Sacrifice

Numbers 28:1-8

Sometimes it is hard for us to see that the God of the Old Testament is the same God that we serve today. However, if I have learned anything from studying the Old Testament, it is that God is. He has not changed.

I wanted us to read this passage to see the enormity of just the daily offerings the Israelites were to bring to the Tabernacle. The rest of this chapter covers the Sabbath offerings, monthly offerings, and the offerings that were to be brought during the three feasts each year. All of these offerings were in addition to the daily offerings. Obviously, sacrifices were a major part of their lives. But, what does sacrifice mean for us?

First of all, the sacrifices were fulfilled in Christ's shed blood on the cross. There is no longer a need for animals to be sacrificed for our sins. Jesus' blood covers all sin from now until forever. Secondly, the Israelites could not function without a priest. Jesus is our High Priest. He lives to make intercession for us. We cannot truly live without him. But, the most important thing I want us to learn from this passage is that sacrifice is expensive. The Israelites' daily, Sabbath, and monthly sacrifices would have cost them a lot of money. Jesus' sacrifice cost Him His life. What does your sacrifice cost you?

We should be willing to give of ourselves and our spirtual sacrifices. A spiritual sacrifice can be our bodies, money, matieral gifts, worship, praise, prayer, and/or a broken and contrite heart over sin. All of these are acceptable to God as our sacrifice.

King David says in Samuel 24:24,

"But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them."

Sacrifice is not sacrifice if it doesn't cost you something. Jesus gave His very life for you. What will you offer to him in return?

Present Suffering

Romans 8:18

Yesterday in church we were singing an awesome song called "Your Grace is Enough". It basically proclaims that whatever I might be going through, God's is bigger and His grace is enough.

As we were singing, I started thinking about several people around me. Close to me was a woman who is grieving over a lost relationship. One row up was a mother who in the last two years has completely lost the ability to speak. She was signing every word. Two rows up was a woman who has a difficult time forming relationships, but now is having trouble with her health. She is suffering almost alone. Just a few rows back was a couple who have a severely handicapped child whose medical bills alone are stressful, not to mention just the day to day routine that must be carried out in their home.

The amazing thing was that all of them were proclaiming, "Your Grace is Enough". It was an amazing moment in worship as hearts that were breaking cried out to God that their present suffering could not even compare with greatness of God or with the grace He had bestowed upon them.

We are all going to struggle and suffer. This is as much a part of life as the sun coming up in the morning. However, this life is but a vapor. And eternity is unfathomable. When we reach eternity with Christ, there will not be one moment of suffering ever again. In light of that, "our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

Therefore, let us suffer with faithfulness. Whatever we are going through, let us be faithful to God - even when we don't feel like it. Express those feelings to God today. He is big enough to handle them. And His grace is enough... even for you.

Are You Growing?

Numbers 26:1-4, 51

This may seem like passage that is just strictly factual for the sake of knowing how many people were about to enter into the promised land, but I believe it actually shows us a quite vivid picture.

This is the second census that Moses had been commanded to take. The first one was before the 38 years of wandering in the desert. Now everyone that had believed the spies report over God's promises had died, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. Here they are about to enter and there are about 2000 less people than there were 38 years ago. Why?

Yes, the conditions were severe, but the Israelites had been through severe conditions before. They spent 400 years in slavery and flourished. They grew from a family of 12 brothers to almost 3 million people! So why in these 38 years have they declined?

I believe God is showing us a vivid, physical picture of what it looks like to live in disobedience. The 38 years that the Israelites spent wandering in the desert were completely wasted. You can count the number of verses that have to do with that 38 years on your fingers because there is just nothing to say about them. They were wasted in disobedience, therefore the people did not grow.

If we are not growing spiritually, we are living in disobedience to God in one or more areas. If you feel distant from God or if you feel He hasn't taught you anything in quite some time, ask Him to show you where you are being disobedient so that you may confess and repent today. Don't wander in the desert any longer.

The Snare

Numbers 25:1-3, Numbers 31:16, Revelation 2:14

The scriptures may not make much sense to you today unless you know the story of Balaam and Balak, so let me fill in the gaps...

Balaam could not curse Israel the way Balak wanted him to so according to scripture, Balaam gave Balak advice on how he could defeat the Israelites. He advised Balak to get the Moabite and Midianite women to seduce the Israelite men into worshipping their God, Baal, and indulging in sexual immorality with them.

