The children of Israel are now camped in the plains of Moab. Balak, the king of Moab, fears the Israelites so he joins forces with the Midianites and together they send for the pagan prophet, Balaam, to get him to curse the Israelites. Now Balaam is a prophet that loves a profit 💰(2 Peter 2:15-16). So he is eager for the job and the Lord eventually tells Balaam he can go with them but he can only say “the word which I speak to you – that you shall do.”

Balaam travels by donkey and God uses that donkey to put Balaam in his place. See, God knows Balaam’s heart. God knows Balaam only cares about financial gain but the Lord is going to use him for His glory and for the good of His people anyway. So the donkey speaks and rebukes Balaam for his spiritual blindness. Then the Lord opens Balaam’s eyes and when Balaam sees the Angel of the Lord “he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.” God tells Balaam to go with the men but He reminds him to only speak what the Lord speaks.

When Balaam comes to the city of Moab, King Balak takes Balaam up to the high places of Baal (a false god). There Balaam asks Balak to build seven altars to the Lord. However, instead of cursing the Israelites, Balaam blesses them. So Balak moves Balaam two more times hoping for a different outcome but each time Balaam blesses the children of Israel according to the Word of God.

Well Balak gets mad and tells Balaam to go home without any payment because he did not curse the Israelites. Before Balaam leaves, he gives one last prophecy highlighting how the Lord will continue to bless Israel. He says, “A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel; and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult.” This prophecy is very similar to the blessing Jacob gave Judah in Genesis 49:10 – “The scepter shall not depart from Judah” pointing to the Messiah who is coming through the bloodline of Jacob’s son Judah and Judah’s descendant King David who will one day rule over all the nations. 

“So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way.” When Balaam returns home he gets to thinking and comes up with an idea that will get him paid and make the children of Israel stumble. Tomorrow we will find out what that stumbling block is so keep reading!

(Numbers 22:1-24:25)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today the people complain again because there is no water. God tells Moses and Aaron to take the rod, gather the congregation and “speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water.” Moses and Aaron take the rod and gather the congregation but Moses out of anger says, “‘Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?’ Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.” 😬 This is not good. The Lord says, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” So Moses disobeyed God by hitting the rock instead of speaking to the rock and then he gave credit for the water to himself and Aaron when he said, “Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” As a punishment for their disobedience, neither of them will enter the promised land. We see that come true for Aaron as he dies in today’s reading and his son, Eleazar, becomes the next high priest.

The Lord will later say to Moses – “because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel. Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel” (Deuteronomy 32:51-52). The Lord is upset with Moses for misrepresenting Him and what He is doing through His Son Jesus Christ the Rock who is coming to pour out living water, which is the Holy Spirit, on all who believe in Him. Later in the Story, Paul will write a letter to the Corinthians reminding them of the failures of the Israelites in the wilderness and describing Jesus as the Rock – “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud…all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).

Moses already struck the rock once in Exodus 17:6 to provide water for the people just as Jesus will be struck once when He is crucified for the sins of the world. Then Jesus will rise from the dead and forty days later He will ascend to the right hand of His Father in heaven. Ten days after the ascension to heaven, on the day of Pentecost, Jesus will pour out the Holy Spirit upon His people. However, before Jesus’ crucifixion, He will say to the worshippers at the Feast of Tabernacle – “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” Many theologians believe that the Lord told Moses to speak to the rock instead of striking it again as a symbol of the everlasting prayers that will go up to Jesus our High Priest and Mediator. 

Well, believe it or not but after receiving water from a rock, the Israelites begin complaining again on their wilderness journey. Edom (descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother) refuses to let the Israelites cross through their land. Therefore, the Israelites turn and head in another direction where they encounter the Canaanites. The Canaanites attack them but the Lord works on behalf of His people and defeats the Canaanites. However, the people grow weary and complain again about leaving Egypt and having no food or water. This time God sends fiery serpents to kill them and Moses intercedes again for the people. The Lord instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. He says that anyone who looks at that serpent with a look of faith will live. This is foreshadowing the day that our Savior will be lifted up on a pole to shed His innocent blood for our sins so that anyone who looks upon Christ in faith will have victory over death.

