Today's Reading
For you with a background in military strategy, do you notice any significance to the size of the tribes at the different points of the compass, as listed in Numbers today?
Put God first. That's a simple message throughout Scripture. For them, it meant their firstborn sons. The number of Levites was short of making up for the firstborn, so they remainder had to be redeemed with an offering. Your thoughts?
Constant tests. Each of our Mark passages today is about a test. The religious leaders hated Jesus because He was diminishing their control over the people. What do you think about the way Jesus responded to the tests?
What a description in today's Psalm! Picture the throngs: millions upon millions gathered at the Throne to sing His praises. People from every nation, tribe and tongue. Each one personally significant to Him! Awesome!
Storms. We all have them. The distinction, according to Proverbs, is the location of our heart.
My ears are open. I hope to hear from you today!
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In Numbers, God spells out His desire for the Tabernacle to be placed as a priority in our life by physically locating it center-stage within the nation of Israel. God cleary defines how tribes will be positioned and the seriousness of people approaching the Tabernacle. I believe this paints an initial picture of the importance of Church in our lives. Balancing this priority without "legalism" can further be seen in Mark 12 - Jesus reveals that the Pharisees are not rightly carrying out their responsiblities as stewards of the Church. By His parable, Jesus confronts them, explains their folly, and reveals God's love for His Church. Keeping in context the Old and New Testaments, we can see the importance of congregating with the Church, the importance of being an active participant within the Church, and the importance of stewardship of the Church.
ReplyDelete(I've been away from this for a bit and I'm picking up where you are, so forgive me if I repeat something someone has already said)
ReplyDeleteIt strikes me today, while reading Mark, how much God must loathe pride. All the 'tests' from the religious leaders are dripping with their pride. In our information age I tend to feel like knowledge should be free for the taking, but Jesus repeatedly shows/tells us that he's not interested in giving knowledge to the proud.
It's easy for me to think of pride and a little white sin (since it's impact isn't as visible?), but I think Christ might categorize it as one of the worst... I guess Proverbs 6:16-17 confirms this: "There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes..." The dictionary tells me haughty is defined as "Scornfully and condescendingly proud" or "having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy."