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MONDAY…”The PRESENCE of God” / Numbers 1-10 Every new direction in life, if given the opportunity to plan & prepare for, involves some intense inventory, which can be hard work! If we don’t “minimize before we organize”, we just retain a lot of things we no longer need, cluttering up our “spaces” with nicely arranged “piles”! That’s what those “hard to drive thru the neighborhood garage sales” are for! Israel didn’t have a garage sale, but they did begin to organize their camp, number their troops, and you can see very quickly in this first section of the book of Numbers, how the name of the book came about. Unfortunately, what they WOULD leave behind one day as their journey progressed, would be an unbelieving generation from ages 20-60, but we’ll get to that story a bit later. Now the topics & events in these first 10 chapters that hopefully you might skim thru today (or at least read the paragraph headings) will vary but have a theme. It’s the “presence of God”. And that calls for a lot of prep for the trip He’s taking them on! In their case, it was troop registration, camp organization, Levite appointment, & a duty roster of each clan. Those things alone get us thru the first 4 chapters. And one thing worth noting is the AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY. Wow! Some of us haven’t heard that phrase in church since we were kids! Now I know the Bible doesn’t speak much directly about this, but in the registration of troops and later in the punishment given to the unbelieving nation led by unbelieving spies, the age of accountability appears to be 20. You can’t make a hard case for that because God only knows, so it might not be the “magic number” but it seems to be the “mentioned number” (1:20 / 32:11). In chapter 5, they turn a corner and PURITY in the camp as well as MARITAL FAITHFULNESS surface as priorities. Then the Nazarite law & priestly blessing, followed by dedications of offerings, lamps, Levites and a big finish with the 2nd Passover, a fiery cloud, silver trumpets special communication & the nation is ready to “head ‘em on up & move ‘emon out, RAWHIDE”! (Sorry, got caught up in the moment and reverted back to TV Land. I meant to say “leave Mt. Sinai”, but it came out rawhide) Now since that “age of accountability” came up in today’s “10 chapters at a glance reading”, there’s another “age” mentioned in 8:23-26 and it has to do with the retirement of the Levites. Hey, now you’ve got my attention! Now the Levites were not volunteers, but were paid staff with a variety of different responsibilities in assisting the priests & all the necessary functions (and in some cases “malfunctions”) that went on in the religious life of Israel. Notice it says they must begin serving in the Tabernacle at age 25 and retire at age 50 and in that retirement, they can ASSIST their fellow Levites but not officiate. They were to mostly become “security guards” and not do the “heavy lifting” that was required. This helped the older ones “let go” and make room for the young bucks, which can always be a challenge in our lives and work. But it also gave them something significant to do in this long journey to the Promised Land. Now please don’t get stuck in Old Testament thinking because the Tabernacle was “temporary” and the Temple is yet to come as well as Jesus and the New Covenant, which would put “retirement” in the Kingdom seemingly out of the vocabulary. If any questions, take a lookat Simeon & Anna in Luke 2 and the Christmas story. They kept serving the Lord WELL into AARP territory! So we end today with a couple of takeaways I hope. Our age matters in terms of accountability, and it matters in our season of service. I’m struggling at times to “ACT MY AGE”. Always have found that difficult. It’s a good principle to be “guided by, but not limited by”, if that makes sense. So today, as our week begins to unfold here on a Monday, don’t let your 55+ age be a barrier in serving God in whatever way He calls you to! The Old Testament pattern was to help the season and not let the older folks control everything as historically it many times has been a pitfall in churches. The young ones can’t take hold if we won’t let go. But that doesn’t mean we quit serving. Many “incredible servants of the Lord” go virtually UNNOTICED, doing privately what doesn’t need public attention. That’s why Jesus said that no one who “gives a cup of cold water in My name will lose their reward”. So, my Finishing Well Friends, serve the Lord wholeheartedly, whether publicly or privately! He knows your heart, your gift, your circumstance & situation. And we like Moses & the Israelites are on a journey to the land He has promised us! Love you guys and buckle up for tomorrow. If you think the 1968 Democratic Convention with