Checking in...and a bit of news

Hello! It’s been a while since I posted on here. Writing this feels like I’m reconnecting with dear friends, many of whom I have never met but are friends nonetheless.

How have you managed throughout the last few months of this pandemic? I hope you have stayed well and untouched by the nasty Covid-19 virus!

The isolation and social distancing orders have certainly changed the extent to which we have connected with each other physically here in southwest B.C., Canada. However, our modern age of virtual connection has kept us attending church (albeit in our homes), doing Bible studies together (through Zoom etc.), and catching up on friends and family through phone calls, emails, Facebook, and other ways. And isn’t it wonderful that God is not quarantined or in any way limited by this circumstance!

Perhaps this time has been one of catch-up or getting ahead for you. Maybe you have begun or completed a project that was previously a good intention only. That has been the case for me.

I’m happy to announce that a continuation of the story begun in my novel Destiny’s Hands, is now finished and available for purchase.

Just to refresh your memory, Destiny’s Hands is a fictional retelling of Bezalel’s story (the man who God chose to craft the Tabernacle and its worship accessories). The sequel, Under the Cloud, continues the story of the exodus.

Here’s the book description:

“Fifteen-year-old Zamri lives in the shadow of her brilliant brother Bezalel. While he crafts the gold and bronze articles for Tabernacle worship, all she can look forward to is a life of women’s work—work she finds uninteresting and confusing. But no one can keep her from dreaming. She imagines becoming a leader among women like her hero Miriam. That all changes when the dashing Pallu wins her heart.

“Trek through the years of exodus with Zamri as, within the strictures of Israel’s patriarchal society, she grows into mature womanhood. Discover with her how dreams need never die, indeed can come true in the most unlikely ways.”

Under the Cloud is available worldwide in paperback and ebook editions through Amazon.

• Under the Cloud on Amazon.com

• Under the Cloud on Amazon.ca

In case you missed it:

• Destiny’s Hands on Amazon.com

• Destiny’s Hands on Amazon.ca

What has this unusual time meant for you? I’d love to hear. Leave a note in comments, or email me HERE.

The "sweet aroma" of sacrifice

Offering a sacrifice (Image: Pixabay)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Numbers 28-30; Psalm 49

TO CHEW ON: “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer Me at their appointed time.” Numbers 28:2

Do you have a favorite smell? Have you noticed how smells have the power to jog your memory and trigger your emotions? It’s interesting to note that apparently God too has a sense of smell, and that smells also cause Him pleasure or displeasure. At least ten times in Numbers 28 and 29 following the introduction of the idea in Numbers 28:2 (our focus verse), we read the expression “a sweet aroma to the LORD.”

This “sweet aroma” was not the scent of perfume, flowers, or the seaside, but the smell of burning. Every one of the “sweet aroma”s in our passage came as a result of a burnt sacrifice of an animal alone or offered with flour and oil.

The first time we read of God being moved by the aroma of a sacrifice is in Genesis 8:21, when Noah offered clean animals after leaving the ark. “The idea is that Noah’s sacrifice was a propitiation or satisfaction of God’s righteous requirement,” explains an article on GodQuestions.org.

The same is true of the sacrifices we read of in Leviticus and here in Numbers: “As in the case of Noah’s offering, what pleased the Lord was the commitment to offer worship in His name as He commanded” (above article).

God’s pleasure at the smell of a burning sacrifice was not an automatic reaction, however, but very much in tune with the attitude and actions of the worshiper. For when instituting this sacrifice system, God said to Moses: “And after all this, if you do not obey Me but walk contrary to Me … I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas” - Leviticus 26:27,31.

There are at least two references to that sacrificial aroma in the New Testament that help to connect us today to God’s olfactory reaction to offerings in the Old.

In 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 Paul challenges Christians to be the aroma of Christ to all. We know that Christ was the final sacrifice, the one by which we have life. Since His was a sacrifice of both His death and our life, the aroma of our lives should affect all around us (“…those who are being saved… and those who are perishing”) with reminders of life or death.

I ask, are we so dead to self, alive to Christ that our lives actually remind those being saved of life, those unsaved of death?

In Ephesians 5:2 Christ’s sacrifice to God (“for a sweet-smelling aroma”) is connected with His love. Paul challenges readers of His day and us today to walk in Christ’s sacrificial love.

Do we live with such love?


PRAYER: Dear Father, Your reaction to the smell of sacrifice challenges me to be more complete in offering myself to You in the way Paul describes it, “… present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God …” (Romans 12:1). Amen.
 
