Moses

The Book of Leviticus

Tuesday: Leviticus: An Overview

July 12, 2022

Of the sacrifices, the burnt offering is mentioned first because it was the most important. Leviticus doesn’t tell us what it was for because the answer is obvious. All the sacrifices on the altar are for sin. The text focuses on how the animals are to be handled. Notice two matters about this. First, the worshiper was to lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering that was going to be accepted on his behalf (see Lev. 4:1). That’s a very critical idea and it pertains to all of the sacrifices. When the worshiper put his hand upon the sacrifice, this was a way in which he symbolically transferred his sin or guilt to the sacrifice. It was a kind of confession of sin, such that in a symbolic way his sin was passed to the animal. And then when the animal was taken and killed, it was killed in the place of the worshiper.

The Book of Leviticus

Wednesday: Principles Learned from the Offerings: Leviticus 1:1-24:23

July 13, 2022

The last offering was the guilt offering, and it was made for damage that was done to another person or to another person’s property. We mustn’t think, of course, that if you damage somebody’s property either deliberately or by negligence, that all you had to do was go to the temple and present an offering. That would be an easy way to get off the hook. No, Leviticus describes very carefully what you have to do. You have to repay it, and then you have to add twenty percent—a fifth of the value—and then you had to give it to the person whom you had defrauded on the very day you went to present your offering.

The Book of Leviticus

Thursday: The Laws of Purification: Leviticus 1:1-24:23

July 14, 2022

The first section is that of clean and unclean foods (Lev. 11). This distinction between clean and unclean animals goes all the way back to the flood, because the animals that came on board were identified as either clean or unclean. However, we weren’t told back then how they were distinguished. Now we are told. In addition to making this distinction between animals for health reasons, we can also see how this first section demonstrated the second explanation above, namely, as a way to separate God’s people from the world.

The Book of Leviticus

Friday: Holy to the LORD: Leviticus 1:1-24:23

July 15, 2022

n the matter of these purification laws, Jesus explains what these ritual requirements were meant to do. The principle is that it’s not what comes into you or touches you that makes you unclean, but what comes out. The problem is not external, but, rather, the problem is the uncleanness of your heart. Jesus said: “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’” (Matt. 15:17-20a).

Monday: Ordination and Consecration: Leviticus 8:1-10:20

July 18, 2022

In last week’s devotional we saw that if you want to understand Leviticus, you have to understand holiness, as seen in the theme, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (19:2), which you find again and again throughout the book. But now we should ask what holiness is, since many of us have a mistaken idea of it. Somehow we think of holiness in exclusively ethical terms. Because we think of ethics as a scale from 0 (if you’re very bad) to 100 (if you’re very good), we think of holiness as kind of moving up the scale.

Wednesday: God’s Holiness Satisfied: Leviticus 8:1-10:20

July 20, 2022

The sacrifices that are offered in Leviticus 9 as part of worship are first of all for Aaron and his sons—that is, for the priests—and second, for the people. Now in the previous chapter the sacrifices were made at the ordination of the priests, which were a bull, a ram, and then another ram. But for the people here in Leviticus 9, the sacrifices were a male goat (the sin offering), a calf and a lamb (the burnt offerings), and an ox and a ram (the peace/fellowship offerings). For both the priests and the people, the sequence of the offerings was the same: first the sin offering, then second, the burnt offering, followed by the fellowship offering. This tells us how we must approach God.

Thursday: The Priests and Their Ministry: Leviticus 8:1-10:20

July 21, 2022

The end of chapter 9 is probably the highest peak to be found in the entire book of Leviticus. The priests have been consecrated and ordained. They have offered the sacrifices during the first formal worship service of the people. God has come down upon the tabernacle to bless it in the visible presence of the shekinah glory. Yet, when you come to chapter 10 there is an enormous change. Suddenly we are in a different world, because instead of blessing, what you find is death.

Friday: Every Christian a Priest: Leviticus 8:1-10:20

July 22, 2022

At the beginning of this study I said that all Christians today are priests. Therefore what we learn from these chapters is to be applied for us. Peter makes a great deal of that, using Old Testament language to talk about Christians. He writes, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

The Day of Atonement

Monday: A Very Important Chapter: Leviticus 16:1-34

July 25, 2022

It’s impossible to overestimate the importance of Leviticus 16 in the religion of the Old Testament. Its teaching about the Day of Atonement is absolutely central to the book of Leviticus. Leviticus contains the instructions for the priests and the sacrifices. And because the sacrifices are the very heart of how one becomes right before God, prefiguring the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, this chapter is more important than anything we have studied thus far.

The Day of Atonement

Tuesday: The Day of Atonement: Leviticus 16:1-34

July 26, 2022

What sets the Day of Atonement apart from the other holy days? The important difference to note here is that it was on this day that sacrifices were made for the entire nation. All the other sacrifices we’ve looked at (and we’ve looked at quite a few of them), were individual sacrifices: one worshiper making a sacrifice for his sin. Sometimes it was a burnt offering, sometimes a sin offering, sometimes a peace offering, but it was always for an individual’s sins or the sins of his family. The Day of Atonement is the only time in the year when sacrifices were offered for the sins of the entire nation.

