The Most Unwise Choice (Numbers 14-15; Psalm 90)

So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Friends, the most unusual choice anyone can ever make is the choice to disobey and to reject God and His direction for ones life. This is exactly what the Tribes of Israel did in the wilderness. Their unwise decision cost them not only their own lives but it caused their offspring to “suffer from their fathers faithless decision.” (Numbers 14:32)

Question, are you wise or unwise? In Psalm 90 Moses wrote, “Lord, you have been our refuge in all generations,” (90:1). Friend’s, the Tribes of Israel had been unwise in almost every decision they made from the moment that they were delivered from Egypt. Moses wrote that those who made unwise decisions would face the wrath of God (Psalm 90:7). Moses wisdom was this, “we must consider how long we will live and what God’s purposes are as we live here,” (Psalm 90:12).

The Tribes of Israel never got this into their hearts and minds. Theirs was a constant story of grumbling, questioning God, and disobeying God. Finally they crossed a line with God in the night as they decided to not obey God in Numbers 14. The entire congregation made the decision to reject the plan of God. Now, God would pour out His wrath.

God’s wrath would be poured out over the next 40 years as the people would spend the rest of their lives wandering in the wilderness. Brothers and sisters, I warn you with urgency to never even once reject and disobey God. When we disobey God we walk this road, called life all alone. I do not want this for either of us.

What can we do to ensure that we obey God? Here are four actions that lead us to obey God:

1. Search for His will on the pages of God’s Word.
2. Follow His every direction. When God says, no, we stop. When God says, go, we go.
3. Love Him with all you heart, mind, soul, and strength.
4. Pray for His wisdom to be yours every day.

The Words of Moses are fitting for our ending today:

¹⁶ Let your work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.
¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands! Psalm 90:16-17

Cravings, we all possess them (Numbers 7-11)

 ³³ While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague.  Numbers 11:33

Friend’s, we all have cravings in our lives. These cravings can sometimes hinder our lives and sometimes they can control our lives. Several years ago a craving keep me awake one night in Malawi, Africa. It was after midnight when I awoke with a craving for Dr. Pepper. Now I knew that this was a useless craving because at that time there was no Dr. Pepper to be purchased anywhere in that part of the nation. But still I wanted one. Friend’s, the harder I tried to put the craving out of my mind the wider awake I became. Cravings do have a way of taking control of one’s moments.

In Numbers 11 we are reminded of a craving that the tribes of Israel often had. Theirs was a craving for whatever the flesh would dictate. Friend’s, please do not miss what you read in the previous sentence. The tribes of Israel had a craving for whatever the flesh would dictate.

In the case of Numbers 11, the flesh wanted meat. This craving caused them to so complain to Moses that it made his leadership miserable. This craving caused the people to have a false view of their past in that they said, we had free food while in slavery. This craving would ultimately cost many of them their lives.

God did provide quail for the people, but while they were gorging themselves with the meat, God sent a plague and many died. Martin Luther understood the wickedness of fleshly craving when he wrote the following:

“They ate so greedily that they were at the point of nausea. In this we see the wickedness of our old nature.” (ESV Church History Study Bible, Pg. 141).

Psalm 71:21-38 tells their story in detail. The story ends with this commentary, “They buried the people who had a craving.”

Brothers and sisters, what are you craving? Could it be that the things of the flesh are controlling your life? If so, I Timothy 6:10 reveals that you are “piercing yourself through with many sorrows.” It’s time that you take authority over your cravings. You need have no cravings for the flesh when you walk with Christ.

We render the flesh dead because we now have life in Him (Romans 6:12-14). We now have never life that craves the things of God (Matthew 5:6).

I can still remember that night in Malawi when I realized what was happening. The Devil was tempting my flesh with what could not be and had no value to me. So, I took authority in Jesus name reminding the Devil that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Let this be your word to your cravings every day!!!

Put Out with Being Put Out (Numbers 5-6)

² “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. ³ You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” ⁴ And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did. Numbers 5:2-4

Sometimes it is hard to grasp the why of things that happen in people’s lives, including my own life. My dad, who has been with us for two weeks, has many sayings about life. One of those is, “I am just put out with life.” The phrase put out means he is upset or tired of what put him out.

