Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Today we will read Numbers 5-8. I’ll have some comments after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “God’s Benediction.”

Comments on Numbers 5 and 6

Thoughts on Numbers 5

In chapter 5, the Lord began preparing His people for the journey to Canaan, the Promised Land. Part of that process was to deal with the effects of sin among the people. He told Moses to send people who were unclean, the lepers, those who had a discharge, and those who had touched a dead body, out of the camp. Each of these conditions is a reminder of what sin does.

Why did this have to be done? Remember what God is doing with His people. He is preparing them to go into the Promised Land. He wanted to remind them that they must separate themselves from sin in order to accomplish this task. 

Notice also that in giving this command, He said, “send them away so that the camp where I am living among you will not be made unclean.” God would not dwell where there were any of sin’s effects. 

The Lord gave Moses instructions on confessing sin and making restitution, and He had a lot to say about how to deal with jealous husbands and their wives. 

Why did He spend so much time on this? 

One reason, I believe, is that the marriage between a husband and wife is representative of the relationship between God and His people. We learned last week when we read Numbers that God looked at His chosen people as an unfaithful wife. 

Another reason for God spending time on this is that jealousy, whether founded or not, can destroy a marriage, and God’s plan for marriage is that it should be a lifetime commitment.  God’s instructions here in chapter 5 when carried out, would reveal the guilt or innocence of the wife. The truth, once revealed, would then allow the husband and wife to take appropriate actions. It is clear that God does not want husbands and wives to endure the turmoil that jealousy brings. 

And since it appears that the ceremony seems to be a public, this was another way for the Lord to teach the people about staying faithful. To each other and to God.

Please note that there are different kinds of jealousy. Remember, God says, “I am a jealous God.”

If my neighbor gets a shiny new sports car, and I’m jealous because he got it instead of me, that’s sin. I am coveting. 

If my neighbor is flirting with my wife, the jealousy I might feel is because he has no right to flirt with her. She is my wife. Only I have the right to flirt with her. 

If I give my worship to someone or something other than God, He is jealous, because only God is worthy of worship.

So being jealous for something that rightly belongs to you is right, but being jealous for something that does not belong to you is wrong. 

So this passage in Numbers dealing with a husband’s jealousy shows how they were to determine whether the jealousy was right or wrong, and as I said, they could deal with the consequences from there. 

One last thing. The fact that jealous wives’ jealousy about suspected infidelities of husbands was not addressed does not necessarily mean that it never happened or that husbands got a free pass. It is entirely possible that this sort of ceremony could be employed in this case.

Thoughts on Numbers 6

Beloved, I want to go back to chapter 6 and the blessing with which God told Moses to have Aaron and his sons bless the children of Israel. God said, “…this is what they should say.” Notice that God gave them the words to say. He didn’t leave it up to their discretion. This blessing is directly from God. 

24“ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’

Shall we break this down?

The Lord bless you

God wants to bless His people. He wants the best, at all times, for His people, and he wants them to be happy.

and keep you

Can you think of a better place to be than to be kept by God? The giver and sustainer of life? Remember, these words are from God Himself. This is not just a nice wish, beloved. 

The Lord make His face shine on you

Some translations say “smile on you”. But for God’s face to shine on us, I think, goes beyond a smile. I think it denotes a warmth, a well-pleased and satisfied glow of approval for His people. Beloved, when we are in Christ, God sees not just us, but us as the redeemed children we are because of what Jesus has done for us.

and be gracious to you

God bestows His loving mercy on us

The Lord turn his face toward you

I like the KJV version of this: the Lord lift up His countenance upon you

In other words, the Lord pay attention to you. I think of the time when my boys were toddlers. I would often be busy, concentrating on a task. And one of my boys would come over to me and say, “Daddy.” And I would be steeped in the work I was doing, and not really hear them. “Daddy!” And my focus would be on the job. “Daddy!” And then I would turn my attention to them, and that was enough to satisfy them. Just by turning my face toward them, they knew that I loved them. Oh, to have the Lord of the universe lift up His countenance upon us. That is enough.

and give you peace.

