Myspace Numbers Bible Journal Blogs

Myspace Numbers Bible Journal Blogs The Complete Collection of PERRY ‘CURTIS’ MCCLUSKY http://www.myspace.com/biblejournal

I've created this Myspace “Bible Journal” site as an incentive for me to do some personal Bible study and to clarify my thoughts by putting them into words. A few of my acquaintances imagine that I have some rather uncommon views about God, life, the universe and everything. If that is so, then maybe I have something a little different to contribute. You may not agree with the substance of all of the blogs but hopefully they will be interesting. My goal is to approach the Bible from as simple and fresh perspective as possible, so while working on this project I will try not to refer to other religious literary sources. I am using the New International Version of the Bible because for me it is an easy to read translation. The King James Version and the Revised Standard Version are two other Bible translations I enjoy referring to. In the spirit of taking a personal (and possibly casual) look at the Bible, I plan to comment on texts that catch my interest and skip those that done. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-13-08 The Israelite Army. Numbers 1:1-3 “The LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said: "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. You and Aaron are to number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army.” (NIV) Apparently the census was to determine how large Israel’s army was going to be. One doesn’t go into combat without knowing how strong one’s forces is. The question can be asked, “Did Israel really need an army if God pretty much said that He’d run Israel’s enemies out of the land (EX 23:28-30)?” One way to look at this need for an army is that God let’s man participate in what He is doing. God is inclusive. For instance, although one individual can’t spiritually save another, God still enlists Christians to spread the Gospel. Since we live in a sinful world, God lets us help with the dirty work. In this case God was giving Israel a chance to ‘help’ defend themselves and their interests. Another way to look at God’s formation of a “reserve army” is that God anticipated the Israelites’ lack of faith. When we doubt God’s ability to do something, we tie His hands. If we don’t want God’s help or if we believe He can’t do something, then Satan is there to make sure that God doesn’t intercede for us. The army could have been organized just incase Israel’s weak faith in God limited His help. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-14-08 Four to Five Million Campers.

Numbers 1:17-46 “Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been given, and they called the whole community together on the first day of the second month. The people indicated their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men twenty years old or more were listed by name, one by one, as the LORD commanded Moses. And so he counted them in the Desert of Sinai…The number from the tribe of Reuben was 46,500…of Simeon was 59,300…of Gad was 45,650…of Judah was 74,600…of Issachar was 54,400…of Zebulun was 57,400…of Ephraim was 40,500…of Manasseh was 32,200…of Benjamin was 35,400…of Dan was 62,700…of Asher was 41,500…of Naphtali was 53,400… These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in Israel's army were counted according to their families. The total number was 603,550.” (NIV) Only one month had passed from the setting up of the Tabernacle at the end of the Book of Exodus and the taking of the census at the beginning of the Book of Numbers. This in interesting since the Book of Leviticus comes after Exodus but before Numbers. If one assumes that each of the 603,550 men available for military service were married and had an average of three children, then Moses was leading over three million people. Personally I believe that number is too low considering that, while the Israelites were in Egypt, Pharaoh tried to kill off all the baby Israelite boys that were born some time before the exodus. Also more likely than not, there was an average of more than three children per family. Plus one must take into consideration that the Levites were not counted. I would guess that the minimum number of Israelites camping in the desert ranged from around four to five million people. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-15-08 Levites: the Thirteenth Tribe of Israel. Numbers 1:47-53 “The families of the tribe of Levi, however, were not counted along with the others. The LORD had said to Moses: "You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites. Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony…Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it. Anyone else who goes near it shall be put to death…The Levites, however, are to set up their tents around the tabernacle of the Testimony so that wrath will not fall on the Israelite community…." (NIV) The Levites weren’t counted in the census to determine how large the Israelite army was going to be. The Levites were set aside to be in charge of the Tabernacle instead of serving in the military. The Tabernacle was even located in the middle of the Levite encampment. With the Tabernacle in their midst it would be difficult to forget their assignment. In a sense there were now thirteen tribes of Israel instead of the traditional twelve. The two sons of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) were counted as two separate tribes, because of this, twelve tribes were counted in the census for military service and the thirteenth tribe (Levi) was set aside to take up their Tabernacle responsibilities. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-16-08

The Tabernacle’s Location. Numbers 2:1, 17 “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: "The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family…the Tent of Meeting and the camp of the Levites will set out in the middle of the camps…” (NIV) The Tabernacle was also known as the ‘Tent of Meeting’, which makes sense. The Tabernacle was the place where Moses and the Israelites came to meet God and viceversa. The Tabernacle could have also inherited that name from the tent that Moses use to setup outside of the camp to meet with God before the Tabernacle was built. This tent was also referred to as the ‘tent of meeting’ (EX 33:7-11). The Tabernacle was setup in the middle of the Levite camp (NU 1:53) and the rest of the camp setup around them. How appropriate that the dwelling of God would be placed in the center of Israelite life. The question must be asked of Christians today, “Is your life built around God and is He the center of your life?” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-17-08 Intoxicated before God. Numbers 3:2-4 “The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Those were the names of Aaron's sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. Nadab and Abihu, however, fell dead before the LORD when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons; so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.” (NIV) A more complete account of this story is found in LEV 10:1-11. Apparently Nadab and Abihu were intoxicated while they were burning incense in their censers while serving in the Tabernacle and God killed them for their disrespect. They must have been drunk because after this incident God commands Aaron and his remaining two sons not to be “drinking” before they enter the Tabernacle. The “unauthorized fire” that Aaron’s two sons were burning probably was incense that was made for personal use and not incense specially made for worship in the Tabernacle. The formula for this particular incense can be found in EX 30:34-38. From my observation of intoxicated people, it is true that they can’t “distinguish between the holy and the profane” and “between the unclean and the clean” LEV 10:10. Drinking alcohol affects our bodies, minds and judgement…the more one drinks the more they are affected (just look at any drinking and driving chart from the Department of Motor Vehicles). In this case Nadab and Abihu entered the most holy place on the face of the earth intoxicated and it cost them their lives. Let us be warned. May we learn from their mistake and may we not influence others to go down a similar path as Aaron’s sons. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-18-08 The Levites are Mine. Numbers 3:5-13 “The LORD said to Moses, "Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the Tent of Meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle. They

are to take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle…The Levites are mine…They are to be mine. I am the LORD." (NIV) The twelve sons of Jacob (God renamed him Israel) became known as the twelve tribes of Israel. Since the descendents of Joseph’s two sons were both considered a tribe, technically there were for awhile 13 tribes of Israel. Now we find God, in a sense, adopting the tribe of Levi. God is claiming all the Levites as His for service in the Tabernacle. One could say that they were not the tribe of Levi anymore but were now the tribe of God. With the Tabernacle being in the center of the whole camp and the tribe of Levi camping around the Tabernacle, the rest of the camp was to support and protect the Tabernacle and its servants. In a sense, with the Levites serving God and the rest of the tribes supporting the Levites, all functioned to serve God. In this sense all of Israel was “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (EX 19:6). As Christians we are adopted into the family of God. Through Jesus, God the Son, we are all priests of God (REV 1:6) and as I understand it we are destined to hold that position at least for a time Heaven (REV 20:6). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-19-08 Plenty of Help. Numbers 3:14-39 “The LORD said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, "Count the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more." So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the LORD… The total number of Levites counted at the LORD's command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000.” (NIV) There were 22,000 boys and men in the tribe of Levi. That would have been plenty of people to care for and maintain all the parts of the Tabernacle. With this many workers I am sure that even with the Tabernacle being set up in the desert it was spotless and well cared for and no one was over worked. The following chapter, chapter four, gives us an idea of what responsibilities each Levite clan had. The fact that there was plenty of help is an important one. Normally it is just the opposite. In most jobs there is generally too much work and not enough workers. Under these conditions “corners must be cut”, shoddy work is done and workers are unsatisfied with their jobs. This was not the case for those who cared for the Tabernacle. In the world today, a man or a woman is lucky if what they do for a living is something that they would choose to do whether they got paid for it or not. I believe that the responsibilities that God gives us are not burdensome or unsatisfying, even in this imperfect world. Whatever responsibilities we have in Heaven I doubt will be seen as work. I believe that in Heaven we will thank God for giving us the opportunity to do that which we naturally desire to do. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-20-08 Infectious Skin Diseases and Such. Numbers 5:1-3 “The LORD said to Moses, "Command the Israelites to send away from

the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them." (NIV) The King James Version of the Bible mentions the “leper” instead of a “infections skin disease”. The reason for this is that leprosy many times in the Bible covers several infections skin diseases and not just leprosy, as we know it today. I can understand why these precautions had to be taken. As I understand it, the people who were sent away from camp were allowed back after a certain period of time if their condition had not spread or if it had gone away. Leviticus chapter thirteen has much to say on this subject. One common skin condition that people have that I wish in certain situations that they would keep to themselves until it was cleared up is Athlete’s Foot. I’ve contracted it from other people before. I’m not too knowledgeable on diseases but I do know of at least one common disease that has a discharge that is fairly contagious. We had someone visiting our home who had a breakout of their chronic disease and everyone in the house had to take certain health precautions until our visitor’s condition cleared up. I would take it that if someone died of a infectious or contagious disease then whoever dealt with the dead body would have to be quarantined for awhile. Since people generally were not to clear as to what caused another’s death, all that dealt with dead bodies had to be dealt with cautiously, just to play it safe for the good of the community. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-21-08 Just Compensation. Numbers 5: 5-9 “The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: `When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the LORD, that person is guilty and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged. But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for him.” (NIV) Verse six seems to be saying that if you have wronged another person then you have wronged God. When I read the same verse in the King James Version one could understand it another way. It could be saying that ‘when a person wrongs another and it is defined by God a sin then the wrongdoer must confess his or her sin’. It is a minor observation and both views are elsewhere supported in the Bible. The idea of paying back more then you’ve taken makes good sense. The one tempted to do harm may pause and reconsider their action if they realize more is at stake then is first apparent. It’s like paying back a person with interest. If the person wronged receives more than they have lost then they may be more inclined to truly forgive and not hold a grudge. When we are talking about adding one fifth to the restitution we are not just talking about money. It also includes goods, time and service. For example if I cheated a employer out of five hours of work, then I own my employer six hours. If I demolished five rooms of my neighbor’s house than I need to replace those

five room plus one more. Personally I see no reason why a Christian still shouldn’t exercise this practice. It looks like shrewd Godly wisdom to me. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-22-08 Sexual Unfaithfulness and Jealousy. Numbers 5:11-31 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "…`If a man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him by sleeping with another man, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected…or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure-- then he is to take his wife to the priest. He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour on her behalf…Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, "…may the LORD cause your people to curse and denounce you when he causes your thigh to waste away and your abdomen to swell…" `Then the woman is to say, "Amen. So be it."…If, however, the woman has not defiled herself and is free from impurity, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children…The husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing, but the woman will bear the consequences of her sin.' " (NIV) If a husband was jealous and suspected his wife of having sex with another man then he was to take her to the priest. There was to be an offering and a ceremony. If the woman was guilty then her punishment was that God would cause her not to be able to bear children anymore. Apparently the husband’s offering was to cover his guilt of jealousy if his suspicions were unfounded. The offering could be seen as covering the husband’s jealousy whether his wife cheated on him or not. I tend to side with this perspective. Although more could be said on this text, as I see it the bottom line is, “Don’t have sex with anyone other than your spouse, don’t place your spouse in a position to get jealous and don’t get jealous because these actions tend to damage a marriage relationship and damage one’s relationship with God.” Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-23-08 Wine, God’s will and the Nazirite vow. Numbers 6:1-21 “The LORD said to Moses, "…If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the LORD as a Nazirite, he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long…Now this is the law for the Nazirite when the period of his separation is over. He is to be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. There he is to present his offerings to the LORD…After that, the Nazirite may drink wine…” (NIV) I take it that this Nazirite vow of separation to the Lord had to do with placing all personal interests aside so one could focus their lives to God and for God or something like that. Those who separated themselves to the Lord were not to compromise their judgement with fermented drink. In fact they were not to consume anything connected with grapes, just to be on the safe side.

