When a witness is ready to testify in court, they raise their hand and say, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me God.” The witness is calling God to be a witness to the truth of the testimony.

The basic principle taught in Numbers 30 is that vows must be kept. Our word must stand. Truth telling is an essential characteristic of Christians. Twisting the truth or telling lies has no place among us. The reason for this is that we’re called to reflect God. “God is not human, that he should lie, nor a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19). When our word can’t be trusted, we look like the devil, the father of lies (John 8:44).

Jesus asserted the importance of truth telling when he said, “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37). He was saying that we should be so marked by the truth that we should not need a vow to back up our word. Sometimes a vow will be required of us. But let’s have our word be enough. May our word be consistent with our actions.

Today is a special day. It’s a day of worship and rest. We call it the Lord’s Day (based on Revelation 1:10) to celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. This day is set apart from the other days of the week to gather with God’s people, to thank God for the new life and rest we have in Christ, to pray and give, and to hear God’s Word to us. This gives order to our week.

Numbers 28 shows that Israel was commanded to bring a series of offerings to God. There were daily offerings. There were weekly offerings to be given on the Sabbath. Then there were monthly and yearly offerings associated with festivals. Israel’s calendar was full. The people’s life was ordered by these worship activities so that fellowship with God would be at the center of their living. This didn’t mean God’s people could just quit ordinary life, but the ordinary was not to drown out worship.

Is worship a priority for you and your family? It can be challenging not to let the activities of life crowd out the worship of God. And it is hard to thrive spiritually when we neglect the sacred time God calls us to build into our lives. In general, our lives will get disordered when we neglect God’s design.

So worship with God’s people today! Sing, praise, and pray to the Lord. And celebrate your rest in Christ Jesus.

The way inheritances worked in ancient Israel was that your name, heritage, and place among God’s people passed down through your sons. As long as you had a son, your name would carry on to the next generation. Your place or property in the land would also be secure.

The daughters of Zelophehad approached Moses and said, “Our father died in the wilderness . . . and left no sons. Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son?” It was a courageous request by these young women. What they were asking for was property in the promised land as an inheritance so that their father’s name would be maintained and they would be counted among God’s people. It was a request made from bold faith. They believed that God would give them the promised land, and they wanted their place in it.

The faith of Zelophehad’s daughter’s stands out against the doubts and unbelief that were so much a part of Israel. We need our young people today to set a similar example of faith. Paul urged young Timothy to set an example to others in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity (1 Timothy 4:12).

Thank God for the faith of our young people. Let’s follow their example.

Back in Numbers 16 (July 15) we looked at the story of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who rebelled against God’s appointed leaders. The consequence of their sin was that the earth swallowed up these men and their families.

But there were some in the family of Korah who did not follow his rebellion. Our passage today says that Korah’s line did not die out. So not all of his family died with him. Some must have remained faithful to the Lord. And God was gracious to them. In fact, some of Korah’s line went on to write a number of psalms (see Psalms 42-49; 84-85; and more).

Some of us may have grown up in a family in which our parents did not follow the Lord. Perhaps we did not have many good examples or wise teachers to follow as we grew up. This passage in the Bible reminds us that the unbelief of one generation does not need to be followed by the next one. Today God calls every generation anew to put their hope in him and to follow Christ. In his grace, God doesn’t hold the sins of one generation against the next. We have opportunities for a fresh start.

What legacy are you hoping to leave for your children and grandchildren? If there’s been no history of faith before you, you can begin a new legacy today by trusting in Christ.

I’m not a numbers person. Maybe you’re not either. For some of us it can be hard to read a chapter full of numbers like the one in our reading for today. But God has some important lessons here for us.

First, God teaches about our need for his grace. This is the second census in Numbers because a new generation was on the scene. One generation had died in the desert because the people had not trusted God to take them into the promised land. And many from this new generation had also died recently because of Israel’s sin with Moab (Numbers 25). If you compare the numbers from one census to the other, you will see that some tribes increased and some decreased. The tribe of Simeon lost over 37,000 men—perhaps they took the brunt of God’s wrath for Israel’s adultery with Moab. Like them, we all have sinned and need God’s grace.

Second, this census shows that God is faithful. Even though one whole generation died, the total number of those counted was only about 1,800 less than in the first census. God was faithful to his promise to give Abraham numerous descendants. When we fail, we need to remember that God doesn’t. The Lord is rich in grace to all who call on him.

When it comes to numbers, a Scottish pastor, Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-43), had this advice: “For every look at [your]self, take ten looks at Christ.” What a great encouragement!

In this story we see that Israel brings a curse and plague on itself. And in Numbers 31:16, we learn that it was Balaam (see also Numbers 22-24) who advised their enemies to seduce the Israelites in this way. So the men of Israel fell into sexual relationships with the women of Moab and bowed down to their gods. “And the Lord’s anger burned against them.”