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 49

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Cursed by ourselves

Balak and Balaam - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 22-24; Psalm 47

TO CHEW ON: " ' He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.' " Numbers 24:9

Today we read the prophet Balaam's three pronouncements over Israel. Though Balak, king of Moab hired him to curse that nation, divine intervention kept him from delivering any kind of hex. Instead God put only blessings in his mouth. He saw Jacob as numerous as the dust of earth (Numbers 23:7-10), Israel as a mighty lion (Numbers 23:18-24), and he finally pronounced over Israel a blessing as fruitful and ascendant nation (Numbers 24:3-9). His final oracle spoken to Balak (Numbers 24:14-24) even contained a messianic element as he predicted a future leader appearing as a star in the sky (Numbers 24:17).

One Bible commenter says about the Balaam-Balak incident:

"There should be no problem in relating this unit to Numbers. For one thing, the prophecies of Balaam affirmed that God's unequivocal commitment to his people will continue well into the future. … Nothing or no one is able to hinder God from doing that. An omnipotent God and not a human manipulator is the determiner of history" - Asbury Bible Commentary (accessed through this passage's "Study This" link on biblegateway.com - emphasis added).

But we know the preceding and following instalments of Israel's story—how checkered it was. Previously we read the story of a mass rebellion where Moses and Aaron's leadership was challenged by Dathan, Abiram, Korah and 250 of Israel's leaders (Numbers 16). A challenge to Aaron's leadership resulted in his rod budding supernaturally (Numbers 17). The people's complaints and grumbling provoked Moses to strike the rock instead of speak to it as God had told him to (Numbers 20). Poisonous snakes came into the camp as a result of their grumbling (Numbers 21). The chapter following the Balaam-Balak incident is titled "Israel's harlotry in Moab" (Numbers 25).

Our Bible commenter makes a wise observation:

" … the (Balaam-Balak) narrative functions as a condemnation of God's people, at least indirectly. The donkey does God's will. Balaam, albeit unintentionally does God's will. But what of Israel? … Israel's real enemy is Israel. God can change a hireling's words of curse into blessing but he cannot change a community's words of backbiting, criticism, and faultfinding into doxology. God's people need not fear the hex of a religious magician or the threats and taunts of a Moabite king. But whenever they degenerate into a community ruled by a quarrelsome, self-serving and envious spirit, there is cause for grave concern. Unholiness, not magic, is Israel's undoing" - Asbury Bible Commentary (emphasis added).

Might this not be equally true of us in the church? We are right to be concerned about the threats to the church's existence from the outside. Our secular critics would love to shut us down because of our stand on issues like abortion, changes to the definition of marriage, sexual orientation and identity, and euthanasia. But I'm wondering if the biggest threat to the church is not these outer pressures at all but disunity and sin tolerated within. The biggest threat to the church might be the church.

Let's search our hearts, as individuals and as a body, and stamp out these embers of quarreling, selfishness, envy, immorality etc.—sparks that have the ability to ignite and destroy the church body from within.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to see myself and my sinful attitudes and tendencies through Your eyes. Help me to make choices for holiness so I will be an asset, not a liability to my local church and Your kingdom. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 47

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Discouraged

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 19-21; Psalm 46

TO CHEW ON:  "Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way." Numbers 21:4


Have you ever noticed how one little choice of bad attitude leads to the next and the next until you've worked yourself into a full-blown funk? That seems to be what happened to the Israelites in today's reading.

They have just conquered King Arad, destroying all the cities of his small kingdom south of Canaan. Perhaps the Israelites expected to enter Canaan from that point. Instead God led them on a detour away from the promised land. That understandable disappointment may have sparked their initial complaints.

They began with an attitude that is common — at least to me: discouragement — "discouraged" is also translated "impatient" (Amp, NIV, NLT), "depressed" (Amp), "irritable and cross" (Message).

Their complaints had typical characteristics:
- they were against leadership: "the people spoke against God and against Moses."
- they were against conditions: "There is no food and no water and our soul loathes this worthless bread."
- they had the typical faithless tone: "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?"

God's response—sending poisonous snakes among them—may have seemed harsh. But it certainly got their attention. The remedy—Moses erecting a bronze snake to which the bitten looked and were cured—foreshadowed God's final blow to sin through Jesus on the cross (John 3:14-15).

