Category Archives: Merciful

Compassionate, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Justice / Judgment, Loving / Kind, Merciful

Cities of Refuge

Many people believe YHWH’s law to be harsh. They find examples where it is different from what we are used to today and use our cultural norms to somehow explain and justify why His law is wrong. This is backwards. We should start with His instructions and then compare those to our cultural norms and test our cultural norms to see if they are wicked or righteous.

What many fail to see is that YHWH’s law also has great examples of the mercy and grace for mistakes, such as in Deuteronomy 19. He distinguishes between one who accidentally kills someone and one who intentionally murders someone. One is to be forgiven and one is to be executed. It does sound harsh to us today, but the word even says not to pity the one who was evil and intentionally killed another. This clearly influenced the laws we still live by today. We have different punishment for those who killed accidentally compared to those who murder.

The cities of refuge represent to me a fascinating solution to address a real problem of the time. Our Father is both just and merciful.

Deuteronomy 19:1-13

Cities of Refuge

      1“When the LORD your God cuts off the nations, whose land the LORD your God gives you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess. 3“You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there.

      4“Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously— 5as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live; 6otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously.7“Therefore, I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside three cities for yourself.’

      8“If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers— 9if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways always—then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10“So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and bloodguiltiness be on you.

      11“But if there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and strikes him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.13“You shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Merciful, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Seeking God, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The Intercessory Prayer of the Righteous Is Powerful

The intercessory prayer of the righteous is powerful. Let us remember to pray for one another not just in sickness and hard times but also when we sin. The people of Israel sinned against God multiple times through disobedience.  God was ready to destroy them. Moses interceded on their behalf. He was not part of this sin, but prayed to God for the people anyway. God had mercy on them, not because they deserved it, but because in part of the intercessory prayer of Moses.

Deuteronomy 9:7-29

7“Remember, do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. 8“Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you. 9“When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD had made with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10“The LORD gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11“It came about at the end of forty days and nights that the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made a molten image for themselves.’ 13“The LORD spoke further to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a stubborn people. 14‘Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

      15“So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16“And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17“I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands and smashed them before your eyes. 18“I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. 19“For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the LORD listened to me that time also. 20“The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21“I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.

      22“Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath. 23“When the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; you neither believed Him nor listened to His voice. 24“You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day I knew you.

      25“So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and nights, which I did because the LORD had said He would destroy you. 26“I prayed to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27‘Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin. 28‘Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.” 29‘Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.’

Pray for one another… for mercy, forgiveness, a spirit of repentance when we sin. Notice that Moses did not excuse the sin or accept the sin of the people in order to rationalize asking for mercy. He strongly acknowledged the sin was wrong and without excuse and in need of repentance. However, he prayed for mercy anyway. Also note, the people were rebuked for their sin by Moses and he demanded a change in behavior. Intercessory prayer is not an excuse to keep sinning and assume we will receive mercy anyway. The sin must stop.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Grace / Forgiveness, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Jesus (hearing from God), Loving / Kind, Merciful, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Repenting from Sin, Study the Word, Teachable, Wise

The Ten Commandments Are Worth Repeating, Learning, and Obeying

The ten commandments are not the sum total of God’s law which He provided for us to guide us in living the righteous and holy lives, but they are a really good starting point. He repeated them in scripture to emphasize them. Do not be so easily fooled by the devil or the world as to disregard God’s instruction as outdated and ignore the Old Testament. God has not changed His opinion on what is right and what is wrong. He does not change. Jesus obeyed the commandments and taught others to do so. He did not change His mind on their value because He died and rose again. After He rose again He told His disciples to teach others all that He had taught them… which would include God’s law.

Pray for wisdom and for the Spirit to convict and guide you as you read. Do not just skim quickly, assuming them to be obsolete or not applicable to you. Do not give yourself so much credit as to assume you obey all these commandments. None of us obey them perfectly. See how Jesus described complying to the commandments in Matthew 5:21-48.

Deuteronomy 5:1-21

The Ten Commandments Repeated

      1Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them:
“Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully. 2“The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3“The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today. 4“The LORD spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire, 5while I was standing between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain. He said,

      6‘I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

      7‘You shall have no other gods before Me.

      8‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 9‘You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

      11‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

      12‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15‘You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

      16‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the LORD your God gives you.

      17‘You shall not murder.

      18‘You shall not commit adultery.

      19‘You shall not steal.

      20‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

      21‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’

For those who did not click through on the link above to see what Jesus has to say about obeying the commandments, here is another chance. He holds us to a high and holy standard, which can only be achieved through the Spirit and even that in our lives will be done imperfectly. Be glad and rejoice for His grace and mercy in forgiveness!

