Thurs.’s Devo- The Feasts

Read: Deuteronomy 16:1-17:20; Luke 9:7-27; Psalm 72:1-20; Proverbs 12:8-9 God spoke about his feasts over and over. He was inviting the people to celebrate with him in his feasts because these feasts are observed in heaven. The first was Passover which happened in the spring on the fourteenth of Abib or Nisan. It was to remind them that on that date, God brought them out of their slavery of Egypt. It was to point to the time when Jesus would die on the cross to bring us out of our slavery of sin. They were to bring a lamb to sacrifice. On the fulfillment of this feast, God would bring his lamb to Calvary. They were to eat the lamb with unleavened bread which would begin the festival of unleavened bread. It would last a week and represented the process of sanctification - getting sin out of our lives. Unleavened bread was fulfilled when Jesus was buried, went down to Sheol and preached captivity captive and set the righteous free, to go with him to heaven. The third feast which isn’t named here is First Fruits. It is referred to in verse 9. It is the day they first begin to cut the grain at harvest. It is the first fruits of their labor which are offered to the Lord. Jesus fulfilled this by rising from the dead on this day. Fifty days from First Fruits they were to celebrate Festival of Harvest or Pentecost. This was a celebration of the harvest. It was fulfilled when God poured out his Spirit on his disciples and they began preaching the Word with boldness and the harvest came in. (Acts 2) The last group of feasts were celebrated in the fall. The only one that was mentioned at this time was the Feast of Shelters or Tabernacles. It would occur after the fruit and olive harvests. It will be fulfilled when God comes down to tabernacle with us and set up his kingdom on earth. We call this the last millennium or the seventh day. Each year the men were to come to Jerusalem, bringing gifts to the Lord for these three set of feasts. God was serious about justice. They must appoint fair, honest, God-fearing men to act as judges and officials. Justice was never to be twisted or unfair. They were never to take a bribe or show partiality. They were never to set up Asherah poles or sacred pillars for worship because God hated them. They were never to offer sick or blemished animals to the Lord. Anyone found worshipping idols or other gods were to be stoned to death. They could only be condemned by two or more witnesses against them. If a case arose of murder or assault, it was to be taken to the Levites in the cities of refuge for the Levites to decide. They would investigate the crime and seek the Lord for a verdict. Whatever they decided must be carried out to the letter. When they got to the promised land, if they decided they wanted a king like everyone else then they must be sure to ask God to choose the king. He must be an Israelite and not a foreigner. He must not build up horses and chariots or accumulate lots of silver and gold for himself. He must copy the covenant himself and keep his copy with him at all times. He must read it daily so he will know how to govern the people as God wants them governed. If he does this then he and his descendants would reign for many generations. In Luke, Herod Antipas who had beheaded John the Baptist started hearing stories of Jesus and his miracles. He was afraid that John had risen from the dead. Herod lived in such guilt for his lifestyle and for killing John that he was delusional. Jesus had to stay away from Herod and his people so he went to the countryside to teach as many people as possible. One day he was teaching in Bethsaida and the people had been listening to him all day. The disciples urged Jesus to send them home so they could eat but Jesus fed the 5,000 men with only two fish and five loaves. They picked up 12 baskets of left-overs. One day, Jesus was talking with his disciples and asked them who people were saying he was. They responded, John the Baptist, or Elijah or other prophets that had risen from the dead. Then he asked them who they thought he was. Peter responded, “the Messiah, sent from God.” Jesus warned them not to tell anyone because he was to suffer and be killed. Then he would rise from the dead on the third day. He encouraged the crowd to lay down their lives also and follow him. Lord, we are truly crucified with You and buried with you. But, we are also risen with you and are on this earth to let your life shine through us. May we decrease and may You increase.

Wed.’s Devo - The Law is Spiritual

Read: Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23; Luke 8:40-9:6; Psalm 71:1-24; Proverbs 12:5-7 Moses warned them of people who dreamed dreams of the future and they came to pass, and of people who did signs and wonders. If they then enticed the people to follow other gods, they would know that they were not true prophets of God; they were false prophets. If they pointed them to God, then they were true prophets of God. False prophets were to be put to death or they would encourage rebellion against God. Other people might try to entice them to follow other gods, like someone in their immediate family. They were to have no mercy on them but put them to death. A scoundrel in their town might rise up and try to entice the citizens of the town to follow other gods, but they were not to follow him. If the town did follow him into idolatry, then the people of Israel must attack them and kill them and burn the whole town. God promised to have mercy on only those who listened to him voice and kept all his commands. God gave them a list of the animals that were unclean. They could eat any animal that had completely split hooves and chewed the cud. This is a picture of what we as Christian’s should eat. We are to eat the Word which divides soul and spirit. joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12) It is the split hooves that we stand on. We are to chew the meat of the Word and meditate upon it day and night. This is a picture of chewing the cud. We don’t swallow everything we hear without using discernment and asking the Lord his opinion. The marine animals were to have fins and scales. Which means to us that we must walk unwavering and straight. Fins allow a fish to swim balanced. Scales are coverings. We are covered with the blood of Christ. They were not to eat birds of prey that ate dead animals for food. We are to eat things that bring us life not death. Winged insects that walked upon the earth stood for things that were suppose to fly but chose to walk on the earth. That could mean not to participate with people who were earthly, fleshly Christians who didn’t live by the spirit but by the flesh. They were not to eat anything that died a natural death. This could represent a person who refused to repent and died in their sin. We are not to follow their example. They were told repeatedly not to cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. I think this means not to label a person according to the sins of their mother. Don’t put them in the same category but let them answer for themselves and choose to become their own person. They were to give the Lord a tithe of everything. At the end of every seventh year they were to cancel all debts. They were to be generous and compassionate toward the poor and needy. All slaves were to be released every seventh year unless the slave chose to stay with its master. Then the owner would take the slave and pierce his ear to the doorpost of his house. In that way the owner is applying his slave’s blood his door showing that he is now a part of his family. That is what we do when we choose to die to our lives and become a bond slave of the Lord’s. In Luke, Jesus was just on the other side of the lake where a demon-possessed man had begged to have his demons not be cast into the pit and now we have a leader of the synagogue begging Jesus to heal his daughter who was going to the pit. Jesus pulled them both out of the pit and saved them from eternal death. The synagogue leader was named Jairus which means “he will enlighten”. Jesus required faith from him and he did have faith. His daughter who was 12 years old, was brought back from death. At the same time a woman who had been bleeding for the same amount of years came to him and secretly touched the bottom of his robe. Jesus made it public that she was healed. Both of these people represented Israel. Jesus came to bring Israel back to life and those who sought him found new life and healing. Those who didn’t just sunk deeper into deception. Jesus gathered his disciples and sent them out to do the same thing he was doing. Lord, may we do the same things that you did on the earth and even more. May we take your Kingdom into the world and spread it.

Tues.’s Devo - Deliverance

Read: Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32; Luke 8:22-39; Psalm 70:1-5; Proverbs 12:4 Moses addressed the people who had lived through the time of the exodus from Egypt. He reminded them that their children had not seen the great plagues of Egypt that the Lord brought and how he parted the Red Sea for them. They hadn’t experienced how the Lord cared for them in the wilderness and what God did to Dathan and Abiram when they rebelled against him and Moses. God had opened up the ground and swallowed them alive. They had seen all this with their own eyes and they had no excuse but to follow the Lord and fear him. The land God was giving their children was not like the land of Egypt where they had to irrigate to water their crops. God watered this land from heaven with rain and gave them seasons. If they obeyed the Lord, he would give them the proper seasons at the right time so that their crops would prosper and grow. They would have lush pastureland for their cattle. If they did not obey the Lord, he would shut up the heavens so the rain would not fall and their crops would not prosper. It was their job to teach all these things to their children so they would obey the Lord and walk in his ways. God would drive out the nations ahead of them and give them the land. God was giving them a choice between blessings and curses. They were not to worship the gods of the people living in the land now. When they took possession of the land they were to meet in the valley between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim and pronounce the curses on Mt. Ebal and the blessings on Mt.Gerizim. It was to remind them to walk with the Lord and obey his commands. They were to set up one place where they would meet to worship the Lord. they would celebrate and sacrifice their offerings there. They could butcher and eat their sacrificial animals in any town they wanted. The only stipulation was that they were never to eat the blood of the animal; they were to pour it out on the ground. They were to share their food with the Levites and care for them. When they came into their land they were not to inquire about how the heathen worshipped their gods or want to participate with them because their worship was detestable to the Lord. They burned their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. In Luke, Jesus took his disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee. On the ride, Jesus fell asleep in the bottom of the boat. A storm arose that he disciples were afraid for their lives so they woke Jesus up. He spoke to the waves and rebuke them. They were calm and the disciples were in awe. They arrived on the shore of the Gadarene’s and were met by the town demoniac. He housed the principality of the region which is why the storm arose. He was trying to keep Jesus from coming there. He was homeless and naked living in the tombs outside the town. The demons in him begged to not be cast into he bottomless pit so Jesus sent them into a herd of swine. They pigs ran off the cliff and drown in the water below. The herdsmen of the pigs ran back to town reporting what they saw. The people came out and saw the demoniac acting sane and were afraid. They begged Jesus to go away from them. The delivered man begged to go with Jesus but Jesus told him to go back and be a witness for him in his hometown. The man did and the next time Jesus showed up, the town was eager to receive him. It is comical that the people of the town were more afraid of Jesus who brought peace and deliverance than they were of a crazy man who was full of demonic power. It just proves that people are afraid of the unknown. They are more comfortable with their own disfunction than with freedom from it. Lord, help us to make the transition from disfunction to function. Help us to know the difference. We choose life and blessings.

