Numbers 10:1-11:23, Mark 14:1-21, Psalms 51:1-19, Proverbs 10:31-32
Today is the 8th day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you today as we do what we do. We gather, come around the Global Campfire, we release, exhale all the cares of this life that we’re draggin’ around, and we just allow God’s word to do what God’s word does. It washes into our lives and informs us, directs us, guides us, assures us, corrects and comforts us. So, let’s dive in. We are reading from the New International Version this week. Numbers chapter 10 verse 1 through 11 verse 23.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in the Old Testament, we need just a little bit of a catch-up because we’ve gone through the book of Leviticus and through this much of the book of Numbers and so we’ve been focusing on the giving of the law and the customs in the rituals and the holy days, just the entire tapestry of an emerging culture that is being made out of these former slaves. So, that’s been tedious, and we’ve been in it for a little while. So, today it's…it’s easy to miss that today we packed up camp and moved out. Like we’ve been camping out at Mount Sinai for a long time, and we moved out. So, let’s remember. There was Abraham then there was Isaac, and there was Jacob. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. He had children. They were the children of Israel. They would grow up in each of those names will become a tribe of Israel. We remember one of those sons was named Joseph and he was trafficked into Egypt by his own family. Of course, he became second-in-command eventually and brought 70 of his household including his father from Canaan to Egypt to save their lives from the famine. They stayed in Egypt. Joseph died and they continued to stay in Egypt. In fact, they stayed in Egypt for 400 years. So, the people that are coming out of Egypt, they have never known any kind of identity other than slavery. That’s all they really know to be. Even though God has miraculously with a powerful hand demonstrated what He’s capable of to protect his people they still grow weary. And it’s interesting because God when He frees them from Egypt doesn’t take them straight into the promised land by the coastal route. He takes them into the wilderness because their identity has to change from slave to chosen one and they need to receive the law. They need to receive what will govern them as a people to remind them of this identity. This is accomplished now. God has told them to move out and go to the promised land. They have moved out, but we can’t hardly get a few miles before the complaining begins. And that’s what we read about today, the complaining, and it’s so discouraging. I wouldn’t presume to speak for God, but it has to be so discouraging for God who has set His people free with an intention to fulfill a promise to listen to what those people are saying. And it has to be so discouraging from Moses. In fact, it was discouraging enough for Moses to say, “this is too big of a burden, I didn’t have all these people, they’re not my kids. You’re asking me basically to be a father to them and carry them like they were my kids, and I can’t do it.” And the people start complaining, “you remember when we were in Egypt when we were slaves. We got free meat and cucumbers and melons leaks and garlic and onions. Remember that? It was all free. We were just slaves and it was wonderful.” After all that God has gone through, that we’ve borne witness to as we’re reading through these stories, that would be such a slap in the face. That would be so discouraging. And then the mirror comes up out of the Bible and we find we’re not looking into an ancient story anymore. We’re looking into our own eyes. We had been enslaved and we were brought into the wilderness and we hate the wilderness. We ate the wildernesses of our lives. We spend all of our energy trying to escape them. When the…the truth of the matter, at least as borne out in the stories in the Scriptures is that we should embrace the wilderness. It is shaping our identity and teaching us to be utterly dependent upon God, which…which is in itself complete freedom because we are dependent upon God. But we’re seen that God is taking care of his people. It was the wilderness that God chose as the backdrop. And if you think about the wildernesses of your life, you can think of very, very difficult times that you don’t ever want to experience again but that is the time when we learn the most, the most deep bed rock things about our existence and who we are. And, so let’s begin as we continue to travel with the children of Israel toward the promised land. As we go out further into the wilderness, let’s remember the wilderness is not purposeless. This is where we learn the most valuable things in life and the most valuable thing we can learn is our utter dependence upon God. That changes our identity from trying to be a sovereign to trying to fully be a dependent.
Prayer:
Jesus, we invite You into that. In fact, we…we move toward the Psalms because they speak so clearly what our hearts need to cry, “have mercy oh God, according to Your unfailing love, according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions wash away all my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sins. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a pure heart oh God and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” This is our cry from the wilderness or from times of great prosperity. Come Holy Spirit and renew us, even as we continue this journey through the…the season of lent, designed to help us focus, focus our dependence upon You and lament the things that we have allowed that would separate us from You. Create in us a clean heart. In Jesus’ name, we ask. Amen.
Song
White as Snow – Jon Foreman
Have mercy on me, oh God
According to Your unfailing love
According to Your great compassion
Blot out my transgressions
Have mercy on me, oh God
According to Your unfailing love
According to Your great compassion
Blot out my transgressions
Would You create in me a clean heart, oh, God?
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation
Would You create in me a clean heart, oh, God?
Restore in me the joy of my salvation
The sacrifices of our God
Are a broken and a contrite heart
Against You and You alone
Have I sinned?
The sacrifices of our God
Are a broken and a contrite heart
Against You and You alone
Have I sinned?
Would You create in me a clean heart, oh, God?
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation
Would You create in me a clean heart, oh, God?
Restore in me the joy of my salvation
Wash me white as snow
And I will be made whole
Wash me white as snow
And I will be made whole
Wash me white as snow
And I will be made whole
Wash me white as snow
Would You create in me a clean heart, oh, God?
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation
Would You create in me a clean heart, oh, God?
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation