The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Numbers 21-24
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 3: The Sinai Covenant and law: God embraces and instructs his people
Background Information: Numbers 21-24
You can get whiplash from reading of Israel’s experiences of the grace of God and then their sudden turn away from him. Chapter 21 begins with the defeat of an enemy army and moves directly to Israel complaining again about how miserable their lives are. God’s judgment comes in the form of poisonous snakes, and salvation comes in the form of a bronze snake lifted up on a pole. If the stricken would only look to the image of their own judgment, they would be saved. In John 3, Jesus says that this incident pointed to himself being placed on a cross as the means of salvation to those who look to him in faith. Next comes one of the strangest stories in the Bible, but one with implications that extend all the way to the book of Revelation. Israel is camped on the plains of Moab, just east of the promised land. A local king enlists a pagan prophet for hire named Balaam to curse Israel. The people strongly believed in the power of a spoken curse to bring ill effects on their enemies. Balaam was not a man of God, but God did use him none the less. Over and over, Balaam tries to pronounce curses on Israel but is unable to do so because God will not allow it. At one point, Balaam’s own donkey becomes the conduit for the Lord to speak. This should not surprise us, after all, God uses sinful men and women to speak for him. What is surprising is that Balaam doesn’t seem to be surprised. Maybe for the sake of conciseness, that part of the story is skipped. There are many other possibilities that could explain his lack of surprise, but that is not the point of the story. The point of the story is that God has promised to bless his people, and no curse from a pagan prophet is going to have any effect. Tomorrow’s reading will show that though Balaam cannot curse God’s people, Israel can do that to themselves.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for the Onelink team leader training happening this weekend. Ask God to use this training to prepare leaders as they lead their teams this Summer.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.