This is the peace that passes all understanding. A peace down to the center of your being. Of knowing that as long as God is there, all is well and nothing can happen that He does not allow. And knowing that He is a good and loving God, He would never allow anything that is not ultimately good for us, that is enough. 

I truly love this benediction, this blessing. The first time I heard it, I was at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, and Pastor Chuck Smith spoke it. That was the way he closed every Sunday morning message. And I remember what a warm blessing it was. But no wonder, these are the words of God Himself, given to Moses, who gave them to Aaron and his sons to bless God’s people. Hallelujah and Amen.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 5-6 ERV; Ch. 7 NASB; Ch. 8 NLT

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Transcript

Steve Webb 0:00
Oh to have the Lord of the universe lift up his countenance upon us!

Steve Webb 0:12
This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God caster Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And I’m so very glad you’re with me today. It truly is a privilege to have you share your time with me. I am honored that you do truly. Today we’re going to read numbers five through eight. I’ll have some comments after the reading and I’m calling today’s episode, God’s benediction. The show notes page for today’s episode, in case you’d like to make a comment, and I always look forward to that is it Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 236. If you’d like to email me, I’m at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let’s get started.

Steve Webb 0:58
Numbers chapter five. The Lord said to Moses, tell the people to send away from the camp, anyone who is unclean, that is, anyone who has a serious skin disease or discharge. And anyone who has touched a dead body, whether they are a man or a woman, send them away so that the camp where I am living among you will not be made unclean. So the Israelites obeyed God’s command, they sent those people outside the camp. They did what the Lord had told Moses, the Lord said to Moses, tell this to the Israelites, you might do something wrong to another person. When you do that you are really sinning against God. So you’re guilty of doing wrong, you must confess that sin, then you must fully pay for that wrong thing you did, you must add 1/5 to the payment and give it all to the person you had done wrong to. But maybe the person is dead and does not have any close relatives to accept the payment. In that case, you will give the payment to the Lord. That is you will give the full payment to the priest. The priest must sacrifice the RAM that makes the people pure. This RAM will be sacrificed to cover your sins, but the priests will keep the rest of the payment. If any of you Israelites gives a special gift to God. The priest who accepts that gift can keep it it is is you don’t have to give these special gifts. But if you do, the gifts belong to the priest. Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites this. A man’s wife might be unfaithful to him. She might have sexual relations with another man and hide this from her husband. And there might not be anyone to tell him that his wife committed this sin. Her husband might never know about the wrong thing she did. And she might not tell her husband about her sin. But the husband might begin to think that his wife sinned against him. Whether she has or not, he might become jealous, he might begin to believe that she is not pure and true to him. If that happens, he must take his wife to the priest. The husband must also take an offering of eight cups of barley flour, he must not pour oil or incense on the barley flour. This barley flour is a grain offering to the Lord that is given because the husband is jealous. This offering will show that he thinks his wife has been unfaithful to him. The priest will take the woman before the Lord and make her stand there. Then he will take some special water and put it in a clay jar, he will put some dirt from the floor of the holy tent into the water, he will force the woman to stand before the Lord. Then he will loosen her hair and put the grain offering in her hand. This is the barley flour that her husband gave because he was jealous. At the same time he will hold the clay jar of special water. This is the special water that can bring trouble to the woman. Then the priest will make the woman promise to tell the truth and say to her if you have not slept with another man. And if you have not sinned against your husband while you were married to him, then this water that causes trouble will not hurt you. But if you have sinned against your husband, if you had sexual relations with a man who is not your husband, then you are not pure. If that is true, you will have much trouble when you drink this special water. You will not be able to have any children. And if you’re pregnant now your baby will die. And the Lord will cause your people to speak evil of you and curse you. Then the priest must tell the woman to make an oath. She must agree for the Lord to cause these things to happen to her if she lies. The priest must say you must drink this water that causes trouble. If you have sinned, you will not be able to have children. Any baby you have will die before it is born. And the woman should say I agree to do as you say, the priest should write these warnings on a scroll. Then he should wash the words is off into the water, then the woman must drink the water that brings trouble, this water will enter her and if she is guilty, it will cause her much suffering. Then the priest will take the grain offering from her the offering for jealousy and raise it before the Lord. Then he will carry it to the altar. The priests will fill his hands with some of the grain and put it on the altar and let it burn there. After that he will tell the woman to drink the water. If the woman has sinned against her husband, the water will bring her trouble, the water will go into her body and cause her much suffering. Any baby that is in her will die before it is born. And she will never be able to have children. All the people will turn against her. But if the woman has not sinned against her husband, and she is pure, the priests will say that she is not guilty, then she will be normal, unable to have children. So this is the law about jealousy. This is what you should do when a woman sins against her husband while she is married to him. Or if the man becomes jealous and thinks his wife has sinned against him. This is what the man should do. The priest must tell her to stand before the Lord. Then the priest will do all these things. This is the law. The husband will not be guilty of doing anything wrong, but the woman will suffer if she has sinned.

