Friday 11 April 2014

TFTD - 11 April 2014 - Thoughts from Today's Bible Readings

11 April 2014

Numbers 29; 30
Proverbs 21
John 2; 3

"WILL I?"

The first 5 books of the Bible were written by Moses, although there are strong indications that Genesis was put together by collating earlier records. But most of Numbers and all of Deuteronomy were written in the last year of Moses life. Much of the text indicates that Moses was simply the intermediary between God and the people, "So Moses told the people of Israel everything just as the LORD commanded Moses." [Numbers 29:40]

Although the Law through Moses came to an end with our Lord's sacrificial death, there are many principles which remain and have lessons for us. Numbers 30 today is about the vital importance of keeping vows which an individual man or woman might make and those who fail, "bear their iniquity" for the man "shall not break his word" [Numbers 30:2]. Men and women make vows when they enter into marriage, but its no 'big deal' today for many if they later break them. In a spiritual sense we make vows when we decide to be baptised, for this is 'spiritual marriage' and Christ becomes our bridegroom and we are virgins waiting for his return.

Looking again at Numbers, it is interesting to notice the figures of the 12 tribes in the census that was taken as they started on their wilderness journeys and again when they completed it . In Numbers 1 those aged 20 and over numbered 603,550 and nearly 40 years later, they number.. 601, 730. [Numbers 26:51]. Hardly any change, those dying in the wilderness had been replaced by the children growing up, with others being born and becoming 20 and over.

But the figures for the individual tribes are also given and they are interesting, some tribes lost membership badly. Simeon is by far the worst example, dropping from 59,300 [Numbers 1:23] to only 22,200 [Numbers 26:14]! Others, such as Manasseh (up from 32,200 to 52,700) gained.

Our ecclesias can be compared to the tribes, we too are journeying through a wilderness, the wilderness of this world which is ever more dried out of spiritual values. If we trust in the LORD we will reach the promised land, but how many will fall by the wayside?

It is vital we ask ourselves, "Will I?"
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- DC


Thought for the Day

11 April 2014

"The first Adam lost Paradise through disobedience; the second Adam regains it through righteousness. For him "the desert shall blossom as the rose," and his land become "an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations." "The King in his beauty" (Isaiah 33:17) will be surrounded with beauty, "for the glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary, where he will declare Yahweh's name unto his brethren, in the midst of the great congregation" (Psalm 22:22), "which in the days of his travail and sorrow he loved and gave himself for, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious ecclesia, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:27)."

- Ernest Pitt
The King in his Beauty (1917)

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