Feb.18 - Numbers 30 - 32

Good morning! Happy Wednesday...the weekend is almost here!

As we read these 3 chapters today, here are a few thoughts from today's reading:

1) If you make a promise to God, you had better keep it! God takes it seriously when we make promises to Him. He told Moses in Numbers 30:2, "A man who makes a vow (or promise) to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do." Often times, I've heard of people making promises to God under situations of distress. For example, "Lord, I'm in a real mess! If you get me out of this I'll..." You know the story. My advice is that you do exactly what you promised God. There are several examples throughout the Bible of people who've offered up a vow to God and were required to pay it. For example: Jephthah in Judges 11:30 asked for God's help in defeating the Ammonites in war and promised to give the first thing that came out of his house (thinking that it would be an animal) as a sacrifice to God. After he won the battle, he came home and found his only child (his daughter) to be the first to come out of the house singing and dancing with joy over her father's victory. Sadly, Jephthah realized he needed to pay his vow to the Lord. While he didn't offer her up as a burnt offering, he did tell her of his vow (and as was customary) she dedicated her life to God and remained a virgin the rest of her life. Another example was Hannah, the mother of Samuel the prophet. Each year, Hannah, her husband and his other wife, would go up and offer up offerings to the Lord for each member of the family. Hannah was extremely grieved over the fact that she couldn't have any children. In a desperate act, she pleaded with God in the Temple for a child, and in return of her gratitude she vowed to give the child back to the Lord and His service for the rest of his life. God gave her a son, and after weaning him, she took him to the Priest and let him remain in the Priest's custody and service for the remainder of his life. These are just a few of the many examples of people, who out of desperation, offered promises to God and knew the importance of fulfilling those promises!

2) God curses those who curse Israel! In Numbers 31, God exacts revenge on the Midianites for leading Israel into idolatry. After Balak's, the Midianite king, failed attempt to get Balaam, the prophet, to curse Israel, Balaam comes up with a plan. Moses identifies the instigator of the plan in 31:16 when he says, "who followed Balaam's advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel..." Balaam knew he couldn't curse Israel because God wouldn't listen to him. So, instead of walking away from Balak's challenge to curse Israel, he comes up with the idea of enticing the Israelite men with the beautiful women of Midian. These women flirted with the Israelite men, had sex with them, and eventually got them to worship the idol, Baal. This, in turn, created terrible consequences for Israel as many died as a result. Now, God is getting his revenge on those who desired to hurt His people.

3) Be sure your sins will come back to haunt you! That's what Moses told the Reubenites and Gadites in Numbers 32:23! After conquering the Midianites in battle, the Reubenites and Gadites wanted the eastern portion of land on the opposite side of the Jordan river just before you enter the Promised Land. In other words, they saw that the land was incredibly good for their livestock and they wanted to request it for their portion of the land grant rights to Israel - even though it wasn't within the territory of the Promised Land. Moses was furious at first thinking that they were bowing out of the battle to conquer the Promised Land. However, once the Reubenites and Gadites convinced Moses that they would help their brothers get their own land, Moses offered them this stern warning! One things for sure, the Israelites always saw their sin return to them in the form of punishment. Why? Because God is holy and desires us to be the same way.

We only have a few more chapters in Numbers and then we'll be into Deutoronomy, the fifth book of Moses' writings. Hang in there, and keep reading!

Enjoy your Wednesday, and may His countenance be reflected in all that you do!