RTW February 28
Significant Service
List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.
Numbers 4:3, 23, 35
My Takeaways
Something Old
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. Colossians 3:23-24
For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Hebrews 6:10
Something New
The significance needs to be in the service and the person being served, not the one serving.
Something to Do
Make every place of service significant.
My Takeaways: Special jobs- I’m thinking this process might appear, at first, to be very time consuming, but I’m sure it went quickly. God of course knew what he was doing. The lines of authority and accountability were clearly communicated to all. No guess work here. I’m thinking when these men got to work they stayed focused, did their job and accomplished it in just a matter of minutes. After 40 years can you imagine how proficient they were? Wouldn’t you have loved to have been behind the scenes and witnessed this great march and setup as they journeyed through the wilderness. What an amazing sight to have witnessed.
Something Old: “Just as the Lord commanded” continues to pop up again today. My how well everyone complied with God’s commands. Imagine how chaotic all of this would have been to manage if it wasn’t for the people doing just as the Lord commanded. It truly is amazing how much we can accomplish when we obey God and how little gets accomplished when we don’t.
Something New: Numbers 5:5-8
Sorry wasn’t enough. God included restitution. He wanted to make sure matters were set right . Leaving the victim better off then before he was wronged. The camp was to remain pure and holy, no mistreatment of one another could be tolerated. Another picture of what God requires of Christians today.
Something To Do: I must confess my wrongs and make things right by turning away and repenting. My actions should reveal my heart. Am I making restitution to those that I have wronged? Do I admit my mistakes without letting my pride stand in the way? Pleasing others and doing right by them shows my love for God. If I want to remain pure and holy it starts by confessing and changing my wrong ways into the right ways.
Something Old
Very specific in choosing which clans and families were given certain duties. I wonder why each was chosen. Could it be the physical ability that dictated each? How important that we realize and respond obediently to the “duty” God has assigned us. He makes no mistakes in where He has placed us.
Something New
Interesting ….the choice of colors for the tabernacle. Some feel it has to do with the influence of commerce…in other words the blues, purples and sometimes reds were thought to be more expensive to produce. Thus, more valued. Others comment that the significance has to do with the connection to nature. Blue being for the sky and the separation of God in the heavens. Purple equaling the blood exchange and substitution, (red mixed with blue, man needing God), Scarlet signifies purple mixed with orange (fire), the way sin is burned. This is all speculative, but I am always noting the repeated use of these colors and I readily recognize that God has a reason for everything, including His choice of pigments.
Something To Do
Numbers 5:11-31 is a really controversial passage. But the fact is that Leviticus 20:10 clearly states that adulterers of both sexes were to be stoned, so it is not as misogynistic as one might think. It also takes the responsibility for guilt or innocence out of the hands of a jealous husband or the community or even human judges and purports to put it into the just and merciful hands of God Himself. Still, a challenging bit of scripture, especially when viewed through our eyes in this culture. God takes marriage and fidelity very seriously. Rather than dwell on the harshness or unfairness of this reading….how much better to stand in a world gone astray and show honor to our marriages. It breaks my heart that man does not seem to think of how very real the oneness of matrimony is designed by God to be. “Let no man put asunder.”
THANK YOU for this lovely spiritual respite.