Women of Firm Faith

Verses 1-2, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.' ”  The Moabites were part of the Midianites, the people group that lured Israel into sexual sin and the worship of false gods.  Numbers 25:1-3, “Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.”   God told Moses that He wanted them to exact revenge against them for their deeds. Normally one might think that vengeance is wrong, and it can be, when we take matters into our own hands. But God was the one orchestrating the vengeance here, and after all, it does belong to Him. Hebrews 10:30-31, “For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Min...

Verses 1-2, “Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, 'This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.' ”  Making a vow to the Lord is a serious thing, and when you do not follow through to pay what you have promised, it is sin to you. Psalms 50:14, “Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High.”   Sometimes people make rash promises to God that they have no intention of keeping, due to the pressure of the situation they find themselves in. Once they are out of their trial, they act like they never made the vow at all, without any fear. These people clearly do not understand who God is and His authority.  Deuteronomy 23:21-23, “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for th...

Verses 1-6, “And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets. You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish. Their grain offering shall  be fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, to make atonement for you; besides the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.”  This was the Feast of Trumpets, also known as Rosh Hashanah. On the first day of the seventh month, the trumpets were blown to gather God's people for a holy convocation. T...

Verses 1-8, “Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Command the children of Israel, and say to them, “My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.” ‘ And you shall say to them, “This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs in their first year without blemish, day by day, as a regular burnt offering. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil. It is a regular burnt offering which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord. And its drink offering shall be one-fourth of a hin for each lamb; in a holy place you shall pour out the drink to the Lord as an offering. The other lamb you shall offer in the evening; as the morning grain offe...

The daughters of Zelophehad came before Moses with this case. Verses 3-11, “ ‘Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.’  So Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘The daughters of Zelophehad speak what  is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: “If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, then you shall giv...

Verses 1-4, “And it came to pass, after the plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying: 'Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel from twenty years old and above, by their fathers’ houses, all who are able to go to war in Israel.' So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying: 'Take a census of the people from twenty years old and above, just as the Lord commanded Moses and the children of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt.' ”  Decades earlier, the Lord commanded Moses to take a census of the people in preparation to take the Promised Land. Although they had the military organization, they did not have the faith, which left them wandering in the wilderness all those years. As they once again prepared to enter and posess the Promised Land, God commanded another census of those who were ready for war. God can also equip us to ...

Verses 1-3, “Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.”   It is not too surprising that by dwelling among people who were committing evil acts (sexual sin and idolatry), the Israelites began to do the same. That is because those who practice evil will corrupt you and entice you to join them.  I Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.' ”   Friendships with unsaved people will lead you astray because your friendship ends up taking priority over your relationship with God.  James 4:4, “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enem...

Verses 1-2, “Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.”  Evidently this third time, Balaam did not try to use sorcery to bring about a curse upon Israel as in the previous two times.  Balak had brought him to the top of Peor which overlooked a wasteland, but Balaam instead looked toward the wilderness. As soon as he saw the children of Israel, God have him a word. Verses 3-9, “Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: 'How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, ...

Balaam told Balak to prepare seven alters on which to sacrifice a bull and a ram on each, and then went away from the people to a high place to hear from God. Verses 4-11, “And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, 'I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.' Then the Lord  put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, 'Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.' So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. And he took up his oracle and said: 'Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. “Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!” ’ 'How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, Not reckoning itself among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or n...

Verses 4-6, “So Moab said to the elders of Midian, 'Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.' And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: 'Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.' ”  Israel was so big in size and news had spread of their defeat of the nearby nations, that Balak, the king of Moab, was terribly afraid of them. Suspecting that he was no match for Israel, Balak decided to seek spiritual help through the prophet Balaam. So the elders of M...

Verses 1-3, “The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, 'If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.' And the Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called Hormah.”   Hormah means "utter destruction", and it wasn't the Israelites' first battle here. After Israel sent faithless spies out, who came back with a bad report, God pronounced a death sentence upon them (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb). In an attempt to overturn this judgement, they decided to battle in their own strength, thinking they could overtake their enemies and make God happy. Numbers 14:39-45, “Then Moses told these words to all the children of Isra...

Verse 1, “Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.”  God had promised that only Joshua and Caleb of their generation would see the Promised Land, and Miriam's death is fulfillment of that promise.  Regardless of the fact that she was the sister of Moses, who enjoyed a unique relationship with God ( Exodus 33:11, “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” ), the outcome of His promise was not altered. This sent a strong message to the congregation that God does not show favoritism. God is not a respector of man and will judge each one according to the truth. Romans 2:2-11, “But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will ...

Verses 1-9, “Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come. You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. And the one who burns it shall wash h...

Verse 1, “Then the Lord said to Aaron: 'You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood.' ”   Aaron was just chosen by God before the congregation for the priesthood through the miracle of the budding rod.  But being chosen by God is more than an honor, it is a responsibility.  Luke 12:48, “...For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”   Some people desire to become a pastor because they think the position comes with glory from man, but they do not consider the huge responsibility to labor and serve others, the intense attacks that will be aimed at them, or the hours of time required to study and pray in order to teach God's word rightly. Besides that, they have more accountability to God.  James 3...