Numbers 17 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin It’s hard to believe that the Israelites would still be grumbling against Moses and Aaron after the Lord had brought judgment upon the ringleaders by burning some of them alive and having the earth swallow the others whole.  Yet they still did! Consequently, at the end of the previous chapter, the Lord brought a plague upon the people of Israel that could only be stopped through the atonement…

Numbers 16 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin Similar to Miriam and Aaron’s rebellion against Moses, the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram was ultimately an attack upon the Lord’s sovereign choice of leadership. In both cases, all of these individuals held very privileged positions in the household of God, but they envied those who held even higher positions than they. Korah was not only a Levite but one of the privileged Kohathites, which were the…

Numbers 15 by Pastor David Groendyk You might wonder why this chapter about various laws and commands is stuck here in the middle of two very long stories. Surely it would make more sense to move this section earlier in Numbers with all the other laws. Why then the placement? Because these laws are a direct comment on what happened in chapter 14. Israel’s failure to believe Joshua’s and Caleb’s report and desire to return…

Numbers 14 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson The worst of the spy episode is in Numbers 14.  These verses narrate the nadir of Israel’s unbelief and rebellion.  It starts bad and ends showing Israel’s presumption.  At the end of 45 verses of bad news, they rebel again as told to us in v. 39ff.  But that comes later.  Verses 1 -2 finds the Jews crying and grumbling against Moses and Aaron.  Now that don’t merely…

Numbers 13 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson This chapter explains why the Hebrews wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.  This chapter is a low point in several low points in Numbers.  The Lord is bringing the enslaved Hebrews out of Egypt into the Promised Land so they could serve God.  God, the all-powerful, not only directs their departure, but He also judges Egypt, the Jews get spoil from the Egyptians, they cross the Red…

Numbers 12 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence After the Lord had taken some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders to assist him in leading the people of Israel, it seems that there was some jealousy coming from his sister and brother, Miriam and Aaron, concerning their place in this new spiritual economy. Before this turn of events, they were part of the inner circle having something of the…

Numbers 11 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson We are now in narrative section that you will find easier to read and is more familiar.  This section is not necessarily good, but it is fascinating.  First, I want to thank my discipleship group for their insight into this chapter.  Dave, Holly, and Jacob Hoffman and Lee Thorn were so helpful to me.  And here is a quick plug for our adult Sunday morning classes.  You are…

Numbers 10 by Pastor David Groendyk This chapter serves as a transition in the book of Numbers. The very last preparations are made for the people at Mount Sinai, and then the whole population moves out to go to the Promised Land. The final preparation for the people of Israel is the making of two silver trumpets (vv. 1–10). Like many of the rules and regulations given to Israel, these trumpets may seem like monotonous…

Numbers 9 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin The Passover meal and the Shekinah Glory cloud were two great signs of God’s relationship with Israel. The Passover was commemorated to remind Israel of the Lord’s strong hand in delivering them out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and it particularly reminded them of the fact that they had been purchased or redeemed by God through the blood of the sacrifice. Because the Lord had…

Numbers 8 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson Let’s review where we are in the book of Numbers.  The following is a partial outline of the book of Numbers from Wenham: The people of God prepare to enter the promised land (1:1-10:100 Censuses (chapters 1-4) Cleansing the camp (chapters 5-6) Offerings for the altar (chapter 7) Dedication of the Levites (chapter 8) The second Passover (chapter 9) The silver trumpets (10:1-10:10) From Sinai to Kadesh (10:11-12:16)…

Numbers 6 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin The Nazarite vow was a voluntary vow temporarily made by an individual man, or a woman, to separate himself unto the Lord in a special way similar to the pattern required by the priests when they were performing their duties in the temple. There were three requirements in order to keep the vow: one was to abstain from wine and any aspect of the grapevine, to grow one’s…

Numbers 5 by Pastor David Groendyk The first ten chapters of Numbers describe Israel’s preparation to go into battle and (hopefully) take the Promised Land. Chapters 1–4 focused on the numbering of the people and the roles of the leadership. Chapter 5 begins a new section about the purity and holiness of the people. Verses 1–4 tell us that anyone who was unclean was put out of the camp. There were any number of reasons…

Numbers 4 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin Just as the fighting men of Israel were all counted, so too the Lord counts the number of Levites able to assist the priests in their labor for the Lord. We are first introduced to the three sons of Levi in Exodus 6:16 with Gershon being the oldest, Merari the youngest and Kohath the middle son. But you’ll notice the order in which the sons are listed in…

Numbers 3 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson Gordon Wenham’s commentary in the Tyndale provides an interesting discussion on ritual.  Quoting M. Wilson, an anthropologist, “Rituals reveal values at their deepest level . . . men express in ritual what moves them most, and since the form of expression is conventionalized and obligatory, it is the values of the group that are revealed.  I see in the study of rituals the key to an understanding of…

Numbers 2 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin Once all the fighting men had been counted in Israel to determine the overall troop strength, the next command was to arrange the camp in an orderly manner. When organizing a great number of people such as the Israelites, it was important to utilize flags of various kinds to ensure that if the people couldn’t hear the commands, they could, at least, see their particular unit moving and…

Numbers 1 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin As one might expect, the book of Numbers does contain some counting but not an excessive amount. There is actually a lot more complaining than there is counting going on in this third book of Moses, for it records how the people continually complained against Moses and against God while in the wilderness. The Hebrew title for the work is actually called In the Wilderness for those are…

Malachi 4 Pastor David Groendyk This is a very short chapter, but it packs a serious punch. Verses 1–3 continue the dispute between the people and God from the end of chapter 3. Remember the charge that God brought against his people in 3:13: the people had spoken against God by saying that it was vain to serve him, because evildoers prosper all the time and consistently escape God’s punishment. Therefore, what difference does it…

Malachi 3 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin The Lord’s prophet Malachi brings three more charges against the Jews in this chapter. The first is actually mentioned in the last verse of the previous chapter, in 2:17, when the Lord accuses them of wearying Him by their false accusations. The second accusation, in 3:7, denounces them for having turned away from the Lord and His statutes. And the third complaint, found in 3:13, accuses them of…

Malachi 2 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson Douglas Stuart in his commentary on Malachi in An Exegetical & Expository Commentary: The Minor Prophets edited by Thomas E McComiskey uses the following outline 1:2-5                First Disputation 1:6-2:9             Second Disputation 2:10-16            Third Disputation 2:17-3:5           Fourth Disputation 3:6-12              Fifth Disputation 3:13-4:3           Sixth Disputation 4:4-6                Summary Challenge Most readers will notice the following pattern as seen in 1:2-5 Assertion by God                    I have loved you (1:2a) Questioning by Israel             …

Malachi 1 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin Malachi was one of the postexilic prophets, along with Haggai and Zechariah, who prophesied to the remnant of Judah upon their return from exile in Babylon. His prophecy comes in the form of an oracle, which, is either a divine response given to a question asked by God’s people or to a pronouncement made by God without His being asked a question. If you skim the book of…

Philippians 4 by Pastor David Groendyk In many ways, I think Paul’s reminder that “our citizenship is in heaven” (3:20) could be the header for Philippians 4. Remembering where our true citizenship lies changes our perspective about everything in life. In verse 2–9, Paul is exhorting the believers in Philippi to stay focused on the right things. Euodia and Syntyche are virtually unknown in Scripture, except for the fact that they are arguing with each…