Numbers Devotionals
Numbers 4:4 - The Cross-Eyed Bear
Numbers 10:9 - The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Numbers 10:35 - Arise, O LORD
Numbers 16:45 - Weebles Wobble
Numbers 20:12 - Trust and Obey
Numbers 28:2 - At Just the Right Time
Numbers 33:52 - Driving out the Inhabitants of the Land
Numbers 33:56 - Do To You
Numbers 10:9 - The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Numbers 10:35 - Arise, O LORD
Numbers 16:45 - Weebles Wobble
Numbers 20:12 - Trust and Obey
Numbers 28:2 - At Just the Right Time
Numbers 33:52 - Driving out the Inhabitants of the Land
Numbers 33:56 - Do To You
The Cross-Eyed Bear
This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. Numbers 4:4
Have you heard the story of the mom walking by her daughter’s bedroom? She peeked in to see her daughter, with all the stuffed animals lined up in rows, delivering a 4 year-old’s rendition of last week’s sermon. The mom stifled a giggle and walked away shaking her head when she heard her daughter introduce one of her stuffed animals to the rest of the “congregation” as the cross-eyed bear.
The “cross I bear” made as much sense to that little four year-old as it does to many unbelievers. The little girl filtered what she heard from the pastor the best she could - and it came out “cross-eyed bear.” Similarly, unbelievers cannot fathom what it means to bear a cross and why Christians would willing to do so.
The phrase comes from Jesus’ declaration, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).
What is this cross?
Jesus gave a little more information in Luke 9:23-25: “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (NIV)
Taking up your cross involves denying yourself. It’s the process of dying to sin. Romans 6:6 says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” In other words, it’s the process of denying our desires and agenda “to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
That’s hard. Our carnal nature still wants preeminence. It’s the battle described in Romans 7:14-25. It takes persistent discipline and whole-hearted devotion to God. The Holy Spirit, working in us to grow that new creature in Christ, will not beat us over the head to do God’s will. The Holy Spirit guides and teaches, but we still have to respond. We have a choice to make, daily, of choosing God’s ways and not our own. As we choose God’s way, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we crucify the carnal nature. And that’s our cross.
This idea of picking up and carrying something - and following Christ - is not exclusive to the New Testament. Look at this verse in Numbers 4:4:This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. The sons of Kohath carried the ark of the covenant, the lampstand, the table of the bread of the Presence, the golden altar, and the bronze altar. These most holy things were a burden; they were heavy; they required commitment, dedication, persistence, and reverence. Carrying these most holy things was not easy, but it was an incredible privilege God assigned to them.
Similarly, our walk, the cross we bear, is not easy, but it is an incredible privilege to have been chosen by God. As we walk the path He’s ordained for each of us, it requires commitment, dedication, persistence, and reverence. We are living witnesses of the holiness of our God as we carry our cross. In other words, you’re introducing the people around you to the God you serve.
To whom have you introduced the “cross-eyed bear”?
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Numbers 10:9
And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.
I’m not quite sure how this works. Why does blowing two silver trumpets cause the people to be remembered before God? Does this only work in your land? Does this only work if the adversary is oppressing you? Does God need the sound of the silver trumpets to be reminded of His promise?
I don’t know. But there are a couple of other places where God says He will be reminded of His promises. Look at Genesis 9:14-15. “When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.” The rainbow reminds . . . God?
Look at Malachi 3:16-17. “Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.” Who is the book of remembrance for?
There’s an interesting story in 2 Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat and Jerusalem are going to be attacked by the people of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir. Jehoshaphat goes to God and asks for help. God tells him, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.” (vs. 17) The next morning, Jehoshaphat set the singers in holy attire before the army. When they began to sing and praise God, the LORD set an ambush against their enemies so they were defeated before the army of Judah.
It’s all very interesting, isn’t it? But does it have any meaning for us today? I think so. In fact, I think the song, “The Battle Belongs to the Lord,” gives us some clues as to how it impacts us today.
In heavenly armor We put on Jesus Christ. (Rm 13:14)
we’ll enter the land, He is the gate. (John 10:7)
No weapon that’s fashioned
against us will stand. When we’re on the side of the Lord, nothing can defeat us. (Jos. 5:14)
When the power of darkness
comes in like a flood,
He’s raised up a standard Jesus Christ shed His blood
the power of His blood. - the cross is the banner under which we battle the enemy. (Ex. 17:15)
When the enemy presses in hard,
do not fear. God says 365 times not to fear;
Take courage, my friend, Jesus is our salvation, our redemption;
your redemption is near. We don’t fear what man can do to us.
It all goes back to relationship. It doesn’t matter what trumpet you use, if you don’t have a relationship with God. It doesn’t matter what is shining in the clouds, if you don’t have a relationship with the only One who can save you. It doesn’t matter what you talk about, if you don’t have a relationship with the One who will be King of kings and Lord of lords.
Arise, O LORD
And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” Numbers 10:35
My children watch the three Narnia movies over and over: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Last night, as we were watching Prince Caspian again, I was so struck by the theme running through it. You see, every time one of the characters tried to do something on their own, in their own strength, according to their wisdom - apart from Aslan - it didn’t turn out well. When no one believed Lucy that she’d seen Aslan, and so they wouldn’t follow her across the gorge, they ended up wasting time and retracing their steps. When Peter decided they’d waited for Aslan long enough; it was time to attack the castle, a lot of Narnians died. When Knickabrick decided to get the power they needed through the White Witch, a dangerous course was narrowly averted by Edmund, who’d had prior experience trying to get power through the White Witch. Woven throughout the movie is the theme that if you are not following Aslan, if you’re not looking for him, if you’re trying to do things your way, it is not going to go well. Rather, you have to trust him.