The reading ends with the Lord giving the Israelites a great victory over their enemies Sihon and Og. This is such a huge defeat that later in the Story a Canaanite harlot will say, “I know that the Lord has given you the land…For we have heard…what you did to the two kings of the Amorites…, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God” (Joshua 2: 9-11). We will get to that story soon but next up is a talking donkey so keep reading. 

(Numbers 19:1-21:35)

#bibleliteracymovement#chronologicalbibleteaching

Korah, along with his buddies Dathan and Abiram and 250 men, challenge Moses and Aaron saying, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 🤔 Are Moses and Aaron exalting themselves? Pretty sure Moses keeps asking the Lord why did He make him lead these people. The Lord is the One to exalt and He exalts the humble not the proud. We have already seen when someone is proud and tries to exalt themselves that the Lord will humble them as He did with Miriam when He struck her with leprosy (Number 12:1-16). Moses however, is “very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth,” and so the Lord is using him mightily as His faithful servant.

Therefore, Moses responds saying, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.” So the Lord creates a new thing “and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods…And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.” 

Now the entire congregation is complaining against Moses and Aaron for killing “the people of the Lord.” Really?! I’m pretty sure at this point I wouldn’t say anything against Moses and Aaron. Besides, were Moses and Aaron the ones who opened the earth and swallowed the people? No. It was God. God is just and He judges justly so we can trust that He knows who are His people and He knows the ones He can open the earth and send to the pit. Therefore, the congregation’s complaint makes the Lord angry and He sends a plague. Moses has Aaron intercede for the people and the plague stops; however, 14,700 died in the plague. 

God then makes clear who He appointed as leader with the budding rod contest between the leaders of each tribe. Aaron, representing the tribe of Levi, is the winner with the rod that sprouts buds and “produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.”🏆 Then God instructs Moses to place Aaron’s rod permanently before the Ark of the Covenant as a warning against the rebels and a testimony to God’s chosen leaders. The Lord reiterates that the priesthood was given to Aaron and his sons and that all the tribe of Levi are to serve the tabernacle with them. We will find out when we get to the book of Hebrews that the children of Israel obeyed the Lord as the pot of manna from Exodus 16 and Aaron’s budding rod are both described as being in the ark of the covenant which also contained the stone tablets of the covenant (Hebrews 9:3-5).

The reading ends with the Lord laying out support the Levites are to receive from the children of Israel. He also says to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in the land; nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.” During the Conquest Era, when the Israelites settle into the promised land, the Levites will not inherit land. However, they will be given cities among the people so that they can minister to the communities fulfilling the blessing given by Jacob back in Genesis 49:7 when he said, “I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.” 

Tomorrow, Moses breaks faith with the Lord and lashes out in anger which is going to cost him from entering the promised land. Keep reading to see what happens.

(Numbers 16:1-18:32)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

“So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’”

Did the Lord bring them out of Egypt and place them in the wilderness to kill them? No. The Lord brought them out of Egypt to save them and to do a work in them because He is doing a great work through them…bringing salvation to the world through His Son Jesus! God is training His people to trust Him and walk by faith without fear of what they see or think about a situation. Joshua and Caleb understand walking by faith as they urge the people not to fear, to trust the Lord, and to take the land. Remember, the Lord already provided a great victory for the Israelites when Joshua led the people in battle against the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16). Joshua and Caleb knew the Lord gave them victory then and they know that He will provide victory again. However, taking a stand alone for the Lord is not easy as we see here with Joshua and Caleb. After Joshua and Caleb spoke “the congregation said to stone them with stones.”

The Lord is displeased with the people’s lack of faith but Moses intercedes for the people – “And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, ‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty…” So as a punishment for the people’s rebellion, the Lord says anyone who was twenty years old and older and saw ALL the miraculous signs He performed in Egypt and the wilderness and STILL didn’t trust Him; they will die in the wilderness. The only ones of that generation that will enter the promised land are the two faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb. They will lead a whole new generation into Canaan after forty years of wandering in the wilderness, a year for each day the spies spied out the promised land. Well, the people don’t like this punishment so the next day they go and try to take the land without the Lord and learned the hard way that you will not succeed without God! As Psalms 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” Unless God is in it, man’s efforts are futile. 

