Tag: Numbers

Zealous for Truth, Refined by Fire

Num 25-26

Ps 21

Mark 5

~ Devotion by Cayce Fletcher (SC)

Cayce Fletcher is a wife and homeschool mom of three. She writes and podcasts at amorebeautifullifecollective.com where she helps women cultivate a life of depth, discipline, and delight. Read the latest post on finding beauty in the everyday here. 

When we read through the Bible, we are confronted with episodes that may make us feel uncomfortable. Some stories feature violence and death, and to our modern sensibilities, they may seem extreme and a little off-putting. But we must always remind ourselves that the guide for what is good is God, and we learn about him through his word. 

So, today, when we read about a plague and the violent means to end the plague, we have to remember that we cannot come to the text with preconceived notions about what is good and place them on it (“Love is love,” etc.) We have to look at what the text says about goodness and truth. 

The Israelites were almost at the end of the 40th year of wandering. They were living in a place just north of the Dead Sea. They began to pursue the ways of the people who lived around them (and I’m putting that euphemistically). This ultimately resulted in idol worship. Numbers 25:3 says, “So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor.”

The people had entered into a covenant relationship with God, and one of the key commandments of that relationship was to have no other gods before him. But they rejected that law and sought their own path. 

Throughout the wanderings, they had committed several sins that showed their lack of trust, but as of yet, they had not sinned in this way: worshipping the gods of another nation. This phrasing – being yoked to Baal – is interesting. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, we see Israel struggle with this habitual sin of Baal worship. 

Also interestingly, it seems that Baal was introduced to the Israelites through the counsel of Balaam in Numbers. 31:16, see also Rev. 2:14. The Enduring Word commentary says, “Essentially, after his failure to curse Israel, Balaam said something like this to Balak: “I cannot curse these people. But you can get them to curse themselves by luring them to rebel against their God. Send your most provocative girls among them and tell them to tempt the men of Israel to immorality and idolatry.” And it worked.”

And thus starts the long battle against idolatry that plagues the Israelites through the judges, kings, and on into Exile. When framed in this way, it is easier to see why God was so angry at this breaking of the covenant. This was not a one-off situation. This was the beginning of the story of unfaithfulness. 

In response, God’s anger “burned against Israel.” Fire is often a picture of wrath, judgment, and refinement. Ultimately, we will all be refined by fire, and we want what remains to be pure and complete not lacking anything. 1 Peter 1:7 says it like this, “So that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

We must take a hard look at the sin in our lives and repent of it. We have to reject idolatry and the lies of this age. We have to flee from evil.

We want to be refined and proven true on that glorious day of Christ. 

Reflection Questions

  1. Some of today’s passage was hard to read. Why do you think God included difficult passages in his word? Why do we need to wrestle with these passages? 
  2. Balaam was able to hurt the Israelites much more by enticing them to idolatry than by his curses. How does the enemy work in the same way today? 
  3. How did Phinehas deal with idolatry and sin? How must we deal with it in our lives? 

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, 

You are a great God – the only God worth worshiping. Thank you for your word that helps us to know you better. Please keep us from idolatry. Help us to be zealous for you and you alone. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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What are you trusting in?

Num 23-24

Ps 20

Mark 5

~ Devotion by Cayce Fletcher (SC)

Cayce Fletcher is a wife and homeschool mom of three. She writes and podcasts at amorebeautifullifecollective.com where she helps women cultivate a life of depth, discipline, and delight. Read the latest post on finding beauty in the everyday here. 

The streets were hot and crowded as the people jostled for space. In the midst of the dust and sweat, a woman with a trembling hand reached out and touched the rough-hewn cloak of the man walking and talking in front of her. 

She knew that this was a life-or-death situation. She knew she just had to reach him. If she could only touch him, the horror of the last decade would at last be finished. She shuddered. Years of being alone. Years of throwing her money at doctors for a cure. Years of being barred from the temple. 

With a look to the side and the left, she leaped at her chance and grabbed the hem of his cloak. Just then, the man turned and said, “Who touched me?” 

Fear settled in the pit of her stomach. Everyone looked around with a questioning glance. What was he talking about? But the woman knew – it was her. She spoke up, stammering, expecting a rebuke, “It was I, my Lord.” 

Instead of speaking harshly to her, he gently turned to her and said, “Go. Your faith has made you well.” 

Today, we read of this woman’s story and her miraculous faith in Jesus. We also read about Balaam’s curses (or lack thereof). Each of these stories shows the truth of Psalm 21:6-8: 

“Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;

    he will answer him from his holy heaven

    with the saving might of his right hand.

  Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

  They collapse and fall,

    but we rise and stand upright.”

Balak had chosen to trust in the curses of Balaam. He wanted Balaam to bring about the destruction of the Israelites, but he was thwarted because the people who trust in the name of God will rise and stand upright. Balaam was not even able to curse the Israelites because God as with them. The curses instead fell on Balak. 

The woman chose to trust in God through Jesus, and she was able to rise and stand upright, healed and made clean through Christ. Doctors, money, and status could not save her, but God did. 

We are constantly blown and tossed by the storms of life. When we go through suffering, when we go through pain, we have to turn and fix our eyes on the Lord. Others may collapse and fall, but if we trust in him, we will rise and stand upright. 

Reflection Questions

  1. What have you found yourself trusting in lately? 
  2. What are the chariots and horses of today? Why is it so much easier to trust in ‘chariots and horses’? 
  3. Is there a situation in your life where you need to trust God more? 

Prayer

Dear Lord, 

Thank you for the care that you give each one of your servants. Thank you for not neglecting us in our sorrow and need, but instead, providing for us in every way. Help us to trust in you more. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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Where are you looking?

Num 21-22

Ps 20

Mark 4

~ Devotion by Cayce Fletcher (SC)

Cayce Fletcher is a wife and homeschool mom of three. She writes and podcasts at amorebeautifullifecollective.com where she helps women cultivate a life of depth, discipline, and delight. Read the latest post on finding beauty in the everyday here. 

The Israelites are approaching the end of their 40th year wandering in the desert. The older generation had passed away, and the new generation was rising up and being prepared to enter the Promised Land. 

At the end of Numbers 21, Edom had refused passage to the Israelites, so the people were forced to take the longer way back around the Red Sea. In the quintessential Israelite fashion, they began to complain about Moses’s leadership and the ‘worthless food’ they were eating. So, God sent ‘fiery serpents’ to attack the people. 

Why fiery serpents? The word ‘fiery’ here is seraph. This could mean a venomous snake – whose bite would sting. But the word seraph is interesting. Fire throughout the Old Testament is often used to describe God’s judgment and holiness. By sending a fiery snake, God was inciting judgment on the Israelites for their complaints. 

Why fiery serpents? Ever since the Garden of Eden, serpents are synonymous with evil. Why would God send those to the people? David Christensen writes, “The serpents point to “Egyptian symbolism.”” The people had desired Egypt and its God, so God effectively sent them these things. But, of course, the effect of this is the opposite of what the people wanted. When the people get what they desire, it results in death. 

This is true for us as well. Sometimes, we desire what we should not. We complain. We get bitter. We think, if only I could have that instead of the worthless things around me. But when we get that desire, it results in death. James 1:14-15 describes it like this: “But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

Thankfully, our salvation mirrors the salvation found in this passage. Moses was told to put a bronze serpent on a stick, to lift it up, and anyone who looked at it would be healed. John 3:14-15 says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” 

Left to our own desires and devices, we will follow a path that ends in death, but when we look to Christ as our sacrifice, savior, and King, we will find the path to eternal life. Where are you looking today?

Reflection Questions

  1. Why do you think the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt despite all they had seen? 
  2. Why do you think God sent the fiery serpents as a punishment? 
  3. How do you see yourself in the story of the Israelites? 

Prayer

Dear Lord, 

Thank you for the sacrifice of your Son, whom we can look to for eternal life. Help us to follow after you in obedience and reverence. Let us not turn away to our own desires. Help us to flee from them and run towards you. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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The Whole Duty of Man

Num 19-20

Ps 19

Mark 4

~ Devotion by Cayce Fletcher (SC)

Cayce Fletcher is a wife and homeschool mom of three. She writes and podcasts at amorebeautifullifecollective.com where she helps women cultivate a life of depth, discipline, and delight. Read the latest post on finding beauty in the everyday here. 

Numbers 19 finishes the communication of the law of God to his people through Moses. We then see a 38-year jump in time. Right after the Exodus from Egypt, the people traveled to Mount Sinai. There they encamped around the mountain for about a year. It is there they received the law and celebrated the first Passover. 

After the year spent around Sinai, the Israelites went directly to Canaan, where the infamous episode with the spies took place. The Israelites were forced to wander for 40 years. Numbers 20 begins during this 40th year. The old generation that included Miriam (126 years old when she died) and Aaron (123 years old) was passing away, and the new generation was preparing to enter the Promised Land. 

