fear can lead to rebellion

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_0758

devotional post # 2307

Numbers 14:1-10

Num 14:1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night.
Num 14:2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “We wish that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or we wish that we had died in this desert!
Num 14:3 Why is Yahveh bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
Num 14:4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
Num 14:5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the sight of all the collected assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel.
Num 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
Num 14:7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land.
Num 14:8 If Yahveh delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.
Num 14:9 Only do not rebel against Yahveh. And do not fear the people of the land, because they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and Yahveh is with us; do not fear them.”
Num 14:10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the impressive appearance of Yahveh appeared at the conference tent to all the people of Israel.

fear can lead to rebellion

After the majority of the Israelite scouts gave their grasshopper report, fear overtook the community. It got so bad that the people threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb. Those two stood out as faithful to the LORD, and spoke out against the fear which was making the Israelites rebel against God.

Fear can make a good person stop doing good things. It can cause rebellion, and lead to judgment and condemnation.

MIGHTY GOD, keep us from the fear that could force us to forsake your mission. Build faith and faithfulness in us.

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the grasshopper report

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky Feb (28)

devotional post # 2306

Numbers 13:26-33

Num 13:26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
Num 13:27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
Num 13:28 However, the people who stay in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
Num 13:29 The Amalekites stay in the land of the Negev. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites stay in the hill country. And the Canaanites stay by the sea, and along the Jordan.”
Num 13:30 But Caleb quieted the people in the sight of Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, because we are well able to overcome it.”
Num 13:31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, because they are stronger than we are.”
Num 13:32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, and this is what he said “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height.
Num 13:33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

the grasshopper report

The grasshopper report started out right, but then they got to the part after the “however.” From then on, all they could do was point out the size of the challenge to God’s will.

“Look”, says Caleb, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, because we are well able to overcome it.”

But the majority said that the people are too strong. They are giants. Friend, the grasshopper report is right. You cannot do what God wants you to do — without him. But with his help, the giants can be crushed — like grasshoppers.

Father God, you have called us to an impossible mission, but all things are possible with you.

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what you see hiking

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky Feb (27)

devotional post # 2305

Numbers 13:17-25

Num 13:17 Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negev and go up into the hill country,
Num 13:18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who stay in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many,
Num 13:19 and whether the land that they stay in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they stay in are camps or strongholds,
Num 13:20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.
Num 13:21 So they went up and scouted out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.
Num 13:22 They went up into the Negev and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
Num 13:23 And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs.
Num 13:24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.
Num 13:25 At the end of forty days they returned from scouting out the land.

what you see hiking

The scouts were sent out on a 40 day long-distance hike, and told to discover what the land was like. I know a little about long-distance hiking, and I can tell you that what you see on such a hike often depends upon your attitude. If you go anticipating the joy of experiencing God’s creation, what you see will be just that, in spite of the hardships. But if you start out with a negative, defeatist attitude –surprise! You will see defeat.

LORD, give us the courage to answer your call, and the attitude to expect your blessing.

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scout’s dishonor

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky Feb (26)

devotional post # 2304

Numbers 13:1-16

Num 13:1 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Num 13:2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you will send a man, every one a leader among them.”
Num 13:3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of Yahveh, all of them men who were leaders of the people of Israel.
Num 13:4 And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;
Num 13:5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;
Num 13:6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;
Num 13:7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;
Num 13:8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun;
Num 13:9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu;
Num 13:10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;
Num 13:11 from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi;
Num 13:12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;
Num 13:13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael;
Num 13:14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;
Num 13:15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
Num 13:16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.

scout’s dishonor

Except for Joshua, we have not heard these names before as part of the biblical record. They are — you may have noticed — not the generals of the tribes in charge of their defending armies. They have emerged from the ranks. They have earned the honor of representing their tribes as scouts — first to see the land God had promised them. But we will see that — except for Joshua and Caleb, they did not act honorably because they did not trust God for victory.

LORD, we trust you to overcome all the obstacles to the plan you give us.

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snow white

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky Feb (25)

devotional post # 2303

Numbers 12:1-16

Num 12:1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, because he had married a Cushite woman.
Num 12:2 And they said, “Has Yahveh really spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And Yahveh heard it.
Num 12:3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the land.
Num 12:4 And suddenly Yahveh said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the conference tent.” And the three of them came out.
Num 12:5 And Yahveh 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.
Num 12:6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I Yahveh make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.
Num 12:7 That is not the case with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house.
Num 12:8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he notices the form of Yahveh. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
Num 12:9 And the anger of Yahveh was kindled against them, and he departed.
Num 12:10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, notice, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and he noticed that she was leprous.
Num 12:11 And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my master, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned.
Num 12:12 Let her not be as a dead one, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s uterus.”
Num 12:13 And Moses cried to Yahveh, “O God, please heal her– please.”
Num 12:14 But Yahveh said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.”
Num 12:15 So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again.
Num 12:16 After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

snow white

The people had complained about hardship, and fire had destroyed some of them — fire sent by the LORD. The people complained about manna, and the quail they craved killed some of them m– quail sent by the LORD. You would think that the people would have learned not to complain. But Moses’ brother and sister cannot resist the temptation to criticize him.

