Verse for the Day, 22 April 2015.

Numbers 6:22-27  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  (23)  "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,  (24)  The LORD bless you and keep you;  (25)  the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;  (26)  the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.  (27)  "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

This has to be one of the most wonderful, encouraging, hope-filled and comforting passages in the Scriptures. To think that God would give this incredible blessing to such people as us!

God commands Moses to give this blessing to Aaron and his sons, it would become their duty, responsibility and privilege to pronounce this blessing upon the people of Israel on a daily basis.

There is so much that could be said about this blessing that it is worth spending a few days focusing upon it.

The fact that God gives this privilege to Aaron is in itself remarkable. Aaron’s track record was not exactly a shining example of faithfulness and devotion to God. He was responsible for leading the people of Israel into idolatry, in fact we were told in Exodus that Aaron was the one who made, fashioned the golden calf. Aaron deserved the judgement and condemnation of God, he deserved death. Yet God preserves and spares Aaron.

Why does God spare Aaron and then not only make Aaron the high priest, but also give him the privilege of speaking this blessing to the people of Israel? The answer to this question is found within the blessing itself. There is one small phrase that is the centre point of this blessing, in fact you could say it is the cornerstone, as if you were to remove it the whole blessing would collapse. The phrase is, “and be gracious to you.” If God were not a God of grace, and specifically gracious towards us, then He would not bless or keep us, He would not turn His face to us, lift up His countenance or give us peace. But the glorious truth is that God is a God of grace and specifically to us, Aaron is an incredible demonstration of this fact.

The reality is that Aaron, the people of Israel and us deserve the opposite of this blessing, for we have all gone astray into sin, and continue to do so. We worship so many idols and often ignore or even deliberately reject God. We deserve the curse of God’s judgement rather than the blessing of His grace. We should have the opposite pronounced over us, saying, May the Lord curse you and not keep you, may He turn His face away from you and so you no mercy. May the Lord turn against you and refuse you and may He make you restless and filled with fear.

How we should rejoice that God doesn’t treat us as we deserve, but is a God who is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and who is willing to forgive. God has demonstrated the depths of this through the sending of Jesus Christ. And it is through Jesus Christ that we are brought into the blessing and favour of God. For the believer in Christ, this blessing becomes their blessing, a blessing for this life and a blessing for all of eternity. This is a blessing we don’t deserve, for we are all like Aaron, but God is gracious in saving us from our sin and bringing us into His eternal blessing. Let us rejoice in the infinite goodness, grace, love and mercy of God, of the Lord Jesus Christ that has brought us into this blessing!

All praise, worship and adoration belongs to You our most gracious God. Words cannot express the thankfulness within our hearts towards You for the grace You have shown us through Christ. Thank You that You have removed our sin, that You have taken out our idolatrous hearts and given us a new one. Thank You that You have saved us from judgement and Your eternal wrath, even though we rightly and justly deserved it. Thank You that You have brought us into Your grace and blessing. Thank You that we know the truth of this blessing every day of our lives, and shall know it in increasing fullness until we enter Your presence. May we rejoice in this blessing and glorify Your great and gracious Name. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 20 April 2015.

Numbers 5:1-4  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  (2)  "Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead.  (3)  You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell."  (4)  And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

This chapter in Numbers is very similar to that of chapters in Exodus and Leviticus. God is giving commands and instructions as to how those who are unclean are to be dealt with, how restitution for sin is to be made and how accusations of adultery are to be discerned. We can easily see why these commands and directions are important. With such a large group of people living in very close proximity with each other, and with the poor conditions of sanitation disease could spread very quickly. Thus those who had contagious diseases had to be separated, for the good and well-being of the nation as a whole.

Amongst such a large group of people, sinning against each other was inevitable, there would be deceit, dishonesty, falsehood, greed, theft, lust and many other sinful actions. To prevent people taking justice into their own hands, God set in place a means to deal with sin and how it should be rectified. There would also be times when severe sin, sin such as adultery, may take place unnoticed by human eyes. This would lead to suspicions and then to accusations of adultery, yet without any evidence. Furthermore such is the heart of man that jealousy can so seize our hearts and lead us to make false accusations against another person.

The reality of all these things taking place is inevitable, and God in His grace gives them a means, a way of dealing with each of these three issues. Each of them requires truthfulness and obedience, but when there is falsehood and disobedience to these commands, the results are greatly detrimental to the entire nation.

But all these dangers, and potential consequences are not the sole or primary reason for which the people of Israel should live in obedience and faithfulness to the commands of God. Take special note of the end of verse 3, “that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” The reason as to why the people of Israel should seek to live in purity, obedience and truth is because God is in their midst, they live in the presence of God. Every time they opened their tent in the morning and saw the tabernacle, it reminded them that God is amongst them, He is present then and there with them. If they are living in the presence of God, before the sight of God, then they need to live as God lives, in perfect holiness. The people of Israel needed to be imitators of God, just as Leviticus taught us that we need to be holy as God is holy.

They should care for their nation, for each other’s property and should remain faithful to their spouse because God is holy and is among them. The knowledge of this and because they should love the holiness, truth and faithfulness of God, means that they should live accordingly. Knowing that as they practice holiness, truth and faithfulness to God, they will find the pathway to blessing.

