Verse for the Day, 2 June 2016.

Numbers 12:1-9, “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.  (2)  And they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it.  (3)  Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.  (4)  And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting." And the three of them came out.  (5)  And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.  (6)  And he said, "Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.  (7)  Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house.  (8)  With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"  (9)  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.”

We see a great contrast of character in Numbers 12, between Miriam and Aaron, and Moses. We also see how God deals with each person according to their character and standing before Him.

Miriam and Aaron become inflated with pride, envy and self-righteousness. They regard themselves as being better, and more godly than Moses, for Moses has taken a wife from outside of Israel. In their minds this is a clear violation of God’s Law and should disqualify Moses from any sort of role within the Jewish nation. The position and favour that Moses enjoyed should be theirs, for they are true, godly and pure Jews, and God has performed some works through them. Aaron was just as involved as Moses was in securing the Israel’s freedom from Egypt, yet Moses seems to get the credit. Aaron was the High Priest, the mediator between the nation and God, yet Moses was the only one with whom God seemed to speak to, and Moses mediated on behalf of the people, even though he was not a priest! Miriam, she has written a song, taught it to the nation and then led them to sing it in worship of God after they crossed the Red Sea. Surely this qualifies them to be on the same level as Moses, enjoying the same position, favour and authority.

It is precisely because of who they are, their character and their attitude that God has chosen not to use them in the same manner He used Moses, or to give them the same honour and unique privilege. Miriam and Aaron are behaving as though they are entitled to receive from God a higher office and greater honour than what they have received. They feel aggrieved with God for having overlooked them, after all Miriam saved Moses’ life and Aaron had been Moses’ right hand man. Miriam and Aaron suffered under Pharaoh’s cruel slave drivers, whilst Moses lived in luxury and ease. They endured hardship and decades of slavery, whilst Moses ran away and abandoned them. They deserve to have the higher position and honour, not Moses! What Miriam and Aaron need to learn is that which Christ taught, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12.

In stark contrast to this we have Moses, whom we might say was a reluctant servant. He was not the most upstanding of men, he was a murderer, a fugitive and a runaway. When God called him, he objected and made excuses, but eventually obeyed. He was not a great orator, and we are told he was an exceptionally meek, humble man. Yet it was this man that God had chosen to use mightily. God spoke with Moses in a unique manner, no other human has ever known such a relationship with God. But it was because Moses knew his own brokenness, inabilities and short-comings that God could use him. Moses knew that it would only be by God’s grace and through God’s enabling that he could accomplish anything of that which God called him to do. We see this time and again in Exodus and Numbers, Moses constantly turning to God and pleading with God to undertake, to provide, help, strengthen or deliver. The only time we see Moses attempting things in his own wisdom and strength is when he sins, such as killing the Egyptian slave driver, failing to circumcise his sons and striking the rock in anger. Moses was a man who depended upon God, God’s grace, wisdom, power, strength and protection. This means that Moses was the right man to be used by God, for he understood his place before God, and knew that he stood there only because of God’s grace, he did not take the high position or the honour for himself.

There is also a contrast in the manner that God deals with Miriam, Aaron and Moses. God comes to Moses’ defence, Moses doesn’t even say a word, God intervenes on his behalf and deals with the rebellion of Miriam and Aaron. This serves as a comforting reminder that God takes up the cause of the righteous, He defends us when we stand humbly before Him. However, God confronts Miriam and Aaron, He makes it very clear to them that they have no right to question the manner in which He works, or those through whom He works. In fact, God disciplines them, especially Miriam. Once the cloud departs Miriam is covered in leprosy and has to spend seven days outside the camp, she is sent away to be with those who are regarded as unclean. Why does God choose to discipline Miriam in this manner, why make her wait seven days outside the camp?

God’s wisdom is not just without fault, it is incredibly wise and instructive! Miriam has called God, His will, ways, works and sovereignty into question, and has rebelled against God. When a person behaves in such a manner they are rejecting God. Miriam doesn’t understand the true implications of what she is doing, for in her questioning of God, she is rejecting God, and therefore rejecting the God of the Covenant, the God to which she and her people belong. In order to teach her the consequences of her actions, God sends her out of the camp that she might understand what it means to be outside of the covenant relationship, cut off from worshipping the God of the covenant, away from His favour and presence, and away from God’s covenant people. Miriam would learn through this that her sinful actions will cause her to be put outside the camp, outside of God’s people, and if her sin went unchecked it would have an impact upon the rest of the people, just as leprosy spreads when left unchecked and undealt with.