Aaron immediately sees his sister turn snow white, and fears he is about to lose his sister, and possibly his life as well. That curse was a gift that saved their lives that day, because it resulted in repentance and confession.

LORD, show us our sin. Keep us from speaking out against your chosen leaders out of jealousy.

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craving cemetery

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky Feb (24)

devotional post # 2302

Numbers 11:31-35

Num 11:31 Then a wind from Yahveh sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground.
Num 11:32 And the people went out all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.
Num 11:33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was swallowed, the anger of Yahveh was kindled against the people, and Yahveh struck down the people with a very great plague.
Num 11:34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving.
Num 11:35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.

craving cemetery

This time, when the Israelites broke camp and set out, they left a cemetery. The people had craved meat, despite having been given manna in abundance. So, God gave them what they had craved, and it killed many of them.

Some people teach that God wants his people to keep asking for more and more, so they can be blessed — to show God’s love and power. No, that’s not quite right. God is most glorified when his people trust him no matter what he provides. Faith in God’s care is much better than faith in our ability to get him to give more. Sometimes, more is less.

LORD, make us grateful citizens of your kingdom.

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this strange thing

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky Feb (23)

devotional post # 2301

Numbers 11:24-30

Num 11:24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of Yahveh. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and positioned them around the tent.
Num 11:25 Then Yahveh came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.
Num 11:26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp.
Num 11:27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
Num 11:28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My master Moses, stop them.”
Num 11:29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all Yahveh’s people were prophets, that Yahveh would put his Spirit on them!”
Num 11:30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

this strange thing

Joshua just couldn’t understand what Eldad and Medad were doing. His theology told him that only Moses could do that. His history reminded him of what had happened when Nadab and Abihu dared to do something different. So, he rushed to get Moses to intervene. Moses had no desire to intervene in this strange thing, because it was the Holy Spirit doing it.

Since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is doing a strange thing too. He is being poured out on our sons and daughters, our old, our young — all his servants.

LORD, give us the wisdom of Moses, not to try to oppose what your Holy Spirit is doing in our generation.

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divine overkill

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky Feb (22)

devotional post # 2300

Numbers 11:16-23

Num 11:16 Then Yahveh said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the conference tent, and let them take their stand there with you.
Num 11:17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they will carry the burden of the people with you, so that you may not carry it yourself alone.
Num 11:18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, because you have wept in the hearing of Yahveh, and this is what you said “Who will give us meat to eat? Because it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore Yahveh will give you meat, and you will eat.
Num 11:19 You will not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days,
Num 11:20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected Yahveh who is among you and have wept in the sight of him, and this is what he said “Why did we come out of Egypt?”‘”
Num 11:21 But Moses said, “The people I am among number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’
Num 11:22 will flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or will all the fish of the sea be collected for them, and be enough for them?”
Num 11:23 And Yahveh said to Moses, “Is Yahveh’s hand shortened? Now you will see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

divine overkill

The complaints about hardship and the monotonous manna have gotten to Moses. He cannot carry the burden of all the people alone. The LORD responds. He will give Moses not just one partner, but seventy. He will give the people meat, not just for one day, but for a whole month. God’s sufficiency and power were never the issue. Such is the case for the problems you and I are facing as well.

LORD, make us wise enough to trust you in the midst of our difficulties, and know that you have the power to rescue us.

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rose colored memories

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky Feb (21)

devotional post # 2299

Numbers 11:4-15

Num 11:4 Now the rifraff 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!
Num 11:5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.
Num 11:6 But now our soul is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”
Num 11:7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.
Num 11:8 The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil.
Num 11:9 When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.
Num 11:10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of Yahveh blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased.
Num 11:11 Moses said to Yahveh, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me?
Num 11:12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers?
Num 11:13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? Because they weep in the sight of me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’
Num 11:14 I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me.
Num 11:15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my misery.”

rose colored memories

The problem with the Israelites in the wilderness was that God’s faithfulness was not enough. They had a memory of fish and vegetables, and they allowed that memory to rule over the visible, tangible evidence that God was actively providing for their needs: the manna. Such behavior frustrated Moses to the point where he began to complain himself.

Father God, teach us to focus on your faithfulness in the present, and not to dwell on the rose colored memories of the past, which can only breed discontent.

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tested at Taberah

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky Feb (20)

devotional post # 2298

Numbers 11:1-3

Num 11:1 And the people complained in the hearing of Yahveh about their adversity, and when Yahveh heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of Yahveh burned among them and consumed some borders of the camp.
Num 11:2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to Yahveh, and the fire died down.
Num 11:3 So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire from Yahveh had burned among them.

tested at Taberah

The Israelites had been promised good things from the LORD. As they moved from place to place, they were responsible to live the life of faith — putting their faith in God for a better future. But the adversities of the journey tested their faith. They began to openly complain . God had warned them about his burning anger. It took the intercessory prayer of Moses to stop the destructive blaze.

LORD, give us the faith to endure whatever adversity we must face without complaining, so that we demonstrate a solid faith in your promises for our future.

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