Similarly, Israel had seen God’s almighty hand, His divine power and absolute authority. They had seen it and experienced it, over and over, from the time God sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt. They’d seen and experienced the plagues. They’d seen and experienced the miracles of crossing the Red Sea dry shod, the manna, the water from a rock, and the bronze serpent, to say nothing of the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day. And yet, they complained and grumbled and rebelled over and over again. They just didn’t want to trust God - to trust and obey Him with all their hearts.
So now, when Moses speaks this blessing, it’s been a year, a month, and six days since God delivered them from Egypt on that first Passover. They are getting ready to move, to leave Mt. Sinai for the first time. They have their duties assigned. They have their marching order. They have the goal of the Promised Land before them. Now, Moses speaks a blessing. Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.
This is a very odd blessing. Why would Moses say to Jehovah to arise? Why would Moses speak a benediction that God’s enemies would be scattered? Like God’s enemies could stand before God. Inconceivable! Absolutely ludicrous! There is no one who can prevail against our God. He is the Almighty. He is the Creator and King of the Universe. So, really, the blessing isn’t Moses blessing God. It’s Moses identifying Israel with God. He’s subtly saying that they want to go where God is going; if God doesn’t go with them, they don’t want to leave this place. However, they do believe God is going with them, but they also know God doesn’t always make the path easy. The road ahead may lead to encounters with enemies and those who hate both God and His people. Moses is gently beseeching God that the way won’t be fraught with danger; nevertheless, whether it is or not, Israel wants to go where God goes.
What about you? Do you want to go where God leads you, regardless of the enemies before you, the hatred you may encounter, the difficulties in the way? Do you truly comprehend how crucial it is that you trust God despite the troubles you face? Do you truly comprehend how crucial it is that you choose to go God’s way rather than trusting your own strength, your own wisdom, your own desires? Do you truly comprehend how crucial it is that you go with God - no matter what?
In the end, Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, and Prince Caspian trust Aslan and they are dramatically victorious - despite the many difficulties and sorrows they endured on the way to that victory. Similarly, Jesus our Messiah will be dramatically victorious - and if we are with Him, if we trust Him despite the many difficulties and sorrows we endure, we will see and experience that victory with great joy! I don’t know about you, but I want to go with God! I want to say: Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you!
Weebles Wobble
“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. Numbers 16:45
When I was a kid, weebles were the new toy on the market. The advertising slogan was “Weebles wobble, but they won’t fall down.” Now when you’re a kid with bad guys attacking the castle, you want the bad guys to fall down. What good is a bad guy that when you hit him, he bobs back up again? I remember thinking as kids that weebles were pretty lame toys.
But I was thinking of the weebles this morning when I was considering this verse in Numbers 16:45: “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. Who fell on their faces? Moses and Aaron did. This is the instance of Korah’s rebellion, but it could have been any number of instances when the Israelites rebelled, murmured, and grumbled against God. There was the manna, the golden calf, the bitter water, the water from the rock, the quail (twice), Aaron and Miriam opposing Moses, the bronze serpent, and refusing to enter the land God was giving to them as their inheritance. Numbers 14 records God saying that the people had put Him to the test ten times! And that was before they disobeyed God and tried to take the land anyway (Numbers 14:39) and Korah’s rebellion (Numbers 16).
God had been extremely patient with the people. In Exodus 34:6-7 God had passed before Moses and proclaimed, about Himself, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites had experienced over and over the patience, the loving kindness, the mercy of God. Over and over they had put Him to the test. And now, here in Numbers 16, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were swallowed by the earthquake, and the other 250 leaders, who had offered fire and incense in their censors to God - in a power play against Moses, were consumed by fire. But this isn’t where we find this verse: “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. (Numbers 16:45) No, this verse comes after God’s judgment against Korah and the others. This is the next day - and the people are still grumbling! God has finally had enough!! He tells Aaron and Moses to get away from the people. What was Moses’ and Aaron’s response? They fell on their face!
There’s at least a couple of lessons to learn. First of all, God is long-suffering. He’s extremely patient and merciful. Because God is so slow to anger, we tend to think He is condoning our misdeeds and sin. (Psalm 50:21) We couldn’t be more wrong. God will by no means clear the guilty.
Secondly, God will deal swiftly with evildoers when He decides to. As soon as Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, the plague started. Moses told Aaron to run and get some fire and incense in his censor, to stand before the people and make atonement for them. Before Aaron could do so, there were already 14,700 people who had died from the plague.
Thirdly, Moses and Aaron reacted to God’s judgment by prostrating themselves before God! This was no time to try to talk God out of it. God was acting, and Moses and Aaron just humbled themselves before God as quickly and completely as they could.
What about us? Do we test God? Do we arouse His anger at us? Does Jesus stand in the gap and make intercession for us? How long will God allow that intercession before our wickedness surpasses His long-suffering and mercy? We cannot call Jesus our Savior and then continue in a sinful lifestyle. Jesus is not our Redeemer so that we can continue to sin. He is our Redeemer from being slaves to sin. We cannot quench the Holy Spirit within us which teaches us the right way to go - we cannot quench it without impunity!
