Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Revenge on the Midianites and Jesus Trip Home

Read Numbers 30:1-31:54, Luke 4:1-30, Ps. 63:1-11. Pr,. 11:2-21 Moses led the children of Israel in their first battle since they left Egypt. It was against the Midianites, the very ones who hired Balaam to curse them. Notice in Numbers 31:8 that Balaam fought with the Midanites against them and was killed. “Balaam” means “swallower of the people”. In verse 16 it says that Balaam was the means of turning the Israelites away from the Lord at Peor that brought the plague. The people had blamed Moses for killing the people. When they went to battle they took the priest and the furniture from the tabernacle which included the ark - the very presence of God. They also took trumpets. One day Jesus as our High Priest will summon us with the sound of a trumpet and we will join Him in the battle of Armageddon. One more very interesting thing about this battle, the only ones who were killed were the Midianites. In verse 49 it says that when they counted the soldiers, not one of them were missing. They all took tremendous plunder from the Midianite camp. When we fight the devil and his evil angels, not one of us will be lost. We will plunder the devil’s camp. In Luke, Jesus entered his fast “full of the Holy Spirit” He came out of His temptations “in the power of the Spirit”. What made His natural body weak by fasting and being tempted, made His spirit strong and resolved. He also came back with His mission defined. He proclaimed it first to His own people of Nazareth when He read from Isaiah about Himself. Then He amazed them by explaining why they couldn’t receive Him. What offended them the most was that He used two examples of non-Jewish people that God had blessed. This was His explanation for not being able to do many miracles there. When the people were about to stone Jesus, He did his disappearing act and walked right through the crowd and went His way. Lord, it is painful to see how misunderstood and ill-treated You were. May we carry Your cross with dignity and thanksgiving.