No matter what your view is of the use of ‘wine’ in the Bible, a quick review of references to wine in the Bible will clearly indicate becoming intoxicated and having one’s judgement compromised is a ‘ruinous’ thing. It is not God’s will for the Christian to be intoxicated. EPH 5:15-18 “Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (NIV) I am not encouraging all Christians to take the Nazirite vow but if you are a Christian who drinks and occasionally goes against God’s will, crosses the line and gets a little drunk, I’d advise that you give up drinking completely than to take the chance of crossing God again. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-24-08 The Blessing for the Israelites. Numbers 6:22-27 “The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, `This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: " ` "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." ' "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them." This was a blessing that the priests were to bless the people with. blessing reflects who God is, His name. Is this how you see God? The first first two good side remind me

Somehow this

part of the blessing says that God will bless you and keep you. The things that come to my mind when I read this is that (1) I am on God’s and (2) God isn’t going to abandon or discard me. These two points of God’s unfailing love.

The second part of the blessing tells me that even though I am in the presence of the Universal Judge I have nothing to fear. God realizes my situation and understands. To me I can expect God to be well mannered, benevolent and compassionate. The last part of this blessing reminds me that God is my guardian and that I have nothing to fear from neither Him nor those around me. I can live in peace because not matter how bad things may get, they are only temporary. In the end everything will work out. Let me reassure you that God has all these qualities and more. this blessing in your own life. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-25-08

May you today feel

Living in the presence of God. Numbers 7:89 “When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony…” (NIV) The two gold cherubim were the two figures sitting on top of the Ark of the Testimony. As I understand it these two figures was part of the lid or top of the Ark. It must have been something at the time to have God “enthroned between the cherubim” (1SA 4:4). Here was where God would meet with Moses and talk to him. God had said to Moses, “There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites” (EX 25:22). It had to be reassuring to Moses and the Israelites to know that God was so close. I am sure that was one of the reasons why God chose to manifest Himself there between the two cherubim of the Ark. Today’s Christian should also live with the same reassurance as the Israelites had. God is concerned with what goes on in our lives. He is not a distant God. He is not a God who is unconcerned with our daily affairs. God is with you now. You and I live in the presence of God. PS 23:1-6 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want…he leads me beside quiet waters…He guides me in the paths of righteousness…Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” (NIV) Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-26-08 God is Sympathetic, Inclusive and Fair. Numbers 9:1-14 “The LORD spoke to Moses…"Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time…" But some of them could not celebrate the Passover…So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day and said to Moses, "We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the LORD's offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?"…Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites: `When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they may still celebrate the LORD's Passover…An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the LORD's Passover must do so in accordance with its rules and regulations. You must have the same regulations for the alien and the native-born.' " (NIV) When the Israelites left Egypt, “Many other people went up with them” (EX 12:37, 38). When God made an exception for the unclean Israelites to celebrate the Passover, He also made an exception for the non-Israelites to celebrate it also. As I see it, these aliens had to be “living among” the Israelites and not just visiting or tourists. Today we’d consider these non-Israelites as “residents”. Again we see God being sympathetic, inclusive and fair. If the celebrating the Passover means so much to the Israelites that the ceremonially unclean Israelites should be included then the non-Israelites that left Egypt with them should also be able to join in also. To be fair the Passover regulations for the nonIsraelites would be ‘no more’ or ‘no less’ than for the Israelites. Let us also be sympathetic, inclusive “insiders” or “outsiders.” Sometimes sometime we raise our standards to be Let us hold all around us to the same

and fair to those around us, whether they be we lower our standards to be inclusive and exclusive. Neither action is acceptable. standards and not manipulate the standards

to suit our personal purposes. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-27-08 God’s Presence Then and Now. Numbers 9:15, 16 “On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.” (NIV) I wonder how large the cloud was. No matter its size, it doesn’t take a very large light at night to illuminate the area surrounding it. I would ‘guess’ that the fiery looking cloud probably gave off enough light for the whole encampment to find their way around in the dark, similar to a full moon. If the cloud was fairly large, it could have been large enough to shelter the whole encampment for the heat of the desert sun by day. If it weren’t very large at least it would cool those worshiping at the Tabernacle. Whatever its size, it positioned itself over the Tabernacle, which was situated in the middle of the camp. I am sure that everyone in the camp, no matter where their location, could see the cloud at anytime both day or night. The cloud was just another reassurance to the Israelites that God was truly with them. What reassurances do you have that God is with you? Are you looking for them? If you can’t see them, maybe others can. Sometimes others are more observant of these things then we are. It may be interesting to inquire of those around us as to what they perceive. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-28-08 Following God. Numbers 9:15-22 “On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire…Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped…Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out.” (NIV) I wonder if the Children of Israel ever got tired of following the cloud (following God)? They probably did. I can just hear them, “On no, Honey get the kids! The cloud is moving and we got to pack up camp and start hiking again!” I am sure that God had His reasons for moving them. He probably moved them for better weather, for sanitary reasons or to save them from being attacked. The odds are that the majority of the people didn’t know why they were being made to pack up and move, yet where God wanted them was the best place for them to be. Following God will not always be easy and we may not understand why we are where we are, yet if we are faithful we will eventually arrive where God is leading us…a place where we call Heaven…Eden restored…life re-established to how it was originally created to be. It will be worth following God.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-29-08 Sharing our Skills and Wisdom. Numbers 10:11-33 “…the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony. Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai…Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are setting out for the place about which the LORD said, `I will give it to you.' Come with us and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel." He answered, "No, I will not go; I am going back to my own land and my own people." But Moses said, "Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert, and you can be our eyes. If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the LORD gives us." So they set out from the mountain of the LORD and traveled for three days…” (NIV) Moses’ request to have his wife’s brother come along was a serious request. Of all the thousands of people camping in the desert, probably only Moses’ brotherin-law (a non-Israelite) was really familiar with the surrounding region. Most all of the people were former slaves and pretty ignorant of the area. Moses would feel a whole lot more secured knowing that a man of Hobab’s experience, knowledge and wisdom was coming along with them. This was no small decision Hobab was asked to make. I wonder why he agreed to go along. Did he stick with Moses because he recognized that he was truly needed? Could he have gone along because of his sister’s sake, out of family loyalty? I wonder if Hobab went along with Moses because of the adventure? Going back home and working in the family sheep business may have seemed pretty tame compared to what adventures may lie ahead. Whatever the reason, I am sure that Moses appreciated Hobab’s help. How willing are we ‘to go out on a limb’ to help others, even family members. Are we prepared to step out of our fairly safe well-established routine for the sake of another’s well being? Are we willing to follow Hobab’s example? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-30-08 Enemies of God, Death and Fearless Living. Numbers 10:33-36 “So they set out from the mountain of the LORD and traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest. The cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp. Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, "Rise up, O LORD! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you." Whenever it came to rest, he said, "Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel." (NIV) As I see it there was a minimum of three million people who left Egypt and in the eyes of all the other nations the escaped slaves didn’t have anywhere to go. They all were trespassers. None of the nations wanted them to settle within their boarders so because of that fact practically everyone around Israelites was an enemy. With that in mind, Moses referred to them all as God’s enemies and if they were God’s enemies then God would take care of whatever conflicts arise. All in all, every conflict in this world stems from the conflict between God and Satan. If we

are truly Children of God then God ‘has our backs’ and we shouldn’t feel so alone or defenseless. God, in the Bible assures us, that we are eventually on the winning side and in the long run we have nothing to fear. Even death has no lasting power over us. 1 CO 15:50-54 “…Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable…"Death has been swallowed up in victory." (NIV) Since that is the case, let us live fearless lives (as a Church family or as individuals) as we walk among our enemies or should I correctly say, the enemies of God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 12-31-08 Complaining, Fire from God and Death. Numbers 11:1-3 “Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them.” (NIV) I would tend to believe that the major hardship that the people were complaining about was the recent move. There is a lot of work to packing up camp, carrying it to another spot and then setting up camp again. I’m sure that many of us today would find ourselves complaining. I wouldn’t be quick to criticize their complaining. As slaves, everything they were assigned to do was under some kind of physical threat from their masters. Do this or I’ll whip you, not feed you, kill you, etc. They were use to that kind of motivation and without it they probably didn’t want to do anything and complained if they had to. Unfortunately for God, if physical threat was all they understood then physical punishment was the only tool He had at the time to keep them functioning as a harmonious group and out of trouble. I doubt God really desired to kill any of them but for the good of the whole He had to and He burnt some with fire who were on the outskirts of the camp. Many times it is on the fringe of a group that you will find congregating those who are upset with the majority. For example in a classroom situation, those who aren’t interested in what is being taught are generally sitting in the back of the classroom furious away from the teacher. Most likely since God was located in was located in the middle of the camp (where the Tabernacle was) then it would be likely that those who were the most upset with God situated themselves on the fringes of the camp. With that said, where do you find yourself in church while the sermon is going on? Are you sitting in the back of the church, are you loitering out in the lobby or (like a few) are you standing outside maybe in the parking lot? Personally I don’t believe situating oneself on the fringes of the church is the best place to be. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-01-09 Influenced by others into doing stupid things.

Numbers 11:4-9 “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.” (NIV) The rabble or the “mixt multitude” as the KJV puts it were the non-Israelites of the camp. They were the ones that decided to follow the Israelites out of Egypt. The background of this rabble could have been a mixture of other races that were also enslaved by the Egyptians and Egyptians that figured it was best to leave their homeland that was devastated by God’s plagues. It seems that it was the non-Israelites that started complaining ‘first’ and then the Israelites got caught up into the complaining later on. When the Israelites left Egypt, they were more than happy to leave their slavery behind, but now being emotionally stirred up by the others; they were saying things that they probably wouldn’t say and taking positions that they probably wouldn’t take. The rabble ‘may’ have gotten fish in Egypt “at no cost” but the Israelites had paid for it with the loss of their freedom. The ‘bottom line’ is that the rabble had gotten the Israelites to complain about how God was treating them. They were now rebelling against God…sinning. Do we let ourselves be manipulated through our emotions? Do others suck us into conflicts that are not our own? Are there people in our workplaces, churches and families that con us into supporting their view or cause to the point where we end up doing wrong and therefore pitting ourselves against God? Let us think for ourselves, study the Bible on our own, pray on our own and earnestly safeguard our relationship with God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-02-09 Turmoil and the Patience of God. Numbers 11:4-17 “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat…we never see anything but this manna!" Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. He asked the LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me…Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, `Give us meat to eat!' I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now…” The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people…and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.” (NIV) Moses was frustrated with what was happening. The people were upset with how God (through Moses) was treating them; God was not pleased with the rebellious nature of the people and Moses felt caught in the middle of the conflict and ‘lost it’. In his emotional state Moses ended up doing the same thing as the rest of the people, blaming God for the situation he was in.