Still, even though so much time had passed, the people seemed to have learned nothing. They began grumbling and complaining again. Moses turned to God in his distress. He fell down on his knees in prayer. What a picture of how we should respond when we are at the end of our rope! 

God met him there and gave him the next steps to take. He was to go to the rock and tell the water to come out. 

And then the tragedy occurs – Moses, who always chose the humble path, responded in anger (with a little bravado) to the people. He goes up to the rock, “and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”” Then, he strikes the rock twice. 

Because of his disobedience, he is barred from the promised land. God tells him that his response ‘did not uphold God as holy before the people.’

The right response to God is faithful obedience on our knees. It is there that we meet him face-to-face. But it is so easy to let our view of God get clouded by our messy emotions and our chaotic surroundings. 

Do we respond to God in faithful obedience? Or do we react rashly – foolishly – hoping God will bless the response even if it’s sinful? 

God requires whole-hearted obedience and an attitude that reflects a pure heart. Moses’ anger towards the people in that moment caused him to react violently – and Moses was judged for it. 

We rarely feel fear, awe, or reverence for authority today, but today’s passage reminds us that God is holy. We must remember the holiness of God and cultivate a healthy fear of God in our souls. The fear of God helps us to respond faithfully with humility to the commands of God. 

As we read of the end of Miriam and Aaron’s lives, let’s be reminded that the foundation of the legacy of our lives should be this fear of God. As Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

Reflection Questions

  1. How does a life built on the foundation of the fear of the Lord differ from a life without it? 
  2. In what ways did Moses show a fear of God throughout his life? Why did this instance at Meribah not show a fear of God? 
  3. How do you grow in your fear of the Lord?

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Please let us remember who the true Lord of our lives is. Let us remember how great you are. Let us remember that you are God and you are not. Thank you for the ways that you draw us back to this truth. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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Lessons from the Almond Blossom

Numbers 17-18

Ps 19

Mark 3

~ Devotion by Cayce Fletcher (SC)

Cayce Fletcher is a wife and homeschool mom of three. She writes and podcasts at amorebeautifullifecollective.com where she helps women cultivate a life of depth, discipline, and delight. Read the latest post on finding beauty in the everyday here. 

After the dust has settled from taking down the Christmas decorations and the long winter days begin, my heart always yearns for the first glimpses of Spring. I always find it nestled amongst the leaves and the mulch. Before the weather turns hot and humid, before the first buds on the trees, before winter really seems to loosen its grasp, I see the yellow blooms set off against the dark green leaves. The daffodil, a golden reminder that spring is just around the corner. 

I’m not sure if they have daffodils in Israel, but one plant that they do have – which doesn’t grow here – the almond tree. In today’s reading, we read about Aaron’s staff, with the names of Israel etched on the side, sprouting these flowers. 

It makes me think: What is so special about the almond blossom? 

Almond blossoms were often the first indication that spring was on its way. Biblehub explains, “The almond blossom holds rich symbolic meaning within the biblical narrative. Its early blooming is often associated with vigilance and the fulfillment of God’s promises. The almond tree’s ability to flower in the midst of winter serves as a reminder of hope and renewal, reflecting God’s faithfulness and the assurance of His word coming to pass.”

In the case of Aaron, the blooming of his staff was an important confirmation for him and the Israelite people: God had chosen the Levites to “guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death” (Numbers 18:7). 

It’s interesting that the almond blossom in this passage is supposed to serve as a reminder of two things: (1) that God’s word shall come to pass and (2) that God had ordained Aaron and his family to be an authority in the temple. In fact, Aaron was told to put his staff in the ark of the covenant to be a reminder to the ‘rebels’ of who God has chosen. 

We often are more like the Israelites than we care to admit. We see God work in our lives, but grumble and complain all the same. Almond blossoms remind us that Spring will always come – and God’s word shall always be fulfilled. How often do we grumble and complain? How often do we rebel because of a lack of trust? 

You may not have almond blossoms in your backyard, but as you look out at your garden this morning, try to notice the first glimpses of Spring. We have a great hope that God’s word will never return void. We can completely trust him! 

Reflection Questions

  1. What is your first indication that Spring is on its way? 
  2. What is one way you can remind yourself to trust in God’s promises, even when you feel discouraged? 

