February 8 - Numbers 31-33
This passage shows us the other side of God's justice. In chapter 31 He commands Moses to select an army of 12,000 men to take vengeance on the Midianites, who had seduced the Israelites into worshiping Baal. God had already punished His people for their sin. Back in chapter 25 God had commanded for those involved in worshiping Baal to be killed and 24,000 died. Now, it is time for the Midianities to receive their punishment. They were the ones who tempted the Israelites to worship Baal, so it was partly their fault. At the same time Israel should have known not to worship an idol, so it was their fault, too. Therefore, God sent a punishment to both parties of the sin. That is how God's justice works. He punishes all sin, because it is all destructive.
At the same time as punishing the Midianites, the Lord used this victory to provide a lot of spoil to Israel as they were going to prepare to go into Canaan. God always provides for His people. In turn we must thank Him for His provision and give Him the credit for supplying it to us. That is what the people did here by giving the tribute to God. The offering was an acknowledgement that all of it had come from God. That is the same way for us today, when we receive provision from God, and we give a tithe back to Him. We are showing our belief that it all comes from God, and we want to show our thanks.
In chapter 32 we find the famous phrase "be sure your sin will find you out." I am sure that phrase could be applied to all sin in a general way, but here it is a specific sin that would catch up with them. It is talking about the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh not supporting their brothers in the conquest of Canaan, because they wanted to settle east of the Jordan river. Moses gets very upset at first because he thinks they will discourage the other tribes from going into the Land again, and God will destroy them all again. However, when they agree to send their fighting men to help conquer Canaan, Moses agrees to their request. He only wants them to be sure that if they fail to support their brothers in the war, their sin will find them out. They will not be able to dwell in ease while their brothers are struggling. That is so true for us today. As believers we are all in this spiritual war together, and we must be there for each other. If we try to just take care of ourselves, that is a sin, and God will punish us for not caring about our fellow believers.
The passage closes with a recap of their journeys, and a look forward to conquering Canaan. It is good for all of us to spend some time looking back to see where God has led us in the past, and then to look to the future God has for us. I encourage you to do that real soon. It will help you to count your blessings and to see all of the ways God has provided for you. It will help you to know that He will lead you in the future, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 34-36.
At the same time as punishing the Midianites, the Lord used this victory to provide a lot of spoil to Israel as they were going to prepare to go into Canaan. God always provides for His people. In turn we must thank Him for His provision and give Him the credit for supplying it to us. That is what the people did here by giving the tribute to God. The offering was an acknowledgement that all of it had come from God. That is the same way for us today, when we receive provision from God, and we give a tithe back to Him. We are showing our belief that it all comes from God, and we want to show our thanks.
In chapter 32 we find the famous phrase "be sure your sin will find you out." I am sure that phrase could be applied to all sin in a general way, but here it is a specific sin that would catch up with them. It is talking about the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh not supporting their brothers in the conquest of Canaan, because they wanted to settle east of the Jordan river. Moses gets very upset at first because he thinks they will discourage the other tribes from going into the Land again, and God will destroy them all again. However, when they agree to send their fighting men to help conquer Canaan, Moses agrees to their request. He only wants them to be sure that if they fail to support their brothers in the war, their sin will find them out. They will not be able to dwell in ease while their brothers are struggling. That is so true for us today. As believers we are all in this spiritual war together, and we must be there for each other. If we try to just take care of ourselves, that is a sin, and God will punish us for not caring about our fellow believers.
The passage closes with a recap of their journeys, and a look forward to conquering Canaan. It is good for all of us to spend some time looking back to see where God has led us in the past, and then to look to the future God has for us. I encourage you to do that real soon. It will help you to count your blessings and to see all of the ways God has provided for you. It will help you to know that He will lead you in the future, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 34-36.