Numbers 11:24-13:33
When it rains, it pours. All of these events
happened very near to each other. Even with the obvious presence of God in
their midst, even with the signs of His power and blessing, fallen people still
acted like fallen people. God's message to the people that the sin of a few
affects everyone will become unforgettable for the entire generation of people
who will enter the land.
Numbers 11:24-35
Vs. 24-30 This doesn't mean that Moses had
less of the Spirit, but that the same kind of spirit was passed on to the 70
elders. These men were probably empowered like spiritual shepherds, to
encourage the people in the Spirit.
V. 25 Whatever happened, it was visible. We
have examples of this happening to people, especially in 1 Samuel 19:20-24.
They didn't just prophesy; they went into a kind of trance or condition. The
German word, "Verzückung," gives the idea of an involuntary kind of
spasm. If you read the passage in 1 Samuel, you'll see that God did this to
protect David. The people who had this happen to them were so incapacitated
that they couldn't hunt for David. In this case, it probably looked like what
happened on the day of Pentecost. These men were overcome and began speaking
the Words of God and praising Him.
The implication of the Hebrew is that this
was a one-time event.
V. 26 Apparently not all 70 elders made it to
the tent. When the spirit came upon them, they prophesied, spoke the Word of
God with strength and conviction to the people to direct them to follow God.
V. 28 We've met Joshua before, but now his
father is named. It is no accident that we suddenly hear of Joshua in this
situation. Today and tomorrow we'll hear more about Joshua.
What I find interesting is that Moses doesn't
feel threatened, because this rose out of a genuine need that Moses begged for.
His God-given desperation saved him from being closed and defensive in bringing
on more leaders.
Vs. 31-36 The birds probably were not piled
2-3 feet high, but were so dense that they only flew that high and were very
easy to catch. It would have been like a wacky video game, standing out in the
middle of a field and having a low-flying flock head in your direction.
Vs. 33-35 In the plague, the idea here is
that God took care of the people with the craving, who began the avalanche of
carnality that "ate up" the camp. The timing factor is very
interesting. They had it in their mouths, but didn't get to enjoy the food they
craved. I'm sure some people were punished who got caught up in the sins of
these other people. In v. 34 you have a note that tells you what they named
that place. I'm willing to bet that as these people gathered, prepared and ate,
there was no sense of repentance for their complaining and no thanks to God for
His provision.
V. 35 God moved the people from that terrible
place.
Numbers 12
Vs. 1-2 So, we have heard nothing of Miriam
since the Red Sea. Apparently in all of this, she was the instigator and
jealousy was the motive. She used Moses' intermarriage as a tool to breed
discontent with Aaron. Either Zipporah, Moses' wife, had died and Moses had
remarried a Cushite (Egyptian), or they were finally taking Moses to task that
his wife wasn't an Israelite. Aaron and Miriam would have both had true-blue
Israelite spouses. The fact that Miriam is punished here shows that she was the
real force behind the problem and discontent. Also, since God had recently put
His Spirit on the 70 elders, she was jealous. Aaron probably was the
"weak" accomplice just as he was with the golden calf.
V. 3 That Moses was "meek" didn't
make him "weak." Meek would mean, "non-aggressively"
strong. He didn't have to fight to feel secure, and in the following cases, it
isn't weakness that makes him fall on his face. He realizes that the decisions
people are making will bring God's wrath.
Vs. 5-8 It is interesting that God says He is
the one who makes the choice of whom He talks to. It wasn't Moses' fault that
God chose Moses. I'm sure, in a way, if Moses could have retired to a little
chalet in the Alps, leaving someone else in charge, he would have done that,
but God didn't give him that choice.
In a way, it is true with us as disciples;
"success" is not our fault. It isn't even based on our talent or
skills. God makes the choice. On the one hand, there is no room for pride, and
on the other hand, there is no room for envy. When the disciples of John the
Baptist complain to John about Jesus' growing popularity, John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is
given him from heaven.” (John 3:27)
Notice that God tells them they should have
been afraid to have spoken against Moses. They didn't respect him, and more
disrespect was to follow.
Vs. 10-12 Apparently Miriam's appearance
wasn't just white, but the reactions of Aaron and Moses indicate that she
looked like she was half eaten away.
Vs. 13-16 Both Moses' reaction and God's
response are very interesting. The entire nation had to wait seven days for
Miriam. I'm sure word spread through the nation about what had happened. You
would have hoped the people would have taken it to heart.
Numbers 13
So far things haven't been pretty, and now it
goes from bad to worse.
Vs. 1-3 The Lord says to send out spies. In
Deuteronomy 1:21-22, Moses says it was the people's idea. I believe God simply
said OK to the desire of the people. So, I think the idea originated from the
fear and uncertainty of the people, but God allowed them to send the spies to
confirm for the people that the land was good.
Vs. 4-16 I don't know if they teach this
children's song in Sunday school anymore, Twelve
men went to spy on Canaan, ten were bad and two were good. We don't need to
focus on the bad guys, just the good guys, and tomorrow we'll hear more.
Notice that Joshua is mentioned today in
11:28, 13:8 and 13:16. Based on 13:16 and Joshua's past history with Moses, I
believe Joshua was the leader on their adventure. Moses changed his name from
"salvation" to "Yahweh is salvation." The first century version
of Joshua's name was "Jesus."