Matthew 5:21-48

      21“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23“Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25“Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26“Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.

      27“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; 28but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30“If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

      31“It was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’; 32but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

      33“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’ 34“But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. 36“Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37“But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.

      38“You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ 39“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40“If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41“Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42“Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

      43“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47“If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

None of us meet that standard. We need His grace and mercy in forgiving us. But we must repent and ask forgiveness. We must submit to Him as Lord of our lives. Learn more.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Compassionate, Grace / Forgiveness, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Slow to Anger

Father Forgive Them

What an example our Lord sets for us, as He is crucified He asks the Father to forgive those who are doing this to him. It is not enough for them to kill Him, but they must mock and taunt Him as well. Everyone from soldiers to a criminal on the cross next to Him join in. In the midst of His greatest suffering, He still sets an incredible example for us to follow. Flawless indeed.

There is more for us to ponder here as well. On one of the crosses next to Him is someone deserving judgment and hell. But He repents and turns to Christ at this late hour… and Christ comforts Him and assures Him He will be received. There was no time for his actions to “earn” salvation. It is all about grace through faith in Christ.

Luke 23:33-49

The Crucifixion

     33When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. 35And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” 36The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, 37and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

      39One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” 40But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” 43And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

      44It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last. 47Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.” 48And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts. 49And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

It is never too late for us to repent (until we die) if we are genuine. That is grace indeed! But do not wait for your deathbed or put off submitting to Christ when you have the chance to find Him now. There is joy and hope and rejoicing in a relationship with Him in this life as well as treasure in heaven to be had by how we live for Him.

When we find ourselves in suffering, try not to let our suffering block out our concern for them. Ask God for help with this as I am not sure how to do this on my own power.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Evidence in Scripture, Faithful, Fear / Reverence for God, Grace / Forgiveness, Guide, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God, Thankfulness

Review Your Journey With The Lord

Numbers 33 is perhaps an easy passage of scripture to quickly pass over on the thought that it is simply a recap of what we have already read. It does provide some historical evidence to the story to help demonstrate the reality that the Bible is not a “made up book” or a book of stories like Aesop’s Fables, but an actual historical account of YHWH’s relationship with His people. If simply making up a book of stories, who would bother to include detailed historical accounts such as this one?

More than that, I am struck by the feeling that YHWH is encouraging us to periodically look back at the journey we have traveled when we follow Him. Moses was reviewing a journey that was both physical / geographical and also spiritual as the people journeyed from slavery to freedom… from bondage to Egyptians to freedom to serve our Father and Creator.

For me, I can reflect on the journey the Lord has led me on over the past 20 years in particular. There were battles (not literal warfare), there were times of victory and defeat, there was a growing relationship between myself and my Father. There were changes in how I lived my life and what my priorities were. There were changes in how I spent my time and my money. There were changes in how my family lives our daily lives and how we celebrate holy days now according to YHWH’s instruction rather than traditions of men. There are changes in how we help and support others in the body of Christ more joyfully.

While we still have further to go with the Lord, it is good to reflect on how far we have come with Him and His patience and lovingkindness to lead us along the way as we learn and change with His help.

Numbers 33:1-49

Review of the Journey from Egypt to Jordan

     1These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the command of the LORD, and these are their journeys according to their starting places. 3They journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the next day after the Passover the sons of Israel started out boldly in the sight of all the Egyptians, 4while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the LORD had struck down among them. The LORD had also executed judgments on their gods.

      5Then the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses and camped in Succoth. 6They journeyed from Succoth and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. 7They journeyed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. 8They journeyed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness; and they went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. 9They journeyed from Marah and came to Elim; and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. 10They journeyed from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. 11They journeyed from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin. 12They journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13They journeyed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. 14They journeyed from Alush and camped at Rephidim; now it was there that the people had no water to drink. 15They journeyed from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai. 16They journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.

      17They journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. 18They journeyed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. 19They journeyed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. 20They journeyed from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. 21They journeyed from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22They journeyed from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah. 23They journeyed from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24They journeyed from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. 25They journeyed from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26They journeyed from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27They journeyed from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28They journeyed from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29They journeyed from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30They journeyed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. 31They journeyed from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan. 32They journeyed from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. 33They journeyed from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah. 34They journeyed from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35They journeyed from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. 36They journeyed from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin, that is, Kadesh. 37They journeyed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.

      38Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the LORD, and died there in the fortieth year after the sons of Israel had come from the land of Egypt, on the first day in the fifth month. 39Aaron was one hundred twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

      40Now the Canaanite, the king of Arad who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the sons of Israel.

