Daily Reading: Numbers 27
Scripture Focus: Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” (Numbers 27:15-17)
Devotional Thought: Our true character is seen not when we get our way, but when we don't!
The Lord told Moses to commission Joshua in the sight of the entire congregation. He is to do this publicly so “that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey,” (v20). Moses was then to go up the mountain to see the land that would be given to Israel. There he would die and be gathered to his people. Moses would not be permitted to enter The Promised Land due to his rebellion recorded in Numbers 20:10-12. Moses accepted this as fair and kept his concern upon the congregation, commissioning Joshua so that “the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd,” (v17).
Do we respond in the same way when disciplined by the Lord? Later, King David would pray and fast earnestly for the Lord to spare the life of the baby born to Bathsheba from their sinful union. But, when the baby died, David did not bitterly blame God. He went to the temple to worship the Lord who could have spared his baby’s life but chose to take him instead.
Sometimes our own difficult circumstances are a result of sin’s consequences, but other times suffering comes through no fault of our own. Either way, we are to respond with trust and obedience. Trust in a God who has proven himself over and over to be merciful and just, who gave his only Son to redeem us.
Jenny
Prayer: Father, we sometimes don’t understand the purposes you have in our sufferings. Help us to seek you when we are in times of distress - to pray to find your will in the midst of it all.
Psalm of the Day: 6 Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! 7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped! 8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalms 124:6-8)
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