I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
God instructed Moses that as a final act he should lead the Israelites to take revenge against the Midianites for leading them into idolatry. 1,000 men were chosen from each tribe, for a total of 12,000 men, to go into battle against the Midianites. They attacked the Midianites and killed all of the men, including the five kings of the Midianites. Among those who were killed was Balaam. The army then captured the women and children and all of the Midianites wealth as plunder. When they brought all of this back to Moses and the rest of the Israelites, Moses was furious that they had allowed the women to live. The women were the one’s who had followed Balaam’s advice and led the Israelites into idolatry. Moses instructed them to kill all of the boys and any of the women who were not virgins. Moses and Eleazar, Aaron’s son and successor as high priest, instructed the men from the army to purify themselves and the plunder before reentering the camp.
At the Lord’s instruction, Moses, Eleazar and the tribal leaders counted all of the plunder and divided it so that half went to all of the people of Israel and half went to the army. The army was to give one of every 500 of the prisoners and livestock to the Lord from their share of the plunder. One in every five of the prisoners and livestock from the share of the plunder for the rest of the people of Israel was to be given to the Lord.
After an accounting was made of all of the plunder and it was divided, the generals came to Moses and Eleazar and told them that not one of the men who went out to battle was missing. In thanks for this blessing from God, the generals gave to God all of the gold items from their share of the treasure.
After being baptized by John in the Jordan, Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and pray about His ministry and how He should go about accomplishing His mission (at least that is how it reads to me). He was in the wilderness fasting for 40 days. It is only since I started doing this Bible Study blog that I realized how significant the number 40 is in the Bible. Forty seems to be the number associated with testing and trial, as well as preparation for divine action. During the flood it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses spent 40 years in the desert tending flocks before God called him to lead the people of Israel our of Egypt. Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days receiving God’s Law for the people of Israel. These are only a few examples, there are more. Here Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness praying and fasting.
Towards the end of Jesus time in the wilderness we have an account of three temptations that He experienced. These three temptations represent the three temptations that anyone who wants to make a difference in the world faces. The first temptation of Jesus is to miraculously make bread to feed the hungry. This represents the temptation to focus strictly on meeting the needs of the poor. We see this in ministries which downplay or avoid preaching the Gospel message because if they do they are afraid that it will interfere with their ability to meet the physical needs of the poor. There may be times and places for taking this approach, but we should be very cautious about this. Jesus’ answer to this temptation is very enlightening. He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 to Satan, “People do not live by bread alone.” The rest of the verse says, “rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” I think that Jesus’ response to this temptation tells us that it is as, if not more, important to preach the Word of God as it is to meet the physical needs of those in poverty. The fact of the matter is that many times those who are suffering poverty need to be shown and taught how to change their lives in order to escape from that poverty. It is important to remember that it is only through the grace of God that we have learned the habits necessary to avoid poverty (if we have indeed learned those habits).
The second temptation is to turn to the political machinery to accomplish His mission. This also is something I see in the world today. Rather than doing the hard work of reaching people and changing hearts, too many Christians want to change the law. They want to harness the political machinery to change the world. The problem is that here is twofold, first is that the government always sets itself up as the final arbiter of what is right and wrong. The second is that when we start using the government to change people, WE put government in the place of God. Jesus’ answer is categorical, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” The government cannot save people from themselves, only God can do that. I will use abortion as an example. I think abortion is the killing of a human child. I think that abortion should be illegal, but more importantly, I believe that no one should wish to kill a human child (before or after birth). It is only by the intervention of the Holy Spirit that people can be changed so that their will matches that of God. I am sure there are places where my choices do not match God’s desire. I pray that He make those changes in me.
In the third and final of these temptations, Satan suggests that Jesus perform a mighty miracle at the center of religious authority. This is the temptation that I have the hardest time putting my understanding into words. In some ways it is the opposite of the first, rather than meet people’s physical needs it is the temptation to focus all of one’s mission on the spiritual side. It is the temptation to focus on preaching the “Gospel”, but do nothing about the physical needs of the poor. This is as wrong as those who work to meet the physical needs of the poor without sharing the Gospel message with them. But it is more than that, it is the appeal to authority. It is the temptation to say, “You should listen to me because I perform wondrous miracles and have the imprimatur of the religious leaders.” Rather than meeting people where they are and learning what their needs and troubles are, those who have succumbed to this temptation have all the answers and don’t need to listen to others. In response to this temptation, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, “You must not test the Lord your God…” Which continues, “…as you did when you complained at Massah. You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight…” It is not enough to preach the Gospel, we must also do the acts that are good and right in the Lord’s sight.
Another great psalm that touches my heart today. I strive to make the first stanza of this psalm the way I live my life:
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
I know that the only route to true happiness is to search for God with my entire being. IF we strive to find God in the way that we would strive to find water in a hot, dry place we will find our way to happiness and contentment. AS the psalmist says, I have seen God in His sanctuary and seen His power and glory. I will praise God as long as I live. Others may belittle me for it, but I will cling to God, for His hand supports me.
God detests those who hide their motives and mislead others as to their intentions, but He delights in those who deal with others with integrity. We know that evil people will be inevitably punished, but the children of the godly will experience freedom.