The Day of Atonement

Wednesday: Two Goats, Two Meanings: Leviticus 16:1-34

July 27, 2022

The climax comes when John the Baptist pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus Christ is the culmination of the revelation, the one who embodies everything that all the sacrifices symbolized and the one to whom all the sacrifices pointed.

The Day of Atonement

Thursday: Mercy on the Sinner: Leviticus 16:1-34

July 28, 2022

In one of Jesus’ parables, He contrasted a Pharisee with a tax collector, both of whom went to the temple to pray. Pharisees were highly regarded by the people. And when in his prayer he thanked the Lord he is not like other men, everyone hearing Jesus’ story would have agreed that the Pharisee was not like the others. The tax collector, however, was viewed by the people as a sinner. Yet, unlike the Pharisee, the tax collector prayed, “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus said it was the tax collector who went home justified, and not the Pharisee.

The Day of Atonement

Friday: Christ’s Perfect Sacrifice: Leviticus 16:1-34

July 29, 2022

How do we apply this? As you compare Scripture with Scripture, and especially as you look to the New Testament for the light it throws on the Old Testament, you find not only that the New Testament gives us the right understanding of the Old Testament, but you also find that it applies it for you. And that is nowhere more apparent than in what took place here on the Day of Atonement, which is interpreted and applied in the book of Hebrews. This letter deals with all these Jewish types, and the whole point of Hebrews is that they are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Monday: An Amazing Year: Leviticus 25:1-55

August 1, 2022

This is one of the most amazing pieces of legislation that you find in the Old Testament, at least to those people who have been taught that an unlimited and unhindered accumulation of wealth is the ultimate good. In the Year of Jubilee, all land holdings in Israel reverted to the original owners. This was one of the earliest—and perhaps the first—processes and laws for land reform in the history of the world, and certainly one of the most unique.

Tuesday: When the People Return to Their Land: Leviticus 25:1-55

August 2, 2022

In this year the land was to revert to the original family owners. But if you look at the text carefully, that’s not the way the chapter itself talks about it. The text actually speaks not of the land returning to the people but of the people returning to the land. Now that must be important because it’s said five times over (see vv. 10, 13, 27, 28, and 41). The point seems to be that God is more concerned with the people than the land. We usually think the other way around. We are glad to manipulate people or get rid of people as long as we can accumulate our holdings. Now today, of course, it’s not generally land so much as it is bank accounts and stocks and so forth. But we manipulate people in order to have things. God says what’s important is the people, not the things.

Wednesday: The Kinsman-Redeemer: Leviticus 25:1-55

August 3, 2022

There’s another important idea in this chapter, and it’s that of the kinsman-redeemer (see vv. 25-28). If a family was poor and was forced to sell their land, it wasn’t always necessary for them to wait till the Year of Jubilee came around to get it back. That could be a lifetime away. If that year came in your youth, you may be an old man before you got your land back. However, it was possible for the land to be bought back and restored to the original owner by a near relative who was called a kinsman-redeemer. Or, if the original owner prospered, he had the right to buy it back again. Now the amount the original owner had to pay was the difference between what the buyer had paid for it originally and the amount of crops that he had gotten out of it in the meantime. So if he had paid for ten years of crops and only three harvests had gone by, he had to be paid for the seven years of crops.

Thursday: Duties to Help the Poor: Leviticus 25:1-55

August 4, 2022

The long and concluding section of this chapter is verses 35 to 55, which has to do with duties to the poor. You might say, at first glance, “Why in the world are these duties to the poor here at all? Why does this belong in a chapter having to do with the Jubilee?” Well it shows that the central concern of the chapter is to protect or help the poor. There are a number of cases here.

The Book of Numbers

Monday: Numbers: An Overview

August 8, 2022

Let’s face it: Numbers isn’t the kind of book you just naturally pick up to while away a few hours on a weekend. It’s part of the Old Testament law, for one thing. That’s bad enough. None of us likes law very much. But in addition, it’s also called Numbers. Some who score very high on their achievement tests or who major in mathematics are interested in numbers. But the rest of us think they are generally pretty irrelevant. And this title isn’t an aberration either—it really is about numbers, at least the first section of the book is. It’s about the numbering of the tribes of the people of Israel, and the arrangement of their camp, and the purification of the people for their march. That’s just not terribly appealing. For the title of the sermon, someone had suggested that I call it “Numbers: An Audit,” since people do not find audits by the Internal Revenue Service appealing, either.