Mon.’s Devo - Trees of Righteousness

Read: Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22; Luke 8:4-21; Psalm 69:19-36; Proverbs 12:2-3 Moses addressed Israel as they were about to enter into their promised land. The inhabitants of the land were much more mighty and greater in number than them. They had cities with great tall walls and giants who lived in them. God was going before them like a consuming fire to destroy them. God was not doing this because they were so good and deserved it because they didn’t. They had been a stubborn and obstinate people the whole forty years through the wilderness. He was doing this because the people they would be displacing were evil and God had made a promise to Abraham and God keeps his word. God reminded them of his righteous anger when they rebelled at Mt. Sinai and made the golden calf. He wanted to destroy them then, but Moses prayed for them. God was angry with them when they complained of no food at Taberah and God sent them manna. At Massah when they had no water, God brought water out of the rock. At Kibroth-hattaavah they lusted for meat and God sent them quail. Then at Kadesh-Barnea where they chose to listen to the fear of the spies that went to spy out the land. He sentenced them to forty years in the wilderness where that whole generation was sentenced to die in the wilderness. God had saved them and brought them here this day for his own reputation on earth. They continued on to the Jordan and at Moserah, Aaron died and was buried. Eleazar took his place as high priest. God set apart the Levites to carry the Ark and to minister to Him for the people. Moses told the people what the Lord required of them: fear Him, live their lives to please him and to serve him with all their heart and soul. They must always obey the law which would bring them good things. God had chosen them above all the other nations of the world to be his people. He would be fair and make sure that the orphans and widows received justice. God showed mercy to the foreigners living month them so they should too. Their hearts should be toward the Lord and they should fear and worship him because he is the only God. He had done so many miracles in their sight and he was the one who prospered and multiplied their descendants. In Luke, Jesus gave the parable of the seed and the sower. He explained the parable to his disciples and told them that many would not understand his teachings because they were the fulfillment of the parable. The seed is scattered in many hearts but only the hearts that welcome the seed would mature and grow into trees. These trees are to be lights to the world that are not ashamed of what they know and who they are. Jesus told them to be careful how they heard. The more they listened to Jesus, the more they would understand. All who listen to God’s word are like his mother and his brothers. Lord, may we listen with our hearts and our spirits. May we discern rightly and grow up to be trees of righteousness.

Sun.’s Devo - Remember God

Read: Deuteronomy 7:1-8:20; Luke 7:36-8:3; Psalm 69:1-18; Proverbs 12:1 There were seven nations that occupied the promised land that were to be completely destroyed. They were not to marry their sons or daughters or keep any of their idols or ways of worship or gods. If they obeyed the Lord and his laws they would not experience any infertility or miscarriages, nor would their cattle. They would not suffer from any of the diseases of the land. They were to destroy them and show no mercy because if they did, these people would do so much harm to them as a nation that it would destroy God’s plan for them. They were not to fear them because the God who delivered them from Pharaoh in Egypt would fight against their enemies and would drive them out with terror. He would do this little by little so they would have enough time to settle in their land. For forty years, God had tested them in the wilderness so that they would learn to trust him for their daily bread and all their needs. Their clothes hadn’t worn out, nor their shoes. When they got into their land and had built their new houses and were enjoying the abundance of the land, they were not to get proud and forget God. They were not to forget all the trials and deliverances they experienced in their walk through the wilderness. If they did forget God then they would be destroyed just like the nations they were about to destroy. This is a good word for us. We are about to walk into the time of the greatest time of abundance and wealth we have ever known. These warnings are just as important for us. We cannot forget all God has done for us and how we lived on every Word that he gave us and depended upon him for every ounce of hope. He is worth so much more than the riches of this world. Jesus was invited to the house of a Pharisee to eat supper. This Pharisee was probably rich and lived in a nice house. He was appalled when a lady that was probably a prostitute came in and began pouring expensive perfume on Jesus feet and kissed his feet while wiping them with her hair. Jesus didn’t see her as a prostitute but saw a humble loving heart that was full of gratitude. Jesus knew that the Pharisees were judging her and most of all him, so he told them a parable about forgiveness. The story was about two men who owed a man different amounts of money. The man forgave both of the men their debt. Jesus asked the Pharisee which one of the men loved the man who forgave them the most. Simon, the Pharisee answered that probably the one who had owed him the most. Jesus said that she was the one who owed God more because she had been forgiven the most. Then Jesus forgave the woman of her sins and sent her on her way. They Pharisees were now appalled that Jesus thought he could forgive sins. He couldn’t win for losing with them. In the last paragraph we get a bit of interesting information. Joanna was the wife of Herod’s business manager. He was no doubt very rich. She had become a great follower of Jesus and gave him lots of money from her husband’s salary to fund Jesus’ ministry. Lord, may we never forget all you have done for us. May our wealth be of our hearts and not our pocketbook. May we choose the things that bring life and hope.

Sat.’s Devo - Moses and John

Read: Deuteronomy 5:1-6:25; Luke 7:11-35; Psalm 68:19-35; Proverbs 11:29-31 Moses made his address to the people that had witnessed God at Mt. Sinai. They might have just been children then or adults that would soon die before they crossed over Jordan, but he made it clear that God spoke to them audibly his commands then wrote them on tablets of stone so they would have them to refer to. They saw the fire on the mountain and the smoke as God showed them his glory. The tribal leaders asked Moses to tell God not to do that again because it scared them. They asked for God to speak to Moses and then Moses could tell them what he said. This pleased the Lord that they would have so much reverential fear of him and that is how God did it from then on. He told Moses the rest of his commandments and Moses told the people. They were about to enter into the land God had promised them and if they obeyed his commands they would live long in the land and prosper. They must love the Lord with all their hearts, soul and strength. They were to repeat the words of God to their children and teach them to obey them. They were to surround themselves with reminders of what God’s Word said. When they became prosperous, they were not to forget that God had delivered them from slavery. They were to continue to fear him and remember the covenant they made. They were never to worship the gods of the people around them or God would get so angry he would wipe them off the face of the earth. Obedience equals righteousness. In Luke, Jesus gave us a precursor to his future. He came upon a funeral of a widow’s only son. He was so filled with compassion that he reached out, touched the man and told him to get up. The boy came back into his body, sat up and began to talk. I would have loved to know what he talked about. I wonder if Jesus saw his own mother in this widow. His mother would be a widow and watch the brutal murder of her son and he would also rise from the dead and talk to her again. John the Baptist was in prison probably wondering when Jesus was going to come and get him out since the prophets said he would open prison doors and set the prisoner free. John sent his messengers to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah probably to remind Jesus of his plight. Jesus probably understood this but only could do what his father wanted him to do. Jesus reminded John of all he was doing and told him not to be offended. Sometimes it is so easy to get offended at God because He is not doing the one thing we want him to do when he has done so many other things for us. John was the last of the old covenant prophets. He had to be killed in Jerusalem. He, himself had said, “I must decrease and He (Jesus) must increase. John got his reward in heaven and I’m sure it was great. Jesus acknowledged that John was the prophet sent ahead of him who Malachi (3:1) had prophesied about. He said that of all that had ever lived, John was the greatest. That was Jesus’ eulogy about John. Then, Jesus added that even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is. In other words, in heaven everyone is greater than the greatest on earth. The Pharisees had rejected John’s ministry and his baptism so Jesus had some words to say to them. A generation is known by its leaders and heaven would remember their generation as the ones who were indifferent to anything God did. They had found fault in John because he fasted and didn’t drink wine and they found fault in Jesus who did both. Then he said, “Wisdom is justified of all her children.” He was saying that the fruit of John, Jesus and the Pharisees would be the proof of their teaching. What did their followers become? Lord, may our lives prove your wisdom. May we not be guilty of forgetting all the wonderful things you have done for us.

Fri.’s Devo - Good Seed

Read: Deuteronomy 4:1-49; Luke 6:39-7:10; Psalm 68:1-18; Proverbs 11:28 The Lord told them not to add or subtract from the laws he had given them but to obey them. When Jesus arrived on the earth they had so added to the law that they had lost the real meaning of the commandments. Jesus kept referring to the original law which most of them didn’t even know. God told them that if they obeyed his laws they would look wise and intelligent to the surrounding nations who would be jealous of their laws because they were so just and fair. He told them not to forget what God did to the people who worshipped Baal at Peor or the voice they heard as God proclaimed his commandments at Mt. Sinai. They didn’t see the Lord so they were not to try to make an image of what they thought he might look like. God would send down his exact image in the face of Jesus Christ, his son. (Hebrews 1:3) Moses would not cross over with them into the land but he called heaven and earth to be a witness against them. If they broke God’s covenant they would quickly disappear from the land and be destroyed and only a remnant would survive to be scattered among the nations. In those nations they would be forced to worship dead gods of stone and wood. They would eventually cry out to the living God to rescue them. No other nation in all of time had heard the voice of God as a nation and seen all the miraculous signs and wonders they had seen. God chose them to be his own people and he had never done that before to any people. The laws God gave them were good and would insure them a long prosperous life. For the three tribes that had their land east of the Jordan, Moses set apart three cities of refuge. They were Bezer in Reuben’s land, Ramoth in Gilead for Gad and Golan in Bashan for Manasseh. In Luke, Jesus addressed their blindness. They were spiritually blind and needed someone who could see to lead them. If they wanted to see they had to first get the blinders out of their own eyes instead of trying to judge others. Jesus explained that people are like trees and the seed they came from was either good or bad. If it was good then it would produce good fruit but if it was evil it would not be able to produce good fruit - only bad. Those who listened to Jesus and believed were like builders digging deep into the ground and pouring a firm foundation and then building on it. That house would not be able to fall. The next thing that happened was an example of this very teaching. A Roman officer had a slave that he highly valued who was fatally sick. He came to Jesus to beg him to come and heal his servant. The people told Jesus how good this Roman officer was. He loved the Jewish people and even built them a synagogue. He was a tree from a good seed. Jesus perceived this and went to his house. On the way he was stopped by a friend who had a message from the officer for Jesus. It said that he was unworthy for Jesus to come to his house but he could send his word and it would heal the servant. Jesus was amazed at his faith and healed his servant right then and there. Lord, may we trust in your unfailing love for us. Thank you that your Word is good and your commandments are just and fair.

