Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. At the Lord's command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages:
The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out boldly in full view of all the Egyptians, who were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them; for the Lord had brought judgment on their gods.
The Israelites left Rameses and camped at Succoth.
They left Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert.
They left Etham, turned back to Pi Hahiroth, to the east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol.
They left Pi Hahiroth and passed through the sea into the desert, and when they had traveled for three days in the Desert of Etham, they camped at Marah.
They left Marah and went to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
They left Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
They left the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.
They left the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.
They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.
They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
They left Rephidim and camped in the Desert of Sinai.
They left the Desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.
They left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.
They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.
They left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.
They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.
They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
They left Tahath and camped at Terah.
They left Terah and camped at Mithcah.
They left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah.
They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
They left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.
They left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad.
They left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
They left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.
They left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.
They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the border of Edom. At the Lord's command Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor, where he died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.
The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.
They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
They left Punon and camped at Oboth.
They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, on the border of Moab.
They left Iyim and camped at Dibon Gad.
They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.
They left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, near Nebo.
They left the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. There on the plains of Moab they camped along the Jordan from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.
On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.
" 'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.' " Numbers 33
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
We have seen in the Book of Numbers that there is a definite emphasis on accounting. Before we get to Chapter 33, we have read about two separate censuses where the Israelite men twenty and over were counted. You’ll recall that a separate count was made of the Levites.
As we look at Chapter 33, we see where it is a summary of all of Israel’s travels, from the time they departed Egypt to the present, where we see them ready to assume custody of Canaan. Certainly, Israel has traveled a great deal to get to this moment, receiving guidance from God every step of the way. This time would be no different as God gives Israel direction before they cross the Jordan and begin to assume possession of the Promised Land. While they were “on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho”, God told Moses to give Israel the following message:
“When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them."
God’s words carried commands, a reminder and a warning.
First, He commanded Israel to “drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.”
He then reminded Israel of how He expected them to distribute the land inheritance saying, “Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.”
Finally, God warned Israel about the penalty they would face for not meeting His expectations.
He tells Israel, “…if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them." Failing to eliminate their foes completely would allow room for those foes to remain in place and return to be barbs in Israel’s eyes and thorns in their sides (now you know where this common expression came from). And if that weren’t bad enough, God promises Israel that they would face the judgment reserved for their Canaanite enemies if they failed to carry out His command fully. As we will see as we study further into the Old Testament, Israel will fail to heed God’s guidance and will suffer the consequences He states.
As I thought about this matter of completely driving out things or face the prospect of them coming back to be the barb in the eye or thorn in the side, I couldn’t help but think about myself and how there have been instances in my life where I have needed to completely eradicate something that I knew was keeping me from being the person God wanted me to be. There was just something about the sinful action that I couldn’t let go of…something that brought me some sense of worldly pleasure even if it placed me in spiritual deficit. And as much as I tried to hide my inability to completely rid my life of the sin, I found that the Lord continued to convict me more and more each time…pursuing me by attacking my consciousness until there was no pleasure anymore in doing the things I knew I shouldn’t be doing. There was only guilt.
I found myself lamenting like David when he said:
“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” Psalm 32:3-4
The only place for me to turn to get the barb out of my eye…to extricate the painful thorn in my side…was repentance. And not just the artificial, superficial repentance I had given God so many times before…the times when I said I was sorry when I was already thinking about when I could sin again. No, this time was the time when I was saying I was sorry for good…the time when I was willing to grab a hammer and nail that sin to the cross of Jesus, the only place where I could be freed from it. And when I did this, I felt a liberation and relief much different from the incessant conviction I had faced before. Now, I felt the full power of God’s love and forgiveness. It was then that I could rejoice with David as He said:
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:5-7
Question: What is the sin that is your barb and thorn? Are you willing to get serious about ridding yourself of it forever, nailing it to the cross of Jesus? Do you, like David, yearn to be forgiven for the guilt of your sin?
Friends, the time is now. Fall on your knees and give up your sinful thorn and barb to the only One who can remove it and prevent further infection. He and only He can heal your wounds…for it is by the wounds of His Son that we are all healed. Thanks be to God for that. Amen. In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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