The Book of Numbers

Tuesday: God with Us: Numbers 1-10

August 9, 2022

Notice that all of the fighting men were counted. Every one of them was important. That’s true today in the church as well. The Bible says in several places that God has a scroll in which our names are written (for example, Ps. 139:16; Rev. 20:12). Every one of us is important. Although we don’t have a census on earth in the church that corresponds with the very literal census of Israel, there is a heavenly census that is far more important.

The Book of Numbers

Wednesday: Separated unto God: Numbers 1-10

August 10, 2022

Another thing to remember is that the number in the third chapter is compared to the total of the firstborn males in Israel. When the people were brought out of Egypt, God had killed the firstborn of all the Egyptians when the angel of death passed through the land. The firstborn of all the Israelites were spared who had put the blood upon the doorposts of their houses. God said that those firstborn children nevertheless belonged to Him. They were saved by the blood. If it wasn’t for the blood they would have died as well. They were sinners just like everybody else, and salvation was by the blood that pointed forward to Jesus Christ.

The Book of Numbers

Thursday: Resting in God’s Gracious Direction: Numbers 1-10

August 11, 2022

The Aaronic blessing is a very beautiful benediction, perhaps more so in Hebrew than it appears to be in English—although it’s beautiful in English as well. In Hebrew there are three lines, but broken down to six in our Bibles. Each one begins with the name of Yahweh, the LORD. And each line has two elements of benediction and they are arranged in a typical parallel fashion. The lines become progressively longer. In Hebrew the first line has three words, the second line has five words, and the third line has seven words. It’s as if the blessing of God is unfolding and pouring out upon the people.

Complaints and Opposition

Monday: The People’s Complaints: Numbers 12:3

August 15, 2022

In the first ten chapters of Numbers, everything seems to be going well. The people are commended for obeying God, and the idea that they did what God commanded them occurs again and again. Yet when we come to the eleventh chapter, the tone is different and the people are complaining. This is a beginning of a series of complaints that’s going to go throughout the whole book.

Complaints and Opposition

Tuesday: Being Thankful: Numbers 12:3

August 16, 2022

What’s the difference between when they complained the first time about their diet and now? Well, the difference is that a year in their lives has transpired, and during that year God has revealed a great deal about Himself. When they came out of Egypt they didn’t know much about God at all. They were a nation of slaves. But He’d begun to teach them about Himself at Sinai. He taught them that He is a holy God, and that He is a powerful God. They’d seen the miracles. The Israelites knew how He was preserving them as they went through the desert by the manna they ate and the water they drank. A great cloud overshadowed the camp in order to protect them from the hot desert sun in the daytime, and then it turned into a pillar of fire at night to provide both warmth and light. They had perfectly adequate evidence of the power and the grace of God and shouldn’t have been complaining now.

Complaints and Opposition

Wednesday: Moses’ Complaint: Numbers 12:3

August 17, 2022

Starting in verses 10 and following of Numbers 11, we come to something that is not a very attractive moment in Moses’ life. Moses gives vent to his frustration in a long, angry prayer. It’s surprising to find it here, because in the very next chapter he is going to be described as the meekest man who ever lived. Meek? Yes, he really was. But here in this prayer he really expresses his frustration as he is complaining bitterly to God:

Complaints and Opposition

Thursday: Miriam’s Opposition: Numbers 12:3

August 18, 2022

In chapter 12, the story becomes one of opposition, hard hearts, and divisions within the camp. The opposition that Moses is now facing comes from within his own family circle, from his brother Aaron and his sister, Miriam, who seems to be the ringleader. The ground for this attack was the fact that Moses had taken a Cushite wife. Moses’ first wife, Zipporah, was from Midian, and so it seems that she had died and that Moses had taken a second wife who was Ethiopian. If this is correct, then Miriam was saying, “I don’t like this black woman in my family.” So it’s not only sibling rivalry, it’s the worst kind of racial prejudice.

The Twelve Spies

Monday: The Twelve Spies

August 22, 2022

The vivid style of the narrative that began in Numbers 11 is especially true of chapters 13 and 14. This tells the story of the twelve spies and their different reports of what they found in the land and their judgment about whether they can go into it or not. The characters emerge here as real, life-like people, passionately concerned about the things they believe in. The story is told with great drama. It’s also filled with lessons, which is one reason why these chapters are mentioned so many other times in the Bible (see Num. 32:8-13; Deut. 1:19-46; Ps. 95:10-11; 1 Cor. 10:5).

The Twelve Spies

Tuesday: The Twelve Spies

August 23, 2022

In one respect, the report of all twelve spies was alike: the land really was a good land. It was a prosperous, fruitful land—they had brought back grapes as proof of that. It was extensive. It had wonderful walled cities, so that they wouldn’t even have to build their own cities for their defense. And it was filled with people, which is where their problems began, of course. It had within it Amalekites. Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, and Canaanites. However, this shouldn’t have surprised them at all, since God had told Abraham that He would send them into a land possessed by all these people.

