365 Reflections

Numbers 34:1–2 (ESV)   The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), The Lord promised this land and the Lord outlined the borders for them. It was to be a sizable piece of land as well as a good land. It even came with ocean front property. What do we learn from a text that seems so void of spiritual insight? A lot. First we learn that God knows exactly where we are to go and what we are to do. Will we listen to Him? He has outlined for His people the places He wants them. He determines our steps. You are not aimless if you are walking with Christ. You have a specific destination in Him. Second we learn that God believes in us. There were many different typographical areas for Israel to conquer in that land. Some seacoast, some desert region, some lush and fertile, others marshy. The land wa...

What made Joshua different? When the rubber hit the road and it was time to act on God's promise for the land, only Joshua and Caleb were ready to see God's purpose fulfilled in their lives. I discussed Caleb in the last post. But now, what about Joshua? Numbers 14:5–9 (ESV) Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” I cannot separate the Num...

Numbers 1:44–46 (ESV)  These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ house. 45 So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel- all those listed were 603,550. Let's dive into Numbers. To be honest, I'm kind of happy to be past Leviticus. That was tough. Numbers opens with a census of the men able to fight in Israel. This is a nation that went to Egypt 70 in number. They have come out 400 years later at 600k+ men 20 years old and able to fight in war, not including the younger men and all the females. This nation has become enormous in an incredibly short amount of time. Possibly 2.5 million people from 70 in 440 years (if you include the wilderness wanderings). Now, lets address something that keeps coming up in commentaries and in Biblical archeology studies. People usually discredi...

Genesis 15:1 (ESV) After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” One common theme of Abram's life is that every crisis ends with another promise from God. He heard God's promise after the death of his father. He heard God's promise after Lot left him for "greener pastures." And here he hears God's promise after the war to rescue his wayward nephew. God speaks to Abram after the battles, not before. We want God to speak to us before the pain, before the problem, before the issue that we didn't expect to pop up. We want God to provide gracious providence for the troubles that await. Yet how often can we say that we don't hear God's voice before the difficulties. Then some of us may say we don't hear God's voice during the trials. Why is this so? Why doesn't Abram hear from God when all is well, before trouble comes his way in this manner or...

Admittedly, every church has it's problems. Corinth is no exception. We discussed that in the last post that even though they were undeniably gifted they had serious failings Paul needed to correct. In the Old Testament "epistles" (we call them the Prophets) the nation was often rebuked for sins followed by a promise of restoration. Consider one of the all-time favorite memory verses in the church: Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. We love to put that verse on our coffee mugs, t-shirts and bumper stickers.  But the context of those words is anything but good. The nation is about to be carted off to exile, their temple burned, their homes ravaged, their land turned over to a godless nation at the whim of a dictator. They have not listened to God and they are to be corrected. But AFTER the rebuke, Jeremiah brings the promise. God still has great plans for t...