December 4 – He Makes It Good

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” - Numbers 23:19 (NASB)

The Book of Numbers in the Bible is well titled. On two occasions 40 years apart a numbering the People of Israel happened. The first at Mount Sinai before Israel was about to enter the Promised Land but then refused to believe God and go into the land. The second numbering happened 40 years later before they actually did enter Canaan. Before that happened Balak the king of Moab, fearing the Israelites, summoned Balaam and hired him to curse Israel. God intervened, and instructed Balaam by giving his donkey the ability to speak. God instructed him to not curse but to bless Israel. When Balaam explained to Balak why he could not curse Israel, he said God had commanded him to bless them. Once given the blessing could not be revoked. Although Balaam was not a worshiper of God, he did understand who the God of Israel was. The words of our verse today were spoken by Balaam to Balak. Balaam knew he would have to do what God commanded and gave a blessing rather than a curse. God cannot lie or go back on His word, even for us today. Numbers 22-23 is the accurate record of what happened. 

  

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May 8 – Rejecting is Risky

“Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.”  - Numbers 14:30-31 (NIV)

The promises we consider, most days are promises which encourage and affirm how much God loves us and helps us to live according to His Word.  But there are promises which the Lord God makes in the Bible which have severe and harsh consequences.  The children of Israel, led by Moses from Egypt to receive the Law from God were promised life and land in Canaan.  However, 10 of the 12 who spied out the land became frightened, faithless, and fickle.  They turned all the company of the people against going into the land God had promised.  As a consequence, God promised something else.  That generation would wander around the wilderness until all were dead and buried.  The land was then promised to their children, the next generation after the faithless who had feared their children would die if they entered the land.  Joshua and Caleb the 2 faithful spies were also promised blessings the land.  When we know what God wants of us, His children, being fearful and faithless and refusing his commands and help is a risky business.  God expects us to believe and to follow and as we do, will receive the blessings He promised.  

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April 24 – He Does Not Change His Mind

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”  Numbers 23:19 (NASB)

These words were spoken by a man with the name of Balaam who served the King of Moab.  Balaam was a wicked prophet and is noteworthy because, although he was a wicked prophet, he was not a false prophet. That is, Balaam did hear from God, and God did give him some true prophecies to speak when Balak sent him to curse the Children of Israel, God's people.  These words are good for us now because they are truth.  We can live by them and apply them to our lives.  We do have a wonderful God and He is the true God.  He does not change His mind. He never fails to keep  His promises to us.  When we trust Him to do something which He has promised to do for His children we can depend on His faithfulness to do it.  Today, reflect on what God has promised us in our lives and commit to again trust that He will make good His promises, whatever they are. 

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February 25 – Keeps. Gracious. Sees. Peace.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)

The words of this prayer in the book of Numbers are words of blessing prescribed by God Himself. It was a blessing to be pronounced by the priests in the hearing of the people. The blessing is also for us today. Each one who belongs to God by faith can apply the words to themselves. They are not words of wishful thinking and they are not even a prayer. They did not originate in the minds of either Moses or Aaron the High Priest, they were dictated to Moses by God. This means that this is what God wants to do for His people. He wants to bless us. He wants to make His face shine upon us. And He wants to give us peace. These words make up a promise of God to bless us in these ways – He will keep us, be gracious to us, look at and see us and bring peace. What a promise to carry with us today and into the future. God loves you so very much.

August 20

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19 (NASB©)

These words are spoken by God to the prophet Balaam to be given to the king of Moab. God had made His promises to His chosen people long before and He wanted the king of Moab to know that He was not changing His mind. He would be faithful to keep the word that He had given to His people. There may be people that we deal with who fail sometimes to keep their promises. But God is different. He will keep His word. Think of some of God’s promises which have been precious to you. Remember, God is faithful.

Scripture quotation taken from the NASB©. (www.lockman.org)

March 12

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)

These are familiar words – the words of blessing that Moses instructed the priests to use for the people of Israel. I’m thinking today of how the face of the Lord affects His children. We read of the Lord’s face shining upon us and of the Lord turning His face toward us. What was the final result? Peace! Isn’t that the way it is? If we know that the Lord is looking at us it makes a big difference. And if we sense that His face is shining upon us it means that He loves us. He’s looking at us with love. Doesn’t that bring peace to our hearts?