Week 8. Lessons in the Wilderness

It’s hard to believe that we have been reading for 52 days.  4 books down! We can do this.

 This week’s readings in Numbers were surprises!  I must say, sometimes God’s dealings seem harsh with his own people after they disobeyed or rebelled…Stoning the Sabbath-breaker in chapter 15 for gathering wood on the Sabbath day…the death of all the insolent people when the ground swallowed them up…the burning death of the 250 men who were offering incense…the venomous snakes…and Moses was not able to enter the promised land because he stuck the rock in anger instead of speaking to it in a way that honored God.   

Don’t you wonder why the Israelites just couldn't stop the complaining and rebelling? 

OK, so we get it.  We know that God is very serious about all this.  But don’t we still complain to God all the time…even today? 

Chapter 22 has that interesting section about Balaam and the talking donkey.

And I love the phrases in Chapter 24, verses 4 and 15…”whose eyes are opened” “whose eye sees clearly”… sometimes we can understand when our eyes are opened.

Did you notice the prophecy of the Messiah in Chapter 24 verse 17-19? 

And wow, the event with the Midianites in Chapter 31 was just astonishing. 

I highlighted Chapter 32 verse 23: “If you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.”

An insight from Chapter 33: verse 3&4:  Did you ever think about the fact that when the Israelites were finally able to walk out of Egypt, all the Egyptians were burying their firstborn?  What a sight. 

As they prepared to take the Promised Land, did you notice how many times they were told to be brave and not to be afraid?   

I love the beautiful passage in Deuteronomy 4: 29 -31: “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart with and with all your soul.  When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him.  For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget you or forget the covenant with your ancestors which he confirmed to them by oath.”

Here is a map from another Bible that shows the paths of the desert wanderings. 

And we are still walking…