Steve Webb 6:22
Numbers chapter six. The Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites this. If there are people, men or women who want to make a vow dedicating themselves to the Lord is Naza writes for a time. This is what they must do. They must stay away from wine or other strong drink. They must not drink vinegar that is made from wine or from other strong drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. During that special time of dedication. They must not eat anything that comes from grapes. They must not even eat the seeds or the skins from grapes. The whole time of their Nazirite vow, they must not cut their hair. They must be holy until this time of special dedication to the Lord has ended. They must let their hair grow long. If you have taken the Nazirite vow, you must not go near someone who was dying during that special time of dedication. You have given yourself fully to the Lord. So you must not let yourself become unclean like this, even for your own father or mother, brother or sister when they die. This is because you have the hair that you dedicated to God on your head. It is holy because you have given yourself fully to the Lord for the full time of that dedication. So if you are with someone when they suddenly die, you will be unclean and you will have to shave the hair from your head. You must do that on the seventh day of your purification ceremony when you are made clean. Then on the eighth day, you must bring two doves or two young pigeons and give them to the priest at the entrance of the meeting tent. Then the priest will offer one bird as a sin offering and the other one as a burnt offering. The burnt offering will be a payment for the sin of touching a dead body during your special time of dedication. Then you must again promised to give the hair on your head as a gift to God. This means you must again give yourself to the Lord for another time of dedication. You must bring a one year old male lamb to offer as a guilt offering. You must start over from the beginning with a new time of dedication because you touched a dead body during your first time of dedication. After their time of dedication is ended Naza rights must go to the entrance of the meeting tent and give their offering to the Lord. Their offering must be a one year old male lamb that has nothing wrong with it for a burnt offering a one year old female land that has nothing wrong with it for a sin offering one ram that has nothing wrong with it for a fellowship offering a basket of bread made without yeast bread made with fine flour mixed with oil and wafers with oil spread on top and the grain offerings and drink offerings that are part of these gifts. The priests will give these things to the Lord and then the priest will make the sin offering and the burnt offering. He will give the basket of bread without yeast to the Lord. Then he will kill the RAM as a fellowship offering to the Lord. He will give it to the Lord with the grain offering and the drink offering. The Naza writes must go to the entrance of the meeting tent. There they must shave off the hair that they grew as a dedication to the Lord. That hair will be put in the fire that is burning under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering. After the NAZA rites of cut off their hair. The priests will give them a boiled shoulder from the RAM and a large and a small cake from the basket. Both of these cakes are made without yeast. Then the priest will lift these things up to show that they were presented before the Lord. These things are holy and belong to the priest. Also the Rams breast and thigh that were lifted up and presented belong to the priest. After that the NAZA rites can drink wine. These are the rules for those who decide to make the Nazirite vow. They must give all these gifts to the Lord, but they might be able to give much more. If they promised to do more, they must keep their promise. But they must give at least all the things listed in these rules for the Nazirite vow. The Lord said to Moses, tell Aaron and his sons that when they bless the Israelites, this is what they should say, May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord smile down on you and show you his kindness. May the Lord answer your prayers and give you peace. In this way, Aaron and his sons will use my name to give a blessing to the Israelites, and I will bless them.

