Category: Numbers

On the Move

Numbers 7-9

Ok quizzers and especially National Quizzing Director, Jacob Ballard, hear me out! Numbers 7 should be part of the quizzing materials next year! I mean, while it is the longest chapter in Numbers, you really would only need to memorize 5 verses! 

Numbers 7 is very repetitive because all 12 tribes of Israel come to present their gifts to the Tabernacle, and they all give almost exactly the same thing (apparently there was no Tabernacle gift registry 😉). But that was actually on purpose as God wanted all of the people to praise and participate in the rights and responsibilities equally. He wanted every tribe to be fully devoted to Him no matter the size of the tribe. That is a reminder to us that even if we are all of different socio-economic statuses, we all bring the same thing to God, our hearts and our devotion. 

Numbers 8 describes how God set the descendants of Levi apart as royal priests. Whenever I have read about the jobs of the Levites, I’ve been glad that was not my calling. These guys were not standing around praying all day. They were working hard as they had to do a LOT of butchering. Like. All. Day. Long! My husband used to work in the meat department at our local grocery store. It is a lot of bloody, messy work. Ugh… and don’t get me started on cleaning all the tools! But these priests understood the importance of their jobs, helping God’s people atone for their sins through the sacrifice of the animals they raised. And it wasn’t a one-time thing for each person; it was continual for all of each person’s life.  This reminds me of how thankful I am that we don’t have to do that anymore because of what Christ did for us (Hebrews 10). Besides eternal salvation, we also don’t have to spend a great deal of our time butchering animals and barbequing them! 

Numbers 9 discusses God’s decrees on celebrating the Passover and then their “moving” protocol. Growing up in the Air Force, I think I can understand never knowing how long you would be in any given spot.  Sometimes God would have the Israelites stay for a few days, sometimes for a few years. I don’t know if this is the reason, but I suspect God did not want them to become too comfortable where they were and wanted them to remember their current position was not their home.  We too would be wise to remember that where we are now is not our permanent home and we should not become too comfortable within the world. 

-Maria Knowlton

Reflection Questions

  1. Have you ever moved at God’s command – or stayed put at His command?
  2. How do we tell today when and where He wants us to go – or stay?
  3. What are you learning about God in Numbers so far?
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May the Lord’s Face Shine On You

Number 4-6 

While Numbers 4 still involves some counting, it becomes much more interesting with a little Holy interior decorating! I fell down a little Google rabbit hole reading about what kind of leather was used in the temple.  NIV says sea cow, NASB says porpoise, theologians have theorised other interpretations. But I think the point is, it was valuable and special. All of the designs and decor of the tabernacle were both God instructed and enabled. I have always wondered how the people building the tabernacle could build what they were told to build. I then heard from someone, that they were able to do this work because they were given the gift of the Holy Spirit (Exodus 31:1-6 and 35:30-36:2). I think this makes a lot of sense! 

Also, and part of the importance of this passage is God was very clear who could touch what and when. Death comes to those who did not heed God’s commands, no matter how small they may seem. God will not be mocked nor disobeyed. 

Numbers 5 and 6 are kind of a wild mix of blessings and curses. First Numbers 5 speaks of the sanctification of anyone who was ceremonially unclean or guilty of sin. Moses then writes of a “grain offering for jealousy.” I looked at several commentaries and still cannot quite understand why it was included in scripture and what it all means.  One commentary reminds readers that this was a time of many rituals for many issues and this would not have been that odd to the people of that time. My own thought is that this was another situation where it was very important to obey God. I believe that God protected women who were innocent of adultery and they were not affected by this curse. 

In Numbers 6, we learn what one needs to do to become a Nazirite. Reading this reminds me of the sacrifices my Catholic nun friends had to make to become a nun.  It is very honorable to dedicate your life to God. However, it is not necessary to become a Nazirite or a nun/monk to dedicate your life to God.  Because of Christ, through baptism, we can be sons and daughters of God. And we can receive the Aaronic Blessing: 

The Lord bless you and keep you,

The Lord make his face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.  (Numbers 6:24-26)

God bless you this week as you obey His word! 

-Maria Knowlton

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you find in Numbers that reminds you of the importance of obeying God?
  2. What do we learn about God so far in the book of Numbers?
  3. Have you ever experienced the Lord making His face shine upon you? When? How does it feel? What do you think the Lord likes to make His face shine upon?
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Tabernacle Parking

Numbers 1-3

Once upon a time, I had to take a statistics class.  It was awful! I am not a numbers person at all and the professor was dry and would trail off while he was talking. Every class was an exercise in trying to stay awake for an hour and 15 minutes! But I do think he could have spiced things up a bit if he had thrown in some fun or shocking stories in between the equations.  For example: “So in this case p is equal to the sum of the number of participants in the study, which was looking at the correlation between owning a machete and a ninja outfit and ending up in the emergency room.” 