Consider, God’s directions to Israel in Numbers 5. The people were to put out of the camp those people who were discovered to have leprosy. In my minds eye, I attempted to see the facial expression on a person when they were first told that they were going to be put of the camp.

Can you see the different looks that could have come to their faces? I see a person in shock and maybe with tears in their eyes. I see a person in anger and frustration wanting to push back. I see a person with the blank stare as a person who has given up all hope.

Imagine this being the circumstances for the rest of your life. I can say with my dad, I would be put out with being put out. I suspect that you might feel this way as well. But for a moment lets consider this truth, there was nothing else that could be done. The people in the camp could not be placed at risk.

The laws given by God could only point out one’s problem. The law had no way of remedying a person’s leprosy. In the same way, the law could only point out our spiritual leprosy problem. This is why Jesus was coming. Here is what Galatians 5:1 teaches us, “For freedom Christ has set us free.” According to Hebrews 13:12, Jesus was put out of the city to die on a cross so that we could be sanctified by His blood.

Wow! Jesus was put out so you and could come into His family. We who were spiritual lepers, can come to God because of Him. Hebrews 13:13-14 makes this so clear to me;

¹³ Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. ¹⁴ For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 

Thank you Jesus for being put out for me!!!

People Working Behind the Scenes (Numbers 3-4)

⁴⁶ All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, ⁴⁷ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, ⁴⁸ those listed were 8,580.  Numbers 4:46-48

Brothers and sisters, there are passages of Scripture that we are sometimes tempted to skip over. Please do not hear me in a way that makes you think I am referring to taking away parts of the Bible. Oh no, what I am referring to is that there are sections in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers that seem to hold little value at first glance.

For example, when we read Numbers 3-4. Here it seems at first glance that God is taking role of the Levites and we ask, how does that relate to me? In these moments we want to skip the chapters and move on. But we must not skip over. Here is a verse from the New Testament that is important in this moment. I Timothy 6:20 “Guard the good deposit entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.”

I underlined in my Bible the words, “Guard the deposit entrusted to you.” God was directing Timothy to value and use in a correct way the gospel of Jesus. But I believe this verse also has reference to all that is a part of the Christian life which includes valuing people.

In Numbers 3 and 4 the Levities were chosen to care for the Tabernacle and everything in it. They were to make sure everything was ready for the priests to serve the people and to serve the Lord. Friends, here it is, without them, worship would not have been possible.

God was honoring those who served behind the scenes. God was directing the priests in how to direct the Levites so they could serve correctly.

This morning, I took the time to read their names and then I took the time to give thanks for all the people who serve as lay people in the church. Many of you who read this blog are in this category. Today, I celebrate you and I honor you by offering prayer for you.

Friend’s, every chapter in God’s Word has great value. Let us read, heed, share, and live out it’s truth.

Lastly, let me challenge you to send a note to someone who works behind the scene’s to make your ministry what it is!!!

Next to Each Other (Numbers 1-2)

“The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side,” Numbers 2:1-2.

The time had arrived for Moses to break camp and for his nation to make the journey into the Promised Land. As we read Numbers (traveling in the wilderness) 1, God directed Moses to set apart 12 men, one from each tribe, to be part of his lead team as they made the journey. These former slaves were now to become warriors for God. The book of Numbers tells their story.

Matthew Henry writes insightfully about their calling. He wrote the following:

“All the Numbers (census in the wilderness) remind us of God’s faithfulness to the seed of Abraham. The book clearly reminds us that these people, even though in peace for the moment, were headed toward war. So it is with the people of God who at any minute need to be prepared for spiritual warfare.” (ESV Church History Study Bible, Pg. 183)

Brothers and sisters, how true are these things. As I read the list of the leaders and as I read how God positioned each tribe around the Tabernacle, I was drawn to the following phrase that repeated itself 12 times. The phrase was “next to each other.”

Friends, God’s people were to both worship and war side by side. It is so true that we need each other. God Himself has called us to the assemble of the faith to both worship and war together. Each week we are to gather (Hebrews 10:25) and each day we are care for each other (Gal. 6:1-2, 10) as we walk through the trenches of life.

Here me clearly, if we fail to do this, the enemy will pick us off one at a time. Even as write this I am thinking about people who wondered away from the flock of God and were picked off. Let us brothers and sisters work hard in worship and in the war to stick together for the glory of the Lord.