Steve Webb 10:58
Numbers chapter seven. Now, on the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it with all its furnishings, and the altar and all its utensils, he anointed them and consecrated them also. Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers households made an offering. They were the leaders of the tribes, they were the ones who were over the numbered men, when they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts in 12 oxen, a card for every two of the leaders and an ox for each one, then they presented them before the tabernacle. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, except these things from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and you shall give them to the Levites to each man according to his service. So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites, two carts and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service, and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Moray, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest, but he did not give any to the sons of Kohath because theirs was the service of the holy objects, which they carried on the shoulder. The leaders offered the dedication offering for the altar when it was anointed. So the leaders offered their offering before the altar. Then the Lord said to Moses, let them present they’re offering one leader each day for the dedication of the altar. Now, the one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon, the son of a min adab of the tribe of Judah, and his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shackles according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering, and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nahshon, the son of a man ADAP. On the second day, Nathanael, the son of zoo our leader of this car presented an offering, he presented his his offering one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering, and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nathanael, the son of zoo are on the third day it was a lie at the center of healing leader of the sons of Zebedee when his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels. One silver bowl of 70 shackles according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliab, the son of Heelan. On the fourth day, it was the lizer, the son of shittier, leader of the sons of Reuben, his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt Offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliza, the son of shittier. On the fifth day it was shall Loomio the son of Zahra Shaddai, leader of the children of Simeon his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels one silver bowl of 70 shackles according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. One gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel, the son of Jura Shaddai. On the sixth day, it was Elias AF the son of dual leader of the sons of Gad. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shackles, one silver bowl of 70 shackles, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. One gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs, one year old. This was the offering of Elias AF, the son of duel. On the seventh day, it was Alicia, the son of a Myatt leader of the sons of refereum. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shackles, one silver bowl of 70 shackles according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs, one year old. This was the offering of Alicia the son of a mayat. On the eighth day, it was Gamaliel, the son of Pedraza, leader of the sons of Manasa. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering, and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs, one year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel, the son of producer. On the ninth day, it was a Biden the son of Gideon, I, leader of the sons of Benjamin, his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shackles according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings. Two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs, one year old. This was the offering of a Biden the son of giddy oni.

Steve Webb 18:38
On the 10th day, it was a high easer, the son of Amma Shaddai, leader of the sons of Dan. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings. Two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of a high easer, the son of Emma Shaddai. On the 11th day, it was Peggy Hill, the son of operon, leader of the sons of Asher. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs, one year old. This was the offering of pay Gil, the son of Cochran on the 12th day, it was a Hira, the son of Benin leader of the sons of NAFTA ally. His offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels. One silver bowl of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one gold pan of 10 shekels full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb, one year old for a burnt offering one male goat for a sin offering, and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of a Jairo the son of Enon this was the dedication offering for the altar from the leaders of Israel when it was anointed 12 Silver dishes 12 Silver bowls 12 Gold pans, each silver dish weighing 130 shekels at each bowl 70 All the silver of the utensils was 2400 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, the 12 gold pans full of incense weighing 10 shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the pans 120 shekels, all the oxen for the bird offering 12 bulls, all the Rams 12 The male lambs one year old with their grain offering 12 And the male goats for a sin offering 12 and all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings, 24 bowls, all the Rams 60. The male goats 60 The male lambs one year old 60 This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed. Now, when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the Ark of the testimony from between the two Chair of him, so he spoke to him.

