Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Numbers+011

 

Numbers Chapter 11   (ESV)

 

1 And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. 3 So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

 

4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

 

7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

 

REFLECTION:

• Read this passage with an attitude of a spoiled child, a stern father, or a rabble.
• The people found new causes of complaint: a monotonous diet! Every family was wailing at the door of its tent.  For a year now, God had provided manna, a miraculous, perfectly balanced food that provided all the body requires for good health.  Rather than be grateful, the people shouted their dissatisfaction.
• The people who truly trust God is content with what He provides. A preoccupation with material things, whether diet or riches, is a subtle but real expression of unbelief.
• When am I, like Israel, most likely to become discouraged with my allotment in life? When discouraged, do I listen more to people’s complaints, to God’s provision, or to inner doubts?
• How would God feel when I complain about my life or crave things He has not provided for me? How does God communicate His will to me in this regard?

 

PRAYER:

Reflect for a while.  What is my utmost concern right now?  Is it appreciation of all God’s gifts or unfulfilled wishes?  Have I forgotten God’s abundant grace, such as life, food, health, work and friends?  Give a thanksgiving prayer to God for all that I possess.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Numbers+010

 

Numbers Chapter 10   (ESV)

 

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. 3 And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the Lord your God.”

 

REFLECTION:

• Read this passage twice with alertness just as soldiers awaiting the bugle to go out on the battleground.
• God used trumpets to coordinate the movements of the people. They were God’s instruments for bringing about order and discipline.  The whole community was called and directed by their sound.
• Many churches have a special music, a prelude to summon people to gather for worship. Our Sunday worship begins with the chairman reading a short passage as Call To Worship, signifying the beginning of worship. However, some people tend to linger to chat, to finish some work, some would come late.
• We need to know that Sunday Worship is when the community of faith gathers for “Celebration”. It is our faith and confidence in God’s greatness, beauty and goodness that cause our utter delight and joy that we come to worship and to praise God together with fellow Christians.

 

PRAYER:

Stay quiet before God.  If Sunday worship is about believers coming together for celebration, is there anything in my worship attendance that needs to be changed so that it will reflect my celebratory emotion and will?  Wait for the Holy Spirit to show me areas regarding worship attending that need to be changed.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help me make the changes.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Numbers+009

 

Numbers Chapter 9   (ESV)

 

4 So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. 6 And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the Lord’s offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

 

9 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it.

 

REFLECTION:

• Read the passage five times, each time focusing on a different aspect of it.
• As humans, we are forgetful people, and as forgetful people we need tangible reminders – symbols – of who God is and what He’s done. Therefore, as God commanded, many Jewish homes celebrate Passover around the time of Easter to remember all that God orchestrated to bring them out of bondage in Egypt and into the Promised Land.  Under what circumstances are you most prone to forget who God is and what He’s done for you?
• Create a symbol that will remind me of God’s faithfulness in my life. Maybe it’s a photograph of close friends or a rock I picked up during a hike.  Put this symbol in a place where I will see it often.  When I look at it, I will be reminded and thank God for His blessings.

 

PRAYER:

Take a stroll down memory lane.  Think about the times when God was evident and at work.  Allow your memories to guide your prayers of gratitude for all He has done.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Numbers+008

 

Numbers Chapter 8   (ESV)

 

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. 7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification upon them, and let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8 Then let them take a bull from the herd and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. 9 And you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. 10 When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord.

 

REFLECTION:

• This chapter talks about priests’ work and their sanctification for the work. They were to attend to the Tent of Meeting, where the rituals and ceremonies of the faith were enacted.  The closest we have to Levites today is the pastoral staff.  How are pastors today to go about their assigned tasks?
• Their office assigns them certain pastoral responsibilities, such as preaching the Scriptures, serving communion, shepherding the flock, and so on. And their church assigns them certain ceremonial responsibilities, such as weddings, funerals, and baptisms.  How are they to exercise those responsibilities without them becoming routine and burdensome, as they sometimes were for the priests and Levites later in Israel’s history?
• The real work of pastors on every occasion, whether preaching the Word or performing weddings, requires the priestly service of prayer. Their vocation is to be responsive to what God is saying at those ceremonial moments in the life of the community of faith.  The ceremonies are over in an hour or so, but the prayers continue.  This is the real work – holding weddings and baptisms and funerals before God in the continual presence of prayer.  That way the holy is never profaned, never common, and never routine.  That’s how these pastoral functions become sacraments, true sacraments in the purest sense of the word, where holy things are handled with human hands, and in the process, the hands themselves are made more holy.

