Greetings on this day of reflection and rest in the ultimate refuge, Jesus Christ!  I am so thankful today to have a refuge from the enemy of my soul!  God alone is my refuge and strength!  Take time today to worship with a body of believers and to study the precious Word of God.

As I reflect on the reading of the past week, I am again reminded of Moses’ death for his sins.  Moses represents the Law of God.  God’s law can only make us aware of sin and show us God’s holy standard of perfection.  The law ultimately brings all of us to death if we do nothing else but read it.  All of us are born under the rule of “Sin” or “Satan” as our leader.  The law exposes that truth.  We must change “leader” in order to be free from the penalty of death and eternal separation from God.

We need “Joshua” to take us to the promised land of our inheritance.  God has provided His Son, Jesus Christ, as our “Joshua”.  He is more than able to lead us into our full inheritance.  He was lifted up like the snake on the pole to be our remedy for sin.  Sin was put to death on that cross as Jesus took the penalty for us.  All who will look to Him will live.  We change our leader to Jesus Christ, and the great news is that He is alive!  Death could not hold Him!  He has the keys of death and hell!  He is alive forever and we can live forever as we make Him Lord of our life!

Thank God today for the wonderful gift of salvation and for your new leader!  Jesus is the Good Shepherd who will take you into the full inheritance of your heavenly Father!

In His Love,  Pastor John

This past week I counseled someone who has a relative who was involved in a murder.  Murder is a terrible crime that causes grief, pain, and sometimes revenge and more violence.  The thief, Satan, comes to steal, kill and destroy his victims.  Murder is a sin that destroys a person who is made in the image of God.  It robs the victim of fulfillment of his life and purpose here on earth.  It robs God of any glory He would receive from that person fulfilling his destiny and purpose.

God knew that sin in the heart of His people would sometimes lead to this sin of murder.  Sometimes it would be a willful act that deserved punishment.  The penalty in the Old Testament for willfully taking the life of another human being was the forfeiting of the life of the murderer.  (Numbers 21:16)  A close relative could take it on themselves to be the avenger of blood and take the life of the one who had murdered.  (Numbers 35:21)

Sometimes someone may kill another person accidentally, without premeditation or intention.  There may be no witnesses, and anger may be provoked in a friend or relative to avenge this death.  God provided 6 cities of refuge for this person who unintentionally killed someone. (Numbers 35:6)   The person could flee to a city of refuge and was to be kept safe there from the avenger.  Today we would call this “manslaughter” and our laws also recognize whether or not the murder or death was intentional or not.

Today we have something better than these Israelites. “God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)  Jesus Christ is our refuge and we can run to Him.  (Hebrews 6:17-20)  He is our priest who will not only pray for us but who has paid the penalty for our sin and can give us freedom!  We can be greatly encouraged today that any sin we commit, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit,  has a remedy in Jesus Christ.  (Matthew 12:31-32)

If you need a refuge today, turn to Jesus and confess your sin and need.  Allow these truths to give you hope and encouragement.  The New Jerusalem where Jesus Christ is the Lord and Light is the ultimate “City of Refuge.”  (Revelation 21:2-5)

“But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23)   My wife and I used this verse to warn our children against disobeying our boundaries for them.  Whenever they stepped over the line that we had established for them, we had them write this verse and  several others that related to the issue several times; then they were to explain the meaning of the verses to us.  This was a simple method of discipline that instructed our children in basic truth and the meaning behind it.

God wanted to make sure the Reubenites and Gadites would help their brothers take possession of the promised land.  They wanted to stay on the other side of the Jordan where there was some lush pasture land rather than go over and get an inheritance.   Moses insisted that they arm themselves and help possess the land first.  If they failed to follow this guideline, they would be guilty of sinning against the Lord.  Their sin would be exposed and bring dire consequences. (Numbers 32:20-22)

Sin had already cost the lives of every male 20 years old and older who came out of Egypt, except for Joshua, Caleb and Moses.  This happened because the Israelites did not want to follow God or His instructions to enter the promised land.  (Numbers 14:26-30)  Sin is disobedience to God’s express commands.  The sad news is that all of us have disobeyed God’s commands and if we do nothing, our sin will find us out!  (Romans 3:23)  The wages of sin is death!  (Romans 6:23)  We will die physically and then there will be a judgment where we will answer to God.  Our sins will be exposed and we will pay the penalty!  (Hebrews 9:27)

We have another “sure thing” that we can fully trust in.  “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.” (1st Timothy 1:15)  Just as we can be sure that our sins will find us out, we can rely on Jesus Christ to save us from the penalty of our sin.  He will also save us from the power of sin and enable us to possess the inheritance of eternal life that He has promised us in Christ!  Praise the Lord!

Moses came to the end of his life strong and healthy but he had sinned against the Lord.  He would not be able to enter the promised land, only look at it from a distance.  (Numbers 27:12-14)  God was going to gather him to his people who had already left this world.  Moses had been a man of faith but had dishonored God before the people when he struck the rock a second time instead of speaking to it as God instructed.

When he knew his time was over, Moses uttered a final request to the Lord concerning leadership of His people.  This prayer is instructive for us today.  “Moses said to the Lord, ” May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”" (Numbers 27:15-17)

Moses had a shepherd’s heart.  He had cared for the people for forty years after caring for Jethro’s sheep in the desert for the previous forty years.  He knew that these people needed a shepherd who could lead them and care for them.  He knew that people wander away like sheep and get lost.  He knew that wild animals devoured wandering sheep and they needed protection.  He also knew that only God could appoint the shepherd that could truly care for these human sheep!

The immediate answer of God was to appoint Joshua, the son of Nun, a man who had the Spirit in him.  Joshua was a noted man of faith who had stuck close to Moses the past forty years.  Moses was to lay his hands on him and impart the mantle of leadership.  (Numbers 27:18-20)  He would lead the Israelites with the guidance of God’s wisdom through Eleazar the high priest.

God answered then with Joshua and now has provided something better for us! Jesus Christ is the true shepherd who truly cares for all of God’s sheep!  (John 10:11)   He demonstrated his love for the sheep by giving His life for them!  He has given us His Spirit to live in us and guide us daily.  (John 16:13-15)  Listen to your Shepherd Jesus today and follow Him out of sin and into your eternal destiny.

Complaining can be deadly!  The Bible teaches that there is power in our words and what comes out of our mouth has roots in our heart.  (Matthew 12:34-35)   Faith is something that we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth.  The object of true biblical faith must be God and His word, not our fears or a lie.  The Israelites had a lot to learn.

“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom.   But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert?  There is no bread!  There is no water!  And we detest this miserable food!”" (Numbers 21:4-5)

Sin is deeply ingrained in our hearts.  Even this group of people who had seen many miracles and daily experienced the miraculous supply of manna still had sin in their hearts.   The cloud of Glory and Fire of God at night did not keep them from complaining.  The earth opening and swallowing some who complained alive did not seem to have an effect.  They wanted what they wanted, when they wanted it, and would not be happy until they got it!

God did answer their complaints about Him and Moses by sending some poisonous snakes to bite them.  When the complainers began to die because of the bites, they cried out to Moses for help.  It is interesting that leaders are blamed for perceived troubles, but when the consequences of sin do begin to come, then the same complainers want prayer and begin to confess sin.  (Numbers 21:6-7)

Moses was given a strange remedy for the snake bites by God.  (Numbers 21:8-9)  He was to make a bronze snake and put it on top of a pole for the people to look at.  Anyone who was bitten could look with faith and live!  Jesus Christ used this verse from Scripture to describe His own death on the cross for the whole world.  “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-16)

Sin is a malady of the human race that permeates all men.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!  (Romans 3:23)  The wages of sin is death.  (Romans 6:23)  Our reading today records the deaths of brother Aaron and sister Miriam.  Moses also is told that he, too, will not be allowed to enter the promised land, but must be gathered to his people.