Thur.’s Devo Changing of the Guard

Read: Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29; Luke 6:12-38; Psalm 67:1-7; Provers 11:27 Moses continued his retelling of their history through the wilderness. It is emphasized that the earth is the Lord’s and he gives his land to whoever he wants and then when he is ready, he gives it to another nation. God said that he gave Israel their possession forever. God had raised up and thrown down kingdoms before them. God did give them the land of Og and Bashan’s and even though it was east of the Jordan. They were to take it and settle there. Og was the last of the giants in the land. It commented that his bed was 9 feet tall long and six feet wide. Jair from the tribe of Manasseh conquered the land of Bashan so he was given it as his inheritance. He renamed the capital city after himself which means “he will enlighten”. Bashan means “their shame”. Interestingly, Manasseh means “causing to forget”. So they enlightened them to forget the shame of that city and what had gone on there in the past. This was the time that Moses put Joshua in charge and told him not to be afraid because God would do the same thing he had done to these two kings to the kings in Canaan. Moses pled with the Lord to let him cross the Jordan into the land. God told him he could not cross over the Jordan, but he could climb Pisgah Peak and look at it from their. His job was to encourage and commission Joshua to lead them across and into the land. Moses stood for “the law”. The law has no place in the promised land. The promised land is a place of spirit and grace. The law of that land is spiritual and is of the heart and not the written law on tablets. God promised to write his law on the hearts of the people. In Luke, Jesus spent the whole night in prayer and when he came down from his mountain he called out his twelve disciples to be with him all the time. Many others chose to follow him too. All who came to him, Jesus healed and delivered. Jesus taught them that those who followed and believed in him would have a great future full of rewards and blessings. In the meantime, we are to bless and love those who hate and persecute us. Our giving now will be multiplied back to us in the future. Lord, may we live for eternity and not worry about anything on earth. You totally took care of the Israelites all through the wilderness; you will take care of us through ours. We are so thankful for your loving kindnesses that are new every morning.

Weds.’s Devo - Holy Boldness

Read: Numbers 36:1- Deuteronomy 1:46; Luke 5:29-6:11; Psalm 66:1-20; Provers 11:24-26 Some of the cousins of the five daughters who wanted to have their fathers’ inheritance came with a grievance about their inheritance. If the daughters married outside of their tribe then the land would transfer to the tribe of her husband. Moses decreed that they must marry someone within their tribe because the land was suppose to stay in the tribes it was assigned. That law went for anyone in that same situation. The daughters of Zelophehad did what the Lord commanded and all married cousins on their father’s side, keeping the land in the tribe of Manasseh. Moses took them through their history of their travels. At Mt. Sinai they were eleven days from the promised land, but because of their unbelief, the eleven days turned into 40 years. We learn some details that we didn’t know the first time. We find out that the people asked to scout out the land first because they just couldn’t believe what God told them. They listened to the talk of the spies and ignored the grapes they could see with their eyes. God’s angel had scouted out the best camping spots for them to camp in all the way to Canaan and yet they couldn’t trust them to have scouted out the land they were going to also and lead them all the way. They blamed God and God got angry with them. He told them that only Joshua and Caleb would cross over to occupy the land and even Mose would not be able to enter. Their children who they said would be captured would be the ones to occupy it. The ones who rebelled and then wanted to enter, tried on their own strength and were defeated by the ones they feared - the Amorites. Now, God had given them victory over the Amorites and the Moabites. It was truly a new day. In Luke, Jesus ate supper at Levi’s house who was a tax-collector. The Pharisees were so discussed with him for eating with sinners. I wonder why they didn’t invite Jesus to their house to eat. Jesus replied that he came to those who were sinners and knew they needed to repent and not to those who thought they were righteous. That hit them between the eyes. People asked Jesus why John’s disciples fasted and the Pharisees fasted but his disciples were always eating and feasting. Jesus explained that it was because they had the bridegroom with them and were enjoying the wedding party. One day he would be taken away and then they would fast. He explained the teaching on the new wine in old wineskins and the new patch on old clothes. He was demonstrating that the old ways would not be able to fit into the new covenant that he was bringing. He and his disciples were demonstrating the new. To enjoy the new covenant you had to have a new heart - a new wineskin. We get an example of this concept in the next story. Jesus and his disciples were walking through a grain field on the Sabbath and the disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed the husks off and ate the grain. The Pharisees accused them of harvesting on the Sabbath. Jesus reminded them of David who broke the rules and ate the shewbread that was only designated to the priests. He should have died for that but instead it gave him nourishment. Then Jesus added the punch line: The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath. The next written event also happened on the Sabbath. There was a man with a deformed right hand in the synagogue. The Pharisees knew Jesus would heal him and they were going to accuse Jesus of working on the Sabbath but Jesus beat them to it. He asked the deformed man to stand in front of the people. Then he asked the congregation if it the law permitted people to do good deeds on the Sabbath. He asked if it was a day to save life or destroy it. When no one answered he healed the man’s hand. This really ticked his enemies off. I need to point out that a deformed person was not suppose to be allowed in the synagogue according to the law of Moses and yet he had the boldness to hide it and come in. Even the people were getting so hungry for truth that they risked humiliation and death to get it. Lord, may we have the boldness that You did when you confronted your enemies. May we stand on the truth of your Word.

Tues’s Devo - Cities of Refuge

Read: Numbers 33:40-35:34; Luke 5:12-28; Psalm 65:1-13; Provers 11:23 God gave explicit instructions concerning what to do about the people that were living in Canaan. They were to drive them out and rid the land of all their images and shrines. If they didn’t drive them out they would be a constant harassment to them. Then they were to divide the land according to the size of the tribes. The larger portion was to go to the larger tribe, etc. God gave them the boundaries of their land. There were water masses at all their boundaries. The land west of the Jordan would be divided among the nine and a half remaining tribes since Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh had their land on the east side of the Jordan. The priest, Eleazar and Joshua were to divide the land with the help of a leader from each tribe. The land was chosen by a sacred lot. Every tribe was to give towns from their property to the Levites. They would also get the land that extended 1,500 feet in all directions of their towns for their flocks. The land past their land would be for the people for pastureland. It would extend another 1,500 feet. Six of the towns designated for the Levites would be cities of refuge. These were cities set up for the people to run to for refuge if they had been accused or had accidentally killed someone and had either no or one witness. To be acquitted of a murder you had to have at least two witnesses. If a murder took place, the closest relative of the murdered person must avenge his murder. He was to find the murderer and put him to death. Murder must be punished by death. The person accused could run to the city of refuge and present his case to the Levites at the gate. If they thought the person had a valid case, they would let him come into the city and the avenger of blood could not come in and kill him. The Levites would investigate the crime to make sure the man who they were harboring was innocent. If he was innocent then he would stay safely in the city of refuge until the death of the reigning high priest. Then he would be free to go home and the avenger could not legally kill him. This was such a beautiful picture of salvation. Jesus is our refuge. We have all sinned and are guilty of sin that is punishable by death. In the Old Testament, there was no atonement of sin except the blood of animals. It was not able to give them eternal life with God. When they died they went to a place called Sheol. For the righteous who believed in God and followed his law, they were put in a place under the earth like a city of refuge. They stayed there until the death of Christ - the High Priest. When Jesus died, he went to Sheol and preached captivity captive and set them free. They rose with Christ (read Matthew 27:50-53). Ephesians 4:8-10 says that when Jesus ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. He descended into Sheol first then he ascended above the heavens. The avenger of blood is God. He is the one who has to punish the sin of murder. If a person doesn’t go to a city of refuge (to Christ), then God has to punish that person with eternal death. Innocent blood must be either avenged or atoned for. God made it clear that no one could bribe the Levites to stay out of a city of refuge. God is still the same God and this still stands. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. The only exception is if a person comes to Christ and repents. In Luke, Jesus healed a man of leprosy. This man was Jewish because he told him not to tell anyone until he had presented himself before the priests so they could have a public testimony of his healing. Instead the man told everyone and the crowds got bigger and bigger. Healing a Jewish leper was one of the litmus tests the priests had come up with that only the Messiah could do. This would show them that he was the Messiah, but the message never reached them. The truth is, most of their hearts were so hardened by their own laws that they couldn’t see the truth right in front of them. Another time, Jesus was preaching and the Pharisees that followed him everywhere were there observing. Men came with a paralyzed man and because they couldn’t get to Jesus, they went on the roof and pealed away the roof and lowered him right in front of Jesus. Jesus saw their faith and told the paralyzed man that his sins were forgiven. Jesus knew by the Spirit that sin had paralyzed him. The Pharisees who were watching were appalled that Jesus thought he could forgive sins. To show them that he had power to forgive sins, he told the man to stand up and walk and he did. The people praised God; the Pharisees fumed. Later, Jesus saw Levi who was a tax collector sitting in his booth. He called him out of the life to follow him. He left everything and obeyed. Lord, thank you for being our city of refuge that saves us from the second death.

