January 30 - Numbers 1-4
I thank the Lord for a warm home on an icy day. I thank Him and the power company for getting our power back on after only a few hours. I thank Him for another Lord's Day. Even though we will not have services this morning, the day belongs to Him, and I will give time to worshiping Him.
The book of Numbers is always a wonderful blessing to me. Here at the beginning God makes sure that His people are prepared for war and worship. The census reveals an army of 603,550 fighting men from 11 of the 12 tribes. They are organized under the heads of their tribes, and they are set in order by their positions in the camp. Each tribe knows where to camp and the order for breaking camp. Order is essential. It is especially important when you have two million people on foot in the desert. God is a God of order, and He knows war is coming. He desires for His people to be organized and ready. Today, we need to be ready for the spiritual war around us all the time. We need to be organized in the body of Christ to support each other and defeat Satan.
The other tribe was the tribe of Levi. They were counted separately because they were not warriors. They were in charge of the worship. They took care of the Tabernacle. They were to carry the Tabernacle from camp to camp. They had a very specific order, too. It is interesting that they were to carry the Tabernacle in the middle of the Israelites as they traveled. The presence of God was central to all they did. God proclaimed that the Levites belonged to Him. He even had the redemption price paid for them. He was showing the importance of keeping worship central in all we do.
These two truths help us today in the church. We need to be organized for ministry and prepared for war. We need to keep our relationship with God in the center of all we do. It is easy to keep so busy that we push God out, even when we say we are doing His work. Don't let Satan do that to you.
The book of Numbers is always a wonderful blessing to me. Here at the beginning God makes sure that His people are prepared for war and worship. The census reveals an army of 603,550 fighting men from 11 of the 12 tribes. They are organized under the heads of their tribes, and they are set in order by their positions in the camp. Each tribe knows where to camp and the order for breaking camp. Order is essential. It is especially important when you have two million people on foot in the desert. God is a God of order, and He knows war is coming. He desires for His people to be organized and ready. Today, we need to be ready for the spiritual war around us all the time. We need to be organized in the body of Christ to support each other and defeat Satan.
The other tribe was the tribe of Levi. They were counted separately because they were not warriors. They were in charge of the worship. They took care of the Tabernacle. They were to carry the Tabernacle from camp to camp. They had a very specific order, too. It is interesting that they were to carry the Tabernacle in the middle of the Israelites as they traveled. The presence of God was central to all they did. God proclaimed that the Levites belonged to Him. He even had the redemption price paid for them. He was showing the importance of keeping worship central in all we do.
These two truths help us today in the church. We need to be organized for ministry and prepared for war. We need to keep our relationship with God in the center of all we do. It is easy to keep so busy that we push God out, even when we say we are doing His work. Don't let Satan do that to you.