Weds.’s Devo - The King

Read: Deuteronomy 16:1-17:20; Luke 9:7-27; Psalm 72:1-20; Proverbs 12:8-9 Moses continued giving God’s words to the people. God designated three times every year when every man in Israel was to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, The Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. Passover would be in Nisan and when it was eaten it was to be eaten with unleavened bread which would begin that festival. Unleavened Bread was to be celebrated a whole week where no yeast was to be eaten. Seven weeks from then would be the Festival of Harvest or Pentecost. This was to celebrate the wheat harvest. In the fall, they were to come back to the designated place and celebrate the Festival of Shelters or Tabernacles. This would celebrate the grape and olive harvest. Judges were to be appointed to judge the people locally. If the case is a murder or assault or too involved for them, they were to take the case to the Levites in the cities of refuge. They would try the case and decide. They were never to set up Asterah poles or pillars because they were used in pagan worship. If any one was found worshipping other gods or the sun, moon or stars - the forces of heaven, they were to be taken outside of the camp and stoned to death. There must be at least two witnesses to bring any accusation against them. If they decide that they want to appoint a king to rule them, they should be sure to ask the Lord who he chooses. He must be an Israelite and not a foreigner. He must not build up large stables of horses or send his people to Egypt to buy horses because God did not want them to ever return to Egypt. The king must not take many wives because they would turn his heart away from the Lord and he must not accumulate large amounts of gold and silver for himself. The king must copy all the law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests and he must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. It will keep him obeying God and it will keep him humble. It will also ensure his long reign and the reign of his children. In Luke, Jesus was getting the attention of Herod Antipas. He had had John the Baptist’s beheaded and now hears that Jesus might be John raised from the dead. He kept hearing stories of what Jesus was doing and wanted to see him, probably from afar. The disciples had just gotten back from their mission trip by themselves and told Jesus all about their adventures. Jesus took them to a remote place but the crowds followed them. When he had been teaching all day and the people were tired and hungry he told his disciples to feed them. They only had five loaves and two fish. Jesus had them all sit in groups and blessed the food then began breaking the fish and bread and giving it to the disciples. It multiplied and they had 12 baskets left over. The lesson was that God will bless what you have in your hands if you offer it up to him. Jesus asked the disciples who the people were saying he was. Then he asked them who they thought he was. They thought he was the Messiah. Jesus told them all the things that he would have to suffer.

Tues.’s Devo - The Law is Spiritual

Read: Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23; Luke 8:40-9:6l Psalm 71:1-24; Proverbs 12:5-7 Moses explained that there would be people who would dream dreams and prophecy and do miracles. If they tried to entice them to worship another god other than Him, then they were to know that they were false prophets and they were not to follow them. This was a test to see if they loved God more than them. They were to kill that person who tried to entice them to stop the deception from spreading. If this happened in towns, a thorough investigation was to be made of the town to establish that this was happening. If it was then that town was to be destroyed with all the people in it. It must never be rebuilt. God would be merciful only if they listened to his voice and obeyed Him. If they were in mourning, they were not to cut themselves or shave their hair above their foreheads because that was what heathen people did. They were not to eat detestable animals considered unclean, but there were plenty of animals they could eat. The animals they were allowed to eat had to have completely split hooves and had to chew the cud. Since the law is spiritual, to us that means that what we eat spiritually has to have balance and it has to be meditated on and thought out and not just swallowed whole. They were to eat only marine animals that had fins and scales. Fins are to help the fish swim balanced and scales were covering. We must eat the Word that is balanced and we must be covered with the blood of Jesus, and with God as our Fatherly covering. They were not to eat creatures that preyed at night given in verses 11-18. These animals personified Satan’s kingdom. God did not want them to cook a young goat in his mother’s milk. This statement is given three times in scripture. I think it means that it is an abomination to mix life and death. The mother’s milk was the nourishment for the young goat. It was wrong to then use it in the death of that same goat. It reminds me of what Judas did to Jesus. The tithe was to be brought to the designated place and eaten there with their household and shared with the Levites in their town. At the end of every third year they were to bring all their tithe for the year and store it in the nearest town. It was to be distributed to the Levites and the poor in the town. At the end of every seven years they were to cancel the debts of everyone who owed them money. This only applied to the Israelites and no one else. This would end all poverty of their people! If they met a poor Israelite they were to be generous and lend to him no matter how close it was to seventh year. God would bless them for their generosity. Any Hebrew slave was also free at the end of the seventh year unless he wanted to stay. Then he would be brought to the door of the master’s house and his ear pierced through with an awl to the door. Then he would be a servant for life. This is the picture of salvation. Every first born males from their flocks were to be given to the Lord unless they had defects and then they could be eaten by the family. The first born represents our natural birth which has to be given to the Lord and we have to be born again. The life we have then is given back to us to live for Him. In Luke, we read about a girl who is 12 and a woman who has been blessed for 12 years. Their stories are woven together to tell us a greater story. The woman was unclean because of her bleeding and when she touched Jesus, she would have transferred her uncleanness to Jesus making him unclean. Instead, he went and touched a virgin daughter of a leader in the synagogue who was dead and very unclean, giving her new birth. The unclean woman was also made clean and healed. In the Old Testament, if you touched an unclean person and you became unclean. In the New Testament, if you touch an unclean person and he becomes clean. Jesus then gave his disciples the power to go do the same thing. They would be able to heal anyone who received them in the name of the Lord. Lord, may we bring life to those we touch today.

Mon.’s Devo - Choices

Read: Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32; Luke 8:22-39; Psalm 70:1-5; Proverbs 12:4 Moses continued his talk but he turned his attention to the eye-witnesses of all the miracles God had done. Many were children when they came out of Egypt and saw everything God did for them. In the New Testament, the apostles, with the exception of Paul were all eye-witnesses of Jesus’ miracles and death. More responsibility was put on those who had seen much. The land they were going to was not like Egypt that had to irrigate water for their crops. This land would be watered from heaven and was a land of hills and valleys and a good land for raising food and animals. As long as they continued to worship and obey the Lord and his laws, He would water their land in the right seasons and they would be blessed. God would also drove out all the nations ahead of them and give them the land. He was giving them the choice between a blessing and a curse. When they entered the land they were to proclaim the blessings on Mt. Gerizim and the curses on Mt. Ebal and make an official proclamation of their choice. Once again he told them that once they entered they must smash and burn down all their sacred places and images and completely erase the names of their gods. They were to worship the Lord the way He told them and at the place that He designated. At that place they would all eat and fellowship together as a national family. At that designated place of worship, they were to take care of the Levites in their hometown because they were not given any land. They were not to offer sacrifices where they wanted but had to bring them to the designated place. They could eat meat if drained of its blood anytime they wanted, but if it was an offering to the Lord, they had to bring it to the designated place. In the designated place, they were to pour the blood out on the altar but they could eat the meat. When they drove out the people of the land, they were not to learn of their worshipping habits because their worship was detestable to the Lord and included child sacrifices. In Luke, the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee when a fierce storm came upon the boat. It started filling up with water while Jesus was asleep in the boat. They woke him up in a panic. Jesus stood up and rebuked the wind and the waves and the storm stopped and all was calm. He turned to his disciples and asked, “Where is your faith?” They were amazed. They arrived at the land of the Gerasenes where a demoniac ruled in the graveyard. It was his principality that met them in the sea. The demon in him was extremely frightened when Jesus recognized him and cast him out. He begged him not to torture him. Jesus asked the spirit his name and he said “Legion”. A legion was anywhere from 3,000-6,000 foot soldiers. That is how many demons was in that man. No wonder he could break chains and shackles! The demons begged Jesus not to throw them into the bottomless pit so Jesus sent them into some pigs. They drove the pigs off the cliff into the water. The town’s people came to see this great wonder but it was too much to take in so they asked Jesus to leave. They were filled with fear over something they had never seen. Jesus did leave and the man who had been delivered asked to go with him but Jesus told him to go home and share with them what had happened to him. His testimony would save his city. Lord, we make the choice to choose Your blessings and not the curse. Help us to understand what pleases you and what does not. Give us a heart to love the things you love and hate the things you hate.

Sun.’s Devo - Moses’ Last Words

Read: Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22; Luke 8:4-21; Psalm 69:19-36; Proverbs 12:2-3 Moses took gave the people his last speech before they were about to cross over into their land. This speech lasts through the whole book of Deuteronomy. He began by summing up their journey out of Egypt up till then. His assessment was that they were a rebellious people who had angered the Lord many times. The first was right after they had been delivered with such a mighty hand out of Egypt. They had come to Mt. Sinai and while he was up on the mountain receiving the stones with God’s laws written on them, they were down worshipping a golden calf. God wanted to destroy them then, but Moses interceded for them and saved them. Three other significant times they rebelled against the Lord and made him mad enough to want to do away with them. The first was at Taberah in Numbers 11. He called it the “place of burning” because the people lusted for the food of Egypt so God sent his fire and it burned among them. It consumed those on the outskirts of the camp. The second was right after the first. They still lusted for meat so God sent quail to satisfy their desire. Instead of bringing fulfillment it brought a plague which killed many. They named the place “graves of the longing”. Moses reminded them of the place called Massah where in Exodus 17 they had run out of water and the people complained too Moses. Moses was commanded to stand by the rock and strike the rock and out of the rock came water. It was known as the “place of temptation.” All three of those times Moses interceded with the Lord and saved them. Moses didn’t want the enemy nations to think that their god could not save them. God called Moses back up the mountain so He could write the commandments on stone tablets again. Moses was to make a wooden box to put the tablets in and go back up on the mountain. When he came down with the new tablets he was to put them in the wooden box called an altar. They traveled to Beeroth and Jaakan where Abraham had dug wells and then to Mosera which means “correction” where Aaron died. He was replaced by Eleazar, his son. When they got to the 12th encampment, the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to carry the ark and to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless his name. Twelve means government and the Levites were to be God’s government. God instructed Moses to take these people into his promised land and then he asked them this question: “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? God controls the heavens and the earth and yet he chose them to love and be his. He told them to circumcise the foreskin of their hearts and to stop being stubborn. God had blessed their seed which came to Egypt with only 70 people and were now a multitude. In Luke, Jesus explained the parable of the seeds. The good ground was the hearts of the honest and good. They heard the word, kept it, and brought forth fruit with patience. Everything that is hidden will be brought to light. When Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, Jesus made the point that everyone who heard the word of God and did it was just as important as his own family. Lord, help us to fear You, walk in Your ways and love You with all our hearts.

