Thur.’s Devo - The Invisible Plan

Read: Numbers 11:24-13:33; Mark 14:22-52; Psalm 52:1-9; Proverbs 11:1-3 *** Moses called 70 men he could trust to come to the Tabernacle. All but two came. God came down and put his Spirit upon them and they prophesied. Even the two who did not appear before the Lord prophesied. Joshua found out and told Moses to have the two stop since they didn’t come but Moses was not jealous that God would chose to anoint them anyway. That was God’s business, not his. I wonder what they prophesied because the next day, God sent the quail. They were huge like ducks and flew a few feet from the ground so they were easy to catch. The ones that had stirred up the lust for meat ate like gluttons and God sent a plague to kill them. They named the place Kibroth-hattaavah which means “graves of gluttony”. *** At their next camp, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. God immediately called Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to the Tabernacle to speak to them. God explained that he spoke to prophets in dreams and visions, but to Moses he trusted to speak face to face. There was no man as humble as Moses or that God trusted, so why were they not afraid to criticize him. When God left he was angry and Miriam found she was covered in leprosy. Aaron cried out to Moses to help her. The Lord said to keep her outside the camp for seven days then she would be clean. Then they left for the wilderness of Haran. God told Moses to send a leader from each tribe to go and scout out the land he had promised them. They were to go north and find out what kind of people lived there, what the land was like and if the towns had walls. They were to see if the soil was fertile and if there were many trees. They were to bring back samples of the fruits of the land. They left and went to Hebron and in the valley they cut down a huge cluster of grapes. It was so big that two of them had to carry it on their shoulders. *** After exploring our 40 days, they come back to the camp to report. The land was bountiful with rich soil and flowing with milk and honey. But, the people were much bigger and stronger than them and there were even giants in the land that made them look like grasshoppers. Caleb tried to quiet the people and shouted that they could take them. He was ready to go and fight. The bad reports spread through the camp and discouraged the people. *** In Mark, Jesus finished eating his last supper with his disciples. He told them that the next time he ate with them it would be in the Kingdom of God. They sang a song and left for the Mount of Olives. Jesus told them on the way that the Shepherd was about to be struck and the sheep would scatter. When he rose from the dead, he would meet them in Galilee. Peter, said, he would never desert the Lord. Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed he would have denied him three times. Jesus took them to the olive grove called Gethsemane. He told them to pray and took Peter, James, and John further with him. Then he went away from them and sat to talk to God. Jesus prayed that this cup would be taken from him, but he was willing to do his Father’s will. When Jesus returned to his disciples he found them asleep. This happened twice. *** Finally, Judas arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. He greeted Jesus with a kiss and betrayed Jesus to them. Peter pulled a sword and cut off the ear of one of the soldiers. Other gospels tell us that Jesus healed his ear and that he was the servant of the high priest. When they took Jesus, the disciples scattered just as Jesus had said they would. There was a young man clothed only in a long linen shirt. When the mob tried to grab him he escaped without his shirt. I think he was a watcher from heaven that is seen in other scripture through out the Bible. *** In both stories, things were not playing out the way they though they would. The children of Israel thought they were going to a great land that God was going to give them. They didn’t know they would have to wrestle it from giants. The disciples thought that Jesus was their Messiah and would take the Roman Empire. They didn’t understand that he didn’t come to establish that kingdom but a spiritual kingdom. He would come another time to take the worldly kingdom. *** Thank you Lord, that the land you are leading us to is a land full of milk and honey. Let us not be afraid of the giants, because greater is He in us, than he that is in the world. Help us not to let our expectations keep us from believing when things don’t turn out the way we thought they would. We choose to trust in your plan.