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Tag: numbers

  • Balaam – Inauguration of a Politician’s Prophet – 1

    Balaam – Inauguration of a Politician’s Prophet – 1

    Prophesy of a man with eyes to see

    Numbers 24:

    “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
    the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
    4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God,
    who sees the vision of the Almighty,
    falling down with his eyes uncovered:

    5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob,
    your encampments, O Israel!
    6 Like palm groves that stretch afar,
    like gardens beside a river,
    like aloes that the Lord has planted,
    like cedar trees beside the waters.
    7 Water shall flow from his buckets,
    and his seed shall be in many waters;
    his king shall be higher than Agag,
    and his kingdom shall be exalted.
    8 God brings him out of Egypt
    and is for him like the horns of the wild ox;
    he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries,
    and shall break their bones in pieces
    and pierce them through with his arrows.
    9 He crouched, he lay down like a lion
    and like a lioness; who will rouse him up?

    [ctt title=”Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”” tweet=”The LORD God of #Israel” coverup=”We237″]

    Looking back on election

    Let’s look at an ancient analogy about changes of political winds all too frequent throughout history.

    The inaugural event spoken by Balaam son of Beor illustrates hope for one group of hearers present, but not those who elected Balaam to his present situation. Backing up some (two chapters), we see Balaam’s nomination by powerful men with entirely different motives.

    You may need to map out some unfamiliar geography and history for understanding this election.

    First, understand that Balaam’s journey to Moab may have been about 400 miles from Pethor on the Euphrates. Yes, even then wars and skirmishes between nations surrounding Israel frequently involved foreign intervention. Balaam’s family may have been Canaanites who migrated to Mesopotamia, perhaps even to flee from local war of invading warriors.

    Election

    Israel (Jacob) claims election by God as a people set aside for the LORD. The LORD had led Israel by the hand of the prophet and leader, Moses [Mosheh]. מֹשֶׁה

    Joshua then defeats Canaan and begins capturing the lands promised to Israel [Jacob], son of Isaac, son of Abraham.

    We now glance into these tumultuous times of trouble in the middle east, just east of the Jordan during the campaigns of Balak, Balaam, Og, Sihon and other forgotten men of the 14th c. BC.

    Balak Summons Balaam

    Numbers 22

    Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. 2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel…

    Conflict between local leaders in the middle east (nothing new) and one leader, Balak, reaches out to foreign powers to fight Israel. Some mysterious power of Balaam is known, yet what if not known is something Balaam sends back as a message.

    … So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’”

    These men of influence, likely with bribes for Balaam, return to Balak saying that Balaam will not come; but Balak orders them to make the long journey again promising even more riches as is typical of the diplomacy of influence.

    … God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

    Now the seer or prophet Balaam embarks on a potentially perilous journey of many miles into unknown outcomes of the middle east.

    Balaam – Inauguration of a Politician’s Prophet – To be continued…

     

     

     

     

  • Turn in your hymnal..

    Turn in your hymnal..

    .. to Psalms – Book II.

    You probably know that Psalms is the Hymnal of worship in song to the LORD. You may know that Psalms is divided into five BOOKS, which contain a total of 150 songs (Psalms). Most of us know that many Psalms were written by David and most of us could not name a writer of any other of these holy lyrics.

    Today we are going to focus on hymns attributed to just one ‘lyricist,’ Psalms of worship by the sons of Korah. Some Psalms are introduced as a maskiyl [maschil] or song of contemplation. From these you will recognize many comforting scriptures familiar to us in certain times of distress.

    Psalm 42 MendelssohnPsalm 42

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    Book Two
    Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?
    To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.

    42 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
    2 My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
    When shall I come and appear before God?
    3 My tears have been my food
    day and night,
    while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”

    The Psalmist (a descendant of Korah from the priestly line of Levi) goes on to lament:

     Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?

    I say to God, my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
    Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”

    An explanation of context – conjecture from a commentator from my NLT Bible – may be helpful.

