February 13–Numbers 24-26

“Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15).

Balaam was a genuinely gifted man. “Like Melchizedek and Jethro in earlier Scripture, he was blessed with insight from Almighty God even though he was outside the house of Israel” (Alexander Whyte). The story gives many indications of authentic Spirituality. His wonderful prophesy of Christ (24:7) and the Scripture’s plain statement, “the Spirit of God came upon him,” (24:2) both testify to his genuine giftedness. God is graciously at work in ALL nations. He never leaves Himself without a witness!

Sadly, Balaam was also a lost man. Despite his superficial religious experiences, his true love was money. Even the warning of a talking donkey and a crushed foot were insufficient to wake his heart and turn Him toward true worship.

Moses tells the rest of the tragic story in Numbers 31:16. Still seeking Balak’s gold, still lingering near a temptation he should have fled, Balaam gave counsel that led Israel into sin. 24,000 people died in the judgement that followed. Unwilling to curse Israel, Balaam was all too willing to corrupt them. Forbidden to turn Jehovah against Israel, he gave counsel that turned Israel against Jehovah.

After you read these chapters today, will you pause to consider the clear warning and instruction? All of us know greatly gifted people. Pastors. Singers. Leaders. We all are gifted in some measure. But gifts from God, or even genuine Spiritual experiences, are no guarantee of His approval or of a saving relationship with Him. The Great Judge looks at the heart and motives. Is it your gifts He wants, dear one? No, it is your heart and He cannot (will not) receive a divided heart. “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” cried David in Psalm 51. We are wise to make the same urgent plea!

” ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons?’ and I will say to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ “(Matthew 7:22-23).

“Wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God”(1 Corinthians 4:5).

February 13–Numbers 24-26

“Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15).

Balaam was a genuinely gifted man. “Like Melchizedek and Jethro in earlier Scripture, he was blessed with insight from Almighty God even though he was outside the house of Israel” (Alexander Whyte). The story gives many indications of authentic Spirituality. His wonderful prophesy of Christ (24:7) and the Scripture’s plain statement, “the Spirit of God came upon him,” (24:2) both testify to his genuine giftedness. God is graciously at work in ALL nations. He never leaves Himself without a witness!

Sadly, Balaam was also a lost man. Despite his superficial religious experiences, his true love was money. Even the warning of a talking donkey and a crushed foot were insufficient to wake his heart and turn Him toward true worship.

Moses tells the rest of the tragic story in Numbers 31:16. Still seeking Balak’s gold, still lingering near a temptation he should have fled, Balaam gave counsel that led Israel into sin. 24,000 people died in the judgement that followed. Unwilling to curse Israel, Balaam was all too willing to corrupt them. Forbidden to turn Jehovah against Israel, he gave counsel that turned Israel against Jehovah.

After you read these chapters today, will you pause to consider the clear warning and instruction? All of us know greatly gifted people. Pastors. Singers. Leaders. We all are gifted in some measure. But gifts from God, or even genuine Spiritual experiences, are no guarantee of His approval or of a saving relationship with Him. The Great Judge looks at the heart and motives. Is it your gifts He wants, dear one? No, it is your heart and He cannot (will not) receive a divided heart. “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” cried David in Psalm 51. We are wise to make the same urgent plea!

” ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons?’ and I will say to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ “(Matthew 7:22-23).

“Wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God”(1 Corinthians 4:5).

February 12–Numbers 21-23

“Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people” (22:12).

Balaam was a well-known soothsayer. The king of Moab attempted to hire him to curse Israel. In his conscience, and by direct revelation from God, Balaam knew it was wrong to do so. The desire for wealth, however, kept him involved in the negotiations. His divided heart exposed him to danger.

The New Testament tells us to FLEE temptation. Like Joseph with Potiphar’s wife, we are to remove ourselves from situations that pull us toward sin. Get away! Don’t go near! Not doing so was Balaam’s failure.

The question (for some) is God’s role. If God allowed Balaam to go (22:20), why was He subsequently angry when he went? It will help to remember that God’s first word was a clear NO! Everything that followed was a part of God’s permissive will, a concession to Balaam’s divided heart. The Father allows options to stubborn children (note the prodigal son) but nothing exempts us from the consequences if we refuse to follow the call of God with a clean conscience.