I ask myself, am I struggling with a typical though negative attitude today? Discouragement, impatience, irritability in my situation may seem like a harmless, even expected response to irritations, disappointments, and difficulties. But it is just such common attitude choices that got the Israelites into trouble way back in the wilderness and still easily trip us up today.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to guard my attitudes. I want to nip my faithless bent in the bud before it blooms its toxic flowers of complaining, unbelief and depression. Amen

PSALM TO PRAY:  Psalm 46

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A Caleb spirit

Image: Pixabay

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 14-16; Psalm 44

TO CHEW ON: "But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went and his descendants shall inherit it."  Numbers 14:24

We all have friends who could be characterized as positive, who can be counted on to have a can-do attitude, who see life's glass half-full. They are Caleb kind of people.

I love how Caleb and Joshua stand up to the crowd with their faith in God and Moses intact, even after seeing Canaan's giants. Instead of focusing on the size of their obstacles they report the richness of the land and claim the power of God over those giants: "...for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them." Don't you just love his attitude!

Even God took note and said to Moses, "...My servant Caleb...because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully I will bring him into the land where he went..."

His exploits continue. For he indeed survives the forty more years of wilderness wandering and drives out the giants from his Canaan territory (Joshua  14:10-14; 15:14).

What an example to us. What challenges—giants if you like—have we faced so far in 2018? Whatever they are, let's face them with Caleb-like faith as we:

1. Envision the future we desire - Numbers 14:8.

2. Focus on how big and powerful God is - Numbers 14:9,10.

3. Speak words of hope and faith, not despair and unbelief. Earlier Caleb spoke words of faith (Numbers 13:30). Again in our reading he speaks of the delight of the land not the terrors of its citizens, while the other spies discourage the people by filling them with fear. God pronounces His verdict on all these words: "'Say to them, "As I live, just as you have spoken in my hearing, so I will do to you"'" Numbers 14:28 (emphasis added).

By the outlook we choose and the words we speak we cement our attitudes more firmly into our psyches and put our future and the future of our descendants on one course or another.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the example of Caleb. Please help me cultivate a Caleb spirit as I enter the new year. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 44

MORE: Are we our own problem?

"Where there is no vision, the people perish" - Proverbs 29:18

"The Israelites had no positive vision for their lives—no dreams. They knew where they came from but they did not know where they were going. Everything was based on what they had seen and could see. They did not know how to see with 'the eye of faith.'

".... (Referring to Numbers 14:2-3) I encourage you to look over this passage carefully. Notice how negative these people were—complaining, ready to give up easily, preferring to go back to bondage rather than press through the wilderness into the Promised Land.

"Actually, they did not have a problem, they were the problem" - Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind, pp. 181, 183.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Help for the Frustrated Leader

Moses helped by Aaron and Hur - Exodus 17:12

Illustration from Treasures of the Bible



TODAY’S SPECIAL: Numbers 11-13; Psalm 43

TO CHEW ON: “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Has the LORD’s arm been shortened?’” Numbers 11:23

Here we see Moses so discouraged and frustrated with the complaints and grumbling of the people, he wants to die.

His cry out to God was not ignored. Here is a short list of how God came to his aid and the aid of other frustrated and discouraged leaders in the Bible.

1. He gave Moses helpers, putting His Spirit—the Holy Spirit that was on Moses—onto 70 leaders of the people so they could help him - Numbers 11:24,25.

2. Before David became king and was on-the-run from Saul, on one occasion his camp was raided by Amalekite bandits. All their stuff and wives were taken. David’s response to his own outrage and the anger of his men: He “strengthened himself in God” - 1 Samuel 30:6.

3. For Solomon, his request for wisdom and God’s reply happened in a dream. The next day he went about his work as usual, perhaps not knowing if anything had changed. However, it was soon evident, by the wisdom with which he judged the people, that God had indeed answered his prayer - 1 Kings 3:28.

4. Elijah, after fleeing for more than a day from Queen Jezebel, fell asleep, awoke to an angel-prepared meal, slept some more, ate again, and carried on “in the strength of that food” for 40 days and nights - 1 Kings 19:5-8.

5. In our reading additionally, God’s way of solving the meat problem was, in effect, to do a miracle. When God promised meat and Moses objected: “Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered to provide enough for them…?”  God replied: “‘Has God’s arm been shortened?’” - Numbers 11:23. (“‘Has the Lord’s hand [His ability and power] become short [thwarted and inadequate]?’” - Numbers 11:23 AMP.) In other words, When was I ever limited by anything, to keep My promises?