Prayer

Lord, 

Thank you for the renewal of the world that happens at Springtime. Thank you for the new life that we have all been given in Christ. May we not forget your promises. May we not chafe against your sovereignty. You are our King, and we praise you! 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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Numbers 27-28, Luke 4

As the book of Numbers draws to a close, Moses begins to make preparation for his death. God tells him he will not enter the Promised Land with the Israelites, but he will be able to see it before the Israelites enter in. Moses is (very understandably) concerned for the Israelite people. He has had to intercede for them and guide them away from idolatrous actions again and again. In Numbers 27, Moses passes on the leadership torch to Joshua so that the Israelites will not be like a “sheep without a shepherd” (Numb. 27:17). Joshua would become the next leader who would guide, command, and take care of the Israelite people as they enter into the land of Canaan. 

Luke 4 describes the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Moses had spent years building up trust and confidence from the Israelite people, and Joshua benefited from that. He was able to build on the legacy of leadership that Moses left behind. Unlike Joshua, Jesus had to start from square one when building confidence and trust with the Jewish people. We see him begin this process in Luke 4. After the temptations in the wilderness, he begins preaching in the synagogues. At one point, he reads a passage from Isaiah that begins with “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because he has anointed me to…” and then lists out all the actions the God has sent him to do (Luke 4:18). Jesus did not have a Moses that told all the Jewish people to listen and follow after him. But, Jesus had something better to establish his authority. Not only did God speak over him after he was baptized, “This is my beloved Son. I take delight in him!” (Luke 3:22). He also had all of the Old Testament scriptures that spoke about him! 

Even so, the Jewish people did not accept him as a leader, because he challenged the way that he led and thought about the world. Just like the leadership example set by Moses, Jesus knew that the Jewish people needed someone to guide them, protect them, and care for them. They needed a shepherd. But, being led by a shepherd sometimes includes being corrected by a shepherd. The Jewish people, especially those in positions of power, were resistant to this. In fact, this section of Luke ends with the Jewish people doing this: “They got up, drove Him out of town, and brought Him to the edge of the hill, intending to hurl Him over a cliff” (Luke 4:29). 

Jesus is the “good shepherd” (John 10:14). His sheep “follow him because they recognize his voice” (John 10:4). When Jesus is leading us, do we follow? Are we resistant and stubborn to correction, choosing to go our own way? Or do we trust that our good shepherd will guide us on the right paths? How do we view Jesus’ leadership? 

My prayer is that we will trust in Jesus as our good shepherd. That his leading, both in guiding and correcting, will be a “comfort” to us as he lets us “lie down in green pastures,” leads us “beside quiet waters,” and “renews our life” (Ps. 23:1-4). 

~ Cayce Fletcher

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading at Biblegateway.com: Job 1-2 and 2 Corinthians 2 .

download the seekgrowlove 2021 Bible reading plan

Numbers 25-26, Luke 3

Almost 40 years had passed, and the Israelites were nearing the time when they would enter into the Promised Land. A generation had died in the wilderness because they failed to trust that God would guide them, protect them, and give them the good things he had promised. God had used the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings to teach them about his holiness and to teach them to trust in him more. However, not all of the Israelites were sanctified through this time. 

In Numbers 25, the Israelites are staying in the country of Moab. Because of intermarriage and lack of loyalty, they turn away from God and begin to worship Baal, a pagan god. Leading the way in this idolatry are several leaders of the people. God sends a terrible plague among the people that eventually killed 24,000 people and orders Moses to strike the idolatrous leaders down. So, Moses and Aaron’s great-grandson, Phinehas, gather the people together. The people are in mourning for the loved ones they lost in the plague, and all gathered together at the tabernacle, they are mourning in supposed repentance. However, Phinehas sees one of the Israelites blatantly bring a Moab woman into the tent of meeting! While the people are weeping in repentance, this person acts in a way that would indicate that he was not repentant at all. He was going to continue in his sin. The repentance was only caused by the negative experiences the Israelites faced, but it wasn’t true, heart-changing repentance that would cause them to change their actions. 

Phinehas, in a zealous passion, takes a spear and kills both the man and the woman who are doing this. Because of that harsh measure, the plague stops and God promises the priesthood would continue with Phinehas for generations. This seems like a brutal action. But, the reason why God praised Phinehas for doing it was because this action shows (1) Phinehas understood the concept of the holiness of God and his tabernacle and (2) Phinehas recognized how sin has to be stopped so it won’t continue to do its damage. Sin spreads like a plague, which, once it gets started, is very difficult to eradicate. If we recognize the importance of holiness and trying ourselves to live a lifestyle of holiness, we cannot continue to allow sin to spread in our lives. We have to be willing to act zealously to snuff it out. 