There is so much we can learn from this chapter, we are challenged to be more and more like Moses, who ultimately is a picture of Christ, thus we are to be more and more like Christ. This means we are to be people of humility, living in dependence upon God for all things, seeking to be faithful towards God and trusting in God to be our defender. We learn that pride, envy and self-righteousness have severe consequences, all the more so when we call God’s sovereign ways into question. In fact, God may have to discipline us, He may cause us to endure a time outside of His covenant community, outside of His favour. He may choose not to answer our prayers for a season, so that we might learn the consequences of our actions and thus be kept from continuing to sin. God will do this for our good, and for the good of His Church. Other believers will learn by observing God’s discipline of us, that sin carries a consequence, it will be disciplined, but more importantly it is dishonouring to God and can bring the whole church into compromise.

Merciful Father, keep us from sin, keep us from pride, envy and self-righteousness, keep us from questioning Your sovereignty. Help us to be meek, humble and desiring after Your glory more than anything else. May we not question Your ways, or the manner in which You choose to work. Keep us focused on Christ, the source of our salvation, and the knowledge that it is by His grace alone that we can stand before you. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 1 June 2016.

Numbers 11:1-6  And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.  (2)  Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.  (3)  So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.  (4)  Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat!  (5)  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.  (6)  But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at."

What does discontentment, complacency, ungratefulness and greed produce, what does it lead to? This passage answers that question. The people of Israel are once again displaying all these attributes and attitudes towards God. In fact, they are so deeply entrenched in their hearts that even though God sends down judgement and punishment they continue to behave in this manner.

Discontentment, complacency, ungratefulness and greed produce complaints, specifically, they lead us to complain against God and display contempt towards Him. We think that God is mistreating us, not prospering us as He should, not giving us what we think we ought to have, or is owed to us. We can even blame God for our circumstances, thereby accusing God of evil, of having it in for us. In complaining against God, we question God’s knowledge, wisdom, power, love and goodness. We are saying to God, “Either You know and do not care, or don’t know and therefore can not act, or You do know but lack the power, ability or desire to act. You can see our plight, yet You do nothing, therefore You cannot truly love us.”

In their complaint against God, they display contempt towards God and the manner in which God has chosen to work and treat them. The people of Israel look back longingly to their former days, to the days when they had so much “more”, the days of “prosperity”. They wish to go back to them, to the days of plenty, but do they truly understand what they are saying, what they are showing they are willing to do? Essentially, they are saying, they would far rather sell themselves back into slavery, they would rather go back to the cruel masters from which God set them free, they would rather turn away from the Promised land, and go back to Egypt, to be slaves once more. Life in Egypt as a slave is better than, more appealing to them, than that which God had given to them or what God is promising to them. It is selling their future in the Promised Land so as to be slaves once again.

When we complain against God, what or who are we comparing to? Are we looking at the multi-millionaire who has so much more than us? Are we looking at the celebrity, or those who seem to be so successful? Are we looking at those who seem to be at ease, life is good for them, they have all the nice things? We looking longingly at these and many other things and we cry out in complaint. As we complain we fail to realise how quickly we can move from complaint to contempt. In our attitude and complaining we are behaving in a manner just like the people of Israel, for we question God, His character and His works. We also see that which we are longing after as being more desirable and more worth having than what God has promised us and is preparing us for. We believe our wisdom to be higher than God’s, and our understanding of what is good and right as being better than God’s. In fact, whilst we do not say this, what our hearts are demonstrating is that we would rather have these things, than to have that which God has given to us, that the promise that these things hold is greater and more certain than the God’s promises towards us.

It is sobering and frightening to know that we can behave in such a manner towards God. As the Psalmist expresses it so well, Psalm 73:21-22, “When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,  (22)  I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.”

When we find ourselves starting to complain against God, when that envy, greed, discontentment and bitterness begins to rise in our hearts we need to address it quickly. We must remind ourselves of all the riches that are ours in Christ, of how great our salvation is, and that there is nothing greater than the hope we have in Christ. The antidote to a heart filled with complaint and contempt for God is: To humble ourselves before God’s throne, remembering who we are, our place before God, how great and awesome our God is, the undeserved salvation we have received through Christ, and the eternal hope which is ours in Christ. When we do this God will help us to see clearly. We see this take place in the life of the Psalmist, for after humbling himself, his perspective is restored to its right place, and he is able to both honour and trust God again. Psalm 73:23-28, “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.  (24)  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.  (25)  Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  (26)  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  (27)  For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.  (28)  But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.”