Toward the end of the reading we learn that the whole congregation stones to death a man for collecting sticks on the sabbath. 😳 Ok, I know this seems harsh but we have to remember that it isn’t about what we think is fair or isn’t fair. It is about what HE SAID and we read in Exodus 31:14-15 the punishment for working on the sabbath is death. The Lord desires for His people to obey Him and it is for their own good! So He is teaching them to obey His Word in the wilderness. He even helps them out with this by telling them to put tassels on their clothing so they will remember His commandments and not “follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own mind are inclined.”

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” God knows how bad it is but He is sending His Son to give us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26). Also, remember that we aren’t saved based on works. God knows hearts, minds, and intents of each person and He knows which ones have faith in Him and which ones don’t just like he knew the heart, mind, and intent of the man picking up sticks on the Sabbath. Our faith is what leads us to desire obedience (James 2:14-26). So we have to trust the Lord knowing that His judgment is always just. 

Keep reading because shockingly enough there is more disobedience tomorrow. Will they ever learn?!

(Numbers 14:1-15:41)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today we see three different instances of people complaining and then the failure of the ten spies. First, people complain about the hardship of the wilderness journey. “So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.” Then Moses intercedes for the people and “the fire was quenched.” 

Second, the mixed multitude that came out of Egypt are sick of eating manna and want meat. This gets the Israelites all riled up for some meat and they begin longing for the days when they ate “freely in Egypt.” The cravings of the flesh lead the Israelites to romanticize a Egypt that does not and did not exist. They were slaves in Egypt and their baby boys were being killed. Plus the Lord just pretty much annihilated Egypt with the ten plagues…there is nothing for them to go back to in Egypt. As a result of all the drama, Moses is now asking the Lord to just “please kill me here and now.” But God doesn’t kill Moses. Instead He provides him with 70 men to share the burden of the people. Then the Lord says to the people that He will give them meat and “You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?’” The Lord is training the people to stop longing for what was in Egypt, the lesser things; instead, the Lord wants His people to move forward with Him trusting and obeying Him.

Third, Miriam and Aaron question Moses about his Ethiopian wife. No one really knows if this is Zipporah or if Moses took a second wife but that isn’t the issue. The issue is them questioning the Lord’s appointed leader, Moses, which angers the Lord. As a result, the Lord strikes Miriam with leprosy and she is sent out of the camp. The Israelites have to wait seven days until the Lord heals her before they can journey further.

Lastly we read about the twelve spies, one from each tribe, who spied out the land of Canaan. Ten out of twelve come back with a bad report and put fear in the hearts and minds of the people. Caleb steps forward telling the people they can overcome and take the land. But the other men who spied out the promised land respond saying, “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” 

Lack of faith leads to complaining and despair. Lack of faith exposes our pride, arrogance, and selfishness. Lack of faith impacts those around us. And lack of faith displeases the Lord. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” 

Tomorrow Joshua will step forward with Caleb to tell the people to trust the Lord and take the land. Will the people respond in faith and obey? Keep reading to find out.

(Numbers 11:1-13:33)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

The Lord gives laws regarding Nazirites which is anyone who consecrates himself to the Lord. Any man or woman who wants to consecrate themselves to the Lord can become a Nazarite. This is voluntary and for a specific period of time. There are three people in the Bible who will be separated to the Lord by their parents at birth: Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist. Nazirites have to follow certain rules with one being that they can not cut their hair. This will be a big deal in the life of Samson but we will read about Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist down the road.

Before the Israelites set out for their wilderness journeys the priests say a beautiful blessing over the children of Israel: “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

“Israel left Sinai just less than a year after arriving there…From this point forward, Numbers spans just under forty years” (Note from the OYCB).

God establishes a system using trumpets “for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camp,” for sounding an alarm during time of war, and for a memorial during the appointed feast. So the trumpets are blown and the children of Israel “set out from the Wilderness of Sinai on their journeys; then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. So they started out for the first time according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses…So they departed from the mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was above them by day when they went out from the camp.”

The children of Israel set out in an orderly manner as God instructed and march forward to take the promised land but tomorrow… the people will complain again, Miriam and Aaron will challenge Moses, and there will be an epic fail with ten of the twelve spies who will spy out the promised land. Keep reading.