the National Guard being called in was a mess, then you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Israel start to rebel! TUESDAY… “the REBELLION of the People” / Numbers 11-19 It took 10 chapters yesterday to leave Mt Sinai, but as soon as their sandals hit the sand, within 1 verse of chapter 11, “the people soon began to complain about their hardship and the Lord heard everything they said”. Did you catch that? They’re complaining again. Over what? They’ve got manna & quail and water before they dehydrate! God has been faithfully providing. What is this HARDSHIP they’re upset about? Is it they’re not back in Egypt? Is it they’re not in the Promised Land? Is it they have to pack up and follow the cloud when God moves? Please tell me it’s not because they’re being INCONVENIENCED by God’s basic requirement of offerings & festivals and following the 10 Commandments, which really help everything go smoothly! Turns out it appears to be they were upset about all of the above. And make no mistake, GOD HEARD EVERY WORD! Let’s keep that one in our pocket for the next time the weather isn’t all blue skies! So Moses and God begin to talk because they’re both really angry! Moses literally says, “give me a break”, I didn’t ask for this job! And he expresses his distaste of “carrying the whole load” in a very cathartic way to the Lord, which is a good model for our prayer life! He literally says, though, if this is how it’s gonna be, Lord, then just shoot me! And in verse 16, God does one of the most gracious things He could do for Moses. He gives him HELP. He says pick 70 of your best men and bring them to Me. God said He would “take some of the Spirit that was upon Moses and put it on them as well, so they could BEAR THE BURDEN TOGETHER. My friends, it doesn’t get any better than that. When we bear one another’s burden in the calling God has on our lives and “so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6), then God accomplishes “more than we can imagine” (Eph 3). God then says that He’ll begin to bring on the protein (quail) and even more than they would ever want or need! So Moses is convinced and goes to select the 70 and as the Spirit descended upon them, they prophesied, but only that one time. What’s really cool is that 2 guys who were selected were late & never made it to the meeting, but started prophesying right where they were! So there was no “crowd psychology explanation” that could be given about that miracle! It gets even cooler when Joshua hears about those 2 guys not being part of the group and wants them to stop, but Moses tells Josh not to be “jealous for my sake”. (I love the loyalty of Joshua! You could build an incredible church staff on that guy!) But without that type of loyalty to the vision of God by church leaders, well, let me just say there’ll be no need of a building or capital stewardship program! You live & grow by unity in the Body of Christ, & the mission drifts & dies without it! We’ve found that to be true in all 6 churches we’ve served in. Thank God for great integrity leaders…for the most part….thru the years! Well, it gets worse in chapter 12. Miriam and Aaron are affected by the complainers and turn against Moses. Yep. You heard it right. They defected. It appears they felt they were being overlooked and should be considered JUST AS INFLUENTIAL as the big guy. Yeah, I get it. Everybody loves you until you’re the boss! As I think about the loyalty of Joshua, it reminds me that “there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother” (Solomon in Proverbs 18:4). And if you take a moment to see what their criticism was, can you believe it? Was it really over Moses’ wife or was that just “here’s something else I’m mad about” thing to mention? His wife was a Cushite, though. Another ethnicity. There’s that. She’s not ONE OF US. Now while the text indicates Zipporah was from Midian, it actually indicates that she was “like a Cushite”, in that her skin was very dark. Could it be that Moses’ siblings were upset over his “blended” family? Christian author, John Ortberg believes that to be true. In his account of the story with Miriam getting leprosy for a week and only being relieved of it because of Moses’ intercessory prayers for her, he states that you can almost hear God ask Miriam as her skin appears bleached out from the disease, “is that white enough for you?” Although it’s such a difficult passage from Moses’ point of view, it’s a beautiful thing to see his pleading to God on Miriam’s behalf. And we’re on to #’s 13 with the good spies / bad spies. Trusting you know that story. If not, here’s the great Children’s Church song….. 