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2 Kings 1:11-15

A Humble And Contrite Heart

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 21, 2023

Ahaziah sent to Baal for a cure for his sickness but did not find one. Elijah, the man of God, informed Ahaziah that he would never recover. Ahaziah sought to coerce Elijah into changing his prognosis by sending 50 soldiers. When they called Elijah to come down from his mountain, Elijah, the man, “Ish,” of God, sent fire, “Esh,” from God down, and it devoured the whole company. The king still thought he was the authority of the land and had to be obeyed, so he sent another 50. 2 Kings 1:11-15 tells us what happened to the second company, and then the third company was sent to retrieve Elijah. It says, “Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, ‘O man of God, this is the king’s order; ‘come down quickly!’ But Elijah answered them, ‘If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.’ Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Again, the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, ‘O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.’”

 We must remember that “Elijah” in Hebrew literally translates as “Yahweh is my God.” It stands as a perpetual confession of who should be worshipped and who should be sacrificed to. Ahaziah, at the beginning of this narrative, sought healing from a pagan god and was confronted with the question, “Is there no God in Israel that you should look to the god of the Philistines for healing?” We know that this pagan god had a reputation for healing over the past few centuries, and it prevailed even at the time of Christ. You might remember that some of Jesus’ detractors associated Jesus’ healing abilities with Beelzebub. So Ahaziah approached the wrong god for healing earlier, and now he approached the right God’s man. But he approaches him the wrong way. Auld says, “Elijah, like his God, is to be entreated, and not commanded. And it may be tragic truth that the first two detachments had to perish before the king was receptive to Elijah’s authority.” Elijah said there would not be healing for Ahaziah, and “Ahaziah died in his second year of office and was succeeded by Jehoram.”[1]

The prosperity gospel of our day urges adherents to demand things from God. It’s sometimes referred to as the “name it and claim it” view of prayer. It’s usually based on John 15:7, where Jesus tells his followers, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” The notion that the Greek word “ask” in this verse is really a demand of some sort seems to be the focus of the prosperity gospel.  One writer says, “To tell the truth, God wants you to act boldly and courageously in prayer. He wants you to seize His will for your life and demand that it come into manifestation! He’s just waiting for you to ask! And don’t think that you can only come to God for spiritual blessings. As noted earlier, the word used in John 15:7 primarily has to do with requesting things of a physical and material nature, such as food, clothes, shelter, money, and so forth. Jesus plainly stated in Matthew 6:33 that if we seek the Kingdom of God first, God will see to it that all the material things we need are provided.”[2] Such an approach to God contradicts a contrite and humble heart. It fails to acknowledge that we’re all sinners saved by Grace. Another writer on the other side of the issue concludes, “Sadly, ‘name it and claim it’ theology promotes self-centeredness. It promotes greed, which is a sin. If you only have enough faith, you can get anything you want, including wealth.”[3] Elijah, God’s namesake for Israel, could tolerate such a bold and arrogant approach. But he would respond to a humble and contrite approach. “In Isaiah 66:2, the Lord says, ‘These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.’ And in Psalm 51:17, David writes, ‘The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Contrition is spoken of as something God likes, and it is linked in these verses to humility, brokenness, and a healthy fear of God’s Word.”[4] Thus, the third company of fifty men received mercy.

[1] Auld, A Graeme. 1986. I & II Kings. The Daily Study Bible Series. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[2] Do You Have the Right To Demand Anything From God? | Renner Ministries

[3] Is “name it and claim it” biblical? – Mark 11:23-24 | NeverThirsty

[4] Got Questions Ministries. 2002–2013. Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

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1 Kings 1:7-8

Jesus Became Sin For Us!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 20, 2023

No one had a dysfunctional family like King David had. One son raped a half-sister. Another son murdered the rapist. Two of the remaining sons led a rebellion against David to strip him of his throne. Absalom failed first, then Adonijah attempted the coup when David was bedridden. 1 Kings 1:7-8 begins the story of the rebellion and puts the various player on the respective sides of the rebellion. It says, “He (Adonijah) conferred with Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar, the priest. And they followed Adonijah and helped him. But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and David’s mighty men were not with Adonijah.” Rebellion against authority is a constant theme in world history. There is always someone who thinks they can do a better job or doesn’t think they are getting their due respect or recognition.