Sat.’s Devo -The Land of Wealth

Read: Deuteronomy 5:1-6:25; Luke 7:11-35; Psalm 68:19-35; Proverbs 11:29-31 There were seven nations in the land God was giving them and they were to completely destroy them. If they didn’t destroy them these nations would eventually lead them away from Him. They represented demonic powers that would defile them and infiltrate their hearts. They were to get rid of all of their worship paraphernalia so that they would’t be tempted to serve their gods. God didn’t chose the children of Israel because they were the greatest number but because they were the smallest. He chose them because he loved them and he had promised Abraham that he would be his Father and a father to his descendants. God keeps his promises to a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. God reminded them of what he had done to the Egyptians in order to set them free. He would use that same power against their enemies in the land. He would throw them into confusion until they were destroyed. Their kings would be given to them and they would erase their name from the earth. The kings represent principalities that fight against our spirits. God will do that same thing for us if we just keep walking and obeying the Lord. All of their idols that were covered with gold were not to be coveted because it was defiled and would defile them. They were to burn them in the fire. God emphasized how important it was for them to obey all of his commands. He reminded them of how He matured them in the wilderness. He tried them to produce His character in them. He wanted them to learn that it wasn’t enough to have food to eat but they had to also feed their soul and spirit with what God said and wrote. God was bringing them to the land of abundance in every way. It was a land full of beautiful mountains, flowing springs, plenty of food and precious metals. It lacked nothing. All he asked was for them to praise him and to not forget what He had done for them or his laws. They were to remember that it was the Lord who gave them the power to be successful in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to their ancestors. But, if they forgot the Lord, they would be destroyed just like the other nations who didn’t worship the Lord. In Luke, Jesus taught the Pharisees a lesson about salvation. They criticized Jesus for letting an immoral woman pour incense on his feet, kiss them and wipe her tears off with her hair. Jesus explained that the greater the forgiveness, the greater the love. She had come in humility and gratefulness. The Pharisees looked at Jesus with contempt and judgement. Jesus forgave the woman’s sins; notice, he didn’t forgive the Pharisees’ sin. Their sin was self-righteousness but they didn’t realize they had it, so they couldn’t repent. Lord, help us to see our own sins and repent. Thank you that the land you have for us is plentiful and full of good things. Mature us to take the land and enjoy its fruits without it destroying us.

Fri.’s Devo -God’s Messengers

Read: Deuteronomy 5:1-6:25; Luke 7:11-35; Psalm 68:19-35; Proverbs 11:29-31 God spoke to the people his commandments that today we call the Ten Commandments. The people heard God’s voice and saw the fire and were very afraid. God had more to say but the elders came to Moses with the request of the people. They wanted Moses to talk to God further because they were afraid of the Lord. God was actually pleased at their request because that meant that they feared him with reverence. He agreed to their request and had Moses return the people to their tents and called Moses up to come to Him to listen to the rest of his commands, decrees and regulations. Then he could teach the people. They were to always remember what Moses taught them and they were to teach the words to their children. They were to write them and talk about them and memorize the law. When the Lord brought them into the land of houses and fruitfulness and blessings they were not to forget who brought them out of bondage and gave them the land. They were not to worship the gods of the land but to wipe them off the face of the earth. In Luke, Jesus saw a widow who had just lost her only son. He felt compassion upon her and gave her back her son from the dead. The fear of God swept the crowd. John the Baptist was in prison and I’m sure he was wondering why Jesus had not freed him. Jesus was doing such wonderful miracles which John was hearing about. John sent a word to Jesus to ask him if he was the Messiah or if they should look for someone else. Jesus sent word back to John of all the things he was doing which fulfilled the prophecies and ended it with, “And blessed are those who are not offended in me.” He knew that John was offended that he had not released him from prison but he could only do what God allowed him to do. This is a lesson to us not to look at what God isn’t doing that we think he should, but to see what he is doing and to trust that He is doing what is most important. Jesus then addressed the crowd about John. He told him he was the greatest of the prophets who was sent to earth to prepare the way for the Messiah and he had done that. Then Jesus addressed that generation. He said they were not satisfied in any of God’s messengers. John’s life was not filled with eating and drinking and they accused him of having a demon. Jesus’ life was full of eating and drinking with people and he was called a glutton and a drunkard. The people could not be satisfied but the ones who had true wisdom understanding followed both men. Lord, only You have the words of life. Thank you for your prophets and your Word.

Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Righteous Laws

Read: Deuteronomy 4:1-49; Luke 6:39-7:10; Pslam 68:1-18; Proverbs 11:28 God gave them his laws and told them that if they obeyed them they would enter and occupy the land he was giving them. He reminded them of what became of the ones who worshipped Baal and opened the door for a plague to come where 24,000 died. Moses taught them all of God’s decrees that he had given him. He told them that if they obeyed them completely, they would be displaying wisdom and intelligence for the surrounding nations to see. Their enemies would be amazed at the wisdom and prudence of their laws and how great their God was. They would be amazed that their God was near to them when they called to him. God’s regulations were righteous and fair, not like those of other nations. God warned them not to forget the things they had seen or neglect telling their children. They had heard the Lord’s voice speaking to them out of the fire as children. They hadn’t seen any form of God’s person so they were not to try to duplicate it as a man or woman or any kind of animal, bird or reptile. They were not to worship the sun, moon or stars. If they broke the covenant they would not live a long life and their numbers would diminish. Moses saw into the future that this very thing would happen so he told them that one day they would find themselves suffering from not obeying God’s covenant. They would realize their error and return to Him. God had miraculously brought them out of Egypt and spoke to them personally from the fire. They were to remember this. Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River: Bezer for the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth for the tribe of Gad, and Golan for the tribe of Manasseh. They were cities for anyone who unintentionally killed another person so they could live safely. In Luke, Jesus explained many things about human nature and the Christian walk. Everyone needs a teacher but the student’s goal is to one day become a teacher himself. What you see in others is what you are usually blind to in your own life. Your heart is the root of everything. The fruit you produce reveals your heart. When you build your foundation on Christ, you will not be destroyed when the winds blow and the storms of life come. Lord, thank you for your laws truly fair and good and bring life to those who obey them.

Wed.’s Devo - Building Up our Faith

Read: Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29; Luke 6:12-38; Psalm 67:1-7; Proverbs 11:27 The children of Isreal had to turn around and go back toward the Red Sea. This had to be disheartening to say the least. They had come to the end of their destination and because of their unbelief, they had to go back to the wilderness. This time God sent them north to the country belonging to their relatives the Edomites. They were not to take any of their land and were to pay for anything food they needed. God reminded them that He had watched over their every step through the wilderness and they had lacked nothing they needed. As they passed through the land of Moab, God instructed them not to start a fight because He had given them that land. Ar was a city where giants used to live but God had driven them out for the sons of Lot. They were not to try to take it either. They were to cross the Zered Brook which marked 38 years of wandering. All the men of fighting age had died by then. They were told to peacefully pass through Ar, the land of their relatives, the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. God continued his tour of places that He had driven out strong enemies for his people to live and occupy. He was trying to build up their faith so they would enter into their land this time and not be afraid of their enemies. God had them pass Seir, the land of the Hornets that he had destroyed so the descendants of Esau could live. Finally, God told them to cross the Arnon Gorge to the land of the Amorite king of Heshbon. He told them to attack them and occupy his land. Through this victory, God would put fear throughout the earth of them. King Sihon was the king of Heshbon so they sent him letters asking permission to pass through his land. God hardened his heart so that the king would refuse to let them. God told them that they could have his land. King Sihon declared war against Israel and the Lord gave Israel a complete victory. They then headed for the land of Bashan where King Og lived and told them to do to Og as they had done to King Sihon. They conquered all 60 of his towns and the entire Argob region of his kingdom. King Og was the last survivor of the Rephaite giants. He had a bed 13 feet long and 6 feet wide. (That is twice the size of a normal mattress.) Since Jair from the tribe of Manasseh led the charge against the king of Og, God gave the land to the tribes of Reuben, and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Even though their land was east of the Jordan, they had to send their armies over the Jordan and help the other tribes conquer their land also. Then they could return home and live. Now that God had shown them what He would do for them, they were ready to cross the Jordan and take their land. God gave Joshua the command to lead them across to their promised land. Moses pled with the Lord to let him cross over too, but God refused and took him to the top of Pisgah Peak and let him see the land from there. His job was to commission and encourage Joshua to lead from here. In Luke, Jesus spent the whole night communing with God. Jesus must not have trequired much sleep! God gave him the 12 names of the men he was to disciple. He came down to a multitude of people waiting for him. They had come to hear him teach and be healed and delivered. Jesus taught them the difference between being great in the eyes of man and being great in the eyes of God. God looks at the heart and is drawn to people with humility. He taught them God’s way which was to love sinners and their enemies that do them harm. It was to not judge others but to give freely. Lord, thank you for your gentle teaching and leading us through our lives into our promised land. Help us to fearlessly conquer our spiritual enemies.