These are still some of the ways God uses to bring us out of discouragement and provide help (some He does for us; some we do ourselves).


We defeat discouragement by:

• Accepting help.

• Changing our focus from the situation to God.

• Going about our tasks with faith, confident that God has answered our prayer.

• Attending to our physical needs for rest and food.

• Trusting that God can, and sometimes does, respond with miracles.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to use the means available to me to dispel discouragement. You and Your plans are never thwarted! Help me to believe this at a life level through up and down times. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 43

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Be blessed

Jacob blessing Joseph's sons
- Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 5-7; Psalm 41

TO CHEW ON: "The Lord bless you and keep you." Numbers 6:24

Doesn't your heart just take a deep breath and settle down as you read the verses of blessing in today's scripture? There is something in this Aaronic blessing that feels like a warm blanket when you're shivering, or a cool breeze on a hot day, or a table loaded with food when you're hungry.

This blessing of only three lines (actually one, partitioned by semicolons) contains six actions. Let's look closely at them in order to soak up every bit of this blessing's goodness.

"The Lord bless..."
To bless someone means to consecrate, make holy, honour, exalt, glorify, bestow happiness and prosperity on. It's a powerful enough interaction between people—how much more when the blessing bestowed is the blessing of the Lord. How rich we are!

"..and keep you"
Keep (shamar) means to guard, keep watch and ward, protect, save the life of. When we keep something we retain the possession of it; we don't give it away. God holds onto us in that way. How safe we are!

"The Lord make His face shine upon you..."
The word "shine" ('owr) alludes to the shine of the sun, to illumine, to become lighted up, to make shine as of the face. Watch a mother's face light up when she sees her child. That's how God's face lights up when He looks at you and me. How loved we are!

"...and be gracious to you"
Gracious (chanan[a]) means to show favour, be gracious toward, have mercy on. It is characterized by showing kindness, affability. To be gracious means to be full of compassion and mercy. God is disposed that way toward us. How favored we are!

"The Lord lift up His countenance upon you..."
The picture here is similar to God making His face shine on us. I see, in addition, a focused attention, like a parent looking straight into a child's eyes. God looks straight at and into us. How known we are!

"...and give you peace."
Give (suwm) means to extend, establish, bring to pass peace - a state of mental or physical quiet or tranquility, calm, repose, reconciliation, freedom from mental agitation or anxiety. When God pours His peace over  and into us, how settled we are!

May we realize every part of this blessing as we head into 2015.

PRAYER: Dear God, Your blessing is what we need and want more than anything else, as we enter the new year. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 41

The Bible Project VIDEO: Numbers (Torah Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The dangerous holy

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Numbers 1-4; Psalm 40

TO CHEW ON: “And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.” Numbers 4:15.


Being a priest was a dangerous occupation. I’m sure after the death of his sons Nadab and Abihu due to their careless entry into God’s presence with strange fire (Numbers 3:4), Aaron, his remaining sons, and all the Levites were extra careful to obey when God said not to go into the tabernacle (Numbers 3:38) and who was and wasn’t allowed to touch any of the holy articles of worship when packing up the Tabernacle to move (Numbers 4:5,15).

Contrast that with Jesus, through whom this law system was fulfilled. After He died and rose again women held him by the feet and worshiped Him (Matthew 28:9) and He invited doubting Thomas to touch His scarred hands and side (John 20:27).

The book of Hebrews explains this development in the story of humankind’s redemption:

“Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant” - Hebrews 7:22.

“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him… For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens” - Hebrews 7:25,26.

I love that the word “harmless” is used here in the NKJV as a rendering for akakos (also translated “blameless,” “innocent” and "without guile or fraud".) It underlines the fact that now, we don’t have to be afraid to approach God because our death penalty has been paid — “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many” - Hebrews 8:28. Because of Jesus we can come near to our Saviour.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of Life” - 1 John 1:1.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for satisfying the law with Your death so that I am redeemed and can approach God without fear for my life. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 40

The Bible Project VIDEO: Numbers (Read Scripture Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

The Frustrated Leader

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Numbers 11:1-15

TO CHEW ON: “So Moses said to the LORD, ‘Why have you afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your eyes that You have laid the burden of all these people on me? … If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now if I have found favor in Your sight—and do not let me see my wretchedness” - Numbers 11:11,15

How totally frustrated Moses sounds here! And who could blame him? Every step forward that he took the Israelites was met with pushback and complaining!

