Tag: Numbers 31-33
Our sin connections exposed!
Scripture Reading for February 19th: Numbers 31-33
As our two adopted children were growing up, I had them write scriptures as a discipline for doing wrong. This helped them in several ways. They needed to learn to write English and the Word of God. After writing the verse, they were to explain what it meant to them. Some of the things they did were normal childish things, but some were willful. They obeyed to a point, but always looked for a way to get around true obedience by twisting our instructions. One of the scriptures that we used was Numbers 32:23: “you can be sure your sin will find you out.”
The context for this verse was a warning given by Moses to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. These tribes petitioned Moses to be able to stay on the east side of the Jordan River and not enter the promised land with the rest of the tribes. They were lured by the lush pastures and the potential to make money with their large flocks and herds of sheep and cattle. They were going to have a great life without their rightful inheritance promised by God. They promised to fight and help their brothers take their inheritance, however. Moses warned them against failing to fulfill their promise to fight. That would be a sin that would find them out!
There are people like these tribes of Israel in the church today. They experience the blessings of God’s deliverance from sin and hear the promises of God for authority and a full inheritance. But they are satisfied with what they can have right now. They want the easy life and are not convinced that God’s promises are worth the chance or the effort. They choose to go part way with God’s people, but not all the way!
These two tribes were later unfaithful to God and prostituted themselves to other gods. God gave them over to their enemies and they went into captivity! (1st Chronicles 5:24-26) They were faithful for a time, but in the end going part way was not enough! Their sin found them out! Don’t let this happen to you!
You can be sure. . .!
Scripture Reading for February 20th: Numbers 31-33
As our last two adopted children were growing up, I had them write scriptures as a discipline for doing wrong. This helped them in several ways. They needed to learn to write English and to learn the Word of God and build their faith. After writing the verses assigned, they were to come and explain them to me. One of the scriptures that they wrote often was this simple warning found in Numbers 32:23: “you can be sure your sin will find you out.”
In our reading today, the context for this verse was a warning given by Moses to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. These tribes petitioned Moses to be able to stay on the east side of the Jordan River and not enter the promised land with the rest of the tribes. They were lured by the lush pastures and the potential to make money with their large flocks and herds of sheep and cattle. They were going to have a great life without their rightful inheritance promised by God. They were satisfied with what they could see–why take a chance on what they might get? They promised to fight and help their brothers take their inheritance, however. So Moses warned them against failing to fulfill their promise to fight. That would be a sin that would find them out!
We have lots of people today like these tribes of Israel. They experience the blessings of God’s deliverance from sin and see the miraculous daily supply of God. They agree that a full inheritance is fine for others, but they are satisfied with what they can have right now. They want the easy life and are not sure that what God promises is worth the chance or the effort. They choose to go part way with God’s people, but want what they can see themselves, not all that God promised!
The end of these tribes proves God’s Word is true again! (1 Chronicles 5:24-26) They were later unfaithful to God and prostituted themselves to other gods. They were faithful for a time, but in the end going just part way was not enough! They sinned against God and their sin found them out! Don’t let this happen to you! Take time today to be honest with God!
Be Sure of This
Scripture reading for February 19th: Numbers 31-33
“But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23) My wife and I used this verse to warn our children against disobeying our boundaries for them. Whenever they stepped over the line that we had established for them, we had them write this verse and several others that related to the issue several times; then they were to explain the meaning of the verses to us. This was a simple method of discipline that instructed our children in basic truth and the meaning behind it.
God wanted to make sure the Reubenites and Gadites would help their brothers take possession of the promised land. They wanted to stay on the other side of the Jordan where there was some lush pasture land rather than go over and get an inheritance. Moses insisted that they arm themselves and help possess the land first. If they failed to follow this guideline, they would be guilty of sinning against the Lord. Their sin would be exposed and bring dire consequences. (Numbers 32:20-22)
Sin had already cost the lives of every male 20 years old and older who came out of Egypt, except for Joshua, Caleb and Moses. This happened because the Israelites did not want to follow God or His instructions to enter the promised land. (Numbers 14:26-30) Sin is disobedience to God’s express commands. The sad news is that all of us have disobeyed God’s commands and if we do nothing, our sin will find us out! (Romans 3:23) The wages of sin is death! (Romans 6:23) We will die physically and then there will be a judgment where we will answer to God. Our sins will be exposed and we will pay the penalty! (Hebrews 9:27)
We have another “sure thing” that we can fully trust in. “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.” (1st Timothy 1:15) Just as we can be sure that our sins will find us out, we can rely on Jesus Christ to save us from the penalty of our sin. He will also save us from the power of sin and enable us to possess the inheritance of eternal life that He has promised us in Christ! Praise the Lord!
You can be sure. . .!
Scripture Reading for February 19: Numbers 31-33
As our last two adopted children were growing up, I had them write scriptures as a discipline for doing wrong. This helped them in several ways. They needed to learn to write English and it helped with that. They needed to learn the Word of God and build their faith. It helped with that. After writing the verse, they needed to explain what it meant to them. Some of the things they did were normal childish things, but some were willful. They obeyed to a point, but always looked for a way to get around true obedience by twisting our instructions or taking it out of context. One of the scriptures that we used was this simple warning found in Numbers 32:23: “you can be sure your sin will find you out.” They wrote this verse dozens of times!
In our reading today, the context for this verse was a warning given by Moses to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. These tribes petitioned Moses to be able to stay on the east side of the Jordan River and not enter the promised land with the rest of the tribes. They were lured by the lush pastures and the potential to make money with their large flocks and herds of sheep and cattle. They were going to have a great life without their rightful inheritance promised by God. They were satisfied with what they could see–why take a chance on what they might get? They promised to fight and help their brothers take their inheritance, however. So Moses warned them against failing to fulfill their promise to fight. It would be a sin that would find them out!
We have lots of people today like these tribes of Israel. They experience the blessings of God’s deliverance from sin and see the miraculous daily supply of God. They agree that a full inheritance is fine for others, but they are satisfied with what they can have right now. They want the easy life and are not sure that what God promises is worth the chance or the effort. They choose to go part way with God’s people, but want what they can see themselves, not what is promised!
The end of these tribes proves God’s Word is true again! (1 Chronicles 5:24-26) They were later unfaithful to God and prostituted themselves to other gods. God gave them over to their enemies and they went into captivity! They were faithful for a time, but in the end going just part way was not enough! They sinned against God and their sin found them out! God tried to warn them. In his love, he tried to help. But we often don’t learn from the warnings and have to be ‘found out”! Don’t let this happen to you! Take time today to be honest with God!