Numbers 17-20

They came from slavery. Faced a pursuing army. Witnessed miracles. That’s the backstory. Today’s reading: a sprouting, blossoming, fruitful staff as a symbol of God’s authority. His promise to Aaron, provision:

⁸ Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion, your perpetual share. ⁹ You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons. ¹⁰ Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy. (Numbers 18:8-10, NIV, emphasis mine)

I take note that Aaron and his family are to enjoy a perpetual share. The most holy portion of the offerings. Provision.

²⁰ The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites. (Numbers 18:20, NIV)

In their thirst, he provides water.

⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Numbers 20:7-12, NIV, emphasis mine)

Lord, you are with me in all the times. You have provided so richly in my life. You are in the details: a captain’s bell hidden beneath the clematis; dogs that are exactly what we wanted in a pet; a way made in the wait–great grace! And heat in our home. Thank you. All of these stories in the Bible tell me of your authority, trustworthiness, faithfulness, and provision. And I can see it in my own life. Thank you.

Courtney (66books365)

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Leviticus 20; Psalm 25; Ecclesiastes 3; 1 Timothy 5

The subheading in Leviticus 20 is “Punishments for Disobedience.” There’s a long list of disobedient acts, and the punishment in many cases is death, rejection, or loss. The punishment for sin has always been death, rejection, and loss.

The things he warns against–a defilement of life, of spirit, of body and of mind. He values life, spirit, body, and mind; and he wants (us) to value them too.

⁷ So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the Lord your God. ⁸ Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord who makes you holy.

²⁴ But I have promised you, ‘You will possess their land because I will give it to you as your possession—a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from all other people.

²⁶ You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. (Leviticus 20:7-8, 24, 26, NLT)

David’s psalm is worship, a declaration of trust. The whole of it, an acknowledgment of God’s goodness.

¹ O Lord, I give my life to you.
²     I trust in you, my God! (Psalm 25:1-2, NLT)

David worships God for his mercy, compassion, righteousness, leadership, and unfailing love. God is good. God is trustworthy.

Ecclesiastes tells of time. When read with a lens of God’s goodness and trustworthiness, I can see his hand in all things. He is in control.

¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. ¹¹ Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. ¹² So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. ¹³ And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

¹⁴ And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. ¹⁵ What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again. (Ecclesiastes 3:10-15, NLT)

No one who trusts in you, Lord, will ever be disgraced.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to choose me, for loving me so much to guide me and teach me and show me the way. You did not put me in this world to figure it out on my own. I put my hope in you.

Courtney (66books365)

Lev. 10; Psalms 11,12; Proverbs 25; 1 Thess. 4

“You must distinguigh between what is sacred and what it common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean.  And you must teach the Israelites all the decrees that the Lord has given them through Moses.”  Leviticus 10:10&11 NLT

The Israelites were set apart to do God’s work. I think on Courtney’s post from March 26.  She described Bezalel’s job as Holy Work.  This has stayed with me.  It has helped me to remember that there is purpose in the seemingly meaningless tasks.  The laundry, the dinner, the cleaning…the things that no one sees.  Than there are the hidden ugly places of my heart.  I don’t always want to do the hard and holy work of letting the Holy Spirit work on these areas.  When I do I am more freed up to love and serve.

“Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you.  You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.  For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.  Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.  Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1&2, 11&12 NLT

The Lord has chosen me.  It’s easy to get caught up in comparing myself to others.  But, this just derails me from my purpose.  Sometimes I wish I had a different story, especialy when I’m in the middle of it.   And I can’t always see how God is going to use it.  But, I know that he will use it for good, if I let him.  If I surrender it to him.

“I trust in the Lord for protection.  So why do you say to me, “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety! The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right.  The foundations of law and order have collapsed.  What can the righteous do?”  But the Lord is in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven.  He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth.” Psalms 11:1-4 NLT

Dear Father, Help me to learn to trust you more.  Forgive me for when my heart is far away from you.  Give me fresh eyes to see your goodness.  Amen.

“The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.  Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation, even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.” Psalms 12:6-8 NLT

Amy(amyctanner)

Leviticus 19-20; Hebrews 7

I know people who are generous. I know people who are stingy. I know people who are encouraging. I know people who are deceptive. I know people who are patient. I know people who are easily ruffled. I think about traits that mark an impression and define a life and lifestyle.

How will my children remember me?

How will my words or actions influence a stranger?

Whether my life is lived in a big way or a small way, it will leave a mark that seems temporary, but one that has a potential to affect generations. (Lord, help me steward well what you’ve entrusted me.)

The Lord speaks of being set apart as holy in Leviticus.

⁷ So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the Lord your God. ⁸ Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord who makes you holy. (Leviticus 20:7-8, NLT)

I find comfort in these words as they point to Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith. He is the Lord who makes me holy. He is at work within me, transforming me.

²⁶ He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. ²⁷ Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. (Hebrews 7:26-27, NLT)

I don’t expect my kids to master any topic in a first reading. Learning takes practice. I’m so grateful for a gracious God who will walk with me all the years of my life to guide and correct me and love me all the while–on my good days, on my bad days.

Lord God, thank you for your words in my hands, that I can turn to you for instruction and wisdom. Thank you for your great patience in my life, the hard tests and tasks that transform me. Thank you for relationship–that I can be close to you and know I am loved.

Courtney (66books365)

Numbers 19; Psalm 56-57; Isaiah 8-9:7; James 2

Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish and on which no yoke has been laid.  You shall give it to the priest Eleazar, and it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. Numbers 19:2-3 NRSV

The Old Testament has quite a few rituals recorded there that God demanded as part of His desire to reveal His authority and His holiness.  I could never get a handle on them all but as I got older, not only do I get them, but I under the new covenant I see what we have been given through Jesus.

 

But the Old Testament also gives us promises.  I love those promises – they are hope to me whenever I read them and those hopes are real because of Jesus.

For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life. – Psalm 56:13 NRSV

Even on Sunday morning, as our church started a series on the Apostles Creed – I was reminded that God is the ultimately authority and is holy.  While He is also a generous God who gave us Jesus, and because of Jesus we can call Him, Abba Father, I am to remember that He is my Father and with all the authority and holiness that comes with that.

 

But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread – Isaiah 8:13 NRSV

 

So my walk has to be holy too.  I get now why Jesus called us to be perfect and holy.  In the little things, they matter, because God matters and what I believe about God matters. In my fund-raising ministry I might be tempted to favour those with more wealth, but God calls me to obey Him.

 

My brothers and sisters,[a] do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? – James 2:2 NRSV

Lord, I want and need to show my world that deep inside, not just on the outside, I am a follower of Jesus.  I know that when I made the decision to follow You, I invited you to change me from the inside out.  There is no way I want to fake my decision, to act my way through my faith – I want to be real.  I need you Father to help me, I need your strong-arm to guide me and I need your wisdom to teach me.  May those who look on my life say that You really matter to me.  For Your glory and Your honour I pray.  Amen

evanlaar