      41Then they journeyed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42They journeyed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43They journeyed from Punon and camped at Oboth. 44They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, at the border of Moab. 45They journeyed from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad. 46They journeyed from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. 47They journeyed from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48They journeyed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho. 49They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

Take time to reflect on the your journey with YHWH. You may even want to write it down in a journal. Don’t rush it. Set aside time to prayerfully and reflectively go through it. Share it with someone you trust. Give thanks to Him for leading you and waiting on your progress. Ask Him what changes you need to continue to make and ask Him for His grace to help you make those changes. Continue the journey to grow closer to the Lord.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross

Compassionate, Healer, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Help / Serve Others, Jesus (hearing from God), Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Kindness / Gentleness, Love, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Miracles, Miracles, Purposeful / Intentional

The Sabbath Was Made For Man, And Not Man For The Sabbath

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YHWH has directed His people to obey the Sabbath and keep it holy. You shall not work in it. He set the example during creation when He rested on the 7th day. He did not need rest. He rested to set the example and pattern He intended for us.

Exodus 20:8-11

    8“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Many act as if YHWH has changed His mind regarding Sabbath because our culture has changed and moved away from His instruction such that it is now considered normal and acceptable to work and have businesses open 7 days a week. YHWH has not changed His mind. His instruction to keep the Sabbath is still relevant today.

Another trap we should be careful to avoid is one that the Pharisees fell into. They made a list of rules and expectations in a legalistic way to define what was and was not work and could or could not be done on the Sabbath. They also took Sabbath so legally as to disregard other commands YHWH provided. Some excerpts from scripture below document some important teaching that Yeshua went out of His way to demonstrate about healing on the Sabbath and about times when there are more important concerns such as David’s men who needed to eat and ate the consecrated bread that was only for the priests.

We can not simply put a strict legal formula around obeying our Father, whether regarding Sabbath or other instructions. Sometimes instructions conflict in certain circumstances or there are competing priorities that both may honor the Father, as in resting on Sabbath or helping/healing someone in need.

In the example of healing on the Sabbath, Yeshua points out the hypocrisy that all would stop and help an animal out of a ditch on Sabbath, so why would you not heal someone on the Sabbath… to the glory of YHWH?

Mark 2:23-28

      23And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. 24The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; 26how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” 27Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28“So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Luke 14:1-6

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

     1It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. 2And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. 5And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” 6And they could make no reply to this.

Matthew 12:8-14

      8“For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

      9Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. 11And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12“How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

We do well to respect and honor the instructions of the Lord regarding Sabbath. Take care so as not to always come up with “good excuses” to be busy on Sabbath, even if doing good. Most of that can be planned for other days if we try. However, if the opportunity to do good and glorify our Father comes before us, such as healing or helping others, and it happens to be Sabbath… avoid being too legalistic. We should reflect in our lives His compassion and lovingkindness in our response to those in need around us.

Remember that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It is for our benefit to rest on the 7th day and keep it holy, not for YHWH’s benefit.

As a quick sidebar… Sabbath is the seventh day, which is Saturday, not Sunday. Man made that change to move away from God’s instruction. because man changed the calendar, it is even more confusing now because God created the days to be marked by sundown rather than an arbitrary numerical indication we are now so familiar with. Sabbath starts on what is now our Friday night at sundown and continues through Saturday night at sundown. This makes for an interesting study of the “Hebrew calendar” you can make. Consider Psalm119 Ministries for reference.

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Trust God In The Desert; Faith and Obedience Bring Us To The Promised Land

Have you ever gone through a tough situation, one that was really emotionally and physically draining? It may have even lasted months or years. Let us remember to cling to God in these situations, trusting that if we are faithful He can turn all things to use for good.

Romans 8:28

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

Let us take care not to complain and whine or worse… rebel against where God is leading us or bringing us through. Think back on the Israelites as the Lord led them out of Egypt and into the promised land. He performed many mighty miracles and yet as time passed, the people continued to stumble and make mistakes. They continued to complain and at times rebel against God. They saw only their immediate, short term struggles and kept focusing on those rather than focusing on and trusting the Lord who was leading them through the desert. They could not seem to focus and trust that the promised land was theirs at the end of the journey.

In fact, they even completely ignore their own accountability in making the journey take 40 years! God delivered them to the promised land and they disobeyed and did not take it because they were afraid of the people living there. They did not trust the Lord. Their journey got much longer. But as they complain in Numbers 20, they blame Moses and God rather than their own mistakes in disobeying the Lord.

