Nowata Methodists Podcast

Fall is upon us and my kids are playing out in the back yard. I think we will have a bonfire here in a bit.

With each new season, we get to mark times of our lives by what we do at those times. For instance, I remember Spring in Idaho distinctly because that was when my wife and I tried Crossfit for the first and only time. It was exhausting. We would be so tired from working out that we would park the truck in the garage and then take a nap together because we were too tired to get out and walk into the house. I will always remember my exhaustion and the sweetness of a little nap in the truck when my mind thinks of Spring.

Every season of life should be marked with dwelling in the scriptures. My wife and I host a morning worshiping community four mornings per week. Twelve or so people join in. We are getting to know one another. I recently asked how it was that the Lord brought each of them into closer fellowship with him. Almost every single person had a story of being in the scriptures more and coming to understand who God really is, rather than who they had always thought him to be.

Reading scripture is the most powerfully transformative thing you can do in your life, so long as it is accompanied by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. So I ask the Lord to send you his Spirit as you attend upon these readings with me today:

Numbers 28

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Command the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to Me at its appointed time the food for My offerings by fire, as a pleasing aroma to Me. 

And tell them that this is the offering made by fire you are to present to the LORD as a regular burnt offering each day: two unblemished year-old male lambs. 

Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight, along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour  as a grain offering, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives. 

This is a regular burnt offering established at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 

The drink offering accompanying each lamb shall be a quarter hin. Pour out the offering of fermented drink to the LORD in the sanctuary area. 

And offer the second lamb at twilight, with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning. It is an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 

On the Sabbath day, present two unblemished year-old male lambs, accompanied by a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour  mixed with oil, as well as a drink offering. 

This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. 

At the beginning of every month, you are to present to the LORD a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, along with three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with the ram, and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each lamb.

This is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 

Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine  with each bull, a third of a hin  with the ram, and a quarter hin with each lamb. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon throughout the year. 

In addition to the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the LORD as a sin offering. 

The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover. On the fifteenth day of this month, there shall be a feast; for seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten. 

On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. 

Present to the LORD an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished. 

The grain offering shall consist of fine flour mixed with oil; offer three-tenths of an ephah with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram, and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs. Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. 

You are to present these in addition to the regular morning burnt offering. 

Offer the same food each day for seven days as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. It is to be offered with its drink offering and the regular burnt offering. 

On the seventh day you shall hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. 

On the day of firstfruits, when you present an offering of new grain to the LORD during the Feast of Weeks, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. 

Present a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, together with their grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil—three-tenths of an ephah with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram, and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs. Include one male goat to make atonement for you. 

Offer them with their drink offerings in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. The animals must be unblemished.

Numbers 29

“On the first day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This will be a day for you to sound the trumpets. 

As a pleasing aroma to the LORD, you are to present a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, together with their grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil—three-tenths of an ephah  with the bull, two-tenths of an ephah  with the ram, and a tenth of an ephah  with each of the seven male lambs. 

Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. 

These are in addition to the monthly and daily burnt offerings with their prescribed grain offerings and drink offerings. They are a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 

On the tenth day of this seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly, and you shall humble yourselves; you must not do any work. 

Present as a pleasing aroma to the LORD a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, together with their grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil—three-tenths of an ephah with the bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram, and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs. 

Include one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering of atonement and the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offerings. 

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work, and you shall observe a feast to the LORD for seven days. 

As a pleasing aroma to the LORD, you are to present an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, along with the grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil with each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths of an ephah with each of the two rams, and a tenth of an ephah with each of the fourteen lambs.

Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. 

On the second day you are to present twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. 

Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. 

On the third day you are to present eleven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. 

Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. 

On the fourth day you are to present ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. 

Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. 

On the fifth day you are to present nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. 

Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. 

On the sixth day you are to present eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. 

Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. 

On the seventh day you are to present seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. 

Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. 

On the eighth day you are to hold a solemn assembly; you must not do any regular work. 

As a pleasing aroma to the LORD, you are to present an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. 

Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. 

You are to present these offerings to the LORD at your appointed times, in addition to your vow and freewill offerings, whether burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, or peace offerings.” 

So Moses spoke all this to the Israelites just as the LORD had commanded him.

Numbers 30

Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel, “This is what the LORD has commanded: If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised. 

And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the LORD or obligates herself by a pledge, and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 

But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears about it, then none of the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. The LORD will absolve her because her father has prohibited her. 

If a woman marries while under a vow or rash promise by which she has bound herself, and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her on that day, then the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 

But if her husband prohibits her when he hears of it, he nullifies the vow that binds her or the rash promise she has made, and the LORD will absolve her. 

Every vow a widow or divorced woman pledges to fulfill is binding on her. 

If a woman in her husband’s house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath, and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her and does not prohibit her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 

But if her husband nullifies them on the day he hears of them, then nothing that came from her lips, whether her vows or pledges, shall stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the LORD will absolve her. 

Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow or any sworn pledge to deny herself. 

But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all the vows and pledges that bind her. He has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard about them. But if he nullifies them after he hears of them, then he will bear her iniquity.” 

These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the relationship between a man and his wife, and between a father and a young daughter still in his home.

Numbers 31

And the LORD said to Moses, “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.” 

So Moses told the people, “Arm some of your men for war, that they may go against the Midianites and execute the LORD’s vengeance on them. Send into battle a thousand men from each tribe of Israel.” 

So a thousand men were recruited from each tribe of Israel—twelve thousand armed for war. 

And Moses sent the thousand from each tribe into battle, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took with him the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling. 

Then they waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 

Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. 

The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods. 

Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments, and carried away all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals. 

They brought the captives, spoils, and plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho. 

And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp. 

But Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who were returning from the battle. 

“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them. 

“Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD. 

So now, kill all the boys, as well as every woman who has had relations with a man, but spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man. 

All of you who have killed a person or touched the dead are to remain outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day you are to purify both yourselves and your captives. 

And purify every garment and leather good, everything made of goat’s hair, and every article of wood.” 

Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses: 

Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—everything that can withstand the fire—must be put through the fire, and it will be clean. But it must still be purified with the water of purification. And everything that cannot withstand the fire must pass through the water. 

On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.” 

The LORD said to Moses, “You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the congregation are to take a count of what was captured, both of man and beast. Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to battle and the rest of the congregation. 

Set aside a tribute for the LORD from what belongs to the soldiers who went into battle: one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, or sheep. 

Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the LORD. From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or other animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.” 

So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD had commanded Moses, and this plunder remained from the spoils the soldiers had taken: 

675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 women who had not slept with a man. 

This was the half portion for those who had gone to war: 

337,500 sheep, including a tribute to the LORD of 675, 36,000 cattle, including a tribute to the LORD of 72, 30,500 donkeys, including a tribute to the LORD of 61, and 16,000 people, including a tribute to the LORD of 32. 

Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as an offering for the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

From the Israelites’ half, which Moses had set apart from the men who had gone to war, this half belonged to the congregation: 

337,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 people. 

From the Israelites’ half, Moses took one out of every fifty persons and animals and gave them to the Levites who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD had commanded him. 

Then the officers who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and of hundreds—approached Moses and said, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing. 

So we have brought to the LORD an offering of the gold articles each man acquired—armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” 

So Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them all the articles made out of gold. 

All the gold that the commanders of thousands and of hundreds presented as an offering to the LORD weighed 16,750 shekels. Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself. 

And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD.

1 Corinthians 9

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you yourselves not my workmanship in the Lord? 

Even if I am not an apostle to others, surely I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 

This is my defense to those who scrutinize me: Have we no right to food and to drink? 

Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 

Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living? 

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk? 

Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 

For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 

Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest. 

If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you? 

If others have this right to your support, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not exercise this right. Instead, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 

Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings? 

