Law – Numbers 33-36

Today we have come to the final 4 chapters of the Book of Numbers. How do you feel after walking with the Israelites for 40 years through the wilderness? Indeed the harsh conditions which the Israelites had gone through were not something that we can easily imagine. But at the same time, God was always by their side and did not seize to provide them with their necessities; even the very basic needs like clothing and footwear were not overlooked.

And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not

worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.

Deut. 29:5

The providence and protection of God were abundant, but the people allowed themselves to be overwhelmed by their hardships and cravings, then they grumbled and even showed hostility towards Moses and Aaron, and they were duly punished.

Again, we must be reminded that the Old Testament events were written for our admonition (ref. 1 Cor. 10: 11), that we may also be warned of the wrongs that the people of God had committed. Therefore as we immerse ourselves in the events recorded in the Old Testaments, let us reflect upon ourselves and take heed, lest we become complacent in our Christian life, reminisce on the journey we have so far together with our Lord in our lives of faith. There are bound to be lessons that we can learn as we take every step with the Lord, but lessons will remain as lessons unless they are put to use.

Let us read these last 4 chapters and glean some more teachings from within.

Bible Passage: Numbers 33 to 36

Be Thorough in Dealing with Sin

After the review of the places that the people of God had camped, God gave instructions for the conquest of Canaan.

Then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all

their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high

places;

Num 33:52

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall

be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your

sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.

Num 33:55

These 2 verses can be like a summary to the reason why God wanted to annihilate the idol worshiping nations through the hands of His people. 1. To get rid of the abominable and evil practices of the uncircumcised nations, 2. So that the people of God would not be harassed spiritually by these evil nations with their abominable practices, BUT the people of God must be thorough in eliminating them.

Jesus had also taught something similar regarding getting rid of what is abominable in the sight of God.

“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for

you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be

cast into the everlasting fire.

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you

to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

Mat 18:8 – 9

All of us know that Jesus did not encourage self mutilation by amputating any part of our body that cause us to sin, but was telling us to be severe in dealing with our sin because sin will eventually lead us to our doom.

If we allow sin to linger in us, it will harass us spiritually. Therefore we have to annihilate sin COMPLETELY. In order to do this, we need a lot of effort in our spiritual nurture, and we know that this is not going to be easy, for it will be like entering into a battle with our flesh and the devil!

So we must constantly read and meditate on the Word of God, let it dwell in us richly, for the Word of God is a two edged sword, a weapon that can allow us to be victorious over our foes.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge

of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

2Co 10:4 – 5

God’s Grace in the Old Testament

I remember quite sometimes back, a preacher spoke a sermon about the Cities of Refuge. He said that the locations of these cities of refuge were very well spread in the Promised Land; and the purpose of this was that they could be reached easily by those who needed it.

These cities of refuge revealed the wisdom, mercy and the righteousness of God towards those who had done wrong unintentionally.

The command to have these cities of refuge and their strategic locations can be something worth our consideration when we want to set up churches within a country. We must have churches located at places where people can see and have easy access to, because the Church, where the grace of God can be found, must be easily accessible to the lost within a country; but of course, we must do our part to proclaim this salvation grace of God which we have freely received within these “Cities of Refuge” of today.

At this very moment, I truly feel that God’s love for the man on earth is very wonderful. God’s grace and love has never changed, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. There are still a number of Christians who feel that they can’t see the love of God in the Old Testament, but is that true? As for me, the more I read the Old Testament, the more I sense that God has never changed in His love and mercy towards the His creations.

I chanced upon this wonderful song in youtube that I would like to share it with all of you. This song, The Love of God, is sung by 4 vocalists with very beautiful and powerful voices. Let us enjoy this song with our ears, but praise God in our hearts.