Dear reader, are you dabbling with sinful choices? Are you lingering near a decision that was already made when you received Christ and called Him Lord? Offering true freedom, the Spirit says, “Run! Even if you must leave part of yourself behind.”

American Shakers used to sing, “Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free, ’tis a gift to come down where you ought to be.” In this context, simple means, “pure, unmixed, containing only one element.” Balaam’s story is a reminder. A simple heart is our safety in Christ, and it is, at times, most established by the action of simple obedience. Flee!

“For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways”(James 1:7-8).

“Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death”(James 1:14-15).

February 12–Numbers 21-23

“Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people” (22:12).

Balaam was a well-known soothsayer. The king of Moab attempted to hire him to curse Israel. In his conscience, and by direct revelation from God, Balaam knew it was wrong to do so. The desire for wealth, however, kept him involved in the negotiations. His divided heart exposed him to danger.

The New Testament tells us to FLEE temptation. Like Joseph with Potiphar’s wife, we are to remove ourselves from situations that pull us toward sin. Get away! Don’t go near! Not doing so was Balaam’s failure.

The question (for some) is God’s role. If God allowed Balaam to go (22:20), why was He subsequently angry when he went? It will help to remember that God’s first word was a clear NO! Everything that followed was a part of God’s permissive will, a concession to Balaam’s divided heart. The Father allows options to stubborn children (note the prodigal son) but nothing exempts us from the consequences if we refuse to follow the call of God with a clean conscience.

Dear reader, are you dabbling with sinful choices? Are you lingering near a decision that was already made when you received Christ and called Him Lord? Offering true freedom, the Spirit says, “Run! Even if you must leave part of yourself behind.”

American Shakers used to sing, “Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free, ’tis a gift to come down where you ought to be.” In this context, simple means, “pure, unmixed, containing only one element.” Balaam’s story is a reminder. A simple heart is our safety in Christ, and it is, at times, most established by the action of simple obedience. Flee!

“For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways”(James 1:7-8).

“Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death”(James 1:14-15).

February 11–Numbers 17-20

“Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them”(20:12).

I must always remember. God’s favor can never be taken for granted. Those who have walked with Him in friendship and blessing (sometimes for many years) can still be disqualified by unbelief or public sin.

The very real potential for God’s discipline is what concerned Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:27. “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself might be disqualified.” He feared, and rightly so, being excluded from continued service and blessing, a loss of privilege and power in an intimate friendship with God.

David felt the heat of God’s fierce discipline. After Bathsheba/Uriah event, his family was consumed with the fire of ongoing trouble. God removed His protection. See 2 Samuel 12:10.

In our reading today, Moses experienced it, too. Having endured thirty-eight years of delay and frustration in the desert, Moses and a new generation came again to Kadesh. Hopeful moment! Sadly, when no water was found, rebellion and discontent surfaced in this generation, just as it had in their parents.

In a flash of anger and self-entitlement, Moses scolded the people and ignored the instruction of God. Using the rod, which for years has been a symbol of his humility, he struck the rock in a display of angry self-assertion. Just as the people failed to keep their eyes on the Lord (gave way to their fears), Moses failed to keep his eyes on the Lord (gave way to his anger and weariness).

God judged him for it, declared that Moses would not enter the land with his people. It was a judgment tempered with sympathy (Moses was allowed to see the land before he died, and years later he was sent back to stand in the land with the Lord. See Matthew 17:2). Even so, it was a VERY painful consequence.

Note to self. The condition for continued friendship with the Lord is continued faith. No excuses are allowed. I must keep my eyes on Him and the finish line.

“Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true. There’s a race that must be run, there’s a victory to be won. Every hour, by Thy power, keep me true” (Old hymn).

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course. . .in the future there is laid up for me a crown”(2 Timothy 4:7-8).

February 11–Numbers 17-20

“Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them”(20:12).

I must always remember. God’s favor can never be taken for granted. Those who have walked with Him in friendship and blessing (sometimes for many years) can still be disqualified by unbelief or public sin.

The very real potential for God’s discipline is what concerned Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:27. “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself might be disqualified.” He feared, and rightly so, being excluded from continued service and blessing, a loss of privilege and power in an intimate friendship with God.