 

PRAYER:

Pray for the pastors at church.  Consider all the possible pressure, temptations, and burdens they may face.  Ask God to bless them that they may minister in all capacities with unceasing prayer.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Numbers+007

 

Numbers Chapter 7   (ESV)

 

84 This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day when it was anointed, from the chiefs of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve golden dishes, 85 each silver plate weighing 130 shekels and each basin 70, all the silver of the vessels 2,400 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, 86 the twelve golden dishes, full of incense, weighing 10 shekels apiece according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the dishes being 120 shekels; 87 all the cattle for the burnt offering twelve bulls, twelve rams, twelve male lambs a year old, with their grain offering; and twelve male goats for a sin offering; 88 and all the cattle for the sacrifice of peace offerings twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the male lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed.

 

89 And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him.

 

 

REFLECTION:

• Read this passage with reverence as if listening to God speaking from the Mercy Seat on the Ark.
• Moses obeyed God’s voice, thus living his life in accordance with God’s will. The foundation of spiritual growth is our obedience to God.  To hear and obey the voice of the Lord is essential if we are to receive his best.  Spiritual growth takes place as we hear the voice of God speaking to us, whether through his word of other means, and grow in our willingness to obey.
• When I sit at church Sunday worship, no matter which segment of it: invocation, prayer, Scripture reading, message, communion, blessing, welcome, announcement, pastoral prayer, do I hear God speaking?

 

PRAYER:

Ask the Holy Spirit to help me examine myself to discern areas that I need to change in order to listen to God’s word at each Sunday worship.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Numbers+006

 

Numbers Chapter 6   (ESV)

22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

24 The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

 

REFLECTION:

• Stand up to read this passage. Raise up hands just as Moses would have when he blessed the Israelites.  Read a few more times to have the blessings sink in.
• Our God is a God who purposes and desire to bless his people. Thus, the community of God is a blessed community.  As his representatives, God directed the priests to bless the people.  As part of the priesthood of all believers, we are all now God’s representatives.  We are all called to bless others.  We are called today, not to repay evil for evil or to return abuse for abuse, but to repay evil with blessings (1 Pet 3:9).
• What farewell blessing is most common to my family? What do I like about it?
• In what ways has God’s power been evident in my life recently? How does that reflect the three-fold blessing here?  What does this priestly blessing say about what God wants for me?

 

PRAYER:

Ask God for a couple of names of people that I know.  Ask God’s help to learn to pray for God’s blessings and grace for them.

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Numbers+005

 

Numbers Chapter 5   (ESV)

 

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, 7 he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. 8 But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him.

 

REFLECTION: 

• Read this passage aloud as if I am hearing from God directly.
• Ritual contamination by an infectious skin disease was visible. Moral failures were more difficult to ascertain.  Any person who wronged another “in any way” was guilty and “must” confess the wrong and make full restitution.  We are each responsible to maintain a right relationship with God and with others in the faith community.
• Sharing our deepest weaknesses and failures with God and trusted others, so that we may enter into God’s grace and mercy and experience his ready forgiveness and healing (Ref I John 1:9).