This story reminds us that if sin is not able to get a foothold in one area of our life, it will try to lodge itself in another. We have enemies that relentlessly attack us, such as the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature. They will not stop. When we’re spiritually strong in one area, they look for a weakness in another area.

To resist these attacks, we need to be vigilant and humble. We need to be alert to sin’s power and the devil’s schemes. We need to know our weaknesses. And we need to cry out to God for help. For Israel, the action of Phinehas the priest brought atonement for the people’s sin. For us, Jesus has become our faithful High Priest. His blood atones for our failures, and his intercession secures our Father’s favor.

Where do you feel vulnerable? Where are you tempted? “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10). Go to Jesus for help.

The king of Moab wanted Balaam to curse Israel, but he couldn’t. Balaam could only speak blessings as the Lord gave him words to say. In this passage we find that he blessed Israel by saying that they would flourish like a well-watered garden.

It’s important to occasionally think about all the ways God has blessed us. Even when life hurts, we have many blessings to thank God for. Here’s a way to use the word BLESS to count our blessings (­adapted from Alvin Vander Griend, HarvestPrayer.com):

B is for body. Thank God for physical health and the ability to walk, run, play, breathe, and think. Pray for people who can’t enjoy these things.

L is for labor. Praise God for jobs and income that help to meet your needs. Thank God for your employer and the people you work with.

E is for emotions. Thank God for joy, peace, contentment, and more.

S is for social. We are blessed with relationships. Thank God for parents, grandparents, siblings, children, friends, and all relationships in the church.

S is for spiritual. Thank God for all the gifts of salvation in Christ. Praise God for forgiveness, prayer, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the hope of eternal life.

May each of us learn to say, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”

It’s not unusual to hear Chris­tians say “I am blessed” when someone asks how they are doing.

Israel was indeed blessed. When God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants, he said, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2). God promised Israel the blessing of his presence. He promised them the blessing of prosperity. Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the sand on the seashore. God also promised the blessing of a land for his descendants to live in.

Because Israel had these promises in their past and future, God would not allow Balaam to curse his people. King Balak of Moab thought that the only way he could weaken Israel and keep them from taking his land was to get Balaam to put a curse on Israel. But that would not and could not work.

We too are blessed people. Because of Jesus, the blessings given to Abraham and Israel are ours. God also promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3). That promise was fulfilled in Abraham’s descendant, Jesus. In Christ, God is for us; and if God is for us, no one can stand against us. No one can separate us from God’s love or keep us from receiving the eternal inheritance he has promised (Romans 8:31-39). In Christ each of us can truly say, “I am blessed.”

Some people like snakes, but a lot of us don’t. We see them as dangerous and even sneaky and suspicious.

Israel didn’t like snakes either. Poisonous snakes caused many of the Israelites to die after grumbling against God. Snakes commonly live in the wilderness, but they can also be seen as a symbol of power. Perhaps because Israel complained that they were better off in Egypt, some people have noted that snakes were a symbol of the power of Egypt, for they were often displayed on the crowns of Egypt’s kings. So people have suggested that in sending venomous snakes, maybe God was saying, “Do you really want to go back to Pharaoh’s stinging, deadly power? Is Egypt better?” Of course, snakes can also remind us of the deceiving serpent in Eden (Genesis 3).

What’s surprising is that God’s cure for Israel was to look at a bronze snake lifted up on a pole. By doing that, Israel was looking in faith to the Lord’s power to heal. Only God could cure, and the people needed to look to him with eyes of faith.

In John 3:14-15, Jesus said that “just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,” that whoever believes in him “may have eternal life.” Jesus was lifted up on the cross so that we can be forgiven and healed. Are you trusting in him so that you can be saved?

People often say there are two things that are certain in life: death and taxes. This passage doesn’t say anything about ­taxes, but it talks a lot about death. Sometimes that may seem morbid, but all of us need to recognize the reality of death.

Death confronted three people in this passage. Moses’ sister Miriam and his brother Aaron both died. And Moses’ death was announced. Miriam’s death was ordinary, while Aaron and Moses’ deaths were connected to their failure to listen to God’s commands.

Death is a common yet painful part of life in the wilderness. Before any of us reach heaven, we are going to die—unless Jesus returns first. Death kills, and for those of us who lose a loved one to death it stings painfully; it’s not something we get over in a short time. We were created to live, not die.

When we are faced with death, though, we must not grieve as people without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We are reminded here that death does not have the last word. God said that Aaron would be gathered to his people. This is not just a way of making death sound nice; it’s a statement that Aaron still belonged to God’s people.

So it is with us. We have a ­resurrected Savior. If we are in Christ, we know that death cannot separate us from his love, and our souls will go to be with him.