The Twelve Spies

Wednesday: The Twelve Spies

August 24, 2022

Caleb was forty years old at this time when he went into the land, and it would be another thirty-eight years before he saw Canaan again. Furthermore, the battle to take the land took seven more years, meaning that at the end of the campaign, Caleb was eighty-five years old. All this while, for forty-five years, this man had remembered Hebron. And so when the fighting was nearly at an end and Caleb had the opportunity to go and take a portion of the land for himself, he asked Joshua, his friend and commander-in-chief, if he could conquer Hebron. Forty-five years earlier, Caleb had said that they could take it, and he was determined to show that it could be done, even though now he is eighty-five years old. In Joshua 14, he gave a great speech to Joshua.

The Twelve Spies

Thursday: The Twelve Spies

August 25, 2022

In verse 10 we read, “But the whole assembly talked about stoning [Moses and Aaron].” In my Bible I put two lines between this sentence and the next, because something abrupt happened at this point. There is buzzing going on around the people; they don’t know what to do. But when they decided to believe the ten spies, Moses and Aaron fall down on their faces in prayer before God. They had done this before when God was on the verge of destroying the people.

The Twelve Spies

Friday: The Twelve Spies

August 26, 2022

How many people want to approach God on the basis of His justice? They say they just want God to treat them fairly, to give them a fair shake. But if you ask for justice from God, the justice of God will send you to hell. That’s no way to approach God. Instead, the Bible teaches us that you can only approach Him on the basis of His mercy, which is found in Jesus Christ. If, like the tax collector, you can say, “God be merciful to me, a sinner,” God will hear you and save you through the work of Christ.

The Korahite Rebellion

Monday: The Korahite Rebellion

August 29, 2022

In chapters 16 and 17, opposition is now coming from the leaders of the people. So the general spirit of rebellion that began with the rabble and spread to the people is here focused on a group of leaders: a man named Korah, three leaders from the tribe of Reuben—Dathan, Abiram, and On—and then 250 other leaders, presumably elders or men of distinction from the other tribes. Now that was a formidable opposition, which is why this story is so significan

The Korahite Rebellion

Tuesday: The Korahite Rebellion

August 30, 2022

When Korah expressed his dissatisfaction to Moses, Moses fell face down before the Lord. This position of submission to the Lord also indicates that when Moses speaks, as he later does, and tells Korah and his followers what they are to do, Moses isn’t just speaking on his own. Moses is speaking as the prophet of the Lord with the word of God, and God answers in a powerful way.

The Korahite Rebellion

Wednesday: The Korahite Rebellion

August 31, 2022

In chapter 17, God demonstrates whom He is choosing to be high priest, lest there be any more doubt about it. Each of the tribes is to elect a leader, and each leader is to come forward with his staff—the rod that he used to walk with or direct sheep. They marked their names on their staffs, and laid them before the Lord overnight. Moses said that whichever staff sprouted belonged to the one that God chooses. When they came back in the morning, not only had Aaron’s rod produced leaves, but it had gone on to bud, blossom, and even produce almonds.

The Korahite Rebellion

Thursday: The Korahite Rebellion

September 1, 2022

It’s interesting that Aaron’s rod wasn’t given back to him. We’re told in Hebrews 9:4 that it was one of the things that was put in the ark, along with the stone tables of the law containing the Ten Commandments and a little golden jar containing some of the manna. These things were a testimony, a reminder, of what had happened.

The Korahite Rebellion

Friday: The Korahite Rebellion

September 2, 2022

What do you suppose God thinks of a man or a woman who says, in effect, “It’s not necessary that Jesus Christ die; I can get to heaven on my own”? The story answers that. God takes rebellion again Him very seriously, and anybody who insists on that is going to be judged for it and perish hopelessly.

Moses Sin and the Death of Aaron

Monday: A Sad Chapter: Numbers 20:1-13

September 5, 2022

Numbers 20 is a sad chapter. We were introduced to Miriam back in the book of Exodus, at the time of the birth of Moses. We have seen several incidents in her life, and now at the beginning of the chapter, she dies. Then, at the end of the chapter, we have the death of Aaron. We have just seen God defending him in his priesthood. But because of the judgment pronounced on both Moses and Aaron, neither one will enter the promised land.

Moses Sin and the Death of Aaron

Tuesday: Following God’s Instructions: Numbers 20:1-13

September 6, 2022

Miriam’s death was a reminder of God’s judgment upon the people—that no one of that generation was going to enter the promised land. And it’s a reminder of our own death as well. Death is an inescapable realty. God declares that man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (see Heb. 9:27). So at the very start of the chapter we are reminded of the importance of preparing for death.

Moses Sin and the Death of Aaron

Wednesday: To the Glory of God Alone: Numbers 20:1-13

September 7, 2022

From yesterday’s study, we saw that the first thing Moses failed to do was to follow God’s instructions exactly.