In Luke 3, we read about the ministry of John the Baptist in his own wilderness. He cries out to the people to ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!’ He urges those who come out to see him to “produce fruits consistent with repentance” because “every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Luke 3:8-9). Recognition of the severity of sin and true repentance from that sin are crucial to producing good fruit. If we do not recognize and repent from sin, we will not produce good fruit. We will not live lives that glorify God. 

Evaluate your life. Is it characterized by a right understanding of sin? Of an understanding of the importance of holiness? What about true repentance and good fruit? As John and Jesus said, “Repent! The Kingdom of Heaven is near!”

~ Cayce Fletcher

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading at Biblegateway.com: Job 1-2 and 2 Corinthians 2 .

download the seekgrowlove 2021 Bible reading plan

Numbers 23-24, Luke 2

We’ve seen Israel’s unfaithfulness to God because of their lack of ability to trust God over the previous chapters. Even so, God still provides for the Israelites. He still shows up for them and helps them to overcome their obstacles, the battles that they face. In Numbers 21, Israel faces the Amorites, one of the desert peoples who tried to stand up against them. They defeated them and the surrounding peoples and dwelt in their cities with the help of God. 

After living in the land of the Amorites, they left that area and traveled to Moab, whose king was Balak. Balak was terrified of the Israelites, because of their previous victories and phoned help in the form of Balaam, a diviner from a land 400 miles away from Moab. Balak the Moabite wanted Balaam the diviner to put a curse on the Israelite people, and so Balaam traveled to meet Balak (despite God’s repeated warnings). Numbers 23-24 details the oracles that Balaam gives about the Israelite people. In each oracle, Balaam speaks exactly what God wants him to. Even though Balak asked for a curse, Balaam is not able to give one. Instead, he speaks truth, blessings, and good promises about the Israelites based on God’s faithfulness to them.  In fact, Balak gets so fed up with Balaam’s oracles that he summons him in Numbers 24:10-11 and tells him to go home without a reward! Balaam responds by saying, “Didn’t I tell you? If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the Lord’s command, to do anything good or bad of my own will? I will say what the Lord says” (Numb. 24:13). The Spirit of God allowed Balaam to proclaim God’s truth. He proclaimed the good deeds God had done for the Israelites, and he proclaimed words that spoke blessings for the people. 

Interestingly, in Luke 2, we also read of proclamations and oracles. However, these proclamations are given by a very different kind of being on a very different occasion. In Luke 2, we read about the birth of Jesus. This account includes the shepherds greeted by the heavenly host who praised God after they sent the shepherds on the way to baby Jesus. These angels proclaim “good news of great joy that will be for all people: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David” (Luke 2:10-11). The angels proclaimed the greatness of God. And, they proclaimed the good things that God was going to bring to his people, the Christ. 

We may not have a diviner proclaiming God’s promises to us. We may not have a heavenly host appear to us. But, we do have God’s word. In his word, we have proclamation after proclamation of the good things that God is giving us. We have promise after promise of what a life as a believer will lead to. When you are facing difficult times, where the end seems unclear and your feet feel unsteady, trust in the proclamations of God. What is he proclaiming over you today?

~ Cayce Fletcher

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading at Biblegateway.com: Job 1-2 and 2 Corinthians 2 .

download the seekgrowlove 2021 Bible reading plan

Numbers 21-22, Luke 1

The Israelites’ wilderness wanderings continue in Numbers 21-22. Even though they had chosen not to enter the Promised Land because of their perceived battles, the battles came to them in the wilderness. They faced the kingdoms of Edom, Arad, Amorites, and Ammonites. In all of these battles, the outcome of the standoff was based not in the strength of the Israelite people, but in the amount of trust they had in God. 

The Israelites were a stubborn people though. They had a tendency to forget the lessons they had just learned. In Numbers 21, they had just shown their trust in God when they defeated the king of Arad. But, in verse 4, they began to grumble and complain against God, asking why they had come out of Egypt to the wilderness. This is a recurring pattern with the Israelites. When they face difficult circumstances, they begin to complain. God always responds strongly to their complaints – sometimes strikingly so. It makes him incredibly angry each and every time they begin to act in this way. In this instance, he sent poisonous snakes among the people. At other times, he sent plagues, fire, or disease – anything to show his displeasure. 

We know that this action – the complaining and grumbling against God’s ordained path – causes God anger. But, as I am reading through the book of Numbers, it’s hard for me to really rectify the description of this wrathful, vengeful God and the God of the New Testament who sent his son to wipe away all sins. Why did it make God this angry? Is it really that bad to complain? 