Here is God’s Word to us today. It comes from I Corinthians 12:25-26

²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

The Best Way to Live (Leviticus 26-27)

³ “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, ⁴ then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. Leviticus 26:3-5

In my time on the earth I have been blessed to hear people’s stories of life more times than I could count. In each of those stories I have found so much wisdom. I could spend the rest of this blog reciting wisdom I have received, but for our time I want to offer the following truth to you. I believe every one’s story has two simply categories that we could place their life’s moments under. We can place them under what we must do and what we must not do.

Recite those two categories with me. There are things we must do and things we must not do.

We see this in our reading in Leviticus 26. God said to His people, here is what you must do. You must worship God, Vs: 1-2. He alone is God and we are to worship Him. We are to never create our own gods (Idols). He is to have the priority in our lives.

God said to His people, observe my Word and walk in obedience to My Word, Vs: 3-13. Brothers and sisters, God promised His people that when they obeyed and worshipped Him that their lives would be of prosperity and peace. God said, their enemies would fall before them, and best of all, He would dwell with them throughout their lives.

Friend’s, this is the best way to live life. In fact it’s the only way to have true life.

However, many people decide to live another way. Beginning in Vs: 14 we see this other way. Such people would decide to not listen to God and they would decide to create their own gods, and they would create their own rules of life. To such people, their lives would end up a mess in eternity.

Friend’s, this the worst way to live life. Sadly, I have met such people and have heard their stories. Such are the lives that I place under category two, things we must not do.

Question, Which way are you living? I can tell you with all my heart that I want to worship and obey Him, not because this is the best way to live, but because He is the only true God and He alone leads us in the best life now and forever.

My prayer for you is that you would live this way for the rest of your life!!!

Showing Kindness to those in Need (Leviticus 24-25)

³⁵ “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.  Leviticus 25:35

On a certain day in the ministry of Jesus He accepted the invitation of a Pharisee to dine in his home. We find the account of this day in Luke 14. The certain day was the Sabbath, and on this day Jesus knew that this man and others were focused solely on themselves. One of the things that Jesus did was to tell a parable about a great banquet. Here is part of what Jesus said:

¹² He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:12-14

In the days of Moses, the Lord gave to His people directions about many things including showing kindness to those in need. God promised that if they obeyed Him, He would bless them according to Leviticus 25:18-19. Consider with me some of the ways the people of Israel were to show kindness to those in need:

• They were to open their homes for people in need.
• They were to lend money without interest.
• They were to never take advantage of the poor.
• They were to help those in need get back on their feet.

Brothers and sisters, as they showed kindness they were living in ways that God would bless. This blessing was not only for them, but for the lost who would truly see a picture of the love of Christ.

Today are lesson is simple and clear. Let us show kindness to those who are in need!

Gathering for a Purpose (Leviticus 21-23)

 ² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts,” Leviticus 22:2.

One of the most important parts of my week is Saturday night. The reason it is important is because it is when I make sure I get more sleep and more preparation for the Lord’s Day is coming in the next 24 hours. According to Scripture God’s people are to not forsake our gathering (Hebrews 10:25).

One might ask, what is the value in gathering? Here are a few valuable reasons for gathering: We gather to lift up the praises of our Lord, we exhort and encourage one another, we are reminded of who God is and what He does, we are reminded of our desperate need of Him, and we are equipped to enter the world to do Kingdom Work. 

These are truly valuable reasons to gather, but there is one more that I want to highlight: We gather to remember!!! 

According to Leviticus 22, Israel was given specific times to gather for the purpose of remembering God and His great acts among them. Here is one example, the nation was to gather for the Feast of First Fruits, Leviticus 22: 9-15.

This feast took place at the beginning of harvest season. God’s people were to gather to bring an offering of the first tenth of their harvest to God. The priest was to take a sheaf and wave it before the Lord as a symbol of their offering to God in thanks for His blessing of a harvest. 

