Numbers 19  The Lord gave Moses and Aaron a new ordinance.. the responsibility was given to  Eleazar to bring a "unblemished red heifer.. " outside the camp and have it slaughtered.  The first thing he had to do was to take some of the blood and sprinkle it "toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times."  Next the heifer was completely burned.. every part of it... plus cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet material.  It was burned until all that was left was ashes. These ashes were preserved outside the camp and would be mixed with water and used to purify anyone who became unclean because of contact with a dead body. 

Anyone who touched the ashes.. or touched the water that contained the ashes.. would also be made unclean for 7 days.  There were exact rules to be obeyed so that the unclean person could then be considered clean and could once again come into the camp and into the tent of meeting.  If they did not obey exactly as God required they were to be cut off from the congregation.  

Many people had already died from the congregation of Israel because of their sinful rebellion. The rest of those who had refused to enter the promised land would also did in the wilderness.  The Lord prepared them for this and provided protection for their children so that they would not be contaminated by the dead bodies. 

Hebrews 9:13-14 says this, "For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who had been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

God's purpose for the offering of the red heifer was to cleanse.. or sanctify..those who had been defiled by contact with death... death of the flesh.  Greater still.. He has given us the "blood of Christ" to sanctify us.. from spiritual death.. from a sinful conscience.. from the contact that we have had with a sin-filled world and from sin that has defiled us.  Hallelujah! What a Savior! He has delivered us from sin and from death!  He has cleansed us and made us holy and blameless by  washing us with  His own blood. 

Father in heaven,  there is so much we do not understand but we are learning to trust in You and not lean on our own understanding.  We are learning.. help us to learn.. to acknowledge You in all that we do and allow You to direct our path.. our every step. Fill us Spirit of God so that we might walk in righteousness to serve the living God.. with all our heart and soul and spirit.  We are in Christ Jesus who "loved the church and gave Himself  up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through  the Word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless, " ( Ephraim 5:25-27).. Praise the Lord. amen and amen. 

 Numbers 18  The Lord, once again,  explains to Aaron and Moses... and the Levites.. that they have been chosen to "bear the guilt" - take responsibility  for the sanctuary and the priesthood.  They had a solemn obligation to serve in the tabernacle.  Aaron's responsibility was great.. but his sons and the Levites were given to him to serve and to share in this work.  They were responsible to guard and protect the things of the Lord. To fail would bring death to those who were "outsiders" and to them also.  

But, not only was this work an obligation and responsibility.. it was a gift.  The Lord called it a "bestowed service".  They were in charge of the offerings and holy gifts that were given to the Lord.. every offering.. sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings. guilt offerings.. everything!   And out of those offerings they would feed themselves and their families.  They had no land of their own.. no inheritance except the Lord Himself.  But... they would have the "best of the fresh oil, and all the best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the Lord,.." the Lord told them. " I give them to you."

The Levites would receive the "tithe" that all of Israel would bring to the Lord.  Out of that they themselves would tithe a portion and give it to Aaron. This was "compensation" for their service in the tent of meeting.

The church of today works in a similar way.. We bring our tithes and gifts to our church and present it as an offering to the Lord.  The offering is the Lord's and He gives it to those who serve in the church.  Not only for the pastors and staff, but for the upkeep of the buildings.. to protect and guard what is the Lord's sanctuary. The one thing that we don't always remember is that what we give should be the best of what we have.. not that we need to offer sacrifices like Israel did, for we have been covered by the One who shed His blood, once for all times.  But, we have been given the privilege to serve the Lord.. and we know that the Lord" loves a cheerful giver.." ( 2 Corinthians 9:7)  Indeed, the Word tells us that God will give to us more so that we can be even more generous in giving to others... and that includes the church for sure!

Father in heaven, You have blessed us with so much and we bring our gifts and offerings to the church that You have established.. for Your will and purposes.. May we give generously and with true thanksgiving in our hearts. May You receive all praise and honor and glory. It is Your "surpassing grace" given to us that enables us to be faithful and obedient in all things. Let Your will be done we pray, in Jesus' name . Amen.