I don’t think it matters what organization you might lead. It could be a city, state, or national government. It could be some corporate institution. It might be a church. Whenever there is a power struggle, you have those who might support you and those who will be against you. In the church splits I’ve experienced, I’ve been fortunate to have my own “Nathans” and others who would support me. Even as the president of the Seminary class back in the early 80s, I had those who didn’t like me and challenged my role. The coup failed, and I was reelected, but then I decided that politics wasn’t for me and gave up the role in my third year. In the church splits that followed, I found the most painful experiences in ministry involved behind-the-scenes rebellions. It wasn’t the work of preaching every Sunday. It wasn’t the work of administration or visitation or anything else. What drove me to retirement was the realization that I was a terrible politician. I hate the power struggles and the maneuvering to take charge of every situation. I say all this just to point out how heart-breaking it is when you have someone who is supposed to love and trust you betray you. Can you imagine David’s feelings? His very own sons betrayed him and raised armies to push him out of power. He gave life to them. He supported them. He put them in positions that enabled them to raise dissent. I always think of David’s lament, “Absolom, Absolom, my son, my son!” David’s general could not understand why David was sad at his rebellious son’s death. But his grief was inconsolable for some time.

I’ve never considered myself a good leader. I had and still have many faults. I sometimes will beat myself up for being a poor judge of character. A fault that led to several betrayals in my life.  In many ways, I deserved the betrayals. A close look at the life of David as a father would lead us to believe he deserved his treatment, also. But think of Jesus’ own betrayal. Whereas I deserved it at times. Jesus did not. Just consider what happened to him. Moller writes, “He was scandalously betrayed with a kiss by one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot. He was arrested, manacled, and brought to trial in a manner befitting a great criminal. He had to suffer the intense disappointment of a disciple very close to Him (Peter) denying Him. While He Himself was obedient to God to the utmost, He was accused of blasphemy. While He came to earth to reconcile a godless and rebellious humankind with God, He Himself was falsely accused and found guilty of revolting against God and the emperor. He was considered so insignificant and despicable that He did not even get a just trial. A variety of false witnesses were allowed to be brought against Him. His judge, Pontius Pilate, found Him guilty against his own conviction and sentenced Him to death just to gain favor with high priests and their elders. This humiliation was intensified further when the crowd preferred a notorious criminal (Barabbas) to Him. He, who brought deliverance and healing to the Jews, was hated by them and rejected with derision. He, who is, in fact, the Lord of life and King of kings, was humiliated and derided by soldiers who also spat in his face.”[1] Jesus experienced all this for you and me. He took the sins of the whole world upon Himself and underwent the judgment resulting from it. He subjected Himself to this humiliation, loneliness, rejection, derision, anguish, pain, disappointment, and injustice for the specific purpose of delivering us from the consequences of our own sin. He, who knew no sin, became sin for us, to deliver us from the utmost destitution and misery.

[1] Möller, F. P. 1998. The Wonderful Christ and the Meaning of Humanness (Christology and Anthropology). Vol. 2. Words of Light and Life. Pretoria: Van Schaik Religious Books.

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2 Samuel 1:17-18

The Book Of Jashar

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 19, 2023

Samuel reported David’s weeping at the death of Saul and his son Jonathan. David has the Amalekite, who claimed to have been the one to put Saul out of his misery. Saul was God’s anointed, and David never lost respect for that fact and refused to take decisive action against Saul, even to save his own life. He expected everyone in Israel to weep over the loss of Saul and his defeat at the hand of their common enemy. David wants the nation to have great respect for God’s anointed. In 2 Samuel 1:17-18, David wanted the people to learn a lament that was contained in a non-canonical book, the Book of Jashar. The passage says, “And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar.”