But there was more here. This was a picture of One who was to come. Issac Ambrose explained this as he wrote the following:

“After Christ rose from the dead, Paul called Him “the first fruits of them that slept” (I Cor. 15:22). He rose first as on this day, for the full harvest is not till the general resurrection. Jesus, the first fruits from the dead, sanctifies all those who are lying in the grave to rise again by His power, even when they are in the dust of death.” (ESV Church History Study Bible, Pg. 173)

Wow! The people of God were reminded to look forward to the coming of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, God calls for His people, in these last days, to gather every Sunday to be reminded to look forward to the day when He will come again.

Please grasp the truth God has given us today. Do not fail to assemble each week in God’s House. Those who fail to assemble will begin to fall from the assembly.

Caring for Our Neighbors (Leviticus 19-21)

¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:18

If I were to ask you about your neighbors, what could you tell me that would let me know who they really are? I place this question before you because God placed it before me as I read todays readings from Leviticus 19-21.

As I read I was reminded that the author of the Bible is God who is Holy. This God has all authority and all wisdom to speak and He did speak and is still speaking through His Word. For those whom He has spoken to we call Him Lord God because He is our Lord.

Holy God gave to Israel instructions for how He desired for her to live before Him and as a witness before her neighbors. Let’s look at Leviticus 19 and ask, who were their neighbors? Israel neighbors fell into the following categories, which is not an exhaustive list;

• The poor and the travelor.
• The day laborer.
• Those who had special needs.
• The common and the great.
• The rich and the middle class.
• The good and the evil.
• Those in covenant with God and those not in covenant with God.

With each of these people God said, be holy and caring toward them.

Question, is this the way we live before and love our neighbors?

Let’s quickly take one example, the example of a farmer who had been blessed to have a great harvest. At the time of harvest he would reveal if he were a follower of God or not by the way he harvested. If he left part of the harvest for the poor he was following God’s kingdom way of living. If not he was evidencing an ungodly way of living.

In Luke 12:12-17 Jesus told the story of a man who chose to spend all his harvest on himself and it cost him his life. The question God placed before me is this, how do you mange what I give you. Friend’s do we harvest and spend based on what we know about God and what we know about others? 

God has taught me to set Him first in my heart. As I do, giving to others is easy because it is what God directs me to do. Friend’s let us consider God and then our neighbors!!!

A Case of Leprosy (Leviticus 11-13)

When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. Leviticus 13:2

Imagine a young man getting up in the morning and suddenly he spots a sore on his arm. He thinks little of it and simply rubs some olive oil on it. But over the next seven days it gets worse and worse. Finally he realizes it could be something worse. He sees the sore becoming white and the hair over it white and it feels as if its going deeper in the body.

He calls out to God and He knows God’s Word teaches (our studies today) that he is to go to the priest. I cannot imagine the anxiety he must have had as he waited for the news. The priest looks him over carefully and with a compassionate look on his face he says, you have leprosy.

Friend’s, that young mans life was about to change. According to Leviticus 13 his life changed in the following ways;

• He was to wear torn clothes that signified he was in mourning.
• He was to let his hair grow to signify he was in a time of sorrow.
• He was to cry out, unclean, unclean when he came near others.
• He was to live alone so not to spread the disease among others.
• He was to no longer attend synagogue worship. He was unclean.

This young man’s life was changed forever unless a miracle happened? Question, would you have prayed for a miracle? Pastor Willian Gurnail wrote the following comparing leprosy to our spiritual leprosy of sin;

“If you had such a loathsome disease reigning on you as did pollute everything around you, would you cry out to God? Do you not know that such a state is on you now called sin, it ruins every part of your life and no power or goodness resides in you to overcome it.” (ESV Church History Study Bible, Pg. 160)

Friend’s, there is only one who can heal us of such a spiritual disease. His name is Jesus. We see, as we read the gospels, that Jesus healed many lepers. There is one whose story stands out in my mind from Mark 1:41-45. Take time and read the story.

Here is what I know:

• One must own their sin before they can be healed. This leper did.
• One must seek the cure that only Jesus offers. This leper did.
• Jesus must cleanse our lives as only He can. Jesus did.
• One must by faith present himself before others to evidence the healing. This leper did.

Friend’s, I could never thank Jesus enough for what He did for me and for what He did for you. We live in freedom able to say, I am clean because of Jesus. We are able to serve Him in His church because of His freedom. Let us rejoice and let us tell others of His freedom from spiritual leprosy.

⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin, I John 1:7.