68th Week Numbers Chapters 20-24 (Click on Title for a Video Introduction)

 Click on Title for a Video Introduction

Monday, Numbers Chapter 20

Numbers 20

Verse 10-11

Jeanie Boldt

Verses 10-11:  He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

THOUGHT

Have you ever had a bad day and messed up? My answer is ‘YES”!!! There are times I have done and said things that I am not real proud about especially when I have been under some undo pressure. Well, Moses and Aaron messed up. Moses did not follow instructions to the letter and failed to give the Lord credit for the water. I so imagine that Moses knew soon what he had done wrong. What do you think of the Lord’s punishment? When we are in leadership rolls, we must know what to do and what to say.

Leaders are often discouraged as they go through one trial after another. First, Miriam died, and Moses and Aaron mourned their only sister. Then the people began to complain again for Egypt was still in their hearts. Leaders sometimes disobey God as Moses did when he was angered by the people.  Leaders are disciplined by God, for with privilege comes responsibility. Neither Moses nor Aaron were permitted to enter the Promised Land. Can you imagine after all that they had been through and dealt with?  Their hearts had to be full of regret. However, once we make a mistake - there is no going

back. Our actions have been felt. It is not easy to be a leader.

Even if we are not leaders in the earthly world, we are leaders for the Lord for we know Him, have been saved by His loving Son’s sacrifice and live with the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We must Praise God in all things and give Him honor and glory no matter what the circumstance.

PRAYER

Father, we lift to You all the leaders in our country. We pray that they would be Godly men and women and would make their decisions by going to You in pray and meditation. Our pastors and church leaders love You so and at times feel so beaten down. Our hearts cry out to You to fill them with

encouragement, love, grace, mercy, understanding and guidance. For those we take instruction from, may we honor them and respect the qualities they have earned to be in their position. Thank You for each Salt Shaker Male who is the Spiritual Leader of their household. May they find the support they need through being in the Word and daily prayer. Help we ladies to accept them for who they are and how the Lord is working through them. May we ask daily for guidance after putting on the Armor of the Lord. You are our Sovereign God. We will be Joyful in God our Father.  Please continue to hear our prayers for rejoicing and for guidance and for help as we live each day.  AMEN

Tuesday, Numbers Chapter 21

Numbers 21

Verse 34

Jeanie Boldt

Verse 34:  The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, with his whole army and his land.”

THOUGHT

Isn’t it foolish that we wonder if the Lord can take care of us? Just look at what He did for His people. The Lord removed armies that were in the way for passage to the promise land. We must first believe that He can help us. Second we must trust Him to help us. Third, we must take the steps He shows us. I so believe that the 3rd step is the hardest. At times we are confused about the way we should go. However, I am a firm believer that if we are in the Word and in Prayer and working on our relationship with the Lord - our steps do fall into place. Whether in the highest of heights or deepest of depths, we can ask Him for a sign.

In the journeys of life, God can meet every need.

God gives victory. The nation of Israel was on the move as God gave the people one victory after another over strong kings and armies.

God gives healing. Israel murmured not about the battles but about their lack of food and water in the wilderness. He disciplined them by delivering the serpent. He gave them life and healing. This can be compared to sin. By looking to Christ - we are saved.

God gives water. This time the water did not come from a rock, for God is not limited to one way of meeting our needs. He provided a well for them in a miraculous way. This shows the grace and goodness of the Lord, for just a short time before, the people had complained about the way He was leading them.

The verse in Psalms that continues to come to me tonight as I study this chapter is Psalm 90:22.  If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

PRAYER

God, our Father, who created us to love us and for companionship, we thank You for who we are - where we are - and for the purpose You intended for us. Keep us living and believing the righteous ways of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Show us how to remain ever faithful to You. We pray our actions will be such that You will delight in us so that the way will be clear and Your arms steadying us as we go. Thank You for caring for Moses and Your people as You did. We need to remember that You can do anything.  Make all of us faithful to You and loving and caring for one another. AMEN

Wednesday,  Numbers Chapter 22

Numbers 22

Verse 38

Jeanie Boldt

Verse 38:  “Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.”

THOUGHT

Did anyone feel that they were in a children’s book with talking animals and characters?  I certainly did. The donkey had a closer relationship to God on the road than did Balaam. The donkey saved Balaam’s life but made him look foolish in the process.