Steve Webb 21:54
Numbers chapter eight, the Lord said to Moses, give Aaron the following instructions. When you set up the seven lamps in the lampstand, place them so their light shines forward in front of the lamp stand. So Aaron did this. He set up the seven lamps, so they reflected their light forward just as the Lord had commanded Moses, the entire lampstand from its base to its decorative blossoms was made of beaten gold. It was built according to the exact design the Lord had shown Moses, then the Lord said to Moses, now set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel, and make them ceremonially clean. Do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification, and have them shave their entire body and wash their clothing, then they will be ceremonially clean. Have them bring a young bull and a grain offering of choice flour moistened with olive oil, along with a second young bull for a sin offering. Then assemble the whole community of Israel and present the Levites at the entrance of the tabernacle. When you present the Levites, before the Lord, the people of Israel must lay their hands on them, raising his hands, Aaron must then present the Levites to the Lord as a special offering from the people of Israel, thus dedicating them to the Lord service. Next, the Levites will lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls present one is the sin offering, and the other is a burnt offering to the Lord, to purify the Levites and make them right with the Lord. Then have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and raise your hands and present them as a special offering to the Lord. In this way, you will set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel, and the Levites will belong to me. After this, they may go into the tabernacle to do their work, because you have purified them and presented them as a special offering. Of all the people of Israel, the Levites are reserved for me. I have claimed them for myself in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. I have taken the Levites as their substitutes for all the firstborn males among the people of Israel or mine, both of people and of animals. I set them apart for myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. Yes, I have claimed the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel, and of all the Israelites, I have assigned the Levites to Aaron and his sons, they will serve in the tabernacle on behalf of the Israelites and make sacrifices to purify the people. So no plague will strike them when they approach the sanctuary. So Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel dedicated the Levites, carefully following all the Lord’s instructions to Moses, the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes and Aaron lifted them up and presented them to the Lord as the special offering. He then offered a sacrifice to purify them and make them right with the Lord. After that, the Levites went into the tabernacle to perform their duties, assisting Aaron and his sons. So they carried out all the commands that the Lord gave them. Moses concerning the Levites The Lord also instructed Moses, this is the rule the Levites must follow. They must begin serving in the tabernacle at the age of 25. And they must retire at the age of 50. After retirement, they may assist their fellow Levites by serving his guards at the tabernacle, but they may not officiate in the service. This is how you must assign duties to the Levites.

Steve Webb 25:27
Well, today in chapter five, the Lord began preparing his people for the journey to Canaan, the Promised Land. Part of that process was to deal with the effects of sin among the people. He told Moses to send people who were unclean, the lepers, those who had a discharge, and those who had touched a dead body to get out of the camp. Why? Well, because each of these conditions is a reminder of what sin does. Remember what God is doing with his people, he’s preparing them to go into the Promised Land, he wanted to remind them that they must separate themselves from sin in order to accomplish this task. Notice also that in giving this command, he said, send them away so that the camp where I am living among you will not be made unclean. You see, God would not dwell where there were any of sins effects. The Lord gave Moses instructions on confessing sin and making restitution. And he had a lot to say about how to deal with jealous husbands and their wives. Well, why did he spend so much time on this? One reason, I believe is that the marriage between a husband and wife is representative of the relationship between God and His people. We learned last week when we read numbers that God looked at his chosen people as an unfaithful wife. Another reason for God’s spending time on this is that jealousy, whether founded or not, can destroy a marriage. And God’s plan for marriage is that it should be a lifetime commitment. God’s instructions here in chapter five, when carried out would reveal the guilt or innocence of the wife. The truth, once revealed, would then allow the husband and wife to take appropriate actions. It’s clear from this that God doesn’t want husbands and wives to endure the turmoil that jealousy brings. And since it appears that the ceremony is a public one, this was another way for the Lord to teach the people about staying faithful to each other and to God. Men note that there are different kinds of jealousy. Remember, God says, I am a jealous God. All right, so let’s talk about the different kinds of jealousy. If my neighbor gets a shiny new sports car, and I’m jealous, because he got it instead of me that sin because I’m coveting, and if my neighbor is flirting with my wife, the jealousy I might feel is because he has no right to flirt with her. She’s my wife, only I have the right to flirt with her. If I give my worship to someone or something other than God, He is jealous because only God is worthy of worship. So being jealous for something that rightly belongs to you, is right. But being jealous for something that does not belong to you, is wrong. So this passage in numbers dealing with a husband’s jealousy shows how they were to determine whether the jealousy was right or wrong. And as I said, then they could deal with the consequences from there. One more thing, the fact that wives jealousy about suspected infidelities of husbands was not addressed, does not necessarily mean that it never happened, or that husband’s got a free pass. It’s entirely possible that this sort of ceremony could be employed in this case as well. Now let’s talk a little bit about number six. There was a blessing with which God told Moses to have Aaron and his sons blessed the children of Israel with God said, This is what they should say. So here, God gave them the exact words to say, he didn’t leave it up to their discretion. This blessing is directly from God. Here it is. 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. How about we break this down? The Lord bless you. God wants to bless His people. He wants the best at all times for his people, and he wants them to be happy. The next phrase is and keep you can you think of a better place to be than to be kept by God, the Giver and Sustainer of life. Remember, these words are from God Himself. This is not just a nice wish, beloved, The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you. Some translations say smile on you. But for God’s face to shine on us, I think goes beyond a smile. I think it denotes a warmth, a well pleased and satisfied glow of approval for his people. Beloved, when we are in Christ, God sees not This does, but us as the redeemed children we are because of what Jesus has done for us. The Lord make his face shine on you and then the next part and be gracious to you. God bestows His loving mercy on us. Hallelujah. And then the Lord turn his face toward you. I like the King James version of this, The Lord lift up His countenance upon you. In other words, the Lord pay attention to you. I think at the time when my boys were toddlers, I would often be busy concentrating on a task, I kind of get that way, when I’m really zoned in on something, I am full focused on whatever it is I’m doing. And then one of my boys would come over to me and say, Daddy, and I’d be steeped in the work and I wouldn’t really hear him, Daddy, and my focus would be on the job, daddy, and then I would turn my attention to them. And that was enough to satisfy them, just by turning my face toward them. They knew that I loved them. Oh, to have the Lord of the universe, lift up his countenance upon us. That is enough. I get choked up thinking about that. The Lord turn his face toward you, and then and give you peace. This, beloved is the peace that passes all understanding, a peace down to the center of your being, of knowing that as long as God is there all as well, and nothing can happen that he does not allow. And knowing that he is a good and loving God. He would never allow anything that is not ultimately good for us. That is enough. I truly love this benediction, this blessing. The first time I heard it, I was at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa and Pastor Chuck Smith spoke it. That was the way he closed every Sunday morning message. And I remember what a warm blessing it was. But no wonder because these are the words of God Himself given to Moses, who gave them to Aaron and his sons to bless God’s people. Hallelujah. Amen. Thank you, Lord. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 236. Scroll to the bottom of that page. And let me know what you think. Our reading tomorrow is First Chronicles chapters 10 through 14.

