Today's Reading:

Numbers 14
Numbers 15
Numbers 16
Psalm 95

 

Congratulations on dedicating two months to reading God’s Word! Psalm 95 tells us to kneel before God with an obedient heart and directly references the Israelites’ time in the wilderness and their rebellion as a warning. God created all, and we should thank Him and give praise. He created the “depths of the earth” (Sheol, the realm of the dead), the mountains, sea, and dry land. Because He is our Maker, we should bow and kneel to Him in recognition that He is the King of authority and the guiding Shepherd caretaker. The psalm then gave a warning, do not harden your hearts and repeat rebellion as they did in the wilderness. God was grieved from the disobedience and cursed the nation to wander for 40 years.   

God is our Creator that holds the whole world and also gently guides us in a relationship with Him, promising eternal rest through Jesus, our Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us, the sheep. Today, He is calling you to trust Him, will you choose to kneel before Him in humble obedience, submission, letting go of control, or will you risk hardening your heart like the Israelites did in the wilderness? 

 

 

The night the spies returned from scouting the land of Canaan and delivered their report to Moses, the people rebelled. Their fate was sealed when they cried out that they should choose a new leader and return to Egypt. They said they would rather have died in Egypt than wander in the wilderness and face the Canaanites. Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb were the only ones who remained faithful to God’s path. When the Israelites threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb, the glory of the Lord appeared. God then threatened to destroy the people with a plague and start a new nation through Moses. 

Moses pleaded with God, arguing that His name would suffer if He destroyed Israel, because Egypt would hear of it and believe God was unable to fulfill His promise. Moses appealed to God’s character, asking Him to be known as slow to anger, abounding in love, forgiving sin and rebellion, yet still just in punishing wickedness. God relented but pronounced judgment. Because the people refused to trust Him, enter the land, and face the giants, they would live but die in the wilderness, wandering for forty years and never seeing the Promised Land. Caleb and Joshua, because they followed God wholeheartedly, would be allowed to lead the next generation into the Promised Land. The ten spies who spread fear and rebellion were struck down by a plague from the Lord. 

God told the Israelites to turn around and go back South since the Canaanites and Amalekites were ahead. But again, they rebelled against God and went towards the Promised Land up into the hill country. Moses was mad they disobeyed again and told them they would be defeated as God would not let them win (a little, “I told you so” moment).  

God had not bombarded the Israelites with all of the rules at first, He gave them a little as they needed them. In chapter 15 the rules for once they get to the Promised Land and intentional verses unintentional sins were given. Sin still had consequences even if it was an accident. The tassels God commanded with blue cords were a visual reminder to obey and not follow their heart’s lust. 

1. Unintentional: Even though you did not mean to sin as a community, the entire community would need to atone for the sin so all would be forgiven, if one person sin, then only that person was to give the atonement.  
2. Intentional: Defiant sins would cut them off from the people and required death. 

 The example given was the man who did not keep the Sabbath day holy- he was out collecting firewood and working which took the day’s focus off of God which led to sins and temptation (like making idols and not following Moses and Aaron’s lead). The man was to be stoned to death in enforcement of keeping God’s commands holy. 

Chapter 16: Korah, Moses’ cousin and a Levite, led a rebellion with Dathan and Abiram (Reubenites) and 250 other leaders. They questioned why Moses and Aaron were set apart if all Levites were holy. God instructed Korah and the others to take censers with burning incense and bring them before Him, showing who He had chosen as holy. Moses reminded them that he and Aaron were already set apart and honored above the other Levites and offered them a chance to repent, but Dathan and Abiram refused. 

God then caused the ground to open and swallow Korah, Dathan, and Abiram with their families, while fire consumed the 250 men offering incense. Aaron carefully followed God’s instructions, knowing that misuse of incense could bring death, as had happened to his sons Nadab and Abihu. Afterwards, Aaron’s son Eleazar was commanded to collect the censers and hammer them into a covering for the altar. This served as a visible reminder that only Aaron and his descendants could burn incense before the Lord. 

If the Israelites had not complained enough- the next day they were upset- “You killed God’s people” which triggered another plague that killed an additional 14,700 before Aaron could intercede with incense and atone for the people. He put himself in danger between the plague of dying and the living. The people claimed they wanted equality in holiness, yet they had rejected God’s appointed leaders- their idea was “since all are equal why are you more special.” God made a clear distinction that the Israelites were set apart as a nation, and within that holy nation, the Levite tribe was separated for special tabernacle services and ONLY Aaron, and his descendants were chosen for priesthood. Korah, also a Levite, was honored with carrying sacred items, but he was not content and wanted the priesthood status. (All are holy- including me- so I should have the same priestly role and authority). Rejection against God’s chosen leaders is rebellion against Him.  

Today's Discussion question: 

Today, He is calling you to trust Him. Will you choose to kneel before Him in humble obedience, submission, letting go of control, or will you risk hardening your heart like the Israelites did in the wilderness?

 
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