 We don’t know a lot about the book of Jashar. The Yale Bible Dictionary tells us that it is quoted in three Old Testament passages; Joshua 10:12-13, 2 Samuel 1:18, and possibly in 1 Kings 8:12-13.[1] Because it has been quoted as authoritative, several commentators recognize it as being of value. But it has remained extracanonical for most of its history. We have versions of the book from 1552 AD and then another from Venice, Italy, around 1625. These are the oldest manuscripts we have of the book. Or at least they were the oldest until 1947 when the little Bedouin shepherd boy threw his rock into a cave at Qum Ron, where the dead sea scrolls were discovered. There were only fragments discovered of the book, but many scholars have argued that the book of Jashar should date back as far as the other books of the Old Testament. Surely, if Samuel is quoting from the book as he says so here, it must date back to before his time. He uses the quotation as if it’s a well-known resource in his day.

The Book of Jashar appears to have been a book of songs. This seems to be clear from the way it is used in the three references to it in the Old Testament. The Joshua 10 passage refers to it as the song celebrating God holding back the night long enough for Joshua to conquer his enemies completely. Jashar says, “Sun, stand still in Gibeon! Moon, (stand still) in the valley of Aijalon! The Sun stood still. The Moon stayed until He had taken vengeance upon the nations of His enemies.” The second reference to the book of Jashar is seen in this passage, 1 Samuel 1:18. It records the depth of David’s mourning over the death of King Saul and Saul’s son, David’s friend, Jonathan. Bergen says, “This piece of oral and written literature played the valuable role of preserving the memory of a crucial event in Israelite history while reinforcing the office of kingship through its portrayal of the king as the agent through whom prosperity was brought to Israel.”[2] The Book of Jashar was a collection of Patriotic songs that celebrate the war heroes of Israel. Saul had delivered Israel from their enemy on numerous occasions, and David memorialized that in this song and taught it to Israel. It’s the battle hymn of the theocracy.

[1] Christensen, Duane L. 1992. “Jashar, Book of.” In The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman, 3:646. New York: Doubleday.

[2] Bergen, Robert D. 1996. 1, 2 Samuel. Vol. 7. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

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1 Samuel 1:6-7

Trusting God to Make it Right

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 18, 2023

Hannah, Elkanah’s first wife, was childless. But his second wife bore him many sons and daughters. Yet Elkanah had a profound affection for Hannah that Peninnah did not have from her husband. When they went on their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the great celebration with all of Israel, Elkanah would show Hannah favoritism before all the people. This did not sit well with Peninnah. 1 Samuel 1:6-7 tells us, “And her rival (Peninnah) used to provoke her (Hannah) grievously to irritate her because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore, Hannah wept and would not eat.”

The treatment that Hannah received from Peninnah caused great consternation. Commentators observed that Hannah’s “irritation” was as severe as a storm with thunder and lightning. One commentator says, “The Hebrew word used here literally ‘means ‘to thunder’ or ‘to roar,’ like a storm. This is the sort of word that would be used to describe being caught in a hurricane. In other words, Hannah’s emotions were thundering and roaring like a hurricane. The text even tells us that Peninnah’s harassment was continual. There was no relief for Hannah from the relentless reminders of her barrenness. To say that Hannah was a deeply distressed individual is an understatement. Verse 7 indicates that her depression was so intense that she even refused to eat. Hannah must have lain awake many nights in despair, feeling like a broken, hopeless failure.”[1] That Hannah would not eat is an interesting remark because it follows the comment that Elkanah, her husband, gave her double portions of the sacrifices because he loved her so much. Hannah’s sorrow was so severe that food couldn’t help her in the least. The only thing she wanted was a child.