Mon.’s Devo - Deliverance From Evil

Read: Numbers 32:1-33:39; Luke 4:31-5:11; Psalm 64:1-10; Proverbs 11:22 The tribes of Rueben and Gad observed that the land they had captured from the Amorites and the Moabites was perfect farmland for their animals. They went to Moses with the proposition that if they went over Jordan with the other tribes to help them conquer their land, they could come back and take this land for their inheritance. They would leave their wives and children in this land while they fought for the other tribes. Moses agreed with their proposal when he realized they would help the other tribes first. Half of the tribe of Manasseh joined with Rueben and Gad. Moses wrote down a detailed account of their travel from Egypt to the Jordan. They left Egypt the day after their first Passover and they left defiantly. They realized that they were God’s children who he loved and they had come to see that he was more powerful than any of the gods and evil of Egypt. Egypt had no more control over them and they had been set free by their God. I see this same attitude happening to God’s people all over the world as we realize we have been ruled by an evil regime who has only wanted bad for us. God’s people are going to see a great deliverance that we are going to be able to say it was only the Lord who delivered us because we are his people and he loves us. Moses recorded from the time they left Egypt and went to Rameses, to forty years later when they reached Mount Hor where Aaron died at the age of 123. In Luke, Jesus was in Capernaum teaching at the synagogue on the Sabbath. A man possessed by a demon spoke up demanding to know why he had come to mess up their plan. (It is interesting how the demons knew exactly who Jesus was and the people were so doubtful.) Jesus demanded that the demon come out of the man. The demon threw the man to the floor but then left. The people were amazed and wondered what kind of man he could be that demons would flee in his presence. Jesus went home with Simon Peter to find his mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. Jesus healed her and she got up immediately and served them. People brought their sick and demon-possessed to Jesus after dark and he healed them. He refused to let the demons speak. One day he was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee when the crowd became so great he asked Simon who owned the boats if he could preach from their boats. When he had finished he wanted to bless Simon for letting him use his boats. He told him to go out deeper and let down his nets. Simon explained that they had fished all night and not caught anything. By this time it was well into the morning and fish didn’t usually bite during the day. But, Simon obeyed and brought up so many fish they had to get help from Andrew and his boats. Simon saw the miracle and fell at Jesus feet in repentance. Jesus told him not to be afraid but that from then on he would be fishing for men. Peter and his brother Andrew left everything and began following Jesus. Lord, may we drop everything for you. Thank you that you are delivering us from evil and bringing righteousness and justice to our land.

Sun.’s Devo - Power Over Satan

Read: Numbers 30:1-31:54; Luke 4:1-30; Psalm 63:1-11; Proverbs 11:20-21 God gave Moses the law about vows. If you want to understand this spiritually put Jesus name in for the husband. So if we say something that brings a curse on us and Jesus hears it and decides to stop it, it won’t curse us but if he allows it to pass, then we will reap the consequences of our impulsive words. This can be a comfort but the bottom line is that we need to watch the words that come out of our mouth because they can be life or death to ourselves and others. God told Moses to take revenge on the Midianites who had led the people into idolatry since that happened on his watch. He was to chose 1,000 men from each tribe to fight them. The high priest, Eleazar was to lead them into battle and the priests were to carry the sacred objects from the tabernacle into battle. They were to sound the charge on the trumpets and attack. They killed all five of the Midianite kings in battle. They also killed Balaam who had joined with Balak. Now we see his true colors. The Midianites stand for the stronghold of strife and contention. The Israelites took the plunder and burned all the towns and villages where they had lived. They brought the women and children back to the camp. It was the women who had led the people into idolatry and Moses was so mad at them for letting them live. He had them kill all the boys and the women who were not virgins. The people who killed them would have to stay outside the camp for seven days then be cleansed before they could reenter. They were to divide the plunder in two groups and give half to the ones who fought and half to the rest of the people. Out of the army’s plunder one of every 500 was to go to Eleazar and his family. From the half that belonged to the people they were to take one of every fifty and give it to the Levites. The plunder included sheep goats, cattle, donkeys and virgin girls. The generals and captains reported that not one soldier was missing so they made an offering to the Lord of items of gold that was captured. In Luke, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted. When he had fasted for 40 days and nights the devil came to him and tempted him, if he was the son of God, to turn the stones into bread. Jesus replied that the Scriptures say that man doesn’t live on bread alone. Then the devil took him to a place where he could see all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. He told him he would give him all of them and authority over all for the if her would just worship him. Jesus told him that the Scriptures said that you must worship the Lord your God and serve only him. Then the devil took him to Jerusalem to the highest point of the Temple and told him that if he was the son of God, jump off. He used Jesus words says, “the Scriptures say, He will order his angels to protect and guard you. He continued quoting the 91st Psalm. Jesus replied that the Scriptures also say not to tempt the Lord. Then the devil left for a season. Jesus returned full of the Holy Spirit and began preaching. He went to his hometown and went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and went to read the scripture for the day. He unrolled the scroll of Isaiah and found the place where it said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” (Isaiah 61:1-2) He stopped right before it said and “the time of the Lord’s vengeance.” He then said, “the Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day.” The people doubted he was the Messiah because they had seen him grow up among them. Jesus said that he would not be able to do many miracles here because of their unbelief, then he told them of two miracles in the Old Testament that had to do with Gentiles being healed. The point was that God would go to the people who would receive him and it wouldn’t be the Jews. This made them furious. They forced him to the edge of the hill and intended to push him over the cliff but he passed right through the crowd and went his way. There is nothing the devil can do to us when we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. All of his plans will be thwarted and we will be saved. Lord, may we walk in the power of your Holy Spirit and fear no evil.

Sat.’s Devo - The Countdown

Read: Numbers 28:16-29:40; Luke 3:23-28; Psalm 62:1-12; Proverbs 11:18-19 God gave the special instructions for the offerings to be made for each of his feasts. For Passover, Unleavened Bread and Feast of Weeks (the spring festivals) the offering was the same: 2 bulls with 6 quarts grain moistened with olive oil for each bull 1 ram with 4 quarts grain moistened with olive oil 7 one year old lambs mixed with 2 quarts grain moistened with olive oil for each lamb It changes when they came to the fall feasts. for the Feast of Trumpets which occurred on the first day of the new civil calendar the offerings were: 1 bull, 6 qts. quarts grain moistened with olive oil 1 ram, 4 qts. quarts grain moistened with olive oil 7 one year old lambs, 2 qts. quarts grain moistened with olive oil for each bull Ten days later on the Day of Atonement the same offering would be offered as on Trumpets. Five days later on the Feast of Tabernacles a countdown occurred. Day 1: 13 bulls, 2 rams and 14 lambs along with the grain offerings 6-4-2 Day 2: 12 bulls, 2 rams and 14 lambs along with the grain offerings 6-4-2 Day 3: 11 bulls, 2 rams and 14 lambs along with the grain offerings 6-4-2 Day 4: 10 bulls, 2 rams and 14 lambs along with the grain offerings 6-4-2 Day 5: 9 bulls, 2 rams and 14 lambs along with the grain offerings 6-4-2 Day 6: 8 bulls, 2 rams and 14 lambs along with the grain offerings 6-4-2 Day 7: 7 bulls, 2 rams and 14 lambs along with the grain offerings 6-4-2 On Day 8 it started over: Day 8: 1 bull, 1 ram and 7 lambs along with the grain offerings 6-4-2. So, what does this mean to us? The feasts are our timelines. Passover - Jesus died on the cross, Unleavened Bread - Jesus was buried, First fruits - Jesus rose from the dead, and on Pentecost - The Holy Sprit was given to the Church. All of these spring feasts have been fulfilled. The fall feasts (3) have not been fulfilled. The Feast of Trumpets - God will come for his bride, Day of Atonement - the fate of the world is sealed, and on Feast of Tabernacles - Jesus will come and set up his millennial kingdom. This countdown of bulls is interesting because on the Biblical calendar that will happen during the Great Tribulation. There a countdown because the day is approaching that Jesus is coming. Another reason for the lessening of bulls might be that as people die in the Tribulation there will be less sin to atone for. That is purely my speculation. Day 8 is what the Jews call Simbat Torah which is the day after the Week of Tabernacles is over. They celebrate the Torah and begin reading it at the beginning that day. That will mark the beginning of a whole new day - the Eighth Day. In Luke, Jesus was known as the son of Joseph so we have his line. Joseph was of the lineage of Judah and linked back to King David and the kingly line. His lineage is taken all the way back to Adam who was the son of God. So many famous people were in his line like Methusalah, Enoch, Noah and Abraham. Lord, thank you that you are our rock and our salvation - our fortress where we will never be shaken. Victory comes from you!

Fri.’s Devo - Preparing the Way

Read: Numbers 26:52-28:15; Luke 3:1-22; Psalm 61:1-8; Proverbs 11:16-17 As they were nearing their destination, God gave Moses instructions on how to give out the land. The people were to stay in their own tribes and land was to given in proportion to the number of people in their tribe. The Levites had not been counted in the census. They were divided into three clans - the Gershonites, the Kohathites and the Merarite clans and into five subclans - the Libnites, Hebronites, Mahlites, Mushites and Korahites. Aaron, Moses and Miriam were from the Kohathite clan. Their parents were Amran and Jochebed. The meaning of their names were “high people” and “Jehovah-glorified”. When the Levites were numbered they were not counted among the other tribes but separately. The males were counted from the age of one month up and there were 23,000. Levites were called from birth and were not counted in the army. Only Joshua and Caleb had been numbered in the first census. The rest had died because of their rebellion. The five daughters of Zelophehad from the tribe of Manasseh came to ask for the inheritance of their father’s. He had no sons and had been of the generation that died in the wilderness but they wanted land for his name’s sake. God agreed with them and it became a law that property would be passed down to the closest of kin. God told Moses to appoint Joshua the new leader. Moses was to lay his hands on him, transferring some of his authority to Joshua in front of all the people. Eleazar would confirm it with the sacred Urim which was the “Yes” token. God gave the priests the instruction for the daily sacrifice. Every Sabbath they were to offer a burnt offering, and a grain offering moistened with oil. Every new moon (the first day of the month) they were to offer the same. All of this was a sin offering to atone for their sins. In Luke, we are given the leaders of the Roman empire at the time. Iberius was the emperor, Pilat the governor over Judea, and Herod Antipas the ruler over Galilee. Herod’s brother, Philip was ruler over Iturea and Taconituis. Lysanias was ruler over Abilene and Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. It was during this government that God sent John to prepare the way for his son. John went to the Jordan and preached repentance from sin and told them to turn their hearts back to God. John told them that he was a voice making the road clear for the Messiah to walk on. John baptized the people to wash them of their sin. He told the people how to take care of one another and how to deal fairly in their business with one another. He even rebuked Herod Antipas, their ruler because of his unholy life. Herod finally put John in prison to keep him quiet. John made it clear to them that he was not the Messiah. He was only baptizing with water, but the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit came down like a dove and descended upon him. God spoke from heaven and said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” God says that about us also even though it is sometimes hard to believe. Lord, thank you that today we read where you made room for even the daughters who wanted to preserve their father’s name. We want to preserve your name on the earth. Thank you for your love for us and that you chose us from the foundation of the earth to be your children.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Warriors