In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. 

But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that something be done for me. Indeed, I would rather die than let anyone nullify my boast. 

Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 

If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility. 

What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not use up my rights in preaching it. 

Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law. 

To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. 

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 

I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. 

Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. 

Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. 

No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 10

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 

They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 

Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the wilderness. 

These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did. 

Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written: “The people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.” 

We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 

We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes. And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel. 

Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 

So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall. 

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it. 

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say. 

Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 

Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf. 

Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar? 

Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 

No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. 

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too. 

Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? 

“Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is edifying. No one should seek his own good, but the good of others. 

Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” 

If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat anything set before you without raising questions of conscience. 

But if someone tells you, “This food was offered to idols,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience— the other one’s conscience, I mean, not your own. For why should my freedom be determined by someone else’s conscience? 

If I partake in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God— 

as I also try to please everyone in all I do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved.

Balaam gets treated as an enemy in the New Testament, but in these stories in Numbers, he comes off as a good guy, doesn’t he? He submits to the will of the LORD and proclaims blessing upon the Israelites, standing against Balak in the process. However, according to later sources, he then concocts the plan to compromise Israel by having the women of the land seduce them. This method has regularly worked to get men to compromise their values and priorities. It works very well in this case, until the ensuing plague is ended by Phinehas. This disjointed story fits together only with some effort. We should manage it.

The stuff in Corinth continues to be relevant today. What becomes apparent is that the institution of marriage is not necessarily for emotional things, but is definitionally for sexual things. This rather transactional approach is treated with more clarity by Paul than our culture generally affords. It is almost as if individuals are supposed to have emotional intimacy with people beyond their spouses. I sometimes wonder if Americans have sorta warped what marriage is supposed to be, and that is why marriage fails so often today. Consider these things as you read through…

Numbers 24

And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as on previous occasions, but he turned his face toward the wilderness. 

When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him, and he lifted up an oracle, saying: 

“This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel! They spread out like palm groves, like gardens beside a stream, like aloes the LORD has planted, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed will have abundant water. His king will be greater than Agag, and his kingdom will be exalted. God brought him out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox, to devour hostile nations and crush their bones, to pierce them with arrows. He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.” 

Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together and said to Balaam, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times. 

Therefore, flee at once to your home! I said I would richly reward you, but instead the LORD has denied your reward.” 

Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not already tell the messengers you sent me that even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD? I will speak whatever the LORD says. 

Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.” 

Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying, 

“This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls  of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth. Edom will become a possession, as will Seir, his enemy; but Israel will perform with valor. A ruler will come from Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.” 

Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: 

“Amalek was first among the nations, but his end is destruction.” 

Next he saw the Kenites and lifted up an oracle, saying: 

“Your dwelling place is secure, and your nest is set in a cliff. Yet Kain will be destroyed when Asshur  takes you captive.” 

Once more Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: 

“Ah, who can live unless God has ordained it? Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will perish forever.” 

Then Balaam arose and returned to his homeland, and Balak also went on his way.

Numbers 25

While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab, who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them. 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that His fierce anger may turn away from Israel.” 

So Moses told the judges of Israel, “Each of you must kill all of his men who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.” 

Just then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 

On seeing this, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand, followed the Israelite into his tent, and drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and on through the belly of the woman. 

So the plague against the Israelites was halted, but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal. 

Declare, therefore, that I am granting him My covenant of peace. It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.” 

The name of the Israelite who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. And the name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family. 

And the LORD said to Moses, “Attack the Midianites and strike them dead. For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”

Numbers 26

After the plague had ended, the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, “Take a census of the whole congregation of Israel by the houses of their fathers—all those twenty years of age or older who can serve in the army of Israel.” 

So on the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, Moses and Eleazar the priest issued the instruction, “Take a census of the men twenty years of age or older, as the LORD has commanded Moses.” 

And these were the Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt: 

Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. These were the descendants of Reuben: The Hanochite clan from Hanoch, the Palluite clan from Pallu, the Hezronite clan from Hezron, and the Carmite clan from Carmi. 

These were the clans of Reuben, and their registration numbered 43,730. 

Now the son of Pallu was Eliab, and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. 

It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the congregation, who fought against Moses and Aaron with the followers of Korah who rebelled against the LORD. 

And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign. 

However, the line of Korah did not die out. 

These were the descendants of Simeon by their clans: 

The Nemuelite clan from Nemuel, the Jaminite clan from Jamin, the Jachinite clan from Jachin, the Zerahite clan from Zerah, and the Shaulite clan from Shaul. 

These were the clans of Simeon, and there were 22,200 men. 

These were the descendants of Gad by their clans: 

The Zephonite clan from Zephon, the Haggite clan from Haggi, the Shunite clan from Shuni, the Oznite clan from Ozni, the Erite clan from Eri, the Arodite clan from Arod, and the Arelite clan from Areli. 

These were the clans of Gad, and their registration numbered 40,500. 

The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but they died in the land of Canaan. These were the descendants of Judah by their clans: 

The Shelanite clan from Shelah, the Perezite clan from Perez, and the Zerahite clan from Zerah. And these were the descendants of Perez: the Hezronite clan from Hezron and the Hamulite clan from Hamul. 

These were the clans of Judah, and their registration numbered 76,500. 

These were the descendants of Issachar by their clans: 

The Tolaite clan from Tola, the Punite clan from Puvah, the Jashubite clan from Jashub, and the Shimronite clan from Shimron. 

These were the clans of Issachar, and their registration numbered 64,300. 

These were the descendants of Zebulun by their clans: 

The Seredite clan from Sered, the Elonite clan from Elon, and the Jahleelite clan from Jahleel. 

These were the clans of Zebulun, and their registration numbered 60,500. 

The descendants of Joseph included the clans of Manasseh and Ephraim. 

These were the descendants of Manasseh: 

The Machirite clan from Machir, the father of Gilead, and the Gileadite clan from Gilead. These were the descendants of Gilead: the Iezerite clan from Iezer, the Helekite clan from Helek, the Asrielite clan from Asriel, the Shechemite clan from Shechem, the Shemidaite clan from Shemida, and the Hepherite clan from Hepher. 

Now Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons but only daughters. The names of his daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 

These were the clans of Manasseh, and their registration numbered 52,700. 

These were the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: 

The Shuthelahite clan from Shuthelah, the Becherite clan from Becher, and the Tahanite clan from Tahan. 

And the descendants of Shuthelah were the Eranite clan from Eran. 

These were the clans of Ephraim, and their registration numbered 32,500. 

These clans were the descendants of Joseph. 

These were the descendants of Benjamin by their clans: 

The Belaite clan from Bela, the Ashbelite clan from Ashbel, the Ahiramite clan from Ahiram, the Shuphamite clan from Shupham, and the Huphamite clan from Hupham. 

And the descendants of Bela from Ard and Naaman were the Ardite clan from Ard  and the Naamite clan from Naaman. 

These were the clans of Benjamin, and their registration numbered 45,600. 

These were the descendants of Dan by their clans: 

The Shuhamite clan from Shuham. 

These were the clans of Dan. 

All of them were Shuhamite clans, and their registration numbered 64,400. 

These were the descendants of Asher by their clans: 

The Imnite clan from Imnah, the Ishvite clan from Ishvi, and the Beriite clan from Beriah. 

And these were the descendants of Beriah: 

the Heberite clan from Heber and the Malchielite clan from Malchiel. 

And the name of Asher’s daughter was Serah. 

These were the clans of Asher, and their registration numbered 53,400. 

These were the descendants of Naphtali by their clans: 

The Jahzeelite clan from Jahzeel, the Gunite clan from Guni, the Jezerite clan from Jezer, and the Shillemite clan from Shillem. 

These were the clans of Naphtali, and their registration numbered 45,400. 

