Fri.’s Devo - Change is Good if it is God

Read: Numbers 36:1-Deuteronomy 1:46; Luke 5:29-6:11; Psalm 66:1-20; Proverbs 11:24-26
A few days ago we read where the daughters of Zelophehad received their father’s inheritance because they had no brothers. The people in their tribe were concerned that if they married out of their tribe their husband’s tribe would get the land when they died. This was a valid point so Moses decided they must marry within their tribe and keep the boundary lines intact.
I wonder if this has to do with our talents and gifts. My husband, Dave and I are both like-minded in our beliefs. We even have some of the same spiritual gifts, though in the natural, our gifts are very different. I know that we are both Levites spiritually. We don’t talk “tribal” in the church but I do wonder if we did if it would make a difference. Everyone who is born again fits in one of the tribes spiritually. It would be interesting to see how many people have married someone in their tribe.
God did multiply the children of Israel as the stars of heaven which made it too hard for Moses to lead by himself so God told him to appoint wise men from each tribe to judge the easier cases and he would do the hard ones.
Moses took them back through the past forty years and reminded them why they did not enter into the land. He did not want them to repeat that again.
In Luke, the Pharisees came to Jesus and wanted to know why his disciples didn’t fast. He told them that people don’t fast when they are with the bridegroom - they feast. They also questioned why he ate grain from the field (which they called work) and why he healed on the Sabbath (which they also called work). Jesus explained that there was no way to put new wine into old wineskins because the old wineskins would break. What Jesus taught and did was the new wine. The Pharisees were the old wineskins who couldn’t change their hearts to become new. All they could do was burst in anger. Jesus’ disciples were new wineskins whose hearts were hungry and ready to change. They could receive and hold the new wine.
Jesus was the Word which made him the law, but he was bringing in a new covenant which would bring life to the old. You had to have a changed heart to understand it.
Lord, help us to remember our past mistakes so we won’t be tempted to repeat them and help us to have tender hearts to embrace new things you are bringing to us.