February 14
Read: Numbers 11:1-20
As Israel traveled through the desert, God provided them with manna on a daily basis. For this manna they had to do no work other than gather it up. Each morning, as they arose, the gift of God lay fresh on the ground, easily available and capable of meeting every nutritional need for the whole nation. Manna was a miracle and a blessing direct from the hand of God.
In Numbers 11, Israel decides that manna is no longer good enough. A percentage of the people, called the mixed multitude, began to wish for the food they had left behind in Egypt. They wanted the variety, the tastes, the delicacies of Egypt. In verse 4, the Bible says they “fell a lusting”. Will somebody please give us a little meat to go with this manna?
In verse 10, we see the responses of both God and Moses. The anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, and Moses also was displeased. The complaining of the people actually reduced Moses to whining, and the first thing the Lord did was take some of His Spirit away from Moses and place on the seventy elders. Then He gave the people their request. For a month, they got meat to eat. They stuffed themselves until they were sick of it.
In Psalm 106:5 the Bible tells of this time, “And he (God) gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” It is unfortunate but true we in the church have learned little from Israel’s bad example. Week after week God provides us with preachers, musicians, and teachers, using them to supply everything we need for our spiritual well-being. And almost every Sunday, the “mixed multitude” shows up. They will complain that the song service is boring, the preaching is unexciting, or the temperature in the building is uncomfortable. Fed on a diet of television and top forty Christian music, they have “fallen a lusting” after the things of Egypt. And, like Moses, many pastors and Christian leaders have surrendered, giving them what they want.
There are so many lessons here. But the bottom line is pretty clear. Don’t let a few complainers shift your focus to the world. Egypt is not where the blessings reside. Keep your eyes on God, be grateful for His blessings, and follow Him faithfully. And be careful what you lust after, God may give you what you think you want.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
One For All
February 13
Read: Numbers 9:1-14
During the second year of Israel’s journey from Egypt to Kadesh-Barnea, God instructed Moses and the children of Israel to keep the Passover. Moses, having passed on the instructions to the people, was questioned by some men who were ceremonially unclean from contact with a dead body (probably Levites, Leviticus 21:11). Could they take the Passover?
Moses took the question to God, and was told that even those who were unclean or traveling should partake of the Passover just as everyone else. He went on to add a rule concerning even those who were non-Israelites. If there were strangers among them, and they desired to keep the Passover, they were to be allowed to do so. The end of Numbers 9:14 says: “...ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.”
These instructions are consistent with the typology of the Passover. God passed over the first-born of Israel because of the lamb’s blood applied to the door posts. The blood of the lamb is typical of the blood of Christ, the designated Lamb of God. And Christ is promised to be the Savior of not only the Jews, but the world. He is the Savior of those who are lost in sin, of those who are not ceremonially unclean but utterly unclean. And the inclusion of the stranger is our assurance that the true Passover Lamb was slain for every man.
Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
Just a servant,
Bro.Tom
Read: Numbers 9:1-14
During the second year of Israel’s journey from Egypt to Kadesh-Barnea, God instructed Moses and the children of Israel to keep the Passover. Moses, having passed on the instructions to the people, was questioned by some men who were ceremonially unclean from contact with a dead body (probably Levites, Leviticus 21:11). Could they take the Passover?
Moses took the question to God, and was told that even those who were unclean or traveling should partake of the Passover just as everyone else. He went on to add a rule concerning even those who were non-Israelites. If there were strangers among them, and they desired to keep the Passover, they were to be allowed to do so. The end of Numbers 9:14 says: “...ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.”
These instructions are consistent with the typology of the Passover. God passed over the first-born of Israel because of the lamb’s blood applied to the door posts. The blood of the lamb is typical of the blood of Christ, the designated Lamb of God. And Christ is promised to be the Savior of not only the Jews, but the world. He is the Savior of those who are lost in sin, of those who are not ceremonially unclean but utterly unclean. And the inclusion of the stranger is our assurance that the true Passover Lamb was slain for every man.
Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
Just a servant,
Bro.Tom
Every Joint
February 12
Read: Numbers 4:1-15
Numbers chapter 4 describes the division of labor among the Levites in relation to the tabernacle. Each of the families of the sons of Levi was given specific responsibilities for part of the work. In our text, we see the portions assigned to Aaron and to the sons of Kohath.