So when I was reading the first two chapters, I was getting flashbacks of that statistics class. They are purely numbers and logistics. The 12 tribes of Israel had left Egypt about a year before and God was now “parking” the tabernacle in the desert, with the 12 tribes in specific stations around the tabernacle.

God had Moses and Aaron count all the men in the tribe. Boring! I like how Chuck Swindoll put it in his commentary, “Numbers takes the reader on a long and winding path through a desert of excruciating detail.”  But then I hit chapter 3 and Aaron’s two eldest sons, Nadab and Abihu fall dead because they offer God an “unauthorized fire” and they had no children, WHAT??? That got my attention! Why was the fire “unauthorized”? Why did God strike them dead? So many questions??? But the biggest question the story starts to answer is WHY Numbers is included in our Bible. 

Besides its historical significance, Numbers speaks of the importance of obedience to God and God’s intolerance of sin. Leviticus 10:1-2 gives a little more detail on what happened to Nadab and Abihu, but it was basically just straight up disobedience to God. We may think this was a pretty minor issue, but it points to the fact that God does not tolerate sin of any kind. No matter how “good” you are, you will not live a life of perfection and will at some point deserve the punishment Nadab and Abihu received. Goodness, do we need a savior! THANK GOD for JESUS! 

So, yes, much of this book is boring, especially today’s reading, but unlike that statistics class, you will find application for your own life in this book.

-Maria Knowlton

Reflection Questions

  1. God has a plan for His people, even for where each tribe was to park around the tabernacle. How might He share His plans today?
  2. Why is God looking for, and expecting, obedience from His people during the time of Numbers? What does God’s desire and expectations look like today? Does the sacrifice of Jesus mean obedience isn’t required any more?
  3. What application can you find for your life from Numbers 1-3?
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A New Shepherd

Old Testament: Numbers 27 & 28

Poetry: Job 20

New Testament: Mark 5

Once again, we have come across another section of Numbers with a number of sacrifices, laws, and other things that the ancient Israelites were expected to fulfill.  Unfortunately for us, those laws are not as relevant to us today and can seem boring. To them though, these were essentially important to living in communion with their God. But what lesson can we Christians who are no longer bound by the Old Covenant take from this section?

I believe that 27:15-23 has very great insight for all people of all ages. This passage explains that Moses will not be leading the people into the Promised Land because of his disobedience back in 20:8-12. However, Moses is commanded to install Joshua as his successor as leader of the Israelites. Up to this point, Joshua was likely studying underneath Moses and worked with him.

The point of this lesson is two-fold: Those that are older need to prepare someone younger to take their place eventually, and those that are younger need to learn from those that are older. Unfortunately today, people have a mindset that their generation is the only one that is correct, while the truth is that there is much that can be learned from all generations, both older and younger.

To those that are older: Look for the potential in those that are younger in your church and start training them up to eventually enter ministries that you will be leaving eventually

To those that are younger: Learn from those older than you, be willing to do ministry work in your church, and develop a passion for the Lord.

-Talon Paul

(originally posted September 8, 2016)

Reflection Questions

  1. What was Moses’ concern when the Lord told him he would not be entering the Promised Land?
  2. If you are on the older end of ministry – who are you mentoring and teaching to do the ministry you are doing? Who else can you get involved?
  3. If you are on the younger end of ministry – who will you ask to teach you how to serve and minister?
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Surviving a Deadly Plague of Snakes

Numbers 21:9 NIV for SGL

Old Testament: Numbers 21 & 22

Poetry: Job 17

New Testament: Mark 3

In today’s reading, the Israelites needed a spiritual “blood transfusion.” Their sinful and rebellious attitude had shown itself in impatience, complaints about hardships, ingratitude for manna, and a lack of faith in God’s leader, Moses. This faithlessness resulted in a deadly plague of snakes that were killing the people.

The Israelites repented and asked Moses to intercede for them. God’s response required them to show their repentance by a simple act of faith. Moses made a bronze serpent and lifted it up on a pole. To be healed, people had to look at the serpent. If they didn’t believe God’s words, they wouldn’t look up and would therefore die. Only through faith could they be saved.