The second thing Moses did is the most obvious failure. He didn’t fully glorify God. Instead of attributing the miracle to God entirely, he took some of the credit for himself. He said, “Must we do it?”—implying that he and Aaron must bring water out of the rock.

Moses Sin and the Death of Aaron

Thursday: Our Perfect High Priest: Numbers 20:1-13

September 8, 2022

The Old Testament book of Obadiah, one of the Minor Prophets, is a prophecy entirely against Edom. It condemns Edom for its pride. The people of Edom sat up in their strongholds, thinking that nobody would ever bring them down. But they were eventually destroyed. Today the land is utterly uninhabited, a barren area where jackals roam. Obadiah criticized the Edomites for not treating their Hebrew brothers in a brotherly way. Such relationships were to be established and kept holy, but the Edomites didn’t do that.

Moses Sin and the Death of Aaron

Friday: Our Need of God’s Grace: Numbers 20:1-13

September 9, 2022

Those who trust in God have an eternal, secure dwelling place in Him. We don’t have a secure dwelling place in this earth. Everything on this earth is uncertain; even the earth itself is going to pass away. But if you are anchored in God, you have a secure dwelling place in Him. That’s why Abraham didn’t build a mansion on earth, but rather “he looked for a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10).

Serpent in the Wilderness

Monday: A Strange Story: Numbers 21:4-9

September 12, 2022

Numbers 20, which records the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, as well as Moses’ sin of striking the rock, which resulted in God’s punishment of not being allowed to enter the promised land, was a chapter of almost unremitting gloom. But in chapter 21 this mood begins to change because here we have the beginning of the actual march upon Canaan and the first victory, leading up to the full possession of the promised land.

Serpent in the Wilderness

Tuesday: God’s Judgment and Mercy: Numbers 21:4-9

September 13, 2022

Here we learn where this pattern of complaining leads. You may begin by complaining in a mild way, but when you get into a complaining frame of mind, there is a tendency to exaggerate the difficulties, which get worse and worse every time you mention them. And the more you complain, the more and more vehement you become in what you say. (That’s a bad way to pray, by the way.)

Serpent in the Wilderness

Wednesday: Salvation by Faith Only: Numbers 21:4-9

September 14, 2022

Paul recognized the difficulty when he wrote to the Corinthians, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor. 1:18a). The cross was seen as an offense to some, but he knew that Christ crucified is still the power and the wisdom of God, which is what the story in Numbers 21 illustrates.

Serpent in the Wilderness

Thursday: Knowledge and True Belief: Numbers 21:4-9

September 15, 2022

The last point is that relics are useless. People weren’t commanded to buy some relic of the serpent or possess some fragment of the pole upon which the snake had been erected. One of the most bizarre ideas that’s ever entered the history of the Christian Church is that people get saved by relics.

Serpent in the Wilderness

Friday: The Necessity of Commitment: Numbers 21:4-9

September 16, 2022

The third element, which is commitment to Christ, may be the most important element of all, at least in the evangelical church. Today, some people approach the idea of faith as simply an intellectual agreement with what is preached.

Opposition from Without

Monday: What Balak Wanted: Numbers 23:19-20

September 19, 2022

One of the mistakes we often make as Christians, especially young Christians, is to think that if we are on the right path with God, we won’t have any opposition and that everything is going to be smooth sailing.

Opposition from Without

Tuesday: Who Is Balaam? Numbers 23:19-20

September 20, 2022

What kind of a person was Balaam? At first glance he seems to be quite a noble character. He uses the name Jehovah, for example. He is being hired to curse Israel, and yet he maintains what we would probably call professional integrity, saying, “Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God” (Num. 22:18), and “I must speak only what God puts in my mouth” (v. 38). Some scholars have studied this story and said very commendable things about Balaam. Did Balaam intend from the beginning to do what was right?

Opposition from Without

Wednesday: Balaam’s Donkey: Numbers 23:19-20

September 21, 2022

What is happening in this story of Balaam and the donkey, which we find in Numbers 22:21-35? First, Balaam is pushing the donkey onward until he is brought up short by God’s angel. In exactly the same way Balak, the king of Moab, keeps pushing Balaam onward to curse Israel until he is brought up short by God. Second, just as God opened the donkey’s mouth to speak to Balaam, so God is going to open the prophet’s mouth to speak God’s true words of blessing on Israel. Even though the donkey spoke, she wasn’t a true prophet; so also, Balaam’s speaking doesn’t make Balaam a true prophet, either.

Opposition from Without

Thursday: A Messianic Prophecy: Numbers 23:19-20

September 22, 2022

The second oracle is given in Numbers 23:13-26. Kings don’t easily give up, and Balak’s not about to give up. So he tries another tactic. He thinks that maybe he has gotten Balaam in the wrong place. He’s at a place where he could see all the mass of the people. Maybe a different site with a different view will produce a different result. So Balak takes him up to the top of Mount Pisgah where, from this vantage point, he only sees a part of the Hebrew people. Just as they did before the first oracle, they again offer sacrifices. But in spite of the change of location, the sacrifices, and the wishful thinking of the king, the result is unchanged.

