March 2, 2006 - Numbers 25-27 and Mark 8:1-21
Have you noticed how God did not hesitate to call for the death penalty for certain sins? This is especially true in the Old Testament, but we see it in the New Testament, too. Why did He confront these sins in this way? I believe that at least one reason for calling for the death penalty in these cases, was that these sins would cause other people to rebel against the Lord. Let's look at this case in the book of Numbers.
Numbers 25 tells us that the Israelites began to worship Baal with the Moabites. This type of worship involved sexual immorality to get Baal to do what the people wanted him to do. Therefore, this sin was especially damaging in God's eyes. Sexual immorality breaks God's will for marriage, and it is an addictive sin, which gets worse and spreads, if it is not stopped. This type of Baal worship taught people to manipulate God instead of obey Him. When you put these two things together, it is a deadly combination. It could cause many people to stray from the Lord, which it did eventually. Therefore, God tried to stop it quickly here. He had 24,000 people killed. God commends Phinehas, the priest, for his zeal in killing one of the men involved. This might be very surprising to us, but it is a good indication of God's hatred for sin, and His desire to keep His people pure. He doesn't want us to have to kill people, but He does want us to flee from sexual sin and to protect people from all types of idolatry even today. If we don't, many people will die in their sins without the Lord.
After this terrible incident we read in chapters 26 and 27 that the generation who failed to trust God had died, and now it was time to prepare to enter Canaan. There is another census, and Joshua is appointed the new leader, since Moses can't enter the Land, because of his sin. I hope you saw the heart of Moses here. He was not bitter with God or with the people. He wanted the best for them, so he asked for a new leader. He knew how much they needed a strong leader to care for them. He did not want them to be like sheep without a shepherd. God told him to appoint Joshua, and God placed some of Moses' authority on him for his new responsibility. This is a great reminder to us that God ordains leaders for His people, ans we should respect the authority He gives them.
Mark 8 is another one of those times when the disciples were disoriented to God's will. They did not know how to trust God to feed the 4,000, even though they had experienced the feeding of the 5,000. They did not know what Jesus was talking about when He spoke of the leaven of the Pharisees. They thought He was referring to bread. All of this could have made Jesus very frustrated with His disciples. It makes me wonder how much I frustrate Him now. How often are we disoriented? How often do we not get what He is saying to us? How often do we miss His will? It is a terrible tragedy when the Lord of the universe wants to direct us in life, and we are not listening. He wants to show us truth and the right way to do something, and we are too busy wanting to do our own thing. I hope you will all repent of this sin ans stay focused on the Lord, listening intently to Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 28-30 and Mark8:22-38.
Numbers 25 tells us that the Israelites began to worship Baal with the Moabites. This type of worship involved sexual immorality to get Baal to do what the people wanted him to do. Therefore, this sin was especially damaging in God's eyes. Sexual immorality breaks God's will for marriage, and it is an addictive sin, which gets worse and spreads, if it is not stopped. This type of Baal worship taught people to manipulate God instead of obey Him. When you put these two things together, it is a deadly combination. It could cause many people to stray from the Lord, which it did eventually. Therefore, God tried to stop it quickly here. He had 24,000 people killed. God commends Phinehas, the priest, for his zeal in killing one of the men involved. This might be very surprising to us, but it is a good indication of God's hatred for sin, and His desire to keep His people pure. He doesn't want us to have to kill people, but He does want us to flee from sexual sin and to protect people from all types of idolatry even today. If we don't, many people will die in their sins without the Lord.
After this terrible incident we read in chapters 26 and 27 that the generation who failed to trust God had died, and now it was time to prepare to enter Canaan. There is another census, and Joshua is appointed the new leader, since Moses can't enter the Land, because of his sin. I hope you saw the heart of Moses here. He was not bitter with God or with the people. He wanted the best for them, so he asked for a new leader. He knew how much they needed a strong leader to care for them. He did not want them to be like sheep without a shepherd. God told him to appoint Joshua, and God placed some of Moses' authority on him for his new responsibility. This is a great reminder to us that God ordains leaders for His people, ans we should respect the authority He gives them.
Mark 8 is another one of those times when the disciples were disoriented to God's will. They did not know how to trust God to feed the 4,000, even though they had experienced the feeding of the 5,000. They did not know what Jesus was talking about when He spoke of the leaven of the Pharisees. They thought He was referring to bread. All of this could have made Jesus very frustrated with His disciples. It makes me wonder how much I frustrate Him now. How often are we disoriented? How often do we not get what He is saying to us? How often do we miss His will? It is a terrible tragedy when the Lord of the universe wants to direct us in life, and we are not listening. He wants to show us truth and the right way to do something, and we are too busy wanting to do our own thing. I hope you will all repent of this sin ans stay focused on the Lord, listening intently to Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 28-30 and Mark8:22-38.