And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord.

Numbers 16:1-50

And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. Numbers 16:28

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today - Numbers 16:1-50 - we see God's harsh and deadly rebuke of those who rebel against God's appointed leaders.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God's name, the LORD, appears more than 25 times in this chapter.  God listens to Moses, His appointed servant and leader over the people (v15).  God spoke to Moses and prepared (vv20, 23-24) him and the rest of the people to separate from from Korah's rebellion (250 leaders among men per v2) as they will be consumed (punished).  In vv31-35, God caused the earth to swallow up the households of the rebellious men, and consume the rebellious men with fire.  In vv36-40, God instructed Moses to use the metal from the censers carrying incense and fire as a covering for the tabernacle altar as a reminder to avoid the sin and punishment that befell Korah and the other rebellious leaders.  In response to the people's grumbling against Moses and Aaron (v41), the glory of the LORD appeared and He spoke to Moses (v44) to prepare himself for the punishment of those rebelling against His appointed leaders.  The LORD then caused a plague that killed 14,700 among the people.  
• What do we learn from the text about people?: We know that Moses and Aaron are God's appointed leaders over the people - yes, they are not perfect as only God is.  We've also learned from Numbers 12 that Moses is a very humble man (Numbers 12:3) and God sees him as "faithful in all my house" (Numbers 12:7).  Korah and his rebellion falsely accused Moses of "exalting" themselves above the assembly of the LORD (vv3, 13), and of killing the people of the LORD (v41).  They also held Moses and Aaron responsible for their suffering in the wilderness (vv13-14) - another false accusation.  Among other sin (grumbling and complaining about God), this rebellion was guilty of breaking the ninth commandment not to bear false witness (Exodus 20:16).  Moses demonstrates His humility in v28. 
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid grumbling and complaining against God or His appointed servants (leaders in your church); similarly, we should also avoid bearing false witness.  Claim the promise God works in all things for good and that our circumstances - including difficult circumstances - are for good.  Follow the example of Moses who humbly submitted to the Lord's will and His guidance.  Love God and support/pray for the leaders appointed over you.  

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves and has given me incredible Godly pastors that lead and serve me well in my journey with God  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

So you shall remember and do all my commandments, 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

So you shall remember and do all my commandments, 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 15:40-41

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today - Numbers 15:37-41 - God gave Moses commands to give to the people to make tassels for the corners of their garments - as a means to remember and be obedient to all of the commandments of the Lord.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God led Israel out of bondage and they were to remember all that He had done, and out of love for Him God expected Israel to be obedient.  God seeks for us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind and this requires obedience to His commands.  Ultimately, the New Covenant based on Jesus' shed blood did away with the ceremonial law as God lives in believers' hearts (Holy Spirit) and this drives us into His arms as we surrender to Him and seek Him daily as He molds us into more of His image.   
• What do we learn from the text about people?: The Old Testament included both ceremonial and moral law and unfortunately, many went through the motions and/or added to or subtracted from scripture to serve their own purposes and will and not God's will. With exception to a few (remnant), time and time again, the leaders and people of Israel let Him down.  With Jesus, we no longer have the Old Testament sacrificial system and we can go to God directly with confidence (Hebrews 4:14-16). Jesus justifies us in His sight.  
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid focusing on obedience.  Claim the promise that if you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13), and that He will renew our heart, mind and life to make us more like Him.  Follow the example of John (1 John 5:3) who wrote that obedience to Him is not a burden. Seek God with all of your heart.   

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves and gives me Your Word, the Holy Spirit, the church, etc. so that I can be encouraged to seek You with all of my heart.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him.

Numbers 15:32-36

While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. Numbers 15:32-34

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today - Numbers 15:32-36 - where a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, deemed a Sabbath-breaker by both the people and God, is executed.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God takes His commandments seriously, and the 4th commandment from Exodus 20:8-11, to observe the Sabbath through rest and worship, is just one example of how He takes these commandments seriously.  More broadly, the intent here is that God is seeking love and worship of Him, and love of others as the most important set of commandments (Matthew 33:34-40).  The punishment here could be considered harsh, yet God's justice is perfect and only He knows the heart of the man punished.      
• What do we learn from the text about people?: Some may point to Jesus and accuse Him of also being an Sabbath-breaker (see Matthew 12:9-14, John 5:1-18), yet Jesus was healing on the Sabbath and for this there is no law (see Galatians 5:22). Those who accuse Jesus of Sabbath-breaking focused on man-made rules that went beyond scripture and God's intent. Healing on the Sabbath reflects love of others. 
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): See also this video on the Sabbath from John Piper and DesiringGod.com. Avoid legalistic focus on the Bible or adding to or subtracting from the Bible.  Claim the promise that Jesus came to fulfill the law and to make us more like Him.  Follow the example of Jesus who healed on the Sabbath and by doing good, etc. Seek God, allow Him to renew your heart and mind such that obedience to Him is not burdensome and such that pleasing Him is your desire. 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves, forgives, and saves. You entered my heart and mind and transform me daily in more of Your image. Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You love and save!  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

“You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”

