Numbers 24 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence As the apostle Paul would say later on in Romans 8:38-39 that there are no angels nor rulers, nor powers in the heights or depths that can separate us from the love of God, so there is no curse pronounced by any shaman, magician or witch doctor that can have any effect on us who are blessed in Christ Jesus. Even today, in some third world countries, those familiar…

Numbers 22 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson In Numbers 22, we experience a different perspective.  We “leave” the nation of Israel, Moses’ conversations, and the inner working of God’s people to overhear the machinations of Moab.  We are looking at them through the eyes of Balak, king of Moab and Balaam, the prophet.  Moab is “in great dread of the people” in 22:3.  Moab, learning from the defeat of the Amorites, decides on a power…

Numbers 20 by Pastor David Groendyk Previously in the book of Numbers, the entirety of the older generation had been condemned to not enter the Promised Land due to their lack of faith in God. Now, in today’s chapter, we see the downfall of the Big Three leaders of the people. In quick succession, Israel loses Miriam, Moses, and Aaron. None of them will enter the Promised Land with the new generation. The first leader…

Numbers 19 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin There are two things in the Israelite camp that are continually at odds with the Lord’s dwelling in the mist of His people: sin and death. Whereas most of the other Levitical rituals prescribed in the Pentateuch are designed to deal with sin, this one is employed exclusively to counter death itself. Not being given any specifics regarding the timing of this ordinance, it is possible that it…

Numbers 18 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson There is quite a bit of material that is repeated from earlier books in the Torah.  But notice that the tribe of Levi is responsible for the sanctuary.  Levi is a gift to Israel (v. 7).   One could also understand verse 7 to read the Levites are a gift to Aaron and the priests.  The priests are assigned certain duties and the rest of the Levites are to…

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…