Tues.’s Devo - New Generation - New Wine

Numbers 36:1-Deuteronomy 1:46; Luke 5:29-6:11; Psalm 66:1-20; Proverbs 11:24-26 The leaders of the tribe of Manasseh came to Moses with a petition. The daughters of Zelophehad, from their tribe had been granted land (Numbers 26:33) and they were afraid that the daughters would marry outside their tribe and then the land would go to that tribe in the Year of Jubilee. Moses ruled that the daughters of Zelophehad must marry within their tribe and then the land would stay in that tribe. They obeyed and married their cousins. Every tribe had its own ministry and set of gifts and God wanted to keep them in their group. It should have taken them 11 days to get from Mt. Sinai to the promised land but it took them 40 years because of their unbelief. When they left Mt. Sinai, God had told them to go the way of the Euphrates River and see all the land he was giving them. All they had to do was to go in and occupy it. God had given Moses men to help him carry the load of judging the people’s problems. When they came to the land that God had given them, Moses told them to go in and occupy but the people asked Moses to send spies in first, so he did. Instead of hearing the reports about how good the land was, they only heard about the giants in the land and let fear keep them from entering. God was extremely upset with them and told them that not one except Caleb and Joshua would ever enter the land. He would give it to their innocent children who they were afraid would be captured. The next generation would be the ones who would occupy the land. They had to turn around and go back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. They had to repeat everything they had gone through and go backwards. The people then repented but it was too late. Some of them decided to go anyway and were totally defeated because God was not with them. In Luke, Jesus’ newest disciple, Levi had a dinner party for Jesus and invited all of his friends. The tax-collector was the most hated of all people so the only people who would associate with a tax-collector is prostitutes and sinners. The Pharisees were disgusted and asked Jesus why he hung out with such scum. Jesus explained that it was the sick who needed a doctor. Repentance is for people who realize they are sinners. The Pharisees were the greatest sinners of all but they covered it up even from themselves; the people there knew they were sinners and their hearts wanted a savior. They also complained that Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast. Jesus explained that it was not time for fasting but celebrating because the Messiah had come. When he left it would be a time for fasting. Jesus told the parable about the cloth and the wine. He was the new wine and their wineskins were their souls. They had to change on the inside to be able to receive the Messiah with his new laws and ways. The Pharisees kept questioning Jesus about the letter of the law which was what they had added to the law. Jesus kept answering with words of freedom. Jesus purposely healed the man’s hand on the Sabbath because the Sabbath was a day for doing good. The Pharisees had used the law to control the people and Jesus was using it to set them free. Lord, may were walk in the freedom you have given us and see people as you see them.

Mon.’s Devo - Cities of Refuge

Read: Numbers 33:40-35:34; Luke 5:12-28; Psalm 65:1-13; Proverbs 11:23 The king of Arad in the land of Canaan heard that the Israelites were approaching his land. So far, they had annihilated every king that got in their way so he had to be shaking in his boots. Instead of going through his territory, God led the children of Israel south and around to the east and up the other side. They camped near the Jordan river opposite Jericho which was about 50 miles from Arad. As they were camped across from Jericho, Moses gave the people strict instructions that when they crossed the river they were to drive out all the people living there. They were to destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish all their pagan shrines. They were to take possession of their land and settle in it. The land was to be distributed in proportion to the size of the tribe. If they failed to drive out the people living there they would become like splinters to their eyes and thorns in their sides. They would harass the people and God would have to do to the Israelites what he had planned to do to them. The boundaries included the Mediterranean Sea, the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. There was also the territory on the eastern side of the Jordan River that was promised to Gad, Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Every tribe was to enlist a leader who were appointed to divide the land. Each tribe was to allot a piece of land for the Levites to live within their land. Six of the twelve Levite cities were to be cities of refuge. These cities were for the Israelites, foreigners living among them, and traveling merchants. If one of these people accidentally killed someone and didn’t have two witnesses, they could be escorted to one of the cities of refuge and present their case to the priests. The priests would investigate the crime and if they believed that the person was innocent or there was not enough evidence to convict them, they would allow the person to live in their city until the death of the high priest. They would then be set free and the avenger of blood (a relative of the person killed) would not be allowed to kill them. This is such a great picture of our salvation. We have all sinned without an advocate. When we come to Jesus as our advocate and trust in him, we are released from any accusation against us. We are totally released when we appropriate the death of Christ, our High Priest as our redemption. Then we are set free from the penalty of death. All convicted murderers were put to death because murder pollutes the land. Only the death of the murderer could purify the land. Only repentance can heal our land. We can repent for the guilty and intercede for them like Jesus does for us. They will still be accountable for their sin but it will not affect the land. These cities of refuge were cities of renewal and safety. They were a place that people could live in and hear the words of the law from the priests. They were safe places. We all need these places. Jesus went up on the mountain for his place of restoration. Ours is our secret place where we meet with the Lord. In Luke, a man with an advanced case of leprosy approached Jesus and told Him that he knew Jesus could heal him if he wanted. Jesus proved this was right and reached out and touched him. He was instantly healed. Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone but to go straight to the priest and show them and make it public there. This was the law and Jesus wanted the leaders of the law to see and believe. Instead the man told everyone and Jesus was mobbed with people who wanted to be healed also. One day, as Jesus was speaking in a house, a paralyzed man was lowered from the roof right in front of Him. Jesus didn’t say, ‘you are healed’, but he said, ‘your sins are forgiven’. The Pharisees were very upset that he thought he could forgive sins. Jesus knew their thoughts and asked them which was easier, to forgive sins or heal. So, to prove that he had the power to forgive sins he told the man to stand up and walk. The man did. To further prove that He could forgive sins, he went and called a tax-collector, the greatest of sinners, to come and be one of his disciples. Levi, got up and immediately followed him. Lord, thank you for showing us that the greatest sinner can be restored to right fellowship with you. Thank you for your cities of refuge that you have set up for us.

Sun,’s Devo - The Higher Calling

Read: Numbers 32:1-33:39; Luke 4:31-5:11; Psalm 64:1-10; Proverbs 11:22 When the tribes of Reuben and Gad saw the land of Jazer and Gilead, they wanted the land because it was perfect for raising livestock. They were the farmers and had many cattle. They approached Moses with the proposition of taking that land as their possession and not land in Israel. Moses was most upset at first but when he learned that they planned to send their armies into the promised land to help everyone else take their possession, he was fine. Half of the tribe of Manasseh also took land east of the Jordan. They build pens for their cattle, put their families in the towns they had conquered and renamed many of the towns. God gave the route that the children of Israel took when they left Egypt to when they entered into their land. When they got to Mt. Hor, Aaron was directed by God to climb it and on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year. There he died at the age of 123. In Luke, Jesus was teaching in the synagogues. The thing they hated about Jesus was his authority. They were into religion which was cloaked in false humility and piety. The religious didn’t recognize who Jesus was but the demons knew him well. When they started naming him, Jesus would tell them to be quiet and cast them out. This just proved Jesus’ authority over Satan’s realm which made the Pharisees even madder. Jesus continued healing people but the demons would come out saying that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus finally had to not let them speak. He wanted his people to know who he was on their own. It had to come from their hearts. It was Jesus’ kindness and good things he did that convicted their hearts. When Simon and Andrew had been fishing all night and had not caught anything, Jesus climbed into their boats and preached, then he told them to put their nets down deep. Any fisherman knew that you don’t fish once it was daylight. But, because Jesus told them to do it, they did. They had their nets so full they could hardly bring them in. Peter realized the miracle and fell to his knees repenting of his sins. That was the last day Peter fished for a living.; he began his life of fishing for men. He left all and went with Jesus. Lord, may we be like Peter who realized that there was something greater than this world can give. You are the way, the truth, and the light.

Sat.’s Devo - The Temptations

Read: Numbers 30:1-31:54; Luke 4;1-30; Psalm 63:1-11; Provers 11:20-21 A man was never allowed to break a vow he made because the man represents both Jesus and God and they never go back on a promise. The young woman represents a new believer who says presumptuous things and promises things she can not keep and does not mean. The Lord, as her father watches over her vows and decides which ones will stand. Once she is married, she had made Jesus her husband and He watches over her words to decide which ones she will be responsible for. If a woman’s husband is dead or she is divorced she has no one as her head watching over her words so they will stand as spoken. This refers to a person who is not saved but she or he is not serving the devil either. She or he will be held responsible for every idle word that comes out of their mouth. The Lord told the people to take revenge on the Midianites who led them into idolatry. When Balaam couldn’t curse the Israelites, he advised the Midians to infiltrate their Isaraelite camp with their enticing women to lead the Israelites into their idolatry and sexual perversions. They sent a thousand warriors from each tribe and the ark and trumpets and attacked Midian. They killed all the men and all five of their kings. They kept the women and children as plunder along with anything of worth. God was not pleased that they let the women who had enticed the men to sin. Any of he plunder that was made of metal that would not burn had to go through fire to be cleansed and anything that would burn had to be washed in water. The men who fought also had to be quarantined for 7 days and wash their clothes before they could return. The plunder was split in half and half of it given to the army. From the army’s half they were to give one of every 500 prisoners and animals to the priests. From the half given to the people, they were to give every 50 of the people and animals to the priests. Not one of the men who went to battle was killed so the generals and captains offered their share of the plunder of jewelry to the Lord to thank the Lord for their lives. Moses and Eleazar brought the gold to the Tabernacles as a give to the Lord as a reminder that the people of Israel belonged to him. In Luke, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There, Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days. Satan tempted Jesus to turn rocks into bread, to give him the glory of all the kingdoms of the world and authority over them and he took him to Jerusalem to the highest point of the Temple and told him to jump off and angels would hold them up and not let any harm come to him. With every temptation, Jesus answered with the Word, turning everything back to God. When the devil realized he couldn’t tempt Jesus with selfish ambition, he left. Jesus went back to his hometown and went to the synagogue that Sabbath. He read from the scroll laid out for the day and went to the particular part he wanted to emphasize. It was Isaiah’s prophecy about the Messiah and what he would do. He proclaimed that over himself. He then explained why he would not be able to do many miracles there like he had done in Capernaum, a Gentile area. He used two examples from Elijah’s life. Both had to do with miracles done to Gentiles and not Jews. This made the people so mad that they forced him to the edge of the hill to throw him over but he passed right through the crowd and left. Lord, thank you for your grace and your watch over us. Thank you that you never go back on your Word but you watch over it to perform it.