Moses’ basic complaint was that God had given him more responsibility than he could handle ‘by himself’ so God responded by distributing some of the ‘spiritual’ leadership among the seventy Israelite elders (Of course Moses wasn’t “by himself” because God had his back!). These elders ‘may’ have been the men who were already helping Moses with some of the leadership tasks (EX 18:13-26). I’d like to point out that Moses placed God in a difficult position. He basically was telling God that he would rather die then to continue to carry the responsibility that God had given him. That is not a tactic I'd suggest people take with God…God may take them up on their offer. Although Moses was in the wrong himself and suffered from lack of faith that God could handle his leadership problems, God was patient with Moses and developed a ‘compromise’ that apparently Moses was able to live with. As God worked with Moses, He will also patiently work with us if we will give Him the chance. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-03-09 Better off without God. Numbers 11:18-20 "Tell the people: `Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you when you wailed, "If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!" Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month--until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it--because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?" ' " (NIV) It is probably understandable that after months of eating manna that the Israelites missed eating meat. Unfortunately their desire for meat got so strong that it blotted out their good sense. It’s not like they were starving. No, they had plenty to eat. They were just bored of their diet, so bored that they claimed that the Egyptians treated them better then God was currently treating them. Basically the Israelites claimed that they preferred their life with the Egyptians better then their life with God. God saw their words and attitude for what it really was…rebellion and rejection. Are we so bored with our Christian way of life that we are willing eternal life away? Has so much time passed that we have forgotten with God? Do the ‘good old days’ of self-destructive sinning look we really want to go back to a life lacking the freedom of God for self-destructive temporary pleasure?

to throw why we sided fun again? Do a life of empty

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-04-09 Spiritual Shortsightedness and Patience. Numbers 11:18-24 "Tell the people: `Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat…You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month…" ' “ But Moses said, "Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, `I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!' Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?" The LORD answered Moses, "Is the LORD's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you." So Moses went out and

told the people what the LORD had said…” (NIV) Moses didn’t see how the Israelites could acquire enough meat to be able to eat it for an entire month. The whole camp didn’t own enough animals to feed the people for that long of time. Moses’ shortsightedness was limiting God to what a man could accomplish. Seated at a dinner table a person is only able to eat what is within their reach unless they request another person at the table to pass them something that is further away. As I see it God was saying to Moses, “My arms are so long that I can reach out and acquire anything that is on the table for you to eat. Trust Me!” Like Moses we all suffer from spiritual shortsightedness or just plain old stupidity. God understands our limitations and only asks us to be patient and see whether or not what He promises will come true. Are you willing to give God enough time to accomplish what He has promised to do for you? Let’s be as longsuffering with God as He is with us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-05-09 Discontent, Plague and Death. Numbers 11:31-34 “Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction. All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.” (NIV) The discontent over the food that God was providing originally started with the non-Israelite people (NU 11:4). This discontent over food eventually turned into discontent with God and the people claimed that the Egyptians treated them better than how God was currently treating them (NU 11:18). God saw clearly what was happening. They were rejecting Him (NU 11:20). As I see it, the people who were killed by the plague were probably the people who were the driving force behind the discontent. With that being said I will concede that it is possible that the plague randomly killed those who ate the quail (participated in the discontentment) or over ate. The odds are that God had kept the quail away from the camp to protect the people from some sort of quail borne plague. Could it be that the people were given manna so that they wouldn’t expose the camp to this sort of event? Let us be content with what God has provided for us. What we desire could be unhealthy for us. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-06-09 Racial Prejudice and Political Crisis. Numbers 12:1-3 “Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. "Has the LORD spoken only through

Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this. (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)” (NIV) It is amazing how prejudice can become a stumbling block for people. Somehow Moses not being married to an Israelite eventually led his brother and sister to question his God given authority over the camp. Both Miriam and Aaron held a certain amount of authority in the camp. Apparently Miriam was a known religious figure within the Israelite community before they left Egypt. Miriam was known as a prophetess (EX 15:20). Aaron of course had been Moses’ spokesperson and was now the senior priest of the Tabernacle. Together both Miriam and Aaron held a lot of political influence, enough to cause a major crisis within the camp and the camp didn’t need ‘another’ major crisis. Since later on in the story God curses only Miriam with leprosy, I suspect that the whole conflict developed over some personal conflict between the two women, Miriam and Moses’ wife. Miriam probably persuaded Aaron to side with her by using his racial prejudice to her advantage. Does racial prejudice hold any power or influence over your life? Can racial prejudice exist within our character and we don’t even recognize it…yet? A little personal soul searching may dig up some interesting results. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-07-09 Church Infighting and The Sin of Overlooking the Obvious. Numbers 12:1-9 “Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses…they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?"…At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. Then the LORD came down…he said, "…When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses…With him I speak face to face…he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.” (NIV) Apparently Miriam and Aaron had spoken the truth (partially); God had spoken through them. Miriam was a prophetess and Aaron was the senior priest ‘but’ God’s relationship with Moses was closer and more intimate. God may have reveled Himself to Miriam and Aaron through visions, dreams, etc. but with Moses He spoke face to face. It was obvious just by comparing their relationships with God to figure out who God preferred leading Israel. By refusing to acknowledge the obvious was what got Miriam and Aaron into trouble with God. If there was infighting among these people in the Bible then let us not be surprised when we discover infighting among the leadership in our local church. Unfortunately infighting among the leadership in our churches happens. If we choose to enter in the drama, let us make certain that we are not overlooking the obvious or we may, by speaking against someone, find ourselves also speaking against God. My personal advice is to stay above church infighting if at all possible. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-08-09 Appropriate Punishment and Mercy.

Numbers 12:1-14 “Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses…At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. Then the LORD came down…he said, "… Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.” When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam--leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed…” So Moses cried out to the LORD, "O God, please heal her!" The LORD replied to Moses, "…Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” (NIV) Since Miriam was stricken with leprosy and Aaron wasn’t, I assume that Miriam was the power and influence behind the opposition against Moses. Aaron just followed Miriam’s lead. The punishment was appropriate considering the circumstances. Those diagnosed with leprosy had to be isolated from the camp, so Miriam’s attempt to gain leadership of the camp was over due to her disease. It would be hard to supervise the camp when you were forbidden to enter it and it would also be difficult to lead people when they were fearful to come anywhere near you for fear of catching leprosy. Considering that Miriam was permitted to come back into the camp after seven days indicates that she was in the end healed of the dreaded disease. Also Miriam’s temporary punishment as publicly known to the camp since she had to openly leave the camp for seven days. In the end the whole camp had to have known what had taken place and whom God had sided with. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-09-09 Attitude and Information. Numbers 13:1-20 “The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."… When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "…See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)” (NIV) Some of these questions could be seen as Moses trying to determine just how ‘difficult’ it would be to invade Canaan but I doubt that was what God had in mind. God had pretty much said that He would be doing most of the fighting for them and that the land would be ‘easy’ to takeover. EX 23:20-30 “…I will send terror ahead of you…I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way…” (NIV) If it was actually God who asked Moses to seek out this specific information then I believe that the information was to inspire and encourage the people. For instance, if the native people were ‘strong’ and ‘many’, that would indicate to the Israelites that the land would support a large population of healthy people. If the towns were well protected by walls then these towns would be ‘prosperous’ places to inherit after God runs the sinful undeserving occupants off.

Information can look positive or negative depending on what ‘attitude’ you have when you are looking at it. Since God is with the Christian, Christians should possess a positive and happy attitude. Even if live doesn’t turn out so great here in this lifetime (life is short), the Christian has a better world to look forward to after God resolves the sin problem and recreates the Earth. Take heart, Christians are on the winning side! Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-10-09 We can certainly do it. Numbers 13:1-30 “The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites…So they went up and explored the land… At the end of forty days they returned…There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey…But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large…." Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."(NIV) I like Caleb’s attitude. He saw the evidence that everything God promised about the land was true and was openly ready and willing to take possession of it. He was a guy that was ready to take action when he saw God open the doors for him. Are we the Calebs of our families and our churches? Are we a positive or negative influence to those around us? In Caleb’s case, he was a positive influence on the day that the men came back and reported their findings. To be a positive influence one must first have a positive outlook and second on must be willing to let their positive attitude be publicly known. What use is a positive attitude to the group if one is silent? Let us be fearless Christians for God! Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-11-09 The Word of God or the words of men. Numbers 13:30-33 “Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size…We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." (NIV) Of the twelve men that went up and explored the land that God had ‘guaranteed’ the Children of Israel, Caleb was only one of two men that still trusted that God would make good on His promise. The majority of the men lost sight of God’s assurance and only saw horrendous obstacles. In fact they exaggerated the facts to fit their fears…they lied to the people. This is another example where the majority isn’t always correct. Unfortunately people will manipulate the facts to persuade you to join their cause. The Christian can’t trust outside sources to be completely honest. Just because you see or hear something on the Internet, in a magazine, from the radio, on the television or even from the pulpit that doesn’t mean it is correct. Christians

must think on their own and base their wisdom upon the Word of God. Without the Bible as your anchor, you will be swept away in the downpour of words. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-12-09 Bad News and its impact upon our Relationship with God. Numbers 14:1-4 “That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." (NIV) Of the twelve men that had returned from exploring Canaan, only Caleb and one other was enthusiastic about the prospects of entering the country and taking possession of it as God had intended. The other ten men spread a “bad report” among the camp (NU 13:31-33). As I see it, they were afraid and lied to the Israelites. The people in the camp took the “bad report” and made things worse. They accused God of bringing them out of Egyptian slavery to personally have them killed. In fact they were seriously considering replacing Moses as leader and returning to Egypt. Apparently the Israelites placed more trust upon the report of the eleven men then upon the reassurances of God. Although God had literally dwelt among the Israelites for a significant amount of time, the people still lacked faith to trust Him at this word. Although God had interacted with them, the Israelites were still were quick to ‘jump to the conclusion’ that God really didn’t care much about them and would easily let time perish. The question must be asked, “Are we as Christians also quick to ‘jump to the conclusion’ that God has so little concern for us?” What do our reactions to everyday life tell us about our relationship with God? Are we willing to give up our Christianity over any old “bad report”? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-13-09 Church Members stoning other Church Members. Numbers 14:5-10 “Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." But the whole assembly talked about stoning them…” (NIV) Fear of the Canaanites had caused the Israelites to decide to abandon God (and good sense). They wished to return and go back to Egyptian slavery (NU 14:3). Joshua and Caleb’s stand was opposite that of the majority’s. They wished for the people to continue to trust God and His plan for them, for this the Israelites

were seriously considering killing them. These were supposedly God’s people and they were planning on stoning two of their own, who were innocent and faithful to God. If the Israelites were seriously talking about killing Joshua and Caleb, then it should not surprise us today when so called “good” church members tend to mistreat and run off other church members. If they would do it to Joshua and Caleb then they would do it to you also. Stand firm and let God protect you. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-14-09 Fear and overlooking the obvious. Numbers 14:10-12 “…Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they." (NIV) If one goes all the way back to the beginning of this story, where Moses first approached Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, a pretty significant list of miraculous stuff that God did on behalf of the Israelites can me made. The question is why couldn’t the Israelites see it? I believe that people generally overlook the obvious in an attempt to see things the way they desire to. For example a person who for some reason always places themselves in the position of the “eternal victim” tends to always believe that whatever bad happens to them was done on purpose for some malicious intent, even if whatever happened was a simple accident. In this case the Israelites had never really had much experience in military combat. Most likely they were afraid of going to war and preferred to see God as weak so they had an excuse to turn back and return to Egypt. In defense of God’s desire to destroy the Israelites and start over again, it was the Israelites that threatened violence first. They were seriously contemplating stoning Joshua and Caleb when they sided with God (NU 14:6-10). Personally I believe God had the right idea. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-15-09 Compromise and Tough Love. Numbers 14:11-19 “The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? … I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them…" Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! …If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, `The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.' "Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you have declared: `The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…' In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now." (NIV) In response to God’s declaration that He was going to destroy the Israelites for

their contempt Moses responses with reminding God of His reputation and His character. It also seems that Moses hints of a compromise solution. God’s reputation is important for several reasons. For instance if God has a bad reputation then few will seek out God for a better way of life and salvation. Connected to God’s reputation is His character. God’s “strength” is in His patience, love, and forgiveness and also in his justice. As sinners (broken and malfunctioning) we need God’s tender and tough love. We need to be loved but we also need to be corrected. Moses brought up the problem with God’s reputation if He “put these people to death all at one time”. If you connect that with Moses reminding God that although He is loving He “does not leave the guilty unpunished”. Moses seems to be setting up the possibility for a compromise whether he knew it or not. God could punish the people with death but not all at once…which God did…He let them all die of old age in the desert. This also gave the Israelites time to mend their rebellious ways and prepare their children to enter the Promised Land. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-16-09 Forgiven but still unfit. Numbers 14:13-35 “Moses said to the LORD, "… In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now." The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless…not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers…" The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: "…So tell them…I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall…Not one of you will enter the land…except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But you--your bodies will fall in this desert… For forty years…you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you…" (NIV) The Israelites had essentially accused God of leading them out into the desert to kill them so God basically said, “Okay have it your way! You are all going to die of old age in the desert.” The Israelites also claimed that God was going to let their children be stolen from them. God responded by saying that despite their disbelief, they children would see the land that they would never see. The people were ‘unfit’ and unready to enter the Promised Land (and these adults would never be). Apparently through God’s punishment, the people’s children would successfully learn from their parent’s mistakes and inherit what was promised to their parents. Although the Israelites had sinned, were to be disciplined and were to suffer for their sins, they were still forgiven by God. Don’t despair. Similarly, we may find ourselves ‘unfit’ to be used by God in ways we desire (and even in ways God desires). Although we may suffer due to our flaws, we can still have a forgiven relationship with God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-17-09 The abuse of leadership. Numbers 14:36-38 “So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and

