Good Morning. A little light rain is helping all the crops along. The Lord blesses us every day. Thankfully God’s faithfulness and grace aren’t dependent on our moods or obedience!
The story in Numbers continues to tell the story of Moses and Aaron and Joshua leading the people who left Egypt closer and closer to the land that God has promised them. As is so often the case with us, the closer they got to claiming what God had promised to them, the more anxious and doubtful they became. Joshua and Caleb tried to convince the people that they should continue and claim for their own what had provided for them. Talking about the residents of the promised land, Joshua told the people: “Do not fear the people of the land [for] their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” How did the people respond? “The whole congregation threatened to stone them.”
The Lord, seeing and hearing all this, said to Moses: “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?”
Confidence in the promises of the Lord. The words of Joshua are reminiscent of the words of David as he courageously walked out to do battle with Goliath. Goliath was a mountain of a man, a fearless and bloodthirsty warrior, who laughed at David. David knew that the Lord was with him. He told Goliath: “I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down … so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand [I Samuel 17: 45-47].”
All that David knew was that the Lord ‘s promises would be fulfilled, and it didn’t require overwhelming strength on David’s part because all the strength that was needed would be provided by the Lord. Joshua told the people in the wilderness: “Do not fear the people … the Lord is with us.”
Confidence in the faithfulness of the Lord. For those who want to believe that you can carry the Lord’s blessings with you into the sort of maximally fortified weapons that our armies use today, I would call your attention to that little, too often overlooked phrase: “the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s.” When the battle is the Lord’s battle, He shall prevail. When we put our trust in weapons rather than in the Lord, well, we are on our own!
Psalm 136 closes with this admonition: “O give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures for ever.” Trust in the Lord. Put your confidence in the promises of the Lord.
Prayer: Almighty God, we give You thanks for the promises You have made, the grace You have shown, and the faithfulness of Your love for us. Keep our confidence rooted in You so that we trust Your ways and Your will more than we trust in our own creations of imagined might and security. You alone are our strength. You alone are our security. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
The readings for today are Numbers 13:31-14:25; Romans 3:9-20; Matthew 19:1-12; Morning Psalms: Psalm 87, 90; Evening Psalm: Psalm 136.
Blessings.
Pastor Jim
Comments
Post a Comment