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May 22, 2023 06:00am

The Bible Recap: Days 64-70

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(The following are reflections from the writer’s personal journey through The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble – a Bible reading plan to read the Bible chronologically in one year. To learn more about The Bible Recap, visit thebiblerecap.com. Find more posts from this series at https://lifeword.org/?s=The%20Bible%20Recap)

Day 64: Read Numbers Chapters 23-25

My Takeaways:

Some action happened today! Balaam pronounced blessing for Israel, not curses, for King Balak…and this drives Balak crazy! This happened 3 times.

And we also saw the lack of holy fear of God and His commands in the actions of Israelite men when they took pagan women as their wives. (This strikes me because there are at least a million Israelites—of those million, many available Israelite ladies! Why didn’t they choose from among them?! It’s almost like they were attracted to doing the wrong thing because it was a rule?) We see Zimri flagrantly taking a Midianite woman into his tent in front of the people. Like Tara-Leigh said, it was “sinning with a high hand” and definitely a heart issue. The plague kills many when Aaron’s son puts a stop to it through the deaths of Zimri and his lady.

And yet, this is the people God declared His love and protection over through Balaam’s blessings! This people who disobey Him, disregard Him, complain about Him, and doubt His goodness. But, they are God’s kids, and He loves them. Like what Tara-Leigh said, “this is what love sees”—God sees future redemption coming for His kids.

He’s always after our hearts—whether it’s through blessing or holy consequences. He will use anything to pull us closer to Him.

Because, ultimately, it’s our decision.

Day 65: Read Numbers Chapters 26-27

My Takeaways:

The passing of the baton.

After the last plague, the last of the older generation had died. A census was taken to confirm this. That means, it’s getting close to GO TIME!

God has Moses divide the current land up (the land they won in battle) and He told Moses it was time for him “to be gathered to his people” (aka die). He has Moses appoint and anoint Joshua to take his place to lead the Israelites.

Oh, I wonder what emotions and thoughts were going through Moses’ head! Was he sad? Mad? Happy? Relieved? (Let’s be honest—these people have tested Moses in every way…he had to have been worn out.) Ready? All we know is that he was concerned with who would lead these people after him. God chose Joshua, who had been with Moses from the time he had gotten the 10 commandments from God. He was the man, along with Caleb, who had said they could take the Promised Land with God’s help. It’s so fitting Joshua would lead them!

My God Shot is this: God is ready to bring fruition a promise He made a long time ago to Abraham and Moses. While His timing probably looked different to these men, it is time. God is faithful! And He is about to do a new thing!

That promise you are waiting on? God is faithful. That situation in your life that hasn’t changed? God is faithful. That pain in your heart that isn’t healing? God is faithful.

Sometimes, He is waiting on circumstances to line up. Sometimes, He is waiting in order to build up faith and perseverance. Sometimes, He is waiting on our hearts. Sometimes, it’s all of the above.

The answer may look different than what we anticipate, but, make no doubt, He can be trusted to keep His promises.

If you have been waiting, friend, take hope in our story. It took our Israelite friends 40 years to see God’s promise come true…but, it’s about to come true!

Day 66: Read Numbers Chapters 28-30

My Takeaways:

There is one word that comes to mind for today’s reading: REMINDERS.

God reminds His people of the feasts and festivals they are to have, as well as the offerings and sacrifices they are to make once they get into the Promised Land.

One of those days God talks about is the Sabbath. Like Tara-Leigh said, that day is meant for rest and reflection with God, a time to reconnect with Him after a busy week. It is like a tithing of our time, trusting God provide the rest of the week.

These people are on the verge of heading into a lush land, spreading out from each other and God needed to establish reminders of His holiness and His presence daily for them.

Because, it’s so easy to forget…especially when life is good and you aren’t quite so dependent upon God.

Have you ever thought about how much we cleave to God when times are tough, but when times are good, we relax a bit? We may not pray as much, we may skip Bible readings or devotions, and may miss church?

Sometimes, stepping into a blessing puts us in a spiritual slumber as life gets comfy. That will certainly be the case for our Israelite friends. That is why God has daily, weekly, and monthly reminders of Him, His interventions, and His love.

