Week 12: Numbers 5 – 15 and Psalms 78 – 84

This last week, my husband taught me how to split firewood.  This is not a skill that I had to learn growing up, so the idea of thrusting an ax down from above my head with as much momentum as I could muster was a bit intimidating to me.  Once he taught me the basics, it became less intimidating and more infuriating!  Tyson could swing at a log once and see it split down the middle.  It took me several tries to hit the log, let alone make it even an inch into the wood!  Let me assure you, I am no lumberjack!  But, with painstaking gumption, I had a small stack of wood to show for my effort by the time I called it quits.  As I labored, I thought to myself, “There simply must be a life lesson somewhere in this for me!”

Reading through Numbers this week brought my wood splitting experience to remembrance.  Personally, I find this book to be painstaking in its own rite.  It has been difficult to draw out hints of the Gospel in passages about the procedures for a man suspicious of his wife’s fidelity, the Nazarite vow and the repetition of censuses and sacrifices.  I know, however, that Moses had intention behind every detail for his original audience and there is intention behind it for us today.  Just as my tedious labor for the firewood produced something that will someday fuel the fire to warm our home, our diligence to chew on the book of Numbers will serve to fuel a deeper love for and devotion to our God.

As the LORD called His holy army to order in the opening chapters of Numbers, He made one thing very clear.  Whether they were marching forward toward the conquest of promised land or they were camped, He was to be the focal point of all that Israel did.  His presence and worship were to be central while they were settled in one place, and He was to be at the helm of their forward march.  God reiterated over and over through Moses, that there was to be divine order to their worship and their everyday lives.  It was all designed for the people of Israel to continue growing in their trust in and devotion to the LORD their God, who had delivered them and saved them.

God commanded the trust and obedience of His people.  His requirement of the people’s submission to Him was always based on the same premise:

“So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.  I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord you God.” Numbers 15:40

Israel was to trust and obey God because He was the One who had saved them.

Beginning in Numbers 11, we saw the lack of regard for God and His commands by the people of Israel on display.  God, being the good and perfect Father that He is, dealt swiftly with those whose hearts had intentionally chosen to trust in their own ways above His.  He gave the first generation of liberated Israel over to the desire of their own hearts.  They were to fall dead in the wilderness rather than trust God to be with them in their conquest of the land of Canaan.

Reading through these chapters has been like watching a train-wreck.  It has been gut-wrenching to watch the rebellion unfold and the calamities that followed.  And yet, I have found myself not wanting to look away because Israel’s behavior is all too familiar to me.  Had I been in the sandals of the ordinary Israelites, I wonder if I would have trusted God’s plan of daily supernatural provision.  I wonder if I would have put faith in His promised possession of a land occupied by enemies.  Would I have taken to heart and submitted myself to the unfamiliar regulations God spoke through Moses on how to live my life?  Given my personal track record, I don’t know that obedience and submission would have been my response.  Throughout my life, I have regularly thought to myself regarding various structures of authority, “Surly those rules don’t apply to me!”

My rebellion has had costly consequences, just as the rebellious hearts of the Israelites cost them greatly.  Underlying all that my sin has cost me, however, is an immovable, unshakable, undeniable foundation of God’s grace and steadfast love.

As we read through Numbers, we are witness to God’s drastic measures to uproot and purge the rebellion and pride from among His people.  But, He never withdraws His presence from their camp.  He never retracts His promises.  He never withholds His provision for them.  His discipline is fierce in deed.  What good father does not discipline his children?

God knows that fullness of life and joy is found in trusting Him alone.  What does trust in God look like as we walk the earth?  It looks like obedience.  It is submitting ourselves to His wisdom and perfection rather than relying on ourselves and our own understanding.  I don’t know about you, but submission is not my natural response!  The LORD accurately described me when He said Himself that we are inclined to “whore after” the desires of our own hearts and eyes (Numbers 15:39).  Ouch!!

Yes, God commands our trust and obedience…BECAUSE HE LOVES US and He wants what is GOOD for us.  Our obedience is the byproduct of trusting Him.  Our obedience is the logical response to trusting Him.  Will we trust Him?  Will we trust His provision of Jesus for us?  Will we trust His promise of eternal life to those who believe?

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor.  No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.  O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in You!”  Psalm 84:11-12

The LORD God is the giver of all that sustains us and the protector of all that maintains us.  Covered by the shed blood of Jesus, we have His favor and honor.  He has withheld NO good thing from us as Jesus gave up His life on our behalf.  His desire is to bless us in the richest and deepest way, if only that we would trust Him.

Fellow sojourner, do you trust Him today?