David felt the heat of God’s fierce discipline. After Bathsheba/Uriah event, his family was consumed with the fire of ongoing trouble. God removed His protection. See 2 Samuel 12:10.

In our reading today, Moses experienced it, too. Having endured thirty-eight years of delay and frustration in the desert, Moses and a new generation came again to Kadesh. Hopeful moment! Sadly, when no water was found, rebellion and discontent surfaced in this generation, just as it had in their parents.

In a flash of anger and self-entitlement, Moses scolded the people and ignored the instruction of God. Using the rod, which for years has been a symbol of his humility, he struck the rock in a display of angry self-assertion. Just as the people failed to keep their eyes on the Lord (gave way to their fears), Moses failed to keep his eyes on the Lord (gave way to his anger and weariness).

God judged him for it, declared that Moses would not enter the land with his people. It was a judgment tempered with sympathy (Moses was allowed to see the land before he died, and years later he was sent back to stand in the land with the Lord. See Matthew 17:2). Even so, it was a VERY painful consequence.

Note to self. The condition for continued friendship with the Lord is continued faith. No excuses are allowed. I must keep my eyes on Him and the finish line.

“Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true. There’s a race that must be run, there’s a victory to be won. Every hour, by Thy power, keep me true” (Old hymn).

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course. . .in the future there is laid up for me a crown”(2 Timothy 4:7-8).

February 10–Numbers 15-16

“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, then make an offering by fire to the Lord’ “(15:2).

After God’s discipline comes, and every child of God is certain to experience it, a surprising new truth also becomes apparent. His promises endure the storm of His wrath! No matter how public the failure, how painful the self-inflicted wounds, the believer discovers God’s mercies are, indeed, new every morning! See Lamentations 3:23. Failure is not final. The Father STILL has gracious plans.

“However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off,” says Judges 16:22. Beautiful and symbolic picture! After the fierce fire of God’s judgement burned away Samson’s former life, the mercy of God quietly began to express itself. Samson realized the potential of restoration! Astounding grace!

Numbers 15 is such a moment. Days (hours?) after declaring His fierce, unbending judgement on His rebellious people (“Surely you shall not come into the land which I swore to settle you”), God instructs Moses to speak to the people with this intriguing opening line, “When you enter the land where you are to live. . .” Wait! What? After telling them they will not enter, He bids them dream of the day the good plan of God will again find traction!

The Bible’s name for this is HOPE. A confident expectation of FUTURE victory. Believer, do you have it? Despite your sin and your failure, do you still believe that God will keep His promises and purposes in the world? Even if we only see it from heaven, or experience it through a future generation, we can be part of that coming celebration! Just as His righteousness is ours in Christ, so His victory will be ours, as well.

FUTURE orientation is a great cure for discouragement. Rather than think about me, I think of Him. Rather than think of now, I think of someday. “In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day,” says Paul in 2 Timothy 4:8.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

Friend, have you learned the power of this truth? Even in our failure, the Father is faithful. He is not finished with His children. It is, therefore, NOT over! Will you focus forward on the coming day of the Lord? Like the thief on the cross, will you allow His mercy to include YOU in that glorious coming day?

February 10–Numbers 15-16

“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, then make an offering by fire to the Lord’ “(15:2).

After God’s discipline comes, and every child of God is certain to experience it, a surprising new truth also becomes apparent. His promises endure the storm of His wrath! No matter how public the failure, how painful the self-inflicted wounds, the believer discovers God’s mercies are, indeed, new every morning! See Lamentations 3:23. Failure is not final. The Father STILL has gracious plans.

“However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off,” says Judges 16:22. Beautiful and symbolic picture! After the fierce fire of God’s judgement burned away Samson’s former life, the mercy of God quietly began to express itself. Samson realized the potential of restoration! Astounding grace!

Numbers 15 is such a moment. Days (hours?) after declaring His fierce, unbending judgement on His rebellious people (“Surely you shall not come into the land which I swore to settle you”), God instructs Moses to speak to the people with this intriguing opening line, “When you enter the land where you are to live. . .” Wait! What? After telling them they will not enter, He bids them dream of the day the good plan of God will again find traction!