I think we’d better find our faces before God. I think we’d better confess our sins, repent and humble ourselves before our Maker. In our relationship with our God and Savior, we don’t want to be like the weebles who wobble but they won’t fall down.
Trust and Obey
And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” Numbers 20:12
What a devastating pronouncement to Aaron and Moses! This was after 38 years of wandering in the wilderness. They were about to enter the Promised Land - finally. But, the people started grumbling and complaining . . . again . . . and Moses did not respond well. The people complained because there was no water. Moses and Aaron said to the assembled people, “Must we bring forth water from this rock?” It wasn’t Moses or Aaron who was responsible for bringing forth the water. It was all God, totally, completely, unmistakably. Then, to make matters worse, Moses disobeyed God. God told Moses to speak to the rock. But Moses didn’t do that; he struck the rock . . . twice.
Obedience is important to God. Do you remember the consequences of Saul not obeying God in 1 Samuel 15? God told Saul, through Samuel, that the kingdom would be taken from Saul and given to another. 1 Samuel 15:22 states, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . . .”
Likewise, claiming responsibility, or taking the glory, for something when it’s not yours to claim is not a good idea - especially when the glory belongs to God. God states in more than one place that His glory He will not give to another. (Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 48:11)
But the thing I find very striking in this pronouncement in Numbers 20:12 is the first phrase: Because you did not believe in me. God says that Moses and Aaron’s actions were due to their unbelief. Because they didn’t trust, have faith in, didn’t believe in God, they didn’t obey Him. Isn’t that shocking to you?! Of all the people in the Bible, I would have thought that Moses wouldn’t have had a problem with believing in God!
So what about us? Do we believe in God?
The reality is that our words and our deeds will follow our beliefs. If we believe in God, we will obey Him. If we trust Him, we will say and do things which are evidence of that trust.
We have been given an incredible job as the people of God. We are to uphold Him as holy in the eyes of the people around us. So we’d better give serious thought to one thing: do we believe in God?
At Just the Right Time
“Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.’ ” Numbers 28:2
Does being on time matter?
If you’re late to a doctor’s appointment, you can be charged for a missed appointment or you may have to reschedule. If you’re late for work, you are warned the first couple of times; then you’re fired. If you’re late going through an intersection and run the red light, you can be issued a ticket if you’re caught. If you’re late to the airport, you can miss your flight. These are just a few examples amid a myriad of examples! Yes, being on time matters a lot.
Time matters to God as well.
***God rested on the seventh day and made it holy. (Genesis 2:3) The Sabbath is holy to God.
***The Israelites were told to march around Jericho seven days in a row. (Joshua 6) What if the people had only marched six days? What if they’d only marched around Jericho three times the seventh day? Would the walls still have fallen?
***On the tenth day of the first month, the Israelites were to choose a lamb. (Ex 12:3) If the people hadn’t chosen the lamb that day, would the death angel still have passed over their door without striking the firstborn dead?
***Three times in the year, the males were to appear before God with their offering in the place that God would choose. (Deut 16:16) Over and over, God tells His people to worship Him in the place He would choose - and the appointed time.
But God is merciful.
Yes, He is. There are times when you are late for something, when you can’t do anything about it, and sometimes you miss it altogether. My brother Nate and sister-in-law Sylvia didn’t go to the Feast of Tabernacles in 2004: Mateo was born on the Last Great Day. There’s a huge difference between not going because you don’t feel like it and not going because there’s a special situation. God’s mercy does not equal license. That is, just because God is gracious and merciful when you can’t obey Him, doesn’t give you the excuse to disobey just because you don’t feel like doing it God’s way. God still expects us to obey Him - and doing things according to His time is part of that obedience.
Obedience shows your heart.
One day in September of 1976, my dad told the three of us kids to vacuum the house after we got home from school, but before 4:00. We had a bright orange carpet and three dogs (two white and one black); the carpet probably really needed to be vacuumed. We got the vacuum out and plugged it in, but we looked at each other and said, “Dad’s not going to be home until at least 5:00 and I want to watch such-and-such cartoon on tv. It’s not going to matter in the least if we wait until just before 4 to get started.” Only . . . it did matter. Dad arrived at 3:55 because a new piano was being delivered at 4:00. The carpet wasn’t vacuumed, and to make matters worse, the vacuum was in the living room right in the middle of the way.
We didn’t vacuum because we thought it didn’t matter. But in reality, what we were saying was that we didn’t respect my dad enough to do what he said when he wasn’t there and when we didn’t understand why it was important. We were disobedient and disrespectful.
What and when
When you’re in a relationship with God, time is part of the sacrifice or offering. In Numbers 28:2, God says to be careful to offer to Him at the appointed time. To offer whenever it’s convenient says an enormous amount about your heart; it indicates whether you think you’re more important or you think God is more important.
What you offer to God also says a lot about your heart. You have to bring your best to God. When you chose the lamb for the offering, you had to bring one that was without blemish. You couldn’t bring one that was maimed and deformed just because it was just going to be killed anyway. (Malachi 1:6-12) Numbers 28:2 says that these offerings were a pleasing aroma to God. But if it’s not offered in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, and it’s not the specified offering - if you’re disobedient and disrespectful - how could that possibly smell good to God?
Just how important to you is your relationship with God?