Read: Numbers 26:1-51; Luke 2:36-52; Psalm 60:1-12; Proverbs 11:15 After the plague killed 24,000 people, God told Moses and Eleazar to number the warriors in each tribe. They were all the men at least twenty who were fit and could go to war. Each tribe were numbered by clan. Judah had the largest number - 76,500 and Simeon, the smallest at 22,200. I found it interesting that one of the clans in the tribe of Zebulun had no sons but five of their daughters were mentioned. This is a list of warriors so they must have been part of the army. Also in the tribe of Asher, his daughter Sarah was mentioned as if she was counted in this number. Every tribe had its own characteristics and it was important which tribe you were from. It carried on into the New Testament where Anna was mentioned from the tribe of Asher. Asher means “happy”. Her father was Phanuel which means “the face of God”. Her father must have taught her how find her happiness in seeing into the face of God because as a prophetess, that was what she did. It was said of Anna that she had lost her husband after only seven years of marriage and had remained a widow ever since. She was now 84 and spent her days praying and fasting in the temple. When she saw Jesus, she knew he was the one they had been waiting for and told everyone who had been seeking God for a Messiah. Every year, Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. When Jesus was twelve they went as usual but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. When Mary and Joseph realized he was missing they went back looking for him. Three days later, they found him in the Temple sitting among the religious teachers listening to them and asking questions. They were amazed at his questions and even more amazed at his answers. Mary asked Jesus how he could do this to him and his answer was that he had to be about his father’s business. His father was God and his business was in the Temple. When a Jewish boy reaches the age of 12 they follow their father in their business and that was what Jesus was doing. Jesus followed them home to Nazareth and obeyed them. Jesus grew in his walk with the Lord. It says that he grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people. Lord, may we seek your face and grow in wisdom and stature and favor with you and all people. May we be counted as your warriors.

Wed.’s Devo - We Are Blessed

Read: Numbers 24:1-25:18; Luke 2:1-35; Psalm 59:1-17; Proverbs 11:14 It was Balaam’s third time to attempt to curse Israel but he had gotten the message that God would only bless Israel so he didn’t go through all his incantations to curse. He just looked out over the tents of Israel and prophesied. He blessed them once more as a nation that devoured all who opposed them. He blessed everyone who blessed them and cursed everyone who cursed them. That made Barak mad since he was in the ones who wanted to curse them! He sent Balaam home without pay. Then Balaam went on to say that out of Israel would rise a star who would crush the heads of Moab’s people and Edom’s. This ruler would destroy the survivors. Then he looked on Amalek and prophesied its demise. Then the Kenites demise. Asshur and Eber would perish also. No one would survive unless the Lord willed it. So, this is how Barak got his curse on Israel. He sent his seductive women into their camp to invite them men to their celebration to their gods. They worshipped the Baal of Peor. Moses ordered the judges to execute the sinners. One of the Israelite men blatantly brought a Midianite woman into his tent in broad daylight. When Phineas saw this he ran into the man’s tent with a spear and ran it all the way through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach. This stopped the plague that had already began. The plague killed 24,000. God rewarded Phineas with a promise that his descendants would have a permanent right to the priesthood. He had stood in the gap for the people, cleansing all of them by what he did. The man who was stabbed was named Zimri which means “musical” and the woman’s name was Cozbi which means “false”. That sounds like “false worship” to me. Then the Lord ordered Moses to attack the Moabites because they had tricked them into worshipping their god. In Luke, Caesar decreed a tax from everyone he governed which was almost the whole world. It was surely all of the Roman Empire. Everyone had to pay their taxes in their place of birth and Joseph was from Bethlehem. Mary was nine months pregnant and about to deliver and did as soon as she got there. They placed Jesus in a manger in the stable they were staying in. He was born in a manger which the animals ate from and would end being food for a different kind of animal. God proclaimed his son’s coming out in the fields to a group of shepherds. All the angels of God sang his birth. These lowly shepherds were the first to behold their king. Jesus was taken to his dedication where Simeon, a devout follower of God prophesied over him. He said that he would be a light to the Gentiles and the glory of the Jews. He would also reveal the hearts of many. (He definitely revealed the hearts of the religious leaders.) When the prophetess, Anna saw Jesus she said he was the redemption of all Israel. Mary and Joseph took Jesus back to Nazareth where he grew up. Lord, thank you that a curse without a cause will not alight on us. You have called us blessed and we choose to walk in your blessings.

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Fulfilled Promise

Read: Numbers 22:21-23:30; Luke 1:57-80; Psalm 58:1-11; Proverbs 11:12-13 The King of Barak had hired Balaam who was a soothsayer. Second Peter 2:15 says that Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness. He was a sorcerer who made his money cursing and doing evil things to people. Second Peter goes on to say that Balaam was like wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever. For when he speaks his great words of vanity, he allures through the lusts of the flesh. He promises liberty but is a servant of corruption whose goal is to overcome men and bring them under bondage. Revelation 2:14 says that Balaam taught Barak to cast a tumbling block before the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication. When Balaam couldn’t curse Israel, he stood to lose lots of money. So, he taught Barak how to have Israel curse themselves. We will read about that tomorrow. God was so upset with Balaam that he asked to go with Barak instead of obeying him the first time that he sent an angel to kill him. The sorcerer who is skilled into seeing into the spirit world could not see the angel because he was so blind with deceit. His donkey did see the angel and tried to get out of the way. Balaam beat his donkey to get back on the road when God opened the donkey’s mouth and he spoke to Balaam. The fact that Balaam didn’t act shocked that his donkey was talking to him tells me that he was used to all sorts of paranormal things. His donkey rebuked him and then Balaam’s eyes were opened to see the angel with the drawn sword. He immediately fell to the ground in fear. Balaam got another stern warning to speak only what God said. He needed all these warnings because the great King Balak, the destoyer, came to meet him personally. The first place the king took Balaam was to Bamoth Baal which means “high places of Baal”. There he sacrificed to Baal on the altars there. God gave Balaam the message and he went back and told Barak. Basically he told him he couldn’t curse what God had blessed and that these people were God’s and they were righteous. King Balak was furious. Balaam told him he couldn’t speak anything but what God put in his mouth. So King Balak took him to another place to look down at a different group of the Israelites. Maybe he could curse them. Barak took him to the plateau of Zophim on Pisgah Peak. This was a place where their “watchmen” surveyed into the spirit realm. Once again they offered seven ram and seven bulls on the altars there. Balaam’s message was even stronger. He said that God hadn’t changed his mind about blessing his people and that no magic had power against Israel. Balak told Balaam, “Fine, but if you won’t curse them, at least don’t bless them!” LOL! Barak was relentless. He wanted to take Balaam one more place to see if he could find a chink in their armor. He took him to the top of Mt. Peor. Poor means “the opening” which I’m thinking it meant a portal. They had a god they called Peor so this was probably his portal. In Luke, John the Baptist was born. Zechariah was still speechless. They took the baby to be circumcised on the eighth day and assumed he would be named Zechariah after his father, but Elizabeth said his name was John. They gestured to Zechariah what he wanted the baby to be named and he wrote JOHN on a tablet. The moment he wrote it he could speak. The people were filled with awe and Zechariah prophesied over Israel and over John. He told Israel that the Saviour had come to rescue them from their enemies so they could serve God without fear. John would be called his prophet who would prepare the way for the Lord. He would tell the people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. John grew up and entered into his public ministry. Lord, thank you that you stand up for your children and you bless us when the enemy wants us cursed. You bring us salvation and light and you guide us to the path of peace.

Mon.’s Devo - A New Season

Read: Numbers 21:1-22:20; Luke 1:26-56; Psalm 57:1-11; Proverbs 11:9-11 As the people of Israel got closer to their promised land, the warfare became more and more intense. It is obvious that Satan does not want to let them succeed and take over his territory. In the Negev, they were attacked by the king of Arad who took some of them prisoner. The Israelites vowed to God that if he would hand these people over to them they would completely destroy all their towns. God agreed and they took it. Because they had to go the long way, the people started complaining. God sent poisonous snakes that bit and killed many of them. The people repented and came to Moses for help. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and anyone who was bitten by the snakes had only to look at it and be healed. They traveled through many names but two that I found interesting were Nahaleil and Bamoth. They meant from the valley of God to the heights of Baal. They saw it all. They sent ambassadors to the king of Sihon to ask if they could peaceably pass through their land. He refused and mobilized to attack them. God gave his people victory and they captured and settled into their cities. Heshbon was Sihon’s capital which means “devise and reason”. The Amorites had captured it from the Moabites and now the Israelites possessed it. Next they came to King Og of Bashan. God told them not to be afraid because he had handed them to them just like the king of Sihon. Bashan means “shame and the one in sleep”. They defeated King Og and killed him and all his sons and subjects and they occupied his land. Next, they came to the land across from Jericho. The Jordan stood between them and Jericho. Barak, the Moabite king had seen all they had done to the Amorites and knew that he couldn’t defeat them with military strength so he would have to defeat them with black magic. He hired Balaam a known sorcerer to curse the Israelites. God warned Balaam that he better not go with the king because He had not cursed Israel but blessed them. Balaam wisely told the king of Barak that all the gold in the world would not pay for him to go against the word of the Lord. Barak was not giving up. He sent more distinguished soldiers and appealed to Balaam’s ego. Balaam told them he would go ask God again. God told him he could go but he could only say what He told him to say. In Luke, Mary is visited by Gabriel and told that she would have a baby and he would be the Messiah. She was to name him Jesus and her aunt, Elizabeth was in her 6th month of pregnancy. People called her barren but the word of God will never fail. The Jewish people felt barren. They had waited for centuries for the promised Messiah as they were abused and oppressed by the Roman government. Now barren wombs were being opened because it was the birth of a new season. We are getting so close to the end of this madness in our land so the warfare is getting more intense. As we bring down the strongholds of reason and “science” and lies, we can expect great opposition. But, we can remember that the Word of the Lord never fails. Thank you Lord for your promises for our nation, our families and ourselves. We stand on the truth. Thank you that we are on the brink of a new season.