These men of Israel numbered 601,730 in all. 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “The land is to be divided among the tribes as an inheritance, according to the number of names. Increase the inheritance for a large tribe and decrease it for a small one; each tribe is to receive its inheritance according to the number of those registered. 

Indeed, the land must be divided by lot; they shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. Each inheritance is to be divided by lot among the larger and smaller tribes.” 

Now these were the Levites numbered by their clans: 

The Gershonite clan from Gershon, the Kohathite clan from Kohath, and the Merarite clan from Merari. 

These were the families of the Levites: 

The Libnite clan, the Hebronite clan, the Mahlite clan, the Mushite clan, and the Korahite clan. 

Now Kohath was the father of Amram, and Amram’s wife was named Jochebed. She was also a daughter of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam. 

Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar were born to Aaron, but Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized  fire before the LORD. 

The registration of the Levites totaled 23,000, every male a month old or more; they were not numbered among the other Israelites, because no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites. 

These were the ones numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 

Among all these, however, there was not one who had been numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sinai. 

For the LORD had told them that they would surely die in the wilderness. Not one was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

Numbers 27

Now the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation, and said, 

“Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among the followers of Korah who gathered together against the LORD. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father disappear from his clan because he had no sons? Give us property among our father’s brothers.” 

So Moses brought their case before the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “The daughters of Zelophehad speak correctly. You certainly must give them property as an inheritance among their father’s brothers, and transfer their father’s inheritance to them. 

Furthermore, you shall say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, you are to transfer his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 

If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. And if his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the next of kin from his clan, that he may take possession of it. This is to be a statutory ordinance for the Israelites, as the LORD has commanded Moses.’ ” 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range  and see the land that I have given the Israelites. After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was; 

for when the congregation contended in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against My command to show My holiness in their sight regarding the waters.” Those were the waters of Meribah  in Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin. 

So Moses appealed to the LORD, “May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd.” 

And the LORD replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man with the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and commission him in their sight. Confer on him some of your authority, so that the whole congregation of Israel will obey him. 

He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.” 

Moses did as the LORD had commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the LORD had instructed through Moses.

1 Corinthians 7

Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 

The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 

The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. 

Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control. 

I say this as a concession, not as a command. I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. 

Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good for them to remain unmarried, as I am. 

But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 

To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. 

To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 

And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 

But if the unbeliever leaves, let him go. The believing brother or sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you  to live in peace. 

How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? 

Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches. 

Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man still uncircumcised when called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts. 

Each one should remain in the situation he was in when he was called. 

Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. 

For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. 

You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each one should remain in the situation he was in when God called him. 

Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 

Because of the present  crisis, I think it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you committed to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you free of commitment? Do not look for a wife. 

But if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. 

What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who weep, as if they did not; those who are joyful, as if they were not; those who make a purchase, as if they had nothing; and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away. 

I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord. 

But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife, and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord, how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband. 

I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but in order to promote proper decorum and undivided devotion to the Lord. 

However, if someone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward his betrothed, and if she is beyond her youth and they ought to marry, let him do as he wishes; he is not sinning; they should get married. 

But the man who is firmly established in his heart and under no constraint, with control over his will and resolve in his heart not to marry the virgin, he will do well. 

So then, he who marries the virgin does well, but he who does not marry her does even better. 

A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord. 

In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 8

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The one who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the one who loves God is known by God. 

So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. 

For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist. 

But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. And since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 

But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 

Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you who are well informed eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged to eat food sacrificed to idols? 

So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. By sinning against your brothers in this way and wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 

Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to stumble.

"The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" - Matthew 12:8

This week we discussed the sabbath and Jesus' rebuttal to the Pharisees when they confront him about it.

Today we get the stories of the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, the siblings of Moses. We also get the story of Moses’ failing of God’s command to bring forth water from the rock by his words. When he chooses instead to strike the rock with his staff, he forfeits the privilege of leading his people into the Promised Land. We get the story of the God sending the venomous snakes to punish them for complaining. As those of you who have read the Gospel of John know, the “fiery serpent” on the pole represents Jesus. Finally, we get the stories of hostile nations refusing to let them pass, some of them opposing the Israelites, then being defeated. King Balak is the final challenger, who summons the prophet Balaam to curse Israel for him.

1 Corinthians deals with the sexual immorality and sin in the Corinthian community. It is a big deal. Our culture needs to consult these things. There is eternal and ancient wisdom here. He ignore it at our own peril.

Numbers 20

In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried. 

Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered against Moses and Aaron. 

The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished with our brothers before the LORD! Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? 

Why have you led us up out of Egypt to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates—and there is no water to drink!” 

Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. They fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 

And the LORD said to Moses, “Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.” 

So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he had been commanded. Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 

Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink. 

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 

These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them. 

From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us, how our fathers went down to Egypt, where we lived many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, and when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. 

Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” 

But Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.” 

“We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.” 

But Edom insisted, “You may not pass through.” And they came out to confront the Israelites with a large army and a strong hand. 

So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their territory, and Israel turned away from them. 

After they had set out from Kadesh, the whole congregation of Israel came to Mount Hor. 

And at Mount Hor, near the border of the land of Edom, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land that I have given the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah. 

Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up Mount Hor. Remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will be gathered to his people and will die there.” 

So Moses did as the LORD had commanded, and they climbed Mount Hor in the sight of the whole congregation. 

After Moses had removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 

When the whole congregation saw that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.

Numbers 21

When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked Israel and captured some prisoners. 

So Israel made a vow to the LORD: “If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction.” 

And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah. 

Then they set out from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, in order to bypass the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient on the journey and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” 

So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died. 

Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses interceded for the people. 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” 

So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live. 

Then the Israelites set out and camped at Oboth. They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the wilderness opposite Moab to the east. 

From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. 

Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: 

“Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon, even the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.” 

From there they went on to Beer, the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people so that I may give them water.” Then Israel sang this song: 

“Spring up, O well, all of you sing to it! The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with their scepters and with their staffs.” 

From the wilderness the Israelites went on to Mattanah, and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland. 

Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, “Let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 

But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. 

And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified. Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages. 

Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon. That is why the poets say: 

“Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored. For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights. Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites. But we have overthrown them; Heshbon is destroyed as far as Dibon. We demolished them as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.” 

So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there. Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet them in battle at Edrei. 

But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” 

So they struck down Og, along with his sons and his whole army, until no remnant was left. And they took possession of his land.

Numbers 22

Then the Israelites traveled on and camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan, across from Jericho. 

Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, and Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous. Indeed, Moab dreaded the Israelites. 

So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” 

Since Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time, he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates  in the land of his people. 

“Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. So please come now and put a curse on this people, because they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land; for I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed.” 

The elders of Moab and Midian departed with the fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and relayed to him the words of Balak. 

“Spend the night here,” Balaam replied, “and I will give you the answer that the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 

Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?” 

And Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’ ” 

But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.” 

So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your homeland, because the LORD has refused to let me go with you.” 

And the princes of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.” 

Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first messengers. 

They came to Balaam and said, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me, for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’ ” 

But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command of the LORD my God. So now, please stay here overnight as the others did, that I may find out what else the LORD has to tell me.” 

That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.” 

So in the morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. 

Then God’s anger was kindled because Balaam was going along, and the angel  of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 

When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into a field. So Balaam beat her to return her to the path. 

Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow passage between two vineyards, with walls on either side. And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD and pressed herself against the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her once again. 

And the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or left. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he became furious and beat her with his staff. 

Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” 

Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!” 

But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not the donkey you have ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?” 

“No,” he replied. 

Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. And Balaam bowed low and fell facedown. 

The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you, because your way is perverse  before me. 

The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, then by now I would surely have killed you and let her live.” 

