September 17th, 2008 by Kristi Stephens

Picking up where we left off in Numbers, the people refused to enter the land. The result: God said they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years until the entire generation died off. Suddenly, their thinking cleared and they were willing to go into the land! It did not go well. (Numbers 14:39-45)

Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!” And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. “Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. “For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop; nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.

God is so faithful and merciful, however. Whereas, in my humanness, I would surely have had it with these people and wanted to be done with them, God responds in such an amazing manner.

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you…” (Numbers 15:1-2)

What’s the significance of these verses? He’s still going to give them the land! They have to wait, and wait, and wait… they have to suffer the consequences of their actions, but God, in His faithfulness, has merely postponed the agenda. They might utterly mess up their side of the deal, but He’s still keeping His.

On to chapter 16! Perhaps they have realized the error of their ways and gone back to the obedience of the first ten chapters? …unfortunately not!

Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” (Numbers 16:1-3)

But it gets worse. Moses calls all of the “protestors” to come to the tabernacle and let the Lord judge between them, but a couple of very presumptious ones refuse to come.

“Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us? “Moreover you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!” (16:14)

Notice the reference to Egypt. Suddenly, Egypt (the place where they were being cruelly oppressed, the place where they were forced to kill and drown their babies) has become “the land flowing with milk and honey,” the descriptors God Himself used to describe the promised land! And if that wasn’t enough, it apparently is Moses’ fault that they didn’t enter the land! Yikes!

Anyone who had read the rest of the Pentateuch, let alone people who had lived it, should know that this will not end well. In fact, the earth opens up and swallows the men, their families, and all of their posessions.

Here’s the kicker: On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” (Numbers 16:41) Oh, that’s right. Moses caused the earth to open, swallow them, and close again.

God, not surprisingly, did not like this turn of events either!

Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. (16:42-45)

Aaron, at the direction of Moses, takes a censer and runs in the midst of the people, standing betweent the living and the dead, to make atonement for the people and stop the plague that had broken out. So, in addition to the people who had died with Korah’s brilliant plan, 14,700 more people die due to their sin and rebellion.

We have dreadful memories sometimes. We look back at the pits out of which God has rescued us, and they begin to look much more bountiful and blessed than the places He has brought us to. We want to go back. We dig in our heels and refuse to follow Him. We forget His amazing faithfulness and focus on whatever it is that we dislike about our present circumstances (which are frequently brought about by our own sinful choices!)

It is interesting that in the middle of all of this, God gives Moses a very practical command for the people. (15:38-41)

“Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. “And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for 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 your God.”

Look at it and remember. I am the Lord your God. Your own heart and eyes are prone to lead you astray! Constantly remind yourself of the Truth!

While we don’t need to literally attach blue tassels to our clothes (although it’s not a bad idea!), this principle definitely holds true in our own lives. Do whatever you need to do to keep from forgetting the Lord, from being let astray by your own heart and your own eyes. He is the Lord! Don’t get caught up in your circumstances and judge His character by them – judge your circumstances by His character!

I will praise you among all the people;
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
The poor will eat and be satisfied.
All who seek the Lord will praise him.
Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.
People from every nation will bow down before him.
For the Lord is king!
He rules all the nations.
Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.
Let all mortals—those born to die—bow down in his presence.
Future generations will also serve him.
Our children will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
His righteous acts will be told to those yet unborn.
They will hear about everything he has done.
Psalm 22:25-31 (NLT)

September 17th, 2008 by Kristi Stephens

Another note from my sister about my niece:

We met with the surgeon yesterday who will do the operation to give Masen her new cochlear implant. He told me that the operation will actually take LONGER than the first one because there is bone growth that he has to work around in her skull. She will also notice the pain more than the 1st time because she is older–babies apparently just roll with the pain, because the first time she was up and playing as soon as they removed the IV with the morphine drip! So those 2 things were much different than the what we heard from the audiologist. Masen also won’t have to spend the night in the hospital, but will come home right after surgery, which seems completely crazy to me! She’ll be on oral pain meds, and it will be rough, he said. Sort-of a throbbing in her skull for several days. Apparently all the people who got implants from the same “batch” as Masen’s will have their implants fail as well due to a moisture problem inside the implant. So you can be praying for those families as well–we’re talking a LOT of people nationwide, about 20 here in GR alone. BUT, the good news is that we might have the chance to join in a research study on a new (computer) program to give Masen even better hearing than before. I’m calling the audiologist today to see if we can be in on that study; Dr. Daniels (our surgeon) asked if we would like to join, and I sure hope we can! We’re still on for the 29th of Sept–thank you for all your prayers! They are GREATLY appreciated!
Love,
Tiffany

September 10th, 2008 by Kristi Stephens

After all of that obedience in the first 9 books of Numbers, we got a hint that things were about to change when Moses requested that Hobab be their guide through the wilderness in chapter 10. In chapters 11-14, check that safety bar because this roller coaster is about to plummet. Fast.

