Numbers 9 -A Heart to Honor God

The first half of this chapter deals with a problem that came up over the celebration of Passover. Some of the people were unclean but still wished to celebrate Passover and honor God. Moses got the following instructions from God:

⁹ This was the Lord’s reply to Moses. ¹⁰ “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people now or in future generations are ceremonially unclean at Passover time because of touching a dead body, or if they are on a journey and cannot be present at the ceremony, they may still celebrate the Lord’s Passover. ¹¹ They must offer the Passover sacrifice one month later, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. They must eat the Passover lamb at that time with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. ¹² They must not leave any of the lamb until the next morning, and they must not break any of its bones. They must follow all the normal regulations concerning the Passover.

 God provides a way for these people to celebrate the Passover and remember. God also provides a warning to those who are able to celebrate the Passover at the regular time and don't.

The key to want is going on is the desire to honor God. The people who have become unclean, want to honor God but are unable to at the correct time. By providing this allowance, God declares that it is the intention in your heart that is of primary importance. God understands that things happen and at times we can not do what out heart heart desires and God is saying that if your heart desires to honor God and circumstances make that a non-option, you will not be disciplined for that. Discipline comes when you have the option to honor God but lack the desire.

It is good to know that God is not requiring perfect action, God is requiring a heart that desires the Lord. We don't have to be perfect, which is a good thing because if you are anything like me, you fail. The key is your heart. Can you offer God a devoted heart? That is what God values the most. If you have failed God in some way, see that God makes allowances for those who desire to honor God and forgive yourself for the failure. God certainly wants to be in relationship with you. God will meet you where you are at. Don't let your desire for God fade because you have not been able to honor God the way you wanted to. Let God show you mercy. love and understanding. Receive that today!

Numbers 8 - Making it a Heart Thing

This is an interesting chapter because it discussed the purifying of the Levites. One of the things that I am still trying to figure out is the removing of all hair.

⁷ Do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification, and have them shave their entire body and wash their clothing. Then they will be ceremonially clean.

I have a couple of theories but if anyone can shed some light on it, I would love to hear from you. I understand the use of water as a cleansing agent. When it comes to the hair, I have a few thoughts:

• Hair is a vanity and removing it provides spiritual cleansing.
• Hair would trap dirt on the body and prevent full cleansing with water
• When a person developed leprosy, they would often get it around areas where hair grew and there would be white flaky skin. Removing all hair would prove that the person did not have leprosy.

But anyway, I guess the important part is the idea that the Levites were dedicated to God and that this was not a casual thing. Many of the rituals for cleansing and sacrifice are involved and take time. I believe this is to attach importance to it. Think about things we do quickly each day...they can easily become rote and habits that we don't think about. The importance of cleansing is not just a bodily cleansing, but also a spiritual cleansing. Making the ritual involved (hopefully) forces a person to think about it and not just address the outside, but also the heart. God wants a pure heart more than anything else.

Looking forward in history, we hear God explain that it is not the sacrifices but a clean heart that God desires and we see Jesus criticize the priests for  following ritual but not understanding and adhering to its true purpose.

So think about your spiritual activities each day. Do say grace before a meal for instance? Has that become a quick, "Thanks God for the food" that has no meaning or does it hold all the gratitude that you have for the provision for the day?

I must admit that lately that has been harder for me. I am living temporarily with my cousin's family (who i love dearly) and they are not Christians. They will wait for me to say grace if all I say is, "Thanks God for the food! Amen." I have to consciously make that meaningful for me, however brief it is. Now we don't eat all meals together so i also have opportunities to extend that and be deeper as well.

Consider your Christian rituals...are they of the heart or just of action? Do you need to make some changes?

Numbers 7 - Provision

As I read this chapter, I kept thinking about a housewarming party. Each of the 12 tribes has brought there offerings to help provision God's dwelling place among them. This seems much like a housewarming party today, especially when it is a first house. The person has needs and friends and family share their generosity to fill those needs.

I am also reminded of the early church where they shared with one another all that they had, so that each had their needs met.

How are we doing with that today? Do we help those who are setting up new to have what they need? Do we share what we have to assist with ongoing sustenance?

The Levites took responsibility for the Holy thongs and temple and had to forego duties that would provide for their own needs. The other tribes, through their offerings to God, provided for them.

So today, do you know someone who needs a "housewarming"? Might you honor God by sharing with someone who has a need you can fill? What offering can you lay at God's feet? For one of God's workers, someone who is entering a new home (physically or spiritually) or someone who is part of God's family who had some needs being unmet?

Pray with me for God's guidance and leading.

Numbers 6 - Protecting Your Vow

This chapter is very interesting because it talks about Nazarite vows. It starts by talking about what someone who makes these vows should not partake of:

“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.

“If any of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the LORD in a special way, they must give up wine and other alcoholic drinks. They must not use vinegar made from wine or from other alcoholic drinks, they must not drink fresh grape juice, and they must not eat grapes or raisins. (Numbers 6:2, 3 NLT)

This is an interesting restriction. Wine, which was not as strong as what we drink today was a very common drink. Water would not always be clean and the fermenting process would make the grape juice safer. So why this restriction? Well, I have to imagine that while wine was less
Potent, it could still impair someone's thinking. Making this something that you could not have when you took a Nazarite vow would protect that vow. It would prevent you from messing it up while impaired.

So the interesting question that brings up for me is in what ways to we protect our vows today? Have you made a vow to God? And what are you doing to protect it? Promises made to God should be held very sacred and deserve the highest level of protection.

When I look around at society today, promises and commitments seem to have lost their importance. Marriages end in divorce, people shift commitments to enjoy the best offer. As children of God, we need to be recapturing the importance of our commitments to God first and then to those around us. I know I have work to do in this area and I invite you to join me.

Numbers 5 - Purity

So this chapter focuses on purity and I love that when it talks about sin, the resposability is on the person. Look at this verse:

They must confess their sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding an additional 20 percent and returning it to the person who was wronged. (Numbers 5:7 NLT)

It does not talk about someone discovering the sin, or the person being caught. The person knows they have sinned and it is their responsibility to confess and make the situation better. I think about how life would be different if we all took responsibility for our mistakes and for making amends.

Let's also look at this verse related to marriage:

“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.

"Suppose a man’s wife goes astray, and she is unfaithful to her husband and has sex with another man, but neither her husband nor anyone else knows about it. She has defiled herself, even though there was no witness and she was not caught in the act. (Numbers 5:12, 13 NLT)

Again, the defiling is not based on discovery or knowledge of the sin. Sin is sin independent of others knowledge of it and we are each responsible for repenting.

The rituals for dealing with sin have changed because Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice but we can not receive that blessing and purity if we don't acknowledge and repent of our mistakes.

Do you a clean account? Have you acknowledged, repented and corrected you sin as best as could've done? If not, maybe today, this sabbath, you will take the steps toward embracing the purity given you through the death of Jesus on the cross.

Numbers 4 - Submission to Authority

So in this verse it talks about the jobs for the men in the Levite clans between the ages of 30 and 50. For some reason, it made me start to wonder about the number of Israelites traveling through the wilderness...

so we have 8.580 men between the ages of 30 and 50 in the tribe of Levi...if we look back to yesterday's chapter, we see that the number of males over the age of 2 was about 22,000. Let's assume that their is an equivalent number of females, so now we are at 44,000. Now there are 12 tribes traveling, so we have 538,000.

Now just take a moment and try to imagine leading upwards of a half a million people through the wilderness. Somehow this seems bigger to me than I had ever really thought about or imagines. And all these people need to be governed in addition to being guided.

It is no wonder that God gave Moses specific instructions and job for different groups. And the people had to submit to that direction in order for the journey to not become a pit of chaos.

When I think about that journey, I think about the different times I have rebelled. I can be stubborn and want my way. Of course we know the Israelites also rebelled, so I don't want to indicate that things went smoothly...in fact they didn't. But I challenge you to put yourself in the shoes of one of those Israelites and consider what that journey would have been like. Would you humble yourself or rebel? Would you want to stay with the whole nation or take your chances with a smaller group?

After you have thought about that, I also challenge you to think about your current submission to God's direction. How are you doing? Are there some changes that need to be made?

Numbers 3 - Role of the Saved

So now we get into learning about the Levites' role. What I think is most notable is that the Levites are counted as exchange for the firstbord sons of Israel.

⁴⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now count all the firstborn sons in Israel who are one month old or older, and make a list of their names. ⁴¹ The Levites must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn sons of Israel; I am the Lord. And the Levites’ livestock must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the whole nation of Israel.”

 When the Lord killed all the firstborn sons of  Egypt and passed over the sons of Israel. The firstborn are only alive as a gift from God and God claims them, allowing the tribe of Levi to be a substitution.

This is the beginning of the idea of those whom God saves being God's.

So where do you fit into this? If you look at it from a very literal perspective, if you are not of the nation of Israel, then you don't fit into it at all. But I think that we need to see this from the more global perspective of being God's children.

For me, I can look at my life and see what God has done. In a spiritual sense, God has truly saved me. and having done so, can claim me as God's own. My sin causes me to deserve death, but Christ's sacrifice gives me life, but a life that belongs to God.

For me, I can also look at it from a different angle, from the perspective of having tried to commit suicide as a young teen and being saved through God's intervention. Without the whole story, i will say that God spoke to me in an audible voice that night and it made all the difference.

In my life God has saved me both spiritually and physically. and therefore my life and service belong to God. Now the real question is how am I doing in that arena? Unlike the Levites who are set apart for God in the physical location that they sleep and the duties they perform, all of which are very public, I am responsible for devoting myself on my own. Each of us knows how God has saved us and each of us knows that God has the right to our service, but when it is not set up publicly like it was for the Levites, we are on our own to do the duties and service God gives us. Of course what those duties are, are also not as cut and dried as it was for the Levites.

So how are you doing in acting the role of a redeemed child of God, purchased for God's service? I challenge you to really examine that today and figure out what adjustments you may need to make and make them. If you need some accountability, find a friend and share with them the changes you need to make and walk the journey together...after all God did make us to be in community.