 

PRAYER

Ask the Holy Spirit to examine my relationship with God and other people.  Is it good without any ill feeling or grudge?  If there is, ask God for courage to confess and to compensate when necessary.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Numbers+004

Numbers Chapter 4   (ESV)

21 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

 

 

REFLECTION: 

• Read this passage slowly. Read the whole chapter if possible noting the work done by the Levites.
• As the Israelites were moving from place to place in the wilderness, specific Levitical clans were enlisted to take down the tabernacle, carry it to the new site, and reassemble it. Scripture refers to these tasks as “serving” or “carrying”.
• This week make an effort to help those people in your life whose duties include serving and carrying: for example, help serve coffee to business associates, help carry a heavy piece of furniture.
• Have I ever thought of the tables and chairs arranged orderly every Sunday morning? There are a group of faithful brothers and sisters who come early on Sunday morning for this.  Try coming to church at 9:00AM next Sunday and give a hand to the worship setup team?  Or better yet, ask if I may join the team to “serve” and “carry” as these Levites.

 

PRAYER:

• Thank God for the Setup team for their sacrificial and dedicated work week after week. Pray for God’s blessings on them.
• Pray that I and other brothers and sisters may want to share the early Sunday morning set-up work and actually commit to it regularly.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Numbers+003

Numbers Chapter 3   (ESV)

 

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

 

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

 

 

REFLECTION:

• Read this passage slowly paying attention to the identity and duties of the Levites.
• God set the Levites apart as his own and claimed them for his service. The Levites are to replace the first male offspring.  For God said, “for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine. I am the LORD.”(v13)
• Does God still require my “first” or my “best”? In what sense do I give God my first or best?
• How much faith in God would it take for me to let him have my children? Do I have that much faith?

 

 

PRAYER:

Sit quietly before God and consider:  What do I offer to God?  What does God want of me?  Meditate on what Jesus did for me and what I will do for him.
What can I give when I am no longer young?  What about my attitude?  Give to God all my youthful passion and strength regardless of my age.

 

 

HYMN:

Give Of Your Best To The Master

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD2gVsLTAts

1. Give of your best to the Master; Give of the strength of your youth;
   Throw your soul’s fresh, glowing ardor Into the battle for truth.
   Jesus has set the example, Dauntless was He, young and brave;
   Give Him your loyal devotion, give Him the best that you have.
2. Give of your best to the Master; Naught else is worthy His love;
   He gave Himself for your ransom, Gave up His glory above;
   Laid down His life without murmur, You from sin’s ruin to save;
   Give Him your heart’s adoration, Give Him the best that you have.

Refrain:  Give of your best to the Master; Give of the strength of your youth;
Clad in salvation’s full armor, Join in the battle for truth.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Numbers+002

Numbers Chapter 2   (ESV)

 

1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.

 

17 “Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.

 

32 These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers’ houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were 603,550. 33 But the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.

34 Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers’ house.

 

REFLECTION:

• Read this passage with continued imagination that I am in the throng of people milling around camps; men, women, children, dogs, cats, cattle, sheep, and all the vessels and equipment.
• When the Israelites escaped from Egypt, they left hurriedly. Now, as they began their lives in the wilderness, they needed structure and organization.  God directed Moses and Aaron to begin such massive undertaking in specific instructions and with good purposes.
• Is God concerned about the everyday aspects of my life? How does he show me this concern (or lack of it)?

 

PRAYER: 

Slowly read or sing the following song.  Pay special attention to lyrics where it depicts my own experiences.  Go through the verses slowly as my wrestling with God and self.  Then sing triumphantly the chorus with conviction (if applies).  Otherwise, dwell on the questioning verses, and have a conversation with God.  Don’t rush it.  Give God time to respond.

 

HYMN:

Does Jesus Care? (www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbypf10Nq4Q)
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:7, Lyrics: Frank E. Graeff, 1901, Melody: Joseph L. Hall

1. Does Jesus care when my heart is pained, too deeply for mirth or song,
   As the burdens press, and the cares distress, and the way grows weary and long?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares.

2. Does Jesus care when my way is dark with a nameless dread and fear?
   As the daylight fades into deep night shades, Does He care enough to be near?
3. Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed to resist some temptation strong;
   When for my deep grief there is no relief, though my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye” to the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks— Is it aught to Him? Does He see?