Opposition from Without

Friday: Honoring God: Numbers 23:19-20

September 23, 2022

Let me draw a few points of application from the story. The first concerns the sovereignty of God, which we have seen many times already. It is the most dominant, pervasive doctrine in the Bible. Here it emerges in view of Balaam’s and Balak’s attempt to manipulate God to fit their desires. They want to get God to curse the people because that suits them. What we learn from this story is that God is not manipulated. What God determines to do, God does. What happens is what He has determined. Do you believe that? Do you believe it enough to fit in with what God is doing? Or do you, like these people in the story, try to oppose God in His actions?

Final Preparations for Entering Canaan

Monday: Another Census: Numbers 26:1-36:13

September 26, 2022

The story of Balaam is the last significant narrative in the book of Numbers. What we have from this point on is the preparation of the people for their eventual entrance into Canaan and the conquering of the land. The geography is important, which we see from Numbers 26:3. All of this happened on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan River, across from Jericho. But before they crossed the Jordan and attacked Jericho, the Israelites needed to take care of some smaller matters.

Final Preparations for Entering Canaan

Tuesday: A Transfer of Leadership: Numbers 26:1-36:13

September 27, 2022

Here in Numbers 27, Moses was disappointed that he wasn’t going to get to go into the land, but he did not seem shocked, rebellious, or unhappy at the fact that he would soon die. His concern in this passage is not with himself, but that the people might have a leader to direct their going out and their coming in after he was gone. He described the people as “like sheep without a shepherd” (v. 17), which is a phrase used by the Lord Jesus Christ as He looked out on the masses and had compassion on them.

Final Preparations for Entering Canaan

Wednesday: Our Need for Mercy: Numbers 26:1-36:13

September 28, 2022

Chapter 31 is the last actual narrative section in Numbers, and it tells about this war against the Midianites, a very fierce war in which all the Midianites were killed. Since the Midianites were not in Canaan, we might wonder why this particular story is included. It seems like a digression from the task of preparing to cross the Jordan River and into the promised land. Why is this story here? There are a few reasons. First, it’s part of this ongoing story of the advance of the people toward Canaan. Second, it’s a foretaste of the conquest itself. The conquest involved the extermination of the Canaanite people, and that’s the emphasis in this war against the Midianites. They were all to be exterminated. Third, the account concludes the story of Balaam. When we left him back in Numbers 24 he was alive and well. Now we find out that he is executed in connection with the Midianite war, because he caused the people of Israel to sin in the matter of the pagan women.

Final Preparations for Entering Canaan

Thursday: Cities of Refuge: Numbers 26:1-36:13

September 29, 2022

In Numbers 32 we have the request of the tribes of Reuben and Gad to settle down on the eastern side of the Jordan River. This came as a shock to Moses, and it explains some of his harsh language. It sounded like they were opting out, that they weren’t going to go with their brothers and help with the conquest. It was like Numbers 13-14 all over again! Moses doesn’t like that. However, the people assure him that’s not what they had in mind. They are going to go with their brothers to fight with them until the end of the war, but they wanted permission to come back and settle Transjordan. When that was explained, Moses agreed to it.

Final Preparations for Entering Canaan

Friday: Serving the Lord to the End: Numbers 26:1-36:13

September 30, 2022

These cities of refuge are an illustration of how we find salvation in Jesus Christ. Now it is not a perfect illustration. This appointment of the cities of refuge was for people who were innocent of any real crime. We’re not innocent, we’re guilty of sin. Furthermore, although these cities were spaced throughout the land at convenient intervals, a person who had accidentally killed somebody else nevertheless had to scramble to get to one of them. They might be overtaken on the way. But salvation is never like that. We don’t have to scramble to find Jesus Christ. He is there with open arms, inviting us to come to Him. Not only that, but He actually pursues us. It’s not we who pursue Him. But even with these important differences, this illustration still makes some good points for us.

Deuteronomy: An Introduction

Monday: Looking at This Book: Deuteronomy 1:1-26:19

October 3, 2022

What is Deuteronomy about? Deuteronomy is a book containing Moses’ last words to the people, passionately pleading with the people on the basis of God’s law that they not forget what He has done for them in the past but that they remain faithful to Him, love Him, and obey Him in order that they might be blessed in the land. Deuteronomy really is a sermon, and if I could put it in other words, it’s actually a second sermon or a series of sermons. The word Deuteronomy is a Latin term, composed of two separate parts: deutero, which means second, and nomos, which means law. So it literally means a second law or a restatement of the law. But it is more than a simple restatement. It is actually a vigorous homiletical application of the law.