Homeopathic medicine is the practice of curing likes with likes. The patient receives diluted doses of substances that, at full strength, cause the same symptoms the patient already has. This type of medicine is used in many parts of the world, though it remains controversial among medical experts. In this instance, God prescribed a similar remedy for Israel, treating snake bites with a replica of a snake. Going a step further, God undid the effects of the plague through an image of the curse itself.

Today’s story begins with the people grumbling … again. It was the same old story: we’re dying, we’re starving, we don’t like the miraculous food, and we’re sorry we ever left Egypt. But this incident is unique; this time, the people repented.

In past events, Moses had asked God for mercy on behalf of the Israelites, but on this occasion, his prayers were prompted by a recognition of their sin that Israel hadn’t shown before. They realized on their own why the snakes were sent, and they confessed their sin. In that way, this was a spiritual breakthrough for Israel!

If God had followed the formula we’ve seen so far, we might expect Him to demand a sacrifice of some kind, like a lamb without defect. But the Lord told Moses to put a bronze snake, a picture of judgment, on a pole for all to see. He directed the people’s eyes, not to an image of purity, but to a symbol of wrath.

For healing to take place, the people had to close the loop of repentance. They sinned, confessed, and asked for mercy. The last step was to accept God’s remedy by faith and follow His instructions.

We often picture Christ as the perfect sacrifice, and that he is. But He also took upon Himself the shame of sin and the full penalty of wrath. In His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus compared His upcoming crucifixion to the lifting up of the serpent in the desert. Let’s confess our sins, seek His mercy and turn our eyes to him, who not only gave his life but also received our punishment. Thank Him in word and in deed today.

Andy Cisneros

(Originally posted on March 3, 2020 for SeekGrowLove)

Reflection Questions

  1. What have you most recently complained about? Do you often complain? Is there a problem with complaining and grumbling? How do you think others view your complaining? How do you think God views it?
  2. What role does confession and repentance play in your relationship with God and others? How has God shown His mercy to you when you have repented? Is there anything you need to confess and repent of?
  3. After the Israelites confessed and repented what did they have to do next? What does God expect from us after confession and repentance?
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Handling Hardship

Numbers 11:23 NIV for SGL

Old Testament: Numbers 11

Poetry: Job 10

New Testament: Acts 24

Ok, we know that things are not going to go well when we read, Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, … (Numbers 11:1)

Why would they do that? The Israelites grumbled, argued and complained, but this never works out for them. Honestly, if we look at our own lives, are we guilty of this too?  Do we show God that we are thankful for our life and the provisions that He gives us?  If I may quote Madame Blueberry: “A thankful heart is a happy heart.”  But, the Israelites are not thankful, and they are not happy.  In Numbers 11, they complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.

So, surely they adopted a new way of doing things, a new way to react to the situations that arose. Nope.

“The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat!  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (verses 4-6)

Wow. Yep that slavery, that was the good life. Sure, they lived lives of servitude, but they had cucumbers.

Unfortunately, this complaining spread until Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The LORD became angry and Moses was troubled. This is where I think we can learn from the way Moses responds.  He asked the LORD.  He is troubled because he is in a situation that is impossible for him to handle alone.  He just has an honest conversation with the LORD. We see him react in the same way that he did in chapter 9 when he is asked a question about the Passover feast.  He told the people to wait until he found out what the LORD commanded concerning them. I think that is how all of us should handle hardships.  We should talk with God about what ever is troubling us. If we are in a continual conversation with the LORD, we bring him our praises and requests continually too.

Moses told Him that he could not carry all those people by himself; the burden was too heavy. The LORD had a solution for him. The LORD would take some of the power of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on seventy of Israel’s elders.  They shared the burden of the people so Moses did not have to carry it alone. As far as the request for meat, the quail arrived when the LORD said it would.  Even Moses did not know how God could do it, but again he talks with God about it. I wonder how things would have gone for the Israelites if they had humbly thanked God for their manna and asked for meat.  The LORD could even have thrown in cucumbers if He wanted to.  From today’s reading lets be encouraged to pray continually sharing our hardships and praises with God.

