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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 82 & 83 (PART 1)

Mar24
Day 82 – 83.  Reading Joshua 1-4 and 5-8. (PART 1)
 

We are diving into the History of Israel – post-Moses. 

Will the new leadership change the Nation?

What did you learn today about God’s faithfulness?

 

Joshua 1.

Immediately God spoke to Joshua, Moses’ “assistant.”

“Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all “this people” into the land that I am giving them.  Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.  NO MAN SHALL BE ABLE TO STAND BEFORE YOU all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, I will be with you.”

“Be strong and very courageous.  This book of the LAW shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night. so you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it…for then your way will be prosperous and you will have good success.? 

“Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

And so Joshua took the leadership.  1) “Prepare your provisions,” he said to the people, “for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD YOUR God is giving you.”

And to the 2.5 tribes with land already on the East of the Jordan, he said, 2) “Remember the word that Moses commanded you.  All the men of valor among you shall pass over armed BEFORE your brothers, and YOU shall help them until the LORD gives rest to your brothers.”

Joshua 2.

Next Joshua (once a spy of the land himself) sent two men ahead. 3)  “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.”

They did and came upon the house of one Rahab, a prostitute. It was built between the two massive walls of Jericho.  

They must not have been very secretive because it was soon told to the King that they were there. He sent men to Rahab and demanded she turn them over.  Through God’s sovereign plan and work on her heart, Rahab had hidden them under some stalks of flax on her roof.

“I don’t know where those men went,” she lied to the King’s men. “Pursue them quickly for you will overtake them.”  They pursued all the way to the Jordan River but did not find them.

Meanwhile, Rahab went up on her roof and made a deal with the spies. “I know that your God has given you this land.  All the people are terrified of you. We heard how your God dried up the Red Sea so your people could escape out of Egypt.  And now, we’ve heard how you decimated Sihon and Og.”

“Wow,” thought the spies.

“I know that the LORD your God is God of the heavens above and on the earth below.  Now… please swear to me, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a SURE SIGN that you will save us alive and deliver us from death.”

The spies answered in the affirmative. “If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land … we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

And they made a pack, with the “sure sign” being a crimson rope to be hung out her window to mark the place that the army of Israel was to save.  Only those in the house with the blood-red rope would be saved alive.   (WOW!  Doesn’t this remind you of the Lamb’s blood on the Jew’s doorposts in Egypt preserving them from the Angel of Death??)

The spies returned and reported it all to Joshua, ending with, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of this land WILL MELT AWAY before us.”

Joshua 3.

Israel led the people early the next morning to the brink of the Jordan River and camped there for three days. Then Joshua sent elders to the people to say, 4) “As soon as you see the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out and follow it (about 1,000 yards behind it).”

Then Joshua said, 5) “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”  And then to the Priests, 6) “Take up the Ark of the Covenant and pass on before the people.”

God said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with YOU.  Now, when the priests step into the river, you shall stand still in the Jordan.”

And so, when the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the Ark touched the water …. the water stopped its flow from above and stood “in a heap. And ALL OF ISRAEL quickly crossed the Jordan on dry land, just as the older generation crossed the Red Sea on dry land.

Joshua 4.

But one more thing was needed. Joshua called the twelve men that he had appointed, a man from each tribe, and said, 7) “Each of you, take up a stone on his shoulder for each tribe of Israel.” They were for a memorial. Later, before the waters returned, Joshua set them up in the Jordan Riverbed where the priests had stood. 

“When your children ask in the time to come, ‘What do those stones mean?’ you are to tell them of how the LORD stopped the water so they could cross into the Promised Land, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and you may fear the LORD your God forever.

Then the Ark and the priests came up out of the Jordan, and when the soles of their feed were on the dry land of Canaan, the waters of the Jordan returned and overflowed their banks as before. 

And on that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.

And so, the people camped at Gilgal, on the border of Jericho. 

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To be continued in PART TWO. Joshua 5-8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 81

Mar22
Day 81.  Reading Deuteronomy 32 – 34, Psalm 91. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 32.

Today, there is singing (psalms). 

The first is a history lesson in song that Moses wrote and taught to the assembly of Israel. He’s quite a songwriter. (see Exodus 15). I wonder how long it took them to memorize what is 43 verses in our Bibles. The melody must have been very catchy.  

The song he wrote is God’s words to Israel, telling them who He is, what He’s done for them, the ways they will fail Him, and how much He actually loves them. 

Moses tells them to praise God. “For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!  The Rock, His work is perfect, all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, without iniquity, just and upright is He.”

But of Israel, “They have dealt corruptly with Him; they are no longer His children because they are blemished, a crooked and twisted generation.”

But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob, His allotted heritage.   He —

  • found him in a desert land and a howling waste of wilderness,
  • encircled him, cared for him
  • kept him as the apple of His eye.
  • made him ride on the high places of the land
  • suckled him with honey out of the rock, fed him curds and milk from the flock, fat of lambs, the finest of wheat, and wine from the blood of grapes.

But “Jeshurun” (a name for Israel meaning “upright” but said sarcastically) grew fat and kicked and forsook the God who made him. He scoffed at the Rock of his salvation, and stirred Him to jealousy with strange gods, abominations, and sacrificing to demons. 

“You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.”

And so the LORD saw it and spurned them and hid His face from them.  And God vowed —

  • I will make them jealous of those who are no people; 
  • I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
  • I will heap disasters upon them
  • I will spend my arrows on them
  • They will be wasted with hunger, devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence
  • I will send the teeth of beasts against them with the venom of snakes.

