For the last several weeks we have been viewing Israel from the mountain tops with Balaam. While Balak sought to have them cursed, the Lord led Balaam to bless Israel. In these blessings we saw that the Lord will not revoke his covenant promises to His people. We saw that the people of Israel will valiantly conquer the surrounding nations. We heard the promise that a great king will arise from Israel that will rule with power and dominion. From these heights we feel that Israel must be a pure and a holy people. However, this week we come down from the mountain tops and get back into the nitty-gritty of real life with Israel. We remember that these blessings from the Lord have not been given to Israel because of their righteousness, but rather because of God’s grace. For once again we see the people of Israel returning to their sinful ways. In Numbers 25 the people of Israel are enticed into the sin of idolatry and must again be reminded of their reliance on God’s grace to make it home. Reading: Numbers 25, Psalm 96, Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 3:5-11 and Westminster Larger Catechism # 105.

Westminster Shorter Catechism # 26 asks, “How doth Christ execute the office of a king?” The answer: “Christ executeth the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.” This week we will explore what it means to follow Christ as King. The world is filled with rivals to the authority of Christ. These rivals include earthly kingdoms, political leaders and personal idols. Yet what we will see in our text is that the Lord will suffer no rivals to his kingly authority. To be a follower of Christ we must follow him alone. Reading: Numbers 24:14-25, Psalm 2, Revelation 11:15, 22:16 and Westminster Shorter Catechism #26.

Change is a concept that is hard to explain but impossible to avoid. From the earliest time of Greek philosophy, the problem of change challenged the world’s greatest minds. Some thinkers went as far as to say the change is just an illusion and that everything is actually static. On the other side, there were those who claimed that everything is in the process of changing and nothing is static. Yet as we come to the word of God, we come to see that change is real. Creation changes and develops. Sometimes toward death and other times toward life. However, the Creator never changes. He is the one constant in a world of change. While all that we know in this world is in flux, the Lord is constant. And it is this unchangeable nature of God that is the ground of our hope. Our hope that we will be changed and will receive the blessing of His salvation. Reading: Numbers 23:13-26, Psalm 33:11, Malachi 3:6, James 1:17 and Westminster Shorter Catechism # 4.

In our text, this Sunday, the prophet Balaam journeys to Moab in order to deliver to King Balak the message from The LORD concerning cursing or blessing Israel. We will see a clear clash between the vision and purposes of King Balak and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This text reminds us that our ultimate allegiance in life is directed toward our Great King and Savior Jesus Christ. When God the King speaks His word among the nations, they must surrender to His lead and follow His way. No King or authority structure will ever get in the way of God the King and His purposes in this world. Reading: umbers 22:36-23:12, Psalm 146, and The Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 1.6.

What you see is what you get, but what you see isn’t all that’s there. That’s especially true in Balaam’s life as we look at Numbers 22:22-35 in a sermon entitled, “Donkey See, Donkey Do.” While Balaam has prophetic powers, he is unable to see his own sin as well as his salvation (which comes from a donkey). Not much has changed for us as we are often blind to our sin as well as the true source of our salvation. May God open our eyes that we might see and believe.

At this point in the Israelites journey to the Promised Land, it may be easy to think that God should give up on Israel. From the outset, the complaining, rebellion, and doubt have been a constant theme. In our passage for this week, the Israelites face a devious enemy that wants to bring a curse upon them and defeat them. Enemies that want to bring an end to Israel and the people of God is nothing new throughout all of history. A divided prophet is called upon to help the enemy, but God has a different plan. Despite the plans of the enemy and the continual sin of Israel, we will see that the Lord is determined to bless His people, and there is nothing that the enemies of Israel can to do to thwart God’s plan for His people. Reading: Numbers 22:1-21, Genesis 3:15 and 12:1-3, John 8:44, and Revelation 12:9-11

Last week, we saw that the second generation of Israelites were making progress where their fathers had failed. They were willing to enter the conflict of advancing the kingdom and to obey the word of God in faith. However, in our passage for this week, we see that even as there are differences between the two generations, there are also many similarities. We will see that the second generation has the same complaints and the same rebellious hearts as the first generation. Nevertheless, we will also see that the Lord will provide grace for His people that He might bring them safely home. Reading: Numbers 21:4-9, Isaiah 45:21, John 3:1-18 and Westminster Confession of Faith 14.

In many respects, the book of Numbers is the story of two generations. The first generation was called out of Egypt, given the Law at Mt. Sinai, and brought to the edge of the land of Canaan. But they refused to enter the land that the Lord was giving them. Therefore, this first generation had to wander in the wilderness for forty years until they all died and a new generation arose. In our passage of Scripture for this Sunday, we see the second generation begin its part in the history of Israel. After forty years we see the people of Israel begin to make progress toward entering Canaan and receiving the Lord’s promise. However, this progress is not without its detours and difficulties. How will the second generation respond? Will they trust the Lord when plans change? Will they trust the Lord when conflict comes? Will they trust the Lord when the road is long? Reading: Numbers 20:14-21; 21:1-3, 10-35, Deuteronomy 2-3, Matthew 11:12 and Westminster Confession of Faith 33.2.

Spring is always full of college and high school graduations. It is a time when we celebrate the accomplishment of a task but also mourn the loss of a stage of life. Once school is completed, never again will you interact with your classmates in the same manner. You will each go off to your own life and future. Graduations mark an end. Yet they are the end of a beginning. School was never meant to be an end in and of itself. It is a stage in which one is trained and equipped for the future. By its very nature, school is meant to come to an end that something better might come. Numbers chapter 20 might be called the end of the beginning. The chapter begins with the death of Moses’ sister, Miriam, and it ends with the death of Moses’ brother, Aaron. The first generation of Israel is coming to an end. The generation that was delivered out of Egypt, that received the law at Mount Sinai and that rejected the promise land has almost completely died out. And while the death of this generation is a cause to mourn, it is also a sign of something better to come; a transition for the people of God. Reading: Numbers 20:22-29, Psalm 90, 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, Hebrews 7 and Westminster Confession of Faith 7.5,6.