“I have sinned,” Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “for I did not realize that you were standing in the road to confront me. And now, if this is displeasing in your sight, I will go back home.” 

But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you are to speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. 

When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite city on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. 

And he said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why did you not come to me? Am I really not able to richly reward you?” 

“See, I have come to you,” Balaam replied, “but can I say just anything? I must speak only the word that God puts in my mouth.” 

So Balaam accompanied Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and he gave portions to Balaam and the princes who were with him. 

The next morning, Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see the outskirts of the camp of the people.

Numbers 23

Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” 

So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 

“Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam said to Balak. “Perhaps the LORD will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.” 

So Balaam went off to a barren height, and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.” 

Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.” 

So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab. 

And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: 

“Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’ How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced? For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!” 

Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!” 

But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?” 

Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.” 

So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 

Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.” 

And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.” 

So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the princes of Moab. 

“What did the LORD say?” Balak asked. 

Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: 

“Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor. God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it. He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them. God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox. For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’ Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.” 

Now Balak said to Balaam, “Then neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!” 

But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?” 

“Please come,” said Balak, “I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you curse them for me from there.” 

And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. 

Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” 

So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

1 Corinthians 5

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. 

And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been stricken with grief and have removed from your fellowship the man who did this? 

Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. 

When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus  and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord. 

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth. 

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 

But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. 

What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

1 Corinthians 6

If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints! 

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 

So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church? 

I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to arbitrate between his brothers? Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers! 

The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 

Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, even against your own brothers! 

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 

“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything. 

“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 

By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also. 

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 

Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 

But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit. 

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

Today’s readings are pretty darn interesting, starting with Korah’s Rebellion. For folks who perhaps haven’t read the bible a lot before, these stories are history, but they are also about us. We are rebellious, and there are consequences for that. And just like the Levites were special, so God’s priestly nation is likewise special. But we don’t get to decide what that means; God does. If we step out of line, we forfeit our lives and blessings.

Paul’s warnings about comfort similarly chasten those who want to imagine themselves more important than they are. He humbles them and reminds them of the most important, the most solid things. His language about everything we build being tested by fire has stuck with me throughout ministry.

Like I said, we have some great readings today. Enjoy!

Numbers 16

Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted  a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly. 

They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” 

When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.  Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him  and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses, He will bring near to Himself. 

You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers,  and tomorrow you are to place fire and incense in them in the presence of the LORD. Then the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. It is you sons of Levi who have taken too much upon yourselves!” 

Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi!  Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to Himself to perform the work at the LORD’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? 

He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well. Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?” 

Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come! Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us? 

Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!” 

Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.” 

And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. 

Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD—250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.” 

So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 

When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation. 

And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” 

But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?” 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” 

So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 

And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” 

So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants. 

Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing: If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. 

But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.” 

As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions. 

They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. 

At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!” 

And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames and to scatter the coals far away, because the censers are holy. 

As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.” 

So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers. 

The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!” 

But when the congregation gathered against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the Tent of Meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. 

Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the LORD said to Moses, “Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown. 

Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.” 

So Aaron took the censer as Moses had ordered and ran into the midst of the assembly. And seeing that the plague had begun among the people, he offered the incense and made atonement for the people. 

He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted. But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah. 

Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.

Numbers 17

And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and take from them twelve staffs, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man’s name on his staff, and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi, because there must be one staff for the head of each tribe. Place the staffs in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you. 

The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the constant grumbling of the Israelites against you.” 

So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff—one for each of the leaders of their tribes, twelve staffs in all. And Aaron’s staff was among them. 

Then Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony. 

The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, put forth buds, blossomed, and produced almonds. 

Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD’s presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff. 

The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against Me, lest they die.” 

So Moses did as the LORD had commanded him. 

Then the Israelites declared to Moses, “Look, we are perishing! We are lost; we are all lost! Anyone who comes near the tabernacle of the LORD will die. Are we all going to perish?”

Numbers 18

So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house must bear the iniquity involving the sanctuary. And you and your sons alone must bear the iniquity involving your priesthood. 

But bring with you also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and assist you and your sons before the Tent of the Testimony. 

And they shall attend to your duties and to all the duties of the Tent; but they must not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die. 

They are to join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work at the Tent; but no outsider may come near you. 

And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again. 

Behold, I Myself have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to perform the service for the Tent of Meeting. 

But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.” 

Then the LORD said to Aaron, “Behold, I have put you in charge of My offerings. As for all the sacred offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute. 

A portion of the most holy offerings reserved from the fire will be yours. From all the offerings they render to Me as most holy offerings, whether grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons. 

You are to eat it as a most holy offering, and every male may eat it. You shall regard it as holy. 

And this is yours as well: the offering of their gifts, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given this to you and your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat it. 

I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits. 

The firstfruits of everything in their land that they bring to the LORD will belong to you. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat them. 

Every devoted thing in Israel belongs to you. The firstborn of every womb, whether man or beast, that is offered to the LORD belongs to you. But you must surely redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals. 

You are to pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your valuation: five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs. 

But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 

And their meat belongs to you, just as the breast and right thigh of the wave offering belong to you. 

All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt  before the LORD for you and your offspring.” 

Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites. 

Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting. 

No longer may the Israelites come near to the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die. 

The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites. 

For I have given to the Levites as their inheritance the tithe that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.” 

And the LORD instructed Moses, “Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the LORD—a tithe of the tithe. 

Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. 

So you are to present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites, and from these you are to give the LORD’s offering to Aaron the priest. 

You must present the offering due the LORD from all the best of every gift, the holiest part of it.’ 

Therefore say to the Levites, ‘When you have presented the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the produce of the threshing floor or winepress. 

And you and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere; it is the compensation for your work at the Tent of Meeting. 

Once you have presented the best part of it, you will not incur guilt because of it. But you must not defile the sacred offerings of the Israelites, or else you will die.’ ”

Numbers 19

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke. 

Give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. 

Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. 

Then the heifer must be burned in his sight. Its hide, its flesh, and its blood are to be burned, along with its dung. 

The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. 

Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. 

The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening. 

Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin. 

The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them. 

Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days. He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. 

Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him. 

This is the law when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone already in the tent will be unclean for seven days, and any open container without a lid fastened on it is unclean. 

Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. 

For the purification of the unclean person, take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and pour fresh water  over them. 

Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, or a person who has died or been slain. 

The man who is ceremonially clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and that evening he will be clean. 

But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he will be cut off from the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. 

This is a permanent statute for the people: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening. 

Anything the unclean person touches will become unclean, and anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.”

1 Corinthians 3

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? 

For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? 

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. 

I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 

He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds. 

For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 

If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. 

If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames. 

Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in  you? 

If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 

Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise. 

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” 

Therefore, stop boasting in men. All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas  or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All of them belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

1 Corinthians 4

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 

I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me. 

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 

Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another. 

For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? 

Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you! 

For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men. 

We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 

We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. 

I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 

Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 

That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church. 

Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have. 

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and with a gentle spirit?

I actually preached on part of this Numbers text today in worship. We have an anecdote of a man violating the Sabbath and being executed for it. The Sabbath is a big deal, scripturally speaking. Lots of scripture about it!There are also great stories of the people persisting in ungracious entitlement with the Lord, rebellion against his instruction, faithlessness in the face of adversity. Also, if you don’t know what the Anakim/Sons of Anak/Nephilim are, they were literal giants that were descendents of the “sons of God” (rebel angels) coming and having children with human women.Paul’s 1 Corinthians is an ever-fresh reminder of the relationship our faith has with worldliness. We are rightly seen as foolish to those who are condemned. That is as it should be. I thank God for Paul all the time. You should, too!

Numbers 11

Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. 

And the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD had burned among them. 

Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat? 

We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!” 

Now the manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of gum resin. 