Deuteronomy: An Introduction

Tuesday: Moses’ First Address: Deuteronomy 1:1-26:19

October 4, 2022

Now let me give you an outline for Deuteronomy. You have a preamble in the first five verses of chapter 1. Then you have three addresses by Moses. Now scholars break them up in different ways, but generally we can divide them up like this: Moses’ first address (Deut. 1:6-4:43) gives a review of the people’s past journey from Mount Sinai to the borders of Canaan; Moses’ second address (Deut. 4:44-26:19) summarizes, restates, and applies God’s law and urges it on the people; and Moses’ third address (Deut. 27-30) is an enactment of the covenant between God and the people, according to which they are going to be blessed for their obedience and cursed for their disobedience. Following this is a short historical section, and then what I have called the second song of Moses (Deut. 31-32). And in the final chapters, Moses blesses the tribes, and his death is recorded (Deut. 33-34).

Deuteronomy: An Introduction

Wednesday: The Greatest of the Commandments: Deuteronomy 1:1-26:19

October 5, 2022

The second address is a much longer one, amounting to twenty-two chapters and making up the substance of Deuteronomy. The first part (Deut. 5-11) reiterates the law of God as it bears on the people’s relationship to God. The second part (Deut. 12-26) reiterates the law of God as it bears on the people’s relationship to the land and to other people. This division concerning God on the one hand, and people on the other, should ring a bell because that’s exactly what you have in the Ten Commandments. The first table of the Ten Commandments has to do with our relationship to God. We are to remember Him, worship Him only, have no other gods before Him, and remember to keep the Sabbath day holy. And then the second table begins with the family and the need to honor your father and mother, and then concludes with the commandment not to covet. Those two parts of the Ten Commandments are reflected in a dynamic way in Moses’ second address.

Deuteronomy: An Introduction

Thursday: God’s Electing Love: Deuteronomy 1:1-26:19

October 6, 2022

The second thing the people are encouraged to do is to impress these laws—above all, the duty to love God wholly—upon their children. After Moses tells the Israelites to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and strength, he then says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deut. 6:6-9).

Deuteronomy: An Introduction

Friday: A Prophet Like Moses: Deuteronomy 1:1-26:19

October 7, 2022

If you have an opportunity to teach, whether it is in your home or in church, and whether to children or adults, don’t be afraid to repeat, repeat, repeat the teachings of the Word of God. People need to hear the law, they need to hear the Gospel, and they need to hear both of them again and again and again. It is significant that in the middle of this repeated law, we find the greatest of all the commandments: love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. As we learn to love Him, by the grace of the Lord we also learn to obey.

Curses and Blessings

Monday: The Heart of Deuteronomy: Deuteronomy 27:1-30:20

October 10, 2022

Some scholars regard the book of Deuteronomy as the heart of the Old Testament, and some call chapters 27-30 the heart of Deuteronomy. In these chapters, Moses forcefully urges on the people the kind of life that is based on what God has done. In chapters 4-26, he has given the chief substance of the teaching. As a preacher, Moses is pressing this point home upon the people. He is about to die and will soon leave the people he has led for decades. He urges the people to choose righteousness and obey God, because that’s the way of blessing. The other way is the way of death.

Curses and Blessings

Tuesday: The Altar: Deuteronomy 27:1-30:20

October 11, 2022

The second point of our outline has to do with the blessings and curses. When the people came into the land and had written the law on the stones and the altar had been set up, the Israelites were supposed to stand on these two mountains, in the area of the country known as Samaria now, about 3,000 feet above sea level. At one point, the two mountains come close together. Half of the tribes were to take their places on Mount Gerizim and the other half on Mount Ebal. The Levites were to recite the blessings and the curses. And after each curse and each blessing, the people would answer by saying, “Amen.”

Curses and Blessings

Wednesday: The Cursings and Blessings Described: Deuteronomy 27:1-30:20

October 12, 2022

The third point is to urge the people to obey. Moses was a great preacher, and he rises to heights of eloquence here in Deuteronomy 29-30. Even after he spelled things out as sharply as he does in Deuteronomy 27-28, he goes on to urge his applications on the people even more. Moses reminds the people of the past, describes what entering into the covenant really means, gives an additional specific warning of disasters to come, and finally promises prosperity in the future, if, after having fallen away, the people repent of their sins and come back to the Lord they have deserted.

Curses and Blessings

Thursday: Entering into the Covenant: Deuteronomy 27:1-30:20

October 13, 2022

Moses already went over the people’s history before. Why is he saying it again? Moses explains that even though he said it before, the people didn’t really see it. It didn’t get through to them. The people were blind to the implications of the work of God. We need spiritual sight, too, and such spiritual healing only comes to us from God.

Curses and Blessings

Friday: Spiritual Life or Spiritual Death: Deuteronomy 27:1-30:20

October 14, 2022

If you know you are a sinner, go to Christ, confess your sin, and find salvation in Him. Then, by His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, get on with living the Christian life. Paul says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Rom. 10:9). Is salvation that simple? It is. But it is of vast importance. And whether we believe and act on our belief is a matter of spiritual life or spiritual death.

