April 13-20

Personal Note:
Before I begin the entry for April 13-17 (Which is coming at the end of the week, instead of the beginning), I want to thank you for your patience. I’ve just returned from five weeks in New Zealand. My clothes are still waiting to be unpacked. I’m still trying to get my body to get out of bed at 7:30 a.m., while trying to convince it that it needs to become sleepy before 12:00 am. My last couple of weeks in New Zealand couldn’t have been any busier and there were just not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that was on my to-do list. I didn’t want to completely skip over this week’s entry. Hopefully, “Better late than never,” applies to this situation. Anyway, I apologize for the tardiness of the entry and thank you for your understanding. Heaps of blessings on your head!


APRIL 13-20

The people spoke against God and Moses,
“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?
For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”
Numbers 21:5

It’s amazing what we humans can find to grumble about. Psalm 78:23-25 tells us

Yet He commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven; and He rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them food from heaven. Man did eat the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.

Angel’s bread!!! Provisions from heaven!!!! And still they complained. It just goes to prove that mankind has a tendency to only be happy when God answers our prayers our way! Heaven’s best can still be a source of contention if it’s not what we want. I wish that this were only true for the Israelites, but we Christians (myself included) can often murmur if God’s answers don’t fulfill our requests according to our desires.

We’ve covered a great deal of territory this week. We’ve gone from the high priest’s walking stick becoming fruitful overnight, to Moses and Aaron making the biggest mistake of their lives! “Why was God so harsh on them,” you may ask. The answer to that question is actually found in a couple weeks’ time, but we can look ahead for a moment. Moses is giving his last speech to the children of Israel before he goes up into the mountain to die. He gives a few more details of the conversation he and God had after he failed to speak to the rock. God said he would die on the mountain and not enter the land because he “broke faith” with Him. Because of the grumbling of this new generation, Moses and Aaron felt they would do the same thing their fathers had done, and for a brief moment, Moses and Aaron feared that God would not be able to keep His promise. They doubted God’s ability and magnified the younger generation’s weakness. They lost faith! Obviously, they were not seeing the scene from God’s perspective. God’s attitude toward them was not the same as it had been with their fathers. With the first generation, God told Moses to strike the rock; with this generation He had instructed Moses to speak to the rock. The anger Moses expressed to this generation was Moses’ anger, not God’s! God’s words were, “You did not treat Me as holy!” Sometimes it is easy to mistake our reaction to a situation as God’s. I don’t think anyone is more capable of teaching this seminar than Moses!!!!

On Wednesday we met a dumb ass that was smarter than a “religious” man. Oh, the lessons we can learn from Balaam. Here is a man that prides himself on only saying what God would have him say. Interesting how this story comes on the heels of Moses disobedience and harsh words. The only thing Balaam can speak is blessing, but although his words are right, his heart is wrong! Remember this man’s name and what he did! We haven’t heard the last of him!!!!!!!

Friday begins the preparations for going into the land. Before the Israelites begin the battles of conquest, God has them number their troops again. It is interesting to see how each tribe grew or diminished during their wanderings in the wilderness. You may want to take the chart below and fill in the blanks to see where each one stands. Not only did this census muster the troops, it was to serve as a gauge for dividing the inheritance of each tribe. God is putting the details in order, as they get ready to take the land! How exciting!!!

*****

TRAIL STOP
Although we have already passed through this area, you may want to go back and make note of the answer to these questions. Once again, I’m sorry for the delay.

Tuesday
1. Where was Miriam buried?
2. Where was Aaron buried?

Thursday
There is an interesting connection between Phineas and the man he killed. This was the man who brought the prostitute into his tent in broad daylight, in front of Moses and all the leaders of Israel. Can you find the subtle connection?

Friday
1. Which of Jacob’s sons has the largest number of warriors?
2. Who were all the women named in the census of the tribes?

We sent this chart out a while ago. You can either fill in the one you have or download this one. We have also blitzed a copy to all of those who are registered with us. Enjoy!












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