Pastor Billington's Blog

Numbers 24

Balaam not only blesses Israel, he also gives a number of prophecies concerning their future. He anticipates a coming king (star, scepter) that will defeat Israel’s enemies. He also gives three prophecies regarding the future. The first and third probably refer to David’s defeat of the Amalekites and the Philistines. The second possibly refers to the eventual rise of the Assyrians.

Thought for the day: David’s kingdom and victorious reign anticipates Christ’s ultimate rule over creation.

Hebrews 1:7-9 (WEB) “Of the angels he says, ‘He makes his angels winds, and his servants a flame of fire.’ But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.’ “

Numbers 23

Balaam doesn’t come out immediately and say that the Israelites are blessed. Instead he says, “I will only say what the Lord tells me to say.” It seems that he is trying to walk a fine line, presumably to get paid! But ultimately, Balaam is more scared of God than he is of Balak. Although hired to curse Israel, he blesses them three times (twice in our passage today), and Balak is not amused!

Ironically, Balaam does find a way to circumvent God. He later gives some advice that causes God to turn on His people.

Numbers 31:16 (WEB) “Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Yahweh.”

Thought for the day: Balaam’s mantra should be our mantra: “Must I not take heed to speak that which Yahweh puts in my mouth?” God’s Word should guide our thought, actions, and speech!

Psalm 119:41-48 (WEB) “Let your loving kindness also come to me, LORD, your salvation, according to your word. So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in your word. Don’t snatch the word of truth out of my mouth, for I put my hope in your ordinances. So I will obey your law continually, forever and ever. I will walk in liberty, for I have sought your precepts. I will also speak of your statutes before kings, and will not be disappointed. I will delight myself in your commandments, because I love them. I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes.”

Numbers 22

So, we come to one of the more humorous and tragic stories in the Bible. It’s also confusing! Is Balaam a follower of God, or not really? It appears that he was but was overtaken by his own greed. Why does God tell him to go with the messengers, but then get mad when he does? Verse 22:20 reads “if the men have come,” but Balaam takes the initiative to go to them in 22:21. That’s why God uses his donkey to confront him!

Balaam’s greed becomes notorious as an example of how NOT to be.

2 Peter 2:15-16 (WEB) “Forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing; but he was rebuked for his own disobedience. A speechless donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the madness of the prophet.”

Jude 1:11 (WEB) “Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.”

Thought for the day: Don’t give in to greed! It will lead you down a dark, God defying path.

1 Timothy 6:10 (WEB) “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Numbers 21

The Israelites endure a demoralizing defeat. Then, they pray to God and experience a decisive victory. So decisive, in fact, that they name the place of their victory “Utter Destruction.”

But as they journey on, they suffer discouragement and cry out to God in complaint. God sends fiery serpents among them to poison them. Their salvation is to look at a serpent that Moses lifts up on a pole. Foreshadowing, anyone?

John 3:14-15 (WEB) “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

They journey on, mostly without incident. But then they get to Sihon. Since they look more like an invading army, they again ask for permission to take the main road through Amorite territory. Not only are they refused passage, but they are attacked! God gives them the victory, and verse 31 looks forward to their ultimate conquest and resettlement (as does verse 35). King Og of Bahan was next to try his luck, and he too was defeated!

Thought for the day: No matter what we face in life, we can face it with confidence and calm, because of Jesus Christ.

John 14:27 (WEB) “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.”

Numbers 20

Sibling rivalry extends from Esau and Jacob all the way to Edom and Israel. Edom refuses to let Israel travel through the heart of their territory, even though it would be easier for them.

Does Moses’ punishment seem overly harsh to you? Think about this: not only does he disobey God, but he also neglects to give God the glory. “Must we bring you water from this rock!” These indications show us that something is off with Moses heart. If we can see that, then God certainly knows that!

Thought for the day: How is your heart?

Jeremiah 17:10 (WEB) “I, Yahweh, search the mind. I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

Numbers 19

The red heifer and the redness of the cedar wood and scarlet probably represent blood. Hyssop seems to have been used for cleansing (Psalm 51:7), and the ashes gathered following the burning were considered to be a sin offering (19:9). When mixed with water it was used for purification and was employed for ritual cleansing after a person came in contact with a dead body.

Thought for the day: We don’t have to worry about such things anymore, because of Jesus Christ!

Hebrews 9:13-15 (WEB) “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

Numbers 18

God tries to assuage the people’s fear (“Will we all perish?”) by assuring them that they are safe as long as the priests and Levites “perform the duty of the sanctuary and the duty of the altar.” In return, they receive a portion of the tithes and offerings. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t to give! The Levites are told that they too must give a “tithe of the tithe.”

Thought for the day: Giving is something that should be a blessing and a joy for all God’s people.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (WEB) “Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Numbers 17

God tries to quell future rebellions with an object lesson. Aaron’s staff is the only one that buds out of all the tribes of Israel! What should serve as a confirmation of God’s presence and a reminder to follow His commands becomes a reason for fear. Instead of trusting, people seem determined to believe the worst.

Thought for the day: Are we any better? Do we trust God the way we should?

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (WEB) “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose confidence is in the LORD. For he will be as a tree planted by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green, and will not be concerned in the year of drought. It won’t cease from yielding fruit.”

Numbers 16

Some of the Levites (!) rebel against Moses and Aaron. They aren’t happy with their own leadership positions and instead want to be priests. Some also continue to complain about the continuing journey and Moses’ leadership. God threatens to start over as a result, but Moses and Aaron intercede for the congregation, and God’s judgment only falls on the guilty and their families. The incense censers from the guilty are gathered and hammered out so that they cover the altar as an ongoing reminder of who is supposed to serve as priests. When more complain the next day, God’s wrath falls again, and Aaron (at Moses’ request) literally stands between the congregation and God’s judgment!

Thought for the day: Is what happened in the congregation of Israel any different than what sometimes happens in a local church? The pastor/elders are the ones who are responsible before God to lead, teach, and guide the people. Problems arise when someone outside of that leadership decides that they are spokesperson for God and that the congregation needs to follow them. Unfortunately, opposition to godly leadership has always been an issue with God’s people.

3 John 9-10 (WEB) “I wrote to the assembly, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, doesn’t accept what we say. Therefore, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words. Not content with this, he doesn’t receive the brothers himself, and those who would, he forbids and throws out of the assembly.”