I did a short survey of other times people in the Bible felt discouraged, frustrated, and inadequate in their roles.

• David was no stranger to discouragement as seen in vulnerable psalms like Psalm 6:2.

• King Solomon started his reign feeling naive and inadequate - 1 Kings 3:9.

• Elijah comes to mind. He hid out for three years during a drought and famine that shriveled the land. Then he met with the Baal prophets in a showdown, defeated them, and the rain came. But did the people turn to God? No. Instead, Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him and he had to run for his life. His discouraged wish to die is in 1 Kings 19:4.

• Isaiah talks of how weakness and weariness is the experience of all, even the young - Isaiah 40:30.

• The disciples couldn’t stay awake to pray with Jesus in Gethsemane - Matthew 26:40.

What all this says to me is that discouragement, weakness, and human frailty is a fact of life. When I acknowledge these things in myself, I’m finally facing reality.

But, thank God, Moses didn’t stay in that down place, and neither do we have to. Tomorrow we’ll look at how God lifted him out of this I-want-to-die pit.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for being a High Priest who can sympathize with my weaknesses. I come to Your throne of grace to find mercy and grace to help in my time of need. Amen (prayer based on Hebrews 4:15,16).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Our promise-keeping God

Balaam blesses Israel - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 23:13-30

TO CHEW ON: "God is not a man that He should lie,
Nor a son of man that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" Numbers 23:19

Straight from God's mouth (via Balaam) comes this clear pronouncement of His unchangeableness (immutability). Wayne Grudem defines God's unchangeableness:

"God is unchaining in his being, perfections, purposes and promises. Yet God does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations" - Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 163.

Grudem identifies ways in which God doesn't change (while noting "… God is unchanging—not in every way that we might imagine, but only in ways the Scripture itself affirms" - p. 163).

God is unchanging:

• In His perfections—all the aspects of His character - James 1:17.

• In His purposes - Psalm 33:11.

"Since God has determined that he will assuredly bring something about, his purpose is unchanging and will be achieved - Isaiah 49:9-11" - Grudem, Op. Cit, p. 164.

• In His promises - Numbers 23:19 (today's focus verse).

God promised to bless Abraham and his descendants - Genesis 12:2-3. Those descendants were this mass of Israelites that Balak wanted Balaam to curse. God had promised them land they were now on the border of - Genesis 15:18-21. Balaam was to utter no curse on this nation God was determined to bless.

We still worship this unchanging God who keeps His promises. In a world where it sometimes seems like goodness and righteousness and holiness and justice are weak and defeated, what a reassurance God's unchangeableness is! There will be an ultimate victory over evil and the curse in all their manifestations—in nature, our personal lives, and in the life of the communities and nations of the world.

He has promised to establish His kingdom (where evil will have no part): Exodus 15:18 || Daniel 7:14 || Psalm 145:13 || Lamentations 5:19. His unchangeableness guarantees that nothing can keep that from happening.

Let's pray, with John, thanking God for this and so express our faith in this inevitability.

PRAYER: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned" - Revelation 11:17

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The high place of decision

Balaam and Balak - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 22:41-23:12

TO CHEW ON: "So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe the extent of the people. … Then Balaam said to Balak, 'Stand by your burnt offering and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me, I will tell you.' So he went to a desolate height." Numbers 22:41,23:3


Balak takes Balaam to a high place of Baal worship to pronounce his curse on Israel. This is a high place in several ways. It is elevated ground where the Moabites sacrifice to their god Baal. It is also a good vantage point from which to view the mass of Israelites.

Here Balaam, who really has only himself to blame for being in this squeeze between Balak and God, shows some good sense at last. He excuses himself from the highly charged scene of the smoking altars and the anxious attention of Balak, his princes and priests, to climb to a "desolate height" to meet alone with God.

It's apparent that he has met with God enough times to know the conditions needed to hear from Him and that they won't be on Baal's high place. He is also aware of the importance of saying the right thing over Israel—brought home to him by the sword-wielding Angel of the Lord who had warned him: "… only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak" - Numbers 22:35. So he separates himself from Balak, his potential earthly benefactor, to meet with God, his ultimate source of being and blessing.

Do we have similar wisdom? When we're offered that new job that has better pay but dictates we spend more time away from our young family; when we're tempted to take on yet another volunteer task; when even good ministry opportunities come knocking—do  we take ourselves out of the situation to hear from God before we give our answer?