God gives specific directions in so many instances of how He wants to be worshipped. When we obey Him, we are acting out our devotion to Him. When we do it His way, we’re telling Him how important He is to us. When we are careful to follow Him, we honor Him in the sight of the people around us. It’s important to the vitality of our relationship with God to obey Him always, completely, wholeheartedly. That would be at just the right time.
Driving Out the Inhabitants of the Land
Numbers 33:52 “then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places.”
In the twenty-first century, there are still wars and rumors of wars, but driving the inhabitants out of the land? Where would they go? As Star Trek puts it, “Space . . . the final frontier.” There is no frontier left where we could push all the inhabitants of the land that we’re conquering. And really, this verse is specifically talking about the land which God promised to His people, Israel.
It’s a difficult verse, especially coming on the heels of what happened in Numbers 31. God told Moses to go in and kill all the people. When only the men were killed, God was not pleased. He wanted all the people to be killed. That seems so merciless and cruel and unnecessary to us. That doesn’t fit with our view of who our Great and Merciful God is. But God told His people that if they didn’t drive out the inhabitants, they would become “barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell” (Numbers 33:55). The people who inhabited the land were wicked and sinful. In Biblical terms, they had not found favor in God’s sight because their deeds were evil. Any nation which was in rebellion against God would not long endure (Genesis 15:16, Lev 18:24-30, Deut 9:1-5; 18:12, Is 10:5). God knew that the inhabitants would not only cause trouble for Israel, but they would also influence Israel to sin - which is why God decreed death for Midian in Numbers 31.
And that’s the point. Whereas we might not be talking, today, about a physical land, we are talking about a relationship with God and protecting ourselves everywhere possible from the influences of sin. Let’s suppose that the “land” really refers to you. What are your inhabitants of the land? They are your desires, thoughts, words, actions - your carnal nature. Your carnal nature, if not driven out, will entice you to sin again against God. You can’t hope to dwell in a godly way with your carnal nature sitting there tempting you to sin. If you try it, you’ll find that the carnal nature is like barbs in your eyes and thorns in your side and constant trouble to you as you seek God and seek to serve Him.
What can you do about it? You destroy all the figured stone, destroy all the metal images, and demolish all the high places. Huh? Again, the physical gives us a picture of the spiritual. That is, so that we won’t be enticed again into sin, we have to get rid of the things which are ungodly. It includes books, movies, magazines, music, clothes, any objects which are sinful. For each person, it could look a little different. If a video game makes you uncomfortable when you’re playing it, get rid of it. If you know a certain book makes you think thoughts that you suspect wouldn’t please God, get rid of it. If a tv show uses God’s name in vain and promotes ungodly behavior, don’t watch it. The word translated “figured stones” in the ESV comes from a word which means “picture, image, figure.” It can also mean “conceit, imagination, opinion!” So don’t just stop at getting rid of books and tv shows, get rid of the thoughts you think that are ungodly. Don’t get rid of some of the influences. Get rid of all of them.
The word “destroy” is avad (Strongs #6) and means utter defeat, overthrowing a nation, desolation, and with people - death. It can also mean to wander aimlessly without orientation, to be lost, whether literally or morally. (source: Zodiates Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible) If you don’t destroy, completely get rid of, those things in your life which entice you to sin, you can become entangled again by them. You can become morally lost. This is important! God expects us to live godly lives before Him, not as a way to gain our salvation, but in response to Him. He is holy; we are to be holy. He has invited us to have a relationship with Him; we should respond by conducting ourselves in a way that pleases Him. If we don’t, then we impair our relationship with God and He will punish us. Note what He tells Moses in Numbers 33:56. After God warns that if they don’t drive out the inhabitants, they will become barbs and thorns to them, God says, “And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.”
This thought is reinforced by the use of the word “demolish,” as in “demolish all their high places.” This word usually occurs in the Bible in the context of a warning of the consequences of forsaking God. That is, if you don’t demolish these things, you will be demolished by them.
Do you think you will escape the wrath of God if you live a wicked life? Do you want to incur punishment and chastisement? Israel’s history documents how they thought they could have both - keep the trappings of the peoples around them and serve God. It didn’t work. They got into trouble every time. You can’t serve your carnal nature and serve God simultaneously. You must be wholly devoted to God.
How are you doing in driving out the inhabitants of the land?
Do To You
And, I will do to you as I thought to do to them. Numbers 33:56
This statement follows right on the heels of the discussion we had about Numbers 33:52. God has told His people to completely destroy (in some cases) or drive out (in other cases) the inhabitants of the land. These people had become so wicked that God was no longer willing to allow them to live. Then He gives the Israelites a stern warning. The inhabitants must not be allowed to pull God’s people away from following Him in the way He prescribes. Once the perversity gets a foothold, it becomes more and more perverse; a rotten apple in the barrel is not made pure by all the apples around it! A little bit of dog poop ruins the entire batch of brownies. A little bit of rebellion against God works through a people like leaven through a batch of bread dough - leavening the whole lump. You can’t allow evil - uncleanness, wickedness, perversity, rebellion, whatever you want to call it - a foothold in your life.
And here’s where this verse becomes very important. If you do become wicked and perverse, God will do to you as He thought to do to them. There’s no grading on a curve. There’s no teacher’s pet. There’s no mercy just because you think God is your special friend. Just because God has, in times past, blessed you does not mean that you are now exempt from keeping His laws. The description of the character of God includes just, right, and holy. He cannot just let someone go because He feels like it.