 Numbers 17 The Lord gives another sign.. to prove to all the people of Israel that He chose  Aaron and his sons to be the priests and the Levites to serve Him in the tent of meeting.. And not anyone else! He had each tribe bring a rod.. the rod of that belonged to the leader of each tribe.  Each rod was inscribed with their name.  Aaron also had a rod with his name inscribed on it.  These rods were placed in the tent of meeting over night. 

"And it will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I shall lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you."   So, this is what they did and the next morning Moses brought the rods out.. "and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds."  There could be no doubt that God chose Aaron and the Levites.  Not just a bud.. but the whole cycle of growth was evident.  Buds, blossoms, and fully ripe almonds from a rod that had long ago been cut from a tree. A miracle that was far beyond their imagination or understanding. 

This rod was placed back in the tabernacle.. it was a sign that should always remind the rest of Israel that God decided who would serve Him and they should stop grumbling! 

It is only then that the rest of the sons of Israel realized that they were wrong.. "Behold, we perish, we are dying, we are all dying!"  They could not come near the tabernacle of the Lord.. what could they do?

Way back in the days of Cain and Abel there was a similar problem.. Abel's offering was accepted and Cain's was not..  for he had chosen to do things his own way and not according to God's way.  We know what happened next.  The tribes of Israel wanted to control the Tent and tabernacle their own way.. but that was not acceptable to God.  It was not open to debate or compromise. It was determined by God and would be His way! He chose Aaron and his sons to be priests and the Levites to serve as they had been directed. 

Likewise, we are called to come before the Lord Almighty according to His Word and that Word is Jesus Christ. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." ( Acts 4:12)  Some want to come to the Lord in their own ways.. works.. other religions.. or self-righteousness.  But, the Lord has made it clear by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that He is the only Way.. the complete Truth.. and the giver of Life. The Father chose His own Son to be the High Priest of heaven.. and there can be no debate or argument that will stand against Him. Hallelujah!

Father, hide us in the Rock of Ages.. in Jesus Christ the Son of God who came to seek and save the lost.. to make atonement for us who have no righteousness of our own..  We must have Jesus as our Savior for He is our only hope and life.  Draw us nearer to our precious Lord we pray. We cling to You Jesus. Thank You for this great salvation found in Your Name.. the Name above all names. Amen and Hallelujah! 

 Numbers 16  The people of Israel were still questioning and challenging Moses and Aaron.. and rebelling against the Lord's clear commands.. even after seeing the consequences of those who had died already in their rebellion and unbelief.. 

Korah was the son of Izhar.. a relative of Moses and Aaron.. a leader in the tribe of Levi.  Dathan and Abiram and On.. were from the tribe of Reuben. Verse 1 tells us that this little gang.. "took action".  They brought 250 of the other leaders "men of renown".. Men put into position by the Lord's own choice.. and they all came against Moses and Aaron. "You have gone far enough .. " they told Moses. We are holy.. everyone is holy.. the Lord is here.. "so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?"

Mose fell on his face.  He was a humble man.. but he was not a weak man.  Moses told Korah and the others to come before the Lord the next day.."tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself." 

The next day Korah and some fellow Levites showed up.. but Dathan and Abiram wouldn't even answer the summons to come before the Lord.  So Moses told the people to get back away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.. and the Lord  did a new thing.. "the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah, with their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly."  On top of that the Lord sent forth fire and consumed the 250 men who had tried to present incense to the Lord. 

Instead of repenting and seeking the Lord, the congregation continued to grumble! The Lord appeared once more in the cloud that covered the tent of meeting.. and sent a plague upon the people. 14,700 more people died in this plague, which was stopped when Aaron took his censor and brought fire from the altar to make atonement for them,  

Rebellion, jealousy, arrogance..those thinking they were better.. holier.. more worthy.. were the ones who  experienced plague.. fire.. and the ground splitting open and consuming the evil doers. The Lord took action against those who came against His chosen leader.. Moses and His chosen priest. Aaron. 