And God said he would have done more against his people, but the enemies would misunderstand and think that THEIR hand had been triumphant and not the LORD at all. 

But – and thank You, LORD – He vows, “I will vindicate my people and have compassion on my servants, when I see that their power is gone. and there is none remaining, bond or free.”     

“Rejoice with Him O heavens; bow down to Him, all gods, for He avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on His adversaries. He repays those who hate him, and cleanses His people’s land.”

And so Moses ended the song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua.  He told them to “take all the words to heart and teach them to your children.

And THAT VERY DAY, God told Moses, “It’s time.”  “Go up this mountain, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho and VIEW the land I’m giving to Israel.  And die on the mountain, as your brother died on Mount Hor.  You shall SEE the land before you, but you shall NOT GO THERE.”

Deuteronomy 33.

Then, before Moses went up to die, he blessed the tribes of Israel, much like Jacob/Israel had done before he died.

  • Reuben, shall not die, but will be few.
  • Judah,  LORD bring him in, with Your hands contend for him, be a help against his adversaries.
  • Levi, LORD, give to Levi your Thummin and Urim, who denied his father and mother and brothers and children, but observed YOUR Word and kept YOUR covenant. They will teach Jacob Your rules and law, and worship and sacrifice to You.  Bless, O LORD, his substance and accept the work of his hands. Crush his adversaries.
  • Benjamin. The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long.
  • Joseph, Blessed by the LORD be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven, with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months, etc. A first-born bull — he has majesty. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.
  • Zebulun & Issachar, rejoice in your going out and in your tents. They draw from the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.
  • Gad, Blessed be he who enlarges him. He crouches like a vicious lion. He chose the best of the land for himself, for THERE, a commander’s portion was reserved. With Israel he executed the justice of the LORD and his judgments for Israel.
  • Dan, is a lion’s cub.
  • Naphtali, sated with favor and full of the blessing of the LORD, posses the lake and the south.
  • Asher, Most blessed be sons of Asher, the favorite of his brothers. Let him dip his foot in oil. As your days, so shall your strength be.

There is none like God, O Israel, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people save by the LORD!

Deuteronomy 34.

Then Moses climbed up Mount Nebo. And the LORD showed him all the land; Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western sea, the Negev, and the Plain, the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees.

“This is the land I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.  I will let your see it, but your shall not go over.” 

So Moses died there. He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, but no one knows the place.  Moses was 120 years old. His eye was undimmed and his vigor unabated. 

And Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom, so the people obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

“An there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to the land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of Israel.” 

(A postscript by Joshua)

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Psalm 91.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
 will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, My refuge and my fortress, 
my God in whom I trust. (vss. 1-2)

"Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation." (vss.14-16)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 80

Mar21
Day 80.  Reading Deuteronomy 30 – 31. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 30.

This chapter brings good news. 

IF Israel sins against the LORD by not loving and obeying Him, and afterwards returns to Him and obeys Him with all their heart and soul, THEN the LORD will restore their fortunes, and have compassion on them and again gather them from the people where the LORD scattered them.

The LORD will also “circumcise their hearts” so they will love him totally. He will make them prosperous and delight in them again. And He will put all the curses on their enemies.

Then Moses encouraged them. “This commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither too far off. The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and your heart, so you can do it.”

Then Moses challenged them. “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. IF you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, by loving  Him, walking in His ways, and keeping his commandments and statutes and rules, THEN you shall live and multiply and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering.

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curs.  CHOOSE LIFE!  So you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for HE is your life and length of days.

Deuteronomy 31.

Moses then reminded the people that he was now 120 years old and he could not enter the Land with them.  But that the LORD Himself will go in with them. “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.

Then Moses brought Joshua before them and commissioned him. “Be strong and courageous, for YOU shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it.”

Then Moses gave the whole law, which he had written at God’s command, to the priests. He commanded them to read it every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles when all Israel came to appear before the LORD. They were to read it before all Israel, men, women, children, and stranger in their towns… that all may hear and learn to fear the LORD they God and be careful to obey all the words.

Then God told Moses. “It’s time for you to die.  Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting that I may commission him.” 

God told Moses that after he died, the people would turn and whore after foreign gods in the land and that His anger would be kindled against them.  AND SO, Moses was to write a song and teach it to the people. He was to put it in their mouths, that it would be a witness for God against them..”

So Moses wrote the song the same day and taught it to the people. (We will read it tomorrow in chapter 32.)

Then the LORD commissioned Joshua, the son of Nun. “Be strong and courageous, for you SHALL bring the people of Israel into the land I swore to give them. I will be with you.”

Then Moses gave the entire book of the Law to the Levite priests, who were to put it beside the Ark of the Covenant. It was a witness against them. (For God knew how rebellious and stubborn they were.)

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 75 & 76

Mar17
Sunday/Monday’s Posts are published on Monday.
Day 75 – 76.  Reading Deuteronomy 14-16 and 17-20. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 14.

  Moses reviews the clean and unclean food rules and the tithing of all their flocks and herds. And also the REASON Israel is to live so differently from other peoples.

  • “You are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

Deuteronomy 15.

Moses reminds them of the reasons and details of the Sabbatical years, specifically about the release of the borrowers or the indentured from the previous six years.  The lenders are not to harden their hearts concerning the poor but to open their hands to him and lend him sufficient for his needs.