Sun.’s Devo - The Red Heifer

Read: Numbers 19:1-20:29; Luke 1:1-25; Psalm 56:1-13; Proverbs 11:8 God told Moses to find a spotless red heifer and bring it outside of the camp and have it killed. Eleazar was to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle seven times toward the front of the Tabernacle. (Eleazar was Aaron’s son who would take his place as high priest in the Promised Land.) Then the red heifer was to be burned while he watched. Eleazar was to take a stick of cedar, a hyssop branch and some scarlet yarn and throw them into the fire where the heifer is burning. Then the priest and the one who killed the animal were to wash themselves and their clothes. This red heifer represented Jesus; the cedar - the cross, the hyssop branch was at the cross, and the scarlet yarn represented his blood that would flow on to all generations from then on. If anyone touched a dead person, they were unclean for 7 days and had to purify them selves on the third and seventh day. If the person died in the tent, all who entered the tent would be unclean for seven days. Any open container in the tent would be considered unclean. Anyone who touched a dead person on the field or in a grave was considered unclean. The tent and the person would be sanitized with the ashes of the heifer that had been dipped in fresh water. On the third and seventh days of their quarantine they were to be sprinkled with this water by a clean person to be clean. What does all this mean to us? When we are born, we begin our “week” which spans our lifetime. If we are saved that day becomes our third day where the plant conforms to the seed put in it. (See day three of creation in Genesis One.) Our seventh day is the end of our life where we are pronounced clean of all our sins forever. This was also for them a way of stopping infection from a person that might have died of some sickness. They were nearing the end of their 40 years and had come close to their land. They camped at Kadesh which means “set apart for purpose” and God had to end the lives of three important people because they would not be able to enter. Today we read about two: Miriam and Aaron. Miriam died first. The people were complaining because their was no water. Their parents had complained about the same thing right before they could have entered into the land. God told Moses to gather the people at the rock that had followed them through the wilderness. “ And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4) Aaron gathered the people to the rock and instead of speaking to the rock, he spoke to the people and said, “Listen you rebels! Must WE bring you water from this rock?” Then Moses struck the rock twice and the water gushed out of the rock. God was extremely upset at the two of them since they didn’t follow instructions at all. Jesus was the rock and he was struck once for our sins. They had demonstrated that at the first rock. He was to speak to the rock this time which is how we pray. So Aaron had to die and his mantle passed to his son, Eleazar. The king of Edom refused their passage through their land which would cost them dearly in the future. Luke was like an investigative reporter who had compiled stories of eye witnesses of Jesus life. He compiled it in order in his book. He gave this book to his mentee, Theophilus. Luke went to great detail to let us know that Zechariah was a descendant of Aaron and was a legitimate priest. He and his wife, Elizabeth was barren. It was Zechariah’s lot to burn incense on the Altar of Incense. While he was there, Gabriel appeared to him and told him that he and Elizabeth would have a son named John. He would be a Nazarite and would possess the spirit and power of Elijah. He would prepare the People for the coming of the Lord He would turn the hearts fo the fathers to their children and cause the rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly. Zechariah wavered in his faith so Gabriel told him he would not be able to speak until the cild was born. John came out gesturing to the people and they realized that he had seen something wonderful in there. Elizabeth became pregnant and went into seclusion for 5 months. Lord, it is easy to see your hand in what is going on in the nation. I pray for all the nations living in fear. I pray that they come to You for comfort and salvation. Watch over our hearts and let us rise with courage and confidence. If you are for us, who can be against us!

Sat.’s Devo - Separating the Called

Read: Numbers 16:41-18:32; Mark 16:1-20; Psalm 55:1-23; Proverbs 11:7 Yesterday, we read where over 250 people died because they rebelled against Moses and Aaron. The next day the people accused Moses and Aaron of killing all those people. God wanted to kill all of them but Moses told Aaron to grab the incense burner and place burning coals for the altar in it and carry it out among the people to cleanse them. The incense burner represents holy prayers so it was like saying, “Quick! Pray of the people!” The plague had already began and people were dropping like flies. Before he could stop it 14,700 people died. Then the Lord told each tribal leader to bring a staff with the name of their tribe forward and the one that budded would be the tribe God had chosen to serve him as priests. The next day Aaron’s staff had sprouted, budded and blossomed and produced ripe almonds. That was naturally impossible so God made it crystal clear who was to serve him as his priests. The people complained that they were doomed because anyone who came near the Tabernacle died. So God changed that. He made a law where only the Levites and the priests could come near the Tabernacle. God gave special instructions for Aaron and his sons - the priests. They were responsible for any violation connected to the priesthood. The Levites would be responsible for any violations regarding the sanctuary. The Levites were to assist the priests in anything that went on outside the Holy Place. Only the priests could enter the Holy Place and only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year. The Levites were a gift to the priests to help them. The sons of Aaron, the priests were paid with the holy offerings given by the people. Their families would eat them. They were also given the harvest gifts which were the best of the olive oil, new wine and grain. The firstborn of the people and their animals offered to the Lord were to be given to the priests. (Remember Samuel was Hannah’s first born son and was given to Eli). But, they had to pay a redemption price of 5 pieces of silver for their own firstborn sons. The Levites were paid by the offerings of the people but they were to give a tithe to the Lord. It was to be the best portions of all they received. It appeared that God was pushing his people further and further away from him but they were the ones who didn’t want to come near him. They didn’t want to do what it took to come near God. What God was really doing was separating the priests and Levites from the unholy and calling them out of the world like he does with us. Today’s reading looks so much like what it going on in our world right now as evil is being exposed and God is making distinctions between blacks and white, good and evil. When this is all over, the table is going to be flipped and we are going to see the Christians rise to the top to rule and be the head of all the mountains: education, religion, politics, entertainment, business, science and medicine. In Mark, Mary, Mary and Salome went to the tomb. They were surprised to find the stone rolled away and an angel sitting in the tomb. The angel told them Jesus had risen from the dead and they were to go tell the disciples to go to Galilee to meet Jesus. They did this but the disciples didn’t believe them. Jesus appeared to the two men on the way to Aemaus and they came back telling the disciples the same thing. Finally, Jesus appeared to the disciples and rebuked them for not believing the others. Jesus gave them the Great Commission to go out and preach the Gospel to all and when he had finished he was taken back up into heaven. The disciples went out and did what they had been commissioned to do. Lord, may we do what we are commissioned to do today. Thank you that you are arising and scattering your enemies.

Fri.’s Devo - On the Cross

Read: Numbers 15:17-16:40; Mark 15:1-47; Psalm 54:1-7; Proverbs 11:5-6 When they got to the land God was giving them, every year they were to give the first fruit of their ground flour from their wheat harvest to the Lord as an offering. It was their thanks for the bountiful crop just like we give a tithe from our paychecks. If for some reason the whole community unintentionally disobeyed something one of God’s commands, they could offer an offering to make it right with the Lord. If an individual unintentionally sinned then realized their sin, they could bring an offering to the priest and they would receive forgiveness. Those who brazenly disobeyed the Lord’s commands were considered blasphemers and were to be completely cut off and suffer the punishment for their guilt. A man was caught gathering wood on the Sabbath and had to be taken outside the camp and stoned. God told the people to attach blue tassels to the hem of their clothing with blue thread. These tassels were to remind them of all God’s commands. One day a delegation of over 250 of the elites of the tribes came with their five leaders to challenge Moses and Aaron’s leadership. They complained that they were all set apart by the Lord and what right did Moses and Aaron have to act as though they were greater than the rest of the people. Two of these men were Levites who had part in the ministry of the Lord already. Moses brought this out and asked them if they were going for the priesthood also. Moses was ticked but he told them all to go home and bring back an incense burner and they would all go before the Lord and see what He had to say. They all met back at the entrance of the Tabernacle. The community had been stirred up against Moses and Aaron so they all gathered to watch. God told Moses and Aaron to get away from these people. They knew what God was going to do and fell on their faces in intercession for them. They pled with God to save the community and not kill them along with the guilty. God told them to tell the people to get away from the tents of the guilty. Then Moses said that these men continued to live and died naturally, then the Lord had not sent him. But, if the Lord did something entirely new and the ground opened up and swallowed them and all their tents and they went to the grave alive, then the Lord had judged them as guilty. No sooner than Moses had gotten the words out of his mouth, the ground opened and swallowed them alive. Then fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up their 250 followers. God told Moses to take the incense burners of these men and beat them down to sheets of metal and overlay them on the altar to serve as a warning to the people that no unauthorized person should ever inter the Lord’s presence to burn incense. In Mark, Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Roman governor. The priests needed the Romans to declare him guilty and crucify him since their law did not allow crucifixion. The priests accused Jesus of many crimes but when Pilate asked Jesus if these were true, Jesus refused to answer. In hopes of freeing Jesus, Pilate chose to offer Jesus as the scapegoat on Passover. The crowd had been told to ask for Barabbas and then ask for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate knew that the priests were jealous of Jesus and that Jesus was innocent but to stop a riot, he gave the people what they wanted. He released Barabbas and had Jesus flogged and taken off to be crucified. They dressed Jesus in a robe and crown of thorns and mocked him as the king of the Jews. Then they led him to be crucified. The two being crucified with him mocked him. The crowd of Jews mocked him. And, the leading priests and teachers of the law mocked him. At noon, the sky went dark for three hours. A court was held in heaven and sin was judged. When the light came back on Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 to his disciples so they would know he was fulfilling that Psalm. When Jesus breathed his last breath, the veil in the Temple was rent from top to bottom. Even the Roman soldiers could discern that this man was the Son of God. All of the Mary’s were watching from afar. They observed Joseph of Arimathea taking down his body and wrapping it in linen. They followed as Joseph took Jesus’ body to his own tomb and laid him in it. It was the day of preparation for Shabbot so everyone had to be home by six to prepare. It is amazing how planned out everything that happened to Jesus and how perfect the timing was. Our lives are orchestrated also and if our eyes are open, we will see the opportunities we are given and take them. Our purpose on earth is to live out the kingdom so that others can see and want to join. Lord, may our light so shine before men that they will see our good works and glorify You. Thank you for what you did for us on the cross. You are our Salvation and our Light.

