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When we last looked into the narrative of Israel’s journey to the Promised Land in Numbers 10, they had ended a year-long encampment at Sinai, disassembled the tabernacle, and were moving it and all its furnishings to the wilderness of Paran. “Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said, ‘Rise, O Lord! And let thine enemies be scattered, and let those who hate Thee flee from before Thee.”‘ Numbers 10:35. The closing verse of the chapter indicates the ark has arrived at its destination.  “And when […]

Numbers is the fourth book in the Old Testament, and it continues the story of the Israelites after their exodus from Egypt, as they travel toward the land God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This book gets its name, Numbers, from the census or numbering of the tribes of Israel. As we learned from last week’s post, the census was to determine the number of fighting-age men available for battle when they encountered enemies along the way. https://www.cosdavis.com/preparing-for-the-battle/. At this point in the story, Israel had been at Mount […]

Are you prepared for the battles and struggles you may confront in your future? Life can be very difficult at times, and while we don’t need to be overcome with worry about what might happen, we should do what we can to avoid mistakes that we will pay dearly for later. Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the wise and foolish builders reminds us that life’s storms will come and that only those who have prepared wisely will survive. Matthew 7:24-27. Today, we transition from the book of Exodus to […]

As we were reminded in last week’s post, our Lord is a God of second chances. Despite Israel’s blatant disregard for the commandment about idolatry and their worship of the golden calf, God made another covenant with them and told Moses He would travel in their midst on the way to the Promised Land. In Exodus 34:9, Moses had spoken to the Lord about this: ” If I have found favor in Thy sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people […]

We are nearing the end of my posts from the book of Exodus, but there are a couple more things I want to point out to you about who God is and how He keeps His promises. Today, we will rediscover something each of us has experienced with our loving, merciful God. He is a God of second, third, fourth, and infinite chances. I have chosen Exodus 34:1-2,4, 27-28, and 35:1 to illustrate how God offers the obstinate, rebellious Israelites a second chance to fulfill their role as His chosen […]

I’m an avid college sports fan, and am often amazed at the depth of skills some of the young men and women display in their pursuit of an individual or team victory. Something about the level of their play inspires me. I’ve watched some of these young warriors “will their team to victory,” by giving an almost heroic effort against a stronger opponent. The crowd goes wild, and the teammates hoist the hero on their shoulders in jubilant celebration. I am captivated and encouraged watching a person spend all their […]

Who is God? What is He like? In many of my blogs on God’s promises, I’ve asked readers to consider what the particular story or incident says about God. After all, the Bible is God’s written revelation about who He is and what He purposes for His creation. Although God isn’t always center stage in many of the stories, He is always the main character. We have seen God’s love, compassion, mercy, patience, and long-suffering on display throughout our scriptural journey together. But, in last week’s blog, we saw another […]

After Moses had Aaron and his sons kill three thousand people who had supported the making of the golden calf, he said to the people, “I am going up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” Exodus 32:30. Moses pleaded with the Lord to forgive the Israelites for their idolatry, telling Him to “blot out” his name from the book of life if He would not forgive them. How did this go over with God? “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of […]

Moses had a great heart. He proved himself to be deeply devoted to God and to the Israelites, the obstinate people he was called to lead to the Promised Land. You may recall that he was eighty years old, tending his father-in-law’s flock on Mount Horeb when God called to him from the blazing bush. Although he had grown up in the luxury of the pharaoh’s house, his heart was with the enslaved Israelites, his people. In a passionate effort to help a fellow Israeli, he killed the Egyptian who […]

In the two blogs immediately preceding this one, we have considered the questions, “What was the sin of idolatry that Israel committed?” and “Why did they do what they did?” Their fear and lack of faith in God led to their blatant attempt to replace Him with the statue of a golden calf. What’s even more incredible is that they credited the calf for bringing them from Egypt. “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” Exodus 32:4. While this act of rebellion was […]