Balaam comes down from his meeting with God to deliver a word that spares him God's disapproval and blesses Israel, though it sure doesn't make Balak happy! Removing ourselves from the vantage point of this temporal world and its pressures to the higher place of God's eternal point of view may have as much impact on our future and the future of those we love.


PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to habitually consult with You before I make big—and small life decisions. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A way God calls "perverse"

"Balaam's Eyes Were Opened" 
Artist Unknown 
From Treasures of the Bible (Moses)

"Balaam's Eyes Were Opened"

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 22:22-40

TO CHEW ON: "And the Angel of the Lord said to him, 'Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.' " Numbers 22:32


Balaam really does want to go with Balak's men. His hastily acquired permission (Numbers 22:20) means that the morning after the second delegation arrives, he is on his way back to Balak with them (though there is no record that God's condition: "'If the men come to call you…'" is ever met).

What happens next on the road—the donkey crushing Balaam's foot, lying down, refusing to go further and actually speaking to Balaam—is a familiar Sunday School story. The Angel of the LORD's words (God's words) to Balaam are sobering (Numbers 22:32-33). He describes Balaam's way as "perverse."

[Perverse - yarat means to precipitate, to be precipitate, to push headlong, drive recklessly.]

The use of that word gives us the sense that Balaam's decision to go with Balak's men is impulsive, reckless, and headstrong. Peter gives us a clue about his motivation. He really did want all that stuff, that attention, that honor:

 "They (Peter, referring here to false teachers) have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness…" - 2 Peter 2:15.

In Balaam's reaction we see a flashing caution light for ourselves and our own tendencies to impetuously push ahead with what we want to do. I like how Priscilla Shirer expresses it:

"I am learning that God will use the appropriate means to reveal His will in His timing. … If you feel an overwhelming urge to act spontaneously, pull in the reins" - Priscilla Shirer, Discerning the Voice of God, pp. 92,93

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to be aware of my own tendency to act on my own, rashly, spontaneously, and recklessly. Help me, instead, to wait for Your clear timing and direction before I move ahead with plans and projects. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Please God, change Your mind

Balaam Receiving Balak's Messengers - From The Child's Bible, (Cassel © 1880)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 22:1-21

TO CHEW ON: "Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight that I may know what more the Lord will say to me." Numbers 22:19

The massive nomad nation of Israel is camping right on King Balak's doorstep—the Plains of Moab. Balak is terribly afraid ("sick with dread") because of the number of the Israelites and their reputation.

He is so scared he sends servants all the way to Mesopotamia (about 400 miles—a month's journey) to fetch a powerful prophet (Balaam) to curse Israel for him. Only then, he thinks, will he be able to defeat the Israelites in battle.

When Balak's delegation arrives, Balaam, who appears to be a worshiper of Yahweh, though not an Israelite, asks God what he should do. God answers him with a clear " 'You shall not go with them' " and so Balaam refuses to go (Numbers 22:12,13).

Balak won't take no for an answer though. He sends a second richer, bigger, more ostentatious delegation with authority to make grandiose promises: " '… for I will certainly honour you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me…' " - Numbers 22:17. (Do you think perhaps Balak has Balaam figured out?)

Balaam asks God about this second request and lo and behold, God changes His mind. Well, sort of: " ' … rise and go with them but only the word which i speak to you, that you shall do' " - Numbers 22:20.

If we read on to the verse past today's reading, though, we come across these puzzling words: "Then God's anger was aroused because he went…" (Numbers 22:22). What?!

I see myself in Balaam—perhaps you are there too? There is a thing about which we hear from God, but we're not thrilled with the answer. And so we pray some more, hoping this time God will say something different.

For Balaam the reasoning might have sounded something like—Look at the payment. How can I turn that down (after all, I would have so much more to give to You, Lord)? Look at the distance these folks have come—twice. Surely it's rude to send them away empty-handed again.

For us it might be, I need a different answer because the one You've given: a] is too hard; b] is out of my range of talents; c] conflicts with the values of my culture; d] does not make business sense…etc.

God (grudgingly?) says to Balaam, Have it your way. But in the end, it will still be my way (Numbers 22:20).

In the days ahead, we'll see how Balaam's waffling complicated the situation. How much simpler it would have been for him, and is for us, to take God's initial answer as final and adjust to that reality, rather than try to get God to change His mind. The words of James come to mind:

"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do" - James 1:5-8 NLT (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to be less wavering, more quick to obey without questions or begging for a different answer. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Toxic grumbling

"The Brazen Serpent" - James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 21:4-18

TO CHEW ON: "So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived." Numbers 21:9

Desert hardships continually tripped up the Israelites. We would expect their God-given victory at Hormah (Numbers 21:1-3) would have sealed their confidence in God. But no. A little while later "The soul of the people became very discouraged on the way."

