365 Reflections

It's one of the most amazing things about the land of Israel. Presently it is flourishing economically, agriculturally, technologically, militarily, and diplomatically. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, this small nation continues to stand as a testament to the surety of God's Word.  Ezekiel 36 arrives on the heels of the doom announced to Edom in chapter 35, who sought to exploit Israel's discipline of exile to Babylon by taking the land for themselves. It never happened, and the land of Edom has become a desolate waste just as Ezekiel 35 foretold.  Not Israel. The exact opposite has happened to God's favored nation. In Ezekiel 36, the Lord tells His prophet to speak to the mountains of Israel and declare the blessing that will surely arrive as He brings His people back to the land.  Ezekiel 36:8–9 (ESV) “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 For behold, I am for you,...

The turn in Ezekiel's prophesy seems to come in chapter 24 with the death of the prophet's wife. He symbolizes for the nation that their precious possession, the Temple, will be lost, and they would be unable to grieve in captivity to Babylon for fear of seeming seditious. Now, in chapter 25, the message from the Lord to the prophet is against those nations that scoffed, laughed at, or helped in the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem.  Ezekiel 25:1–4 (ESV) The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your m...

Isaiah 66:7–8 (ESV) “Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son. 8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children. Amazingly, Isaiah ends on a euphoric note of hope. God will bring a miraculous resurrection to Israel and one day she will be born. Now I happen to believe the fulfillment of that text happened on May 14, 1948, when Israel declared itself a state, and the U.S. President recognized her sovereignty moments later against the wishes of his cabinet. Biblical History was made and the world changed forever.  Isaiah does what a lot of prophets in the Bible do. They spoke of things to happen in their generation and the ultimate things to happen much later. The fact is, God was so gracious to His people, that He fulfilled their comeback prophecy twice, separated by 2400 years of hist...

The more we see of Ahab in action, the more we see the morally bankrupt character he represents. Recently rebuked by the prophet for sparing Ben-hadad over the exchange of property, his appetite for selfish indulgence only grows. He spies a piece of land nearby owned by a man named Naboth. 1 Kings 21:1–4 (ESV) Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” 4 And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no foo...

Joshua 7:6–9 (ESV) Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?” These are words you'd never think would come out of Joshua's mouth. He was one of two spies who believed God for the Promised Land. Now he's crying in regret that they have even come into the land. What happened? The nation suffered a defeat before their enemies at Ai. But the defeat was not without reason. God had given t...

Joshua is a book about the judgment of God on the nations that were given hundreds of years to repent and turn to Him. They did not. Yet the book starts with the mention of three "days three" times in the first two chapters followed by the salvation of a prostitute even before the judgment upon those nations takes place. It is really an interesting beginning to what is essentially a record of warfare. It is clear the text is pointing to the larger picture of the Bible: God has given the nations to His Son who rose again on the third day and was first greeted with by a woman from a terrible past upon His resurrection. Joshua 3 begins telling the story of Israel's triumph through the Jordan river and into the national territories which Israel will possess. The whole episode represents for us a beautiful picture of the work of the church which is empowered by the work of Jesus on our behalf. First, the ark of the covenant - which represented the presence of the Lord ...

Deuteronomy 34:1–6 (ESV)   Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord , 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. Moses met God in the burning bush on the mountain. Moses heard from God and received the law on the mountain. Moses prayed and won spiritual victory for ...

There is a rare word used of Israel in Moses' blessing found in Deuteronomy 33. It's actually used 2 times. The word is " Jeshurun ." It means "beloved." And this word is translated into the greek and applied to Jesus (Ephesians 1:6) and the Church  (Col. 3:12; 1 Thes. 1:4; 2 Thes. 2:3; Jude 1). The point God wants to instill in Israel before they enter the promised land? That He loves them. This will be their NAME. This will be their identity moving forward. How will they fight strong and mighty after Joshua? By understanding their primary identity is the love of God for them and therefore anyone's disapproval of them means very little. Let's look at the passages in Moses' blessing first: Deuteronomy 33:5 (ESV) Thus the LORD became king in Jeshurun , when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together. Deuteronomy 33:26 (ESV)  “There is none like God, O Jeshurun , who rides through the heavens to your help, thr...

Deuteronomy 16 is an incredible passage for us today. It outlines the three major feasts of Israels calendar year with astonishing brevity making certain to work precise details into the text so that we learn how to approach their realities in the New Testament fulfillment. Deuteronomy 16:1 (ESV) “Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. First, they were to observe the month in which they were to KEEP the Passover to the Lord. This happened every first month of the year. This practice rehearsed the nation's defining moment as God's new born nation from out of slavery. Their time as a people started the day God saved them. Today we celebrate the Lord's table as the start of the new work of God in our lives.  Deuteronomy 16:9–10 (ESV)  “You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 T...

The offering list we find in Numbers 28-29 is detailed and extensive. It covers the daily offerings, the weekly sabbath offerings, the monthly offerings of the new moon as well as the offerings for the 3 feasts that took place every year for the people of Israel. The one thought that occurred to me was this: Their times were in God's hands. God wanted them marking every new day with blood, every new week, every new month and season with blood and offerings. God wanted His people to remember the blood of sacrifice that makes them able to come into His presence. The Nation of Israel didn't just mark those times wth blood, they rested and celebrated together. God wanted them to take time to enjoy each other's presence and His presence among them. In all 5 special occurrences (Passover, Weeks, Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Booths) they were to do no ordinary work. It is clear that God was communicating that work should never be seen as that which makes them who they are. T...