Thurs.’s Devo - Great is the Lord!

Read: Numbers 14:1-15:16; Mark 14:53-72; Psalm 53:1-6; Proverbs 11:4 After receiving the bad news about the giants in their land, the people were totally discouraged and angry. They blamed Moses and God for bringing them all this way just to be killed and their children taken as slaves. Joshua and Caleb tried to encourage them that God would help them take the land but their hearts were hardened against them. God showed up at the Tabernacle to talk to Moses. God wanted to kill all the people and make Moses into a great nation. Moses begged the Lord not to do that since the nations of the world were all watching. They had all heard about how the Lord had delivered them from the Egyptians and what would it look like if God killed them all in the wilderness? For his name sake, God needed to take them into the land. God promised not to kill them all, but the adults would all die in the wilderness. Their children would be taken into the land. They would enjoy what their parents despised. The ten spies that brought back a bad report died of a plague. God promised that Caleb and Joshua would live to enter into the land. In fact, when they did enter the land, Caleb asked for the land where they had seen the giants. He was not afraid of anything standing in God’s way. We are standing at the same place the Israelites stood and God is wanting to know if we are willing to take our land back. If we cower in fear of the Deep State or Cabal or whatever you call them, we will lose our land. God has given us America to make his name great and we must not be afraid. Greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world. When the people heard what the Lord had said they were filled with grief. Some of them decided to enter anyway and were defeated because God was not with them. God gave them instructions for the sacrifices they should offer when they got to the land. In Mark, Jesus had been led to the high priest’s house where a mock trial was being held. The leading priests and the Sanhedrin were trying to find evidence against Jesus so they could have a reason to put him to death. Jesus was innocent but they were trying to prove him guilty. Jesus refused to testify for himself. When they asked him if he was the Messiah, Jesus said “I am and you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The high priest tore his robe and cried, “Blasphemy.” He declared Jesus guilty. They spit on him and attacked him with their words and their fists. Peter was sitting by the fire in the courtyard below when three times he was asked if he associated with Jesus and three times he denied it. When the rooster crowed the last time, Peter remembered what Jesus had said and broke down and cried. Lord, may we not cower in fear but stand strong knowing that you are with us to do great things and to win.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Promises are True No Matter What it Looks Like

Read: Numbers 11:24-13:33; Mark 14:22-52; Psalm 52:1-9; Proverbs 11:1-3 God had put his Spirit on 70 elders to help Moses rule the people. When the Holy Spirit fell on them, they all prophesied, even two of them that didn’t come to the Tabernacle. Joshua didn’t understand how this could happen outside Moses’ eye but Moses had no problem with God manifesting wherever he wanted to. God sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fly all around the camp making them easy for the people to catch. The people who had craved meat gorged themselves on these quail. God’s anger brought a plague that killed those that had craved meat and complained. They died and the place was called “Graves of Gluttony”. They left there and moved to Hazeroth where they stayed for a time. Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman - Zipporah. Moses had been married to her for a while so I’m thinking that when he brought in the 70 elders, they felt their power was lessened and they were just looking for something to criticize Moses about. God had the last say in that. He stood up for Moses and Miriam was left leprous and was removed from the camp for seven days. Then the traveled to Paran. God told Moses to send out men to explore the land of Canaan. Moses sent out the twelve tribal leaders. They were to find out about the people, their cities and the land and its richness. It was the time of the grape harvest making it in the fall. They brought back a cluster of grapes that was so large it took two men to carry it. They also brought back other fruit like pomegranates and figs. But they reported that the sons of Anak lived in the valley who were giants that lived in fortified cities. Caleb wanted to go at once and take it because God had given them a wonderful land. The other spies, except Joshua, could only see the giants. They spread fear throughout the camp that there was no way they could take the land. All of God’s treasures on their earth are hidden in the midst of hard situations and trials. We have to have Caleb’s eyes to see the promise instead of the obstacles surrounding it. In Mark, Jesus and his disciples were enjoying their Passover meal when Jesus picked up the bread, broke it and passed it out to his disciples, telling them that it represented his body. Then he took the wine and gave thanks to God. He passed it out telling them that this was his blood which confirmed the covenant between God and his people. It would be poured out as a sacrifice for many. They sang a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus told them that all of them would desert him but after he was raised from the red he would meet them in Galilee. I wonder what was going on in their heads. Peter let us know what he was thinking. He spoke up and said he would never desert him. Jesus told him he would deny him three times before the night was over. Peter couldn’t believe it. They went to Gethsemane where the disciples slept and Jesus anguished in prayer. He knew what was coming and prayed that it would pass him but he wanted God’s will over his suffering. Every time Jesus checked on his men, they were asleep. After the third time, he told them to wake up, his betrayer was here. Judas arrived with a crowd of armed men sent by the priests. Judas kissed Jesus and they grabbed him. Peter took out his sword and cut off the ear of the high pries’t slave. Jesus asked them why they were coming in the middle of the night to arrest him when they could have done it in daylight anytime they wanted. The disciples ran, along with a man in a linen shirt. The men who took Jesus caught him by his shirt and he ran off naked. There are many mentions throughout the Bible of men dressed in linen who came from heaven. I believe that this man was one of them - a watcher. I think they are priests in God’s Temple in heaven that come down to watch and report. Lord, help us to stand on the promises you have given us no matter what it looks like in the natural. Give us eyes to see.

Tues.’s Devo - God is Faithful

Read: Numbers 10:1-11:23; Mark 14:1-21; Psalm 51:1-19; Provers 10:31-32 God told Moses to make two trumpets of hammered silver to call the community together and for signaling them to break camp. When both were blown they were to assemble but when only one was blown they were to break camp and leave. There were different signals for each group to march starting with the tribes to the east. They were Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. Next the Gershonites and the Merarites would go with all the poles and equipment to set up the Tabernacle. Reuben, Simeon and Gad traveled next followed by the Gershonites who were carrying the Tabernacle furniture on their shoulders. By the time they reached the destination the Gershonites and Merarites had the Tabernacle all set up so they could just march in with the furniture. The rest of the tribes followed them. Moses tried to talk his brother-in-law into traveling with them since he knew the wilderness and though it isn’t clear, it seems he didn’t choose to go with Moses. Whenever they would break camp and start moving Moses would shout,”Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!” That is a good declaration for the beginning of our day. It didn’t take long for the people to complain. They were given manna from heaven which tasted like a pastry when cooked and yet they craved meat. They craved what they did not have and began to think of Egypt and all the food they had there, forgetting all the oppression that came along with it. Moses was exasperated and went to God to complain. God gave Moses people to help him and told him that he would send them so much meat that they wouldn’t be able to eat it all. Moses doubted how God could do this and his answer was, “Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!” What a great reminder to us in our problems. God is still the same God he was then and his power is still strong. He is the one who fights our battles for us. In Mark, it was two days before Jesus would die. Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon when a lady came in and anointed Jesus’ head with costly perfume. She was scolded for her extravagance when she would have sold the perfume and given the money for the poor. Jesus rebuked them she was anointing his body for burial and she would be remembered for years to come for what she did. Judas left and went to the priests to negotiate his betrayal of Jesus to them. On the next day it was the first day of Unleavened bread. Jesus sent his disciples into Jerusalem to find a man carrying a pitcher of water. They were to follow him and he would take them upstairs to a large room that was prepared for them. At the Passover meal, Jesus exposed that one of them would betray him and said that it would be better if that person had never been born. Lord, we believe that your arm has not lost its power and that you have come to rescue us and our nation. We put all of our trust in you. May You arise and let your enemies be scattered and flee before you.

Mon.’s Devo - The Purification of the Levites

Read: Numbers 8:1-9:23; Mark 13:14-37; Psalm 50:1-23; Proverbs 10:29-30 When they set up the menorah they were to set it up so that the light would reflect forward. The menorah was the representation of revelation knowledge given from heaven. It was to reflect onto the priests and light their way in the Holy Place just like the revelation knowledge of God’s Word and his Holy Spirit lights our path. The Levites were to take the place of the first born so they went through a purification ceremony. They shaved their entire body, washed their clothes and were sprinkled with the water of purification. They brought animal and grain offerings to the Lord. The people of Israel played their hands on them transferring their sin to the Levites. Then the Levites put their hands on their animal sacrifices transferring the sins of the people and their own sins to the animals. They would then stand before Aaron and Aaron would raise his hands in a gesture of offering the Levites to the Lord. One day, Jesus would take the place of the Levites and offer himself as a sacrifice and atonement for our sins. Now the Levites were clean and could serve with Aaron and his sons in the Tabernacle. The Passover was to be celebrated on the fourteenth of Nisan, their first month in the religious calendar every year. If they had touched a dead person or were some way unclean then they could wait till the next month and celebrate the Passover. If they just refused to celebrate it and had no excuse then they would be cut off from the community of Israel. Passover represented salvation. They were saved from the slavery of Egypt and its pagan worship. We are saved from our sin and the evil world we live in. To not be saved means you are cut off from spending eternity in the community of heaven like they were cut off from being a part of the community of Israel. When they stopped to camp, the cloud would cover the Tabernacle during the day and become a pillar of fire at night. When the cloud moved, they knew it was time to move. In Mark, Jesus was explaining the signs of the end. He was at the part about the Great Tribulation. When we see the Antichrist set up pagan worship in the new Temple God’s followers will know it is time to flee to the hills because it is about to get very hard for Christians. The anguish will be greater than any time in the history of the world. God has shortened those days so that a remnant will be able to survive. Lord, thank you for the light of your Word that goes before us to prepare us for the future.

