About the Reading:
Today we read more about offerings and punishments. We learn that a man is stoned to death for not honoring the Sabbath.
We also see the wrath of God again as He punishes those who wrong Him.
My Thoughts and Notes:
I have one thought: Don’t tick off the Man Upstairs!
Okay, I say that with all the sarcasm that you can’t read from written words; but if you could hear me say it you would realize it.
That’s not to say go ahead and tick Him off; it’s only to say that this reading is a very clear reminder of His power! We should respect and fear it!
It is so true that you really don't want to make God mad at you! :) It is also true that the whole OT points to the NT. This is so evident in the story of the Israelites in the Wilderness. They were such complainers! Aren't we the same way? But Moses would 'go to bat' for them every time they messed up and made God mad, so that He didn't wipe them off the face of the earth and start over with Moses. It makes me wonder if God gets angry enough at ME that He wants to 'wipe me off the face of the earth', but just as Moses did for the Israelites, Jesus 'goes to bat' for us (those of us who are believers). The wages for our sin has been paid, praise His HOLY name.
ReplyDeleteOh, and just because God didn't destroy them completely, He did make them wonder around lost for 40 years. You reckon He makes us wonder around for a long time because we are rebellious?
ReplyDeleteI went back and looked for some point to add to about God’s wrath or punishment. I recalled something someone once told me “God squeezes but never chokes”. I think that is true for us today more so then back then. I have had times where I know I mad God mad at me basically because of my lack of faith in him or the fact I can do it all on my own. It was during those times God would reach down and squeeze me for awhile the when I felt the situation was totally hopeless and I called on God and offered him my apologizes for my sins and lack of faith. He would then let go and give me the hope or whatever was stressing me out would just work out! We can look at Numbers Chapter 14 28f: God punished the malcontents by giving them their wish cf v 2. Their lack of faith and of confidence in God is cited in 1 Cor 10 10 and Heb 3, 12-18 as a warning for Christians. As for the man who broke the Sabbath 15, 34: No clear decision: they already knew that a willful violation of the Sabbath was a capital offense, but they did not yet know how the death penalty was to be inflicted. We also see the there were two uprisings against Moses. The first one The rebellion of the Rubenites Dathan and Abriram was of a political nature against Moses alone as the civil leader; God really punished these dudes by having them all swallowed alive in an earthquake! Now these other guys witnessed this but they decided to also start a rebellion. The rebellion of Korah was of a religious nature against the religious leadership of Moses and Aaron; about 250 malcontents joined Korah’s band God punished them by burning them alive with a huge fire! I guess the Israelites were some real hard heads because after they all saw what God did to those who rebelled against him they still complained and God sent Saraph which is the Hebrew name for a certain species of venomous snakes; the word probably signifies “the fiery one” these snakes being so called from the burning effect of their poisonous bite. I find this statement from God to Moses about the serpents very interesting 21,8 If anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover: “and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must be the Son of Man be lifted up, that those who believe in him may not perish but may have life everlasting” (Jn 3,14f). I think God is referring to the coming of Jesus. To back to chapter 17 to 20 we see God given very specific instructions as to how the early Priests or Holy Men were to conduct themselves and how they were construct God’s Temple or as we learn later on in the bible in the chapter’s of King David God lived in a Sacred Tent during his journey with the Israelites.
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