They vented their discouragement to Moses: "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread."

After that the test only got worse when God allowed poisonous snakes to slither among them, killing many.

This time, not like some others, the people approached Moses in repentance: "We have sinned for we have spoken against the Lord and against you."

Moses prayed and God told him to erect a bronze snake statue, to which the people could look and be healed.

This story convicts us as we recognize ourselves in those discontented Israelites.

1. How often don't we grumble about situations far less severe than what the Israelites were going through? But grumbling of any kind and about anything is toxic.

2. The Israelites' grumbling was sparked by simple discouragement—an attitude that is hardly uncommon among us. It's an attitude that begins with negative, discouraged thinking. Joyce Meyer says:

"Discouragement destroys hope .... The Bible repeatedly tells us not to be discouraged or dismayed. God knows that we will not come through to victory if we get discouraged, so He always encourages us .... God wants us to be encouraged, not discouraged.


When discouragement or condemnation tries to overtake you, examine your thought life. What kind of thoughts have you been thinking?" Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind, p. 33.

3. The Israelites' grumbling about Moses was really grumbling about God (Numbers 21:5,7). When we grumble about people in our lives, church leadership, or our circumstances we too are really grumbling against God who has brought us to this place and allowed these things into our lives. Paul warns the Corinthians (and us) about this attitude in 1 Corinthians 10:9-11.

PRAYER: Dear God, please forgive me for sinning against You by grumbling and complaining. Help me to nip in the bud negative thoughts of discouragement and fault-finding, and instead to make it a habit to put my hope in You - Psalm 42:5. Amen.

MORE: The foreshadow of Divine healing

A sidebar note in my Bible reminds us that Jesus was intimately connected to this event:

"The plague of fiery serpents sent upon God's people was, in reality, a self-inflicted punishment, resulting from their frequent murmuring. God's judgment was in allowing what their own presumption invited, and many died from the bites of the serpents.


But in answer to the repentance of His people, God prescribed the erecting of a bronze serpent to which any might look in faith and be healed. Jesus referred to this account in John 3:13-14. He clearly implied that the bronze serpent typified His being raised upon the cross. Our healing, both spiritual and physical, comes from looking to and identifying with Christ crucified, 'by whose stripes you were healed' - 1 Peter 2:24" - Nathaniel M. Van Cleave, "The Focus of Divine Healing," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 205.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Spirit behind unity

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 11:16-30

TO CHEW ON: "So the Lord said to Moses "...Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you that you may not bear it yourself alone.'" Numbers 11:17.


Here in Numbers 11 we have an element of the unity Jesus prayed for, for His followers: unity in leadership. How does it come about? Not through education, training, or even mentoring, but through the impartation of the same spirit — the Holy Spirit.

God called Moses and empowered him to lead the Israelites. Now God gave him helpers to spread the weight of responsibility. Like God hand-picked the disciples, so it seems He chose these 70 men, for two didn't show up for the meeting at the tabernacle yet they demonstrated the same supernatural ability to prophesy even though they had stayed in the camp (Numbers 11:26).

I wonder if we haven't often glossed over the role that the Holy Spirit plays in our unity. And He fosters unity not only in leaders. The Bible has many examples of spiritual unity. (Though the Holy Spirit isn't expressly mentioned in many of these instances, I think we are safe in assuming that He was present in each case).

1. Moses and Aaron spoke in unity as God's mouthpiece to the Israelites - Exodus 4:15,30.

2. Aaron and Hur supported Moses' hands to achieve victory in battle - Exodus 17:12.

3. Elisha and the sons of the prophets worked together on a building project - 2 Kings 6:1-3.

4. The Israelites were unanimous in their choice of David as king - 1 Chronicles 12:38.

5. The Israelites worked in harmony under Nehemiah to complete repairs on the city wall while at the same time guarding everyone's safety - Nehemiah 4:16-17.

6. Jesus promised success in prayer as we pray in unity with even one other person - Matthew 18:19. In fact, when the disciples prayed "in one accord" (Act 4:24) "...the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness" - Acts 4:31.

7. Working in unity gives us success in spreading the gospel - Philippians 1:27.

How can we fight if we're controlled by the same Spirit? Let's be aware of the Holy Spirit's role in furthering unity, both in individual and church life!

