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MARCH 9
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.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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, as disciples, 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, 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 (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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