Baal, was a fertility god and the worship of him involved ritual prostitution in the temple of Baal. This was detestable to God and the Israelites knew it. God acted swiftly in the punishment of this sin. All the men who took part in this idolatry were killed, but the damage was done.

How many times throughout the rest of the Old Testament do we hear about the Israelites falling into the snare of idol worship to the false god Baal? Too many times to count. This was their first encounter and it became a snare to them the rest of their ancient history.

The Israelites did not even see this snare coming, but the decision they made took them, their children, their grandchildren , and the rest of their decendants much further than they ever wanted to go with sin. It is amazing to me that sin sometimes seems to come from no where and one decision can sometimes change the course of our lives and possibly the lives of our entire family.

We must be aware of this warning in scripture: Evil wants to destroy us and our desire for God.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8. Don't let one foolish decision change your entire history.

God Can Even Use a Donkey!

Numbers 22:1-35

The Israelites are on the border of the promised land, but no doubt the surrounding nations have heard of all that had happened to them. Now they were so close, the other nations could see this enormous people group moving toward them. And they were afraid! Balak, the king of Moab, decided to take matters spiritually. Unfortunately, he went to the wrong source. Instead of consulting God, he consulted the sorcerer, Balaam.

Balaam may come across to you as a true believer in God. There are many that feel that he was and just made some mistakes along the way. However, based on other scriptures such as 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11, and Revelation 2:14, I do not believe that he was. However, God used him. This may seem puzzeling to us, but God can use anyone He desires to speak to us. He can use unbelievers to encourage us or to discipline us.

Balaam seeks God's approval in going with the messengers sent from Moab and God says no. Then the messengers come back and Balaam asks God again. God will not be manipulated. Have you ever continued to ask God for something over and over that He has shown you is NOT for you?

God allows Balaam to go, but He did not want him to. Therefore, God sends an angel of the Lord to block his path. The interesting thing in this story is that the "seer" did not see, but the donkey did!! Balaam, although regarded as a spiritual man, did not have spiritual eyes. The donkey tried to help him, but he just beat the donkey, forcing his way through.

Is there something in your life that God is trying to stop you from doing but you just keep forcing your way through? Ask God to show you if He is Sovereignly trying to stop you from making a mistake. Listen to His voice and be aware of the voices around you - including the donkey!

The Poisonous Bite of Sin

Numbers 21:4-9

New generation, same attitude. Complaining. One of the Israelites' snares into sin time after time. God did not and will not put up with the same sin over and over again. He punishes them with deadly, venomous snakes. But this time, Moses does not fall face down and petition God to forgive them and remove the plague. Interestingly, when Moses did not plead for them, they turned to God for forgiveness. This is the first time they have confessed and repented of their sin.

God tells Moses to do something that seems very strange. God told Moses to make a bronze snake, put in on a pole and lift it up. Anyone who looked at it would be healed from the poisonous bite. This would have seemed strange for at least three reasons:

1. It takes time to make a bronze snake so the people had time to truly feel the effects of their sin.
2. According to Exodus 20:4, they were not to make any images.
3. Snakes are cursed, associated with Satan, and are considered repulsive by many.
   

However, Moses did what God said even though it seemed bizarre and even repulsive.

The people had to believe what God said and look to the snake in order to be healed from the poisonous bite. And this was the only way they could be healed. Any human remedy would only result in death. This may seem like "foolishness", but "the cross is foolishess to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Jesus hung on a tree and we know from scripture, that makes Him cursed. However, the only way to be saved from the poison of sin is to look in faith to Jesus.

The snake, as strange as it may seem, is a picture of the Son of Man being lifted up. Jesus himself even refers to this story in John 3. To look to the cross where a cursed Man hung may seem foolish or even repulsive, but it is the only way to come to God, because it is the way He says were are to come.

Have you looked to Jesus for salvation? Saving faith is believing what God says and acting on it. This is a committment that each individual must make for herself. Will you look to the cross today and believe? I can think of no better time that right now. He is the only cure for the poisonous bite of sin.

Baby Steps of Faith

Numbers 21:1-3

This passage of scripture may seem insignificant, but it is actually the first baby step of faith that the Israelites took since their journey to the promised land began. The Israelites were victims of an unprovoked attack by the Canaanites. I don't know about you, but I would have expected their response to be something like, "if only we had died in the desert!". But, they show a shocking amount of faith and turn to God. Yeah Israelites!!