“There shall be no “unworthy” thoughts or begrudging when the 7th year comes. You shall open wide your hand to your brother, the needy, and the poor in your land.  For the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and all that you undertake.”

“And for the indentured, when you let him go free from you, you shall NOT let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally from your flock, threshing floor, and winepress. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.”

“It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired servant, he has served you six years!”

Deuteronomy 16.

Moses reviews the three most important Festivals they are to observe. (These are when all the men of Israel must journey to the place God appoints (Jerusalem, later) every year. God promised that if they were faithful to do this, he would allow no one to invade their homes and land while they were away or even desire to do it.  Exodus 34:23-24)  

  • Passover, to remember how God freed them from slavery in Egypt.
  • Feast of Weeks – at the first cutting of the spring harvest, to thank God for all His provision.
  • Feast of Booths – at the fall harvest, to remember how God cared for them in the wilderness. 

They were also to appoint righteous judges and officers in all their towns who would judge the people with righteous judgments. None of them should ever accept a bribe. 

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Deuteronomy 17.

Moses strongly cautioned them NOT to do anything in any way to worship falsely as the pagan nations did. The death penalty was to be evoked in that case.

If there are cases of criminal offenses that they can’t decide on their own, they are to take the matter to the priests (at Jerusalem, later), who will decide. THEN, they must obey that verdict.

About kings:  Even before Israel entered the land, God knew that they would desire, no, demand, a king. So here are some basic laws concerning them.  They are allowed to set a king over themselves – but one that the LORD chooses.

  • The king must be from their own people (no foreigners). 
  • He must not acquire many horses (an army to depend on instead of his God) and especially not go to Egypt to get them. NEVER shall they go to Egypt again.
  • And the king must not acquire many wives for himself (a sign of “deals” sealed with other nations). 
  • He shall also not acquire excessive silver and gold for himself.  (Yikes! These are just what King Solomon did!!)
  • And when he sits on the throne, he must write a book for himself, a copy of the Law.
  • He shall read from that Law book all the days of his life so that:
  • 1) he will keep the words and statutes of the Law,
  • 2) his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers,
  • 3) he will not turn aside from the commandments to the right or left,

Deuteronomy 18.

Moses reminds them that the Levites have no inheritance in the Promised Land; only cities with a bit of pastureland on which to live.  And so, Israel is to support them with their offerings and gifts.

Israel must NOT, EVER, learn and follow the “abominable practices” of the pagan nations.  And anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter, practices divination, fortune-telling, or is a sorcerer, a charmer, a medium, or a necromancer shall be killed.  Israel must be blameless before the LORD their God.

Then, that wonderful prophecy!  God will one day raise up a “Prophet” like Moses from among them, and Israel is to listen to Him.  God will put His words in His mouth and He will speak to them all God commands Him. “And whoever will not listen to My words that He shall speak in my name, I, Myself will require it of him.”   (Refer to Acts 3:22-23, 7:37 and John 1:21, 25, 43-45, 6:14 and 7:40)

Deuteronomy 19.

Moses then reviews the importance and use of the Cities of Refuge in the land. Initially, there would be three, but three more would be added as their conquest expanded.  These were escape cities for ones guilty of accidental manslaughter and not premeditated murder.

The people were always to be aware of and to respect their neighbor’s property lines.

In cases of criminal activity, there must be two or three witnesses to the deed. (One will not suffice.) And where two parties are malicious towards each other, then both parties shall appear before the priests and judges.  And they shall not pity in these cases. “It shall be a life for a life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

Deuteronomy 20.

When Israel prepares to fight their enemies, they are not to be afraid, because the LORD their God is with them.  “For it is the LORD your God  who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.“

God gives exemptions to some for NOT going out to war:

  • any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it,
  • any man who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed the fruit from it,
  • any man who has betrothed a wife and has not consummated the marriage,
  • and any man who is fearful and fainthearted (lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.)

After defeating their enemies who live far off, they are to “enjoy the spoil which the LORD their God has given to them.”

But to the cities that the LORD has given them for an inheritance, they shall utterly destroy them and any spoil, that “they may not teach you all their abominable practices.”

Curiously, when they besiege a city for a long time, they are NOT to destroy its fruit trees by cutting them down for ramparts, etc. (God asks, “Are they human that they should be besieged by you?”) They must spare them, but they can eat from them.  Only non-food trees may be used for siege works against the city. 

**** LORD, thank you for being concerned with every aspect of our lives and for showing us how to live holy in your sight.

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 73

Mar14
Day 73.  Reading Deuteronomy 8 – 10. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 8.

In yesterday’s reading, God, through Moses, left the people of Israel with a solemn warning of how He viewed the images and idols of the Canaanites.  THEY should utterly detest and abhor them, as HE did.

Today, Moses tells them that those idols would be the ultimate test of their love towards God. He tested them in the wilderness, “to know what was in their hearts.” He humbled them and let them hunger “to let them know that man does not live by bread alone.”

Now, in giving them the “good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which they will eat brad without scarcity, in which they will lack nothing” God was giving them another test.

“Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His rules and His statutes.  LEST, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied…. YOU FORGET the LORD your God who brought you up out of Egypt.”

“BEWARE lest you say in their heart ‘MY power and the might of MY hand has gotten me this wealth.’  You shall REMEMBER the LORD your God, for it is HE how gives you power to get wealth.

“And IF you FORGET the LORD their God and go after gods to serve and worship them … YOU shall perish like the nations before you.”

Deuteronomy 9.