Steve Webb 32:38
On this date in church history, April 25 1792. John cable was born. He was an Anglican clergyman, poet and leader in the Oxford movement from 1833 to 1845. The Oxford movement sought to purify Anglicanism. John cable is the author of the hymn, Sun Of My Soul, Thou Savior Dear.

Steve Webb 33:09
Join me in prayer, our loving Heavenly Father how good it is to be yours to know that you cared deeply for us to know that you pay attention to us to know that you love us. And that even though you cannot countenance any sin and your presence, you made a way through the death and resurrection of your only begotten Son, for us to actually be in your presence throughout all of eternity. Oh, Lord, You are a merciful God, we worship you. We praise you. And we will continue to do so forever and ever because you deserve it. Amen. And Amen. If you’ve got a prayer request or a praise that you’d like to share with us, please go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com. And let me know about it. I’ll pray for you my private prayer time and we’ll rejoice together and pray together on the show.

Steve Webb 34:05
If you’ve got a comment on the show, please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 236. Or email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. John of San Pedro is doing a great job doing the chapters for the show. And thirsty has been doing the newsletter every week for months now and I’m so thankful for both of their help you guys rock. If you enjoy the show, if you’re getting something out of it if you’re glad that it’s here supported with time, talent or treasure. If you’d like to donate time or talent, I’d be so thankful. Are you an artist? Do you love editing text? Those are two very different skills and I have a need for help in both of those areas. If you’d like to help the show and me email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And I’ll get you set up. Donations of treasure are always needed because the bills just keep on coming. You can help out in that area. If you go to Lifespring media.com/support Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thanks again for joining me today. Let’s do it again tomorrow my name is Steve Webb The Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace

Transcribed by https://otter.ai