Concordia Adult Bible Class

When we do not listen, God can reach us in many ways – even through a donkey. God’s preferred way to speak to us, however, is through His Word. Do we listen, or do we, like Balaam, refuse to hear God’s guidance for our lives?

Would you like to become a member of Concordia? https://concordia.churchcenter.com/registrations Once again, the Israelites are grumbling. This time, God disciplines them with death by sending snakes on them. We, too, are disciplined for our sins with death. But, as Moses held up a snake on a pole to rescue the Israelites from their sentence, we have Savior held up on a cross to rescue us from our condemnation.

The Israelites grumble again against God. Moses responds to their grumbling with anger and loses the privilege of entering the Promised Land. Responding to the grumbling of others with anger of our own does not solve anything. Our call is to respond with patience and love.

God makes Aaron’s staff bud a sign that He has chosen Aaron’s tribe – the tribe of Levi – to serve as priests before Him. God makes us His priests, too, to serve before Him by making a place of death – a cross – bud with life.

The Israelites are commanded by God to enter the Promised Land and take possession of it. But a band of explorers who go on a reconnaissance mission of the land are scared of its current residents. Because they refuse to go in, Israel wanders the wilderness for forty years. Our anxiety, too, can exile us to a wilderness. How do we trust God, even when doing so feels frightening?

Moses’ siblings become jealous of Moses’ closeness with God. But instead of becoming jealous of it, they should have learned from it. Whose relationships with God can serve as models for us as we seek to deepen our own relationship with Him?

Throughout the book of Numbers, the Israelites struggle to trust in God to provide for their needs. We can have a similar struggle. Whether naturally or supernaturally, however, God takes care of us.

The book of Numbers is full of long genealogies that we might be tempted to skip over. And yet, behind each name is a story. Wisdom can be found in people of the past, which is why it is important we remember them. Their lives count just as much as ours!

The First Commandment reminds us that God is to be first. Yet, every one of us struggles with putting other things before God. We all struggle with idolatry. On Independence Day Weekend, we are reminded that nothing – no matter how good – is to come before God. He is our focus and our hope.

It can be so easy to look at others and judge them! We all struggle with self-righteousness. As Jesus reminds us, however, judgment starts with discerning our own sins rather than decrying the sins of others. When we jump to judging others, it can be very difficult to be for others.