It makes one think - because I know who I am, the carnal nature against which I must daily do battle. I know that I am deserving of destruction - just based on my merits.
But there’s good news: Our inheritance is not based on our merit; it’s totally, solely based on the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in our personal relationship with Him. In reality, God took our punishment, what we deserved, and laid it on His only begotten Son. He truly did to Jesus what He thought to do to those who deserve destruction.
Now, if He did all of this for me, what should I not do for Him?
This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. Numbers 4:4
Have you heard the story of the mom walking by her daughter’s bedroom? She peeked in to see her daughter, with all the stuffed animals lined up in rows, delivering a 4 year-old’s rendition of last week’s sermon. The mom stifled a giggle and walked away shaking her head when she heard her daughter introduce one of her stuffed animals to the rest of the “congregation” as the cross-eyed bear.
The “cross I bear” made as much sense to that little four year-old as it does to many unbelievers. The little girl filtered what she heard from the pastor the best she could - and it came out “cross-eyed bear.” Similarly, unbelievers cannot fathom what it means to bear a cross and why Christians would willing to do so.
The phrase comes from Jesus’ declaration, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).
What is this cross?
Jesus gave a little more information in Luke 9:23-25: “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (NIV)
Taking up your cross involves denying yourself. It’s the process of dying to sin. Romans 6:6 says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” In other words, it’s the process of denying our desires and agenda “to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
That’s hard. Our carnal nature still wants preeminence. It’s the battle described in Romans 7:14-25. It takes persistent discipline and whole-hearted devotion to God. The Holy Spirit, working in us to grow that new creature in Christ, will not beat us over the head to do God’s will. The Holy Spirit guides and teaches, but we still have to respond. We have a choice to make, daily, of choosing God’s ways and not our own. As we choose God’s way, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we crucify the carnal nature. And that’s our cross.
This idea of picking up and carrying something - and following Christ - is not exclusive to the New Testament. Look at this verse in Numbers 4:4:This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. The sons of Kohath carried the ark of the covenant, the lampstand, the table of the bread of the Presence, the golden altar, and the bronze altar. These most holy things were a burden; they were heavy; they required commitment, dedication, persistence, and reverence. Carrying these most holy things was not easy, but it was an incredible privilege God assigned to them.
Similarly, our walk, the cross we bear, is not easy, but it is an incredible privilege to have been chosen by God. As we walk the path He’s ordained for each of us, it requires commitment, dedication, persistence, and reverence. We are living witnesses of the holiness of our God as we carry our cross. In other words, you’re introducing the people around you to the God you serve.
To whom have you introduced the “cross-eyed bear”?
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Numbers 10:9
And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.
I’m not quite sure how this works. Why does blowing two silver trumpets cause the people to be remembered before God? Does this only work in your land? Does this only work if the adversary is oppressing you? Does God need the sound of the silver trumpets to be reminded of His promise?
I don’t know. But there are a couple of other places where God says He will be reminded of His promises. Look at Genesis 9:14-15. “When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.” The rainbow reminds . . . God?
Look at Malachi 3:16-17. “Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.” Who is the book of remembrance for?
There’s an interesting story in 2 Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat and Jerusalem are going to be attacked by the people of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir. Jehoshaphat goes to God and asks for help. God tells him, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.” (vs. 17) The next morning, Jehoshaphat set the singers in holy attire before the army. When they began to sing and praise God, the LORD set an ambush against their enemies so they were defeated before the army of Judah.
It’s all very interesting, isn’t it? But does it have any meaning for us today? I think so. In fact, I think the song, “The Battle Belongs to the Lord,” gives us some clues as to how it impacts us today.
In heavenly armor We put on Jesus Christ. (Rm 13:14)
we’ll enter the land, He is the gate. (John 10:7)
No weapon that’s fashioned
against us will stand. When we’re on the side of the Lord, nothing can defeat us. (Jos. 5:14)
When the power of darkness
comes in like a flood,
He’s raised up a standard Jesus Christ shed His blood
the power of His blood. - the cross is the banner under which we battle the enemy. (Ex. 17:15)
When the enemy presses in hard,
do not fear. God says 365 times not to fear;
Take courage, my friend, Jesus is our salvation, our redemption;
your redemption is near. We don’t fear what man can do to us.
It all goes back to relationship. It doesn’t matter what trumpet you use, if you don’t have a relationship with God. It doesn’t matter what is shining in the clouds, if you don’t have a relationship with the only One who can save you. It doesn’t matter what you talk about, if you don’t have a relationship with the One who will be King of kings and Lord of lords.
Arise, O LORD
And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” Numbers 10:35
My children watch the three Narnia movies over and over: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Last night, as we were watching Prince Caspian again, I was so struck by the theme running through it. You see, every time one of the characters tried to do something on their own, in their own strength, according to their wisdom - apart from Aslan - it didn’t turn out well. When no one believed Lucy that she’d seen Aslan, and so they wouldn’t follow her across the gorge, they ended up wasting time and retracing their steps. When Peter decided they’d waited for Aslan long enough; it was time to attack the castle, a lot of Narnians died. When Knickabrick decided to get the power they needed through the White Witch, a dangerous course was narrowly averted by Edmund, who’d had prior experience trying to get power through the White Witch. Woven throughout the movie is the theme that if you are not following Aslan, if you’re not looking for him, if you’re trying to do things your way, it is not going to go well. Rather, you have to trust him.