    The psalmists are not afraid to ask questions and express doubts. These questions clarify life issues.

    “The historical context is uncertain; these psalms might be the voice of God’s people in exile, confessing their loyalty to God as he punishes them for their prevailing apostasy.”

    … but if you do not listen…

    … but if you refuse to obey…

    Then I will say, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me you evil doers.’

    WE get indignant to the idea that God would punish ME or punish you (dear believer) for our SIN. Yet the tone of these psalms is a plea for mercy, a confession of faith and a hope of redemption.

    Psalm 43

    Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
    against an ungodly people,
    from the deceitful and unjust man
    deliver me!
    2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
    why have you rejected me?
    Why do I go about mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?

    Psalm 44

    O God, we have heard with our ears,
    our fathers have told us,
    what deeds you performed in their days,
    in the days of old:

    11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter
    and have scattered us among the nations.
    12 You have sold your people for a trifle,
    demanding no high price for them.
    13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
    the derision and scorn of those around us.
    14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
    a laughingstock among the peoples.
    15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
    and shame has covered my face
    16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
    at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
    17 All this has come upon us,
    though we have not forgotten you,
    and we have not been false to your covenant.

    Do you ever feel like that? … like you deserve the wrath of God?

    Yet WHY will he not save you? Why? …

    Romans 3: “None is righteous, no, not one;
    11 no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
    12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”

    24 Why do you hide your face?
    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
    25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
    our belly clings to the ground.
    26 Rise up; come to our help!
    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

    Let us remember who these descendants of Korah, Priests of Levi, truly are — remember of the inheritance of their sin (as well we ought to remember as our belly clings to the ground — that to dust we will return).

    Numbers 29: These are the Dathan and Abiram, chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord 10 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning. 11 But the sons of Korah did not die.

    These were members of the Levitical choir appointed by David, descendants of a fallen Kingdom and a once-again broken people in exile. These were men like us – men (and women; children of broken families) in need of God and wondering how godly men and a godly nation could have so quickly strayed from righteousness – how far we have fallen into destruction and hopelessness.

     Psalm 46a mighty fortress

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    God Is Our Fortress
    To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.

    46 God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
    2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
    3 though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
    4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
    5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
    6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
    7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

    I commend to you all of the Psalms of the sons of Korah, 42-49, which I have only excerpted in part here.

    We close with focus for your serious consideration of the last of these:

    Psalm 49

     English Standard Version (ESV)

    Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?
    To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

    49 Hear this, all peoples!
    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
    2 both low and high,
    rich and poor together!

    5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
    6 those who trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?

    my redeemer lives - job - cross7 Truly no man can ransom another,
    or give to God the price of his life,
    8 for the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
    9 that he should live on forever
    and never see the pit.

     A word to the wise:

    10 For he sees that even the wise die;
    the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and leave their wealth to others.
    11 Their graves are their homes forever,
    their dwelling places to all generations,
    though they called lands by their own names.

    14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
    and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
    Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
    15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will receive me. Selah

    The Living God has ransomed the souls of His chosen.

    Do you call upon the Name of Christ Jesus, our Redeemer?

    16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
    17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
    18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
    19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again see light.

    20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

    Philippians 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

    You with ears to hear, know that Christ Jesus IS Lord and Redeemer.

    Whom Shall I Fear –  by Chris Tomlin
     
  • Fire of the Living God

    Fire of the Living God

    Exodus 3: 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed… God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

    And he said, “Here I am.”

    5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

    And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

    Numbers 9: 15 On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning.

    16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night.

    Ezekiel 1:4 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal.

    Malachi 3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

    For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap…

    5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment.

    I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

    Matthew 13: And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”

    37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

    38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom.

    The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.

    The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

    40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

    41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

    43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

    He who has ears, let him hear.

     Mark 1:8 KJV I indeed have baptized you with water:

    but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.