In Numbers 11:1-3, we find the people complaining. God’s response? Fire consumes the outskirts of the camp.

It’s obvious by the next section of verses that the lesson was not learned.

Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? “We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; “but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” …Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased. (11:4-6, 10)

Result: In the words of my wise mother, “Oooh, someone’s gonna get a such-a-one!” And indeed, more plagues.

And back to Moses (not to be outdone by the people):

So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me? “Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You swore to their fathers? “Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ “I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. “If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and do not let me see my wretchedness!” (11:11-15)

Not exactly Moses’ shining moment of faithfulness. But, don’t worry – he’s not alone either. Check out the other members of leadership in 12:1-2:

Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it.

(I would think those last five words should make us tremble just a bit about what we say.)

Result: Miriam is covered with leprosy. Moses intercedes for her and God heals her.

The finale of unfaithfulness, though, is in chapters 13-14. This is too long of a story to quote, so please read it on your own. If you’re familiar with the old “12 men went to spy on Canaan, 10 were bad, 2 were good” song that we grew up singing in Sunday school and at summer camp, that’s what’s happening. 12 spies were sent into the land to see what it was like – they all say that it’s a wonderful place, but 10 of the spies are too focused on the “giants” in the land to believe that their God is big enough to fulfill His promises. Only 2 (Caleb and Joshua) strongly encourage the people that any obstacles are nothing to God. Unfortunately, the people listen to the unbelieving majority instead of the faithful few. And the entire nation refuses to enter the land and claim what God has promised was theirs.

Result: 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, waiting for that entire generation to die out.

Think of the progression of this sin: the outskirts of the camp, every family in every tent, the leadership, the entire nation. Where did it start? What attitude was it that was so contagious through the entire nation and ultimately cost them their lives?

A complaining spirit.

Sometimes I hear people talking about major sin that they found themselves in, and often the phrase, “I don’t know how this happened” ends up in the story. Suddenly, you’re in this giant pit of sin and you have no idea how you got there! Guess what: I can almost guarantee you it wasn’t a one time thing. As Dr. Miller from Cedarville says, “Your soul is not sold in one great auction – it is bartered away in thousands of tiny trades.”

I think that we often dismiss complaining as a “less serious” sin, or perhaps not a sin at all. Everybody complains – about the weather, about your headache, about your husband/ wife, about your pastor, about your kids, about your car, blah, blah, blah.

Think about this: If I truly believe that my God is sovereign, if I truly believe that absolutely nothing is out of His control… my complaints about the big AND small issues of life are tiny symptoms of a deadly cancer: lack of submission to the sovereign will of my Creator, Savior, and Lord. “God, I know that you order all things, but I think you’re doing a lousy job with the weather/ my health/ my family/ my finances/ etc.” And as I begin to adopt complaining as a pattern of life, I am living in constant rebellion to my God, whether it seems that bad or not. I am daily trading my soul, the cancer is spreading, and I am setting myself up for outright, blatant sin and disobedience.

The beginning of Philippians 2 is full of theology about our Lord Jesus. Paul’s one practical application point in this powerful chapter is found in 2:14-15 – Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation…

Complaining IS a big deal. Oh, Lord – open our eyes to see the cancer spreading in our own lives. Satan wants us to be so accustomed to rebellion against you that when truly difficult trials come, our first reaction is to question your authority, character, and will. Teach us to bow our knees each and every day to your sovereignty, recognizing that you work all things together for our good, for our holiness. You are God, we are not. Oh, for grace to trust You more!

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28

September 10th, 2008 by Kristi Stephens

Martha Stewart says, “Learn something new every day.” I have today’s education behind me, thanks to a very enlightening conversation with AG.

She was looking at her Bible story book and referring to the bird shown in this image. Here is our conversation:

(A) “What’s that bird called?”
(K) “I don’t know what that bird is.”
(A) “It’s a different kind of pelican. It’s called a Hong-Dong-Fong.”

Duly noted.