To answer this question, we can turn to the other passage that we were looking at today: Luke 1. This is the story of the pregnancy announcements of both John the Baptist and Jesus – both of which happened before they got pregnant! John the Baptist parents were Zechariah and Elizabeth, another Levite from the line of Aaron. Zechariah was chosen to serve in the temple, a once in a lifetime opportunity for him, when an angel of the Lord appeared and told him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. There will be joy and delight for you” (Luke 1:13-14). After this, I would imagine that Zechariah would be jumping for joy – the desires of his heart, his deepest prayer, had been answered! But, that’s not the picture that we get. Zechariah responds, “How can I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years” (Luke 1:18). Zechariah’s prayers were answered, but he wanted proof. He wanted God to prove himself to Zechariah. It seemed like an angel of the Lord appearing to Zechariah just wasn’t enough for him. 

In both the Israelites’ and Zechariah’s situation (as well as the situation with Balaam and his donkey in Numbers 22), they wanted God to prove himself to be God. The previous faithfulness God had shown them wasn’t enough; they wanted God to prove himself to be big enough and powerful enough in that moment for them to trust him. But – I don’t think, for any of these people, anything that God could have done in that moment would truly have caused them to trust him more. It wasn’t on God to prove himself to them. For the Israelites, he caused the plagues in Egypt, split the Red Sea, routed whole armies. For Zechariah, he sent a messenger to talk to him face to face and tell him that his greatest desire was answered. They had already received their signs. It was the people’s responsibility to soften their hearts enough to trust in God. They needed to believe that God was who he said he was and would do what he said he would do. 

We are required to trust in the same way. God has done tremendously more than we have ever deserved. He is currently doing more in our lives than we could ever hope for. It is our responsibility to trust him to be God. We just have to follow in obedience to him.

~ Cayce Fletcher

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading at Biblegateway.com: Job 1-2 and 2 Corinthians 2 .

download the seekgrowlove 2021 Bible reading plan

Numbers 19-20, Psalm 51-52

Moses and the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings continue on in Numbers 19-20. In previous chapters as we’ve seen, God faithfully shows up for Moses, choosing him and the Levites as the priesthood to be the leaders and go-betweens between God and the Israelite people. In Numbers 20, Moses has to deal with the Israelites’ rebellious spirit again. They came fighting against Moses saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord. Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It’s not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates, and there is no water to drink!” (Numb. 20:3-5).

Even though God continued to provide for the Israelites time and time again, the Israelites had yet to learn to trust in him. They questioned God’s purpose for them and even stated that they wished they had died with the Israelites who had been killed in the plague after Korah’s rebellion. One rebellion had just been resolved with the blossoming of Aaron’s branch, but the people were again questioning Moses’ leadership because of their circumstances in the wilderness. 

Moses responds as he normally does – by falling face down before God to beg God for help. God responds to Moses and Aaron and gives them specific instructions to follow: take your staff and speak to a rock. Then, water will flow out. However, Moses, heated in the moment, rashly gathers the assembly and says to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you?” Then, he struck the rock twice and water gushed out (Numb. 20:9-11). In this pivotal moment of Moses’ leadership, he does not respond with level-headed humility. Instead, he responds rebelliously towards God because of his frustration with the people. By forcefully striking the rock and saying that it was him – Moses – who brought the water out, he took the glory away from God and placed it on himself. Moses decided that he was going to be the one to save the Israelites, and he forcefully showed them what he could do. 

I totally can identify and sympathize with Moses in this moment. He loved God. He loved the people. And, he truly wanted what was best for the people. But, he got frustrated. He was tired and probably thirsty. He was overwhelmed. Because of this, he made a mistake with dire consequences; he would not lead the people into the promised land. He got caught up in the feelings of the moment, the seeming impossibility of shepherding the Israelite people into a trusting, righteous way of living and into the promised land. When he looked at his situation, he may have felt trapped, may have felt hopeless, or may have just felt mad. The one thing he forgot to do was to view those feelings in light of the character of God. He forgot to trust in who God was – to remember that despite what the Israelites were saying, God was always in Moses’ corner. 

We all have times where the circumstances we are in cause us to be blinded by the feelings we have. We may feel stuck, tired, hopeless, mad. Maybe we feel like we just want to hit something. Or we just want to give up. But remember – God is in our corner. When we face those difficult times, we can trust that he will always come through. 

~ Cayce Fletcher

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading at Biblegateway.com: Job 1-2 and 2 Corinthians 2 .

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