It's remarkable to me how scary it was to approach God in His sanctuary. It is one of the attributes of the Lord that he is so holy. Only a priest could approach him. I like how God has planned for all of us to become priests and therefore we can approach Him with confidence. Help us to remember to be holy before you, Lord!
1. i wonder if in Moses old age he just momentarily forgot the orders & struck the rock twice; his record didn't indicate that he was a habitual rebel:)none the less, it serves as a lesson to the rest of us that no matter how great a job we think we're doing, we are NOT in control - God is! it's also interesting that water gushed forth regardless of what he did. this also gives me hope - that however i mess up trying to do God's will, He will still answer my prayers. 2. perhaps if the israelites would have petitioned God nicely for food & water He might not have sent deadly snakes. they just couldn't quit their whining & complaining! niceness can go a long ways! 3. however,i continue to see my own sin in the actions of the israelites. how many times have i doubted, not trusted or blamed God in bad times. it's so easy to praise Him when things are going good. Dear God help me to overcome my own sins of doubt, whining & complaining!
I was thinking this morning that I like how I see the sarcasm of God when He is speaking about how the Israelites don't believe. When he said in a recent passage, "because the Amalikites are in the valley (dripping with sarcasm) you will have to wander in the desert for 40 years." That's all paraphrased by the way, because I don't have my Bible with me! I like seeing this though, because this gives a glimpse into the person of God. It seems that He can get His feelings hurt and He does get irritated and then I remember how we are all made in His image. You can really see that God takes it personally when we doubt Him. That's a scary thing!
One thing I found interesting about today's reading was that God sent the snakes when the people murmured and then had them fashion a bronze snake on a pole so they could "look at it and live" when they were bitten. That seems quite like fashioning an idol to me. I am surprised that God didn't choose another method for them to be healed.
I also wonder what Aaron was thinking when they made that final trek up Mount Hor. It says that the Lord told both Moses & Aaron that Aaron "will be gathered to his people." So they go up the mountain and Moses takes Aaron's clothes and puts them on Eleazar. Surely Aaron had a lot to think about as he hiked up that mountain. Do you suppose he was thinking of all the victories God had given the Israelites...or was he regretting the mistakes he had made? It seems like in my life, I spend a lot more time regretting what I've done wrong, than rejoycing (!) over the victories the Lord has given me. I will be working on doing more Rejoycing!
I like hearing how God is speaking in these stories, because Moses wrote these down and he was the one that the Lord was speaking to in person.
ReplyDeleteIt's remarkable to me how scary it was to approach God in His sanctuary. It is one of the attributes of the Lord that he is so holy. Only a priest could approach him. I like how God has planned for all of us to become priests and therefore we can approach Him with confidence. Help us to remember to be holy before you, Lord!
ReplyDelete1. i wonder if in Moses old age he just momentarily forgot the orders & struck the rock twice; his record didn't indicate that he was a habitual rebel:)none the less, it serves as a lesson to the rest of us that no matter how great a job we think we're doing, we are NOT in control - God is!
ReplyDeleteit's also interesting that water gushed forth regardless of what he did. this also gives me hope - that however i mess up trying to do God's will, He will still answer my prayers.
2. perhaps if the israelites would have petitioned God nicely for food & water He might not have sent deadly snakes. they just couldn't quit their whining & complaining! niceness can go a long ways!
3. however,i continue to see my own sin in the actions of the israelites. how many times have i doubted, not trusted or blamed God in bad times. it's so easy to praise Him when things are going good. Dear God help me to overcome my own sins of doubt, whining & complaining!
I was thinking this morning that I like how I see the sarcasm of God when He is speaking about how the Israelites don't believe. When he said in a recent passage, "because the Amalikites are in the valley (dripping with sarcasm) you will have to wander in the desert for 40 years." That's all paraphrased by the way, because I don't have my Bible with me! I like seeing this though, because this gives a glimpse into the person of God. It seems that He can get His feelings hurt and He does get irritated and then I remember how we are all made in His image. You can really see that God takes it personally when we doubt Him. That's a scary thing!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I found interesting about today's reading was that God sent the snakes when the people murmured and then had them fashion a bronze snake on a pole so they could "look at it and live" when they were bitten. That seems quite like fashioning an idol to me. I am surprised that God didn't choose another method for them to be healed.
ReplyDeleteI also wonder what Aaron was thinking when they made that final trek up Mount Hor. It says that the Lord told both Moses & Aaron that Aaron "will be gathered to his people." So they go up the mountain and Moses takes Aaron's clothes and puts them on Eleazar. Surely Aaron had a lot to think about as he hiked up that mountain. Do you suppose he was thinking of all the victories God had given the Israelites...or was he regretting the mistakes he had made? It seems like in my life, I spend a lot more time regretting what I've done wrong, than rejoycing (!) over the victories the Lord has given me. I will be working on doing more Rejoycing!