March 16, Reading Notes

Numbers 24-25

One of the little evidences of the truth of God's word is that if it was simply the national literature of Israel, they would never have included these stories. National literature doesn't air a people's darkest details to this degree. If, on the other hand, the Bible is the record of God dealing with man to bring him redemption, this all makes sense. Israel is given the distinction of becoming a picture of mankind, of every man and woman. They will later be honored for this, but until then, we see through them how we would all respond to God. We who know Him are only different because we were redeemed out of death by the blood of Christ and were given the Spirit to break the power of sin. Even with them we struggle. Without them we'd be toast.

Num. 24:1-25

It seems that Balaam's intent was to look at Israel to find signs that would lead him to curse them. When he realized now that God would only bless them, apparently, his heart opened and the Spirit came upon him. This doesn't mean Balaam was a believer or following God any more than when this happened to King Saul.

From Balaam's vantage, high above the plain, the camp of Israel must have looked impressive.

Somewhere, too, we should remember that Israel had been camped out and living in the desert for 40 years at this point. This means they were a well-known people group and some of their history might have been known.

V. 10 Balak finally loses it and tries to rub it in that God has kept Balaam from getting rich. Balaam still has an ace to play, later.

At verse 14, Balaam gives an overview of what will eventually happen in the future. The star and scepter of verse 17 could be David, or eventually Jesus at His second advent. The ships of Kittim are often thought to be from Rome and are mentioned again in Daniel, almost certainly meaning the growing Roman empire.

V. 25 Balaam went home and the job was done. Later, we'll see he came back.

Num. 25:1-5

To some part of the camp, the locals came and said, "Hey, eat with us." Finally, something other than manna. During the meal it was apparent that it was a feast to another God, and not just any God. It was Baal, the god that, among other things, brought fertility to people and to the fields. When you bowed down to Baal it was sexual. They used male and female cult prostitutes. To "yoke" themselves was to engage sexually in Baal worship.

Vs. 4-5 show the extreme measures that Moses took to stop the growing plague of death that began sweeping through the camp.

Num. 25:6-15

Even though they had killed some of the leaders involved in this worship, who were consequently responsible for the plague that was sweeping the camp, the plague went on and Moses, the priests and the elders were stunned and didn't know what to do. Then Phinehas sees a guy take a woman of Midian into his tent. They weren't going to have coffee together. Everyone sees this bold defiance, but no one moves. Suddenly Phinehas sees the connection between the growing cry of death in the camp and this man and woman. He grabs a spear and sprints through the camp to this tent, and in one stroke he impales them both into the floor of the tent.

The plague instantly stopped. In those hours of sin and confusion, 23,000 died (Paul says 23,000 fell in a single day) and in the next days, another thousand died. Somehow there were scars or some sort of visible disease that was connected to this that Phinehas will refer to at the end of the book of Joshua.

Vs. 10-13 God makes a perpetual covenant with Phinehas. Here is the deal. Phinehas saw the connection between the sin and the death it was bringing, and he took action that brought peace. Therefore, it is a covenant of peace. The ministry of the priest was to bring peace between the people and God. I like what God says, "he was jealous with my jealousy."

As disciples, we do this in a similar way, we are to be passionate with Christ's passion, living as He lived, willing to die as He died, to bring the message of salvation to lost people.

Num. 25:16-18

God promises a fight, though it doesn't happen until chapter 31. If you want to look over chapter 31, you'll find Balaam's name at least twice.

Luke 2:1-35

One thing to not lose sight of is that in the words of both Mary and Zechariah, the promise to Abraham is spoken of. This is not an Israel thing going on, although for purposes of heralding the message, Israel was chosen. This is a world redemption thing going on, beginning from Adam and Eve. Abraham would have had firsthand knowledge of the promise since he knew Noah and Noah's father knew Adam. When I was working on a freight dock, this guy asked me why God was a Jew. The answer is simple. God chose a man, not a nation or ethnic group. Today, Abraham would have been an Iraqi. God made a nation to herald the truth. They failed once, but they'll get it right next time.

V. 5 Luke identifies Mary as Joseph's betrothed although Matthew says wife. They had not consummated the relationship, so though they were legally married, the relationship hadn't been "formally" begun. Luke may have been coming from a more Gentile perspective. He would have gotten all this information from Mary.

Vs. 8-14 There is much debate about the time of Jesus' birth. We really don't know, but you can't use the argument that in winter they didn't have flocks around Jerusalem. We know from the OT that there was a morning and evening sacrifice every day and there were plenty of sacrifices in between. They would have kept flocks around Jerusalem all year round.

One of the neat things about having kids is listening to their music. Sometimes you actually learn something, like, in this case, a memory verse, Luke 2:13-14. Wait for the saxophone.

V. 16 It is interesting that Mary usually gets first billing. Matthew says more about Joseph being spoken to in dreams. Probably because Mary was still alive at the time of this writing and known in the church, she is given prominence. And besides, she was Jesus' mum.

Vs. 22-24 We have read about these laws in the OT. Cool, huh? Notice that Joseph and Mary offer the sacrifice for poor people. They hadn't yet been visited by the wise men.

Vs. 25-35 Notice the references to the Spirit. Notice also the mention of salvation to the Gentiles. This would have been an important verse in the early church. Luke, again, would have gotten this from Mary.

Notice that Jesus will be "a sign that is opposed….so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." A person's response to Jesus reveals their hearts. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

As disciples we have to be willing to get the Word out there to give people the chance to respond. How they respond is not up to us. What we don't want is to be afraid of identifying with our Lord and having the sword pass through our own souls. I know my own fear, and Paul had to tell Timothy to not be afraid.

Remember what I said about listening to kid's music? Ready to memorize Luke 2:29-32?

Psalm 59

This is sort of funny. "Hey, guys, what melody should I use for this song?" "I don't know. Why don't we go with "Do Not Destroy"? I wonder if it had heavy percussion.

It is hard for us in the western world to really grasp having a powerful enemy. How do you get trained in focusing on the Lord, other than being so overwhelmed by oppression and threat, that you learn to bend your mind and heart to the Lord. Look at verse 16. The flow of this Psalm is very reminiscent of the flow of Psalm 119, David's masterpiece.

Proverbs 11:14

Assuming the counselors love the Lord.

If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.” 

I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.

If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.

I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.

Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.