The reports of Israel’s victories brought fear to Balak. He knew that the army of Israel could never be defeated by human means because the Jews were God’s people, and the battle was a spiritual one. That is why he asked Balaam to curse the nation. Our battle today is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness, and we will win the victory only if we use spiritual weapons.  I thought a lot about the characters in this story. I would have loved to have been Balaam because the Lord was going to tell him what to say. How awesome that would be. My mouth seems to get me in trouble enough. You would have no worries of ever putting your foot in your mouth. Then let’s think of the donkey. He was loyal, honorable, trust-worthy and dedicated to his master. He was smart and walked with God.

Then sin comes in. Balaam became full of greed when he decided to go to Balak. He wanted the wealth they were going to give him. Then Balaam struck out at a blameless donkey because he was in his way. Lashing out at others can be a sign that something is wrong with us. Our loss of pride should not lead to the hurt of others.

So far the story is very interesting. I wonder if Balaam will remain strong and only say what the Lord commands him to say. Which character speaks to you? What characteristics do you want to have in your heart? How close do you want to be to God? Who do you want on your side?

PRAYER

Father, thank You for the direction of the Holy Spirit this week as I led the SS. Please continue to guide us in our daily walk. Give us the actions You want, the words to speak and the direction to go. May our lives be examples for You. AMEN

Thursday, Numbers Chapter 23

Numbers 23

Heather Proehl

THOUGHT

I didn’t really find a specific verse that stood out to me in this chapter. The thing that I took from this was how Balak kept asking Balaam to curse his enemies. Balaam, however, delivered the message from the Lord, which was not a curse. When Balak didn’t like Balaam’s response, he thought he’d change it up and switch locations. Maybe that will change the Lord’s mind. However, it didn’t. His response was the same.

How often do we do that? We try to get a certain response from God. We try to change God’s will. We ask certain requests of Him.  We don’t like the answer so we try to change things or run away from our problems.  That doesn’t work either. We need to face up to the real issues and most importantly listen to what God has to say. Not just what we want to hear.

PRAYER

Father God, we ask a lot of You. We come to You with many, many requests. We think we know what the right response is and how You should answer our requests. However, Your response is not always what we thought. You know what’s best for our lives. We pray that we would be receptive to Your will. We pray that You would help us see the best response, Your response, for us. Help us understand the answers to our requests. I pray that we would be open with our hearts to You.  AMEN

Friday, Numbers Chapter 24

Numbers 24

Heather Proehl

May 24, 2009

THOUGHT

Again, I don’t have a specific verse to call out, but there was definitely a lesson to be learned. The thing that struck me the most with this chapter was Balaam’s integrity. Okay, so Balaam was a sorcerer, and his motives were wrong. He was helping Balak, because he promised him rewards, big rewards. However, when it came down to it, God’s Word was so strong that he spoke the truth. He maintained his integrity instead of doing what Balak wanted to get rewarded. Integrity is such a strong trait which I think we have taken for granted as of late. 

Monday at David’s graduation the speaker was one of the primary whistleblowers at Enron. It was interesting because she had had 3 employers, and they are all now no longer around due to fraud (she worked for Arthur Andersen, some other company, and Enron). Anyway, she had quite the story to tell. She was saying how when she uncovered some strange bad smelling things, she went right up to the big guy in charge to report it. She wasn’t fired, but she found out (much later) that the day after she went to him, there was a HR memo about her and how they couldn’t fire her.  Their first response was to get rid of her. See, they had looked through every possible way to get rid of her, but couldn’t come up with anything. She spoke about how glad she was that she never did anything as small as padding an expense report that could have been cause to fire her. She was willing to stand up for what was right, even if it meant she might lose her cushy job with lots of money and big benefits. And due to her integrity, they weren’t able to fire her, and she was able to leave that company with integrity, not feeling guilty, or going to jail or even worse — killing herself.

PRAYER

Father God, we thank You for the guiding truth and example You have given us through the Bible and Your Son. May we strive to follow Your truth and act as You would want us to act. May we act with integrity in all that we do, at home, at work, even driving down the road. Even when we may sacrifice benefits and rewards, help us to choose the honorable response, attitude and actions. AMEN