Similarly, Israel had seen God’s almighty hand, His divine power and absolute authority. They had seen it and experienced it, over and over, from the time God sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt. They’d seen and experienced the plagues. They’d seen and experienced the miracles of crossing the Red Sea dry shod, the manna, the water from a rock, and the bronze serpent, to say nothing of the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day. And yet, they complained and grumbled and rebelled over and over again. They just didn’t want to trust God - to trust and obey Him with all their hearts.
So now, when Moses speaks this blessing, it’s been a year, a month, and six days since God delivered them from Egypt on that first Passover. They are getting ready to move, to leave Mt. Sinai for the first time. They have their duties assigned. They have their marching order. They have the goal of the Promised Land before them. Now, Moses speaks a blessing. Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.
This is a very odd blessing. Why would Moses say to Jehovah to arise? Why would Moses speak a benediction that God’s enemies would be scattered? Like God’s enemies could stand before God. Inconceivable! Absolutely ludicrous! There is no one who can prevail against our God. He is the Almighty. He is the Creator and King of the Universe. So, really, the blessing isn’t Moses blessing God. It’s Moses identifying Israel with God. He’s subtly saying that they want to go where God is going; if God doesn’t go with them, they don’t want to leave this place. However, they do believe God is going with them, but they also know God doesn’t always make the path easy. The road ahead may lead to encounters with enemies and those who hate both God and His people. Moses is gently beseeching God that the way won’t be fraught with danger; nevertheless, whether it is or not, Israel wants to go where God goes.
What about you? Do you want to go where God leads you, regardless of the enemies before you, the hatred you may encounter, the difficulties in the way? Do you truly comprehend how crucial it is that you trust God despite the troubles you face? Do you truly comprehend how crucial it is that you choose to go God’s way rather than trusting your own strength, your own wisdom, your own desires? Do you truly comprehend how crucial it is that you go with God - no matter what?
In the end, Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, and Prince Caspian trust Aslan and they are dramatically victorious - despite the many difficulties and sorrows they endured on the way to that victory. Similarly, Jesus our Messiah will be dramatically victorious - and if we are with Him, if we trust Him despite the many difficulties and sorrows we endure, we will see and experience that victory with great joy! I don’t know about you, but I want to go with God! I want to say: Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you!
Weebles Wobble
“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. Numbers 16:45
When I was a kid, weebles were the new toy on the market. The advertising slogan was “Weebles wobble, but they won’t fall down.” Now when you’re a kid with bad guys attacking the castle, you want the bad guys to fall down. What good is a bad guy that when you hit him, he bobs back up again? I remember thinking as kids that weebles were pretty lame toys.
But I was thinking of the weebles this morning when I was considering this verse in Numbers 16:45: “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. Who fell on their faces? Moses and Aaron did. This is the instance of Korah’s rebellion, but it could have been any number of instances when the Israelites rebelled, murmured, and grumbled against God. There was the manna, the golden calf, the bitter water, the water from the rock, the quail (twice), Aaron and Miriam opposing Moses, the bronze serpent, and refusing to enter the land God was giving to them as their inheritance. Numbers 14 records God saying that the people had put Him to the test ten times! And that was before they disobeyed God and tried to take the land anyway (Numbers 14:39) and Korah’s rebellion (Numbers 16).
God had been extremely patient with the people. In Exodus 34:6-7 God had passed before Moses and proclaimed, about Himself, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites had experienced over and over the patience, the loving kindness, the mercy of God. Over and over they had put Him to the test. And now, here in Numbers 16, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were swallowed by the earthquake, and the other 250 leaders, who had offered fire and incense in their censors to God - in a power play against Moses, were consumed by fire. But this isn’t where we find this verse: “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. (Numbers 16:45) No, this verse comes after God’s judgment against Korah and the others. This is the next day - and the people are still grumbling! God has finally had enough!! He tells Aaron and Moses to get away from the people. What was Moses’ and Aaron’s response? They fell on their face!
There’s at least a couple of lessons to learn. First of all, God is long-suffering. He’s extremely patient and merciful. Because God is so slow to anger, we tend to think He is condoning our misdeeds and sin. (Psalm 50:21) We couldn’t be more wrong. God will by no means clear the guilty.
Secondly, God will deal swiftly with evildoers when He decides to. As soon as Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, the plague started. Moses told Aaron to run and get some fire and incense in his censor, to stand before the people and make atonement for them. Before Aaron could do so, there were already 14,700 people who had died from the plague.
Thirdly, Moses and Aaron reacted to God’s judgment by prostrating themselves before God! This was no time to try to talk God out of it. God was acting, and Moses and Aaron just humbled themselves before God as quickly and completely as they could.
What about us? Do we test God? Do we arouse His anger at us? Does Jesus stand in the gap and make intercession for us? How long will God allow that intercession before our wickedness surpasses His long-suffering and mercy? We cannot call Jesus our Savior and then continue in a sinful lifestyle. Jesus is not our Redeemer so that we can continue to sin. He is our Redeemer from being slaves to sin. We cannot quench the Holy Spirit within us which teaches us the right way to go - we cannot quench it without impunity!
I think we’d better find our faces before God. I think we’d better confess our sins, repent and humble ourselves before our Maker. In our relationship with our God and Savior, we don’t want to be like the weebles who wobble but they won’t fall down.
