Thurs.’s Devo - Jesus Loved the Unloved

Read: Numbers 10:1-11:23; Mark 14:1-21; Psalm 51:1-19; Proverbs 10:31-32
God told the children of Israel to make two trumpets to call the community together and tell them to march. They were their way of communicating with everyone at once. They were to sound the trumpet before their feasts days and new moon festivals.
When the ark set out, Moses would say, “Rise up, O Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.” and whenever the ark came to rest, he would say, “Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.” What great proclamations to make at the beginning of our day and at the end.
The people complained constantly. The KJV called them a mixt multitude. Mixt in the Hebrew means a promiscuous assemblage of people. They were tired of the same manna to eat and craved the food of Egypt. God told Moses to call seventy elders together and tell them that God had heard their grumbling and was sending meat. They would eat it for a month until it came out of their nostrils and they hate it. Their blessing would prove to be a curse because of their hard ungrateful hearts.
It is two days before Jesus’ crucifixion and he is in Bethany. Bethany means “date house”. This was to be a date that would go down in history for sure. Dates are mentioned many times in the Bible. Their branches were used on Palm Sunday to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem and proclaim Him their Passover Lamb. The date leaves were used to make the lulav which was a bouquet of branches they used in waving before the Lord at the Feast of Tabernacles. Every bit of the date can be used for things like vinegar, honey, charcoal, wine, and even rope. It is a very versatile and useful plant full of minerals.
It was in Bethany that Jesus was anointed for burial by Mary in the house of a leper. Jesus loved the people that the world considered unclean and unimportant. He gave them love and hope.
Jesus spent his last days with the people who would strengthen him for what was ahead and the people that he was depending on to carry on his work.
Lord, I pray that our lives would be like the date that everything we do and have would be useful in your kingdom on earth and in heaven.