Moses continues to encourage, scold, and warn the people of Israel.  When they conquer the Promised Land, they are not to think that THEY did it, that THEIR righteousness got them the land.  No, it was God — who is a consuming fire — that went before them and destroyed their enemies.

It certainly was NOT their righteousness that caused them to possess the land, but the wickedness of those peoples, and because of the promise God made to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  No, the Israelites were a STUBBORN, not righteous people who had severely provoked the LORD in the wilderness.

Moses reminds them of that horrible time when he was 40 days with God, that they build and worshiped the golden calf.  He reminded them how God wanted to destroy them all, and how he — in anger — had thrown down the tablets of stone.  He reminded them how he returned another 40 days before the LORD and laid prostrate on his face before God, pleading for them, for his brother, Aaron, and for God’s reputation and Name.   

Deuteronomy 10.

Moses continues the story, how the LORD relented because of Moses’ intercession, gave him two replacement stone tablets with the LAW engraved on them, and how he put them in the Ark of the Covenant as a remembrance.   He reminded them how God set apart the tribe of Levi because of their ZEAL for Him. They were to care for the Tabernacle and the Holy Things.

“And now, Israel, WHAT DOES THE LORD YOUR GOD REQUIRE OF YOU?  To fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and will all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statues of the LORD ….. for your good. 

“Remember, the LORD your God — to whom belons the heavens and all that is in the earth — has set His heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring, YOU above all peoples, as you are this day.  Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your HEART and no longer be stubborn, 

“For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God.”

“YOU shall fear the LORD your God. YOU shall serve Him and hold fast to him, and by His Name you shall swear. HE is your praise. HE is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 

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****O Lord, may I also never forget who You are, all the great and mighty things you have done for me, though I too am stubborn, sinful and not righteous at all … except for the righteousness You have given me through Your Son, Jesus. 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 70

Mar11
Day 70.  Reading Deuteronomy 1 – 2. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 1.

At the end of Moses’ life (forty years after he led the people out of Egypt) and before Israel enters the Promised Land, Moses reviews their history, bringing up the GOOD that God did and the mostly REBELLION that they did, challenging them to NOW obey and succeed. 

I love that he honored God and blessed them with, “The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as He has promised you!”

He reminded this new generation of people how (at his father-in-law’s suggestion and God’s approval) he chose leaders of their tribes to help him judge all of them. 

He also reminded them how they refused to enter the Land almost 40 years earlier because of fear and a rebellious heart, how God had condemned them to the wilderness again, and how they would not listen but rebelled against the command of the LORD and PRESUMPTUOUSLY went to fight the Amorites. How horribly they failed because the LORD was NOT with them.  

God was angry with them… and him (Moses).  

Deuteronomy 2.

Moses here recounts the years of wandering in the desert, until all that generation died (except Caleb and Joshua and their children). 

Finally, they came up again at the gates of the Promised Land. God told them NOT to invade Edom (descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother), NOR the Moabites, for they were descendants of Abraham’s nephew, Lot.  Likewise, they were not to harass the Ammonite people for they also descended from Lot.  (Blood truly IS thicker than water.)

However, they did fight and defeat the Midianites, who, through their kings and the false prophet, Balaam, had led them into idolatry and sexual sin.  That defeat was a foretaste of their battles when God was with them. Not one soldier died.  

….

to be continued.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 63

Mar4
Day 63.  Reading Numbers 21 -22. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Numbers 21.

Let the battles begin!

Living in the Negev (South desert) was the small kingdom of Arad. The king captured a few Jews. Israel vowed to the LORD, if He would give them this people, they would “devote all the cities to destruction.”  God did, and they did, and they named it Hormah (destruction). 

After that victory they set themselves to go around Edom and to turn north on the Eastern side of the Dead Sea/Jordan Valley.  BUT!!!!! The people became impatient. They spoke against God and Moses. “There’s no food. There’s no water. And we hate this worthless manna.”

(Sigh)

Obviously there were still some of the “Old Guard” among them who needed killing.  God sent fiery serpents among them. (Eek!!) The snakes bit many people and they died a horrible death.

“Moses! We have sinned, for we haven spoken against the LORD and against you.  Pray to the LORD to take away the serpents!”

Moses prayed, and the LORD provided a way to defeat the snakes’ poison. Moses was to make an image of a serpent and put it on a pole to hold high up.  When the people looked on the bronze serpent (believing  what God said) they would be healed.   

(Jesus used this Old Testament story to show how HE would be lifted up on a CROSS, and if anyone looked to HIM in faith, they would be saved from death.)

Israel swung around the southern and eastern boarders of Edom, and past Moab on the Eastern side of the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley to the Arnon River**, the boarder between Moab and the Amorites. 

(**NOTE:  I picture the land on the east side of the Jordan River Valley from Galilee down to the bottom of the Dead sea, like the figure of a man with the rivers at parts of his body. 

  • Going into the bottom of the Dead Sea is the ZERED BROOK. Think of that as the feet of the man-figure, wearing zories (flip-flops).
  • The ARNON RIVER enters the Dead Sea about midway. I think of that as an “iron-on patch” on the man-figure’s knees. 
  • Further up the JABBOK RIVER flows into the Jordan between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. I picture this as a finger jabbing the man-figure in the ribs. 
  • The YARMOUK RIVER flows into the Jordan just south of Galilee.  I picture that as the Yarmulka (skull cap) on the head of the man-figure. 

I know, I’m weird, but “pictures” help me remember.)

Numbers 22. 