The Second Song of Moses

Monday: Four Charges: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:47

October 17, 2022

Don’t get into the habit of thinking you can retire in the Christian life. You may retire from your job, but as long as you are living, there is work to be done and there is a testimony to bear. This is true of Moses, and he does his work to the very end.

The Second Song of Moses

Tuesday: The Importance of the Written Word: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:47

October 18, 2022

We are fighting spiritual battles and we are doing it in a hostile environment. There are citadels of unbelief to be overcome. We need courage to do it, and we get that courage from reading the Bible, from praying, and from being encouraged by one another. We need to encourage one another. Moses is encouraging Joshua, God is encouraging Joshua, Joshua is encouraging the people, and the people are encouraging Joshua. Sometimes, life is relatively easy, but then difficulties come into our lives. We need Christian friends to say to us, “Come on, don’t be afraid now. God will be with you and He will bless you.” That’s a great ministry for any Christian to have. Ask the Lord whom you can encourage to press on.

The Second Song of Moses

Wednesday: Looking at Moses’ Song: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:47

October 19, 2022

I’ve called it a “second song” of Moses because there is an obvious parallel between this song that comes here at the very end of his life, just before the people are to enter the promised land, and the song they sang after they were delivered from Egypt forty years earlier. The song at the beginning of their desert wandering was filled with joy, while the song at the end is filled with warnings. Yet at both the beginning and the end, the people are singing.

The Second Song of Moses

Friday: A Matter of Life and Death: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:47

October 21, 2022

The final section (vv. 39-43) of this song deals with the nature of God and final victory. At the very end, the word atonement suddenly appears. He will “make atonement for his land and people” (v. 43). They would probably think of the Day of Atonement, which is pointing forward to the coming of Jesus Christ. You see, it’s only because of the coming of Jesus Christ that you and I are ever going to escape the judgment which hangs over us. Christ shields us from all wrath; outside of Christ, we are exposed to all wrath. Moses’ great song teaches that judgment is coming, but God provides deliverance from it by making atonement. The people need to find refuge in Him.

The Death of Moses

Monday: Dying Words: Deuteronomy 32:48-34:12

October 24, 2022

Moses, the servant of God, had many dying words. In a sense, they are the entire book of Deuteronomy. It consists of three addresses, and we looked at two of them. The first was urging godliness upon the people, and the second dealt with a challenge to the people. Now, in Deuteronomy 33, Moses gives his third address, which is a blessing upon the tribes. As this book concludes, we see that Moses’ last words are in praise of God, and the last thing God has to say in this book, in the last three verses, is praise of Moses.

The Death of Moses

Tuesday: Blessings on the Tribes: Deuteronomy 32:48-34:12

October 25, 2022

Moses starts his preamble in chapter 33 with God coming down on Sinai to give the people the law, rather than with God’s calling of the patriarchs or with Jacob’s twelve sons. There’s a very good reason for that. His blessing upon the people is a blessing upon the nation. In a sense, the nation began at Sinai. It did begin with God calling a people to Himself, beginning with Abraham, and then their multiplying in Egypt and coming out as a great people. But they were formed into a nation at Sinai because they were given the law and had been instructed in the right way of approaching God.

The Death of Moses

Wednesday: No One Like the Lord: Deuteronomy 32:48-34:12

October 26, 2022

Next we come to Benjamin’s blessing (v. 12). He was the second child of Rachel, and the son whom Jacob loved especially, which is why Moses calls him “the beloved.” The most important thing is not that Benjamin was beloved by Jacob, but by the Lord. Everybody wants to be loved. If you’re greatly loved by someone else, that’s a wonderful thing. But the most important thing of all is to be loved by God because His is a perfect love that is never going to change or fade away. If we are loved by God through Jesus Christ, nothing in all heaven or earth is ever going to separate us from that love (see Rom. 8:38-39).

The Death of Moses

Thursday: Moses’ Character: Deuteronomy 32:48-34:12

October 27, 2022

Deuteronomy 33:26-29 are the very last words of Moses, the author of more biblical material than any other single human being. In these last words he confesses that there is no god like God. Isn’t that wonderful? Now if Moses could praise God like that, shouldn’t we do that too? We sing, “O, for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise,” and yet the one tongue we have is so often silent. Moses spoke of the glory of God. May we do it too, and do it more and more as we go on in life and experience more and more of His glory and His grace. If we do that in life, then when our time comes to die, we’ll be able to testify of His grace and His glory even then.

The Death of Moses

Friday: What It Means to Know God: Deuteronomy 32:48-34:12

October 28, 2022

I don’t know what’s going to come into your life or my life this year. You might go through very difficult things. God allows such things to happen to His people. But in these serious trials the people of God triumph and show forth His grace because they have their eyes on God and they want to serve God. That needs to be true of us, throughout our earthly lives, until Jesus comes again.

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