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April
14
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Reading
1 - Numbers 33
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here to Listen
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v.
4 - There are several occasions when God is reported as having judged
or otherwise interfered with the gods of the people of the earth. It is
a method he chooses to employ occasionally it would seem. Ex.12:12,
18:11, Isa.19:1, Zeph.2:11. And is this leading up to Rev.12:7-9?
Peter Cresswell |
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v.52
- The word used for pictures (04906 - maskiyth)
is a rare word - just six occurences
Lev.26:1
- image
here
- pictures
Psa.73:7
- wish
Pro.18:11
- conceit
Pro.25:11
- pictures
Eze.8:12
- imagery
Each time it is referring to the imaginations of man's heart and the consequent
idolatry. This makes us realise that the 'pictures of silver' in Prov.25
(which happens to be tomorrow's reading) is in contrast to the apples of
gold rather than complimetary to it.
Peter Cresswell |
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33:38
The death of Aaron marked the end of an era. He was the first high priest
of Israel. It is not surprising, therefore, that the people mourned for
40 days (Numbers
20:29)
Peter
Forbes |
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This
chapter summarises the whole of the wilderness journey. The marginal references
will allow you to see where the other books of the wilderness journey -
in particular the earlier chapters of Numbers - speak of the events recorded
in this summary. Also this summary provides data about stopping places not
found in any other place so is more comprehensive in recording the journey
than any other part of the record. There is a reason why the rest of the
book does not record the whole of the journey in details. 'these things'(1
Corinthians 10:11) were examples - each is designed to teach specific
lessons. Doubtless God could have taught lessons from other things that
happened in the journey but He is silent. In a similar way this is true
of the ministry of Jesus and the gospels. (John
21:25)
Peter
Forbes |
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Reading
2 - Proverbs 24
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here to Listen
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v.
3 - The process of building our house on the right foundation is one
that we know well. These passages support this principle and give us a sense
of responsibility to ensure that it is carried out.
Pr.9:1,
14:1, 2Sam.7:26, 1Cor.3:9, Col.2:7.
Peter Cresswell |
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v.21
- We have a responsibility to fear both God and the king. We should remember
this - Ecc.8:2-5,
Matt.22:21, Rom.13:1-7
Peter Cresswell
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v.
6
'in the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom' should be applied in all
our decision making. It is all too easy to take the advice of the person
who agrees with our viewpoint. In seeking the opinions of a number we are
less likely to make wrong or selfish decisions.
Peter
Forbes |
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:30-31
Just as it is possible to assess whether a farmer is diligent from the way
in which his fields are kept so it is possible to know who is diligent in
the things of God. No matter how loudly one protests that one is giving
attention to Scripture unless the life of that person shows the Christ like
spirit the protestations are all in vain. 'By their fruits shall ye know
them' [Matthew
7:20] is a true comment about the way we live demonstrating how we think.
Peter
Forbes
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:11-12
Here we see that inactivity on an issue on the grounds that we do not know
about it when we do is wrong. It is not good enough to avoid dealing with
matters that we know about - (James
4:17)
Peter
Forbes
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v.
14 - "So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou
hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and the expectation shall not
be cut off". Note the word: "when" this word gives an expectation
of a reward (something good). The Hebrew Bible replaces "when"
with "if", other versions use "If" like: New King James,
the Revised Standard, New American Standard, the Amplified, the Segond (French
version) the same. It is a conditional sentence, if it starts with "If".
So, in this verse, getting a reward depends on the condition of getting
the knowledge of wisdom. Psalm
2:10: "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings be instructed, ye judges
of the earth". Understanding the use of "If" in Proverbs
24:14, should make us more aware of the importance of aim and effortt,
striving towards the goal of Wisdom, it is not something that will fall
into our lap without effort.
Beryl
Butler |
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Reading
3 - John 6
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here to Listen
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v.
6 - It is easy to skip over this verse, but it contains the whole point
of the conversation. This was set up as a test for Philip. He should have
realised that God could do the seemingly impossible. A lesson surely for
us too. Let us look out for our testings and recognise them for what they
are. God knows what he will do, but we are expected to seek out the answers
by faith. Gen.22:1,
Deut.8:2,16, 13:3, 33:8, 2Ch 32:31, Heb.12:11.
Peter Cresswell
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v.
15
In the gospels there are a number of times when Jesus took himself away
from the crowds up into a mountain. Matthew
5:1 8:1 14:23 15:29 17:1 24:3 28:16 Mark 3:13 6:46 9:2 13:3 Luke 6:12 9:28
22:39 John 6:3 15 8:1 It seems that this was either for solitude for
himself of privacy in order to instruct his disciples. We should note that
whilst Jesus went about preaching and teaching and devoting himself to the
Father's work he did take time out to fulfil his own personal needs
Peter Forbes
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6:6
Whilst Jesus asked Philip where bread could be bough he knew what he planned
to do. Here is an example of a man being 'proved' by God through the circumstances
of life. This is akin to the way in which Israel were 'proved' in the wilderness
(Deuteronomy
8:2)
Peter Forbes
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:3
Jesus was in a 'mountain' and (10)
there was 'much grass' there. These two point might seem contradictory however
Jesus' work is presented as the work of the 'shepherd' of Ezekiel
34 - see v14.
Peter Forbes
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ALL
THE WAY
How prepared are we to follow Jesus? As we read through the gospels we find
that there seem to be limits on discipleship for everyone that followed
him. During the times that Jesus stood in the populated places, the towns
and villages, he was thronged by people who wanted to see him, hear him
and see some miracle done by him. These were the times when most people
wanted to follow Jesus.
Then, when Jesus started to teach, many of the people in the crowds found
his teachings too hard for them, so after grumbling among themselves, they
got up and left. They were not prepared to face the challenge to their faith.
There were other times when Jesus was being crowded out by people when he
took a walk up a mountain. That really sorted out the disciples from the
riff-raff. There were very few that were dedicated enough to walk up a mountain
to follow Jesus. They were not prepared to face the physical challenge to
follow Christ.
Now what about us? How prepared are we to follow the Saviour of the world?
Can we face the challenges he gives our faith and the physical challenges
he sets for us? Let's follow him all the way!
Robert
Prins |
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6:66
- If we look back at the record of Matt
4:25, we see a great popularity of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry("...followed
him great multitudes")
Here in John
6:66, his popularity starts to diminish. And finally, in Matt
26:56, it is recorded that "all the disciples forsook him, and
fled." Tragic.
Matt
Drywood |
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