“The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush, but the speech of the upright rescues them” (Prov 12:6, CSB). There is an incident in Numbers 22 that seems confusing. First, God gave Balaam permission to go to Balak, then was angry because he did. What gives? Many times over, the Proverbs warn about those […]
Read More… from October 4, 2022 — To Go Or Not To Go: That Is The Question
Balaam must have been some fellow. They traveled 800 miles—twice—to acquire his services! From the beginning of Numbers 22 to the end of the book, “the children of Israel…camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho” (Num 22:1). Enter “Balak the son of Zippor…king of the Moabites” (v […]
Read More… from October 3, 2022 — Balaam, The Rent-A-Prophet
If the enemy can’t win through a frontal attack, he’ll try subterfuge and sabotage to get us! The children of Israel had hardly settled down after the rout of the Amorites when “Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei” (Num 21:33). There’s something about that […]
Read More… from September 30, 2022 — One More Battle East Of Jordan
Can you feel the excitement as Israel moves into position to enter Canaan? Almost there! Listen. “From the wilderness they went to Mattanah, from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah” (Num 21:18-20). They aren’t spending much […]
Blessings around us should cause the wellsprings of our hearts to burst forth in praise to God. Instead of the dry and desolate conditions in what Moses called “all that great and terrible wilderness” (Deut 1:19), the children of Israel are beginning to see the first hints of what the Lord called “a land flowing” […]
Sometimes God supernaturally gives manna; sometimes He lets us gather in the ripened fields. Congratulations to those who have trekked through the wilderness with us as we have been learning from the children of Israel. At least it hasn’t taken us 40 years to do it. Did I hear someone say, “It seemed like it!” […]
Read More… from September 27, 2022 — Here Comes The Blessing!
Often the way forward begins with going back. Confessing to our dark deeds brings us into light. The poisonous snakes of the desert had been released from the restraint God had on them, and they had bitten the Israelites. Do you see the link that James would pen centuries later? “Every kind of beast…has been […]
It’s no fun thinking you’re almost finished, only to discover that you still have a long way to go. Like fractious children on a long car ride, Israel was very unhappy about this detour, away down almost to the Red Sea and then back up around the Dead Sea to cross the Jordan River into […]