Many people know what it is like to have an antagonist in their life that they can do nothing about. It’s terribly disruptive in life. One cannot sleep or eat without the nagging presence of the one that strives to cause you pain. David lived with Saul, the King of Israel, as his antagonist. He found himself in such a predicament that it grieved his soul, yet there was nothing he could do about it. It drove David to write many songs. We call them the “Imprecatory” Psalms because David dumps his problems on God. He refused to take retaliatory action himself. Instead, he trusts God to deliver him from his antagonists. He trusts in the goodness and fairness of God and looks to God to take care of His problem. In Psalm 69, we read, “Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.  Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies!” David trusted God to set things right. Hannah did the same thing.

[1] Greear, J. D., and Heath A. Thomas. 2016. Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Samuel. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.

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Ruth 1:7-8

I Can’t Help Myself

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 17, 2023

Naomi and her husband had left the promised land during a famine to find food in Moab. Her two sons married Moabite women. This was not an ideal marriage for a good Jewish boy. Moab was a descendant of Lot. Fleeing from the destruction coming to Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his two daughters hid in a cave. According to the Rabbis, Lot had four daughters, two of whom were married and two betrothed. The two married daughters and their husbands, along with the two future bridegrooms, remained in Sodom and perished, leaving Lot with only two daughters after the destruction of the city. Ancient rabbis disagreed on the exact nature of the incest involved with the birth of two sons, Moab and Ammon. Some blame Lot for having lewd desires, as seen in his choice to live in Sodom. Further, in the Genesis account, Lot was willing to give up his daughters to be raped and possibly murdered by the crowds in Sodom. Regardless of how one might interpret the event in the cave outside of Sodom, we know that the Moabites were descendants of Lot’s daughter and progeny of incest. In today’s culture, that is a good reason for abortion. This might explain why Naomi wants to leave her daughter-in-law in Moab. Ruth 1:7-8 tells us, “So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.”

It’s strange that Naomi tells her daughters-in-law to return to their “mothers’” house. The normal reference in Israel would have been the “fathers’” house. Waard says, “Stay with your mothers involves a rather surprising Hebrew expression referring to the mother’s house’; that is to say, each daughter-in-law was instructed to return to her mother’s house, not to the home of her father, which one would normally expect (see, for example, Gen 38:11; Lev 22:13; Num 30:16; Deut 22:21; Judges 19:2, 3).”[1] Moab did not have the best of reputations for sexual purity, and many of the ancient commentaries note that men of Moab would have more than one wife. They would keep them in separate houses and maintain two households. Thus, Naomi suggests that the two widows would be better off serving their own mothers rather than the mother of their dead husbands. There seems to have been an emotional bond established between Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah. All three were widows, and they had taken care of each other after the death of their spouses. Since Naomi was set to return to her own homeland, she felt it was necessary to let the two younger women stay with their families in Moab.

Naomi blesses her daughters-in-law with the hope that “God will deal kindly with them” as they have “dealt kindly with her and her dead sons.” The term that is translated as “deal kindly” is “hesed.” It is used 246 times in the Old Testament, and over half of its uses are in the book of Psalms, referring to the “loving-kindness” that God shows to mankind. Van Gemeren says that this kind of loving-kindness is what is shown “by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him or herself.”[2] God is ready to show kindness to those who realize they cannot help themselves. Jesus did not come for the healthy but for the sick. He did not come to save the righteous but sinners. This is the main ingredient of repentance.

 [1] Waard, Jan de, and Eugene Albert Nida. 1991. A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Ruth. 2nd ed. UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies.

[2] VanGemeren, Willem, ed. 1997. In New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, 2:212. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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Joshua 1:7

Who is Strong and Courageous?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 15, 2023

God instructed Moses to be strong and courageous. Moses instructed Joshua to be strong and courageous. God instructed Joshua to be strong and courageous, and Joshua instructed the people to be strong and courageous as well. It’s interesting that in Joshua 1:7, after having charged Joshua to be strong and courageous, we get a glimpse of what that means. It reads, “Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” If this is any indication of what God means to be “strong and courageous,” we can easily see that none one has ever been “very strong and very courageous.” We have all failed to be obedient to “all the law” that the Bible instructs us to do. That’s why we need a hero, a savior, who will be “strong and courageous” on our behalf. Isn’t that what the Gospel is really all about?