12 men went to spy on Canaan / 10 were bad & 2 were good / What did they see when they spied on Canaan / 10 were bad & 2 were good / Some saw giants big and tall / Some saw grapes in clusters fall / Some saw God rule over all / 10 were bad & 2 were good (Used to love that song in the decade I did Kids Ministry!) Joshua & Caleb were the good guys who believed God in spite of an intimidating enemy. But the real enemy was from within. Acquiescing to fear and doubt will delay the blessing of God AND will put you on the SLOW TRACK to where He wants you & His people to be! And on to chapter 14 with more rebellion, intercession & punishment. More laws, penalties, & tassels (reminders to obey) in 15. Korah’s major rebellion in 16, the Budding of Aaron’s staff in 17. And Numbers 18 is one of my favorite chapters because it addresses the Levites, of which tribe I have always felt a part of. Any one in local church ministry needs to be aware of the great privilege it is to serve God in that way. Ministry staff aren’t to DO all the work of ministry, butare to EQUIP others to do the work! Thru the years I’ve felt like God calls us to be talent SCOUTS more than talent SHOWS. I love to see people get the opportunity to use their giftedness. But there is an expectation that I had overlooked for years. While it’s not as “binding” in some folks’ minds as mine, in chapter 18, God tells Moses to tell the Levites in vs 25-26 that the “tithe” that they receive from the people’s offering to God should also be “tithed” as well by the Levites. God says it is a “sacred portion”. Now I know we operate under the principle of “generosity” in the New Testament, but I’ve always felt when it comes to giving that church leaders shouldn’t let others be the only contributors financially. It absolutely all belongs to Godand we are to manage HIS blessings well. It’s just always been a deep conviction of mine, hopefully not in a legalistic way, but in a “seems to make sense to me” type of way. Chapter 19 ends with a commentary on “water purification” that seems less than climactic, but once again, brace yourself because tomorrow we finish Numbers with a lot of chapters, but one in particular where Moses was overwhelmed and has one of those worst days ever. We’ve all had them and honestly more than just one. Praying the week is going well for you. May the Lord take some of these Old Testament accounts and help us make a “relevant application” to our own lives. WEDNESDAY…”the FATIGUE of Moses” / Numbers 20-36 Many our age, who have a few miles on their odometer, remember what the generation before us had said for years. That at some point, our bodies would start aching, Advil would become our friend, and some parts might need “replacing”. I remember having cataract surgery several years ago. Most folks have both eyes done within a couple weeks, but I held out until I had to. When I had the first eye done it was in the month of May, but I waited a few years for the next one which was done in December. I highly recommend cataract surgery in December if you can schedule it that way. Turns out you really haven’t seen Christmas lights until you’ve seen them THE DAY AFTER CATARACT SURGERY! That is an incredible sight! A lot of pains & replacements can come along with the passing of our decades, but what I think Moses began to feel in his 80’s was not as much physical pain as an emotional/spiritual“FATIGUE”. He might have been tired of the desert, maybe unexcited by the manna & quail, and perhaps the constant counsel & judgment he was called upon to give every day. I would imagine there was an accumulative effect he felt as the “Deliverers” God had chosen. Delivering the people FROM Egypt turned out to be less stressful than delivering them TO the Promised Land. And I’m guessing that nothing wore him out more than the COMPLAINING OF THE PEOPLE! I heard an old-timer back home as I was growing up say, “Some people would complain if you hung ‘em with a brand-new rope”. (I calmed his expression down a little but you get the idea) Moses, in this 20th chapter of the book of “life in the wilderness” had come to the point wherethe people wore him out. And that’s how this “pivotal portion” of the Book of Numbers changes directions in chapter 20. So let the WHINING begin! Now to give us an added CONTEXT in the passage, make sure you see the first verse of the chapter. Every word in the Bible is there for a reason. And in my opinion, the fact that Moses’ sister, Miriam had died had no small impact. He’s not just tired of leading & pleading, but is exhausted from the emotional drain of patiently tolerating the “faithlessness of a community of faith”. How ironic is that! And he’s been grieving the death of his sister. And he was most likely the only one in the nation shedding a few tears. She had opposed him and been divisive, incurring the temporary penalty of temporary LEPROSY, holding up the whole nation in their travels for a whole week previously. So when Miriam goes “the way of