To Aaron and his sons belonged the task of caring for the items associated with worship within the tabernacle. Essentially, they were responsible for everything within the inner sanctuary. When it was time to move, they covered and prepared the table of showbread and the golden altar, cleaned up the ashes and gathered and wrapped all the utensils. When everything was ready, the Kohathites were to come and carry it to the next location.
Continuing in chapter 4, we find that God gave similar instructions to the Gershonites and the Merarites. In each case, God was very specific about what each was to do.
It took everyone doing their part to get the tabernacle pulled down and moved. If any family had neglected or left its work undone, the whole nation would have been delayed. They would have been unable to do what God was directing them to do at the time He intended for them to do it. As a result of a few unwilling to perform their roles, God’s work would be hindered and God’s people denied a blessing.
According to the New Testament, the same thing can be said of the local church. God has gifted every church member for a specific task, and it is one of the Holy Spirit’s functions to guide them to their appointed ministry. In Ephesians 4:16, the Bible says Jesus is the head, “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.“ The body referenced is the church, and every joint is every member. Jesus has put us together and given every member a gift and a task. We must prayerfully seek out our place and then faithfully perform the assigned ministry. If we do not, then we, like the Levites, would be guilty of hindering the work of God and the progress of God’s people.
Are you busy about the Lord’s work? Are you doing the things you should be doing? Are you still wondering what your job might be? James writes, “If any of you lack wisdom, let Him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Let’s find our spot and get in it.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Read: Numbers 4:1-15
Numbers chapter 4 describes the division of labor among the Levites in relation to the tabernacle. Each of the families of the sons of Levi was given specific responsibilities for part of the work. In our text, we see the portions assigned to Aaron and to the sons of Kohath.
To Aaron and his sons belonged the task of caring for the items associated with worship within the tabernacle. Essentially, they were responsible for everything within the inner sanctuary. When it was time to move, they covered and prepared the table of showbread and the golden altar, cleaned up the ashes and gathered and wrapped all the utensils. When everything was ready, the Kohathites were to come and carry it to the next location.
Continuing in chapter 4, we find that God gave similar instructions to the Gershonites and the Merarites. In each case, God was very specific about what each was to do.
It took everyone doing their part to get the tabernacle pulled down and moved. If any family had neglected or left its work undone, the whole nation would have been delayed. They would have been unable to do what God was directing them to do at the time He intended for them to do it. As a result of a few unwilling to perform their roles, God’s work would be hindered and God’s people denied a blessing.
According to the New Testament, the same thing can be said of the local church. God has gifted every church member for a specific task, and it is one of the Holy Spirit’s functions to guide them to their appointed ministry. In Ephesians 4:16, the Bible says Jesus is the head, “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.“ The body referenced is the church, and every joint is every member. Jesus has put us together and given every member a gift and a task. We must prayerfully seek out our place and then faithfully perform the assigned ministry. If we do not, then we, like the Levites, would be guilty of hindering the work of God and the progress of God’s people.
Are you busy about the Lord’s work? Are you doing the things you should be doing? Are you still wondering what your job might be? James writes, “If any of you lack wisdom, let Him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Let’s find our spot and get in it.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
He Shall Be Blessed!
February 11
Read: Genesis 27:1-33
Genesis 27 is the story of the stolen blessing. Isaac had grown old and half-blind, and he recognized the time of his death was near. So he called his oldest son, Esau, and instructed him to go and kill a deer and prepare a meal for his old father, that Isaac might bless his son before he died. Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, overheard Isaac’s instructions and conspired with Jacob to steal the blessing. Preparing a goat stew and wrapping the skins around Jacob’s wrists and neck, she sent Jacob in to his father. Jacob told Isaac a pack of lies and walked out with a blessing.
The tent flap was still waving from Jacob’s exit when Esau came in with his stew. It didn’t take too long for the two of them to figure out what happened, with the result that Isaac trembled and Esau threatened. In spite of the fact the blessing had been stolen, Isaac lamented in verse 33, “…yea, and he shall be blessed.”