As Christians we can often view chapters such as this one in a very negative light, it is yet another list of do’s and don’ts. But it is not negative, it is for the greater glory of God and is for our eternal good and blessing. We may not have a tabernacle, but we have something greater, for we have the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. Therefore we don’t just live in the presence of a holy, faithful, pure and true God, we also have the very presence of this same God living in us. What a privilege to have God’s Spirit in us! What a privilege to live in the sight of a God such as ours! What greater joy can there be than the joy that comes from living in holiness before a holy God?

Let us not think of obedience to God as a burdensome and negative duty, rather let us understand that we are living in the presence of a holy God, and the presence of the holy God is within us. Let us focus upon the fact that we have the pleasure, privilege and joy of living for the delight of God, for He will delight in us as we walk in greater holiness. And the greater the delight and joy of God, so the greater our delight and joy in Him will become.

We live our lives before the presence, sight and knowledge of a holy God, therefore let us imitate Him as we seek to show His glory and goodness to the world. Let us live in holiness before God, so that the world might see the great and unique joy and delight that comes to those who love God and live holy lives.

Almighty God You are the Holy One, true and pure in all that which You are and do. Thank You that through the Lord Jesus Christ, You have made us who once were filled with sin and impurity, now clean, pure and holy in Your sight. Forgive us for thinking of living in holiness as a burdensome and joyless task. Help us to understand the great joy that comes to us by living in holiness, and the great glory that is given to Your name. May we remember each day, that we are living in Your presence, in Your full view, and may that lead us to deeper, greater and more sincere holiness. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 16 April 2015.

Numbers 4, "(1) The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,  (2)  "Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses,  (3)  from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting.  (4)  This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things…(17) The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,  (18)  "Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites,  (19)  but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden,  (20)  but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die."

The Kohathites were given the very special privilege of carrying the most holy things, the Ark of the Covenant, the altar and various other items. To many it may not seem that this should be seen as a position of great privilege, after all these items would have been quite heavy, and all the more so once they were covered. How can it be a privilege to carry a cumbersome and heavy object, hundreds and hundreds of miles?

The privilege lies in the fact that the Kohathites came as close as a common Israelite could come to the most Holy place and to the place that symbolised God’s presence. They came as close to the Ark of the Covenant and the altar as one could come without being struck dead. They had the privilege of being responsible for the safe transport of their nation’s most valuable and precious articles. God was bestowing upon them a special privilege, setting them specifically aside for this great task.

However, there are two important points that we must note. Firstly, though the Kohathites came as close as a common Israelite could come, they never had complete access. They carried the Ark of the Covenant, but they never saw the Ark, as it would have already been covered. They could carry the altar, but they were not permitted to approach the altar and serve God before it by laying their sacrifices upon it. This duty was reserved for those who were serving as priests. They had great privilege, but did not enjoy a special access to God. Secondly, the holiness of God, their sinfulness and the need for absolute obedience would have been impressed upon them. They were not to look upon the Ark, nor touch it. Aaron is given very specific instructions by God, so as to ensure that God’s judgement would not come against the Kohathites. Aaron’s obedience to these instructions was very much a matter of life or death for the Kohathites. In fact later on in Israel’s history they would have been reminded of this at the cost of Uzzah’s life in 2 Samuel 6. The Kohathites had a special privilege, they came close to the sacred objects, but there was still a distance between them and God. They had a special privilege, but one that would always remind them of the absolute holiness of God, their sinfulness and the reality of God’s judgement coming against any who disobeyed.

For us who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our privilege is greater than that of the Kohathites. We are invited into God’s presence, into the most Holy place, into the throne room of heaven. There is no distance between God and us, there is no need for veils, curtains or coverings. Nor do we have the fear of God’s judgement hanging over us, for we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness.

We need to be careful not to envy all the various signs, symbols that God gave to the Israelites. Yes they may have been spectacular to behold, and a helpful reminder, but we have something much better, better by far. In Christ we have the reality of all these signs and symbols, we have something greater than a tabernacle, temple, altar or ark.

We need to be mindful of the special and unique position we have been given because of Christ, for we are now children of God, who know both now and for all eternity the love, favour and blessing of God. Our sin has been removed, the distance has been bridged. Therefore you and I can run each and every day into the presence of God and find favour! We can pray to our Father in heaven, not having to first offer up a sacrifice and ask the priest to pray on our behalf. We don’t have to look far to see and know the presence of God, we don’t have to walk to the tabernacle or temple to meet with and worship God. We have the presence of God within us, and thus we permanently meet with God, we can worship Him anywhere and at any time. We can cry out to Him in any place and know that He will hear. Our privilege is so much greater and higher. Let us not envy those in the Old Testament with all the wonders that God did, for Christ is better by far, and all the saints in the Old Testament longed for the day of Christ. It was a privilege many of them died waiting for, yet we have seen and know the truth and blessing of what they longed for. What the Kohathites and every other Israelite longed for, free, unrestricted, personal access to God, with the fear of sin and judgement removed, we have and know this every day. We are privileged beyond what we can fathom!

Gracious Father, thank You that through the ages You have revealed Yourself in so many ways, ways that are wonderful, mighty and awesome. Yet as great as these revelations were, they all pointed to the greatest coming revelation, that of God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to know, to understand how privileged we are to have seen and known this revelation, and the salvation that comes through Christ. Forgive us for often being envious of the signs and symbols of the Old Testament, or wishing to have been there to see the miraculous and powerful works You performed. May we realise that Christ is better by far, to have and know Him is to gain everything and to be the most favoured, blessed and privileged of all people. Amen.