So, Israel is camped near the Arnon River, which is the boarder between the Amorites and Moabites. They send a message to Sihon, king of the Amorites, asking him to let them pass through their land.  “Nope! Let’s fight.”  And Israel soundly beat them, all the way to the Jabbok River. And Israel moved into the territory.

Og, the city king of Bashon came out against Israel, but God told Israel not to worry. As they’d defeated Sihon, they would defeat Og.  And so they did.  Then Israel camped in the plains of Moab on the East of the Jordan River at Jericho.

Balak king of Moab sent messages to the Midianites about Israel. “This horde will not like up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” And he sent a personal message to Balaam, a seer/prophet.  “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.”

The elders of Moab and Midian, raised a “fee for divination” to give to Balaam. 

But Balaam told them to wait a night while he asked God.  God said, “You shall NOT go with them. You shall NOT curse the people, for they are blessed.”

So far, so good with Balaam. He told the messengers “no” and they left.

BUT, the kings would not accept “no.”  They sent messages back saying they would give Balaam “great honor” and whatever he asked for. 

Balaam holds steady at first. “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold I could not go beyond the command of the LORD…. BUT….. stay here tonight and I will inquire of the Lord again.” 

Ah-OH. Didn’t God already say NO?

God said, “You can go with them, BUT ONLY DO WHAT I TELL YOU.”

The next part is weird, because “God’s anger was kindled because Balaam went.”  God probably knew that Balaam would actually try to curse the people and get the money. So God sent an angel to stop him. Except Balaam did not SEE the angel with the drawn sword blocking the road. ONLY THE DONKEY SAW IT. What??

Balaam beat the poor donkey because it kept turning aside into the bushes, and scratching his legs.

FINALLY, THE DONKEY SPOKE!!!  “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life to this day?  Is it my habit to treat you this way?”

AND BALAAM ACTUALLY ANSWERED THE DONKEY!  “No.”

And the LORD opened his eyes to see the angel.

Balaam realized he’d sinned and said he’d turn back. But God said THAT was NOT His plan. Balaam was to go with them…. but ONLY SAY WHAT GOD TOLD HIM.  Perhaps Balaam understood this time, for he went with the men and warned the king he could only say what God gave him.

In the morning, King Balak took Balaam up on a hill and showed him “a fraction” of the masses of Israel.

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WHAT WILL BALAAM DO? Stay tuned for tomorrow. 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 61 & 62

Mar3
Day 61 – 62.  Reading Numbers 16-17 and 18-20. (Sunday & Monday Combined)
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Numbers 16.

Rebellion, sin, and death starts, and it all begins in the House of the Lord.

Remember how Miriam and Aaron in pride thought THEY should be just as powerful in leadership as Moses was?  Now, Korah, from the family of Kohath, the Levites who served and carried the holy items of the Tabernacle, and two from the tribe of Rueben, stepped forward along with 250 other well-known men, chiefs of the assembly to oppose Moses and Aaron. 

“ALL the congregation is holy,” they said, “every one of them, and the LORD is among them.  Why do you, Moses and Aaron, exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?

Moses responded by falling to his face, an attitude of desperate prayer to God. He told them all that “In the morning the LORD will show who is His, and who is Holy.” 

They were to all bring their lit censers  to the Tabernacle and the LORD will choose who is the holy one.

“You have gone too far, sons of Levi! Is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that He has brought you near HIM, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?  What is Aaron that you grumble against him?”

But Korah’s two buddies from the tribe of Rueben, Dathan and Abiram, refused to make an appearance.  Instead they blasted Moses,  “Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey (that they feared to enter), nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men?  WE WILL NOT COME UP!”

Oh, dear.

Next day, the LORD proposed a wipe out of the whole congregation, yet Moses pleaded before the LORD. So God told everyone to step away from from the tents of Kohath, Dathan, And abiram.  The people moved away, but these three men stood in defiance with their families at their tent doors. 

And Moses announced, “Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent ME to do all these works, and that it has NOT been of my own accord. If these men die as all men die, then the LORD has not sent me.

“BUT … if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you will KNOW that these men have despised the LORD.”

And then ………………………….. the ground under them split apart. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. And the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 

PANIC!!! 

All Israel fled.

And the LORD’s fire came out and consumed the 250 unqualified men with censers.

Aaron’s son Eleazar, at God’s word, collected all the censers because they were holy. Later they were hammered into a bronze covering for the Altar. 

All this was to be a reminder to the people that NO OUTSIDER WHO WAS NOT OF THE DESCENDANTS OF AARON should burn incense before the LORD. 

AND STILL THE PEOPLE GRUMBLED!!! “You have killed the people of the LORD!”  The whole congregation turned against Moses and Aaron.

Moses and Aaron turned toward the Tabernacle and the glorious Presence of the LORD appeared.  The two men fell on their faces as a PLAGUE OF WRATH was sent out from the LORD into the people.

Then, at Moses’ word, Aaron put holy incense on his own censer and ran among the company of dying people.  He stood between the dead and the living and made atonement for them.  And the plague stopped. 

But not before 14,700 people were killed (besides those in the affair of Korah).

Number 17.

Then, the LORD preempted another rebellion by showing clearly just WHO was to be Priest to the Lord God of Israel.

A staff from the head of each of the twelve tribes of Israel, including Aaron’s staff representing the tribe of Levi, were to be gathered.  Each was to have the person’s name written on his staff.  Then Moses was to take them inside the Tabernacle and to lay them before the Ark of the Covenant.  