The Lord draws near to Himself those who are His.. He sees those who are holy.. and He sees those who just think they are worthy..  The Lord had called the tribe of Levi into service to Himself... but they were not content and not grateful.  They wanted more.. they wanted power.. they wanted recognition. They failed to take into account the sovereignty of God. They failed to submit to the authority that they were called to obey.  They brought destruction upon themselves and all of their family and all they had. 

The Lord had Aaron take up the bronze censers that were burned up with the 250 leaders.. and he made a "plating before the altar.. "   it was to remind the laymen to not come near to burn incense as Korah did. That job was meant for the true priests.. the sons of Aaron. 

Father, let us learn from Your Word what You would say to us today.  You have called men and women to serve You.. according to Your purpose and plan for each of us. We are grateful for the place You have made for us.. and we pray that we will serve You well and humbly.  We want to be content and not allow jealousy or arrogance or selfishness to have place in our hearts.  Oh may we have pure hearts and clean hands, Lord God!  Let Your will be done, Father. We surrender all to You.. Be glorified in our lives we pray. Amen. 

 Numbers 15 The Lord had just sent Israel back into the wilderness to drift through the next 40 years until those who had failed to trust Him for the land He promised, had all died. Now, He reminds them that He will give them the land and they will need to follow His commands now, in the wilderness, and later when they enter the land. 

The Lord commands them to bring special offerings when they enter the land. It's going to happen and when it does.. they are going to worship Him.  He assures them that He is still with them all the way.

The Lord also commands that the "alien who sojourns" with them should be treated the same as every Israelite. "There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you." 

Then the Lord gives directions for those who unintentionally sin or fail to observe His commandments.  He also gives directions for those who intentionally and defiantly do anything that blasphemes the Lord. One who sins unintentionally can find pardon and atonement. One who is defiantly sinning would be "cut off".  

It didn't take long for an example to be made.. "they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day.. " This man was sentenced immediately to be stoned and the people obeyed. 

The Lord gave one more command.. He wanted them to sew blue tassels to the corners of their garments.. these were to remind them to obey the commandments and "be holy to your God".  The tassels were supposed to  help them to constantly remember the commandments.. "so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot." 

"I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God, I am the Lord your God." 

So... what is it that the Lord, our Shepherd, is saying to us today?  First, I hear Him say.. set Your eyes on what is ahead.  Israel was in the wilderness.. but they would enter the promised land.. so  they could look forward to that and be prepared.  We look forward to the coming of Christ.  Peter wrote, "But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved since you look for these things, be diligent to be found in Him in peace, spotless and blameless." (II Peter 3:13-14)  

Secondly, the Lord is telling us to treat everyone the same.. we should not use one standard for some people and another standard for everyone else. We are all beholden to the same God and He shows NO partiality. 

Thirdly, the Lord had shown us that we all fail.. none of us is perfect and even if we don't intend to sin.. sometimes we just do.  But.. He is good and He is always ready to forgive!  That does not mean that if we turn away from Him and rebel or "despise His word".. that He will automatically wipe away that sin. Only true repentance can bring us into fellowship with our God. He is the Lord!

Finally, I see that the Lord wants us to walk with Him continually.  He calls us to a life of constant fellowship. He wants us to remember Him and walk in obedience to Him.  We don't have blue tassels for our garments.. but we have the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and will keep us in His will if we keep our eyes on Him. 

Father, help us to be faithful in all things.  We are weak.. but You are strong. You are faithful, even when we are not.  You are good and willing to forgive and we are so filled with gratitude for Your mercies that are made new every morning.  Fill us Spirit of God and guide our thoughts, our words, and our deeds.  Keep our eyes on Jesus.. as we look towards the finish line.. fill us with hope and peace and make us spotless and blameless in Your sight we pray. In Christ Jesus we come. amen. 

 Numbers 14:20-45  The Lord pardoned the iniquity of the people of Israel as Moses had prayed. But, the consequences of their unfaithfulness would be devastating.  All of the men who had been numbered.. the entire army with the exception of Caleb and Joshua  would die in the wilderness without ever entering the promised land.  The 10 spies who had brought the "very bad report" died immediately from a plague. 