Vs. 17-29 Now just to put some of this in
perspective, these men traveled together and talked together for 40 days. That
should have brought some closeness. I've seen something like this happen in a
group, oddly enough, of 12 men. Based on what I saw there, I'll suggest this.
Not all of the spies were bad men, but they were not men of faith. They were
swayed by the majority in the group. There were men who could see the merit of
both sides of the argument when they sat at night and talked. Some of these men
certainly were friendly to the point of view of Caleb and Joshua. But when it
came down to the decision, it was rooted in fear and practicality, not in the
reality of an awesome God. I'll bet, when the ten men spoke to the multitude of
people, Joshua and Caleb were surprised, hurt, shocked, to hear what came out
of some of their mouths.
V. 22 Notice the mention of Hebron. This will
become the property of Caleb and the possession of Judah. In the future David
will reign in Hebron for seven years as the king of Judah, before he eventually
becomes the king of the entire nation. Hebron was also the home of the
Anakites, who were giants and would make big targets for Caleb.
V. 30 We are introduced to Caleb first in
13:6, and now he steps to center stage. Caleb quieted the people. He was a man of great faith, strength and
confidence in God, but he was only one man.
Vs. 31-33 So what was the real problem?
Giants. You would think that with all they saw in Egypt, this would be nothing.
With God, giants were just big targets and easier to hit. God will remind them
of these words about giants.
I have seen something like this happen in
church groups. If you want to see a good possibility or direction be defeated,
allow the deciding group to grow full of people with little faith and then
allow criticism to grow, saying, "Well, that is a valid point." The
voices of faith and confidence in God get drowned out in the laughter.
This is another reason why Jesus kept the
core of His disciples small. The core of disciples making disciples has to be
of men and women who deeply love Christ and will follow Him in the harvest. His
Word and His commission have to be their burning passion. While it is
attractive to move fast and invite everyone to be involved, the reality is that
faith matures slowly.
Here, God isn't laughing. If you want a good
man to use as a model of a disciple, look at Caleb. Tomorrow we'll read more.
Just as trivia, notice the tribes that Caleb and Joshua come from. Remember the
last words of Jacob. Tomorrow will be a very, very sad day for Israel.
Mark 14:22-52
Vs. 22-25 This is the Lord's Supper and the
sign of the new covenant. The blood of
the covenant wouldn't flow until Jesus was on the cross. The time when
Jesus will enjoy this celebration will be future and probably when He
establishes His Millennial Kingdom on earth after the Tribulation.
Vs. 26-42 This talk began in the upper room
and must have continued until they reached the Mount of Olives. Jesus told them they would fall away in order to help them cope and hold on to their faith
after they did fall away. Also, the three disciples eventually recovered from
their failure to wait with Jesus. They kept falling asleep, but the joy of the
resurrection must have erased their guilt. Peter's "fall" was deeper,
and he needed Jesus to pull him up. Notice that Jesus spoke to Peter. It is
probably no coincidence that Peter fell asleep three times, denied Him three
times and was asked by Jesus to confess his love three times.
Vs. 43-50 I still think it's funny that it
will take reading Luke's account, before we realize that Jesus healed/
reattached the cut-off right ear. In artistic language you could say that Peter
"Van Goghed" the man, although for Vincent it was the left earlobe,
and for the slave of the high priest, it was the entire right ear.
Vs. 51-52 The young man who ran away naked is
supposed to be Mark. John Grassmick gives an interesting idea of what might
have happened here on p. 181 of the Bible Knowledge Commentary-NT.
According to him, the mob might have stopped at the upper room first and found
that Jesus and the disciples were gone. Mark might have been sleeping and woke
when the mob showed up and left. Apparently, the little rich kid just grabbed
the sheet he was sleeping in and followed. The rest is history.
It is interesting that all the disciples got
away. It is only here that we realize that the mob was looking to grab others,
too. Maybe the sword play played a role.
Psalm 52
It is sort of hard to think of these as songs
sung in worship. To understand what had happened you need to read 1 Samuel
22:9-23. Doeg was a real dog. The soldiers at least had the faith and sense not
to kill the priests of the Lord, but not Doeg the Edomite. He launched right in
and killed the priests and their families. God's judgment on Doeg is seen to be
"typical" of how He will judge all evildoers.
V. 1 Notice the contrast between the two
lines of this verse.
Vs. 2-5 For many years David would have to
endure the lying of those who ruled under King Saul. This is addressed to Doeg,
but there were many others.
Vs. 6-7 Again, notice the contrast between
these verses.
Vs. 8-9 David knew that in spite of the lies,
hatred and violence aimed at him, the
steadfast love of God would not fail. Today, David was content to wait.
David was just now beginning to run from Saul, and his lying had gotten others
in trouble. David would be on the run and live in hiding for many years. Slowly
David would learn to wait and overcome his fear by being secure in the love of
God.
As disciples following the Lord in the
harvest, the hardest thing we will ever do is to wait on the Lord as He brings
us through a season of pruning and leads us on to the next season of
fruitfulness.
Proverbs 11:1-3
Imagine that v. 1 is a symbolic principle and
the next two verses expand on that symbolism.
False balance = pride
and crookedness.
Just weight =
humility and integrity.
Humility and integrity come from having a
just "weight" to understand and weigh life. That "just
measure" is the love of God and the Word of God.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't
work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/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 complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
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.
Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
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