-Rebecca Dauksas

(first posted for SeekGrowLove on September 3, 2016)

Reflection Questions

  1. When hardships hit do you spend more time complaining or praying?
  2. If you were a pastor/youth leader or spiritual counselor for the Israelites what issues or problems would you address with them? Which of these problems do you have as well? What could they – and what can you – do to work towards fixing these problems?
  3. What do you learn about the Lord God in Numbers 11?
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God’s Guidance System

Old Testament: Numbers 9

Poetry: Job 8

New Testament: Acts 22

My college kids and I just completed a 2100 mile spring break trip with Apple Maps guiding the way – telling us when to turn, when to go straight and when to reroute. The Israelites preparing to set out into the wilderness missed out on this modern technology, but they had something so much better.

They had been camped out in the region of Sinai and it had now been two years since they had left Egypt. During this time they were learning God’s commands and learning what happens when you break them. Also, the tabernacle was being built and furnished and set up so God would have a dwelling amongst them, even during their coming travels to the Promised Land.

But, without maps (print or digital) how would they know where to go? I enjoyed what Kyle McClain had to say about their direction system in his March 4, 2021 devotion for SeekGrowLove, so I will share that here:

“Truth be told, there are a ton of events recorded in the Bible that would be flat out awesome to see firsthand!  Of all the awesome things to see, Numbers chapter 9 records one of the top 10 things that I would have liked to have witnessed firsthand – maybe top 5.  That awesome thing recorded is the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites where to go at night.  During the day, a pillar of cloud guided them, but at night it had the appearance of fire.  How cool would it be to see the pillar of fire in the sky at night?!  I would say top 10 throughout the whole Bible!  Our God is incredible, and he is capable of some awesome feats.

I don’t think many of us are going to be led by a pillar of cloud or fire.  However, similar to the Israelites, we can and should still be guided by God.  There’s a very good chance that the guidance that God provides you will not be as obvious as the pillar of cloud or fire.  Therefore, we really need to be in tune with God and keep our eyes, ears, heart, and mind open to His guidance.  There are a number of ways in which God can lead us, so we should be ready at all times.  If we are actively seeking God’s guidance, then we are much more likely to see it.  That has to do with our Reticular Activating System in our brains.  If you don’t know what that is, then look it up on Google or YouTube.  You’ll be amazed.

 I would encourage you all to pray to God to help you become susceptible to God’s guidance.  You may be surprised with all the ways that God attempts to guide you.”

Also in Numbers 9 we see Moses setting a great example of what to do when we are unsure of how to proceed and don’t know what God wants us to say or do. Some Israelites asked Moses if they were able to celebrate the Passover because they were unclean at the time (had recent contact with a dead body). Moses wasn’t sure. God hadn’t told him, yet. Instead of making up something on the spot that sounded smart at the time, Moses said, “Wait until I find out what the LORD commands concerning you” (Numbers 9:8). And God rewarded Moses’ wisdom by giving His answer.

What do you do when you don’t know where to go or when to go and when to stay? Seek direction from the Lord! When you don’t know the answer, like Moses, wait until you find out from the Lord. And what do you do as you wait? I do not recall any time I have received direction from God while I am watching the latest tv show or scrolling on my phone. However, I have lost count of the number of times I have received God’s direction while reading from His Word. His answers are there for your life, too. Faithfully stay in His Word, following His guidance system.

-Marcia Railton and Kyle McClain

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you do when you don’t know where or when God wants you to go or stay or say or do?
  2. When have you received God’s direction in your life? Did you follow it?
  3. What do we also learn from Paul in our Acts reading today about following God’s direction?
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Set Apart

*Old Testament: Numbers 7 & 8

Poetry: Job 7

New Testament: Acts 21

During the building of the tabernacle, the tools and utensils were not holy. Everything was normal cloth or gold material until they were consecrated. Once Moses anointed and consecrated the tabernacle and the things that went in it, they were no longer normal objects.  Instead, they were objects of God. If God can turn a simple lamp stand into a holy object, then what can He do with us? We can be made holy and set apart by God to serve a great purpose. As we have said many times, through the book of Numbers God seeks holiness for Himself and His people. This desire didn’t disappear when Jesus came into the world. God desires for us to be holy. Although we sin, God can redeem us just like He did with the tabernacle in Numbers 7.