The rest of Israel were sentenced to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness as shepherds... one year for each day that the spies had spent in the land of Canaan.  Only when the grumblers were buried in the wilderness would their children be able to finally take the land. 

Yet, even after the people mourned their loss, they turned around and disobeyed again!  Some men decided to go fight the Amalekites and Canaanites on their own.  Moses warned them that the Lord would not be with them for they were sinning against Him once again.  But.. they would not listen and went on their own.. and were struck down. 

The Lord did not leave Moses or the people without hope.. ".. as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.." (v21)  He told them to turn back to the wilderness.. for they would wander for 40 years.. but there would be a day when they would enter the land.. "When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you.. " He said. (15:2)  They would enter the land.. they would present offerings and worship Him.. there was still hope! He would not forsake them even in their wandering.

Father, sometimes we feel like we are wandering.. and our hope for Your return becomes dim..  Restore us Lord.  Give us greater faith and deeper hope. Open our eyes to see Your Hand at work, even now. Open our ears to hear Your voice calling us to wait upon You and to lift up our eyes because Jesus is coming soon. Fill us with Your Spirit and grant us strength and courage for You have promised to be with us and You always keep Your Promises.  Let all the earth be filled with the glory of the Lord, even as You spoke to Moses in the wilderness. We thank You for the good news of salvation.. still spreading out to every tongue and tribe and nation.  Rescue the perishing, Lord God.. Let the Light of the World.. Jesus Christ break through all the darkness we pray. In His wonderful Name. Amen

Numbers 14:1-19   There are consequences for rebellion and unbelief. The people of Israel lost faith in the God who was present.. in the cloud by day and the fire by night.. the same God who brought them out of Egypt with His powerful Hand.  They saw Him... but didn't know Him.  They didn't trust His promise that He would give them the land.. that He would conquer these enemies. That He would do what they couldn't do.  

Verse 5 tells us that Moses and Aaron both fell on their faces.. Verse 6 tells us that Joshua and Caleb "tore their clothes" and spoke to the people.  " If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us - a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land. "  

But the people were ready to stone them.. until the Lord showed up.. "Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel."

Imagine this.. when the glory of the Lord shows up.. it stops the rebels.. it stops the arguments.. He brings an end to the violence.  It must have been stunning.. this powerful appearance of the Lord in the midst of the multitude. 

The Lord seems to take Moses aside "How long will this people spurn Me?"  He is willing to "smite" them all right there and then.  But, weary and frustrated Moses intercedes instead of agreeing..   He reasons with the Lord.. his argument is that the Name of the Lord will be dishonored by the other nations if the people die in the wilderness like this. They will think that the Lord is unable to accomplish what He set out to do. "But now I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as Thou hast declared." Moses prays for the pardon of "the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Thy lovingkindness, just as Thou also hast forgiven this people, from Egypt until now." 

Moses reminded the Lord of His own words spoken on Mt Sinai.. ( Exodus 34:6-7) "The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation." And we are reminded once again of the character of our God.. for He never changes.  He is willing and able to forgive.. He will pardon our iniquities.. He is abundant in His lovingkindness towards us. But, He will not ignore those who continue in sin and rebellion. 

There is one thing that the Lord did change.... oh how great is His grace... In Ezekiel 18 the Lord declared that  "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself." (v20)  

Father in heaven, You are so good. You are ready to forgive. Ready to pardon our iniquities and give us life.  You are just in all You do.  We desire, Lord, to live for You and to please You.. even though we know that we fall short. So we thank You for being patient and loving towards us.. We are grateful that You are slow to anger and that You do not remember are transgressions against us when we repent and turn away from sin.  We thank You for the atonement that You have made for us through Jesus Christ the Lord who died on the cross, shedding His blood and giving us life through His death.  Hallelujah! What a Savior! We praise Your Name and pray that You will be exalted in all the earth !  Amen.