Numbers 1
The book of Numbers receives its name from the numbering of the people that occurred in Chapter 1 and again in Chapter 26. In Chapter 1, those who came out of Egypt were numbered. In Chapter 26, 40 years later, at the end of their wilderness journey, they are numbered again. A careful look will reveal, some of the tribes grew, and some of the tribes shrank. I think there is an important application we can glean which pertains to our lives. Just as they were in the wilderness, we often find ourselves in a spiritually dry time. We may even feel like we’re just wandering around aimlessly. I think it is valuable to remember, based upon what we do in the wilderness, we can either come out having shrunk or having grown.I believe God brings us to those places in our relationship with Him, those difficult times, because He wants to grow us in our relationship with Him. He wants us to learn to trust Him and follow Him.
In the Gospels, we read of the disciples getting into a boat with Jesus. Jesus falls asleep in the front of the boat. As they begin to cross the Sea of Galilee, a storm hits, and the disciples freak out. They were so panicked, they woke Jesus and said, “Master, don’t you care that we are perishing.” That translates into, “Jesus, You don’t love us or care about us. If You really loved me, You wouldn’t allow this difficulty in my life, while You were sleeping.” We know, in response, Jesus got up and calmed the sea (Mark 4:35-41). They faced a difficulty (you might say they were in a wilderness), and they failed. But was it a total failure?
The next time we see them on the Sea of Galilee in a storm, these same guys, row from evening time ‘till 4:00 am without stopping. Jesus sent them out onto the sea and said, “Go to the other side.” He went up on the mountain to pray and as He prays, He watches them (Mark 6:45-50). He seems to enjoy watching them row. They row and row, hour after hour… as the night grows dark and morning begins to approach, they are still rowing. They haven’t stopped. What happened? Well, in the first storm, they had a wilderness experience, but during that time of difficulty, they learned something. Even though they’d failed, they learned. When we are on the Sea of Galilee and a storm hits, we don’t need to be afraid; even if it looks as though God is sleeping and not involved.
As a result of that experience, you could throw those guys out on that sea, in any storm, and they knew, “Jesus has it covered. Even if He’s sleeping, He’s got it covered.” They were in a wilderness, but they grew.Every one of us will face a wilderness. We go through times of dryness in our relationship with the Lord. Times of difficulty, times when it seems like Jesus is asleep, not hearing us. We can grow or we can shrink. Depending on how we trust and follow the Lord.
Pastor Jim
Man lives as though God and eternity are a mystery. Even before I became a Christian, I had heard the pseudo–verse, “God works in mysterious ways.” Here, in Luke 15, the mysterious ways of God are revealed. We see clearly how he feels about the lost, as well as what He does about it.
According to Webster’s dictionary, the word ‘dedicate’ means, “to devote to worship or to set apart for sacred use.” As Leviticus comes to a close, Moses instructs the people to dedicate their homes to the Lord. Since the family is the foundation of society, the key to Israel’s future success was in each and every household dedicated themselves to the Lord.
Jesus tells a story to reveal His desire for all men everywhere to be saved. The cast includes God, played by the man giving the feast; the Christian, played by the servants sent out to invite people to the feast; and the population of planet earth, played by those who receive the invitation. Notice the excuses given by those who reject the offer. Two of the three who reject the invitation use business as an excuse. Perhaps they were driven by a sense of responsibility. Thinking they did not have time for spiritual things, but must provide for their families. Or perhaps, they were caught up in the desire for more. I believe it was Rockefeller, who, when asked how much money was enough said, “Just a little more than you have.” The third person refused to come, using His family as an excuse. Perhaps he even desired to come, but thought his wife would not be interested. Notice he said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” He may have been thinking, I will eventually come, but now is not a good time for me.
Moses refers to the Sabbath over twenty times in Leviticus; instructing Israel how to worship the Lord. The Sabbath was a very important facet in the life of the children of Israel. God designated a weekly Sabbath day, then every seven years was a Sabbath year, and every forty-nine years, a special Sabbath year, called the year of Jubilee. One of the Ten Laws written by the finger of God, stated, the Sabbath day was dedicated, above all the others, as a day of rest. The driving force behind this command, was the example God had set in Creation.
I imagine what the scene must have been like in the Synagogue that day. The crowd had gathered like they did every Sabbath. For some it was no more than a religious duty, for others, it was how they expressed their devotion to God. The scene suddenly shifts from the normal activities of prayer and Bible reading to a woman with a serious medical condition. She had been suffering for eighteen years and nothing could be done for her. Without hesitation Jesus called her to Himself, and when she responded to the call, He healed her. Imagine being there! Imagine the joy that would fill her, perhaps like the lame man in Acts 3, she leaped with joy, celebrating what Jesus had done for her. I would expect to read that the service changed that morning, as the people broke out in unrestrained praise. Sadly however, rather than hearing praise, we hear the sound of objection.
I once heard of a farmer whose cow had given birth to twin calves. In his excitement, he decided to dedicate one to the Lord. As the days passed, his wife reminded him of his promise, she inquired if he had decided which calf was the Lord’s. Sadly, one of the calves became ill and the farmer did all he could to nurse the animal back to health. Late into the evening, he returned from the barn, and slumped into a chair. His wife, asked what was the matter, to which he replied, “The Lord’s calf died.” Too often, this is typical of our offering to the Lord. Whatever we have left, do not want, need, or use any longer, is offered to the Lord.
There seems to be some striking differences between the Church in the book of Acts and the church today. The impact they were having on their world was tremendous; we read of the sick being healed, the dead being raised, and most importantly, multitudes of people believing in the resurrected Lord, and their lives being transformed. How is it that they, with so little, were able to do so much? We know they did not have the completed Bible, much money, or the technological resources we have today, yet they were turning their world upside down. The secret to their success was the filling of the Holy Spirit. It is clear, what they did not have was overshadowed by what they did have; that is, power from on High!
Jesus tells the story of a rich man who believed true life was found in great possessions. He worked hard and was very successful. His success caused him to evaluate his life. His conclusion, he needed to work harder so he might acquire more, and be able to retire in comfort. He began to increase his efforts, acquire more, build larger storehouses for all his possessions. All the while, hoping for that time when he would be able to live at ease and enjoy it all. Sadly and expectedly, he died and all of his riches were of no use to him as he stepped into eternity.”
Israel needed to learn a very important lesson if they were going to be successful in walking with the Lord. That lesson: the Word of God is counter-cultural in every culture. They were being called to live by a different, and higher standard than the nation they came out of, and the one they were entering into. The same is true of the Christian today. It should not be shocking to us that the world has a different view of what is holy, acceptable, right or wrong, than we do. Instead of looking to the culture around us, we need to look into the Word of God to learn what is holy and what is sinful.