Fri.’s Devo - Numbers

Read: Numbers 28:16-29:40; Luke 3:23-38; Psalm 62:1-12; Proverbs 11:18-19 This is the book of numbers and God has a purpose for every letter and every number. They all have meaning and teach us about God and his ways. Passover was always celebrated on the 14th of Nissan, the first day of their religious calendar and the 7th month of their civil calendar. Passover represented salvation through Christ but before Jesus died, they celebrated with animals to foreshadow the cross. The next day, the fifteenth began the Feast of Unleavened Bread which lasted seven days. It was to represent your new life with Christ and the process of sanctification. The number of offerings were 2 bulls, 1 ram and 7 lambs. These were to be offered with grain mixed with oil. The amounts were 6 quarts with the 2 bulls, 4 quarts with the 1 ram and 2 quarts with the 7 lambs (6,4,2). An extra offering of one goat for a sin offering was added everyday. I wonder if the animals stand for the blood sacrifice of Christ and the grain offering is ourselves offered with him. Galatians 2:20 says that we are crucified with Christ. Six is the number of man since he was made on the sixth day. Four means to reign or rule and two means divided. So the number of the grain is “man reigns divided.” It is the Word that divides between soul and spirit, joint and marrow and is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. On the Feast of Harvest or what we call Pentecost, the animal count was 2, 1, and 7 and the grain was 6,4, and 2. This feast was always 50 days after Passover. The count changed for the Feast of Trumpets which was the first day of the seventh month on the religious calendar and the first day of the seventh month on the civil calendar. Instead of 2,1,7, the count of the animals changed to 1,1,7. This festival will be the day when the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ will rise first and the day the Christians call the Rapture. Ten days later was the Day of Atonement which the count is 1,1,7 and the grain is still 6,4,2. On the last feast everything changes. It is the Feast of Tabernacles which marks the return of Christ to rule and reign in the earth. The animal count of the bulls begins a count down where the number of rams and lambs doubles. So on the first day the count is 13 bulls, 2 rams and 14 lambs. The second day the ram decreases by one and the other animals remain the same. Every day the bull decreased by one until the seventh day. On that day the number is 7,2,14. On the eighth day which eight means “new beginning”. it is another holy day and the count goes back to 1,1,7 like on the Feast of Trumpets. This day is called Simbat Torah and they celebrate “going back to Eden” and beginning to read the Torah once again. One day we will be celebrating a new heaven and a new earth and we will live as in the Garden of Eden. In Luke, Jesus had reached the age of 30 and was assumed to be Joseph’s son. We are given Joseph’s lineage. He was of the tribe of Judah and his lineage goes all the way back to Adam who was the son of God. Adam was a type of Christ and vice-versa. In First Corinthians 15:45 it says that “The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” Lord, thank you that we were grafted into your great family and your great plan. Thank you that we were crucified with you in death, that we might reign with you in glory.

Thur.’s Devo - Jesus’ Baptism

Read: Numbers 26:52-28:15; Luke 3:1-22; Psalm 61:1-8; Proverbs 11:16-17 Yesterday we read that God told Moses to record the number of men 20 years or older that could go to war in the different tribes. Today, he told them to divide the land according to this number. The greater number of men there were to defend the land, the greater the amount of land they received. But, they numbered the Levite differently. They were numbered from one month old. There were 23,000 of them. No one from the first census was in this new census because they had all died like God said they would, except Caleb and Joshua. One of the daughters of Zelophehad presented a petition for their own property. Their father and brothers had all died in the wilderness, but they had not rebelled with Korah. The daughters wanted to preserve their father’s name and own land in their family’s name. Moses brought their case before the Lord, and God said their claim was legitimate. This became a law that if a man died and had no son, his inheritance would go to his daughters. God told Moses to climb one of the mountains and look over the land that God had promised to him and his descendants. He would not get to enter because he sinned against the Lord when he struck the rock, instead of speaking to it. Everything that was done in the Old Testament was a sign and a shadow of the fulfillment through Christ. The rock was Christ according to First Corinthians 10:4. Christ was struck once for our sins and then we believe and confess what he did for us to receive salvation. He is not crucified again. When Moses struck the rock, he was messing up the picture God was showing us. His disobedience was a big transgression to God because of this. Moses cried out to God for a leader to shepherd the people. God chose Joshua because he already had the Spirit of God on him. Moses was to present him to the priest before the people and publicly commission him to lead the people. The priests were to confirm their choice with the Urim which was the “yes” stone in the ephod of the high priest. God then gave Moses instructions how to offer sacrifices that please him. There were offerings for every Sabbath and the first day of every month. In Luke, we are given the political climate of the land. Rome was in charge and Tiberius was the caesar. He was noted for his vicious and infamous life. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests who were not anointed by God but there by bribery and fraud. It was in a day like this that God chose to send John to the people to preach repentance and baptism. John was the voice preparing the way for Jesus. He taught the people that they were not saved from the wrath of God just because they were Jews; they had to personally repent and get their hearts right with God. He taught the people to share with those who had nothing. He taught the tax collectors not to tax the people more than the government required. He told the soldiers to stop making the people bribe them just to stay alive. John explained that he only baptized with water, but the coming Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The Holy Spirit would separate the believers from the unbelievers and burn up the sin. John spoke against sin and even the sin in the government. Herod Antipas had taken his brother’s wife as his own and done many other sins. Condemning Herod’s behavior got John thrown into prison. Doing the right thing on earth does not make you popular on earth but it is better to be popular in heaven than to have the praises of man on earth. Lord, help us to fear You above man. May you baptize our nation with your Holy Spirit and your fire.

Wed.’s Devo - The New Breed of Warriors

Read: Numbers 26:1-51; Luke 2:36-52; Psalm 60:1-12; Proverbs 11:15 After the plague was over, God told Moses to record the names of all the warriors still alive from each tribe. They counted them from every tribe except the Levites. Note was made that even though Korah was killed when he rebelled against Moses and led his rebellion, his sons did not die. This group was the new warriors that didn’t have to die in the wilderness because they refused to trust God and go in the first time. This was the new breed of warriors from the next generation. There were 601,730 warriors. In Luke, there was a prophetess named Anna who like Simeon had been waiting to see the Messiah all her life. She walked up to Joseph and Mary as Simeon was prophesying over Jesus. She also agree that he was the one everyone had been waiting for to rescue Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth where Jesus grew up with wisdom and the favor of God. Every year they went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. When Jesus turned twelve it was a special year for a Jewish boy. It was his bar mitzvah. Jews count the time in the womb as a year so he would be 13. At 13, they were to then enter into their father’s business. Jesus had surely been taught about his birth or maybe they had just told him since he was a man now. Jesus went to the Temple and lost all track of time talking with the scribes and religious leaders. They were amazed at his insight into the law. Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus was not with them after three days and went back and finally found him in the Temple. When they questioned what he was doing, he responded that he had to be about his father’s business. His father was God and God’s business was in the Temple. Mary and Joseph didn’t understand his response and had him come with them, but Mary didn’t forget Jesus response. It probably made more sense to her later. Jesus grew in wisdom and maturity and had the favor of God and the people. Lord, may you raise up warriors in this generation who will valiantly fight for your cause and be about your business. May we all be a part of your army.

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Blessings on the Earth

Read: Numbers 24:1-25:18; Luke 2:1-35; Psalm 59:1-17; Proverbs 11:14 Balaam had set up his seven altars and sacrificed his animals for the third time. This time he didn’t even need to add his divination techniques, he went straight into saying what God was saying. He saw clearly that God wanted to bless the people of Israel. He told Balak that God would give them kings greater than Agag and their god was strong as an ox who devours all nations that oppose him. Everyone who blesses Israel will be blessed and everyone who curses Israel would be cursed. King Balak was enraged and yelled at Balaam. He told him he would get no reward from him. Balaam told him that he had warned him he could only say what God said. He got up to leave but first told the king what Israel would do to his people in the future. A star would arise from Jacob an a scepter from Israel. It would crush the heads of Moab, Edom, Seir, and Ir. Amelek would also be crushed along with the Kenites and those from Cyprus. The two men departed and when their separate ways. Satan couldn’t curse Israel so he infiltrated their ranks. He sent Moabite women to entice the men to have sex with them and attend their sacrifices to the gods of Moab. The Lord told Moses to seize the leaders of this revolt and have them executed before Him in broad daylight. Moses ordered the judges to put to death the men under their authority. Just as they were deciding this, one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman into his tent. When Phinehas saw this he chased the man into the tent and drove a spear through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach. His act of zeal stopped a plague that had began. The plague killed 24,000 people. They then attacked the Midianites to destroy them. Sin spreads like a plague if nothing is done to stop it. I think of the sin of our nation and how the sexual revolution of the sixties led to legalizing abortion in the seventies which has morphed into sex trafficking and child sacrificing today. It is a plague that can be stopped by taking desperate measures. I pray for people with the zeal of Phineas to be raised up to stop this horrible sin. In Luke, we see how God will move heaven and earth to get us where he wants us to be. God wanted Jesus to be born in Bethlehem so he moved on the Roman emperor, Augustus to decree a census. This required Joseph to have to travel to Bethlehem with Mary who was expecting any day. They ended up in a stable which was the perfect place for the Lamb of God to be born. God appeared to shepherds who were the keepers of lambs and announced to them that the Messiah had been born that day in Bethlehem. He would be found wrapped in the worn out strips of cloth that the priests wore. All the sky was full of angels praising God because peace had come to the earth. The shepherds ran to Bethlehem to see this baby and found Mary and Joseph. They told everyone what had happened to them. The shepherds went back to their fields praising God for what they had been privileged to witness. Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day then taken to the Temple to be dedicated to the Lord and to offer the silver required for the first born child according to Moses’ law. At the Temple, they met Simeon who had been waiting his whole life to see the Messiah. When they walked in holding Jesus he prophesied that he could now die for he had seen God’s salvation that He had prepared for the world. Mary and Joseph were amazed at what he said. Simeon blessed them and told Mary that Jesus would cause many to fall and others to rise. He was a sign from God but would have much opposition. He would reveal the hearts of many and a sword would pierce her very soul. It is amazing the ones that God chose to share the birth of his son with. He chose shepherds and an old prophet in the Temple. God sees the hearts of people and doesn’t see them as the world sees them. Lord, thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus. Thank you for salvation and hope. May we be like the shepherds and share your good news to those we know.

