Devotionals
The Long, Long Awaited Promise
When Moses sent in his 12 spies, only two of them came back with a good report. Caleb and Joshua. Joshua took the mantle of leadership from Moses while Caleb was passed over for that role. But when the time came to send in spies again, Caleb was called on once more. And once more... Read More →
Murder, Manslaughter, and Witnesses
It is interesting to me that God explicitly says that if someone murders another person. The definition of murder in the Bible is essentially the same one we use today. This is because the Bible is the basis for the Western justice system. In this particular passage — Numbers 35 — we deal with the death... Read More →
Splinters & Thorns
Today’s devotional is a quick one. While the desire of Reuben and Gad to settle OUTSIDE of the Promised Land is a curious one, what stood out to me the most from today’s reading is the final two verses. Numbers 33:55-56: 55 But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land,... Read More →
Submission to the Lord’s Judgement
God decides it is time to visit His judgement on the Midianites. The tribes of Israel each prepare 1000 fighting men. 12,000 in total. This is far less than the total fighting personnel available. And they easily defeat the Midianites. All 5 kings fall in the battle. A sobering reminder of what could have been... Read More →
Are Women Entitled to Anything?
Why do this trio of sisters have to go to nomadic Israel’s equivalent of the Supreme Court to get a ruling on whether or not they can have their father’s inheritance? When reading accounts like this it can be easy to wear our modern lenses and wonder what is wrong with these weird, backward, chauvinists!... Read More →
The Ultimate STD
Balaam refuses to curse Israel because the Lord is with them. All good, right? Well, Balaam is worried about them dolla-dolla bills, and they are on the line because he was unable to give the King of Moab what he was after. So he concocts a plot to draw the Israelites away from their God... Read More →
A Fickle God?
Today’s devotional is more of an apologetic concerning one of the more confusing exchanges in the Old Testament. Balak, the King of Moab sends a contingent down to get the prophet Balaam. Apparently a well-known man among the leaders of the region, he was able to commune with the gods. One wonders what he did... Read More →
The Tale of the Bronze Serpent
This particular episode in Numbers is a fascinating one, I think, especially considering this incident with the snake statue is cited by Jesus himself immediately before the most famous verse in all of Scripture, John 3:16. So the question becomes: what’s with the snake idol? And why did God choose that as the thing to... Read More →
Lack of Faith is Rebellion
12 scouts are sent into the promised land, all 12 agree that the land is incredible and rich in resources. But only one, Caleb of the tribe of Judah thinks they can actually take the land. When 10 of the other scouts start spreading a bad report about the trip and telling all the people... Read More →
Rabble Rousers
In Numbers 11 we see a group of discontents bad-mouthing God’s provision. They wanted more than manna, they wanted meat! “If He truly loved us, He would give us what we WANT, not merely what we need!” and this sentiment spread among the people. We have very little trouble becoming self-focused. We are actually quite... Read More →
Intentional Remembrance
Today we read about silver trumpets. These were to be blown only by the priests, but they signalled several things. An assembly. A move. An attack. A Festival. A new month. A burnt offering. A peace offering. This was a way to remember God and a way to ask God to intercede. Let’s take a... Read More →
Necessary But Not Sufficient
Numbers 5:6 says “… if and of the people — men or women — betray the Lord by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty.” Oftentimes we separate sin out into sin against God and sin against people. But we forget that people are image-bearers of God. He made them. And so when we sin... Read More →