(Numbers 6:1-27, Numbers 10:1-36)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

We learned yesterday that when it comes time for the Israelites to journey, three Levite clans (Kohathite, Gershonite, and Merarite) are responsible for transporting the tabernacle. Aaron and Moses take down the most holy things in the tabernacle and cover the items with badger skins and cloth. “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 things, lest they die.” God is so holy that he tells Aaron and Moses, regarding covering the holy items, “but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things…But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.” 😱 Remember, we are separated from the Lord because of our sin. The fact that the Kohathites will die if they touch or watch the covering of the holy items of the sanctuary highlights God’s holiness and our need for a mediator. The Lord is making a way for the Israelites to have a relationship with Him and He is sending His Son the ultimate Mediator but for now the priests will serve as mediators between the Lord and the people. 

So the Lord instructs Moses to count the Levites from thirty-years old to fifty-years old who will be eligible for the work of the tabernacle. The job of caring for and transporting the tabernacle requires mature men who are physically eligible for the strenuous work. On February 16th we read in Numbers 8:25-26 that Levites “twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more. They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting, to attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work.”  Per most commentaries, the five year difference between twenty-five years old in chapter 8 of Numbers and thirty-years old in chapter 4 of Numbers is likely because there was a five year apprenticeship before actually doing the work of the tabernacle described in chapter 4. Later in the Story, when preparations are being made to build the temple for the Lord there will no longer be a need to transport the tabernacle and King David will reduce the age to be eligible to do the work for the service of the house of the Lord to twenty-years old in order to provide for all the needs that the new temple will require (1 Chronicles 23:24-26). 

Lastly today we read about protecting marital faithfulness. The Lord says regarding a husband “if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself – then the man shall bring his wife to the priest.” The priest will give the wife a drink of bitter water that will bring a curse upon her if she is guilty of adultery that will make her thigh rot and her belly swell. 😳 What’s up with that? So, this is the Lord’s protection of faithful wives. The Lord loves women and is providing protection from a man falsely accusing his wife of cheating on him, shaming her, and kicking her out. But in case a woman is considering being unfaithful, this bitter curse drink would be a good incentive not to go down that road because we know that no woman wants a fat belly and a rotten thigh. 

The Lord knows that infidelity breaks marriages, harms children, and destroys relationships with others. It hurts those committing adultery and those surrounding them. Therefore the Lord wants to protect us from that deep pain. Also, God values marriage! He is the One that created it back in the garden with Adam and Eve and the marriage union is to be a demonstration to this lost and dying world of Christ’s love for the church (Ephesians 5:22-24). Therefore, the Lord is protecting the marriage union by not allowing a spouse to divorce based on their own selfish desires and not based on what God has said through His Word. This is why the Lord holds leaders of the church to a higher standard regarding marriages and divorce because the leaders are to set an example before the people of having marriages that are in alignment with God’s Word which reflects His love for His church. When churches do not hold their leaders to a higher standard it causes confusion and disunity within the body. 

Keep reading because tomorrow the children of Israel pack up and move.

(Numbers 4:1-5:31)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today the Lord organizes the campgrounds for the children of Israel around the tabernacle. He breaks the 12 tribes into 4 groups and positions them in the order they will march with Judah’s group leading the march:

East side – Judah, Issachar, Zebulun

South side – Reuben, Gad, Simeon

West side – Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh 

North side – Dan, Asher, Naphtali

The Lord tells Moses to “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.” The Levites are responsible for guarding the tabernacle and performing the work of the ministry at the tabernacle. “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.’” God is substituting the Levites to himself instead of all the firstborn similar to the Lord substituting a lamb instead of the firstborn during the Passover at the Exodus of Egypt. Both substitutions point to the substitutionary work that will be performed by the ultimate High Priest and final Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Then the Lord instructs Moses to count the male Levites, one month and older for the substitution of the firstborn of all the Israelites, and organize them by clans; Gersihon, Kohath, and Merari. The Lord positions the Levites closest to the tabernacle and assigns specific duties to each clan:

South side – Kohathites who guard and carry items inside the sanctuary. “Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them.”

West side – Gershonites who guard and carry the tabernacle coverings, hangings, and screens for the doors.

North side – Merarites who guard and carry the tabernacle bars, pillars, sockets, utensils, pegs, and cords.