The Bible’s name for this is HOPE. A confident expectation of FUTURE victory. Believer, do you have it? Despite your sin and your failure, do you still believe that God will keep His promises and purposes in the world? Even if we only see it from heaven, or experience it through a future generation, we can be part of that coming celebration! Just as His righteousness is ours in Christ, so His victory will be ours, as well.

FUTURE orientation is a great cure for discouragement. Rather than think about me, I think of Him. Rather than think of now, I think of someday. “In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day,” says Paul in 2 Timothy 4:8.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

Friend, have you learned the power of this truth? Even in our failure, the Father is faithful. He is not finished with His children. It is, therefore, NOT over! Will you focus forward on the coming day of the Lord? Like the thief on the cross, will you allow His mercy to include YOU in that glorious coming day?

February 9–Numbers 11-14

“I have pardoned them according to your word, but indeed. . .(those) who have put Me to the test these ten times and not listened to my voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers”(14:20, 22).

Sad story. Familiar. Instructive. Kadesh-barnea.

Once again, the people of God refuse to believe. Listening to the contagious fears from the spy committee report, choosing to focus on the dangers rather than on a trust-worthy God, they “put Him to the test” (demand that He prove Himself. Again).

Panic is the opposite of self-denial. Loyal to their feelings and fears, the people were disloyal to God. Dear reader, do you know this story from your own experience? I certainly do. Sin is ungrateful. Selfish. Immature. Rebellious. A childish tantrum.

Eventually, by the intercession of Moses, God pardons. He also, however, punishes. He pardons in the sense that the nation will not be destroyed. He punishes in the sense that individuals are held accountable. The God who reveals Himself in Scripture, the true God, is slow to anger but does not leave the guilty unpunished. It is a great mistake to underestimate His fierce anger. See God’s own words regarding Himself in Exodus 34:7.

Cats have nine lives. Batters get three swings. Israel put God to the test ten times. The infinite and wise God keeps track of our stubbornness and knows the threshold of His own patience. He is no enabler. At a certain fearful point, and with the perfect balance of love and justice, discipline comes. See 14:34.

Some teach that grace carries no condemnation. If you mean no possibility of discipline, I deny it. Godly fear should drive us back to Him in confession and repentance and trust. Read David in Psalm 51 as an example of God’s plan and path for the believer who sins.

As you read Numbers 11-14 this morning, will you consider that God is both forgiving and fierce? As He fills the world with His glory, discipline will be part of His administration. This being so, with what urgency and fear should we seek Him?

“For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives”(Hebrews 12:6).

February 8–Numbers 8-10

“Now in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the tabernacle of testimony; and the sons of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai”(10:11-12).

It was a new day! Exciting! Having stayed for months at Sinai, having learned much from the Lord, the people woke one day to discover the cloud was moving! Without any warning, a new part of their journey began.

With reverence and hope, the people quickly packed and moved out in the prescribed order. Judah first. Then Isaachar. Then Zebulun. . . The tabernacle was taken down and carried forward in the line of march. What a spectacular sight it must have been! A new nation marching toward, ”a place that God will show you.”

We all come to such moments. Long enough at one place, in one stage of maturity, with familiar set of ideas about God and ourselves, in the Lord, the time will come for us to get forward. To change. To grow.

Paul spoke of this moment and the attitude required. “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on. . .for the prize”(Philippians 3:13).

Are you ready, dear reader? Ready to embrace the inevitable and uncomfortable feelings that come with change? Are you willing? Courageous? Hopeful? Is your heart resolved to “not look back” as Lot’s wife did, with disastrous results?

The Savior is our example. “For the joy set before Him,” says Hebrews 12:2, indicating His intense focus on the Father and future, as He pressed toward the cross.

Progress is not really an option. It is, however, a choice of faith. Dear reader, as the Spirit beckons, will you let go of the past, its victories and its failures, and get forward with the Lord?

“For all that has been, thanks! For all that shall be, yes!” (Dag Hammarskjold).

“Lead on, O King eternal, the day of march has come; henceforth in fields of conquest your tents shall be our home. Through days of preparation your grace has made us strong; and now, O King eternal, we lift our battle song”(Ernest Shurtleff).

“When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them”(Acts 16:10).