all flesh”, the flag is not lowered to half mast. Moses and Aaron most likely grieved alone! The sister who led the celebration after the parting of the Red Sea was no longer there. And in verse 2, the drought hits again. Seems to be a common theme in the desert. But the people don’t just holler for water, they “personalize their persecution” towards Moses. After all they’ve been through (by God’s faithfulness), they now “double down” on their complaints. But this time Moses & Aaron both retreat to the Tabernacle to seek the Lord and He appears! And even though God gives great positive advice for Moses, he seems past the breaking point once again. Now he’s been there before with anger. Once toward an Egyptian beating his fellow Israelite years ago. He again was emotionally in the same place when he saw the immoral festivities & threw down the tablets with the 10 Commandments engraved on them. But this time, it appears to be Moses’ 3rd strike. Please notice the point of infraction, even if you miss every other detail of this story. God “writes the speeding ticket” in verse 12 & explains the problem was not Moses’ anger, but his MISREPRESENTATION of God’s holiness in that moment of providing water for God’s people. He simply didn’t TRUST God enough to portray Him accurately to the people. He was exhausted and when we’re tired we can make some big mistakes that carry consequences. It’s a heartbreaker, but God plays no favorites when it comes to this type of thing. And even though this is seen as somewhat of a failure on Moses’ part, God doesn’t DISCARD him, but simply “brings him home a little early”! He has served well, though it would end as he had hoped. But what a servant of the Lord! What a humble leader, though flawed like the rest of us! God spoke with Moses “as one man speaks to another”. These final 17 chapters of the book of “the 4th book of the Pentateuch” cover a lot of ground. The death of Aaron, a victory over the Canaanites, the bronze snake, the journey to Moab, & other victories over Sihon & Og. Then there’s Balaam & his talking donkey (reminds me of either “the Talking Mr. Ed” tv show as a kid or Eddie Murphy in “SHREK”). Balaam & Balak find out the hard way, never to attempy to curse God’s people. Later, in chapter 25, Moab seduces Israel thru pagan worship,which always involved sexual immorality. Then in 26, there’s a 2nd registration of the troops and all the tribes are numbered again & mentioned. Some daughters have a special request and Joshua is chosen by God as the next leader. All sorts of OFFERINGS are once again mentioned, as well as the FEASTS, and laws about vows. In chapter 31 they conquer the Midianites & divide the plunder. Then as the tribes on the East are dealt with, Israel’s journey is remembered, boundaries established, & land divided, establishing towns for the Levites, cities of refuge, and the book ends with a special group of women appropriately inheriting property. So as we skim thru to the end the book today, let me pose a 3-pronged question that I think begs to be asked. #1…Do you feel the PRESENCE of God? That’s how Numbers begins. All together, about to start this journey, and seemingly close to God. Do you feel He is close or distant to you right now? Why is that? Even when He “feels” quiet & far away from us, we need to remember that He really isn’t. He sees every move we make, hears every word we say, and knows every thought we have! His quietness many times simply “tests our hearts”. #2…Do you sense the REBELLION of the people? If you watch the news with any regularity, I don’t see how you could miss this one. Later in the Old Testament, Isaiah would acknowledge to God that “he was a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips”. Resentment & rebellion are a part of our culture right now. So it was with the nation of Israel back then. Do you find yourself “complaining & criticizing or consulting & correcting more”? Paul would later say to the early church that, “bad company corrupts good morals”. The negative always picks a fight & tends to throw rocks. Is there a negativity that might be creeping up on us today? #3…Are you experiencing the FATIGUE in this season of life that accompanies many folks? It seems to come when our “decades get stacked up” and our lives & youthfulness aren’t what they once were. Time to “go with Aaron to the Tabernacle” to talk things over with God before we get beyond tired and do or say something we’ll later regret! If your answer is YES to all 3 questions, then your life is a direct reflection of the book of NUMBERS! Such is life, in the Kingdom of God. Try your best to be aware of all 3 of those things….. the beauty of His presence, the struggle of His people, and your own personal stamina level that periodically needs attention. That’s what the Sabbath is for. I