made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it-these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD. Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.” (NIV) Why did God destroy these ten leaders (NU 13:3)? They were not safe to have around the people. Their influence was destructive. They had betrayed God by turning against Him and had also betrayed the people by admonishing them that it was best to return to Egyptian slavery. I really doubt that the Egyptians would have welcomed the Israelites back “with open arms”. There would have been deadly reprisals upon the returning slaves because their God devastated Egypt to gain their release. God was Israel’s true protector not Egypt! Those that have influence over others have a God given responsible to do what is right and truthful. Our influence (great or small) can either lead others to eternal life or eternal obliteration. Let us not abuse our influence in such a way that God is forced to protect the innocent from us. That could place us in a dangerous position. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-18-09 Doing the right thing at the wrong time and without God. Numbers 14:36-45 “So the men…responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD…When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country. "We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to the place the LORD promised." But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the LORD's command? This will not succeed! Do not go up, because…you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword." Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country…Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.” (NIV) The many of the Israelites ended up doing the right thing at the wrong time and without God. At first, out of fear for their lives, the Israelites didn’t want to enter the land promised to them by God. Now that they knew that God had forbidden them to enter the land due to their rebellion, they decided to go…without God’s approval or help. A group of them left camp in an effort to possess the land and the local inhabitants defeated their attempt and ran them off. Ultimate success in life is dependent upon our including God in our life. Pitting our will against God will eventually fail and for good reason…He knows what is best for us. Any other decision we make, that is not in harmony with God’s plan, will end up with a less then desirable result because it wasn’t the best option. God knows what to do, when to do it and how to be prepared to do it. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-19-09 The Rules are the same. Numbers 15:1-16 “…For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, he must do exactly as you do. The community is to have the same rules for

you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.' " (NIV) For the foreigner or native born, both were to worship the same. Just because some one was new or an outsider didn’t mean that they were to be treated special. They were to do no more (to make worship harder) or to do less (to make worship easier). None were a higher or lower rank who came before God to worship Him. Some churches and some organizations can be very exacting on their new members, making it tough on them as if they need to go through some sort of initiation period before they are accepted. On the other hand some churches and some organization are more exacting on their more established members, they have been there longer and are judged more harshly. In God’s eyes we are all judged alike. Let us all follow His example. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-20-09 Defiant Sin, Unintentional Sin and Spiritual Murder. Numbers 15:28-31 “The priest is to make atonement before the LORD for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven. One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether he is a native-born Israelite or an alien. But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the LORD, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the LORD's word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him." (NIV) I am unsure at this time what the term “cut off” means. It could either mean that these rebellious people were killed or it could mean that they were ejected from the community and forbidden to come back again. I take it that one who sins “defiantly” is one who knew they were challenging God’s ways, didn’t care if they were sinning or who they were hurting and wasn’t going to admit they were wrong nor seek forgiveness. As I see it, the “unintentional” sin is a sin of ignorance or stupidity. Desire got in the way of common sense and they acted, not really wishing to destroy their relationship with God or the community. “Oops, that was a stupid thing I did, please forgive me!” As a teenager I confess that I did things that my parents didn’t want me to do but I never defied their authority. I never wished that they were not my parents, I never tried to take control of the family and I never wanted ‘not’ to be a member of the family. I was stupid but not defiant. As Christian church members we tend to see our sins as “unintentional” sins and rightly so but when it comes to viewing other church members, we many times treat their “unintentional” sins as “defiant” sins. We may even treat our spouses and family members the same way and we are in the wrong when we do. In fact by treating them that way they may eventually turn “defiant” and if so we may be guilty of spiritual murder. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-21-09 Harsh Discipline.

Numbers 15:32-36 “While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.” (NIV) God had instructed the Israelites not to work on the Sabbath and any individual found working would be put to death (EX 31:14, 15). If the people were not to gather manna on the Sabbath (EX 16:21-30) or either start a fire (EX 35:2), then this man in the story knew full well that he was not to be out gathering wood. One would have to believe that the fellow also had to have known that it was the Sabbath, considering that the ‘rest of the camp’ was celebrating the Sabbath and ‘nobody’ at all was doing any work…’anywhere’. Apparently up to this point nobody had been caught working on the Sabbath due to the fact that “it was not clear what should be done to him”. It is unfortunate that the man had to be put to death, yet the positive part of the story is that at this time the Israelites showed that they were not eager to put people to death (as they would be later on in their history). One point I would like to make is that just because this man paid dearly with his life for his actions, it doesn’t automatically mean that he wasn’t honestly sorry for what he did and wasn’t forgiven by God. Harsh discipline doesn’t indicate a lack of love or a lack of forgiveness, just ask any parent especially those with several children (by the way, I’m not advocating physical violence). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-22-09 Tassels, strings and ”Post-it” notes. Numbers 15:37-40 “The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: `Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God.” (NIV) It is not God would device to to people guess the

surprising that after the Sabbath-breaker was put to death (NU 15:32-36) tell the Israelites to start placing tassels on their garments as a help them to remember to obey God’s commandments. It would be similar tying a string around their finger as a reminder to do something. I modern equivalent to the tassels would be “Post-it Notes”.

Sometimes people have a tendency to believe that God just can’t wait to catch us doing something wrong so He can punish us. The tassels confirm that is not the case. I just don’t see God getting any pleasure out of punishing people. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-23-09 God’s Will verses the People’s Will.

Numbers 16:1-7 “Korah…Dathan and Abiram…became insolent and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?" When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him. You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!" (NIV) Let’s face it, the majority isn’t always right. God should always have the last word because God’s wisdom is perfect and mankind’s is defective. No matter what the issue is and no matter how many people support an issue, if an issue isn’t in harmony with God’s will Christians shouldn’t go along with it. In this case three men backed by 250 “well-known community leaders” were convinced that Moses and Aaron shouldn’t be leading the Israelites and apparently were ready to put their conviction into action. Moses’ response was the correct. Basically Moses said, “Let’s see what God has to say about that.” I doubt that in the majority of the cases, that taking God’s side in an issue will be the most popular thing to do whether it takes place in a person’s government, place of employment or even in their family. Although I believe that Christians should make the best citizens, I don’t believe that they will be the most popular citizens. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-24-09 Taking God’s Authority away from Him. Numbers 16:8-11 “Moses also said to Korah, "Now listen, you Levites! Isn't it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the LORD's tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. It is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?" (NIV) Korah was one of the three ringleaders who were challenging Moses and Aaron’s leadership. Korah was a Levite and apparently he had the support of the Levites behind him. It looks as though Korah’s challenge for “leadership” also involved the challenge of who could serve as “priests” in the Tabernacle. The Levites were in charge of everything pertaining to the Tabernacle (NU 1:47-53) except the priesthood, which Aaron and his sons were assigned (EX 28:1). I take it that Korah and many of his relatives wanted to be priests and he figured that they could politically force Moses and Aaron to make it possible. Of course the decision on who was to serve a priests were not up to Moses and Aaron, it was up to God. Basically Korah and his backers wanted the authority that was only God’s. They wanted the authority to lead the camp (Moses was really just a middleman between God and the Israelites) and choose who was to be priests. When you stop to think

about it, they were attempting to do the same type of thing as Satan, take God’s authority away from Him. We all have varying degrees of leadership, at home, at work, at church and even in our communities. Let us be careful and not fall into the trap that Korah did, wanting more power then was his to take. Let us not try to set ourselves up as God in our spheres of influence. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-25-09 Discontent Lies and God’s Fault. Numbers 16:12-15 “Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, "We will not come! Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord it over us? Moreover, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!" Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them." (NIV) I don’t believe that Moses was so upset with Dathan and Abiram for not showing up when he summoned them as he was with their explanation as to why they didn’t show up. The men’s complains for not meeting Moses were fabrications to suit their own purpose. What they were saying were far from the truth…lies. Egypt was not the perfect place they claimed it was. It was a land of ‘misery’ and slavery for the Israelites. The land that God wished to take the Israelites was the true “land flowing with milk and honey” (EX 3:14-17). Their calling Egypt a land flowing with milk and honey was a direct ‘slap in the face’ to both Moses and God. I’d like to also point out that Moses and God ‘did’ bring them to the Promised Land and it was the Israelites that originally didn’t wish to inherit it (NU 14:14). Also it was the Israelites that preferred to die in the desert then to enter into their inheritance. Somehow, if given enough time, human discontent tends to always lead to opposition against God. What begins being our fault ends up being twisted in some sick way of being God’s fault in the end…and that is dangerous ground. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-26-09 A Petition for Mercy. Numbers 16:15-22 “Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow--you and they and Aaron…"When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire assembly. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?" (NIV) Korah, Dathan, Abiram and 250 well known leaders had challenged Moses and Aaron’s leadership and in doing so challenged God. At this point in the story God was

going to destroy all of the challengers and put and end to their rebellion. I find it amazing that after all the troubles Moses had gone through with the Israelites that he still felt protective of them. God wanted to make the trouble go away permanently yet Moses along with Aaron wished God to be merciful to the wayward leaders. Apparently the only person Moses and Aaron was willing to part with (through death) was the ringleader of the rebellion, Korah. Moses and Aaron’s example of mercy should challenge us to look more kindly upon our rivals and enemies. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-27-09 Death to the Rebellious. Numbers 16:25-35 “Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him…Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt." As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions…And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.” (NIV) Korah, Dathan, Abiram and 250 well known leaders had challenged Moses and Aaron’s leadership and in doing so challenged God. As I understand it, previously in this story Moses had asked God to only punish Korah, the ringleader of the rebellion. I figure that when Moses was directed by God to go to Dathan and Abiram, Moses was figuring that still only the three main ringleaders were going to be punished. I am sure that when the fire from God consumed the other 250 men, Moses was surprised. One would think that after everything that had happened up to this point in the story that the Israelites would have known for certain that Moses and Aaron were their Godly appointed leaders, yet God was forced to make an example out of these men in hopes of settling this leadership issue and the rebellion once and for all. It is a shame that God ‘had’ to open up the ground to swallow up Korah, Dathan and Abiram and burn with fire the 250 well known leaders to get His point across. On one hand, I don’t believe that every little thing that goes wrong in our lives is a direct punishment from God. On the other hand, lets be wise and alert so that God doesn’t have to do something drastic to get our attention. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-28-09 Censers and Reminders. Numbers 16:35-40 “And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to take the censers out of the smoldering remains…Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar…Let them be a sign to the Israelites." So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, as the LORD directed

