Sun.’s Devo - God is in Control!

Read: Numbers 33:40-35:34; Luke 5:12-28; Psalm 65:1-13; Proverbs 11:23
The king of Arad in Canaan heard that the people of Israel ere approaching his land. The Israelites continued journeying till they came to the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. God told Moses to tell them that when they crossed over they were to drive out all the people living there and destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish all their pagan shrines. If they didn’t it would be a thorn in their side and splinters to their eyes.
The land was to be distributed according to the number of people. God gave them the borders of their land and told them to set up towns within every tribe for the Levites. Their town would include 2,000 cubits or 1,500 feet of land outside their walls for pasture. That is the same distance that the ark had to have between it and the people when it was carried (Joshua 3:4).
Six cities of refuge had to be set up to try murder cases. If their was a witness and the man was guilty, then a close relative was the avenger of blood and his job was to kill the murderer. If he had no witness and he pled innocent, the community would investigate his case and if they believed he was innocent they would escort him to the city of refuge. There he would stay until the death of the high priest and then he could return to his land innocent. If he ever left the city before the death of the high priest, the avenger of blood was free to kill him.
This is a picture of what happened after death. If a man was righteous, he stayed in Sheol in a city of refuge. When Jesus, our High Priest, died, he descended into Sheol and led captivity captive. He released them from their chains and took them with him to heaven after his resurrection. Jesus was the first fruit to rise from the dead. Many people saw these resurrected people walking the streets of Jerusalem awaiting his rising (Matthew 27:51-53).
God explained that murder pollutes the land and no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder. Jesus became our scapegoat that took on himself the sin of murder so that we could be purified and our land could be purified.
In Luke, Jesus healed a man with an advanced case of leprosy. No one had ever been healed of leprosy except the captain of Syria. The Pharisees believed that one of the signs of the Messiah would be that he would heal a Jewish leper. That is why Jesus told him to present himself to the priest. It would be a sign to them that the Messiah had come. Of course, they were too blind to see past their jealousy and the fact that he wasn’t coming in the earth suit that they were expecting him to come in. God’s deliverers don’t always look like we want them to look. Great men of history have been adulterers, murderers, sinners and addicts, but God used them because they had what it took to be a leader and get his purposes done. God is in control of a nation, not the leader. The leader is his pawn and he choses the least likely candidates. May that wisdom help you in the days ahead. History books remember their accomplishments, not their blemishes.
Lord, help us to see through your eyes and not our own opinions. You are in total control!