The people walked around and gathered it, ground it on a handmill or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot or shaped it into cakes. It tasted like pastry baked with fine oil. 

When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it. 

Then Moses heard the people of family after family weeping at the entrances to their tents, and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was also displeased. 

So Moses asked the LORD, “Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid upon me the burden of all these people? 

Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth, so that You should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You swore to give their fathers? 

Where can I get meat for all these people? For they keep crying out to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 

I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me. 

If this is how You are going to treat me, please kill me right now—if I have found favor in Your eyes—and let me not see my own wretchedness.” 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you. 

And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself. 

And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, because you have cried out in the hearing of the LORD, saying: ‘Who will feed us meat? For we were better off in Egypt!’ Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat. 

You will eat it not for one or two days, nor for five or ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and makes you nauseous—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have cried out before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’ ” 

But Moses replied, “Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ 

If all our flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?” 

The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not My word will come to pass.” 

So Moses went out and relayed to the people the words of the LORD, and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. 

Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again. 

Two men, however, had remained in the camp—one named Eldad and the other Medad—and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp. 

A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 

Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” 

But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!” 

Then Moses returned to the camp, along with the elders of Israel. 

Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground, for a day’s journey in every direction around the camp. 

All that day and night, and all the next day, the people stayed up gathering the quail. No one gathered less than ten homers, and they spread them out all around the camp. 

But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a severe plague. 

So they called that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food. 

From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth, where they remained for some time.

Numbers 12

Then Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married, for he had taken a Cushite wife. 

“Does the LORD speak only through Moses?” they said. “Does He not also speak through us?” And the LORD heard this. 

Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth. 

And suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three, come out to the Tent of Meeting.” So the three went out, and the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, stood at the entrance to the Tent, and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them had stepped forward, 

He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream. But this is not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?” 

So the anger of the LORD burned against them, and He departed. 

As the cloud lifted from above the Tent, suddenly Miriam became leprous, white as snow. Aaron turned toward her, saw that she was leprous, and said to Moses, “My lord, please do not hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed. 

Please do not let her be like a stillborn infant whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” 

So Moses cried out to the LORD, “O God, please heal her!” 

But the LORD answered Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days; after that she may be brought back in.” 

So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until she was brought in again. 

After that, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

Numbers 13

And the LORD said to Moses, “Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.” 

So at the consent  of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites, and these were their names: 

From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu; from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi; and from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi. 

These were the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses gave to Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua. 

When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country. 

See what the land is like and whether its people are strong or weak, few or many. Is the land where they live good or bad? Are the cities where they dwell open camps or fortifications? 

Is the soil fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous, and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.) 

So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath. 

They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. 

When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. 

Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol. 

After forty days the men returned from spying out the land, and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. 

And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit! 

Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. 

The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.” 

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!” 

But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!” 

So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature. 

We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”

Numbers  14

Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and that night the people wept. 

All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 

Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 

So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” 

Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel. 

Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to the whole congregation of Israel, “The land we passed through and explored is an exceedingly good land. 

If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us. 

Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!” 

But the whole congregation threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb. 

Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting. 

And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people treat Me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me, despite all the signs I have performed among them? 

I will strike them with a plague and destroy them—and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are.” 

But Moses said to the LORD, “The Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people from among them. 

And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have already heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, that You, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that Your cloud stands over them, and that You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 

If You kill this people as one man, the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, 

‘Because the LORD was unable to bring this people into the land He swore to give them, He has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ 

So now I pray, may the power of my Lord be magnified, just as You have declared: 

‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’ 

Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your loving devotion, just as You have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.” 

“I have pardoned them as you requested,” the LORD replied. “Yet as surely as I live and as surely as the whole earth is filled with the glory of the LORD, not one of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness—yet have tested Me and disobeyed Me these ten times—not one will ever see the land that I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have treated Me with contempt will see it. 

But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit it. 

Now since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.” 

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “How long will this wicked congregation grumble against Me? I have heard the complaints that the Israelites are making against Me. 

So tell them: As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. 

Your bodies will fall in this wilderness—all who were numbered in the census, everyone twenty years of age or older—because you have grumbled against Me. 

Surely none of you will enter the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 

But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it. As for you, however, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. 

Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. 

In keeping with the forty days you spied out the land, you shall bear your guilt forty years—a year for each day—and you will experience My alienation. 

I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this entire wicked congregation, which has conspired against Me. They will meet their end in the wilderness, and there they will die.” 

So the men Moses had sent to spy out the land, who had returned and made the whole congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report about the land—those men who had brought out the bad report about the land—were struck down by a plague before the LORD. 

Of those men who had gone to spy out the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive. 

And when Moses relayed these words to all the Israelites, the people mourned bitterly. 

Early the next morning they got up and went up toward the ridge of the hill country. “We have indeed sinned,” they said, “but we will go to the place the LORD has promised.” 

But Moses said, “Why are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD? This will not succeed! 

Do not go up, lest you be struck down by your enemies, because the LORD is not among you. 

For there the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you, and you will fall by the sword. Because you have turned away from the LORD, He will not be with you.” 

But they dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the covenant of the LORD moved from the camp. 

Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them all the way to Hormah.

Numbers 15

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: After you enter the land that I am giving you as a home and you present an offering made by fire to the LORD from the herd or flock to produce a pleasing aroma to the LORD—either a burnt offering or a sacrifice, for a special vow or freewill offering or appointed feast—then the one presenting his offering to the LORD shall also present a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour  mixed with a quarter hin of olive oil. 

With the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb, you are to prepare a quarter hin of wine as a drink offering. 

With a ram you are to prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah  of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of olive oil, and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 

When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice to fulfill a vow or as a peace offering to the LORD, present with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour  mixed with half a hin of olive oil. 

Also present half a hin of wine as a drink offering. It is an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. This is to be done for each bull, ram, lamb, or goat. 

This is how you must prepare each one, no matter how many. 

Everyone who is native-born shall prepare these things in this way when he presents an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 

And for the generations to come, if a foreigner residing with you or someone else among you wants to prepare an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he is to do exactly as you do. 

The assembly is to have the same statute both for you and for the foreign resident; it is a permanent statute for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the LORD. 

The same law and the same ordinance will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing with you.” 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land to which I am bringing you and you eat the food of the land, you shall lift up an offering to the LORD. 

From the first of your dough, you are to lift up a cake as a contribution; offer it just like an offering from the threshing floor. 

Throughout your generations, you are to give the LORD an offering from the first of your dough. 

Now if you stray unintentionally and do not obey all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses—all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses from the day the LORD gave them and continuing through the generations to come—and if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, then the whole congregation is to prepare one young bull as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a sin offering. 

The priest is to make atonement for the whole congregation of Israel, so that they may be forgiven; for the sin was unintentional and they have brought to the LORD an offering made by fire and a sin offering, presented before the LORD for their unintentional sin. 

Then the whole congregation of Israel and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, since it happened to all the people unintentionally. 

Also, if one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering. 

And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the person who erred by sinning unintentionally; and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven. 

You shall have the same law for the one who acts in error, whether he is a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you. 

But the person who sins defiantly, whether a native or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD. That person shall be cut off from among his people. 

He shall certainly be cut off, because he has despised the word of the LORD and broken His commandment; his guilt remains on him.” 

While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 

Those who found the man gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation, and because it had not been declared what should be done to him, they placed him in custody. 

And the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death. The whole congregation is to stone him outside the camp.” 

So the whole congregation took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

Later, the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout the generations to come they are to make for themselves tassels for the corners of their garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 

These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the commandments of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes. 

Then you will remember and obey all My commandments, and you will be holy to your God. 

I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.”

1 Corinthians 1

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: 

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge, because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 

Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. 

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction. 

My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 

What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do not remember if I baptized anyone else. 

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: 

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 

Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 

Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. 