“The staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. In this way, I will make the grumblings of the people of Israel against you TO CEASE.”

Moses did as the LORD instructed.

The next morning, Moses went in and brought the staffs out.  Behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had not only SPROUTED, but PUT FORTH BUDS, and PRODUCED BLOSSOMS, and BORE RIPE ALMONDS. 

No question at all.

Moses then put Aaron’s staff before the Ark of the Covenant (later inside it) as a testimony and a sign for the rebels.

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Numbers 18.

In an unexpected way, the LORD speaks directly to Aaron (not through Moses) as the High Priest. He tells him that the priests are directly responsible for the priesthood and the things inside the Tabernacle. He and his sons are to keep guard of the Tabernacle, and the rest of the Levites are to keep guard over them and the rest of the tent while they minister. 

For this special duty to the LORD, the rest of Israel will bring a tithe to them of all the earn and raise as their support.  The Levites will then give a tithe of what they get to the LORD. 

“You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and inheritance.”

Numbers 19.

In the following 38.5 years, over 1.2 million people died in the wilderness. As the old generation died off (as God had said they would) many, people were touching dead bodies, to dispose of them. ALL needed purification ceremonies. The “water for purification” that would be sprinkled on them was made in a certain way.

Aaron’s oldest son (deputy high priest) Eleazar would take a spotless red heifer outside the camp to slaughter it. (This is the only sacrifice noted of a female animal. A heifer was a cow that had not yet given birth, and in this case, had also never been yoked.)  After it was killed, Eleazar would flick some blood on his finger towards the front gate of the Tabernacle seven times. Then the entire animal would be burned up, with the addition of cedarwood, hyssop and scarlet yarn.

Later a man who is clean is to gather the cooled ashes and deposit them in a clean place outside the camp. The ashes of the heifer and the other three items (used in the skin disease purification ritual) would be mixed with water to make a symbolic cleansing agent.  (For people who had touched a dead body.) Anyone clean (not just the priests) could sprinkle an unclean person. Then both will be considered unclean until evening.

  • Weird, I know. But think how all these rituals kept their eyes on a HOLY God and themselves as unclean sinners with an ultimate death sentence. Also remember how the Lord Jesus was taken “outside the city” to be crucified. And it is by this horrible act that we can be cleansed from all sin.

Numbers 20.

As the years pass and grow towards 40, first we see Miriam dying.  If she was a young girl when Moses was put into the Nile in a basket, she is probably at least 130 by now. The people mourned this great prophetess lady for a month. She was buried near Kadesh.

And….. there was no water. This younger generation quarreled with Moses. “Would that we would have died with our brothers.  Have you brought us out into the wilderness that we and our cattle should die of thirst? This “evil place” is not for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates…AND THERE IS NO WATER TO DRINK.”

Seriously!!!  The new, younger generation is now going to start up complaining about water?? It’s like they just came out of Egypt. I’m with God. Kill them and dust off your hands.

But when Moses and Aaron went to God, fell on their faces before Him, His glorious presence appeared to them.  He gave them instructions – VERY EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS – on how to give the people water.

“Take the staff, and the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and TELL THE ROCK before their eyes to yield its water. So (in this way) you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”

Moses and Aaron gathered the people before the rock and Moses said… TO THEM (not the rock), “Hear now, you rebels: shall WE bring water for you out of this rock?”  And Moses lifted up his hand and STRUCK THE ROCK WITH HIS STAFF, TWICE.

And water came out abundantly and the congregation drank and their livestock.

The people were happy and knew nothing about the utter disaster this was for their leaders.

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold ME as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore YOU shall not bring this assembly into the land that I gave them.”

Period. 

  • Why? You might ask?  For one, Moses and Aaron glorified themselves not God.
  • And two…. remember Paul says that all that happened to them was for OUR instruction (1 Corinthians 10:1-11).  Christ is pictured as that Rock in the wilderness. Struck once for their life giving water. (As Jesus died ONCE for all for our salvation). After we are saved, we need only ask of Him for our daily needs and He will supply them.  Moses ruined that “picture” by striking the Rock again, not once but twice, making the picture seem to say that Christ had to keep dying again and again in order to save us. 
  • This was a big act of rebellion and disobedience BY MOSES.  And, like with that older generation, he would NOT be allowed to enter the promised land. Aaron too, since he was with him.

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Next on the agenda was to pass through the land of Edom (descendants of Esau, Jacob/Israel’s brother). Edom rightly refused (Imagine 2 million people with lots of animals trudging down your freeway for hours and hours).  Moses asked “Please” to pass through a second time, and the Edomites sent out a large army to protect their boarder by force.  So, Israel had to go around them. (They were not allowed to fight their “brothers.”)

Israel came to Mt. Hor on the boarder of Edom and the LORD told Moses and Aaron that Aaron was going to die there (for they had rebelled against Him at the rock).  Moses was to take Aaron and his oldest son, Eleazar up the mountain and take off the high priest’s garments and put them on Eleazar. 

Moses did this in the sight of the whole congregation. And when only Moses and Eleazar, wearing the priestly garment came down, they KNEW Aaron had died. They mourned for him for 30 days.

His death foreshadowed Moses’ own death.

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 60

Mar1
Day 60.  Reading Numbers 14 – 15 and Psalm 90. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Numbers 14.

Yesterday’s reading ended with a showdown. Two against ten.

Two spies (Joshua & Caleb) said the land of Canaan was ripe with food, and ready for picking. The inhabitants were big, but no problem for the children of God. Let’s go in and conquer!