Sun.’s Devo - The Nazarite Vow -

The Nazarite vow was a special vow made to the Lord. It would last as long as it was set by the person or in the case of Samson and John the Baptist it was set by the Lord for life. They were never to cut their hair during that time or drink wine or any alcoholic drinks. We can look at Samson and see what happened to him when his vow was broken and his hair was cut. He lost the power of his vow and was thrown in prison. His ministry was over for the time being. John the Baptist kept his vow and ushered in the Messiah. He ended in prison also and lost his life but his reward was not on this earth. The Nazarite could also not go near a dead body. This was a serious vow so even if someone dropped dead beside them the vow would have to be started over from that day. He would have to shave his hair and let it grow again. That was what happened to Samson when he was put in prison. His vow was started over and his hair began to grow again. He ended up killing more Philistines in his death than he had in his life. Samson received his reward in heaven also. The day the Tabernacle was dedicated, the tribal leaders arrived with six wagons full of the offerings each tribe was to offer. They all offered the exact same thing on their own designated day for 12 days. The wagons would be used by the Levites to carry the poles and tents for the Tabernacle. They were assigned to the Gershonites and the Merirites. The Kohath’s didn’t need a wagon because they carried the furniture and it was to be carried on poles on the the shoulders of the priests. Remember how David brought the Ark of the Covenant on a wagon and when it almost fell off a man reached out to keep it from falling? The man was instantly killed. David stopped the caravan and the Ark stayed there until he could figure out what he did wrong. He read in the law about how to carry the ark. He came back with the priests and they carried it on their shoulders into Jerusalem. In the gifts the tribes brought were silver platters, gold containers of incense, and animals. These would be kept by the Levites to be used throughout the year for the sacrifices. When Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he would hear the voice of the Lord speaking to him from the Ark. In Mark, Jesus gave the comparison of the rich teachers of the law who looked holy and the poor widow who gave everything. She gave more in proportion to all the others. As Jesus and his disciples were leaving the Temple, they commented on the beauty of the Temple. Jesus said it would one day be torn down and completely demolished. The disciples asked him when it would happen. Instead of telling them the answer, Jesus told him what the signs would be that led up to it. The Kingdom of God keeps dates by events. There would be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines. God’s people will be turned over to the government and this will be their opportunity to tell about the gospel of Christ. Family members would turn against one another and cause some to be killed. But, those who endure to the end will be saved. May the Lord bless us and protect us. May the Lord smile upon us and be gracious to us. May the Lord show us his favor and give us his peace.

Sat.’s Devo - The Three Divisions

Read: Numbers 4:1-5:31; Mark 12:18-37; Psalm 48:1-14; Proverbs 10:26 The Levites were divided into three divisions: the Kohath’s, the Gershonites and the Merarites. We are divided into three divisions : body, soul and spirit. The Kohath’s were responsible for the most sacred objects the Spirit. There were specific instructions of how to tear down the Tabernacle and what each piece of furniture was wrapped in for travel. The Ark was first covered with the veil then goatskin and blue cloth. The Table of Shewbread was covered with blue cloth then scarlet cloth, then goat skin. The Menorah was wrapped in blue cloth, then leather. The altar of incense table was covered in blue cloth then goatskin along with the furnishings. The brazen altar was covered in purple cloth, then the utensils then goatskin. I can’t help but think that we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and this Tabernacle is in us. The goatskin being our skin and the blue and red and purple cloths being our blood, vessels and corpuscles. I would think that the Ark would be in our hearts, the shewbread having to do with our mouths and what we eat spiritually. The Menorah being our eyes and how we see spiritually. The brazen altar being our bellies and our whole digestive system. It has to do with how we process information and what is created inside us and reproduced on the earth or expelled as waste. The Kohathites were in charge of all these sacred pieces and were under Eleazar. Kohath means “waiting and obedient” and Eleazar means “God is helper”. When we are waiting on the Lord and obedient to him then God helps us carry out his will on the earth. All of the pieces of the Tabernacle are in working operation in our lives. The next group was the Gershonites. They were responsible for carrying the loads and general service. Gershon means “outcast”. They were to move the equipment. These would be the systems in our body that are closest to our main organs. The Merari division were just in charge of carrying loads. They were in charge of the soul Merari means “bitter”. They carried the emotions and the thoughts and desires. I wonder if the Gersonites felt like outcasts since they had a lesser responsibility than the Kohaths and if the Merari clan was bitter because all they did was carry loads. The Merari clan was like the body - the bone structure that carries the load and everything that has to do with the body. God thought they were all important and made sure their names were recorded. God gave instructions for cleansing the camp of sin and evil. He was also keeping infection from spreading. The site and infectious had to camp outside of the camp. He dealt with issues of their heart and had them make right the wrongs between one another. As the body of Christ, we all have different functions and some seemingly are more important. If we find ourselves just “carrying the load” while others are enjoying the better places will we get bitter or feel like outcasts are will we function as a body and realize that we all share the same reward. A special test was given for jealousy. If a man thought his wife was being unfaithful and had no witness, she would be brought to the priest and made to drink bitter water. The bitter water was made from the dust of the Tabernacle floor and holy water. If she was guilty then her stomach would swell like she was pregnant but there would be no baby. Her womb would shrink and she would be barren. If she was innocent then nothing would happen to her belly and she would be fertile. The same goes for us. If we defile our relationship with our husband, Jesus, we can look like we are pregnant with God’s work, but we will produce no fruit and not be able to bring life. But, if we are faithful to him then he will let us see the fruit of our labors. In Mark, the Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection came to Jesus and asked him a question to trick him into saying whether there was a resurrection or not. Jesus bypassed their question and went straight to the point. He proved that there was a resurrection and also that they were in error. I’m sure they didn’t like that. Another religious leader realized how well Jesus had answered that question and asked him what was the most important commandment given by God. Jesus told him to love God and then love people. The man agreed and Jesus told him that he was not far from the Kingdom of God. Jesus went to the Temple and was teaching. He asked them why they believed that the Messiah would be David’s son when David called the Messiah his Lord. Jesus was stirring the wheels of their minds to think for themselves not what they had been taught all their lives. Most of the teachers of their day didn’t know what they were talking about. Lord, may we rejoice to do your will no matter how small or seemingly unimportant. May we live to see the fruit of our labors.

Fri.’s Devo - The Sign of the Cross

Read: Numbers 2:1-3:51; Mark 11:27-12:17; Psalm 47:1-9; Proverbs 10:24-25 The tribes marched in the sign of the cross. The bottom of the cross went first with Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. The top of the cross was Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin and the sides were Reuben, Simeon, and Gad on one side and Dan, Asher and Naphtali on the other. In the middle of the cross was the Levites and the Tabernacle. They camped in this order also. Aaron and his sons and the Levite tribe were in charge of the Tabernacle. Levi had three sons: Gerson, Kohath and Merari. The Gershonites camped west of the Tabernacle and their job was to carry and set up the tent and all the curtains. The Kohath’s camped south of the Tabernacle and were in charge of the things that had to do with the Ark itself and all its furnishings. The Merari clan camped north of the Tabernacle and were responsible for the frames and all the equipment to build the base for the Tabernacle. Moses and Aaron and their sons camped east of the Tabernacle at its entrance. God had told the people that every first born son and animal was his but he substituted the Levites for the first born and their animals for their first born animals. There were not enough Levites to exchange for every first born son of all the tribes. They were lacking 273 Levites so God told Moses to collect redemption money for them. They would be worth 5 pieces of silver a piece. Moses was to collect this money and give it to Aaron and his sons. Everyone needed to be redeemed to be saved just like all who want to be redeemed from the curse of the law have to be redeemed through the cross of Christ. Everything they did was pictures to teach a greater lesson to us now. In Mark, they tried to trick Jesus by asking him whose authority was he under to do such things as miracles. He turned the trick on them and asked them whose authority did John come under. They couldn’t answer for fear of the arousing the people against them so Jesus told them he wouldn’t answer their question either. Then Jesus told the parable about the man who planted a vineyard, built a wall around it and dug a pit for pressing the grapes. He leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. When it was time to harvest the grapes he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. Instead of giving it to the servant the tenant farmers beat him up. The owner sent others and they were either beaten or killed. He finally sent his son thinking they would respect him but they murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard. Jesus asked them what they thought the tenant farmer should do. He should come and kill the farmers and lease the vineyard to others. The Pharisees knew he was talking about them. They were with wicked tenant farmers who had killed the prophets and would now kill God’s son. Instead of repenting, this just made them more determined to kill Jesus. Since they couldn’t get Jesus on terms of the law, they decided to get him on something that would pit the Romans against him so they came up with a question about taxes. They asked Jesus was it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not. Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and asked them to bring him a Roman coin. He asked them whose picture and title was on it. Then he told them to give Caesar what belongs to him and give God what belongs to Him. Once again, his answer amazed them. Lord, thank you that you give us an answer for everything Satan brings against us. You are the answer to everything we are facing and you are the cornerstone of our existence. Thank you!