There is a moment after the tabernacle is consecrated that the people of Israel begin to bring sacrifices and gifts.  Among the gifts are six carts and 12 oxen that are going to be given to the Levites. Carts and oxen make moving things easier.  This would be a pretty handy gift during the time of the wilderness as they move everything they have across the desert by hand! In verse 9, we see the sons of Kohath weren’t given any of the oxen and carts – what kind of rotten deal is that? Why didn’t any of the carts go to the sons of Kohath? The sons of Kohath were in charge of carrying the holy objects on their shoulders. Each heavy object in the tabernacle, including the Ark of the Covenant, was built with places for poles to slide into so that they could be carried by pole on the shoulders of the sons of Kohath. You may remember the story of Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6 when the Ark was going to be moved back into the city of Jerusalem after being gone for a long time. Notice in 2 Samuel 6:3 they placed the Ark, “on a new cart”. This was a big no-no. The Ark was not supposed to be put on a cart, but instead carried on poles like we see in the law. Then what happens? The Ark begins to fall off the cart on the way into the city and Uzzah, who was just trying to help by catching the Ark, died right as he touched it. God’s holiness can’t be infringed upon. Albeit easier, you don’t put the Ark on a cart. This is why no carts where given to the sons of Kohath. They didn’t need carts to assist in the moving of the holy objects of the tabernacle. Isn’t it interesting how the Bible connects in such unique places? Who knew that around 400 years after God gave the command to not move the holy objects on carts that Uzzah would learn the severity of breaking the command.

The rest of chapter 7 sound maybe like Pete and Repeat wrote it. These aren’t particularly exciting verses and the gifts of each tribe are the same. Between verse 10 and 83, the tribes, their gifts and their offerings are listed. After 12 days of offerings the total was: 12 silver dishes, 12 silver bowls (a total of 2,400 shekels of silver), 12 gold pans (a total of 120 shekels of gold), 12 bulls, 12 rams, 12 male lambs 1year old, 12 grain offerings, 12 male goats, 24 bulls for peace offerings, 60 rams, & 60 male goats for peace offerings (a total of 192 animals). The Israelites would have given a total of around $16,000 in silver and around $71,500 in gold. What a great out pouring from the sons of Israel to God in celebration and honor of the new tabernacle.

After the anointing of the tabernacle and 12 days of offerings, one of the coolest things I can imagine happened to Moses in verse 89. God spoke to Moses from above the Ark of the Covenant. Finally, after all the effort that has gone into getting the Israelites out of Egypt, God now has a place to dwell with His people. The time has come when God speaks to Moses from among His people. No longer does Moses have to travel to the top of a mountain to speak to God. God has moved even closer to His people today. We don’t have to travel to a temple in Jerusalem to be with God because, as we see in the New Testament, we are God’s temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). God can now dwell among us in a more personal way; He has moved into the hearts of His people. We have been anointed and sanctified by the blood of Jesus to become the new temple that God dwells in. We see an ever moving forward march by God to be closer to His people. It started with the tabernacle, then into the hearts of men in the time of the New Testament and now. In the future, we have the hope of God dwelling with us in person in the kingdom! He is with us now in the power of the Spirit that moves among us but, at the time of the restoration of all things, God is going to be with us like it was in the garden of Eden. Revelation 21 says that God is going to dwell among men. There is no part of the Bible without significance. All of it is connected because all of it is the word of God. God’s desires don’t change and He desires to be with us. The creator of the universe, the creator of the estimated 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars wants to be with you. To me, the realization of this fact is humbling and inspiring.  Thank you, God!

Josiah Cain

(originally posted for SeekGrowLove on February 26, 2020)

Reflection Questions

  1. How does God set you apart and use you for His glory, and how can you better respond to His purpose for you?
  2. How does God dwelling within you impact your life and how can you further develop a closer relationship with God?
  3. How do you see the Bible as all working together as the word of God?
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Promise Keeper

Old Testament Reading: Numbers 34-36

Psalms Reading: Psalm 75

New Testament Reading: 2 Corinthians 12

Looking here at the last three chapters of the book of Numbers, it can often be easy to gloss over it, and miss the bigger picture of what is happening. It is easy to look at this as just some boring passages about land being divided between the tribes of Israel. But when we look at the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) we are supposed to look at it all together as a whole. Really we are supposed to look at the whole Bible that way, as one continuous story that leads to Jesus, and the work that God did through him on the cross.

When we look at the Pentateuch we see that the land of Canaan is referred to as the Promised Land. The reason for that is because way back in Genesis, God promised Abraham that this land would belong to his descendants: “The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:8) And so as we look at the end of Numbers what we are seeing is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. This passage even goes so far as to show that God is providing a place in the land of Canaan for those who are guilty of accidental murder, and for a family of sisters, whose dad had died without any male heirs.

Nowadays we look at that last chapter and say, “Well of course those ladies should inherit their father’s land,” but in those days that was unheard of. In the days of the Israelite conquest of Canaan, the only people who could legally inherit land from their fathers were men. But God had promised to Abraham that all of his descendants would be part of that inheritance. And God keeps His promises.