Numbers 20:2-5

      2There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. 3The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the LORD! 4“Why then have you brought the LORD’S assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? 5“Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.”

How callously they chastise Moses and defame the Lord’s reputation and character, implicitly in their complaints about “It is not a place of grain or figs or vines …” in contrast to God’s promised land. They take no accountability for their actions being the cause of why they are in the desert still. Should not they be saying… “O’ Lord, forgive us and have mercy on us for our disobedience and lack of faith resulted in our remaining in the desert”?

Let each of us take care in our relationship with the Lord. Sometimes our actions create the bad situation we don’t like or make it much worse. The answer is not to get mad at God and complain. Turn to God and ask Him for forgiveness and help to get through the challenge. Ask Him for joy and encouragement. As Him for mercy and grace. These things He will give to a submitted and repentant heart.  God is indeed just, but He is also compassionate and kind.

Pray that He would use the difficult circumstances for good, for His glory through you. Pray He would bring good from the hard times. Then patiently and faithfully trust that He can and He will, even if it may not look like what we want in the situation. Let us cling to the Lord, knowing He may simply be bringing us through personal growth or to a place even better than where we started… as He was bringing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the promised land. Rather than complain and blame the Lord, we should pray for the Spirit to help us be patient along the journey.

Trust God in the desert. Faith and obedience bring us to the promised land.

P.S. Want to know how God responded to the unrighteous complaints of the people? Read on further in Numbers 20. Once a righteous man interceded and asked the Lord for help, He provided them water, despite their general lack of faith and active complaining. I believe He did so to try to continue showing the people His glory to help lead them to trust and follow Him. Only in trusting Him would their journey truly get any easier as they continued in the desert.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Jehovah Provides A Way for Us To Be Cleansed From Our Sin

I will humbly admit that I do not clearly understand the full or intended meaning of Numbers 19. I recognize that my limited understanding of the Jewish people and their culture at the time the events in Numbers 19 occurred probably contributes to this lack of clarity. I do pray the Spirit opens the meaning of the scriptures to me and I take time daily to study, but the depth of the meaning and value in the Biblical text is incredible. It is worth looking hard for the treasure buried within.

I read a few commentaries on Numbers 19 for possible insight. Here are a few thoughts that seem appropriate to share. I encourage each of you to pray as well daily that the Spirit would open up your eyes to the meaning of scripture.

Sin leads to death. Thus, death can be a potent reminder of sin. When the people had to handle people or animals that had died, they were deemed ceremonially unclean. This can remind us that when they sin, it defiles them before God. Further, it is not simply that we become instantly clean again after a particular episode of sinning has ended.   It takes time and it takes some action on our part in accordance with God’s instruction. It also takes the death of another, one without flaw… a perfect one, to cleanse us of our uncleanness. In the case of Numbers 19, it is “an unblemished red heifer”.  Truly this looks forward to the death of Messiah for our sins. The only person to live a perfect, sinless life. We now look back on Messiah and His sacrifice. Rather than an animal sacrifice which foreshadows the cleansing of our sin through Him, we now seek cleansing and forgiveness directly in Jesus Christ based on His death which paid the penalty of our sin.

Jehovah provides a way for His people to be cleansed of sin and forgiven, drawn back in relationship with Him.

Our society today denies God and tries to eliminate the concept of sin. More and more, sinful behaviors and attitudes are deemed righteous. Society would rather paint being a follower of Christ who believes strongly in living according to the Bible as a “sin”. That is deemed worth attacking and hating, but not the sins we are called to reject by its teaching. We would do well to more clearly emphasize sin, and the need to be cleansed from it, in our society today.

Numbers 19

Ordinance of the Red Heifer

     1Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2“This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. 3‘You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. 4‘Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 5‘Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. 6‘The priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet material and cast it into the midst of the burning heifer. 7‘The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8‘The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 9‘Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin. 10‘The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the alien who sojourns among them.

      11‘The one who touches the corpse of any person shall be unclean for seven days. 12‘That one shall purify himself from uncleanness with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. 13‘Anyone who touches a corpse, the body of a man who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

      14‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean for seven days. 15‘Every open vessel, which has no covering tied down on it, shall be unclean. 16‘Also, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been slain with a sword or who has died naturally, or a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days. 17‘Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the burnt purification from sin and flowing water shall be added to them in a vessel. 18‘A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one slain or the one dying naturally or the grave. 19‘Then the clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him from uncleanness, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and shall be clean by evening.