Trust and Obey
And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” Numbers 20:12
What a devastating pronouncement to Aaron and Moses! This was after 38 years of wandering in the wilderness. They were about to enter the Promised Land - finally. But, the people started grumbling and complaining . . . again . . . and Moses did not respond well. The people complained because there was no water. Moses and Aaron said to the assembled people, “Must we bring forth water from this rock?” It wasn’t Moses or Aaron who was responsible for bringing forth the water. It was all God, totally, completely, unmistakably. Then, to make matters worse, Moses disobeyed God. God told Moses to speak to the rock. But Moses didn’t do that; he struck the rock . . . twice.
Obedience is important to God. Do you remember the consequences of Saul not obeying God in 1 Samuel 15? God told Saul, through Samuel, that the kingdom would be taken from Saul and given to another. 1 Samuel 15:22 states, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . . .”
Likewise, claiming responsibility, or taking the glory, for something when it’s not yours to claim is not a good idea - especially when the glory belongs to God. God states in more than one place that His glory He will not give to another. (Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 48:11)
But the thing I find very striking in this pronouncement in Numbers 20:12 is the first phrase: Because you did not believe in me. God says that Moses and Aaron’s actions were due to their unbelief. Because they didn’t trust, have faith in, didn’t believe in God, they didn’t obey Him. Isn’t that shocking to you?! Of all the people in the Bible, I would have thought that Moses wouldn’t have had a problem with believing in God!
So what about us? Do we believe in God?
The reality is that our words and our deeds will follow our beliefs. If we believe in God, we will obey Him. If we trust Him, we will say and do things which are evidence of that trust.
We have been given an incredible job as the people of God. We are to uphold Him as holy in the eyes of the people around us. So we’d better give serious thought to one thing: do we believe in God?
At Just the Right Time
“Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.’ ” Numbers 28:2
Does being on time matter?
If you’re late to a doctor’s appointment, you can be charged for a missed appointment or you may have to reschedule. If you’re late for work, you are warned the first couple of times; then you’re fired. If you’re late going through an intersection and run the red light, you can be issued a ticket if you’re caught. If you’re late to the airport, you can miss your flight. These are just a few examples amid a myriad of examples! Yes, being on time matters a lot.
Time matters to God as well.
***God rested on the seventh day and made it holy. (Genesis 2:3) The Sabbath is holy to God.
***The Israelites were told to march around Jericho seven days in a row. (Joshua 6) What if the people had only marched six days? What if they’d only marched around Jericho three times the seventh day? Would the walls still have fallen?
***On the tenth day of the first month, the Israelites were to choose a lamb. (Ex 12:3) If the people hadn’t chosen the lamb that day, would the death angel still have passed over their door without striking the firstborn dead?
***Three times in the year, the males were to appear before God with their offering in the place that God would choose. (Deut 16:16) Over and over, God tells His people to worship Him in the place He would choose - and the appointed time.
But God is merciful.
Yes, He is. There are times when you are late for something, when you can’t do anything about it, and sometimes you miss it altogether. My brother Nate and sister-in-law Sylvia didn’t go to the Feast of Tabernacles in 2004: Mateo was born on the Last Great Day. There’s a huge difference between not going because you don’t feel like it and not going because there’s a special situation. God’s mercy does not equal license. That is, just because God is gracious and merciful when you can’t obey Him, doesn’t give you the excuse to disobey just because you don’t feel like doing it God’s way. God still expects us to obey Him - and doing things according to His time is part of that obedience.
Obedience shows your heart.
One day in September of 1976, my dad told the three of us kids to vacuum the house after we got home from school, but before 4:00. We had a bright orange carpet and three dogs (two white and one black); the carpet probably really needed to be vacuumed. We got the vacuum out and plugged it in, but we looked at each other and said, “Dad’s not going to be home until at least 5:00 and I want to watch such-and-such cartoon on tv. It’s not going to matter in the least if we wait until just before 4 to get started.” Only . . . it did matter. Dad arrived at 3:55 because a new piano was being delivered at 4:00. The carpet wasn’t vacuumed, and to make matters worse, the vacuum was in the living room right in the middle of the way.
We didn’t vacuum because we thought it didn’t matter. But in reality, what we were saying was that we didn’t respect my dad enough to do what he said when he wasn’t there and when we didn’t understand why it was important. We were disobedient and disrespectful.
What and when
When you’re in a relationship with God, time is part of the sacrifice or offering. In Numbers 28:2, God says to be careful to offer to Him at the appointed time. To offer whenever it’s convenient says an enormous amount about your heart; it indicates whether you think you’re more important or you think God is more important.
What you offer to God also says a lot about your heart. You have to bring your best to God. When you chose the lamb for the offering, you had to bring one that was without blemish. You couldn’t bring one that was maimed and deformed just because it was just going to be killed anyway. (Malachi 1:6-12) Numbers 28:2 says that these offerings were a pleasing aroma to God. But if it’s not offered in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, and it’s not the specified offering - if you’re disobedient and disrespectful - how could that possibly smell good to God?
Just how important to you is your relationship with God?
God gives specific directions in so many instances of how He wants to be worshipped. When we obey Him, we are acting out our devotion to Him. When we do it His way, we’re telling Him how important He is to us. When we are careful to follow Him, we honor Him in the sight of the people around us. It’s important to the vitality of our relationship with God to obey Him always, completely, wholeheartedly. That would be at just the right time.
Driving Out the Inhabitants of the Land
Numbers 33:52 “then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places.”