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be controlled by Your Spirit and thus enabled to live in unity with other Spirit-filled and -empowered believers. Amen.

MORE: Unity and Prayer

"Disunity is a major hindrance to much prayer, and the history of revival in the church proves that deep, pervading unity in the Spirit can lead to spiritual refreshing and blessing."

- Wesley Duewel quoted in Prayer Powerpoints p. 95 (Source: Touch the World Through Prayer - Wesley L. Duewel, p. 25).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Attitude check

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 21:1-9

TO CHEW ON: "Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way." Numbers 21:4

Have you ever noticed how one little choice of bad attitude leads to the next and the next until you've worked yourself into a full-blown funk? That seems to be what happened to the Israelites in today's reading.

They have just conquered King Arad, destroying all the cities of his small kingdom south of Canaan. Perhaps the Israelites expected to enter Canaan from that point. Instead God led them on a detour away from the promised land. That understandable disappointment may have sparked their initial complaints.

They began with an attitude that is common—at least to me: discouragement—"discouraged" is also translated "impatient" (Amp, NIV, NLT), "depressed" (Amp), "irritable and cross" (Message).

Their complaints followed the usual format:
- against leadership: "the people spoke against God and against Moses."
- against conditions: "There is no food and no water and our soul loathes this worthless bread."
- had the typical faithless tone: "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?"

God's response—sending poisonous snakes among them—may have seemed harsh. But it certainly got their attention. The remedy, Moses erecting a bronze snake to which the bitten looked and were cured, foreshadowed God's final blow to sin through Jesus on the cross (John 3:14-15).

I ask myself, am I struggling with a seeming innocuous negative attitude today? Discouragement, impatience, irritability in my situation may seem like a harmless, even typical response to irritations, disappointments, and difficulties. But it is just such common attitude choices that got the Israelites into trouble way back in the wilderness and still easily trip us up today.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to guard my attitudes. I want to nip my faithless bent in the bud before it blooms its toxic flowers of complaining, unbelief and depression.


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What's with Balaam?

Balaam's Donkey - Numbers 22:22-35

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 24:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "So Balaam said to Balak, 'Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, "If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak."?'" Numbers 24:12,13

 Our reading today is the end of a longer story that begins in Numbers 22. Balak, the king of Moab, is afraid because the Israelites are camping near him. He finds a prophet, Balaam, and sends his messengers to ask the prophet to curse the Israelites for him.

The first time his messengers approach Balaam he consults God and God tells him no, don't go because it isn't God's intention to curse Israel (Numbers 22:12).

Balak sends another delegation and this time when Balaam consults God, God gives a seemingly reluctant, well, go if you want to, but say only the words I give you (Numbers 22:20).

On his way to Balak, Balaam's donkey has a word with him and he realizes how serious God is about blessing His people (Numbers 22:22-35).

Balaam reaches Balak and two times the king takes the prophet to high lookouts but on both occasions only words of blessing come out of Balaam's mouth. Our reading tells the story of Balak's third try, where  Balaam again blesses Israel.

When king Balak in anger threatens him, "Now therefore flee to your place. I said I would greatly honour you but in fact the Lord has kept you back from honour," Balaam replies in the words of our focus passage, quoting what he had first said to Balak's messengers (Numbers 22:18; 24:13).

This story has always intrigued me in the way Balaam seems to be of two minds. He knows he will say only what God tells him to say, and that God wants to bless Israel. But still he goes with Balak's men. Why?

• Is he wanting favour with Balak as well as favour with God?

• Is he hoping God will change His mind?

• Is he, in some way, a wishy-washy people pleaser who wants to keep everybody happy?

This story is a cautionary tale to us. For we too may be tempted to curry favour with the world's elite and powerful, to change our message, to care more about what others think than what God thinks, to be double-minded.

Of course Balaam could have avoided the whole scenario if he had taken God at His word the first time and refused to move even one step toward enemy territory.


PRAYER: Dear God, I recognize Balaam tendencies within myself. Help me to resist compromise by not taking even that first step toward sin's camp. Amen.

MORE: Double-mindedness

Whenever I think of double-mindedness, I think of James 4:8 

 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. - James 4:8 NKJV

Here it is in the Message:

"So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet." - James 4:7-10

Here are a few other Bible passages that speak of being double-minded:

2 Kings 17:33; Luke 16:13; 1 Corinthians 10:21; James 1:5-8