The first to pass from the scene was Miriam, the older sister of Moses. (Numbers 20:1)  Miriam was a prophetess who used her tambourine to prophesy and led the Israelite women in a victory celebration after the miracle of God’s deliverance at the Red Sea.  (Exodus 15:20-21)  Miriam got into trouble when she talked about Moses because of his Cushite wife.  She was jealous of her younger brother and evidently wanted to have some of his authority.  (Numbers 12:1-3, 9-12)  She was struck with leprosy and was put out of the camp for a week, then healed as Moses prayed for her.  Miriam was greatly used of God and gifted, but died without entering the promised land.

Aaron and Moses were faced with grumbling yet again because of a lack of water in the Desert of Zin.  Moses and Aaron went before the Lord and again fell face-down.  (Numbers 20:6-8)  God spoke to them and told them to take the staff from the Lord’s presence and speak to the rock and it would gush water for them and their livestock.  However, Moses and Aaron obeyed only partially.  They did take the staff, but in anger Moses ridiculed his brothers and struck the rock twice with the staff.  (Numbers 20: 9-10)

Moses and Aaron were rebuked by the Lord for dishonoring Him before the people.  The penalty would be no entry into the promised land.  Everyone wanted to be the leader and many tried to take Moses’ place over the years.  Now at the end of the journey, Moses is disqualified because of anger and frustration that led to striking the rock twice instead of speaking to it!

In truth, God is merciful!  He is teaching His people that the law, represented by Moses, cannot take anyone into the promised land!  It is only grace through faith that can take us all the way!  Joshua (Jesus) is the one who by faith would lead God’s people into the land to possess it.

Earthquakes have been in the news lately.  The earthquake in Haiti took the lives of over 200,000 people.  Many were buried alive by rubble of buildings or crushed by them when they fell.  The Bible tells us a story that reminds us of an earthquake and that cost the lives of several families while a whole nation watched it happen.  God sent a special kind of earthquake at a precise moment to signify His displeasure with some of His people who who were insolent and defiant against God’s chosen authority.  This judgment is an interesting picture of the final judgment for rejecting God’s chosen authority, Jesus Christ!

A Levite named Korah, along with Dathan and Abiram from the tribe of Reuben began to talk against Moses.  There were 250 leaders in this group that went to Moses and Aaron and accused them of going too far in assuming leadership of the nation.  Their view was that everyone was holy and the Lord was with each person.  (Numbers 16:1-3)  They each thought that they should be able to offer sacrifices and take the job of priest before God.  Moses’ response was to fall face-down in intercession.  I bet Moses had a flat nose from doing this each time there was trouble or rebellion!

Moses was instructed by the Lord to set up a meeting the next day where all the 250 leaders plus Moses and Aaron would appear before the Tent of Meeting  with their censers filled with fire and incense.  God would then signify His choice of leadership.  Moses spoke directly to Korah and rebuked him and then called for Dathan and Abiram but they refused to come.  Moses became angry and prayed that the Lord not accept their sacrifice.  (Numbers 16:12-15)

The next day they gathered before the Tent of Meeting.  God instructed Moses to move everyone away from Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their families and tents.  Moses and Aaron had fallen face-down to intercede again but got up to obey.  As they warned the people, the earth opened and swallowed these men and their families, alive and screaming,  into Sheol!  (Numbers 16:20-30)  The 250 men with censers were burned to a crisp! What a terrible sight this must have been, provoking fear in the people!  However, the very next day they again grumbled that Moses and Aaron had killed the Lord’s people!  Rejecting God’s leadership has eternal consequences!

“I love Jesus Christ!”  I can say that without shame or fear today because of a secure relationship with God through Jesus!  I know Him and trust His Holy Word!  It is wonderful to have a love relationship based on truth and trust.  This relationship that I have has been growing for many years and is stronger today than yesterday.  It is because I am constantly seeking to know Him better and to understand His love for me as expressed in His Word and by the Holy Spirit. (1st John 4:13-16)

Because of my relationship with Christ, I can also love others.  I am growing in my ability to be a loving husband and father as I learn and experience Christ’s love for me.  I am learning to love in truth as well as in deed.  (1st John 3:16-18)  Christ demonstrated His love for us by dying for us!  (Romans 5:8) (1st John 4:10)

In our reading this past week, God demonstrated His love for His people by counting each one of them and giving them work to do.  God showed His love for His people by living in the center of their camp and manifesting His glory to them.  He showed His love by giving them leaders like Moses and Aaron who would model obedience and pray for them.  He loved the people by leading them and then by giving them rest.  He loved them by placing His Name on them by the blessing of Aaron spoken over them!  He loved them by feeding them manna each day and providing water from the Rock!  What a caring God we come to know as we read His word!