him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the LORD, or he would become like Korah and his followers.” (NIV) These 250 men backed Korah’s rebellion. Part of that rebellion had to do with who could be priests in the Tabernacle. The bronze sheets covering the alter (from the 250 censers) would be a perpetual reminder to the Israelites that it is God who chooses who will become priests and not any group of men. If we have any reminders in our life that it is truly God’s will that will be done and not our own, then let us heed those reminders for our own good and for good of those around us. This saying comes to my memory, “A person who is smart learns from their mistakes but a genius learns from other people’s mistakes.” I believe that is one of the reasons that events such as this one was recorded in the Bible. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-29-09 Forgiveness and confusing wickedness for righteousness. Numbers 16:41-49 “The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You have killed the LORD's people," they said. But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared…and the LORD said to Moses, "Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown. Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started." So Aaron did as Moses said…Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them…and the plague stopped. But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.” (NIV) The very next day after God destroyed Korah, Dathan, Abiram and the 250 Israelite leaders that backed their rebellion to take over leadership of the camp and the Priesthood from Moses and Aaron (and God), the entire rest of the community ‘gathered in opposition’ against Moses and Aaron. I get the feeling from the story that the Israelites’ position was; “Moses and Aaron, you ‘killed the Lord’s people’ so in turn we are going to in turn kill you!” It looks like God met violence with violence (the plague). It looks like Moses got Aaron, the senior priest, to hurry and go through a ceremony of making atonement for the people. God honored the ceremony and halted the plague that He released upon the rebellious people. Christians should take some time and contemplate this story. I wonder how often we would intercede for those that actively oppose us? Would we really ask God to forgive those who falsely accuse us of murder? Would we intercede for those who truly deserve death? One other thing, it is amazing that the Israelite people believed that Korah, Dathan, Abiram and the 250 Israelite leaders were righteous and that Moses and Aaron were wicked. That sort of thing commonly happens even today. Let us a Christians be careful which side of a controversy we side with, whether it be in the political or religious arena. We too may be deceived and confuse wickedness for righteous.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-30-09 God’s intervention and the Blossomed Staff. Numbers 17: 1-11 “The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes…The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites."…The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD's presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff. The LORD said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die." Moses did just as the LORD commanded him." (NIV) It is amazing that mankind tends to want power, power over others. Some of us openly desire it and others of us quietly desire it. Power isn’t just an employment or a political problem. We find spouses competing for power within their marriages. The Israelites, who had been slaves, had not had a lot of experience with power and apparently many, who had advanced to leadership positions, wanted even more power and envied Moses and Aaron’s positions. Apparently the even presence of Aaron’s blossomed staff would convince most of the Israelites that truly Moses and Aaron were God’s selected leaders. This small miracle was now probably enough evidence since God recently put most of the troublemakers to death. Our personal desire for power is dangerous. Had God not intervened in the Israelites internal conflict over power and done what He had done, I believe that the Israelites would have destroyed themselves as a nation out there in the desert all alone. The remains of the Israelites after their conflict would have been easy pickings for the surrounding nations and what was left of them would have become slaves again or killed. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-31-09 Serving God is a Gift. Numbers 18:1-7 “The LORD said to Aaron, "You, your sons and your father's family are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the priesthood…But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift…" (NIV) I have the suspicion that many Christians feel that ministry (publicly serving God and doing God’s will for others) is a chore or a drudgery. Similar to Aaron and his relationship with the priesthood, Christian ministry is not a begrudged burden; it is a “gift”. I believe that once we find our own personal niche in Christian ministry, we will see it more as an opportunity then an inconvenience. Let us pray that God will assist us in finding our niche in ministry. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-01-09

Tithe and the Levites. Numbers 18:20-29 “The LORD said to Aaron, "You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites. I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting… When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the LORD's offering…You must present as the LORD's portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.” (NIV) The tribe of Levi was responsible for the care and maintenance of the Tabernacle. Aaron and his offspring (also Levites) were to serve as priests of the Tabernacle. This was their job and they were to live off of the tithes given to God from the rest of Israel. Although the Levites were to live off of the tithes given to God, they themselves were also to give a tenth of what they received. All of Israel was to tithe to God and none were exempt. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-02-09 Lying to get our way. Numbers 20:1-5 “In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried. Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! Why did you bring the LORD's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!" (NIV) It had most likely been several years since the Israelites rebelled and failed to enter the Promised Land for the first time. Here we find that Moses’ older sister, Miriam, has died, most likely of old age. Although the generation of Israelites that left Egypt was much older now, they still remembered their lives in Egypt, even if they exaggerated on how good their lives were there as slaves. The people were without water and their thirst brought the worst out of them…again. The people were thirsty and they claimed that Moses was personally responsible for killing them of thirst, which was false because they were all following the cloud of God by day and the fire of God by night. The interesting thing here is that they knew that they were rebelling. In their complaint to Moses and Aaron, they referred to the last time they rebelled. They claimed that they wished that God had killed them along with all the other people He killed in their last rebellion. People will say anything when there are upset, even if it doesn’t make sense if closely examined. People can really twist words around (and the facts) in an attempt to get their way (lying). They claimed that Moses was killing the “Lord’s community” of thirst. They were implying that somehow Moses was on the wrong side and in opposition to God. Yet later on they complained that Moses brought them out of Egypt…which was really God’s doing. On one hand they claimed to be God’s people yet on the other, they denied that it was God who saved them and brought them out of Egypt.

When we are upset with others, let us not stretch the truth, twist words or the facts around to suit our desires or out right lie to get our way. Let us as Christians always be trusted to present the facts and situations clearly and truthfully, no matter how much we desire events to unfold in our favor. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-03-09 What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Numbers 20:7-13 “The LORD said to Moses, "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water…" So Moses took the staff…gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them.” (NIV) The Israelites became quarrelsome again over the lack of water in the area. Now we find Moses and Aaron receiving instructions from God on how to miraculously provide the people water from a rock. Apparently this is the same rock that Moses had struck before and had received water from God. The place had been named Meribah, which means quarreling (EX 17:1-7). Moses was told to ‘speak’ to the rock but it looks to me that Moses, in a fit of anger, had forgotten his instruction to speak to the rock and he struck the rock not once but twice to have water flow from the rock. Not only that but it looks as though he was taking some of the credit for the miracle. Apparently this public action showed disrespect to God in front of all the people. It looks like God was placed in a position where He had to treat Moses the same as He had treated the Israelites earlier when they had disrespected God by ‘not’ wanting to enter the Promised Land (NU 13:1-14:35). That generation was barred from entering the Promised Land because of their disrespect and anger so the same now was to happen to Moses. “What is good for the goose is good for the gander.” Moses would not be able to lead the people into the land. He would end up dying in the desert with the rest of his generation (except for Joshua and Caleb). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-04-09 Fear of deception, loss or retaliation. Numbers 20:14-21 “Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: "This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come upon us…Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory." But Edom answered: "You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword."…Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army. Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them.” (NIV) These two nations were closely related. They were both the offspring of twin brothers, Jacob and Esau. Esau was also known as Edom (GE 25:30) and God had

taken Jacob and renamed him Israel (GE 35:9,10). Why didn’t Edom let Israel pass? It wasn’t that they were strangers. They both knew their past history. Maybe it was because of their past history that Edom didn’t let Israel past through it’s country. Since Jacob snatched Esau’s birthright from him, there were probably bad feelings between them or it could have been that Edom didn't trust the descendants of Jacob, since it was Jacob that deceived his father to gain Esau’s blessing. “The Israelites could be pretending to be friendly and then attack us once they are within our borders!” One other worry Edom could have had is if Israel started to infringe on the territorial rights of Edom’s neighbors, then those countries could in turn gang up on Edom and punish them for their friendly action towards the nation of Israel. Overall, considering the close relationship between these two nations. Edom should have had a friendlier attitude and possibly a more forgiving attitude toward Israel. This brings us to the question, “What is our attitude towards our relatives?” Are we as harsh to them as any total stranger? Are we unforgiving for sins that they have committed against us in the distant past? Another question we can ask ourselves is, “Do we let unfounded or imaged fears control our relationships with those around us?” Do we fear an individual may cause us some harm or loss and then treat them as if they already have? Is that fair? Is that Godly? Is that Christian? May we as Christians not be offended by other peoples unfounded fears and be able to walk away from a fight (physical or verbal). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-05-09 Failure, Aaron and the Promised Land. Numbers 20:23-29 “…the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. Remove Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will…will die there." Moses did as the LORD commanded…when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.” (NIV) Because of Aaron’s publicly poor example at Meribah (EX 20:1-13), God could not let him see the fruit of his labor and enter the Promised Land with the Israelites. Of the original adult slaves that God freed from Egypt only Joshua and Caleb proved to be spiritually fit to enter the Promised Land. It looks to me that Aaron didn’t die of either old age or disease. Apparently God took his life. God may have chosen Aaron to die at this time so that his son, Eleazar, would have a chance to settle into his role as the senior priest. Since both Moses and Aaron had let God down at Meribah and both were to receive the same discipline, it looks as though one had to die before the other so that the transition of power would transpire slowly and smoothly for the people’s sake. If both leaders died at the same time, it could have disrupted the Israelites’ sense of security enough to cause another leadership controversy. It looks to me that although Aaron failed God, was eventually removed from public service and had his life taken from him, he still died a godly man. I suspect that we shall see him in Heaven, in the world made new. If we also fail God in

some similar way and find that God can’t use us anymore, do not despair. As long as we are truly repentant, we shall find ourselves resurrected at the Second Coming. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-06-09 Giving tips for good service to God. Numbers 21:1-3 “When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. Then Israel made this vow to the LORD: "If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities." The LORD listened to Israel's plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.” (NIV) Up until this point the Israelites hadn’t clashed with a lot of other kings or nations. Their first conflict ended in defeat, which was understandable since God was not with them (NU 14:39-45) and their second recorded encounter ended with the Israelites avoiding a fight (NU 20:14-21). Considering the results of these two encounters, the king of Arad probably figured that if he attacked the Israelites and claimed a small victory that the Israelites would in turn be afraid to infringe upon his territory. Those Israelites that he captured were probably for slaves and interrogation. In response to this aggression, the Israelites made a deal with God, if God made it possible to overcome these aggressors then in return Israel would destroy their cities for God. A footnote in the New International Bible suggests that the destruction of the cities by the Israelites was to be as a gift or maybe an offering to God. Do we offer gifts of thankfulness to God for our successes? I fear that we spend more a month on tips for good service at restaurants and such then we spend giving offerings to God. I am sure that God has given us much better service. May I suggest that for every tip that we give that we set aside an equal amount to give to God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-07-09 The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Numbers 21:4-9 “They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.” (NIV) The people were being grumpy. After all their time of wondering around in the desert they had to have known that God wasn’t going to let them starve or thirst to death. Grumpy children can test an adult’s tolerance but a large crowd of grumpy adults can be down right dangerous. Today we call that “crowd mentality”.