Faithful Father, You are exceedingly, abundantly good towards us, even when we are brutish and embittered towards You. We thank You that You do not treat us in the same manner that we treat You. This day we plead with You to forgive us for our complaining hearts, for the many time with think with contempt against You. How ungrateful and greedy we are! May You cause Your grace to abound to us and forgive us. Help us by means of Your Spirit to fix our eyes upon You, Your glory, Your kingdom and Your salvation, for when we do this, “the things of this world will grow dim”. May we be satisfied in You, in all Your promises and trust You to lead us safely into Your eternal Kingdom. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 20 May 2016.

Numbers 10:11-13  In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony,  (12)  and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran.  (13)  They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses.

The people of Israel had spent just short of a year encamped at Mount Sinai, and now God gives the command for the people to resume their journey to the Promised Land. The signals would have been given, the trumpets were blown accordingly and the tribes began to set out in the given order. At the front, leading the whole nation, was the pillar of cloud guiding them to their next destination. This cloud serving once more as a reminder that God was faithfully leading them to the land He had promised to give them.

With these verses we come to the end of a remarkable time in the history of this nation. Think of all that had happened, all they had witnessed, received and participated in over the past year. God had safely delivered them from Egypt, brought them through the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai. All this was in accordance to His promise made to Moses all the way back in Exodus 3:12. Whilst at Mount Sinai they had enjoyed God’s daily provision of manna and quail. They had seen the mighty thunder cloud descend upon the mountain and felt the ground shake as God spoke with them giving them His commands, and He entered into a covenant with them. They had witnessed the wrath of God against idolatry and learned that God was not a God to trifled with. The people were able to give to the work of the tabernacle and then watched it being built. They had participated in the dedication of the tabernacle once it was completed Also they witnessed the consecration of the priests and then took part in the first celebration of the Day of Atonement. All these and many more blessings and evidences of God’s goodness, grace, faithfulness, presence and power they had witnessed and enjoyed.

After almost a year of all these blessings and encouragements, the people must have set out with a greater measure of confidence, trust and faith in God, as well as a sense of joy and peace, knowing God would continue to be faithful towards them. After all they could reflect on the past 12 months and remember all of God’s goodness.

There are times in our lives when God is calling on us to take some steps forward, when He calls on us to journey to a new place, through unknown lands. We know that the destination is the place where God wants us to be, that it will be the place that is best for us, but we have to trust God through the journey. For the people of Israel, it was a journey through the wilderness, through deserts and arid lands. It would have been a long, hot and tiresome journey for them. But at the end of the journey was the Promised Land, and every step they took brought them one step closer to their final destination.

As with any difficult journey there is always the temptation to give up, to doubt God’s goodness or purposes, it is easy to feel overcome, lost, or fear you are going in the wrong direction. How do we keep on going when we feel this way?

We need to remind ourselves of God’s goodness, His faithfulness and trustworthiness. We can often spend too much time looking forward and worrying about problems that are yet to be. When we do this, we can quickly lose sight of the past and forget how God has proved Himself true and faithful on countless previous occasions. Somehow we find ourselves thinking that on this occasion God will fail us, that this time it is different, yet there is still to be a time when God has failed or will fail.

When God calls on us to follow Him in faith into an unknown future and we find ourselves fearful, then we need to look back and ask, “Has God failed me thus far?” “Has God’s faithfulness, goodness or truth ever been false or absent?” “Has God let me down, failed to provide, guide and protect?” When we have thought through these questions and considered the answer to all of them, we should respond in the same manner as King David. 2 Samuel 7:18-22, “Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?  (19)  And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD!  (20)  And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord GOD!  (21)  Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it.  (22)  Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”

Let us not be afraid to faithfully follow God through unknown lands, but by looking back, remembering God faithfulness, truth and goodness in the past, we can then begin to put one foot in front of the other and walk forwards in obedience.

God of truth, faithfulness and goodness, we thank and praise You today for You are a God that doesn’t fail. All of Your plans and purposes come to pass and every promise You make, You bring to fulfilment. We thank You that we can look back upon our lives and see Your hand and Your works of faithfulness, goodness and truth. Your truly have never forsaken us, nor treated us as we deserve to be. Help us not to forget that which You have done, but to daily remind ourselves that Your faithfulness with be the same today and tomorrow as it was yesterday. May the confident assurance we have in You help us to follow You faithfully, even when you call us to walk through unknown, rough and barren lands. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 19 May 2016

Good Morning All!