Later on in the History of Israel, they will need a champion to go face the evil enemy of God’s people for them. It will be one on one! The chosen one, David, went to face Goliath and won the victory for his people. This is a beautiful picture of Jesus facing the one enemy of mankind, the devil himself, and defeating him and death for us. Like the Israelites in David’s time, we share in Jesus’ victory. Most sermons on David and Goliath and Joshua’s courage in facing the Canaanites focus on our being like David or Joshua and standing up strong against our enemies. The problem is that in a one-on-one battle against our enemy, we don’t stand a chance. But Jesus has beheaded our enemy. The evil one struck his heel, but Jesus struck his head!

It is understanding this truth that gives us any real hope in living a victorious life. I like the way Gage says it, “What an encouragement is the example of Jesus to us, His people, to likewise be strong and courageous in the battles before us! We have the greater example of our greater Joshua. Jesus suffered the insufferable for us so that He has become an example to us to follow in His steps (1 Pet 2:21). We follow Him when we, too, like Him, are strong and courageous for the battle set before us. His example teaches us that the Lord, in truth, will never abandon us and that His word is sure and our promises are certain. After our battle, we will inherit the promised country. And the Lord will be the true inheritance of all His people. He who so loved us in Gethsemane will surely fight for us now. We can therefore show ourselves to be strong and courageous in the day of battle, for He will never leave us or forsake us!”[1]

[1] Gage, Warren Austin. 2013. Gospel Typology in Joshua and Revelation: A Whore and Her Scarlet, Seven Trumpets Sound, A Great City Falls. Fort Lauderdale, FL: St. Andrews House.

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Deuteronomy 1:8

In HIm, We Have Foregiveness

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 14, 2023

I’ve always enjoyed Andy Williams as a pop singer. Someone put words to the theme song of the “Exodus” movie. It wasn’t about Moses. It was about the re-establishment of the Jewish state after World War II. The song begins, “This land is mine. God gave this land to me. This brave and ancient land to me, and when the morning sun  Reveals her hills and plains, then I see a land where children can run free.” Since I was born in 1947, in my lifetime, the promise that God made to Israel is coming true. In Deuteronomy, we see the first installment of this promise. After laying out the geography of the land promised to Abraham and to his descendants, Moses exhorts the people to go and take possession of it. The land was their inheritance. It belonged to them. It was time to occupy the land God had given to them. You might say that the land was handed to them on a platter. Deuteronomy 1:8 says, “See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’” The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, continues in the first person from the first part of the verse. “I have set the land before you.” Then it adds, “That I swore to your fathers.” He promised to give this land to Abraham and all of his descendants. He repeated this promise to Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve and then again, as seen here to Moses and the children of Abraham as they were delivered from their slavery in Egypt. God always keeps His promises.

Although God always keeps His promises, Israel did not keep their promises to God and lost possession of the promised land for thousands of years. This has led to horrible misunderstandings about God and His promises. Even some of the more respected preachers and theologians say some frightening things. One says, “Everyone wants to enjoy the blessings of God’s promises, but not everyone will. Lazy believers who exercise neither their faith nor their patience should expect to receive few to none of the benefits of God’s promises.”[1] Another writes, “The promises of God reveal his particular and eternal purposes to which he is unchangeably committed and upon which believers can totally depend. These promises are, however, conditional upon obedience on the part of believers.”[2] These statements elicit fear from me because I could be called a “lazy believer” at times. I’m not always obedient. This kind of preaching always leads to fear and doubt.