Numbers 15:22-31

“You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.” Numbers 15:29-31

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today - Numbers 15:22-31 - where God gives Moses instructions for the people to atone for unintentional sin.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: Believers should understand that since the Fall (Genesis 3), when sin entered the world, all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8).  Sin is both intentional (v30) (or via commission) and unintentional (omission), yet both are sins and all sin disappoints God, creates separation between us and God, and only Jesus can forgive us and save us from sin, restoring and reconciling us back to Him.  Here in the text today, God gives Moses instructions for how to atone for unintentional sin.  Through Jesus we not only have forgiveness of sin, but also freedom from sin as He works through us to mold us into more of His image - sanctification.  We are a new creation and no longer defined by our sin.    
• What do we learn from the text about people?: Before Jesus, the people, as the text describes, had to make sacrifices through the priest to atone for sin.  Now, with Jesus, we approach Him directly and with confidence - Hebrews 4:16. 
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid willful and intentional sin.  Claim the promise that we can approach Him directly and He forgives and saves...and molds us into more of His image. Claim God's mercies that never cease and are new every morning.  God to God daily and allow Him to work in and through You.   

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves, forgives, and saves. Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You love and save!  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you and when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the LORD. Of the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. Some of the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD as a contribution throughout your generations.

Numbers 15:1-21

“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you and when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the LORD. Of the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. Some of the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD as a contribution throughout your generations. Numbers 15:18-21

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today - Numbers 15:1-21 - while Israel remains in the wilderness, God gives Moses and the people laws for sacrifices that they are to make upon entry to the Promised Land.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God seeks a relationship with Him and one of complete dependence on Him, recognizing that all that we have is because of Him and not of our own effort - see James 1:16.  Read along with Deuteronomy 26:1-11, the text focuses on how the people are to remember, celebrate, and be thankful for how God rescued the people from bondage in Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land.  God heard Israel's cries, responded and delivered them.  Of course, we should daily be thankful for God, who He is, what He has done, how He provides, and how He saves!  God is good!  Our response should be joyful and we should give as the text directs the people to do - and we are to give freely as a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). 
• What do we learn from the text about people?: The people up to this point have been grumbling and complaining and now God is turning their attention to a promise He made and how He is going to be faithful and bring them into the Promised Land.  We need constant reminders of God's goodness and faithfulness - otherwise, we are prone to wander, grumble and complain as Israel did.  God gives us His Word as His Daily Bread and we are to consume it!
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid grumbling and complaining.  Claim the promise that God delivers us and He is saving a place for us in Heaven - whatever we are experiencing is temporary and God is good....all the time.  Follow the example of those who responded joyfully upon entering the Promised Land and gave cheerfully.  Consume God's Daily Bread!   

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed out of the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah.

Numbers 14:39-45

But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed out of the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah. Numbers 14:44-45

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today - Numbers 14:39-45 -  in the face of a sharp rebuke and punishment from the Lord, the people mourn stubbornly proceed to the Promised Land even though in v25 God directs them back into the wilderness (punishment).  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God is just and any punishment we get is for good - we may not like it but God works all things for good (Romans 8:28).  My previous post described the punishment meted out by God for the people's grumbling, complaining, and lack of trust in God.  See also Hebrews 12:9-11 where the text shares how we should view discipline for our good. 
• What do we learn from the text about people?: People often seek their own will vs the will of God.  This never ends well. See also Proverbs 19:21 - God's will is not to be thwarted - He punished the people by keeping them in the wilderness vs allowing them to enter the Promised Land.  In the text today, the people set out for the promised land but are defeated by the Amalekites and the Canaanites.  
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid pursuing your own will vs the will of God.  Claim the promise that God punishes us for good - discipline as training.  Follow the example of Christ who willingly surrendered His live to follow the will of the Father.  Trust God.   

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love and grace.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But my servant Caleb [and Joshua vv30, 38], because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

Numbers 14:20-38

But my servant Caleb [and Joshua vv30, 38], because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. Numbers 14:24 [30, 38]

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today - Numbers 14:20-38 - the Lord responds to Moses' prayer of intercession on behalf of the people - He is full of righteous anger as He describes the punishment for those who do not trust in Him and instead grumble and complain.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method.

• What do we learn from the text about God?: Based on Moses' prayer in vv13-19, God relents from the punishment described in v12 to disinherit the people.  Yet God still plans punishment for those who did not trust and instead grumbled and complained - including those among the spies that shared a bad report from the promised land.  They (and their children will suffer until their parents die) will not be able to enter the promised land and will die in the wilderness (vv22-23, 29-30, 32-35).    
• What do we learn from the text about people?: Unlike the spies and the people who did not trust God to fulfill His promise to give the people the promised land (by giving Israel victory over the existing inhabitants), Caleb and Joshua were men of a different spirit as they followed God fully.  This description in scripture reminds me of similar descriptions from scripture for not just David, but other men such as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Job, and Daniel, among others (see Genesis 5:24, 6:9, 6:22, James 2:23, Job 1:1, Daniel 10:19, 1 Samuel 13:14).  While none of these men are perfect - no one is (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8) - we do see for each of these men a portrait of Godliness where there is fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  See also this post on Job.  For Caleb and Joshua, it was trust in God.  For believers, we know that Jesus is faithful and that we can trust in Him - 2 Corinthians 1:20.
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid fear. Claim the promise that God is faithful.  Follow the example of Caleb, Joshua, Moses, David, Daniel, Enoch, Job, Abraham, Noah, etc. Trust God. He is with us always. 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that is always with us and with You who can stand against us?  No one or no thing!  Thank You Jesus that You have already defeated sin and death and removed their sting.  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.