Isaac’s faith was strong; strong enough to be certain that a blessing pronounced, stolen or not, would be honored by God. He didn’t try to talk God out of it, and he refused to try to give Esau what he had already given Jacob. He knew he had asked God in good faith to bless Jacob, and that God would answer his prayer.
Many of us have problems with our prayer life. We ask wavering, even though we know that James said a double-minded man would receive nothing. We often pray as though we’re just reciting a liturgy, our prayers essentially no different than the Catholic’s rosary or the Episcopalian’s Book of Common Prayer. Isaac prayed with faith! He had so much faith that having asked God to bless Jacob he could not bring himself to ask the same things for Esau.
In Matthew chapter 17, a young man possessed of a demon is brought to the disciples. They were unable to help the young man, and his father appealed to Jesus directly. After Jesus cast out the demon, the disciples asked Jesus why they had been unable to do so. Jesus answered thus: “Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Today, pray in faith.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Read: Genesis 27:1-33
Genesis 27 is the story of the stolen blessing. Isaac had grown old and half-blind, and he recognized the time of his death was near. So he called his oldest son, Esau, and instructed him to go and kill a deer and prepare a meal for his old father, that Isaac might bless his son before he died. Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, overheard Isaac’s instructions and conspired with Jacob to steal the blessing. Preparing a goat stew and wrapping the skins around Jacob’s wrists and neck, she sent Jacob in to his father. Jacob told Isaac a pack of lies and walked out with a blessing.
The tent flap was still waving from Jacob’s exit when Esau came in with his stew. It didn’t take too long for the two of them to figure out what happened, with the result that Isaac trembled and Esau threatened. In spite of the fact the blessing had been stolen, Isaac lamented in verse 33, “…yea, and he shall be blessed.”
Isaac’s faith was strong; strong enough to be certain that a blessing pronounced, stolen or not, would be honored by God. He didn’t try to talk God out of it, and he refused to try to give Esau what he had already given Jacob. He knew he had asked God in good faith to bless Jacob, and that God would answer his prayer.
Many of us have problems with our prayer life. We ask wavering, even though we know that James said a double-minded man would receive nothing. We often pray as though we’re just reciting a liturgy, our prayers essentially no different than the Catholic’s rosary or the Episcopalian’s Book of Common Prayer. Isaac prayed with faith! He had so much faith that having asked God to bless Jacob he could not bring himself to ask the same things for Esau.
In Matthew chapter 17, a young man possessed of a demon is brought to the disciples. They were unable to help the young man, and his father appealed to Jesus directly. After Jesus cast out the demon, the disciples asked Jesus why they had been unable to do so. Jesus answered thus: “Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Today, pray in faith.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
The Perfect Law
February 10
Read: Psalm 119:97-104
“These are the commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.” – Leviticus 27:34
This verse marks the end of the book of Leviticus. Finishing a reading of the law, I was so awed I had to stop for a moment and just consider how great is the God who would give such a law to His people 1500 years before Christ. I confess to having sometimes just breezed through the book, not really hearing what God was saying. But this was a different matter. Even the laws on property and servanthood (slavery), completely foreign to western culture, are so just and so right and so perfect. Every piece, every single commandment, is clearly sacred.
My thinking has simply aligned with that of David and Paul. In Romans 7:12, the apostle Paul, even as he was expounding the inadequacy of the law for salvation, states unequivocally that “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good.” Used for its purpose, to convict sinners of their sin, the law is unassailable and untouchable. David the King also marveled at the law, writing Psalm after Psalm attesting to its power and beauty and truth. In Psalm 119:97 he cries out, “Oh, how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.”
Writing about the law God gave to Moses, David and Paul could not help but admire, yeah, even love the word of God. Christian friend, the law came by Moses, by grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. In His name, we have been given the new covenant, the 27 incredible books of the New Testament. What Moses and the law foreshadowed, Christ fulfilled, and the story of that fulfillment and the future of the bride is a story so compelling it is the best selling book of all time.
Now, take a moment and consider your own attitude towards the Word of God. Do you see it as holy, and just, and good? Can you say with all your heart, “Oh, how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day”?
