March 8, 2012

Freedom and Slavery

Man, in his natural state as created by God, is free – free in speech, thought, action, association, and religion (though this does not mean that we are unaccountable for how we use our freedom – Ecclesiastes 11:9). But Satan, from the beginning, has worked diligently to bring man into bondage.

Why would Satan be concerned about and hostile toward man’s freedom? It is because the lack of freedom – which is the state of bondage or tyranny – hinders one from serving God and having a relationship with Him. Let us notice some ways in which man may become enslaved.
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March 6, 2012

Remember Those Who Were Unfaithful (3/6)

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

Chapters that provide details about a census of the Israelites are easy for us to skim over. Yet there are lessons to be learned even here.

“The sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were called by the congregation, who contended against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed  them up along with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, so that they became a warning” (Numbers 26:9-10).

“The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan” (Numbers 26:19).

“To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord” (Numbers 26:60-61).

Of the more than 600,000 men of Israel included in the census, the ones listed above were the few to have additional comments made about them. Why were we reminded of these men? They are here to serve as “a warning” (Numbers 26:10).
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March 4, 2012

The Bronze Serpent and the Pattern of Salvation (3/4)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 21-22.

“The people spoke against God and Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.’ The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.’ And Moses interceded for the people.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.’ And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived” (Numbers 21:5-9).

This account reminds us of the regular pattern of sin and salvation found in the Bible.
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March 3, 2012

Moses Struck the Rock (3/3)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 18-20.

On this particular occasion when the Israelites complained as they usually did, God provided for them, but punished Moses.

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.’

“So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, ‘Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?’ Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank.

“But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons is Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them’” (Numbers 20:7-12).

God gave Moses a simple instruction: speak to the rock. Yet Moses struck the rock instead. The end result was the same – the people received water – but Moses’ actions were still condemned.
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March 2, 2012

Shall One Man Sin and God Be Angry with All the Congregation? (3/2)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 16-17.

If one person within a congregation sins, will all members of that congregation stand condemned before God? It depends.

This was the situation in the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. A relatively small number of people rebelled, yet God was prepared to destroy the whole congregation.

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.’ But they fell on their faces and said, ‘O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?’ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abriram’” (Numbers 16:20-24).

Moses and Aaron thought it would be unfair for God to punish all the people for the sins of a few. Yet God intended to punish the guilty. This is why He gave the instruction to separate themselves from the rebels. Those Israelites who continued to accept the rebels and have fellowship with them also became guilty before the Lord.
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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 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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