Mon.’s Devo - God’s Determination to Bless

We must remember that God told Balaam not to go with Balak, but when he asked again, God relented and told him he could go but he had to say what He told him. The next morning Balaam set out to go with the officers but God was angry that he hadn’t obeyed Him. On the way an angel of the Lord stood on the road with a drawn sword in his hand, but only the donkey could see it. How ironic that God would close the eye of the seer and open the eye of the donkey. It was a message to Balaam. The donkey bolted to get out of the way of the angel and Balaam beat the donkey. The angel went up the road to where there was a narrow passageway between two walls. Once again, the donkey saw the angel and Balaam didn’t. The donkey had to walk so close to the wall on one side because the angel was on the other that he scraped Balaam’s leg against the wall. Balaam beat his donkey again. Then the angel went further down the road and stood where the donkey couldn’t get by at all so he just sat down. Balaam beat his poor donkey again but this time God spoke through the donkey. He defended himself and he and Balaam had a conversation. Then God opened Balaam’s eyes and he saw what the donkey had been seeing. I hope he apologized to his donkey. He did humble himself to God and bowed to the ground. Once again the angel warned him he could only say what God told him to say. This angel would have killed him if not for the donkey. God was serious about him not cursing Israel and must have thought that Balaam might have changed his mind under pressure so God put His pressure on him. When Balak met Balaam he was hot that he hadn’t come right when he summoned him. He reminded Balaam that he was prepared to reward him richly. Balaam had the fear of God in him now and told the king that he had no power to say what he wanted but was under a gag order from God. Balak took him where he could overlook a portion of the multitude of the Israelites. Balaam build an altar and sacrificed seven bulls and rams. Balaam knew not to approach God without first giving him a sacrifice. God responded and told him what to say to Balak. Instead of a curse, he blessed Israel as being “the righteous.” Balak was mad and took Balaam to another view of a different group of Israelites. He was hoping that this group wasn’t so righteous in God’s eyes. Once again, they offered on seven altars sacrifices to the Lord. God’s message was that he wasn’t changing his mind and no magic had any power against Israel. They are blessed and there would be no curse given. Balak was so upset. He told Balaam that if he wouldn’t curse them, he didn’t have to bless them. How funny! He wasn’t ready to give up so he took Balaam to one more viewpoint. He was hoping that maybe he would get a different outcome from there. They prepared their altars once again. This king was determined. In Luke, it was time for John to be born. When Elizabeth’s family heard that she had had a baby, they rejoiced with her. They took the baby to be dedicated to the Lord and circumcized on its eighth day knowing it would be named after his father, but Elizabeth said that his name would be John. They turned to Zacharia who wrote “John” on a tablet. When he did, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak for the first time in nine months. He prophesied over his son that he would be called the Lord’s prophet and he would prepare the way for the Messiah. He would tell God’s people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. Light was coming to their darkness. This was the first prophecy they had heard in 200 years. God had been silent and now he was speaking with great hope. John grew up to have a strong spirit. He lived isolated in the wilderness until it was time for him to enter his public ministry. Lord, may we be fearful to speak only your words and obey you the first time you tell us to do something. Thank you that your ways are not our ways and your thoughts are not our thoughts but they are higher.

Sun.’s Devo - Messages From Heaven

Read: Numbers 21:1-22:20; Luke 1:26-56; Psalm 57:1-11; Proverbs 11:9-11 The Edomites had not allowed the children of Israel to pass through their land and God told them to go around. When they came to the land of the Canaanites, things were different. The Canaanites attacked the Israelites taking some of them prisoners. God gave Israel victory over them. They took all their cities and destroyed their rulers. Sihon was their ruler and Chemosh was their god. The road was long going around the land of the Edomites so the children of Israel started complaining again. God sent snakes that bit them and some of them died. When they cried out to the Lord, Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole and the people were healed when they looked upon it. They marched on to the land of the Amorites where Og was the king of Bashan. Og means “gigantic” because he was a giant. They killed him and occupied their land. They marched on to the land of the Moabites where Barak was king. He had heard of what they did to Sihon and Og, so he decided to use a different strategy. He realized he couldn’t defeat them with military force so he would us demonic force. He hired a sorcerer named Balaam to curse Israel. Balaam was wise enough to ask the Lord first whether to curse them or not. A true sorcerer knows the spiritual power structure and God is on top. God told Balaam not to go with them or to curse Israel because God had blessed them. The next morning he told the messengers. They took the news back to Balak who sent an even greater group of more important officers to ask him again to come. Balaam explained that no amount of money or high-ranking soldiers would be able to convince him to go with them if God says he should not go, but… he would ask God again. We see the heart of Balaam who is moved by the money and the prestige. God told him to go with the men but he was only to do what He told him to do. This is such a great story to remind us that when God gives us an answer we should stick with it and not try to sway God’s hand. Balaam does sway his hand but it doesn’t go well for Balaam in the end. In Luke, God had opened Elizabeth’s womb and she was carrying John the Baptist. She was hidden away and in her sixth month, Mary, her niece had an encounter with an angel. Gabriel came to Mary who was engaged to Joseph. He greeted her with a greeting of great favor. The angel told Mary not to be afraid because she had found favor with God and she would conceive and give birth to a son whom she was to name Jesus. He would be very great and be called the Son of the Most Hight. The Lord would give him the throne of David and he would reign over Israel forever. His kingdom would never end. Mary wondered how this would happen since she was a virgin but the angel explained that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and the baby would be holy. Gabriel also told her that her aunt, Elizabeth was also pregnant. Mary agreed to everything the angel said to her. She planned a trip to see Elizabeth and when she walked into her house, John leapt in her womb and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth told her that Mary was blessed because she believed what the angel had said. Mary’s praise response was much like Hannah’s response when she found out God had heard her prayer to birth Samuel. Lord, thank you for your messengers who come in so many forms. May your angels be dispersed throughout the earth to tell your message to the world.

Fri.’s Devo - The Good News

Read: Numbers 16:41-18:32; mark 16:1-20; Psalm 55:1-23; Proverbs 11:7 The day before, God had killed the 250 men who offered incense before the Lord in a challenge to Moses’ and Aaron’s authority. Now the people accused Moses and Aaron of killing those men. That was absurd because they didn’t open the ground and swallow those people - God did. God immediately showed up at the Tabernacle and Moses went to see what He had to say. God told Moses to separate himself from the people because he was going to kill them also. Moses told Aaron to quickly take the incense burner and carry the live coals to the people to purify them and make them right with the Lord. The incense burner represents our prayers. It is our prayers that can make people right with the Lord, not our commands or coercing. The plague had already started, so Aaron stood between the dead and the living and stopped the plague. But not before 14,700 had died. Aaron and Moses returned to the Tabernacle and God told him to have the leaders of each tribe bring a staff with their name carved on the staff. Aaron would place them in the Tabernacle in the Lord’s presence. Then next day, Aaron’s staff had sprouted, budded, blossomed and produced ripe almonds! God was showing everyone that he was chosen to have the priesthood. The people felt doomed because Kohath and proven that the Levites were not perfect and their mistakes affected all the people. They felt doomed to trust in a man. God told them that the responsibility would fall on the Levites alone. If they messed up, they would be held responsible and not the rest of the people. God designated which gifts brought to the Lord would be for the Levites to keep. They were to give the Lord a tithe also of these gifts. It was to be the best part and it would be as though it was they were giving it from their own gardens and vineyards. That reminds me of giving to support ministries who do the work but you benefit in the reward of their work because you supported them. The firstborn of every man and every unclean animal had to be redeemed with five shekels. The firstborn represents our first birth. We have to be born again to be redeemed. The number five is the number that represents redemption so they were bought back with the five shekels. This was all a foreshadowing of the redemption we would have through the blood of Jesus. In Mark, the women went to the tomb the morning after the Sabbath. They found the stone rolled away and an angel sitting on the right. He told them not to be afraid because Jesus wasn’t here, he had risen from the dead and would meet them in Galilee just as he had told them. The women ran to tell the disciples who had a hard time believing them. Two other men came to them and told them they had talked with Jesus and they had a hard time believing them also. Finally, Jesus appeared to them and told them to go and preach the Good News to everyone. The ones who believed what they said would be saved, and they were to baptize them. These things would happen: they would cast out demons in Jesus’ name, they would speak in new languages, handle snakes without be harmed and if they drank poison, it would not hurt them. They would be able to place their hands on the sick and they would be healed. Jesus was then taken up in the clouds to sit at the right hand of God. The disciples obeyed and took the Good News to the world. Lord, may we take your Good News to everyone we meet today.