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Read: Psalm 119:97-104
“These are the commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.” – Leviticus 27:34
This verse marks the end of the book of Leviticus. Finishing a reading of the law, I was so awed I had to stop for a moment and just consider how great is the God who would give such a law to His people 1500 years before Christ. I confess to having sometimes just breezed through the book, not really hearing what God was saying. But this was a different matter. Even the laws on property and servanthood (slavery), completely foreign to western culture, are so just and so right and so perfect. Every piece, every single commandment, is clearly sacred.
My thinking has simply aligned with that of David and Paul. In Romans 7:12, the apostle Paul, even as he was expounding the inadequacy of the law for salvation, states unequivocally that “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good.” Used for its purpose, to convict sinners of their sin, the law is unassailable and untouchable. David the King also marveled at the law, writing Psalm after Psalm attesting to its power and beauty and truth. In Psalm 119:97 he cries out, “Oh, how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.”
Writing about the law God gave to Moses, David and Paul could not help but admire, yeah, even love the word of God. Christian friend, the law came by Moses, by grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. In His name, we have been given the new covenant, the 27 incredible books of the New Testament. What Moses and the law foreshadowed, Christ fulfilled, and the story of that fulfillment and the future of the bride is a story so compelling it is the best selling book of all time.
Now, take a moment and consider your own attitude towards the Word of God. Do you see it as holy, and just, and good? Can you say with all your heart, “Oh, how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day”?
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Working Faith
February 9
Read:Acts 9:10-19
A very interesting accompaniment to Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus is the story of Ananias. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about Ananias, simply that he was a disciple at Damascus. But we can surmise a great deal about him from the rest of the story.
Ananias must have been a man on speaking terms with God. He must have been a man of prayer, because when the Lord spoke to Him in a vision, there was no confusion on Ananias’ part about who was talking. The Lord said, “Ananias” and Ananias answered simply, “Behold, I am here, Lord.”
Second, Ananias must have been a man of considerable faith. Directed by God to go and lay hands on Saul of Tarsus, he immediately recognized the name. “Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem.” Ananias knew Saul of Tarsus was a dangerous man, especially to Christians. He voiced his concerns in verses 13 and 14. He certainly had a right to feel as he did. Yet, when the Lord said to him in verse 15, “Go thy way”, that ended the debate. Verse 17 says simply that “Ananias went his way, and did as the Lord had asked.
As nearly as I can tell, Bro. Ananias of Damascus is never mentioned again in Scripture. He rose out of anonymity to do a specific task for God, then withdrew himself backstage. Truly a disciple, he was quick to answer the Lord’s call and willing to do what He asked, even at the hazard of his own life.
Could we pray that God would give us today some of the qualities that Ananias possessed? We certainly could do with a closer relationship with the Father, one in which we have no trouble discerning his voice. Also, God grant us the faith to do His will, no matter what we may think about the pitfalls.
May we all grow a little as a result of our encounter with Ananias of Damascus.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
Read:Acts 9:10-19
A very interesting accompaniment to Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus is the story of Ananias. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about Ananias, simply that he was a disciple at Damascus. But we can surmise a great deal about him from the rest of the story.
Ananias must have been a man on speaking terms with God. He must have been a man of prayer, because when the Lord spoke to Him in a vision, there was no confusion on Ananias’ part about who was talking. The Lord said, “Ananias” and Ananias answered simply, “Behold, I am here, Lord.”
Second, Ananias must have been a man of considerable faith. Directed by God to go and lay hands on Saul of Tarsus, he immediately recognized the name. “Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem.” Ananias knew Saul of Tarsus was a dangerous man, especially to Christians. He voiced his concerns in verses 13 and 14. He certainly had a right to feel as he did. Yet, when the Lord said to him in verse 15, “Go thy way”, that ended the debate. Verse 17 says simply that “Ananias went his way, and did as the Lord had asked.
As nearly as I can tell, Bro. Ananias of Damascus is never mentioned again in Scripture. He rose out of anonymity to do a specific task for God, then withdrew himself backstage. Truly a disciple, he was quick to answer the Lord’s call and willing to do what He asked, even at the hazard of his own life.
Could we pray that God would give us today some of the qualities that Ananias possessed? We certainly could do with a closer relationship with the Father, one in which we have no trouble discerning his voice. Also, God grant us the faith to do His will, no matter what we may think about the pitfalls.
May we all grow a little as a result of our encounter with Ananias of Damascus.
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
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