I think that is a big takeaway for us out of this passage. We can be sure that God keeps His promises no matter what. In II Corinthians (which we will also finish tomorrow) Paul wrote “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (1:20) Just like it was surely difficult for God’s people when they were trapped in slavery for a few hundred years to hold on to the promise of freedom and a land of their own. And like it was most likely hard for the Israelites who were exiled in Babylon for seventy years to hold onto the promise of being returned to their home in Israel. In the same way it may have been difficult for Simeon to hold onto the promise that his eyes would see the Messiah before he died. In the same way, it is difficult for us today to hold onto the promises that God may have given us. But just like in all these stories and so many others in the Bible, God fulfilled all of His promises.

When we read passages like this, we shouldn’t just gloss over them, but instead celebrate with the people that God’s promises were fulfilled in their lives. And we should also remember that just as He fulfilled his promises for them, He will do the same for us. So if you are struggling with fear and doubt about whether something God promised you will happen and take place, take heart because God will never ever ever break a single promise that He makes.

-Jonny Smith

Reflection Questions

  1. What promises of God have already been fulfilled, both in Scripture and in your own life?
  2. What promises of God are you still expecting to be fulfilled? How sure are you that they will indeed happen? What should we do while waiting for them?
  3. Using what you have read in His Scriptures, how would you describe God?
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What God Puts in My Mouth

Old Testament Reading: Numbers 22 & 23

Psalms Reading: Psalm 70

New Testament Reading: 2 Corinthians 7

Balaam is an interesting character – as is of course his famous articulate donkey. He must have been a very well-known and successful diviner – or pagan prophet – for Balak, the king of Moab, to send delegations twice to bring Balaam to curse the Israelites.

Balaam is not an Israelite. He does not serve the Lord Almighty. However, in these two chapter (Numbers 21 & 22) it appears he does a better job of listening to the Lord God and following his directions than most of the Israelites whom God had rescued from Egypt. From the Israelites who had experienced God’s mighty saving hand at work we have heard a whole lot of grumbling, complaining, and belly-aching as well as questioning God’s power and intent, His love and His faithfulness and His chosen leaders. In contrast, here we have the pagan prophet Balaam who (currently) seems to be following God’s every directive: Stay, Go, Speak. And Balaam does it. Perhaps Balaam has heard some of the stories coming out of the Israelite camp: the ground opening up to swallow the rebellious, the plagues of sickness and death, the water from the rock, the quail three feet deep, the sons of the priest burned to death by fire from heaven. As a sorcerer/diviner/soothsayer he has got to be more than a little curious about this God and all He can do. We do know Balaam heard his donkey speak to him (God truly can give His words to anyone, or anything) and God opened Balaam’s eyes. In response, Balaam speaks. And at this time, he speaks for God. It is as if he has no choice, just as his talking donkey had no choice. And so Balaam delivers God’s words:

“Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.” (22:18)

“But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.” (22:38)

“Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?” (23:26)

How silent the world would be if we erased all the words spoken that were NOT what God put in our mouths. This thought has been going through my mind the past couple of days (perhaps making it harder to write this devotion). Who of us can say (for very long), “I must speak (type) only what God puts in my mouth”? How would my house and marriage and work and church be improved if every word from my mouth first was reviewed to see if it was worthy of God’s seal of approval – “These words were brought to you by God”? I have said some pretty stupid, wrong, hurtful words that were definitely NOT from God. And, they get me into trouble and further from where He wants me to be. I know there are also many times I have failed to say what God HAS wanted me to speak.

Unfortunately for Balaam, his story doesn’t end there. Unfortunately for Balaam, his heart and motives and ethics were not in line with his words from the Lord. It is not enough to speak what is right while doing what is wrong. As we continue reading in Numbers we will learn more about Balaam. In the meantime, you might be interested in also checking out what some New Testament writers had to say about Balaam: 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11, Revelation 2:14.

Dear God, please open my eyes and give me the words you want me to say. THOSE are the words I want to speak. Help me live your words and show You to the world.

-Marcia Railton

Reflection Questions

  1. Re-read carefully the words that God put into Balaam’s mouth (23:7-10 & 18-24). What does God want to be made known about Him and His people? What do you think God wants you to tell others about Him? How? Where? When?
  2. How can you guard against saying the right thing but doing the wrong thing?
  3. What does God reveal about Himself in your Bible reading today? Why is that important?
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