Ten spies agreed that the land of Canaan was ripe with food, but bemoaned the giant cities with tall walls, and the giant people that made them look (in their own eyes) like grasshoppers.  NO WAY can we conquer!

And the rest of the two million people?  They were swayed by the TEN, and cried with a loud voice and wailed and wept. They grumbled against Moses and Aaron. They bemoaned (get this, for God will answer this prayer), “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in the wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sward? Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the people.

Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and cried, “PEOPLE OF ISRAEL! The land is exceedingly good.  If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land and give it to us… Only DO NOT REBEL AGAINST THE LORD! Do not fear the people – they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them. THE LORD IS WITH US. Do not fear them!

As the masses were picking up stones to stone the two, the GLORY OF THE LORD appeared.

“MOSES, how long will this people despise me? How long will they not BELIEVE IN ME, in spite of all the signs I have done among them.  I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of YOU a nation greater and mightier than they!”

And once again, Moses interceded for the righteousness of the LORD’s name and honor (“If you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, It is because the Lord was not able to bring them to the land as He swore.”).

And Moses pleaded for those horrible rebellious people too. He claimed and clung to God’s promises of love and mercy and forgiveness. (Please pardon the iniquity of the people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now!”)

Oh, for such an intercessor today!

And the LORD heard Moses’ prayer. “I have pardoned according to your word. BUT…..truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, NONE of the men who have seen my glory and my signs… and yet have put me to the test…and not obeyed my voice… shall see the land I swore to give to their fathers.  NONE who despised me shall see it.  And so, TURN BACK TOMORROW AND SET OUT FOR THE WILDERNESS.”

And to the people, God said, “As I live, what you have said, I will do. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and all those listed in the census, 20 years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, SHALL NOT ONE COME INTO THE LAND, except Caleb and Joshua.  Your little ones – whom you said would fall prey – THOSE I will bring into the land.

“Your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness FORTY YEARS, and shall suffer for YOUR faithlessness UNTIL THE LAST OF YOUR DEAD BODIES LIES IN THE WILDERNESS. I the LORD have spoken.”

And immediately those ten unfaithful spies died of a plague.  ZAAPP!!!

After hearing that horrible 40 year sentence of death, the people changed their minds.  “Here we are!  We will go up into the land that the LORD promised us!”

Moses: “No! Now you are being more rebellious. The LORD is not with you!!!”

People:  “But we WILL go up into the country and fight them!”

But  neither the Ark of the Covenant, nor Moses left the camp. And the Amalekites and Canaanites came down and defeated them.  (And so, the first of those thousands of fit-for-battle rebels died.)

  • O LORD, I confess that I am so often like the people of Israel. Please keep me from walking in my own sinful rebellious ways. Grant me faith to believe ALL You promise, and courage to obey. And Father, please keep me from presumptuous sins!  Give me a humble, loving heart as Moses had.

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Numbers 15.

Even though God had pronounced the “death penalty” on the older generation of Israelites, he still had in mind to give Israel (eventually) the land of Canaan.  And He still required the sacrifices and offerings to continue as the roamed the desert. Both unintentional and intentional (knowingly and deliberately done) sins are next covered. 

Unintentional sins require and offering. A Person who sins intentionally “with a high hand” despising the word of the LORD, shall be put to death.  The example of a man who deliberately went out to gather firewood on the Sabbath, was stoned to death.

God then gave a way for Israel to always remember His commands.  They (the men) were to make tassels for the corner of their garments (shirts), each with a blue thread on it. These would be visible to themselves and to each other.

When they looked at them, they were to remember “all the commandments of the LORD, to DO them, not to follow after their own heart and their own eyes, which they were inclined to whore after. They were to remember to DO all His commandments, and be holy to their God. ‘I am the LORD your God.'”

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Psalm 90.  “A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God”  

(Here Moses seems to be asking God to have mercy on sinful humans living in a sin-cursed world. It seems to have  been written to the older generation of Israelites who were dying off in the wilderness.)

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.”  ” …from everlasting to everlasting YOU are God.”   “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.”

“You return man to dust.”  “You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning…in the evening it fades and withers.”

“For all our days pass away under Your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone and we fly away.”

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”

“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!”

 

 

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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 59

Feb28
Day 59.  Reading Numbers 11 – 13. 

Read the scripture for today. What do you learn about God? Share what you learn with others.

Numbers 11.

Complaints by the PEOPLE and by MOSES

With the Tabernacle finished, the priests consecrated and dedicated, and the camp organized, it was finally time to set out for the Promised Land.  It’s been over a year, but the slaves have become a nation with organization, a law system, an army, and priestly, godly leaders.  So, the Ark, carried by the Kohathites starts out.

  • 1) There should be singing – “We are bound for the promised land.” – but instead the people “complain in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortune.”  Say, what??  What misfortune?

God heard it and was angered.  He sent some of His fire among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.  “Moses! Moses! HELP!”  cried the people.  Moses prayed and the fire died down.

  • 2) THEN, the “rabble among them” had a strong craving.  (Remember those non-Jewish slaves who came out of Egypt with Israel? Exodus 12:38)  THEY complained, which caused Israel to weep too.  “Oh that we had MEAT to eat!  Remember the free fish we ate in Egypt? And the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and the garlic? OH! The garlic!!  But now our strength is dried up, and there is NOTHING AT ALL BUT THIS MANNA to look at!!!”  And each one stood at the door of his tent and wept out loud.