      20‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself from uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean. 21‘So it shall be a perpetual statute for them. And he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. 22‘Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’”

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Do Not Choose To Complain When God Calls You To Repent

Korah lead a rebellion in the beginning of Numbers 16. The Lord punished him and his family and those who also led the rebellion. They were swallowed up by the earth in a sign that could only be of the Lord. It was public and visible. One would assume then that the rest of the people who had been spared would be humble and repent before the Lord for their rebellion against Him. They did not. Instead they grumbled and complained, again jealous and blaming Moses and Aaron and never looking inward to judge the hardness of their own hearts in a way that could lead to repentance.

While it seems quite amazing, if you think about it in the lives of people around you every day, even those who say they believe and follow Jesus, you will see it is quite common. People have a tendency to excuse or overlook their sin and rebellion to God and blame others when things do not work out how they like. They do not internalize this issue of rebellion as originating with them… as their fault.

What an amazing response by Moses and Aaron… rather than just stand there and let God wipe out the rebellious people, they spring to action and make an intercessory offering and prayer on behalf of the sinful people. Though the people did not repent, the intercessory prayers of the righteous were enough for God to spare the people further destruction. What a great example of how we as God’s people should respond to those who struggle in their relationship with the Lord. Let us not be vengeful, but rather gracious in seeking to pray on their behalf before the Lord.

Numbers 16:41-50

Murmuring and Plague

     41But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD’S people.” 42It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45“Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. 46Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun!” 47Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. 49But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah. 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.

When God calls you to repent, do not choose to complain instead. Take care not to be like those who sin and then grumble, always blaming the righteous for what goes wrong and never internalizing your own sin and relationship with the Lord.

Look also for the opportunity to pray for others, even those who would do you harm or say bad things to and about you. What a way to be a light to the world!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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The Lord Encourages the People After Establishing Punishment

Numbers 15 takes place immediately after the Israelites have rebelled against God and refused to take the promised land as He commanded. They were intimidated and did not trust Him. God punished them to 40 years in the desert, and then some went to attack to take the promised land… again rebelling against God’s new instructions for them to go back into the desert.  They lost as God was not with them.

What grace in our Lord to then encourage them by giving instructions reaffirming that He still plans to give them the promised land. Here in Numbers 15, He provides instructions for when that time comes. He had 40 years to give these instructions, but gave them at this time… when surely many were disheartened.

Another key element to reflect on in this scripture is that the Israelites and others who go with them all share the same instructions. Just as today in which Gentiles accepting Christ as Lord are welcomed in to God’s people, so too thousands of years ago. Those who choose to go with God’s people will be accepted in and under the same instructions. They are not any lesser important than the Jews who were chosen first. None are turned away who wholeheartedly seek the Lord.

Third, the Lord clearly distinguishes the guilt of unintentional sin from rebellion. Unintentional sin is still sin and worthy of repentance, but is easily forgiven. Blatant, intentional sin represents rebellion and is called out as blaspheming the Lord. As you can see from Numbers 14, rebelling against God has consequences. We can take heart, however, as Jesus Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient for all sin. Should we rebel defiantly, turn back as soon as you can… with no delay. Repent and ask forgiveness. Obey the Lord. You may have consequences, but the Lord is one who forgives. Our sins can be forgiven through the sacrifice, the death and resurrection, of Christ.

Numbers 15:1-31

Laws for Canaan

     1Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, 3then make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed times, to make a soothing aroma to the LORD, from the herd or from the flock. 4‘The one who presents his offering shall present to the LORD a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil, 5and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, one-fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb. 6‘Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; 7and for the drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a soothing aroma to the LORD. 8‘When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to the LORD, 9then you shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-half a hin of oil; 10and you shall offer as the drink offering one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD.

      11‘Thus it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. 12‘According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for everyone according to their number. 13‘All who are native shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD.

Law of the Sojourner

     14‘If an alien sojourns with you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he wishes to make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD, just as you do so he shall do. 15‘As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the LORD. 16‘There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.’”

      17Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 18“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where I bring you, 19then it shall be, that when you eat of the food of the land, you shall lift up an offering to the LORD. 20‘Of the first of your dough you shall lift up a cake as an offering; as the offering of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up. 21‘From the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD an offering throughout your generations.

      22‘But when you unwittingly fail and do not observe all these commandments, which the LORD has spoken to Moses, 23even all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses, from the day when the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations, 24then it shall be, if it is done unintentionally, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one bull for a burnt offering, as a soothing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering. 25‘Then the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their error. 26‘So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be forgiven, with the alien who sojourns among them, for it happened to all the people through error.

      27‘Also if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a one year old female goat for a sin offering. 28‘The priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him that he may be forgiven. 29‘You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. 30‘But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31‘Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.’”

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.