The more we are reminded of it, the more think about it, the more we talk about it, the more we act upon it.

Reminders are powerful!

Day 67: Read Numbers Chapters 31-32

My Takeaways:

In Numbers 27, God told Moses he would be dying soon. But, before he does, he has a big assignment: fight the Midianites. So, he organizes his army and they go to war.

My God Shot came from this: If God calls you to do it, do it! He was with His people, He protected all of them (not one died!), and He gave them victory. Not only that, they got huge spoils from this battle! Plus, a few of the tribes love this new land so much, they want to live there. And, they work it all out with Moses by making a vow to cross the Jordan and help their fellow tribes fight in Canaan.

You guys, if God calls us to do it, there is a reason! He is with us! He is for us! It may not be easy—I can’t imagine any aspect of war is, but God fought for His people in ways they may not have seen. But, we have to be willing to step into a potentially tough situation. If we do, God meets us there! There is something in the obedient act that is good for us. For the Israelites, it was victory. Trust was built—they needed that to go into Canaan. It can be the same for us too—trust is built and grown when we obey God. Character is refined. We may not always get the “victory” obeying God, but there’s something in the striving that God is after. There is something better on the other side of obedience!

Day 68: Read Numbers Chapters 33-34

My Takeaways:

A reminder, a promise and some instructions, and a warning.

These four words are a great way to sum up today’s reading. Moses is recording information for God—information the Israelites will need in the future.

Reminder: remember where you have been.

Instructions and a promise: God is not only telling His people what to do when they get into the Promised Land, He is giving them boundaries of it….and they haven’t even crossed the Jordan yet!

Warning: Once God’s promised is fulfilled, they must follow boundaries and commandments to ensure they can keep this blessing. God’s people are to continue to remember Him and follow Him in the blessing. If they don’t fully obey Him, it could lead severe consequences.

Honestly, these instructions could apply to any of us:

When we are on the verge of something new or even something difficult, remember. Reflect on your track record with God—your history with Him. Remember where you have been and remember what God has done for you.
Trust God will fulfill His promises. He is faithful…but our lack of trust or even doubt can hold us back from stepping into those blessings and experiencing His goodness.
Obey God. God has standards of living that keep us set apart as His people. To continue to have His blessing, we need to follow those rules. Yes, there’s grace! Yes, there’s mercy! But, God insists on His people’s sanctification. “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16

Can you imagine how exciting this must have been for these people who have been waiting for a lifetime? Did they realize how big this moment was about to be? Or did they doubt it would happen after all this time?

Like any of us on the verge of an exciting chapter in life, we would all be eager to follow God upon this big blessing! But, it’s when the testing comes with the blessing that can throw some curve balls our way and challenge us to continue following God. That’s why remembering can help us for such moments.

Day 69: Read Numbers Chapters 35-36

My Takeaways:

Friends, we finished another book of the Bible!

Congrats!

I love how God addressed all the details of living life today. He makes sure the Levites are taken care of with land and cities. He addresses what is murder with intent and accidental murder. He even has a plan in place for who accidentally murders! That is grace! And, He addresses a situation of land among 5 daughters.

Something we have this far is that God is in the details—big and small! Don’t you love getting examples of it in the Bible? He takes care of His people. He makes sure to do what is just and fair. He provides.

When it’s hard to see the goodness of God in your life, trust the character we see of Him in the Bible. If He did it for the Israelites, He will do it for us. He does it for all His kids.

Day 70: Read Deuteronomy Chapters 1-2

My Takeaways:

This, friends, is my favorite book of the Bible! It’s a reminder of God’s laws and His love amid and in those laws.

Out of His love, He set His people, His children, apart. He chose them.
Out of His love, He made promises to Abraham. Promises He kept or will fulfill in the future. He is the ultimate promise keeper!
Out of His love, He rescued them from slavery.
Out of His love, He drew boundaries and established rules for His kids.
Out of His love, He disciplined His kids.
Out of His love, He carried them like children through the wilderness.
Out of His love, He is giving them a second chance to step into the biggest blessing of their lives.
Out of His love, He has given them grace and mercy every step of their 40 years on the wilderness.
And out of His love in the future, He will give them His Son.

You guys, I am all teary eyed typing this! What has God given to you out of His love?