I love you!  Thanks for being my friend!  Take time on this day celebrating love, to tell those you love how much you care for them.  Be sure to tell God how thankful you are for His love, the source of all true love!  In His Love,  Pastor John

I often think about being led by the visible presence of God as I read these passages that describe God leading His people.  It seems so simple just to be able to follow the cloud of glory as God arose and the Israelites were called to follow.  I tend to think how comforting it would be to know the Lord’s visible presence day and night in the midst of His people.  If only we could be together and have that today, would we behave better than we sometimes do?

The Israelites were instructed plainly by God to move only when God’s visible presence moved.  (Numbers 9:15-18)  They were to camp around the Ark of the Covenant housed in the Tent of Meeting.  They were to camp in a definite order with three tribes on each of the four directions around the Tent.  The Levites were to be in the middle with the Tent.  (Numbers 2:17)  When the community was to assemble or prepare to move, Aaron and his sons were to blow two trumpets of hammered silver.  Various blasts would signal the Israelites that they were to either move out or assemble.

God always led the procession and gave the orders.  The tribes must move in the order He instructed them, with Judah in the lead.  (Numbers 10:14)  The tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali brought up the rear and guarded their back.  As the Ark either moved or came to rest, Moses was to say, “Rise up, O Lord! May Your enemies be scattered; may Your foes flee before You.” Whenever it came to rest, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.” (Numbers 10:35-36)   Faith in God was to be spoken by their leader, Moses, to remind the people that God was the head of their army and He was arising to lead them in victory!

Today, we have something better!  Jesus Christ (Lion of Judah) is the Head of His church army!  He has already defeated the enemy, Satan.  He calls His church to go forth under His direction to announce the victory in the power of the Holy Spirit with signs and wonders confirming that victory!  Whenever His church obeys in faith, He works with them to take care of all enemies and we know we will triumph!  He lives in us and we can rest in His love and care.  (Mark 16:17-20)

Everybody wants to be blessed!  The Amplified Bible’s expanded meaning of “to be blessed” is ” happy, to be envied, ” .  Blessed people have good things coming their way.  They enjoy an abundance and their lives are filled with joy and peace.  This peace is beyond circumstances and permeates the soul and heart.  In our reading for today, we find the Aaronic blessing that God instructed Aaron to speak over His people so that God could put His Name on them and bless them.

“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.”  “So they will put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”  (Numbers 6:24-27)

One of the blessings mentioned here is being kept safe by the Lord.  God is a refuge for His people and an ever-present help in time of trouble.  (Psalm 46:1)  The Lord is all-powerful and has the ability to stop any attack on His people.  He promises protection to all who are set apart for Him.

A sign of God’s blessing is His smiling face!  Isn’t it great to know that God can smile and is happy with you!  One way that we can make God smile is to walk in faith.  Faith is a prerequisite for pleasing God. (Hebrews 11:6)  When our Father is happy with us His children, we know His grace will flow to us.  Grace is His unmerited favor sending more than we deserve our way.

It is interesting that this blessing comes right after the description of the Nazirite vow that could be taken by one who voluntarily wanted to consecrate himself to the Lord for a set period of time.  This Nazirite vow speaks of Jesus Christ, who as known as a Nazarene, for his original home town of Nazareth.  Jesus voluntarily set Himself apart to fully obey God, His Father.  Jesus offered Himself fully as a sin offering for all of us.  Because of His faithfulness, and by faith in Him we can enjoy better than the Aaronic blessing!  We have open access to God’s throne by Jesus’ blood.  We can come before Him and know His smile of pleasure and His joy is in us.  His gracious gift of eternal life is ours forever!  We will see His face one day!