East side – Moses and the priests who guard the tabernacle sanctuary and meet the needs of the Israelite people. Only the descendants of Aaron are priests but the entire tribe of Levi are to serve the priests. 

We end the reading with the Lord redeeming the firstborn sons of Israel. Moses compares the count of all the firstborn males, one month and older, from the children of Israel to the number of Levites. There are 273 less Levite males leaving 273 Israelites without a Levite to take their place. So the Lord assigns a monetary value for the 273 additional firstborn males to be paid to Aaron the priest. “And Moses gave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

Tomorrow we will learn more about the responsibilities assigned to the Levites and Moses will take a second census of the Levites to identify the men eligible for the work of the tabernacle. Keep reading!

(Numbers 2:1-3:51)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today we finish the book of Leviticus with the Lord’s instructions on redeeming gifts offered to Him. Part of the instructions include assigning values to a person based on their age and usefulness to society and to their property. This would be sort of like a modern day insurance plan. So in the book of Leviticus the Lord gives instructions and laws to the Israelites to teach them how to approach a holy God, how to live holy lives, and how to exist well in community with one another. The book also gives structure to the priesthood and establishes a relationship between the priests and the people. We end Leviticus with the Lord saying, “These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.” And that’s a wrap on Leviticus! 🎉

Next up in the Exodus Era is the book of Numbers. Numbers begins with Moses taking a census on the “first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt” of every male “from twenty years old and above – all who are able to go to war in Israel.” The census highlights God’s promise to Abraham, that He would make him a great nation. The seventy Israelites that came to Egypt during the famine have grown to what most scholars believe to be over two million Israelites. Today, Aaron and Moses take a head from each tribe and then count the men over twenty years old eligible for war with Judah, the tribe of the coming Messiah, being the largest tribe. Jacob’s blessing of Joseph’s younger son over the older son is displayed in the census as Ephraim, the youngest son, has a greater tribe than Manasseh, the older son. And we see that the Levites are not included in the census with the other tribes of Israel because they are to be set apart for the work of the tabernacle.

Tomorrow our orderly God further organizes His people for the wilderness journey so keep reading.

(Leviticus 27:1-34, Numbers 1:1-54)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today we read the blessings for obedience and punishments for disobedience in Leviticus 26. Did you notice that 13 verses are dedicated to the blessings and 32 verses are dedicated to the punishments? The Lord is a good Father! He is warning His children whom He loves greatly of the punishments for their disobedience just like we warn our own children. (Ex. If you stay in the backyard we will go for ice cream later. If you don’t obey, there will be no ice cream, you will be sent to your room, you won’t get to play with your friends, I’ll take away all your games and anything else dear to you and so forth.) Why do we do this as parents? Because we know the dangers that could come upon that child if he or she leaves the backyard without us. God’s love for His children is far greater than anything we can give our children and His ways are far greater than anything we can imagine, so we can trust Him with His discipline. The writer of Hebrews will later say, “we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:9-11).

The Lord’s desire has always been for His children to walk by faith trusting Him and that His Word is good. We saw this back in the garden with Adam and Eve. He told them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because He knew what would happen if they did. They chose to disobey His Word and sin entered the world breaking man’s relationship with God. But the Lord didn’t abandon His children; He is working a plan to save guilty sinners through the newly liberated Israelites whom the Lord brought out of Egypt. He is now training Israel how to walk with Him by faith and to be His people. The Lord says if they obey Him, “I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you…I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.”

Then the Lord gives a long list of what will happen if they disobey, one being “I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas. I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.” 

The punishment is to bring His children to repentance so they will turn back to Him and be restored. Therefore, the Lord goes on to say “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt— then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land…when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.”

The Lord is merciful to those who are humble:

• “For you will save the humble people, but will bring down haughty looks” (Psalm 18:27). 
• “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5)

Later in the Story, the proud Israelites will be humbled by their enemies because of their disobedience; and after seventy years in captivity, the Lord will bring them back to their land because God is faithful and He will keep His covenant He made with Abraham, Issac and Jacob. But before we get to the Captivity and Return Eras a lot more happens in God’s incredible Story so keep reading!

(Leviticus 25:24-26:46)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching