GOOD MORNING SIBLINGS! 

Today’s readings are Numbers 18-20

Click here to read today’s passages on BibleGateway.

Rabbit trails

Lots of things happen in today’s readings and one big thing just about slips by us if we aren’t paying attention.

Numbers 18:1 Note the weighty responsibility placed upon Aaron and his sons. Ideally, this would also serve to ensure that they take their positions seriously and keep their minds on the gravity of their position. The same goes for you and I as representatives of the Most High. With such a solemn and honored responsibility, we must make sure we remain diligent in our study of His Word, steadfast in prayer, and earnest in seeking Him so that our representation of Him will be true. We are responsible for any misrepresentation we make of Him and His word. Matthew 5:19

Numbers 18:20 20 And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.

The Levites have no portion of inheritance in this world. YHWH is their portion and their inheritance. This keeps their focus on Him for their provisions and guidance. This is an important pattern of adoption away from the world. They are no longer part of any earthly kingdom, but a special part of His instead. The same is true for us. 

Numbers 20:12 is a stark and jarring reminder for all of us. Moses, the man YHWH spoke with as one would to a friend, is admonished for disbelief and lack of faith.

12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”

Every day. EVERY. DAY. We have to seek Him. We are prone to follow flesh over His spirit and it is imperative that we remain steadfast in the Word, in prayer, and thus in relationship with Him, seeking Him in all that we do throughout our days. We are not exempt from anything. These stories, rather, serve to show us of just what we are prone to in order to give us wisdom for what to look out for. There are two paths, one you take and one you avoid. Have no doubt that these words were written directly to us for this very purpose.

Here are some more highlights from today’s reading:

Miriam dies – We are told this in a very matter of fact matter without any details or pomp and circumstance as is often the way to relay deaths in the Bible. 

Miriam, one of the central figures in the life of YHWH’s first intermediary, Moses, has passed away. It is interesting to note, again, that YHWH has had two mediators: Moses and Messiah. The central women in both of their lives had the same name. Mary is the English name translators gave Messiah’s mother. Her Hebrew name, what she was actually called in her lifetime, was Miriam. #themoreyouknow

Did you miss it? What did Moses and Aaron do wrong? One of the things I am constantly trying to drive home to my kids is that instructions are important and details matter. 

-With this in mind, read Numbers 20:8 and pay special attention to exactly what YHWH told Moses and Aaron to do. 

-Now read Numbers 20:10-11 and see what they actually did. Pay special attention to actions that they were not instructed to take and the word choice of “we”. 

Now that we’ve paid attention to the details, what YHWH said at the end of this passage makes a whole lot more sense, but if we had of glanced over those details we could be left thinking “they just did what He told them to do!” When in fact, they disobeyed Him in a few regards – and even gave themselves the credit for the miracle.

Edom refuses passage~ 

Edom is another name for Esau – just as Israel is another name for Jacob. These were the descendants of Israel’s brother and obviously the long held grudge was still going strong. This is a momentous event even though it is given just a few lines in the text we read today. We will read references to this action throughout the Bible: Deut 2:4, Deut 2:8, Deut 23:7, Amos 1:1, Obadiah 1:10, Obadiah 1:12, & Psalm 137:7.

The Death of Aaron~

And now Moses loses his other sibling. I cannot even imagine what it must have been like up on that mountain, dressing Aaron’s son in his garments before Aaron was “gathered to his people”. This was the Hebrew version of “going to be with the Lord”.

Moses is now missing both of his close siblings and it is time to move on, clinging to YHWH and continuing to follow wherever He leads.

Test everything, hold tight to what is good.~ 1 Thess 5:21

We are saved by Grace alone: Obedience is not the root of our salvation, it is the fruit!

May YHWH bless the reading of His Word!

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Christy Jordan
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