wish I lived in that conviction more! May today be a day that we REMEMBER & RECOMMIT to what God wants us to remember and remain committed to! Don’t wear out! We need you for the long haul! Love you guys…..and see you in the final book of the Law tomorrow! THURSDAY… “Historical PROLOGUE” & “Covenant Stipulations”….. Deut 1-26 Moses did an incredible job of recording all the history or Israel. And in this final book of the Pentateuch, he launches what’s called “the Second Giving of the Law”. It starts with recalling the journey of leaving Mt Sinai, the appointing of tribal leaders, scouting the land & the ensuing rebellion, followed by their wanderings. Victories and land divisions are mentioned and then Moses gives a painful account of his pleading with God to get to go into the Promised Land. You see in chapter 3 the vulnerability of this amazing humble leader as he tells how God told him, “No, and don’t bring it up again”! God said He was going with Joshua and it was now Moses’ job to encourage, strengthen and commission him to cross the Jordan and take possession of the land. In chapter 4, Moses urges Israel to obey and not take liberty with the Word of God, by adding or subtracting anything to it. He warns against idolatry, drills down with the people making a lasting impression on them that there is “ONLY ONE GOD”. He helps establish “Eastern Cities of Refuge”, then begins his 2nd address to the people. In chapter 5, the 10 Commandments are once again recorded followed by this pivotal moment in chapter 6, where he mentions what the Jewish people call the Shema, which is “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” He goes on to state what Jesus would later refer to as the Greatest Commandment”, loving God with ALL you are. Now let’s focus for a moment on the part of chapter 6 that challenges us to pass the truth about the God of Creation on down to our kids every chance we get. In verses 6-9, it says, “And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them on your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” I think I’m getting the picture. SATURATE your family with the Word of God. We tried to do that when our kids were young. We tried to keep in balance that without obsessing over it and our prayer was they wouldn’t grow up and resent God or the Church. I remember one Sunday School teacher talked with Sue Linn and I about Rachel when she was about 5 years old, asking us if it was alright for her to be “promoted” a little early to the older class. We said, of course, do what you think is best. But wait, is she talking too much and being disruptive? Her teacher, Debbie, kindly responded, “Oh, no, nothing like that. It’s just that she ‘corrects me’ when I tell the Bible story and adds some ‘color commentary’! (At a girl, Rachel!). We of course apologized….but took Rachel out for ice cream to celebrate! It's never too late to go over Bible stories and have theological discussions with your kids & grandkids. The more we “normalize” God’s Word in our conversations in healthy & holy ways, the more comfortable & confident they feel in talking about God and the Bible and their walk with the Lord with others. Today is a challenging day for raising kids or grandkids with spiritual convictions. The times, they are STILL are a-changin’! and those i-pads & i-phones, they are a-ddicting! Don’t we all know it! And I’m not just talking about kids! My hope, actually, is that these devotionals simply give you a little more familiarity with the Bible or help you remember biblical truth in an off-beat way. If so, then my mission is accomplished. If we’re gonna FINISH WELL, then we need to REMEMBER WELL the things that Moses thought were repeating here in Deuteronomy! Now the remainder of the COVENANT STIPULATIONS (thru chapter 26) cover a multitude of topics. There’s the privilege of holiness in chapter 7. A call to remember & obey in 8. Chapter 9 is victory in God’s grace as they recall the dreaded “golden calf” idol. 10 is about the new copy of the covenant (or the tablets 2.0). There’s a call to love & obedience and chapter 11 moves us into the “Blessings of Obedience”. 12 is the chosen place of worship and 13, a stern warning against idolatry. 14 covers clean & unclean animals and tithing. 15 celebrates the release of debtors, of Hebrews slaves, and sacrificing firstborn male animals. Then we get to the FESTIVALS….Unleavened Bread, Harvest (Israel had Harvest Homecoming long before New Albany), Shelters and words about letting true JUSTICE prevail as chapter 16 ends. 17 is about Guideline’s for a King and 18 covers gifts for Priest & Levites (let’s don’t skip over that one!). Holy living, true & false prophets finish that chapter as 19 begins with cities of refuge (which seem quite popular for discussion these days…..who knew!). 