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 

He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast in His presence. 

It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. 

Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 2

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 

I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 

Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 

No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. 

None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Rather, as it is written: 

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 

But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. 

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 

For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 

We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 

And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 

The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment. “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

The Nazirite vow is the opening section today. It impacts not only our understanding of Samson, but also there are later New Testament echoes of such a vow. Then we get into a prolonged section on the offerings of the Tribes of Israel to glorify God. Following that, we have the institution of the Levitical Priesthood, the reinstitution of the Passover, and instructions for calling holy convocations. Always remember when reading these that they were given in the wilderness at the start of their forty years, long before they ever entered the Promised Land.

Jude is the New Testament contribution for today, one of the more succinct and beautiful books in our scriptures. Don’t peter out before we get there. The book has a very timely warning for local churches:

Numbers 6

And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. 

All the days of his separation, he is not to eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. 

For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long. 

Throughout the days of his separation to the LORD, he must not go near a dead body. 

Even if his father or mother or brother or sister should die, he is not to defile himself, because the crown of consecration to his God is upon his head. 

Throughout the time of his separation, he is holy to the LORD. 

If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day. 

On the eighth day he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 

And the priest is to offer one as a sin offering  and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him, because he has sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. On that day he must consecrate his head again. 

He must rededicate his time of separation to the LORD and bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But the preceding days shall not be counted, because his separation was defiled. 

Now this is the law of the Nazirite when his time of separation is complete: He must be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and he is to present an offering to the LORD of an unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, an unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, and an unblemished ram as a peace offering—together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers coated with oil. 

The priest is to present all these before the LORD and make the sin offering and the burnt offering. 

He shall also offer the ram as a peace offering to the LORD, along with the basket of unleavened bread. And the priest is to offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering. 

Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering. 

And the priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands of the Nazirite who has just shaved the hair of his consecration. 

The priest shall then wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. This is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the wave offering and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine. 

This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD for his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes, according to the law of his separation.” 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons: This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 

‘May the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’ 

So they shall put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Numbers 7

On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its utensils. 

And the leaders of Israel, the heads of their families, presented an offering. These men were the tribal leaders who had supervised the registration. 

They brought as their offering before the LORD six covered carts and twelve oxen—an ox from each leader and a cart from every two leaders—and presented them before the tabernacle. 

And the LORD said to Moses, “Accept these gifts from them, that they may be used in the work of the Tent of Meeting. And give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” 

So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites. He gave the Gershonites two carts and four oxen, as their service required, and he gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen, as their service required, all under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. 

But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible. 

When the altar was anointed, the leaders approached with their offerings for its dedication and presented them before the altar. 

And the LORD said to Moses, “Each day one leader is to present his offering for the dedication of the altar.” 

On the first day Nahshon son of Amminadab from the tribe of Judah drew near with his offering. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab. 

On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar, the leader of Issachar, drew near. 

The offering he presented was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar. 

On the third day Eliab son of Helon, the leader of the Zebulunites, drew near. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliab son of Helon. 

On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur, the leader of the Reubenites, drew near. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur. 

On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, the leader of the Simeonites, drew near. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; 

and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 

On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel, the leader of the Gadites, drew near. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel. 

On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, the leader of the Ephraimites, drew near. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud. 

On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, the leader of the Manassites, drew near. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 

On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni, the leader of the Benjamites, drew near. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni. 

On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, the leader of the Danites, drew near. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 

On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran, the leader of the Asherites, drew near. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ocran. 

On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan, the leader of the Naphtalites, drew near. 

His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan. 

So these were the offerings from the leaders of Israel for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold dishes. 

Each silver platter weighed a hundred and thirty shekels, and each silver bowl seventy shekels. The total weight of the silver articles was two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. 

The twelve gold dishes filled with incense weighed ten shekels each, according to the sanctuary shekel. The total weight of the gold dishes was a hundred and twenty shekels. 

All the livestock for the burnt offering totaled twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve male lambs a year old—together with their grain offerings—and twelve male goats for the sin offering. 

All the livestock sacrificed for the peace offering totaled twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed. 

When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the mercy seat  on the ark of the Testimony. Thus the LORD spoke to him.

Numbers 8

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and tell him: ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’ ” 

And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps facing toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

This is how the lampstand was constructed: it was made of hammered gold from its base to its blossoms, fashioned according to the pattern the LORD had shown Moses. 

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. 

This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves. 

Then have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. 

Bring the Levites before the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole congregation of Israel. 

You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them. 

Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD. 

And the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and offer to the LORD one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites. 

You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering. 

In this way you shall separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to Me. 

After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting. 

For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. 

For every firstborn male in Israel is Mine, both man and beast. I set them apart for Myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. 

But I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel. 

And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.” 

So Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel did with the Levites everything that the LORD had commanded Moses they should do. 

The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. 

After that, the Levites came to perform their service at the Tent of Meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. Thus they did with the Levites just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

And the LORD said to Moses, “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting. 

But at the age of fifty, they must retire from performing the work and no longer serve. 

After that, they may assist their brothers in fulfilling their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves are not to do the work. This is how you are to assign responsibilities to the Levites.”

Numbers 9

In the first month of the second year after Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: “The Israelites are to observe the Passover at its appointed time. 

You are to observe it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth  day of this month, in accordance with its statutes and ordinances.” 

So Moses told the Israelites to observe the Passover, and they did so in the Wilderness of Sinai, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

But there were some men who were unclean due to a dead body, so they could not observe the Passover on that day. And they came before Moses and Aaron that same day and said to Moses, “We are unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be excluded from presenting the LORD’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?” 

“Wait here until I find out what the LORD commands concerning you,” Moses replied. 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a dead body, or is away on a journey, he may still observe the Passover to the LORD. 

Such people are to observe it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones. They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes. 

But if a man who is ceremonially clean and is not on a journey still fails to observe the Passover, he must be cut off from his people, because he did not present the LORD’s offering at its appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin. 

If a foreigner dwelling among you wants to observe the Passover to the LORD, he is to do so according to the Passover statute and its ordinances. You are to apply the same statute to both the foreigner and the native of the land.’ ” 

On the day that the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it and appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. 

It remained that way continually; the cloud would cover the tabernacle by day, and at night it would appear like fire. 

Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites would set out, and wherever the cloud settled, there the Israelites would camp. 

At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at the LORD’s command they camped. As long as the cloud remained over the tabernacle, they remained encamped. 

Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the Israelites kept the LORD’s charge and did not set out. 

Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for only a few days, and they would camp at the LORD’s command and set out at the LORD’s command. 

Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they would set out. Whether it was by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up, they would set out. 

Whether the cloud lingered for two days, a month, or longer, the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud remained over the tabernacle; but when it was lifted, they would set out. 

They camped at the LORD’s command, and they set out at the LORD’s command; they carried out the LORD’s charge according to His command through Moses.

Numbers 10

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make two trumpets of hammered silver to be used for calling the congregation and for having the camps set out. 

When both are sounded, the whole congregation is to assemble before you at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 

But if only one is sounded, then the leaders, the heads of the clans of Israel, are to gather before you. 

When you sound short blasts, the camps that lie on the east side are to set out. 

When you sound the short blasts a second time, the camps that lie on the south side are to set out. The blasts are to signal them to set out. 

To convene the assembly, you are to sound long blasts, not short ones. 

The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to sound the trumpets. This shall be a permanent statute for you and the generations to come. 

When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who attacks you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God and saved from your enemies. 

And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God.” 

On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony, and the Israelites set out from the Wilderness of Sinai, traveling from place to place until the cloud settled in the Wilderness of Paran. 

They set out this first time according to the LORD’s command through Moses. 