Here we find God having to step in again and do something He would rather no do but had to do it for the sake of the people. Once the poisonous snakes came into camp and started biting people, the Israelites backed down and confessed that they were in the wrong. Even today Christians may be better off then they believe. Many times after we see others in worse situations then ourselves, we quit complaining and begin to appreciate what blessings we do have. I’m sure many of us have abandoned jobs and marriages only to find out that we have exchanged them for far worse situations. Afterwards we end up wishing for the good old days, those same days that in the past we had complained about. Side note: The process of creating a bronze bust or figurine is time consuming. The snakes were around for awhile and busy biting people before Moses completed the project. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-08-09 Over reaching our authority. Numbers 12:12-26 “Israel sent messengers to say to Sihon king of the Amorites: "Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway until we have passed through your territory." But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. He mustered his entire army and marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought with Israel. Israel, however, put him to the sword and took over his land…Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them…” (NIV) A message was sent to the king of the Amorites, similar to the message that was previously sent to the king of Edom (NU 20:14-21). The Israelites wished to pass peacefully through the land and not molest anyone or anything. Although in both cases the Israelites were not allowed to pass through the country and a show of force was produced, the difference between the two stories is that the Amorites did not wait for the Israelites to turn away. The Amorites attacked God’s people and they were terribly defeated, to the point where the Israelites ended up occupying their cities. The king of the Amorites had the right to allow or deny the right for anyone to pass through his land. Of course he should have been gracious enough to grant to the Israelites their request. Let us learn from the king of the Amorites mistake and not over reach our authority. It may be permitted to for us to defend our own space in most situations, but when we are faced with a confrontation (physical, financial or verbal), let us be wise enough to give our rival a fair chance to back down. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-09-09 No Survivors. Numbers 21:32-35 “After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there. Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei. The LORD said to Moses, "Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, with his whole army

and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon." So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors. And they took possession of his land.” (NIV) Back in the time of Abraham (Abram) there was still a trace of goodness left among the Amorite people (GE 15:12-21) but now the sin of the Amorites had “reached its full measure”. The ‘nation’ was now not savable and its evil influences and the influences of its neighbors would be a danger to the Israelites if God left these nations intact. For the good of the region, God had to remove the Amorites and their neighbors from the Promised Land. Like the Israelites, we too should remove all evil influences from our surroundings. If we have friends who are “committed” to destroying themselves in ungodly conduct, let us part ways with them so we will not be destroyed ourselves. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 01-10-09 Balaam’s initial response was correct. Numbers 22:2-13 “Now Balak…saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, and Moab was terrified…So Balak…who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to summon Balaam…Balak said: "A people has come out of Egypt…Now come and put a curse on these people…Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed." The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said. "Spend the night here," Balaam said to them, "and I will bring you back the answer the LORD gives me." So the Moabite princes stayed with him…God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed." The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak's princes, "Go back to your own country, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you." (NIV) Balaam was some kind of a holy man. Although he was not an Israelite he recognized God’s authority when God spoke to him. To Balaam’s credit, his “initial response” to God’s directions was to comply with His instructions. Even Christians, who realize what God desires of them, do not always initially comply with His will and as a result get themselves into all kinds of troubling and dangerous situations. Let us follow Balaam’s example, as far as this specific part of the story goes. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-11-09 No means no. Numbers 22:13-22 “The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak's princes, "… the LORD has refused to let me go with you." So the Moabite princes returned to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us." Then Balak sent other princes… They came to Balaam and said: "This is what Balak son of Zippor says…I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me." But Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God. Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the LORD will tell me." That night God came to Balaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you." Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of

Moab. But God was very angry when he went…” (NIV) Balaam said that God had refused to let him go and curse the Israelites but when Balak, the king of Moab, sent a second request to Balaam, his answer made God look indecisive and spineless. Balaam basically said, “I’ll see if God had changed His mind.” There are three reasons I can think of that caused God to be upset with Balaam. First, Balaam misrepresented God. God is not “wishy-washy”. Second, God made it clear to Balaam why He didn’t wish for him to curse the Israelites. “You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed” (NU 22:12). Balaam had no evidence to believe that within such a short period of time that the Israelites blessed status had changed. Third, Balaam’s only reason for questioning God’s resolve a second time was because of greed, the promise of a handsome reward. The Christian places himself or herself on dangerous ground when they ask God to permit them their desires when they know ‘for certain’ that God forbids it. “God please let me steal so I can support my habit!” “God please let me commit adultery because I am unhappy with the spouse I have chosen!” “God please let me lie so I can get ahead in life!” What part of “no” don’t we understand? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-12-09 Not being able to see the Big Picture. Numbers 22:21-27 “Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him…When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road. Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he beat her again. Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff.” (NIV) God had originally told Balaam not to go curse the Israelites but when Balaam persisted, God told him to go but put some restrictions upon him. Balaam didn’t see the “big picture”. God was planning to displace the all the ungodly people from the Promised Land and replace them with the nation of Israel. Apparently Balaam was a well-known holy man and held quiet a bit of religious influence in the area. If Balaam cursed the Israelites, the local kings may feel a bit more self-assured about attacking Israel. The result would be a lot more pain and suffering, since the local inhabitance were eventually going to loose the land one way or the other (by circumstances or by force). Likewise, if we persist in acting contrary to God’s will, we will inevitably make things either worse for us and/or worse on those around us due to our inability to see the “big picture” in it’s entirety. Even the best of us is not that bright.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-13-09 Anger, Stupidity and our Pets.

Numbers 22:26-31 “Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now." The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" "No," he said. Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.” (NIV) These texts pick up the story where Balaam’s donkey sees the angel for the third time and as a result for the third time annoys Balaam. Balaam was angry at his donkey by this time. Balaam was looking forward to his handsome reward and didn’t want his misbehaving donkey to make him look foolish in front of the princes of Moab that was with him. Who knows, if he looked foolish, the princes may think less of him and as a result he may receive less of a reward. It is amazing how anger can make us stupid. When people are angry they have a tendency to do things that they would normally never do when they are calm. In Balaam’s case, he was so angry at his donkey that he didn’t realize the amazement and wonder that his donkey was talking to him. Who in their right mind would kill a talking donkey they owned? Can you imagine how valuable a talking donkey would be? It is amazing how anger can development within us the perspective that we are the center of the universe. I find it interesting that as soon as Balaam saw the angel, he suddenly realized his place in the universe and bowed before the holy messenger from God. Just as a side though I wonder what our pets would say to us if they could talk? Would they be words of thankfulness or words of condemnation? Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-14-09 Changing Paths. Numbers 22:32-35 “The angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her." Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back." The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.” (NIV) As I continue to ponder about this story there is a very good possibility that because of greed, Balaam was planning on cursing the Israelites even though God had told him not to (NU 22:12). This could explain why his life was in jeopardy. On the other hand, disobeying God may have been very tempting and this experience with the angel and the talking donkey was used as a teaching lesson for Balaam to show that God was very serious about not wanting Balaam to curse the Israelites.

Whatever the case, it is clear that after this experience Balaam was committed to whatever plan God had in mind. Through the rest of the story it seems that Balaam set a good example as a representative of God in the presence of king Balak. God may also bring to our attention that our “path is a reckless one”. If this should happen, it should seen as a “wake up call” and not as a discouragement. Similar to Balaam’s experience, we too can change paths and end up in harmony with God. Nothing is impossible. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-15-09 Speak clearly and truthfully. Numbers 22:36-38 “When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him…Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn't you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?" "Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.” (NIV) Sometimes we have a tendency to “sugar coat” what we have to say even to the point where the objective of the message gets lost. I recall a situation, where I once worked, where a fellow was fired. His boss, trying to be as gentle as possible, sugar coated the fact that the employee was fired so much that the fellow didn’t realize or understand that he was fired. The fired employee showed up for work the next day. Balaam didn’t sugar coat what he had to say to king Balak. He made it clear that he could only speak the words that God told him to speak. It would be no fault of Balaam’s if in the future the king misunderstood him. Balaam was not like many deceptive advertisements we are exposed to today or for that case many politicians, he was clear and truthful. One other thing, Balaam did not cower before the king for being tardy (his tardiness was excusable). After coming face to face with a threatening angel from God with a sword, an annoyed king didn’t seem so threatening. Let us as Christians be clear in what we say. Although the king was annoyed with Balaam, the king’s mood did not alter Balaam’s message. Many of us are driven with the desire to please our family, friends and co-workers. Sometimes what needs to be said is not what they wish to hear (but let’s not be rude in the process). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-16-09 A Successful Life. Numbers 23:10 “Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!" (NIV) This is part of the first message that God gave Balaam when king Balak asked him to curse the Israelites. While the Israelites were under the ‘strong arm’ of Egypt, although they suffered, they still prospered as a whole. Today we may see many problems in the world of Christianity and we may be tempted to despair. Although Christianity may be

getting pretty worldly diluted and it may be getting more difficult to tell Christians from unbelievers, we can rest assured that God has a multitude of “true Christians” scattered throughout the world. We are not alone. What is considered a successful life? As I see it, if a person dies and he or she is a child of God, then their life was a success. Our success is not dependent upon how long or short it is nor upon on how wealthy or how poor we are. One may have many friends or no friends at all and still be a failure in this life. If we die saved, our life was a successful one…period! Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-17-09 Misrepresenting God and Spiritually Murdering People. Numbers 23:19, 20 “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.” (NIV) The second time king Balak sent representatives to Balaam to persuade him to curse the Israelites, Balaam suggested that God may change His mind. I believe Balaam was suggesting to Balak that God was “wishy-washy” and irresolute (NU 22:19). It is possible that God told Balaam finally to go see the king so that this message could be made clear. God is resolute. People, who claim to be Christians, representatives of God, are misrepresenting God all the time. I have run into many people who have said, “Christians have said or done this mean thing to me and if God is like that then I want nothing to do with Him!” I wonder if there have been times that we, like Balaam, have misrepresented God (by misrepresenting God we are taking the risk of spiritually murdering people). If so maybe we need to meet with that person(s) to clear up the matter so that God doesn’t look bad. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-18, 2009 Living the Good Life. Numbers 23:21 "No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. LORD their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.” (NIV)

The

This is part of the second message God gave Balaam to give to king Balak when Balak wished Balaam to curse the Israelites. As long as the Israelites were following God’s instructions, they were staying out of trouble. At this point in the story, the Israelites were satisfied with God’s care and life for them was doing pretty good. The Israelites and God were getting along well together. To king Balak’s observation the nation of Israel was indeed “running smoothly”. I would bet that Balak was probably pretty envious on how serene the nation of Israel seemed compared to his own nation. I wonder if Balak could have felt free walking among his people without the security of his bodyguards surrounding him? Of course we are looking at the “big picture” went we are stating that there was no ’misfortune’ or ‘misery’ in Israelite camp. I feel that this text is speaking in “broad brush strokes”. I am sure that there were still some spouses in the

camp that weren’t getting along with one another or a family somewhere that was morning the loss of a loved one. I think the point is that overall if given the same set of circumstances, the Christian life will run smoother than compared to that of the non-Christian. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-19-09 Christian Strength and Success. Numbers 23:22-24 “God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, `See what God has done!' The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey and drinks the blood of his victims." (NIV) The Israelite nation was a strong nation. They were slaves that came out of Egypt and after wandering around in the desert for a long time took over a land that was already well established by strong nations ready to defend themselves. God provided them their strength and their success. Today’s Christian has access to that same source of strength and success. God will give freely to anyone the strength to either overcome their enemies or the strength to endure their hardships. God will give as much strength as is asked of Him. Unfortunately Christians don’t always ask, either due to a lack of faith or through ignorance. Ultimately Christians will overcome all foes and obstacles in the end. Those who stand firm to the end will see the other side of death and enjoy a world recreated the way God had originally intended it to be, a world without sin, rebellion, hardship, illness or sorrow. God wants you to succeed. He’s on your side. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-20-09 What goes around, comes around. Numbers 24:9 "…May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!" (NIV) This is the ending of the third blessing God gave Balaam to give to the Israelites when king Balak wished Balaam to curse the Israelites. I believe this blessing applies to all of God’s people. It falls along the idea found in MT 25:40-45, "…I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me…whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'” God feels blessed when we treat others well and He personally feels offended when we mistreat others. One could say that God is placed in a situation where He is obligated to give out what He receives. There is another way to look at this blessing. As we treat others as God would, we are reinforcing within our character godly behavior. When we are thinking ill of others, we are reinforcing ungodly behavior within our character. How we relate to others affects our character for good or for evil. How others relate to us effects them the same. It’s kind of the Christian version of the principal “What goes around, comes around.”

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-21-09 Reward for Godly Service. Numbers 24:10, 11 “Then Balak's anger burned together and said to him, "I summoned you to blessed them these three times. Now leave at reward you handsomely, but the LORD has kept

against Balaam. He struck his hands curse my enemies, but you have once and go home! I said I would you from being rewarded." (NIV)

It is my opinion that Balaam went to see king Balak in hopes that God would let him curse the Israelites so that he could receive the handsome reward that the king was offering. Since God would only let Balaam bless the Israelites, king Balak refused to give Balaam anything for his time and Balaam went home emptyhanded. Christians may enlist in God’s service halfway expecting some earthly reward from God or men. They may expect thanks, gratefulness, honor, prestige, fame or even some kind of financial success. Similar to Balaam’s experience, Christians may find that their reward for God’s service is the satisfaction that they have served God. I think that this reward is greater then we can really imagine. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-22-09 Anger, Rudeness and Intelligence. Numbers 24:12-17 “Balaam answered Balak, "…let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come…The oracle of Balaam son of Beor…the oracle of one who hears the words of God…He will crush the foreheads of Moab…” (NIV) Balak, the king of Moab had pretty much bribed Balaam, a holy man, to curse the Israelites. In the end after three different attempts by Balak, God would only allow Balaam to bless Israel. This angered the king and he told Balaam that he was being sent home without payment of any kind. Although king Balak didn’t get what he desired, he could have at least thanked Balaam for trying and also compensated him for his travel expenses and time. Had king Balak been polite, Balaam probably would have quietly gone on his way, but since he was angry and rude, Balaam let him know the unpleasant future of Moab and the picture was not a pretty one. Visions of God crushing the foreheads of Moab must have kept king Balak up for many nights. There was no reason for the king to have had remained open, clear and honest with angry and rude? Do we expect to receive If we do expect good in return for evil,

been angry and rude to Balaam. Balaam the king. What do we expect when we are pleasantness and politeness in return? we aren’t very bright.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-23-09 Sexual Immorality isn’t Harmless. Numbers 25:1-5 “While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them. The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in

broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD's fierce anger may turn away from Israel." So Moses said to Israel's judges, "Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor." (NIV) Many of the Israelite men started having sex with many of the Moabite women. The women influenced these men to worship “their gods”. In general, men don’t seem to need any encouragement to “indulge in sexual immorality”. Yet in this case, could it be possible that since earlier the king of Moab couldn’t get Balaam to get permission from God to curse the Israelites that the king decided to separate the Israelites from their God through sex immorality? Sex sells and today we see it used frequently in advertising. God was trying to protect the Israelite people from the corrupting influences of sexual immorality and false religion. Apparently the situation had gotten so grave that the only way to uproot these corrupt practices and influences was to kill all those involved. Similar to the indulgent Israelite men, Christians should not believe that a little sexual indiscretion is harmless. Today indulging in sexual immorality can lead to illness, financial problems (through child support or divorce), ruined relationships and most of all ruined relationship with God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-24-09 Rebellion is Rebellion. Numbers 25:6-9 “Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them--through the Israelite and into the woman's body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.” (NIV) Apparently the Children of Israel were reluctant to put to death those Israelite men, who were having sex with the Moabite women and worshiping the Moabite gods, as God had asked (NU 25:1-5) and as a result a plague was inflicted upon the Israelites. As I understand it, the Midianites were also involved with the sexual seduction of the Israelite men to get them to worship Baal of Peor in the effort to separate the Israelites from their protective God. In fact it looks like it was Balaam’s idea (NU 31:15,16). One could say that there are two types of sinners, those who hide their wrong behavior and those who sin openly and publicly. Those who sin openly challenge others to join them in their self-destructive behavior and openly defy God in the process. The man who brought the Midianite woman openly into camp was definitely defying everyone. He was probably thinking, “If they say I can’t ‘fool around’ with Moabite women than I’ll rebelliously ‘fool around’ with Midianite women!” Rebellion is rebellion. It would be like a father saying to his son, “You can’t use the car until you improve your school grades!” Of course the family truck was implied but not specifically stated. So in rebellion the son takes the family truck for a joy ride instead. In his defense the son will say, “Dad, you only told me I couldn’t drive the car. You didn’t say anything about not driving the truck!” Nine chances out of ten, the father will discipline the son because of

his rebellion.

Sometimes I believe we as Christians act the same way with God.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-25-09 Enemies of God. Numbers 25:16-18 “The LORD said to Moses, "Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them, because they treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the affair of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of Peor." (NIV) The Midianites were involved in the plot along with the Moabites to influence the Israelites to start worshiping false gods. Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, had also been involved. As a result of this plot, a plague killed 24,000 Israelites (probably an attempt to weed out the bad influences). Without God to protect and guide the Israelites, they would have been “sitting ducks” for the other nations to capture and/or destroy. I can understand why the Israelites were to treat the Midianites as enemies. If today’s Christians have friends, family or aquaintances who ‘presist’ in attemping to lead them astray and influence them to turn away from their relationship with God, they should avoid them and treat them as enemies. The influence of these so called friends, if successful, will result in the Christian’s eternal death. Who we associate with should be considered seriously. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-26-09 The Census and Experiencing Loss. Numbers 26:1-50 “After the plague the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by families--all those twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army of Israel." So on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said," Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the LORD commanded Moses."…The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730.” (NIV) The Israelites were nearing the end of their wanderings in the desert and that meant that enough time had passed for most all of the original people that had left Egypt to have died. Considering that a recent plague had killed thousands of people and that the last census was taken in the second year of the Israelite’s freedom (NU 1:1-3), it was now time for another census. One interesting fact that comes from this census is that the population of men had dropped 1,820. Some of the tribes gained population and some of them lost population. The tribe that experienced the largest drop in its population was the tribe of Simeon. Simeon lost 37,100 men. I wonder if this loss indicates that the tribe of Simeon had the most troublemakers in it. Maybe the latest plague (NU 25:9) that had killed 24,000 killed mostly those in the tribe of Simeon? Similar to the Israelite nation as a whole, we all experience gains and losses in different areas of our lives. The losses we notice aren’t a guarantee that God had deserted us. Israel eventually entered their Promised Land and we as Christians, despite some of the losses we experience in our lives, can also enter our Promised Land, (Heaven) the world made new.

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-27-09 Changing Familiar Places and Habits. Numbers 26:63-65 “These are the ones counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. For the LORD had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.” (NIV) All of those who remembered Egypt were around 18 years old or less when they left Egypt and now they were the older adults of the camp. They had been under God’s guidance and living in the desert longer than they had been in Egypt. The advantage to this is that now when the Israelites, as a whole, got upset or discouraged about something, they won’t have a great temptation to desire to move back to Egypt, as the generation before them had. Going back to Egypt meant going back to slavery. When life gets rough and stressful we tend to wish to go back to places and habits that we are familiar with. The sooner we can leave bad influences and habits behind, the sooner we can start developing better influences and habits. Then when life hits us hard, what and where we fall back to for security and nurturing will be better for us. For a simple example, when we were younger we may have lived in the city and went out with friends drinking and partying to get our minds off of our troubles. Later on when we are older, now possibly living in the country, we may have learned to discuss our concerns with our spouses, a better and safer way to deal with stress (if you had chosen an appropriate mate). Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 02-28-09 Inheritance, God, Women and Bananas. Numbers 27:1-7 “The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher…The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. They…said, "Our father died…and left no sons. Why should our father's name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father's relatives." So Moses brought their case before the LORD and the LORD said to him, "What Zelophehad's daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father's relatives and turn their father's inheritance over to them.” (NIV) I imagine the reason that these women’s names are recorded is that their request was so ground breaking. Their request broke the cycle of only sons/men receiving the inheritance. Apparently women were definitely second-class citizens by this time in history and these women, on this topic, said, “Enough is enough!” and God sided with them. When we see that something isn’t correct, we should be responsible individuals and speak up about it (not that change will take place right away). I am sure that the men and the women of the camp were shocked by these women’s request. People had become so complacent with the way the social structure had developed that they didn’t think to question it. “Mommy, why is it that my little brother is going to inherit everything and I am not?” “Honey, be quiet, that is just the way things are.”

Tradition can make us accept some strange ideas. I was surprised on day that my daughters thought that each end of bananas were unfit for human consummation. The reason why they held that view was that I’d always feed our dog each tip of the banana while I was slicing one for breakfast. Our dog loved the taste of bananas. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-01-09 I Swear to You with God as My Witness. Numbers 30: 1, 2 “Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: "This is what the LORD commands: When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.” (NIV) Numbers 30: 1, 2 “And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is thing which the LORD hath commanded. If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.” (KJV) If a person makes a vow and connects God or their soul somehow to it, they better be sure that they can “completely” fulfill their commitment! I fear that people all too lightly have a tendency to say such things as, “I swear to God that I’m telling you the truth!” and then stretch the truth or tell a “little white lie”. In the long run we will ‘not’ find ourselves getting ahead in life, if God specially tells us to do something or not to do something and we lightly disregard His wisdom. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-02-09 Vows by Daughters. Numbers 30:3-5 "When a young woman still living in her father's house makes a vow to the LORD or obligates herself by a pledge and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand. But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; the LORD will release her because her father has forbidden her.” (NIV) Today parents are still responsible for and have authority over their children who are minors and living at home. If one of my daughters when they were younger broke a neighbor’s car window, I would be responsible to pay for the damages. On the other hand if my daughter promised to sell the family car to our neighbor, I could say “no” and that would be the end of it. I, as her father, would have the last word. Yet if my daughter promised to help out on a community project and I knew that it conflicted with our family vacation, I should say something. It would be my responsibility to make sure that my daughter let the community know that she had made a foolish commitment and couldn’t help. To take my daughter out of town knowing full well that the community is depending upon her and not doing anything about it makes me a “jerk”. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-03-09 Rash Vows made before Marriage.

Numbers 30:6-8 "If she marries after she makes a vow or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. But if her husband forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her or the rash promise by which she obligates herself, and the LORD will release her.” (NIV) This rash commitment was made before she was married and was not revealed to her husband until after the marriage. Commitments made by one-spouse affects the other, whether it involves goods, services, time or inconvenience. Because of this connection the husband can nullify his wife’s rash vow. For example, maybe a young bride to be promises to her sister, “I swear to God that you will be able to use I and my husband’s car whenever you like!” In this example the young woman may not be aware that her husband’s employment is dependent upon access to the family car. He may be “on call” weekends and at a moments notice may need to car to get to work. In this type of situation the new husband has the obligation to the family’s finances to nullify his wife’s vow. On the other hand, if the husband knows of his wife’s rash vow to her sister and does nothing to rectify it, then he has placed his sister-in-law in a difficult position. If his sister-in-law shows up at the house one morning to use the car to go to “jury duty” just as he is leaving the house to go to work, he had better call work and notify them that he is going to be a bit late so that he can drop his sister-in-law off downtown. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-04-09 Vows taken by widows or divorced women. Numbers 30:9 "Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.” (NIV) I believe the vows that are referred to here are the type of vows mentioned in NU 30: 1, 2, where a person makes “a vow unto the LORD” or a sworn “oath to bind his soul with a bond” (KJV). If a person should happen to say something like, “May my soul burn in Hell if I don’t pay you back by the end of the year!” then they better be sure that they can do it. If they fail to meet their obligation, God may feel obliged to intervene in some way that may inconvenience the person who made the vow. Women, whose husbands have died or are divorced, single mature women, have nobody else to consider when they are making a promise or a commitment to another individual. They neither have fathers or husbands, who would have to share the responsibly or the consequences of any vow that they make. For instance, creditors can not approach their ex-husbands and demand pay for a financial comment that they made after their divorce. Neither can creditors approach their fathers. One could say that single mature women have no “safety blanket” with it comes to their commitments. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-05-09 Marriage, Authority and Equality. Numbers 30:10-15 "If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or obligates herself by a pledge under oath and her husband hears about it but says nothing to

her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the LORD will release her. Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself. But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them. If, however, he nullifies them some time after he hears about them, then he is responsible for her guilt." (NIV) I believe the vows that are referred to here are the type of vows mentioned in NU 30: 1, 2, where a person makes “a vow unto the LORD” or a sworn “oath to bind his soul with a bond” (KJV). The fact that these texts give the husband the final authority in the relationship ‘could possibly’ be a ‘cultural law’ put in place by God for the people at that specific time. It could be similar to other directives in the Bible, such as men not wearing long hair or women not speaking in church. Very likely this law could be a law that applies to Christian husbands and wives today. It could have been put in place to combat the chaos that sin causes in the marriage relationship. If this law is not followed, opportunities are lost, time is wasted and issues go unresolved for years because husbands and wives have no clear chain of command. Today many marriages suffer and many others fail due to the consequences of the daily struggle for power between couples. This law, husbands having the final say, resolves a lot of issues that develop within a marriage. With that being said, I believe that God originally desired husbands and wives to be equals. They were to “become one flesh” (GE 2:24). As a result of sin or in an effort to combat sin, God said that husbands would “rule over” their wives (GE 3:16). Even though husbands have been delegated the responsibly of having the final word in their marriages, husbands are still directed to strive to treat their wives as equals. EPH 5:25-33 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church…husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies…” (NIV). Finally I believe that husbands and wives should also keep this last text in mind as they approach the many issues in their marriages. MK 9:35 “ Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." (NIV) Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-06-09 The Death of Balaam. Numbers 31:1-12 “The LORD said to Moses, "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people."…So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel…They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man…They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword…They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals, and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.” (NIV) This was God’s last big job that He was giving Moses to do before he would die. God was letting Moses live long enough to conclude some unfinished business with the Midianites. This all started when God refused to let Balaam place a curse

