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Going through the Bible a chapter a day.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%2019&version=KJV

Welcome to Sunday’s review: we left off at Numbers chapter 13.

Chapter 13: entitled: The Spies Sent In: This chapter has always astounded me. The Lord spoke unto Moses to send men to the land of Canaan. So 12 leaders were chosen from the tribes to go forth and report on what they saw. Everyone came back and said yes the land is rich but the people are giants and we are mere ants and they are stronger than us, all that is except for Caleb. 10 spies reports were negative where as Joshua and Caleb saw victory (I paraphrased what was said).

My thoughts: Surely when God said He would give that land to you, shouldn’t your belief in Him have been stronger than to think God cannot handle it and see you through to give you the land.

Chapter 14: The Unbelief of Israel: Though Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua believed they could in fact take the claim over the land which God promised them. The people rose up against them even to stone them having believed they cannot do so.  To Joshua and Caleb, God is bigger than the enemy. To the other 10 spies, the problems are bigger than God. Since they set about murmuring and wanting to stone them this upset the Lord. They provoked Him in their lack of Faith and belief in Him. God wanted to spite them but Moses told God of His promise to them. So God spared them but said because of this you will dwell in the wilderness and your children will go into the land. Those against the Lord shall not and a plague was sent to the spies and only Joshua and Caleb remain as they had trusted in God. Verse 40 after hearing all that the Lord had said to Moses they tried to take it back and go into the land. By then it was to late as God would not be with them should they try and take the land themselves.

My thoughts: You can’t say one thing and try and back track. You cried and murmured and then provoked the Lord. At which point did you think maybe one should stop such a thing. Sadly to say but the Israelites were known to complain and cry out a lot even though God provided and made a promise to them. It was never good enough and they missed the picture. It is their unbelief in the Lord and who He is that they didn’t go into the land filled with milk and Honey. After everything the Lord had done for them they still did not believe.

Chapter 15: The Years of Wandering: verses 1-13 this chapter also marks the first set of instructions for the people who now know they will wander in this wilderness until their deaths. Notice that this section begins with the reaffirmation of worship. The first thing God does after the pronouncement of the consequences of Israel’s sin is reestablish the worship He wants from His people. Verses 37-41 God commands Moses to tell the Israelites to put fringes on the corners of their garments with a ribband of blue through each. These fringes are to be a constant reminders, not of one particular law, but the relationship they solidified with God by their obedience. The color blue is related to both heaven and royalty in the minds of the Israelites. (Notes from my Bible)

Chapter 16: The Gainsayings of Korah: Here in this chapter we see again the Israelites having grief with Aaron and Moses and the provoking of the Lord. First it is Koran as the chief rebel with 250 leaders of the community. The heart of their accusation is Moses’ arrogance in claiming a special relationship with God. These rebels want the same privilege. Below are photos with notes from my Bible.

Chapter 17: Aaron’s rod (staff) that budded: To stop the murmuring of the children of Israel God has Moses take a rod from every tribe lay them at the tabernacle and let the congregation see before testimony whom I (God) has chosen. This is where you see that Aaron’s is chosen and God has selected him.

Chapter 18: Aaron and the Levities Confirmed: These verses reiterate and build upon certain aspects of the priestly roles outlined.

Chapter 19: The Ordinance  of the Red Heifer: This chapter offers the cleansing process for those who come ino contact with a dead body. This is an important ceremony for the Israelites, because the nation will encounter many deaths on a daily basis for several decades. Thus they must know how to remain ceremonially clean after dealing with a dead body.

If you have questions feel free to ask and if I don’t know the answer I can ask others till I find the answer you seek.

God bless you and your loved ones.

After all we read this week wanted to share this video. Reading these chapters sparked these songs into my mind.

101 Blessings: 101 Messages to Encourage & Inspire

Day 6: It Is Well With My Soul is the message today. Below is a youtube video sharing the true story behind the song.

In the midst of tragedy there is peace and love like no other. For though your heart is breaking God is holding you and comforting you. He is breathing life into you when you cannot breathe and surrounding you with love when the pain is too much. He is our comfort and rock.

Elijah: Faith and Fire by Priscilla Shirer

Day 5 of 5:

Elijah Calling

Read Jeremiah 1:5. 

In biblical days, names were quite often synonymous with a person’s calling and character. They weren’t simply nomenclature. They signified one’s reputation. The syllables of Hebrew names, like a puzzle meticulously fitted together, built layer upon layer of insight into who this person really was or was meant to be. So when Elijah first arrived in town, anyone in the vicinity would have known where his allegiance stood, simply by hearing his name.

• El, meaning, “God” 

• I, meaning, “my” 

• Jah, meaning, “Yahweh”

People who knew Elijah knew where he stood, even before they really knew him.

Elijah’s first words to Ahab in 1 Kings 17:1 were sort of a pledge of allegiance, which corresponded with the meaning of his name. Turn to this verse and notice the layers: 

• The LORD 

• The LORD is ______ 

• The LORD is God of ____________ 

• The LORD God of Israel __________ 

• The LORD God of Israel lives, and I have pledged my sole allegiance to Him.

What in the world gave this uncouth, uncivilized, underdressed man from the dusty backwoods of a small town the idea that he could stand in front of a king?

How did this guy get in here? 

The answer to this question is, we don’t know. Frustrating, huh? Scholars are unsure how Elijah ever ended up being granted an audience with King Ahab and why his life was spared when he did, especially considering the unwelcome message he came to deliver. Nothing other than the sovereignty of Almighty God could be responsible for arranging this unimaginable appointment. 

But we do know this: they understood what this meeting was about, even before the prophet opened his mouth. Elijah’s name had become synonymous with his character. His God was Yahweh. Apparently, his whole life had been shaped by the meaning of his name. 

So as 1 Kings 17 opens, Elijah was physically standing before a king. But his real standing—his true allegiance—was before Yahweh.

Knowing your name—knowing who you are—gives you the courage to stand on the bedrock of eternal truth, to stand there in the name of the One who “called you for a righteous purpose” (Isa. 42:6, CSB). 

So when Elijah set out from Gilead, tromping out of the hills toward the city, toward the throne room of Ahab, with God’s Word in his mouth and God’s strength pulsating in his heart, he may not have known much. But he did know what his name meant. And there he would take his stand.

For more of this study, including video teaching by author Priscilla Shirer, visit LifeWay.com/Elijah.com

Jeremiah 1:5 King James Version

5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

1 Kings 17 King James Version

17 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.

18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?

19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

20 And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?

21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.

22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.