20 & 21 covers war regulations, unsolved murder and marriage to a captive woman, as well as rights of the firstborn and dealing with a rebellious son (I wonder how much of a deterrent that really was?) 22 covers sexual purity and 23/24 has some very unique thoughts on regulating worship & a variety of others like newlywed grooms not having to go to the military for their first year of marriage (that’ll make you sing “Goin’ to the Chapel” a time or two!). chapter 25 has an extensive mention of “Miscellaneous Laws” and 26 focuses on Harvest Offerings & tithes as well as a simple Call to Obey. FRIDAY….the Concluding Sections (Deuteronomy 27-34) Let me thank you today for HANGING IN THERE to an incredible degree! I hope this will perhaps also serve as an AT A GLANCE REMINDER that you might be able to look back periodically and see a CONDENSED version that serves as a review for you! So let’s knock this puppy out! Here we go! Coming in to the home stretch with chapter 27 at the Altar of Mt Ebal. “Blessing for Obedience” dominate chapter 28 while 29 is filled with Moses Reviewing the Covenant. 30 is another call to RETURN to the Lord with a very pointed “Life or Death” choice to make! Chapter 31 identifies Joshua formally as Israel’s new leader and please notice in verse 9, that Moses wrote the ENTIRE book as it was to be read on special occasions. But in chapter 31, Moses goes PROPHETIC on them, predicting Israel would disobey. He then writes a song in chapter 32 & delivers it immediately. Much like when Alan Jackson wrote, “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning that September Day” concerning 9-11 only a short time after it happened. Chapters 33/34 wind down that section of the book with Moses BLESSING the People and the final scene is his death. Deuteronomy is a lengthy, comprehensive, “reasonably redundant” book of the Bible. But there is so much holy history & perspective for us to have our theology shaped by! As we wind down, let me mention a couple things coming up I’d like to ask you to be praying for and engaging in if you can. As I try to find a rhythm in my retired life, I’m discovering I still have several interests but none more than how I can be with and serve my family. We’re pretty much all alike in that regard I’m thinking. But I love the moments when we can get some Finishing Well folks together for an event and the next one I’d like for us to have is May 4th Sunday at one of our dear friends’ ministries, Kevin & Barb Williar, called JACOB’S WELL. Now that the time has changed and we have a little more daylight, we wanted to have doors open & desserts at 5:00 pm…the program at 5:30 and all done by 7:00 pm. It will be a CONCERT OF PRAYER with some retro-worship. We’ll all be at round tables, so it will be a great night of fellowship & prayer. Now there is limited seating & tickets will be $10 and will become available later this week on our website. Now the cut off # is 200 and we’re unable to fit anymore than that in, so there won’t be tickets available at the door….just so you’re aware of that. I also want to let you know that I’m still working on a PODCAST that will be celebrating pastors and others who have or are currently Finishing Well in the calling God has had on their life. That too, will become available on our website soon, I hope. Now in order for that to become a possibility, I’m asking some of my friends in our PASTORS FINISHING WELL group to write some of our weekly devotions. You’ll love hearing other voices as we go thru the Bible and some special holiday devotions as well. Some I have already lined up are Gordon Kushner, Bonnie Underwood, Chris Tanner from Georgetown, Scott Ham on our military holidays, Matt Craig from Scottsburg, Brian Drum from Zoah, Bobby Sorrells from Greenville, our dear friend and resident theologian Dr. Neal Windham, Michael Brady from Buckner, Brian Combs from Borden, Rachel Kushner bringing us a great perspective on Hannukah, Nate Ross sharing his experience visiting the 7 Churches in Revelation, CJ Sweeney sharing his special Charlie Brown Christmas Sermon, & I’ve still got a few more to hear back from who’ll join us. Needless to say I’m excited about their joining us this year as we can further develop the devotional writing & hopefully expand our PODCAST part of the ministry. And as always, it’s a joy to get to encourage you on some level in your walk with the Lord. I hope to help the Word of God go just a little deeper into your heart. Love to hear from you, but mostly want to encourage you in your home churches to plug in to serving, discipling and fellowship opportunities and be a blessing to those God has placed around you. Love you guys and mark down May the 4th (no, it’s not a Star Wars theme, but it will be a great time!) george
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