Thurs.’s Devo - God Protects His Anointed

Read: Numbers 15:17-16:40; Mark 15:1-47; Psalm 54:1-7; Proverbs 11:5-6 God continued to give instructions for the ones who would enter into the land. They were to set aside some of their crops for the Lord. They would be given from the first crop of wheat at the time of Passover. It would be for sins committed unintentionally. It was to cover sins that they didn’t even know they had done. This offering would purify the whole community. But those who brazenly violated the Lord’s were to be cut off from the community. They had a perfect example given. A man gathered sticks on the Sabbath and God who saw his heart, said that he needed to be stoned outside the camp as brazen disobedience. The people were to put blue tassels on their borders of their garments to remind them of the Lord and what he had done for them. It was to be a constant reminder to follow the law. A rebellion arose through Korah, a leader of one of the three families of the Levites. He gathered 250 others to rebel against Moses and Aaron. They questioned their authority to rule over them. Moses fell face down on the ground and said that tomorrow morning the Lord would show who belonged to Him. He summoned Dathan and Eliab who were leaders of the tribe of Rueben and they refused to come before Moses. They sided with Korah. Moses was very angry. He told Korah and his 250 followers to prepare an incense burner and present it before the Lord, since they thought they should be doing Moses’ job. They all met before the entrance of the Tabernacle. Korah had stirred up the whole community to be against Moses and Aaron. God wanted to destroy them all but Moses interceded for the people. Moses told the people to get away from the camps of Korah, Dathan and Abiram or they would be destroyed also. The people moved back and Moses declared that if they died a natural death, then the Lord had not sent him, but if God did something new and the ground opened up and swallowed them, then they will all know that these men were guilty. As soon as the words left Moses’ mouth, the ground split open and swallowed up the men also with their households and followers who were standing with them. They went alive into hell and the earth closed over them. Fire blazed forth from God and burned up the 250 men who had followed them. God told Moses to take incense burners the sinners and hammer them into thin sheets of metal to overlay the altar. Moses then made it clear that no one but Levites should ever offer incense to the Lord. We as born-again Christians are represented in the tribe of Levi. We are the only ones who can approach God’s presence and offer prayers for others and be heard. Rebellion is not welcome’s in God’s presence. In Mark, the religious leaders had pronounced their verdict of “guilty” and now it was the politicians of the Roman government who needed to try Jesus. Pilate, the Roman governor asked Jesus if he was king of the Jews. Jesus replied that he had said it. The priests told the governor of all their accusations against Jesus and Pilate asked Jesus for his response. Jesus refused to answer. Pilate’s tradition was to release a prisoner every year at Passover so he set up Jesus and Barabbas, his most vile prisoner. Barabbas was a rebel who had been thought of his followers as the Messiah. He was a murderer and an insurrectionist. The people chose him to be set free and Jesus to die. They took Jesus, dressed him in a purple robe, put a crown of thorns on his head and mocked him “King of the Jews.” Jesus hung between two sinners and one of them mocked while the other repented. Jesus was nailed to the cross at nine in the morning, the time that the Passover lamb was being tied to the altar in the Temple. There were multiple altars at the Temple so all day the priests sacrificed lambs brought by the people. At noon, darkness fell on the whole earth for three hours. God ministered to Jesus during that time. You can read about it in Psalm 22. When the light came back at three, Jesus quoted from this Psalm so they would know what was going on. Jesus died at three and at his last word, the veil was rent in the Temple from top to bottom - from God to man - from heaven to earth. At three the Temple lamb was sacrificed and the priest would always say, “It is finished.” When the Roman officer assigned to his crucifixion saw all that happened, he proclaimed that Jesus was truly the Son of God. After Jesus had died, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate to beg for his body. He wrapped him in linen cloth and laid him in his tomb. Marry Magdalene and Mary saw where Jesus was laid. Lord, may we see the miracle and beauty of your birth. You gave your son as a sacrifice for us. We are so grateful. May our lives be living sacrifices to you.

Wed.’s Devo - The Result of Unbelief

Read: Numbers 14:1-15:16; mark 14:53-72; Psalm 53:1-6; Proverbs 11:4 The people chose to believe the bad report of the 8 spies and not listen to the good report of Joshua and Caleb. They were so distressed they plotted to choose another leader and go back to Egypt. Joshua and Caleb begged the people to see the good things about the land and to have courage to take the land. God had promised it to them and had done unbelievable miracles to get them there. Instead, the community wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb also. God came down in his cloud and told Moses that he wanted to bring a plague and kill them all. He would raise up a new family through Moses. Moses interceded for the people and told God that the Egyptians would find out and it would ruin God’s reputation. Moses kept telling God who he was: he was slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiveness and a god who pardons sins. He begged him to prove that his power was as great as he had claimed. God told him that he would pardon them but they would not enter into his land. They had seen his power but had chosen not to believe. Only Caleb and Joshua would live to enter his land. Moses was to tell the people this and the next day they were to turn back and go the way they had come. The people had complained that their children would be carried off as plunder but God said he would bring them safely into the land. But as for the adults, they would die in the wilderness. The spies had spied out the land for 40 days so their punishment would be 40 years of wandering. They would see what it was like to have God as their enemy. The eight spies who had brought back the bad report and influenced the people to doubt died in a plague. Joshua and Caleb remained alive. When the people heard what God said about them, they wanted to take back their words and go take the land, but it was too late. God had already given his word and he would not go with them. They decided to go anyway and were attacked by the Amelekites and the Canaanites but were ran out of town. Immediately, God started talking about redemption and the future generations who would go into the land. He gave instructions about gifts they could give to please Him. These would be voluntary gifts and even the foreigners could participate, in fact, they were equal before the Lord and subject to the same laws the Jews were. This was a foretaste of the Gentiles being grafted in. In Mark, Jesus was led to Caiaphas’ house to be tried all night. All the leading priests and the entire council was there trying to find something to accuse Jesus of. They brought and false testimonies but the only thing they could nail him on was the truth. Jesus had said that he would destroy this Temple made of human hands and in three days he would build another, made without human hands. Caiaphas, the high priest stood up and asked Jesus if he wasn’t going to defend himself but he remained silent. When he asked Jesus if he was the Messiah, he said, “I AM.” Then he told them that they would see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven. That did it for the high priest. He tore his clothes and cried, “Guilty!” They began to spit on Jesus and blindfolded him and beat him with their fists mocking him. Peter then denied Jesus three times just like Jesus said he would. Lord, if there is anything we can learn from these two stories is that man is very frail and we need You and your Holy Spirit. We are nothing of ourselves but mighty through your Spirit. You are truly slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and forgiveness. Thank you.

Tues.’s Devo - Our Report

Read: Numbers 11:24-13:33; Mark 14:22-52; Psalm 52:1-9; Proverbs 11:1-3 Moses went out to the people and told them that they would have meat the next day even though he had no idea how it would happen. The Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses and gave the 70 appointed men His Spirit. They began too prophesy. Two of the 70 appointed had not come to the Tabernacle and yet the Spirit found them and fell upon them in their camp. They began to prophesy and Moses was told about it. Joshua told Moses to make them stop but Moses recognized that this was God’s doing and refused to be jealous because God had shared his Spirit with him. The two men’s names were Eldad and Medad which mean “God has loved” and “would be loving”. It think they stand for all the ones who would come in the future that God would love and put his Spirit upon. Then God sent a wind that blew the quail that were migrating from Egypt to their camp. From what my commentary said, these were huge birds not like the little quail we hunt. The people gathered no less than 50 bushels a piece. While they were eating and gorging themselves on the meat, God got angry and struck them with a severe plague. They had lusted for the meat of Egypt more than the bread of heaven. Jealousy seems to be a theme in today’s reading. Miriam and Aaron were jealous of Zipporah’s position and power. They criticized Moses because he had married her and now that they had a governing body other than Moses, they felt they could voice their dissatisfaction. God settled the matter. He called Moses, Aaron and Miriam to the Tabernacle and God came down in the cloud and spoke to Aaron and Miriam. He pointed out that he spoke to his prophets through dreams and visions but he spoke to Moses face to face and why were they not afraid to criticize him. Miriam immediately got leprosy. Aaron cried out to Moses and Moses cried out to the Lord to stop. God replied that she needed to stay outside of the camp for seven days and then she could come back in. After the week, they traveled to the wilderness of Param and were on the outskirts of Canaan. The Lord told Moses to send 12 spies into the land to explore it. He sent one man from each tribe. They were to see what kind of land it was, whether the campus were protected by walls or not, if the soil was fertile. They were to notice the trees and bring back samples of the crops which just happened to be grape harvest. They went and explored the land and brought back grape clusters to large it had to be carried on a pole between tow men. They also bought back pomegranates and figs. After 40 days, they returned to camp. They came back with their report about how wonderful the land was but how big the people were. Only Caleb and Joshua wanted to take the land and knew that they could conquer it. The other spies spread bad news to the people. In Mark, Jesus had communion with his disciples explaining that the bread represented his body and the wine represented his blood. This would be his last supper on earth and his next would be in the kingdom of God. They sang a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives to pray. On the way he told them that God would strike the Shepherd and the sheep would be scattered talking about them. Then he told them that when he was raised from the dead, he would meet them in Galilee. Peter tells him he won’t scatter and Jesus told him he would deny him three times before the rooster crows twice. Peter couldn’t believe that. Jesus set his disciples in a place and he went alone to pray for the suffering he knew he was facing to be taken from him but he wanted most of all to do his father’s will. Jesus went and checked on his disciples and found them asleep three times. He was about to tell them to just sleep when he saw his betrayers coming. Judas was with the priests and religious leaders. He kissed Jesus, they grabbed him and Peter slashed off one of the men’s ears with his sword. Jesus asked them why they hadn’t arrested him in day light. The disciples scrammed and a man in linen was grabbed but all they got was his linen garment. He ran away naked. I always wonder if he wasn’t a watcher from God’s priesthood in heaven. I feel like the Body of Christ is getting weary because they are not seeing what they thought they would see. They are losing hope. We can not lose hope just because we are seeing the opposite of what we want to see. Faith is believing what is unseen and that is the essence of our belief in God. We believe that He is because He said “I AM.” Lord, strengthen your Body and give it hope and rest. It was unbelief that kept the children of Israel from entering into their rest. I pray that we don’t miss entering into your rest. May our report of Your goodness be pleasing to You.