My favorite seminary professor, Norm Geisler, says salvation is an irrevocable gift. “Paul emphatically states that ‘God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable’ (Rom. 11:29), and he also says that salvation is ‘the gift of God’ (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:9). Hence, God can never overturn salvation: He is bound by His own unconditional covenant to be faithful even if we are faithless (2 Tim. 2:13).” He also says that Salvation is an unconditional promise. “God’s unconditional promises are unbreakable, and salvation is an unconditional promise (Rom. 6:23; 11:29; Eph. 2:9). Hebrews declares.” He adds that Salvation cannot be gained or lost by our good works.”[3] What we all need is forgiveness, and that’s what Jesus brought. “In reading the narrative of Abraham’s sons, we come to see that Scripture is really the story of a family – a family that starts with Abraham and endures until today. We can be members of this family by understanding and embracing the promise that was given to Abraham. Paul writes this in his letter to the Ephesians saying, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” God promises that through Abraham, the earth will be blessed, and that blessing finds its fulfillment in the person of Jesus, a descendant of Abraham who was fully God, fully man, and through whom we find forgiveness.”[4]

[1] Stanley, Charles F. 2005. The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles.

[2] Manser, Martin H. 2009. Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser.

[3] Geisler, Norman L. 2004. Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.

[4] https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/things-to-know-about-abrahams-sons.html

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Numbers 1:17-19

God Cares for Thee

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 13, 2023

I’ve not visited the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC, but I’ve seen many pictures of the 50 thousand plus men and women who died in that dreadful war. It’s a list of heroes! It’s a remarkable wall of names. People from all over the country come to that wall to see the name of their father, brother, or husband that’s been recorded there and will remain for as long as our country remains. There will be no hero wall for the names of those named in the first census of the Book of Numbers. This generation failed to take the land because they were afraid of the giants that lived there. They would all die in the wilderness. Numbers 1:17-19 tells us, “Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named, and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, as the Lord commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.”

We recognize the names on the Vietnam Memorial wall as heroes. Those on the list that Moses and Aaron compiled in the Judean wilderness were not heroes at all. All the names recorded in the first chapter of Numbers are recognized as the cowards of the nation that were afraid to face the enemy. None of these people, 20 years old and upwards, will ever see the promised land. Brown says, “Sadly, these prospective soldiers died in the wilderness; it is the book’s second census (26:1–65) that preserves the names of those who entered Canaan. The first list became a tragic catalog of grumblers, doubters, and rebels, people who did not fulfill their potential, a sad reminder of life’s lost opportunities. Between the first and second censuses in this book lies the tragic tale of Israel’s failure to believe the God who speaks and acts. They would not obey his voice and did not trust his power.”[1]

I don’t think the purpose of the census God called Moses to take, as recorded in Numbers, was commanded to create a list of the failures. I could be on many lists that I’m not proud of. Maybe you could also. I think the point of the census was expressed well by one commentator over 100 years ago. He writes, “The object of the census was to individualize them, to separate each from the mass, to register each name that the record might be kept before God. He wanted them all to feel that He knew them and was interested in them. There is a tendency in man to think that he is lost in the mass and that the great God is not interested in him. This tendency is very pernicious; it leads to sin and then to despair. The Bible all through combats it, and there is no doubt that it was one great design of this census. This chapter is to us like the microscope in nature—revealing to us God’s greatness by the interest He takes in the individual. It is a grand truth to feel, God sees me, knows all about me, cares for me. He is not some cold abstraction, indifferent, inaccessible, and unmindful of us, far from it. The Bible and Christ bring Him near to us, showing Him to be full of interest in us. He feeds the fowls, clothes the lilies, knows the varying market price of sparrows, numbers the hairs of our heads, knew the street, house, and person where Peter lodged. Struggling, anxious, suffering one, single yourself from the crowd. God knows, loves, cares for thee.”[2]

[1] Brown, Raymond. 2002. The Message of Numbers: Journey to the Promised Land. Edited by Alec Motyer and Derek Tidball. The Bible Speaks Today. England: Inter-Varsity Press.

[2] Jones, William. 1892. Numbers. The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary. New York; London; Toronto: Funk & Wagnalls Company.

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