First, the divisions of the camp of Judah set out under their standard, with Nahshon son of Amminadab in command. 

Nethanel son of Zuar was over the division of the tribe of Issachar, and Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of Zebulun. 

Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites set out, transporting it. 

Then the divisions of the camp of Reuben set out under their standard, with Elizur son of Shedeur in command. 

Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the tribe of Simeon, and Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of Gad. 

Then the Kohathites set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival. 

Next, the divisions of the camp of Ephraim set out under their standard, with Elishama son of Ammihud in command. 

Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh, and Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of Benjamin. 

Finally, the divisions of the camp of Dan set out under their standard, serving as the rear guard for all units, with Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai in command. 

Pagiel son of Ocran was over the division of the tribe of Asher, and Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of Naphtali. 

This was the order of march for the Israelite divisions as they set out. 

Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel  the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.” 

“I will not go,” Hobab replied. “Instead, I am going back to my own land and my own people.” 

“Please do not leave us,” Moses said, “since you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you can serve as our eyes. 

If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the LORD gives us.” 

So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them. 

And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp. 

Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say, 

“Rise up, O LORD! May Your enemies be scattered; may those who hate You flee before You.” 

And when it came to rest, he would say: 

“Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel.”

Jude

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, 

To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ: 

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 

Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints. 

For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus  had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe. 

And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day. 

In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire. 

Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings. 

But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 

These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively. 

Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion. 

These men are hidden reefs  in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted. 

They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. 

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: 

“Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones to execute judgment on everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of every ungodly act of wickedness and every harsh word spoken against Him by ungodly sinners.” 

These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage. 

But you, beloved, remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.” 

These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit. 

But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life. 

And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh. 

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity. 

Amen.

It is such a blessing to spend one’s time searching the wisdom that has directed our forefathers for centuries. If you aren’t aware, the biblical worldview has been the single largest contributor to the care of the poor, the rights of women and children, equal respect among the world’s ethnicities, and the material prospering of the globe. It has been the largest agent of peace and stability in this world. The modern West has only achieved great things when in submission to this text.

When we are spending time this way, we aren’t doing primarily an academic exercise. Rather, we are seeking spiritual unity with Christ and his people. This entire generation of biblically illiterate folks imagined themselves somehow to be one with Christ and his people. It is a strange thing to imagine if one doesn’t even know the canon. It would be like someone saying they are a Star Wars fan because they went to Disney World and saw Darth Vader, rather than if they had actually watched the movies.

This is how identity works. We are shaped in the image of that which we spend our time on. That is my prayer for you as you continue attending upon the scriptures with me: that you are, more and more, reshaped into the image of Christ. God bless you.

Numbers 1

On the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai. He said: 

“Take a census of the whole congregation of Israel by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. 

You and Aaron are to number those who are twenty years of age or older by their divisions—everyone who can serve in Israel’s army. 

And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you. 

These are the names of the men who are to assist you: From the tribe of Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur; from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai; from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab; from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar; from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon; from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur; from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni; from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai; from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran; from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel; and from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.” 

These men were appointed from the congregation; they were the leaders of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the clans of Israel. 

So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name,  and on the first day of the second month they assembled the whole congregation and recorded their ancestry by clans and families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years of age or older, 

just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

So Moses numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai: 

From the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, according to the records of their clans and families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500. 

From the sons of Simeon, according to the records of their clans and families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300. 

From the sons of Gad, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650. 

From the sons of Judah, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600. 

From the sons of Issachar, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400. 

From the sons of Zebulun, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400. 

From the sons of Joseph: 

From the sons of Ephraim, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500. 

And from the sons of Manasseh, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200. 

From the sons of Benjamin, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400. 

From the sons of Dan, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700. 

From the sons of Asher, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500. 

From the sons of Naphtali, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, 

those registered to the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400. 

These were the men numbered by Moses and Aaron, with the assistance of the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. 

So all the Israelites twenty years of age or older who could serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families. And all those counted totaled 603,550. 

The Levites, however, were not numbered along with them by the tribe of their fathers. For the LORD had said to Moses: 

“Do not number the tribe of Levi in the census with the other Israelites. 

Instead, you are to appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its articles, care for it, and camp around it. 

Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be pitched, the Levites are to set it up. Any outsider who goes near it must be put to death. 

The Israelites are to camp by their divisions, each man in his own camp and under his own standard. 

But the Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the congregation of Israel. So the Levites are responsible for the tabernacle of the Testimony.” 

Thus the Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Numbers 2

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron: “The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting at a distance from it, each man under his standard, with the banners of his family. 

On the east side, toward the sunrise, the divisions of Judah are to camp under their standard: 

The leader of the descendants of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab, 

and his division numbers 74,600. 

The tribe of Issachar will camp next to it. The leader of the Issacharites is Nethanel son of Zuar, and his division numbers 54,400. 

Next will be the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the Zebulunites is Eliab son of Helon, and his division numbers 57,400. 

The total number of men in the divisions of the camp of Judah is 186,400; they shall set out first. 

On the south side, the divisions of Reuben are to camp under their standard: 

The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur, 

and his division numbers 46,500. 

The tribe of Simeon will camp next to it. The leader of the Simeonites is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, and his division numbers 59,300. 

Next will be the tribe of Gad. The leader of the Gadites is Eliasaph son of Deuel, and his division numbers 45,650. 

The total number of men in the divisions of the camp of Reuben is 151,450; they shall set out second. 

In the middle of the camps, the Tent of Meeting is to travel with the camp of the Levites. They are to set out in the order they encamped, each in his own place under his standard. 

On the west side, the divisions of Ephraim are to camp under their standard: 

The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud, 

and his division numbers 40,500. 

The tribe of Manasseh will be next to it. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, and his division numbers 32,200. 

Next will be the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of the Benjamites is Abidan son of Gideoni, and his division numbers 35,400. 

The total number of men in the divisions of the camp of Ephraim is 108,100; they shall set out third. 

On the north side, the divisions of Dan are to camp under their standard: 

The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, and his division numbers 62,700. 

The tribe of Asher will camp next to it. The leader of the Asherites is Pagiel son of Ocran, and his division numbers 41,500. 

Next will be the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the Naphtalites is Ahira son of Enan, and his division numbers 53,400. 

The total number of men in the camp of Dan is 157,600; they shall set out last, under their standards.” 

These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families. The total of those counted in the camps, by their divisions, was 603,550. 

But the Levites were not counted among the other Israelites, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

So the Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; they camped under their standards in this way and set out in the same way, each man with his clan and his family.

Numbers 3 

This is the account of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 

These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, then Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 

These were Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 

Nadab and Abihu, however, died in the presence of the LORD when they offered unauthorized  fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai. And since they had no sons, only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron. 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 

They are to perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, attending to the service of the tabernacle. 

They shall take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting and fulfill obligations for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 

Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been given exclusively to him  from among the Israelites. 

So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.” 

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 

“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to Me, 

for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They are Mine; I am the LORD.” 

Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying, “Number the Levites by their families and clans. You are to count every male a month old or more.” 

So Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he had been commanded. 

These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. These were the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 

The sons of Kohath by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 

And the sons of Merari by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites, according to their families. 

From Gershon came the Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan; these were the Gershonite clans. The number of all the males a month old or more was 7,500. 

The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle, and the leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 

The duties of the Gershonites at the Tent of Meeting were the tabernacle and tent, its covering, the curtain for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 

the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and altar, and the cords—all the service for these items. 

From Kohath came the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites. 

The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. They were responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. 

The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, and the leader of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan  son of Uzziel. 

Their duties were the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used with them, and the curtain—all the service for these items. 

The chief of the leaders of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he oversaw those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. 

From Merari came the clans of the Mahlites and Mushites; these were the Merarite clans. The number of all the males a month old or more was 6,200. 

