Listening to the Word

Numbers 28-29; Mark 8   “’…Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?’...He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him… ‘Get behind me Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but the things of man.’” Mark 8:17, 31-33 This was a challenging day for Christ’s disciples. They were called blind and hard-hearted by Jesus. Peter was even called “Satan,” despite wanting to defend and follow Jesus.   How much do we see clearly in our circumstances today? How well are we ‘understanding the times’ in which we are living? The redemptive aspect of this story was Jesus’ continued effort to help his disciples understand. With humility, we, too, will gain understanding even when life and the gospel feel confusing. Jes...

Numbers 24-27; 1 Corinthians 13   “Moses said to the Lord, ‘May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind [who gives breath to all living things], appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd. So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit [of leadership], and lay your hand on him.’” Numbers 27:15-18 Moses’ request to God was for a successor who would lead with courage and humility. He asked God for a shepherd, one who cared for the flock. God’s response was to call out Joshua whom he had already anointed with the spirit of leadership. The Holy Spirit’s anointing for leadership gave Joshua all that he needed to lead God’s people into the Promised Land. Joshua had learned to seek God’s face from Moses, his mentor. Joshua had learned that God’s presence and Word were the keys to every situation, challenge, and oppo...

Numbers 21-23; Mark 6,7   “So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar…And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland…Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times…the Spirit of God came upon him and he uttered his oracle:” Numbers 23:14, 28; 24:1-3 Balak’s attempt to use sorcery to curse Israel on top of Moab’s mountain was blocked by a ‘better word’ that came from the mountain of the Lord. Satan has tried to control the high places of the earth through sacrifices and idolatry, but he is powerless in the face of the word of the Lord, spoken from the mountain of the Lord. Isaiah saw the nations streaming to the Lord’s mountain to learn his ways (Isaiah 2:2). Daniel saw the mountain of the Lord that began as a rock smashing the kingdoms of this world and filling the whole earth (Daniel2:3, 5). John saw “a mount...

Numbers 19-20; Psalms 28; Mark 5 “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take the staff and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.’…’Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’” Numbers 20:7, 8, 10-12 Moses faced a grumbling, thirsty, Israelite assembly who questioned his leadership and the mission they were on. The Lord commanded Moses to speak to a large rock in front of the assembly, and it would pour out its water. Earlier at Horeb, the Lord asked Moses to strike the rock with the staff of God (Exodus 17:6). Moses, when faced with a similar situation at Kadesh, decided to re...

Numbers 17-18; Psalms 29; Mark 4   “’Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes…The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.’…Aaron’s staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.” Numbers 17:2, 5, 8 When the tribes grumbled against the calling of the Levites as priests, the Lord set them apart through a clear sign . This miraculous sign took place in the presence of the Lord as the twelve dry walking staffs spent the night in the tabernacle in front of the Ark of the Covenant. The next day, Aaron’s staff, a dry dead stick, had budded, blossomed, and produced almonds. We, too, might feel like an old, dry stick. However, when offered to the Lord, his presence can transform our lives, so that we, too, are known for our fruitfulness, even in our old age. Too many c...

Numbers 14-16; Mark 3   “Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp…Korah, son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites – Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth – became insolent, and rose up against Moses…” Numbers 14:44; 16:1, 2 This painful chapter in Israel’s Sinai journey exposed the hearts of leaders, including the Levites. The giants witnessed by the twelve spies in Hebron exposed fear in ten of the tribal leaders and in the majority of the community. Their response of grumbling against Moses’ leadership and ultimately their rebellion, led to presumption of action and the deaths of many people. When the warriors went to the “high hill country,” it appears they were trying to secure a strategic location. Presumption in any mission is dangerous! Repentance requires us to ‘stop, wait, and listen (obey)’ before we move forward...