Sun.’s Devo - The Levites Set Apart

Read: Numbers 8:1-9:23; Mark 13:14-37; Psalm 50:1-23; Proverbs 10:29-30 The large menorah was to be placed so that the light panned out to illuminate the whole room. It was made of one piece of gold beaten by a hammer into its shape. It had buds of the almond flower on its arms. God told Moses to take the Levites and cleanse them by sprinkling water on them and shaving all of their flesh. They were to wash their own clothes and make themselves clean. Then they were to take a bull with flour and oil and another bull for the sin offering and offer them in front of all the people. The people would put their hands upon the Levites and transfer their sin to the Levites. The Levites would then put their hands upon the sin offering and transfer all of their sins to the bull. The other bull would be for the Levites to set them apart from the other people and atone just for the Levites. The Levites were then offered to Aaron and his sons to be an offering to the Lord. The Levites would be separate from the children of Israel and the Levites would be the Lords. I think of this as being how Jesus died for the world represented by the first bull, but he set apart his chosen remnant and they got to enjoy the atonement of his death which was represented in the second bull. God had designated the first born as his, but now he substituted the Levites for them. After their ceremony, the Levites began assisting Aaron in the service of the Tabernacle. Once we are saved and sanctified we can minister in God’s work. The age of service was 25-50 and when they retired they were guards but could not officiate in the service. They were to celebrate the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan which was the first month of the religious calendar and the seventh month of the civil calendar. They were to be ceremonially clean to celebrate, but a group of men had buried a person making them ceremonially unclean. They came to Moses to ask if they could participate. Moses took their request to the Lord and God said that they could wait and do it the same day the next month. If they were clean and chose not to celebrate the Passover, they would suffer the consequences of their guilt. The Passover was the foreshadowing of the cross. What they did then was a ceremony to cover their sins for a year. The cross took away our sins forever as long as we believed. When they finished setting up the Tabernacle the glory of God rested upon it in the form of a pillar of a cloud. When it lifted and moved, they broke camp and followed it. In Mark, Jesus warned them of a day that a very unsecured object would be standing where it should not be and when they see that happen they were to run to the hills. That very thing happened years later when Antiocus Ephiphenes offered a pig on the altar in the Temple. It will also happen in the very end of time in a different way. It seems that this act will mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Calamities would be rampant and false messiahs and false prophets would rise up. After the anguish of that time was over the sun would be darkened and the moon give no light. The stars will fall from the sky and the powers in the heavens would be shaken. Then everyone will see Jesus coming in the clouds in great glory. He will send out his angels to gather the chosen from the earth. When this begins to happen it will mark the last generation Jesus ended it with a story to remind them to always be watching and waiting for these signs to happen. Keep spiritually awake. Lord, thank you for signs that you give us to wake us up and to show us that your Word is true. May we stay alive and awake in you.

Sat.’s Devo - Set Apart

Read: Numbers 6:1-7:89; Mark 12:38-13:13; Psalm 49:1-20; Proverbs 10:27-28 God gave instructions on how to take a voluntary Nazarite vow. “Nazarite” means “separated” so it was a vow to separate oneself unto the Lord. They were to restrict themselves by not eating or drinking anything that came from the vine, not cutting their hair nor defiling themselves by going near a dead body. It had to do with what went into the body, what was covering the body and what was around the body. It was all to remind them that God was the essence of their existence. He was what sustained them, protected them and surrounded them. The person who entered into the vow chose how long they would separate themselves. John the Baptist lived under a Nazarite vow. He kept it till his death. Jesus was from Nazarus and yet he touched dead people and brought them back to life. He drank wine with sinners, and at his last supper with his disciples. I don’t know about his hair, I don’t remember reading anything about it. God gave the priests a special blessing to give the people and when they did it in His name, he would bless them also. On the very day that Moses set up the Tabernacle, he anointed it and set it apart as holy. The tribal leaders of every tribe brought the same gift to the Tabernacle. They put them on six wagons - two tribes per wagon along with 12 oxen - one for each tribe. Then for the next 12 days, they offered their offerings one a day. Everyone’s gifts were exactly the same and there was no competition or favoritism. After the Tabernacle was anointed and dedicated to the Lord whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak to the Lord, he would hear God’s voice speaking to him between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover. In Mark, Jesus exposed the religious leaders for their fraud. They were rich but their money came at the expense of the widows that they were supposed to be taking care of with the offerings. Instead, they taught that their wealth was a picture of their piety and favor with God. Jesus said they would be more severely punished for their sin. Jesus then called the attention to the widow who put in her last two mites. She was more righteous in her small amount of giving than they were in their great amount of giving. Her proportion was greatly more than theirs and her heart was right and theirs were wicked. Man looks on the exterior but God looks on the heart. Jesus and his disciples left the Temple one day and the disciples pointed out the great buildings and the massive stones in the walls. Jesus looked into the future and saw all of the stones and the buildings torn down. He told them what he saw. They asked him when this would happen, and what would be the sign that this will be fulfilled. Jesus answered both of their questions. First they would see people claiming to be the Messiah, then nations would go to war against other nations. There would be earthquakes and famines. These signs would only be the first of the birth pains. More would come. Jesus’ followers would be brought before the councils, beaten in the synagogues and stand trial before kings and governors. This would be their opportunity to witness about Jesus. God would tell them what to say because the Holy Spirit would be talking through them. People in their own household would turn them in and they would be hated because they followed Jesus. Those who endured to the end will be saved. May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. Thank you Lord, for your protection, your smile, your goodness, your favor and your peace.

Fri.’s Devo - Q & A’s

Read: Numbers 4:1-5:31; Mark 12:18-37; Psalm 48:1-14; Proverbs 10:26 The men who were eligible to serve in the Tabernacle had to be 30-50 years of age. The three clans or families were the Kohathites, the Merarites, and the Gerhonites. The family of Kohath were in charge of the things that related to the most sacred objects: the Ark of the Covenant, its curtains, the furniture in the Holy Place and its coverings and instruments and the burnt altar. They were to carry all the furniture on poles and never touch it. Eleazar, Aaron’s son was responsible of the oil and the incense. He was responsible for the Kohathites. Aaron was responsible to see that they never do anything that would cause the Kohathites to die, like looking at the Ark. The Geshonites were responsible for the general severe and carrying loads. They carried all the furniture after the Kohathites covered it with its designated cloths. They reported directly to Ithamar, Aaron’s son. The Merarite division carried the frames of the Tabernacle and the building material for the outer Tabernacle. They were also directly under Ithamar. There was repercussion for doing anything wrong to another person. If they confessed of their wrong, they were to pay the person full restitution and add a fifth to it. They also had to make it right with the Lord by offering him a sacrifice. If a husband suspected his wife of being unfaithful but had no witnesses to prove it there was a ceremony to find out if she was guilty or not. This was to protect the innocent and to rightly judge the guilty. She was to stand trial before the Lord. The priest would take some holy water from the laver in a clay jar and pour dust into it. The priest would write the curses of adultery on a piece of leather and wash it in the water. The woman was then to drink the water. The priest would make a sacrifice on the altar of the flour. The water would bring a curse to her body if she was guilty and would not be able to if she was innocent. The curse was that her abdomen would swell up like she was pregnant but there would be no baby inside. She would have an immediate reaction to the water. Her womb would shrink making her sterile. There would be no question as to if she was guilty or innocent. If she was innocent she would have no affects from the water and be able to bear a baby. In Mark, Jesus continues to be examined. The Sadducees came to him with a question about the resurrection which they did not believe in, but they wrapped it in a question about marriage and death. Jesus saw straight through their question and answered both. He told them they were grossly wrong in their belief about the resurrection because Moses spoke of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as being alive. Jesus also answered their question about marriage. We won’t marry each other in heaven. A non-Sadducee leader saw how wisely Jesus had answered their question and had one of his own. He wanted to know which of the commandments Jesus thought was the most important. Jesus nailed that one also. He said that the greatest was to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind and strength and the next greatest was to love your neighbor as yourself. Those two commandments covered all the rest of the commandments. When the man agreed with Jesus, Jesus perceived that this man was sincere and told him that he was not far from the Kingdom of God. He was not far from believing. The last question they asked Jesus was about the synagogue teaching that the Messiah would be the son of David. Jesus dispelled this teaching by quoting David calling the Messiah his Lord. How could his Lord be his son? Lord, may were have eyes to see and understand your Word like you meant for it to be understood.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Division of the Tribes

Read: Numbers 2:1-3:51; Mark 11:27-12:17; Psalm 47:1-9; Proverbs 10:24-25 When the Israelites set up camp, they were to camp under their banner in a certain order. They were divided into four groups with three tribes in each group. Moses and the Levites were to camp with the Tabernacle in the center of the groups. On the east were Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun which were all blood brothers of Leah. On the south were Reuben, Simeon and Gad. Reuben and Simeon were Leah’s sons and Gad was Zilpah’s. On the west was Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin who were all Rachel’s children. To the north were Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. Dan and Naphtali were Bilhah’s sons and Asher was Zilpah’s. I think it was wise that God put blood brothers to live together when possible. From heaven, the camp made the shape of the cross. God called forth the whole tribe of Levi to serve as Aaron’s assistants. They would serve the whole community in performing the duties in and around the Tabernacle. Aaron and his sons would do the duties of the priesthood. God made a substitute for the firstborn. He substituted them for the Levites. When the counted the number of firstborn and the number of Levites, there were 273 more firstborn’s than Levites. To account for them, they were to collect five pieces of silver for each of them to redeem them back. To count the people was to call the people to an account of their lives like God will do at Judgment Day. That is why they had to be bought back. We were bought back with the blood of Jesus. Later, we will read how if they wanted to count the people they had to take up this same amount to pay for their souls so that when they counted. That would keep them from being judged with a plague. David would forget this law when he asked for a count and it would cause a plague to fall on the people. In Mark, Jesus is being tried before the religious leaders and the people, just as the Passover lamb was being inspected by the priests. The religious leaders demanded to know who gave Jesus the authority to do and say the things he said. Jesus turned it on them and asked them who gave John his authority. They couldn’t answer because it would cause them to lose the favor of the people. Then Jesus told them the parable about them. They were the wicked tenant farmers who God had left the responsibility to to teach the people about his Word. They were the ones who had killed the prophets God sent and were about to kill God’s heir, his son. They knew it too. When they tested him in their political views, he nailed them there too. Every answer Jesus gave them proved that he was the sinless lamb. Lord, thank you that when the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation. You are our lasting foundation!