The leader of the families of the Merarites was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 

The duties assigned to the sons of Merari were the tabernacle’s frames, crossbars, posts, bases, and all its equipment—all the service for these items, 

as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes. 

Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, before the Tent of Meeting. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites; but any outsider who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death. 

The total number of Levites that Moses and Aaron counted by their clans at the LORD’s command, including all the males a month old or more, was 22,000. 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the Israelites a month old or more, and list their names. 

You are to take the Levites for Me—I am the LORD—in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites.” 

So Moses numbered all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the LORD had commanded him. The total number of the firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273. 

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 

“Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites belong to Me; I am the LORD. 

To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, you are to collect five shekels  for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs. 

Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the excess among the Israelites.” 

So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the number redeemed by the Levites. 

He collected the money from the firstborn of the Israelites: 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. 

And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the word of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

Numbers 4

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families, 

men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. 

This service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards the most holy things. 

Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony  with it. 

They are to place over this a covering of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth over it, and insert its poles. 

Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and place the plates and cups on it, along with the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to remain on it. 

And they shall spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with fine leather, and insert the poles. 

They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, together with its lamps, wick trimmers, and trays, as well as the jars of oil with which to supply it. 

Then they shall wrap it and all its utensils inside a covering of fine leather and put it on the carrying frame. 

Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles. 

They are to take all the utensils for serving in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine leather, and put them on the carrying frame. 

Then they shall remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, 

and place on it all the vessels used to serve there: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and sprinkling bowls—all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread over it a covering of fine leather and insert the poles. 

When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting. 

Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including the holy objects and their utensils.” 

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites. 

In order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry. 

But the Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.” 

And the LORD said to Moses, “Take a census of the Gershonites as well, by their families and clans, 

from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. 

This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transport: 

They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting with the covering of fine leather over it, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 

the curtains of the courtyard, and the curtains for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. The Gershonites will do all that needs to be done with these items. 

All the service of the Gershonites—all their transport duties and other work—is to be done at the direction of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. 

This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting, and their duties shall be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. 

As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their clans and families, 

from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work of the Tent of Meeting. 

This is the duty for all their service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle with its crossbars, posts, and bases, 

and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and everything related to their use. You shall assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. 

This is the service of the Merarite clans according to all their work at the Tent of Meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.” 

So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the Kohathites by their clans and families, 

everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. And those numbered by their clans totaled 2,750. 

These were counted from the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron numbered them according to the command of the LORD through Moses. 

Then the Gershonites were numbered by their clans and families, everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. 

And those numbered by their clans and families totaled 2,630. 

These were counted from the Gershonite clans who served at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the LORD’s command. 

And the Merarites were numbered by their clans and families, everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. 

The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. These were counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the LORD’s command through Moses. 

So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered by their clans and families all the Levites 

from thirty to fifty years old who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting. And the number of men was 8,580. 

At the LORD’s command they were numbered through Moses and each one was assigned his work and burden, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Numbers 5

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body. 

You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.” 

So the Israelites did this, sending such people outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses. 

And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty 

and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution, add a fifth to its value, and give all this to the one he has wronged. 

But if the man has no relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest along with the ram of atonement, by which the atonement is made for him. 

Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him. Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.” 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him 

by sleeping with another man, and it is concealed from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she was not caught in the act), 

and if a feeling of jealousy comes over her husband and he suspects his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he suspects her even though she has not defiled herself— 

then he is to bring his wife to the priest. 

He must also bring for her an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of memorial as a reminder of iniquity. 

The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD. 

Then he is to take some holy water in a clay jar and put some of the dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. 

After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. 

And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse. 

But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority and have defiled yourself and lain carnally with a man other than your husband’— 

and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse—‘then may the LORD make you an attested curse among your people by making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell. 

May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ 

Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’ 

And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. 

He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and cause her bitter suffering. 

The priest shall take from her hand the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar. 

Then the priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that he is to have the woman drink the water. 

When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people. 

But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children. 

This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, 

or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law. 

The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

3 John

The elder, 

To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth: 

Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers. 

For I was overjoyed when the brothers came and testified about your devotion to the truth, in which you continue to walk. 

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 

Beloved, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, and especially since they are strangers to you. 

They have testified to the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 

For they went out on behalf of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers for the truth. 

I have written to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not accept our instruction. 

So if I come, I will call attention to his malicious slander against us. And unsatisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers and forbids those who want to do so, even putting them out of the church. 

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. 

Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true. 

I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon and speak with you face to face. 

Peace to you. 

The friends here send you greetings. 

Greet each of our friends there by name.

I hope you enjoyed your catch-up day. I sat down to record this yesterday evening after a long meeting. My wife said, “What are you doing?” I knew she was going to be so mad that I had waited until the end of the day to do it. The woman gets flustered at bedtime trying to arranged our five mongrel children. Anyway, I was elated when she said I didn’t need to record. I hope you got caught up and enjoyed doing so.

Today’s readings come from the New Testament. Specifically, the first two letters of the Apostle John are in view. 1 John was a particularly influential book on John Wesley, whose language of ‘perfection in love’ comes from the theology espoused here. To my mind, it is rather advanced stuff, though the language is generally simple. Most folks in the faith want to jump to a 1 John faith without building up the groundwork of virtue and spiritual muscle memory. It is my sincere believe that 1 John can only be practiced in its fullness by very mature and seasoned believers. I wonder what your thoughts will be after concluding today’s reading?

The largest feeling I have from these letters is a gratefulness for the clarity they provide about the connection between saving faith and biblical obedience. It just doesn’t make much room for willful sin. We would do well to heed the counsel offered here.

1 John 1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life. 

And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. 

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. 

We write these things so that our  joy may be complete. 

And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 

If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.

1 John 2

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 

He Himself is the atoning sacrifice  for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 

By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. 

If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 

But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him: Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked. 

Beloved, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old one, which you have had from the beginning. This commandment is the message you have heard. 

Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining. 

If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him. 

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name. 

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. 

I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. 

I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. 

I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. 

I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. 

The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever. 

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. 

They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us. 

You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 

I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth. 

Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son. 

Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well. 

As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father. 

And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life. 

I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 

And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught. 

And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming. 

If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.

1 John 3

Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 

Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. 

And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure. 

Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness. But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 

No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him. 

Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. 

The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 

Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 

By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 

This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 

Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous. 

So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer. 

By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 

If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him? 

Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth. And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence: 

Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things. 

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God, and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight. 

And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us. 

Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.

1 John 4

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. 

By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus  is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time. 

You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 

They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them. 

We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit  of truth and the spirit of deception. 

Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only  Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. 

And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice  for our sins. 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. 

By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. 

If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 

And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 

In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like Him. 

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. We love  because He first loved us. 

If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 

And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.

1 John 5

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him. 

By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. 

Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 

This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ—not by water alone, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies to this, because the Spirit is the truth. 

For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are in agreement. 

Even if we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son. 

Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him; whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given about His Son. 

And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 

I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 

And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 

And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him. 

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin. 

All unrighteousness is sin, yet there is sin that does not lead to death. 

We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects him, and the evil one  cannot touch him. 

We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one. 

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

2 John

The elder, 

To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I alone, but also all who know the truth—because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever: 

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, will be with us in truth and love. 

I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father has commanded us. 

And now I urge you, dear lady—not as a new commandment to you, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 

And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the very commandment you have heard from the beginning, that you must walk in love. 

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 

Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded. 

Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son. 

If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him. Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds. 

I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come and speak with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. 

The children of your elect sister send you greetings.

All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. - Matthew 11:27

Woe on unrepentant towns & the Father revealed in the Son. This week we finished chapter 11 of the Gospel of Matthew.