible payment for the ransom we owe and God was pointing that out here, thousands of years before He even sent Jesus.

Exodus 28-29, Set Apart

 “I will dwell  among the Israelites and be their God.  And they will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭29‬:‭45‬-‭46‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

God is once again very particular about how they accomplish all these things…but then He tells us why at the very end of these last 5 chapters:

“And they will know that I am the Lord their God.”

It is an identity statement, a reminder that they/we are not like every other people, but rather they/we are Gods people.  We are consecrated, set apart, different, a holy priesthood… if that is how I viewed myself at all times, I suspect I would have less displeasing sin in my life.

Lord, help me to embrace the calling that I am not just another person, but rather the identity You give me in Christ!

Exodus 25-27, Details Matter

 “You are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil from crushed olives for the light, in order to keep the lamp burning regularly. In the tent of meeting outside the curtain that is in front of the testimony,  Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamp  from evening until morning before the Lord. This is to be a permanent statute  for the Israelites throughout their generations.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭27‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

It’s crazy how detailed God is about how to build this tabernacle.  I think this points to His care about how we do everything.  He wouldn’t be particular if it didn’t matter.

Lord, help me to care about the details as much as You do!

Exodus 22-24, Precious Weak

“You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.  If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry.  My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless. ”

Exodus 22:22-24 CSB

Read Context

I love how the Lord promises to fiercely protect the widows, the orphans and the outcast.  I want to also participate in the Lords care of His precious weak.  Lord, help me to see the opportunities You provide and help me to follow through.

Exodus 19-21, Strengthen My Faith

“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or his fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed, if he can later get up and walk around outside leaning on his staff, then the one who struck him will be exempt from punishment. Nevertheless, he must pay for his lost work time  and provide for his complete recovery.”

Exodus 21:18-19 CSB

Read Context

These laws are interesting… some make sense from our perspective today while others seem terribly unfair.  Lord, help me to trust You even when it doesn’t make perfect sense!

Exodus 16-18, Gods Direction

“If you do this, and God so directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied.”

Exodus 18:23 CSB

Read Context

I love the strategy that Jethro is helping Moses to see.  Many of us would think this is excellent advise and immediately implement it…However, Jethro adds the most critical advise: “and [if] God so directs you”.  Just doing something smart is not enough, it must also be what God is directing you to do.

Lord, may I constantly be seeking to follow what You are directing, not just was sounds good!

Exodus 13-15, Fighting for Us

 “But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”  

That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14‬:‭13‬-‭14‬, ‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

What a powerful forebear to the Gospel.  That God would fight for us against the penalty and power of our own sin.  It would be God who concurs it while we are on the sideline and trust Him.

Lord, thank You for saving me.  Thank You for fighting for me.  Thank You for knowing that I am too weak, frail and foolish to follow You without the power of Your Spirit.

Exodus 10-12, Obedience Rewarded

 “The Israelites acted on Moses’s word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold items and for clothing.  And the Lord gave the people such favor with the Egyptians that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭12‬:‭35‬-‭36‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

God told Moses, Moses told Pharaoh and the people, and only the people listened.  Through their obedience, God did more than just rescue them from slavery, He looted the Egyptians when they willingly gave them gold and silver before they left.  That defies explanation if it is not supernatural!!!

Lord, help me to obey Your commands.  I want to always be following You into whatever You are calling me.  No matter how crazy it sounds or how little sense it makes to me…help me to trust Your plans!

Exodus 7-9, Answered Prayer

 “When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs  came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Read Context

It’s shocking how the magicians were able to perform some of the same signs, or something similar to the plagues God sent.  The result was that the people and Pharaoh didn’t believe God.  I think we do the same things today: God does something miraculous and we come up with a plausible reason for it.  We may blame coincidence or good luck, or imagine some incredible scenarios that makes it less supernatural.  I think most often we miss Gods miraculous answers, because we have such a bad memory, we forget what we had prayed for because we are on to the next thing.

Lord, help me to see every act You do and give You alone praise for it!