In the twenty-first century, there are still wars and rumors of wars, but driving the inhabitants out of the land? Where would they go? As Star Trek puts it, “Space . . . the final frontier.” There is no frontier left where we could push all the inhabitants of the land that we’re conquering. And really, this verse is specifically talking about the land which God promised to His people, Israel.
It’s a difficult verse, especially coming on the heels of what happened in Numbers 31. God told Moses to go in and kill all the people. When only the men were killed, God was not pleased. He wanted all the people to be killed. That seems so merciless and cruel and unnecessary to us. That doesn’t fit with our view of who our Great and Merciful God is. But God told His people that if they didn’t drive out the inhabitants, they would become “barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell” (Numbers 33:55). The people who inhabited the land were wicked and sinful. In Biblical terms, they had not found favor in God’s sight because their deeds were evil. Any nation which was in rebellion against God would not long endure (Genesis 15:16, Lev 18:24-30, Deut 9:1-5; 18:12, Is 10:5). God knew that the inhabitants would not only cause trouble for Israel, but they would also influence Israel to sin - which is why God decreed death for Midian in Numbers 31.
And that’s the point. Whereas we might not be talking, today, about a physical land, we are talking about a relationship with God and protecting ourselves everywhere possible from the influences of sin. Let’s suppose that the “land” really refers to you. What are your inhabitants of the land? They are your desires, thoughts, words, actions - your carnal nature. Your carnal nature, if not driven out, will entice you to sin again against God. You can’t hope to dwell in a godly way with your carnal nature sitting there tempting you to sin. If you try it, you’ll find that the carnal nature is like barbs in your eyes and thorns in your side and constant trouble to you as you seek God and seek to serve Him.
What can you do about it? You destroy all the figured stone, destroy all the metal images, and demolish all the high places. Huh? Again, the physical gives us a picture of the spiritual. That is, so that we won’t be enticed again into sin, we have to get rid of the things which are ungodly. It includes books, movies, magazines, music, clothes, any objects which are sinful. For each person, it could look a little different. If a video game makes you uncomfortable when you’re playing it, get rid of it. If you know a certain book makes you think thoughts that you suspect wouldn’t please God, get rid of it. If a tv show uses God’s name in vain and promotes ungodly behavior, don’t watch it. The word translated “figured stones” in the ESV comes from a word which means “picture, image, figure.” It can also mean “conceit, imagination, opinion!” So don’t just stop at getting rid of books and tv shows, get rid of the thoughts you think that are ungodly. Don’t get rid of some of the influences. Get rid of all of them.
The word “destroy” is avad (Strongs #6) and means utter defeat, overthrowing a nation, desolation, and with people - death. It can also mean to wander aimlessly without orientation, to be lost, whether literally or morally. (source: Zodiates Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible) If you don’t destroy, completely get rid of, those things in your life which entice you to sin, you can become entangled again by them. You can become morally lost. This is important! God expects us to live godly lives before Him, not as a way to gain our salvation, but in response to Him. He is holy; we are to be holy. He has invited us to have a relationship with Him; we should respond by conducting ourselves in a way that pleases Him. If we don’t, then we impair our relationship with God and He will punish us. Note what He tells Moses in Numbers 33:56. After God warns that if they don’t drive out the inhabitants, they will become barbs and thorns to them, God says, “And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.”
This thought is reinforced by the use of the word “demolish,” as in “demolish all their high places.” This word usually occurs in the Bible in the context of a warning of the consequences of forsaking God. That is, if you don’t demolish these things, you will be demolished by them.
Do you think you will escape the wrath of God if you live a wicked life? Do you want to incur punishment and chastisement? Israel’s history documents how they thought they could have both - keep the trappings of the peoples around them and serve God. It didn’t work. They got into trouble every time. You can’t serve your carnal nature and serve God simultaneously. You must be wholly devoted to God.
How are you doing in driving out the inhabitants of the land?
Do To You
And, I will do to you as I thought to do to them. Numbers 33:56
This statement follows right on the heels of the discussion we had about Numbers 33:52. God has told His people to completely destroy (in some cases) or drive out (in other cases) the inhabitants of the land. These people had become so wicked that God was no longer willing to allow them to live. Then He gives the Israelites a stern warning. The inhabitants must not be allowed to pull God’s people away from following Him in the way He prescribes. Once the perversity gets a foothold, it becomes more and more perverse; a rotten apple in the barrel is not made pure by all the apples around it! A little bit of dog poop ruins the entire batch of brownies. A little bit of rebellion against God works through a people like leaven through a batch of bread dough - leavening the whole lump. You can’t allow evil - uncleanness, wickedness, perversity, rebellion, whatever you want to call it - a foothold in your life.
And here’s where this verse becomes very important. If you do become wicked and perverse, God will do to you as He thought to do to them. There’s no grading on a curve. There’s no teacher’s pet. There’s no mercy just because you think God is your special friend. Just because God has, in times past, blessed you does not mean that you are now exempt from keeping His laws. The description of the character of God includes just, right, and holy. He cannot just let someone go because He feels like it.
It makes one think - because I know who I am, the carnal nature against which I must daily do battle. I know that I am deserving of destruction - just based on my merits.
But there’s good news: Our inheritance is not based on our merit; it’s totally, solely based on the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in our personal relationship with Him. In reality, God took our punishment, what we deserved, and laid it on His only begotten Son. He truly did to Jesus what He thought to do to those who deserve destruction.
Now, if He did all of this for me, what should I not do for Him?