The Israelites believed that God was able to do what He said He could do. They acted in faith, but their faith had two very important components that true faith always has. First, their faith had content. They were basing their faith on God's promise to bring them into the promised land. Their faith also had action. Their action was making a vow to the Lord and following through. The Lord brought them to victory based on their faith.

What makes this short victory even more important is that this was the very place that 38 years before they had been defeated when they chose not to believe God. God truly is the God of second chances! God can use our former places of defeat for victory.

Is there somewhere in your life that God is offering you a second chance? Don't miss out on His second chance! Make a vow to the Lord today that if He will give you the victory, you will be obedient.

The Submitted Servant

Numbers 20:22-29

We have traveled many days with Aaron. We have watched his life and his faith mature. Was he perfect? Far from it. Aaron helped build the golden calf, he, along with his sister Miriam, opposed Moses, and he also disobeyed God when he and Moses were commanded to speak to the rock to bring water from it. However, in spite of all his failures, he ended his life a completely submitted servant of the Lord.

God tells Moses to get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up the mountain because Aaron is going to die. We see nothing in scripture to make us believe that Aaron argued or complained about God's choice for his life. He just obeyed. God blessed him for his obedience by allowing him to see the priesthood passed on to his son. Aaron died knowing that his son was going to be greatly used by God. He was also allowed to tell his family goodbye, and Aaron knew exactly where he was going. He was going to be "gathered to his people".

We can see through Aaron's life that God is much more concerned with our current faith than He is with our past failures. We can also see that submission to the Lord is the greatest mark of maturity.

How about you? Is your life submitted to the Lord? Are you to the point in your relationship with Him that you can truly say, "Lord, whatever you choose for me, I submit myself to it". Or do you spend much of your time complaining over what the Lord has chosen for you?

Today, ask God to grow you into a totally submitted servant. There is truly no greater mark on a believer's life.

"He had not, in the highest degree, the qualities of insight, promptitude, energy, and firmness for which Moses was pre-eminent: but he excelled his brother in the passive virtues of patience and endurance. Under the stunning blow which deprived him of two of his sons in a moment, no word of reproach escaped his lips; while on the occasion of the Korahitic rebellion he waited, with a quiet and becoming dignity, until his pre-emenence had been established, and then he used his priesthood in making intercession for the plague-stricken multitudes... His character shines most brightly at 'the evening time'; and to him we may apply the poet's words, 'Nothing in his life became him like the leaving of it.' We forget his faults as we see him ascending so quietly the hill on which he is to be gathered to his people."
William M. Taylor, Moses: The Law-Giver

Disobedience Brings Consequence

Numbers 20:2-13

This is probably one of the best known stories of the Old Testament. Moses' failure. It is so disheartening. However, after studying it, I believe that there may be as much for us to learn in Moses' failure as there was in his successes.

First of all, it seems unfair that after all Moses had been through with the grumbling, complaining Israelites, that he would not get to see the promised land. We can easily sympathize with his anger toward the people. We can easily sympathize with the way he spoke to them. Unfortunately, human emotion is not an excuse for sin. And God's leaders do not have the luxury of losing their tempers with others.

Moses' sin is actually multifaceted. First and foremost, he disobeyed God. He didn't follow God's instructions. Moses did not believe God in this circumstance. Moses had seen the very glory of God, yet here he did not believe Him. Secondly, Moses took some of the glory for the miracle for himself and for Aaron. Moses says, "must we" bring water out of this rock making it seem as if they were responsible for the miracle as opposed to God. Thirdly, Moses spoke to the people harshly instead of speaking too the rock. And last but not least, Moses struck the rock twice instead of doing what God had said. Any of these points are sinful, but add them all up and they equal a significant failure on Moses' part.

It is important to see through this example that a whole lifetime of service can be ruined by one sinful act. If it does not ruin a life, it is not because it shouldn't, but only because of God's grace. The fact that Moses had to suffer the consequences of his actions should serve as a warning for us.

Is there an area in your life where you are disobeying God, yet you believe that you deserve a pass because of all the other things you are doing right? This is not how God works. He does not weigh the good against the bad. Ask God to help you totally submit to Him and His ways today.