Daily Notes & Observations is a 365-part series that follows a chronological daily Bible reading schedule and contains a short article based on something found in the text for each day. This material is also available in paperback.

February 27, 2012

"Wait, and I Will Listen to What the Lord Will Command" (2/27)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 8-10.

When the time came for the Israelites to observe the Passover, a few of them were unable to observe it. They questioned Moses as to what they could do:

“But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, ‘Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?’ Moses therefore said to them, ‘Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will command concerning you’” (Numbers 9:6-8).

The Lord then revealed to Moses a provision for those who were unable to observe the Passover at the appointed time (Numbers 9:9-12). This was not to be used as a loophole for those were able to observe but neglected it (Numbers 9:13). But God made an exception for those who were unclean or away on a journey.

What I want us to notice here is not the exception, but Moses’ reply to these men when they questioned him about what they could do in this situation.
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February 26, 2012

"To Each Man According to His Service" (2/26)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 7.

When the tabernacle was finished, the leaders of Israel brought an offering consisting of six carts and twelve oxen (Numbers 7:1-3). The Lord then gave Moses instructions about what to do with them:

“‘Accept these things from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and you shall give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.’ So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. Two carts and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service, and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service… But he did not give any to the sons of Kohath because theirs was the service of the holy objects, which they carried on their shoulders” (Numbers 7:5-9).

Among the Levites there were three groups: the sons of Gershon, the sons of Merari, and the sons of Kohath. It may have seemed logical to divide the offerings between the three groups – two carts and four oxen each – but this was not the Lord’s will.
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February 25, 2012

Innocent Until Proven Guilty (2/25)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 5-6.

When the Law was first handed down to Moses, adultery was explicitly condemned (Exodus 20:14). If this command was violated, God revealed the punishment for this sin – “If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife… the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death” (Levitucus 20:10).

What if there was only a suspicion of adultery? What if one was all but certain his wife had committed adultery with another man, but he had no evidence to prove she was guilty? The Law addressed this:
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February 24, 2012

"From a Month Old and Upward" (2/24)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 3-4.

In the previous reading, we noticed that the men of Israel, “from twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go out to war” (Numbers 1:3), were to be numbered. The exception to this was the tribe of Levi because they had a special duty to perform for the Lord (Numbers 1:49-50).

However, when we get to chapter 3, we find instructions given regarding the numbering of the Levites:

“Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number” (Numbers 3:15).

Instead of numbering the males who were twenty years old and upward, as was done with the rest of the tribes, the Lord wanted the Levites to be counted beginning at one month old.

Furthermore, instead of being counted for war, the Levites were set apart and counted for a spiritual work.
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February 23, 2012

The Levites Were Not to be Numbered (2/23)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 1-2.

The book of Numbers begins with a census being taken of certain ones from among the people: “From twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel, you and Aaron shall number them by their armies” (Numbers 1:3). But those of one particular tribe were exempted.

“The Levites, however, were not numbered among them by their fathers’ tribe. For the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying, ‘Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel. But you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the tabernacle” (Numbers 1:47-50).

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February 22, 2012

Consequences of Obedience and Disobedience (2/22)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Leviticus 26-27.

Leviticus 26 outlines certain blessings and curses the Israelites could receive from God. Whether they received the one or the other would be conditioned upon their actions.

“If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out…” (Leviticus 26:3).

If the Israelites obeyed God, He promised to bless them greatly with prosperity, peace, freedom, and fellowship with God (Leviticus 26:4-13).
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February 21, 2012

The Penalty for Killing Men and Animals (2/21)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Leviticus 24-25.

“If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death. The one who takes the life of an animal shall make it good, life for life. […] Thus one who kills an animal shall make it good, but the one who kills a man shall be put to death. There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 24:17-22).

This is a reminder of penalties that were already given. The punishment for murdering another man was death (Exodus 21:12). When a neighbor’s animal was killed, restitution was to be made (Exodus 21:33-36), but a man who killed an animal was not to be put to death. There are some lessons we can learn from this law:
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