The Lord was angered and Moses was displeased (and complained to God).

  • 3) “Why have You dealt ill with Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You lay the burden of all this people on Me? DID I CONCEIVE ALL THE PEOPLE? DID I GIVE THEM BIRTH THAT YOU SHOULD SAY TO ME, “Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child?  WHERE AM I TO GET MEAT TO GIVE TO ALL THIS PEOPLE?  I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me.  If You will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in Your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.“

Whoa, Moses!  Are you frustrated or what? 

Notice that God FIRST addresses the heart of His servant Moses.  He tells him to gather the 70 elders of the people and bring them to the Tabernacle. God will put some of His Spirit on them, so they can bear the burden of the people with Moses. 

Then God addresses the complaints of the people. They are to consecrate themselves, for THEY WILL EAT MEAT the next day.  In fact they will eat meat for 30 days, so much that they will get sick of it.

It’s interesting that Moses asks God HOW He will do it. (Boy, Moses really is shaken.)  He asks God if all the flocks and herds are to be slaughtered, and would that be enough for them all to eat meat for a month?  

  • (This makes me wonder why SOME of the animals are not killed for food along with the manna.  Certainly a lot were sacrificed, and some of that meat was for the priests to eat. Hmmm.)  Perhaps the people – like me – just like to complain.

Moses obeyed and the seventy elders received a bit of the Spirit God had put on Moses.

And God sent a quail-carrying wind from the sea. The birds flew in at 3-feet off the ground. The people caught them all day, all night, and all the next day. The LEAST amount of birds gathered per person was 60-70 BUSHELS (small laundry baskets!).  They spread them out for themselves around the camp. (To count or to dry?) 

And they began eating, and eating, and while the meat was still between their teeth, the LORD “struct down the people with a very great plague.”  

And there they buried all those dead people. Then they moved out from that “Graves of Craving” place.

Numbers 12.

Complaints by MIRIAM and AARON

Okay, this seems strange. Moses married a Cushite woman. Wasn’t he married to Zipporah, a Midianite woman?  The term “Cushite” COULD HAVE referred to Zipporah, but it’s most likely Moses remarried after Zipporah died. Cush is a section of southern Egypt. She might have been among the “mixed multitude” in the camp.  

Regardless of where she came from, Moses’ older siblings (Miriam and Aaron) didn’t like it.  Could they have become (as Levites) “purists” or “racists?”  Miriam, the oldest, probably got Aaron to agree and they went to Moses, questioning – not his marriage – but his special relationship with God. 

  • 4) “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses?  Hasn’t He not spoken through US as well?”

Moses – ” meeker than all the people on earth” (Really, Moses???) – did not answer them.  BUT the LORD heard what the two siblings said, and called all three of them to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where He appeared in a pillar of cloud.

“You, Aaron and Miriam, step forward.” (They did.) “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision: I speak with him in a dream. NOT SO WITH MY SERVANT MOSES. He is faithful in all my house. WITH HIM I SPEAK MOUTH TO MOUTH, CLEARLY, AND NOT IN RIDDLES, AND HE BEHOLDS THE FORM OF THE LORD. Why then were YOU not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

And the LORD was angry.  When the pillar lifted, OH NO! Miriam was leprous like snow!

Aaron saw her and cried out to Moses, “Oh, please do not punish us, because we have done foolishly and have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away!”  Yikes!!

And Moses cried out to the LORD, “O God, please heal her! PLEASE!

“Nope,” God said. “Should she not be ASHAMED?  Let her be shut outside the camp seven days. After that she may be brought in again.“

So, THE ENTIRE CAMP paused their journey to wait for Miriam. After seven days and she was okayed to come back, they set out and camped in the Desert of Paran. (Just south of Canaan)

Numbers 13.

Complaints by the SPIES.

God told Moses to send out 12 men to “spy out the land of Canaan,” hopefully to bring back a report of what an amazing land they were to inherit. Lush with food, a land of “milk and honey.”  (That spoke of green pastures full of cows (milk) and orchards of fruits pollinized by bees, producing honey.)

Moses obeyed and sent out a man from each tribe.  The two we know, are Caleb from the tribe of Judah, and Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim (1/2 of Joseph).  He charged them to —

  • “Go up into the Negev (south) and the Hill Country, and see what the land is, 
  • whether the people are strong or weak,
  • whether they are few or many, 
  • whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, 
  • whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds,
  • whether the land is rich or poor, 
  • whether there are trees in it or not.
  • Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.”

Forty long days later, the twelve spies returned.  There were two very different reports.

  • “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. (a huge cluster of grapes that it took two men to carry)
  • However … the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large, and besides, WE SAW ANAK THERE (Giants).  The Amalekites dwell there. The Hittites and Jebusites and Amorites, and Canaanites!!
  • No matter, Let us go up at once and occupy it for we are well able to overcome it!”
  • 5) No, We are NOT able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we. The land, through which we have gone to spy is a land that devours its in habitants, and all the people that we saw are of great height. They are GIANTS, and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers!”

So, which will it be?

Will Israel go in to conquer this good land, like Joshua and Caleb reported?

Or … will Israel turn back out of fear for the pagan peoples and especially the giants, like the other ten spies said?

WE WILL SEE IN TOMORROW’S STUDY.

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  • O, LORD, I confess I have a cranky, complaining heart. Please forgive and cleanse me. Let me see and acknowledge the wonderful love and care you show me every day! I do not need to be afraid for my strength is in YOU, in your joy.