 

No your eyes do not deceive you, after an exceptionally long break the Verse for the Day is back!

 

As always your feedback and comments are appreciated.

 

 

 

Numbers 10:8-10, “And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.”

In the first part of Numbers 10, we have God instructing Moses to have two trumpets made, which are to be used for a variety of reasons. They shall be used to summon the chiefs and leaders of the tribes, to inform all the people that they to break up their camp and prepare to set out, and to sound the alarm, issuing the call to arms.

However, there is more to these trumpets than just to issue various instructions, they have a deeper and more significant purpose. Like all of the tabernacle items and articles, they served as reminders of God and were to constantly point the people to God, so it is with these trumpets.

The people are instructed that when they are attacked by an enemy or go out into war they are to blow the trumpets in order that, “you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.” They are also to blow the trumpets when they are rejoicing, celebration and praising God for His faithfulness as this will serve as, “a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.”

Upon first appearance we could be forgiven for being slightly confused by this, for it seems to imply that God can forget. Only those who forget need reminders! So, is this true, can God, does God forget, does His memory need to be jolted, does He need to be brought to attention? No, not at all!

What then do these verses mean? It is not God that needs reminding, it is the people Israel. The trumpet blasts when going into war or on the days of gladness would serve to remind the people of God.

For this nation, war was a daily fear, they were travelling through foreign lands and were vulnerable. It would have been very difficult to them to defend themselves if an army were to descend on them, they had nowhere to run, and no walls or fortifications to hide safely behind. They would also have to make war against the inhabitants of the Promised Land. For years the men of Israel would be called upon to fight in order to secure the land. Thus the daily reality and fear of war, along with the certain prospect of war in the Promised Land would have caused constant anxiety and fear amongst the nation. This fear would greatly increase when they were confronted by an enemy. Therefore, God gives them this means of seeking to remind them of the most important truth, a truth that is very easy to lose sight of when we come face to face with our fears, with an enemy. This important truth is that God is with them, God is for them, and God will fight both with and for them. When the enemy descend and fear gripped their hearts, that fear would be shattered with the sharp blasts of the trumpet, reminding God is with us, He is our deliverer and He will give us the victory.

Similarly, in time of prosperity and gladness, when life is good and they were rejoicing, it is easy to lose sight of the One who is the source of their prosperity, who has made them glad and joyful through His goodness. The blast of the trumpet would direct their attention to the reality that all these good things, this favour, prosperity and gladness they are now enjoying had all come to them from God.

In addition to these important reminders of God’s presence and goodness, the trumpet blasts at the time of war and at the time of gladness, would serve as a reminder for the people to call upon God in prayer. When the trumpet sounded for war, it would remind them to pray for God’s help, strength and protection, for God to give them the victory, before they gathered their weapons and ran into the battle. In times of gladness, the trumpet blast would remind them to pray and give thanks to God, to acknowledge God’s goodness and give Him the praise He is due.

Essentially, the trumpets are not to remind God because He has a bad memory, but to remind the people to call upon God. For when they call upon God, He will hear them and answer them from heaven. When they call out to God, God will remember His promises, His covenant with them and will be faithful to all He has promised.

The application to us is one of great encouragement, for God’s character has not changed. He remains to be the faithful, good, gracious, present, prayer answering God. God is still with us, and He promises to aid us in our battles, especially against sin and those who oppose us because of Christ. He has promised that one day we will share in the victory of Christ and all our foes will be overcome. He has promised to provide our every need and not to just provide but to lavish His grace upon us, to the point that we can say with the Psalmist that our cup is overflowing. The challenge is for us to constantly remember who God is and what He has promised, so that no matter what situation we may be faced with we first call upon God before we do anything else. We can do this with confidence for God has promised to hear us and to answer us according to His sovereign goodness.

Faithful, Ever-present, Sovereign, All-powerful God, the One who is our Shield and Defender, who is our Provider and the Giver of all good things, we bow in worship before Your throne today. We thank You for the precious reminders found in Your Word, reminding us of who You are and what You have promised to us through Christ. Help us not to be so overcome by our difficulties and battles, or blinded by prosperity that we lose sight of these truths. May we keep You at the fore-front of our minds, being quick to first call upon Your name before we act. May we be people who always remember that we have a faithful God who always remembers us and is working for our highest God. For this we give You our thanks and adore You. Amen.