Numbers 15 ends with something that appears out of place. God instructs the Israelites to tie tassels to the four corners of their garments with a blue cord woven into them. These tassels are to remind the Israelites of the laws of their God. Numbers 15:37–41 (ESV) The LORD said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD , to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD your God.” While this command may seem random for Numbers 15, it is not. The Israelites had just followed through on God's commands for the...

Number 10 concludes the time Israel spends at the foot of Sinai. The camp is assembled, ordered and the tabernacle is filled with its instruments. The people are settled around the camp, the Levites have been given their responsibilities. All is set for Israel to wander along the path of God's leading to the Promised Land. Now in Numbers 10:11 Israel is making its first move following the leading of the glory cloud of God. Numbers 10:11–12 (ESV) In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. But in the midst of all this amazing God-directed movement, Moses has a curious conversation with one of his in-laws: Numbers 10:29–32 (ESV)   And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lo...

What do you do when life leads to places where you cannot be all God expects you to be? The answer lies in Numbers 9. Israel is about to celebrate the Passover for the first time since it's origination in Egypt. This is the meal that would define them as a people and ultimately point to Christ as the final Passover Lamb of God. The passover meal taught Israel how God was their hope in bitter circumstances, how they had been spared by God's elective grace from His wrath. The Passover was also a time to gather in homes and share a meal, learning to be a community of love in the care of their God and one another. The Passover was the most important meal of the year. But what about those who could not celebrate Passover because of less than perfect conditions? Numbers 9:6–8 (ESV) And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said ...

So far in Numbers, God has set up the camp of Israel. He has aligned them around His presence in the tabernacle and divided up their responsibilities in the management of the sacred things. He has also directed their order for marching as well as how to disassemble the tabernacle for movement. The camp is in place, Israel is a cohesive unit. At least from the outside looking on. For Israel to be powerful in war they must be united and at peace with each other. For this reason, God establishes laws pertaining to making amends when they experience wrongs against one another. Numbers 5:5-10 (ESV) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 "Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the LORD, and that person realizes his guilt, 7 he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. 8 But if the man h...

If Israel was to be a successful nation, it would be because they had God among them. So far in Exodus we have seen God give the plans for the Tabernacle and the people follow the plans to the letter. In Leviticus we have seen the amazing amount of detail that goes into the Tabernacle and its sacrifices and standards. Now here in Numbers, as the people are counted for battle, God makes clear, the Levites are not to be counted, they have a job to do. Numbers 1:47–50 (ESV) 47 But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. 48 For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. 50 But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle. God is teaching His people th...

The theme of a kinsman redeemer runs throughout the Bible. Someone has become poor through whatever circumstance and a close relative must come and purchase his freedom. We see that theme played out in discussions concerning the year of Jubilee. The last section in the chapter is a peculiar instance whereby a member of Israel may become poor and sell themselves to a stranger. Leviticus 25:47–49 (ESV)   “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s clan, 48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he grows rich he may redeem himself. In this case, it is important to note that God instructs His people to purchase their fellow brothers out of slavery. There is not to be a perpetual slavery for God's chosen p...

When you really think about it, all we have is land. Our homes come from the trees that the land produces. Our precious metals are hidden in the land. Our vitamins and healing agents come from mixtures of the components in the land. The Bible opens by telling us that we come from the dust of the land. The land is our life. We eat its produces, we enjoy it's shade, we marvel at it's natural undisturbed beauty. The land is truly God's gift to us. And yet the land reminds us constantly that it is NOT ours. It is unruly and hard to manage. It requires extraordinary patience and incredible amounts of work to get it to produce for us. It is also subject to the curse of sin and awaits its own redemption at the appearing of the Son of God. We need the land, use the land and we must appreciate the land. Leviticus 25-26 is about the Land that God is going to give to His people. Leviticus 25:2 (ESV)   “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the lan...

The reality of our sin is that it offends a holy and righteous God who would be totally just to wipe us off the face of the Earth.  Modern Christianity is losing it's understanding of the cost of our sin. When we do so, we lose sight of the cost of our salvation as well. The reason most Christians have no joy is because they do not realize what they have going for them in Christ.  The golden calf moment of Exodus 32 goes from terrible to peaceful because of the actions of one man. God tells Moses He's had it with Israel, they have sinned quickly and decisively - turning completely away from the God who saved them. He announces His just judgment in verses 7-10: Exodus 32:7 (ESV) And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.  8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ...

Exodus 30:11–14  (ESV)   The Lord said to Moses, 12 “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. 13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord . 14   Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the LORD’s offering. Exodus moves from describing the Temple, all it's instruments and designs to the census tax upon those 20 years old or more.  The people of Israel were to know that they were worth something. They had to give a ransom each for their lives whenever they were counted by God's leader. What's also interesting is that the money came into the tabernacle as a sort of tax. They brought the value of their lives to the tabernacle wh...

For Israel, it's time to learn that you can trust God for salvation and sustenance along the way. One thing is for sure, everyone is probably in a place they've never been. You've never been this old before, you've never been this experienced. Perhaps you've moved or you've been transferred or left by someone's passing or leaving you. Life will bring us to many places where doubts and fears can creep in to cause us fear. This is Israel's story in Exodus 16. It is not long after their split-sea release that the reality of their new life is set before them in the image of a barren wilderness. Gone is the familiarity of their sufferings. Even prisoners confess their fears of getting on the outside after being in the system for so long. What would Israel do on her own now? The first three days yield no water. The first sign of water is bitter water. They cry out to Moses who takes a stick (tree), throws it in the water and they become sweet. The go f...