upon the Israelites. This curse had been requested by the king of Moab (NU 24:10, 11). When that effort failed the nations of Moab and Midian tried to seduce the Israelites away from God through sexual immorality (NU 25:1-18). The seduction was so successful that God had to intervene with a plague and 24,000 Israelites died (NU: 8, 9). The reason why the Israelites killed Balaam was because he was the one, who came up with the idea to seduce the Israelites away from God (RE 2: 14). Since God wouldn’t let him curse the Israelites and collect his reward for the job, his suggestion to the king was Balaam’s way of ‘getting back’ a God. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-07-09 Reintroducing Sin back into our Lives. Numbers 31: 13-18 “Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. Moses was angry with the officers of the army--the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds--who returned from the battle. "Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them. "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people. Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.” (NIV) After the Israelites had defeated the Midianites, Moses found that the Israelite army had spared and brought back the Midianite women. This wasn’t logical because the war took place because it was the Midianite women who had led many Israelite men into sexual immorality in an effort to separate them from God. The women had been part of the problem. They had been in on the plot and here Moses finds the men bringing them back again. Since the Midianite women had been involved in the effort to over throw Israel, it is understandable that Moses would order them to be put to death. Moses had another decision to make, since the army had also brought back the Midianite children. Most likely Moses had the boys killed because eventually they would grow up and attempt to avenge their parent’s deaths. I figure that Moses let the Midianite girls live (the virgins) because they hadn’t been involved in the plot and that he figured they wouldn’t be much of a threat acting as servants in the camp. Personally I believe that letting the Midianite girls live was a poor decision. These girls, as they grow up, will undoubtedly have some sort of wicked influence on the Israelite camp due to their ungodly background. We shouldn’t judge the Israelite army too harshly. Christians today tend to fall into the same type of behavior. They bring back into their lives bad habits and temptations that at one time or other they had overcome. We see smokers, who have survived lung cancer, foolishly start smoking again. Men and women, who have nearly destroyed their marriages with an adulterous affair, will once again start another one. People who have once been over weight will after awhile start bringing back into their home foods that they shouldn’t be eating. May we become aware of this destructive behavior and be saved from it. May we be blessed with a Moses figure in our lives, who will show us the error of our ways and help us change. Unfortunately these are the very people we normally wish to resist. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-08-09 Quarantine and Cleansing.

Numbers 31:19-24 "All of you who have killed anyone or touched anyone who was killed must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves and your captives. Purify every garment as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood." Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, "This is the requirement of the law that the LORD gave Moses: Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp." (NIV) After the battle with the Midianites everything, including the people, involved was washed or sterilized with fire before entering the camp. There was also a seven-day quarantine in place for everybody and every thing. This was a pretty progressive way of keeping disease out of the camp. I am unsure of any spiritual significance connected to these practices, although most likely there is. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-09-09 Our Decisions Affect Others. Numbers 32:1-22 “The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock. So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said,"… let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan." Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the LORD has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land…” Then they came up to him and said, "We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children. But we are ready to arm ourselves and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place…Then Moses said to them, "If you will do this--if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle, and if all of you will go armed over the Jordan before the LORD until he has driven his enemies out before him-- then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free from your obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the LORD.” (NIV) Two of the Israelite tribes wished to settle on the border of the Promised Land. Moses feared that if two of the tribes didn’t cross the Jordan River into the promised land then maybe the rest of the Israelites wouldn’t wish to go either. A generation ago this had happen (ending poorly) and Moses didn’t wish for the situation to arise again. Moses figured that if these two tribes committed their men to help take over the Promised Land, the other tribes wouldn’t loose their confidence. Fortunately the two tribes agreed. Although we may believe that our actions don’t affect others, they do. Every day our actions and decisions affect, to some degree or other, the lives of those around us. May we, like Moses, be able to see the possibilities of our actions and the actions of those around us. May we also be wise enough to work out just compromises such as the one Moses worked out with the Reubenites and the Gadites. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-10-09 Sinful Influences must be removed.

Numbers 33:50-54 “…the LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: `When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.” (NIV) The inhabitants and their religion were not savable. Their sin (rebellion against God) had “reached its full measure” (GE 15:12-21). The people along with their religious items and religious site were all to be destroyed. These people’s evil influence was to be completely destroyed so that it would not harm the Israelites or the inhabitants of the neighboring lands. As we become Christians and as we become more mature Christians, we too will come across habits, interests and such that are of an ungodly influence to our new life. Those habits and interests that inhabit us, similar to those living in Canaan, should be completely destroyed (totally removed) due to their selfdestructive influence. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-11-09 Cities of Refuge, Christians and God. Numbers 35:6-15 "Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee… Then the LORD said to Moses: "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: `When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly. These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge. Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.” (NIV) The six cities where a person, accused of murder, could flee for protection were cities controlled by the Levites. As I understand it, generally the Levites’ sole job was to care for the tabernacle and as a result was “supported” by the nation of Israel. Overall the Levites didn’t compete with the other tribes to make a living; therefore these six cities were perfect cities to designate as cities of refuge because in many ways they would be pretty neutral with what was going on. Since the Levite tribe was adopted by God and generally worked for the tabernacle, I am sure the other tribes saw them as a religious community. One would think that when a person accused of murder fled to one of these cities of refuge, they must have somewhat felt that they were fleeing to God for protection and comfort. For today’s Christian, God is our place of refuge. On the other hand, may people in our communities find us (Christians) safe people to be around and safe people to confide in. May people find us as sources of comfort. Each and every Christian should ask themselves if others view them as being safe to be around. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-12-09 Hitting, Shoving, Throwing and Murder. Numbers 35:16-21" `If a man strikes someone with an iron object… a stone… a wooden object in his hand that could kill, and he hits someone so that he dies, he is a

murderer; the murderer shall be put to death…If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at him intentionally so that he dies or if in hostility he hits him with his fist so that he dies, that person shall be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.” (NIV) God is speaking here to Moses (verse 9). It is pretty clear that if a person hits, shoves or throws something at another and the victim dies, that aggressor is considered a murder. Apparently these acts were acts done in hostility. The “bottom line” is that if a person is angry with another, they shouldn’t touch them. If they do have some kind of physical contact with them and as a result they die, the survivor is considered a murderer. As I see it, no one should hit another. Using anger as a justification isn’t a legitimate excuse. On the other hand, victims of physical abuse shouldn’t put up with it. Over all, Christians should physically abuse others. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-13-09 Vengeance and Mercy. Numbers 35:22-25 " `But if without hostility someone suddenly shoves another or throws something at him unintentionally or, without seeing him, drops a stone on him that could kill him, and he dies, then since he was not his enemy and he did not intend to harm him, the assembly must judge between him and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send him back to the city of refuge to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil” (NIV) If a victim’s death was accidentally caused by another person, that person, after being judged innocent, could live without fear within a city of refuge. Those who wish to avenge the victim’s death would be prevented from harming the person they wish to kill. Although it is unfortunate that an innocent person would have to live within the confines of a city of refuge until the death of the current high priest, at least those within the city could offer the hunted person protection, which couldn’t be guaranteed outside the city so soon after the accidental death. Today it would be similar to someone being placed into a “witness protection program”. Allowing people to avenge a death had its advantages. It thinned down the number of dangerous people within the Israelite nation and took the place of setting up a police force. Although it may not have been a perfect way of dealing with crime, it did have its checks and balances and met the needs of the people “at that time”. Jesus, God the Son, did try to soften the people’s attitude towards vengeance later on. Luke 6:27-31 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (NIV) Hopefully Christians have a more mature attitude towards vengeance today, a more God like attitude. God had the right destroy the human race for all its evil

deeds but instead God the Son died to save us. others.

May we likewise show mercy towards

Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-14-09 Protecting the Innocent from Murder. Numbers 35:30" `Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.” (NIV) This is a pretty cautious law. The public needs to be protected from those who murder. Yet on the other hand, individuals must be protected from those attempting to murder them through false testimony. Either way innocent life must be protected. One liar may be able to keep their story straight but it is difficult for more then one liar to tell the same story if thoroughly crossexamined. God values life. He values our individual life and the lives of those around us. We should be careful concerning our views on the value of somebody else’s life. We should be cautious. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-15-09 Money, Murder and Safety. Numbers 35:31 “ `Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. He must surely be put to death.” (NIV) It is not allowed to let a murderer go free in exchange for money. I would believe that this would apply to the person who had sworn to avenge the death of the murder’s victim. It could also apply to the one chose to judge whether the murderer is actually a murderer. The bottom line is that, if you murder somebody, you (or someone else) won’t be able to buy yourself out of being put to death. Having the community safe from a murderer is priceless. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-16-09 You can’t buy your way out of a death due to your carelessness. Numbers 35:32" `Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow him to go back and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.” (NIV) Those who were involved in the death of another but were judged innocent of murder had to live within the confines of one of six cities of refuge. As long as the individual stayed within the city limits, they were safe from anyone killing them in vengeance. Since a person died, but it wasn’t murder, the death had to have been accidental. I would guess that many of these accidental deaths were due to negligence. Probably these people were sentenced to live out their lives in a city of refuge until the current high priest dies (which could be a lifetime) because of their carelessness involving another person's life.

These apparently careless people couldn’t buy their way out of this law nor can anyone else. No amount of money could set them free to walk beyond the city limits without fear of dying in a vengeful death. Christians should be careful to preserve the life of those around them. Accidentally killing your neighbor while trying to shoot an apple off his or her head is not okay. Accidentally killing someone in an auto accident because you were speeding and late for work is not okay. These acts and those like them are careless and stupid acts and Christians should shun acting carelessly and stupidly. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-17-09 Memorials of Civil War, Riots and Murder. Numbers 35:33, 34 " `Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.' " (NIV) Definitely this warning can apply to civil war. Once the killing starts, it is very difficult to stop. Then when the killing does stop, the sites where the violence took place will become ‘landmarks in people’s memories’. The ‘bitterness’ in the region lasts for generations. Places where violent riots have occurred hold a negative stigma for decades also. That type of negative stigma can also happen to places where individual killings have taken place. In areas where great violence has taken place, people can be ‘distracted’ by the historical significance of the site and the bitterness that goes along with it. Peaceful, love thy neighbor, forgiving, godly thoughts can be neglected in such locations. In our homes, neighborhoods and workplaces let us be peacemakers. Are we not living in the presence of God? If we are then let us act accordingly. Myspace Bible Journal Blog: 03-18-09 Preserving Our Inheritance. Numbers 36:5-9 “Then at the LORD's command Moses gave this order to the Israelites: "…Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father's tribal clan, so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of his fathers. No inheritance may pass from tribe to tribe, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits." (NIV) If a father dies and has no sons to inherit his land, then his daughter inherits the family property. Normally when a woman marries, what she has then belongs to her husband and her husband’s tribe. Apparently, to keep the tribal lands from diminishing through marriage, a daughter who happens to inherit her father’s land must marry within her tribe so her son will inherit her father’s land and the land will stay in her father’s tribe. I believe a principle that Christians can take from this text is the importance of preserving what we inherit. We receive, through our parent’s deaths, gifts that God had give to the family. We should honor what we inherit, try to preserve it and not squander it. We should attempt to safeguard what we have inherited from

our parents so that we can pass it down to our children.