Wed’s Devo - Dedication

Read: Leviticus 27:14-Numbers 1:54; Mark 11:1-26; Psalm 46:1-11; Proverbs 10:23 A person could choose to dedicate their possessions to the Lord, but if they changed their mind and wanted it back it would cost them a fifth of the cost. The number ‘five’ has to do with redemption. If we dedicate anything to the Lord, then decide to take it back into our hands, it will cost us. That is why we need to consider what we do before we do it. Once we give a matter to the Lord, it needs to stay in his hands. The first born were not negotiable…they were the Lord’s. The only first born’s that could be bought back were the unclean animals. The ones that were specially set apart for the Lord, whether a person, an animal, or family property, must never be sold or bought back. The Jews believed that there were three types of people: the totally wicked, the totally righteous and the in-betweeners. These laws tend to prove this is true. The totally righteous would be the first borns and the specially set apart ones. The ones that could be bought back from the Lord could be the in-betweeners. In verse 29 it says that no person specifically set apart for destruction may be bought back. Such a person must be put to death. That sounds like the totally wicked. Then God talked about the tithe - the 10%. If you bought that back it would cost you an additional 20%. That doesn’t sound like smart financing to not pay your tithe. Numbers is a book of numbers. LOL! The first thing they numbers were the names of the warriors by their clans and families. They were taken from all the tribes except the Levites. The Levites were to tend to the Tabernacle and ministering to the Lord. The New Testament tells us the same thing. Our weapons are not carnal but they are powerful through God to the pulling down of strongholds. We do not fight in the conventional way; we fight on our knees. Every tribe had their own banner and designated area to camp and to march into battle, just like in the Body of Christ - we all have our designated areas to minister from. In Mark, Jesus told his disciples to go into a village and get a donkey that had never been ridden. As they were ’stealing’ this donkey, the owner asked them what they were doing. When he heard who was going to ride it he let them have it. A donkey is the most stubborn animal and they hate to be ridden and yet Jesus sat on this donkey who had not been trained to carry a person and it took him into Jerusalem. That was a miracle in itself. As Jesus was entering from the southeast to Jerusalem, the Temple lamb was coming into Jerusalem from the northwest. People were ascending upon Jerusalem from all directions. They were carrying palm branches and singing the Hallel in Psalms 112-118. They laid down their branches and sang the part that says “Hosannah! Blessed are they who come in the name of the Lord.” Psalm 118:25-26. Jesus went to the temple and observed what was going on. He then was able to curse the fig tree. The fig tree was Israel and when he came, they were not ready to receive him. They were not ripe in season and out of season. So Jesus cursed them so that no one would eat from their fruit again. Jesus came back to Jerusalem the next day with vengeance and drove out the buyers and sellers and the money changers. He told them that they had made the house of prayer into a den of thieves. This made the Pharisees and leaders of the synagogue even more determined to kill Jesus. When the disciples passed the fig tree the next morning, it had withered from its roots just like Jerusalem had. Jesus used it to teach his disciples how to bring down Satan’s kingdom. We have the authority to bring down mountains and throw them into the sea. Lord, we bring down this mountain of idol worship and Satanism in our nation. We cast it into the sea of forgetfulness and we pray that this nation will be called a House of Prayer for your name sake.

Tues.’s Devo -The Power of the Blood

Read: Leviticus 25:47-27:13; Mark 10:32-52; Psalm 45:1-17; Proverbs 10:22 God gave his people the right to redeem themselves back from slavery if they had had to sell themselves out to a foreigner. Anyone from their extended family could buy them back also. They would then go to the owner and negotiate the price of the man they wanted to buy back. The price would be based on the number of years until the next Year of Jubilee when everyone is free. They would pay the owner how much work their man would have done until Jubilee and paid him the price. Once he was bought back he could choose to stay and work for the man and receive a salary as a free man. God bought us back from the enemy with the blood of Jesus but as God’s children, we have to appropriate it. We can buy back blood relatives through prayer. We reap what we sow so just because we get saved, we still have to reap the things we did before we got saved. It may take a while to get out of the entanglements that we have gotten ourselves into, but freedom will come eventually. God reminds them of two of his commandments. The second Commandment was: don’t set up carved or graven images. The fourth Commandment was to keep the Sabbath day of rest to show reverence for His sanctuary. Obeying these two commandments would bring about the blessing of rain in the right seasons and bountiful harvests that overlap each other. It also brings security and peace in the land. God said He would chase their enemies and always give them victory. He promised his favor upon them and that they would multiply in people and in crops. God promised to live among them and put his favor on all they did. If they refused to follow God’s commands, the opposite would happen. They would be punished seven times over for their sins. If they repent, God will heal their land and remember his covenant of peace with them. If someone wanted to make a vow to dedicate someone to the Lord by paying the value of that person, the cost of the man ages 20-60 was 50 shekels of silver. A woman would be 30 shekels of silver. A boy ages 5-20 would be 20 shekels of silver and a girl 10 shekels. A man older than 60 was valued at 15 and a woman 10 shekels of silver. If you can’t afford to pay that amount you could appeal to the priest who would give you a price based on what you could afford. Animals could also be used in this way and bought back. The value would be set by the priest plus 20%. Jesus bought the world back with the redemption price of his blood. No amount of money could be counted to amount to the value of his blood. In Mark, Jesus tells them again everything that is about to happen to them so they will understand. We know they didn’t understand then, but they did later. James and John took Jesus aside and asked it they could sit in honor on his left and right side when he came to his kingdom. Jesus explained to them that they didn’t know what they were asking. Those places would be reserved for ones that suffered and died like he did. God would determine who sat in those places. The other disciples found out what James and John had requested and were indignant. Jesus explained that it was the one who served others and gave his life as a ransom for many that would be exalted in heaven. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus gave us a picture of what he had just said to his disciples. Bartimaeus was blind and could not see and yet he would not give up asking Jesus for mercy. When Jesus asked him what he wanted him to do for him, Bartimaeus called Jesus his Rabbi and told them he wanted to see. Jesus gave him that because he believed in faith. Bartimaeus then followed Jesus down the road. That was the message Jesus wanted to get to his disciples. Jesus had spent his three years trying to make his disciples see spiritually and just follow him in faith. Who is on his left or his right determines how they did these things. Lord, give us eyes to see and a heart to follow your. May we put our faith out there no matter what we see with our natural eyes.

Mon.’s Devo - Jubilee

Read: Leviticus 24:1-25:46; Mark 10:13-31; Psalm 44:9-26; Proverbs 10:20-21 In the Holy Place, the part in front of the Holy of Holies where the ark was there was a table called the Table of Shewbread. On this table were placed 12 loaves of unleavened bread for the priests to eat. It was their meal they had with the Lord and it was an expression of God’s eternal covenant with them. God calls us to come and dine with him so this was the picture of what we do when we sit and open God’s Word and eat it with the Lord. One day, a man who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father cursed the Name of the Lord. He was brought before Moses to be judged. Moses sought the Lord and the Lord said he must be stone by all who heard his words. He would stand for any Israelite or foreigner who did this in the future since he stood for both. This was a violation of the third Commandment. Next he dealt with the fifth Commandment: Thou shalt not murder. The penalty was death whether you were an Israelite or a foreigner. God explained the fourth Commandment and extended the Sabbath to the land. The land was to enjoy a Sabbath Year every seven years. This would give the land time to replenish its minerals and strength it had given the six years of planting. God promised to give them an abundance of crops the sixth year so it would carry them into the ninth year! They would replant the eighth year and harvest the ninth. God proved he could do this with the manna he had sent them from heaven. This would extend to years also. Every seven Sabbath Years were to be counted off. That is every fifty years. On the Day of Atonement every 50 years, they were to celebrate the Year of Jubilee. (I don’t remember ever reading where they did this. We will have to pay attention this year to see if we see that happen.) In the year of Jubilee everyone was to return to the land that belonged to their ancestors. All slaves were set free and all debt was forgiven. The price of a slave or land was determined on how far away this day was. It was God’s financial reset. The land was never sold on a permanent basis because the land was the Lord’s. We are just travelers passing through. Land in a walled city was different than land in a field. Land in a walled city represents people who live with walls enshrined in religion and man-made laws. Those who live free live under heaven’s laws. Levites, the set-apart ones always had the right to buy back a house even sold in Levite towns. They were the only ones who had permanent possessions. Selah! They were given strict instructions on how to treat people who were poor and forced into slavery. God made it clear that the people of Israel were his servants who he bought out of slavery and they were not to be sold as slaves again or treated harshly. They were only allowed to treat foreigners as slaves, but never their brothers and sisters. Foreigners represent demon spirits. They are to serve us and we are not to be enslaved by them. They have to bow because we carry the name of Christ. In Mark, once again, Jesus used the children to explain the kingdom. The disciples wanted to shoo them away but allowed a rich man to run up to him. Jesus showed that it wasn’t the rich he came to save though it was totally possible through God, it was the poor and child-like. The ones who can come into the kingdom are those who give up all this world has to offer and want something that they cannot see. Lord, help us to choose what is greatest to You. May we love what you love and hate what you hate.