March 1
Numbers
7:1-89
Father in
Heaven, Peter called us kings and priests to You. The Levites (in general) were not considered
priests in the sense that the Aaronites (specifically) were, but they were responsible
for the sacred things, especially the Kohathites who could only carry the holy
things on their shoulders. It is notable
that we are told to carry one sacred thing on our shoulders, our cross,
according to Jesus. There were multiple
items that could be offered for the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the
fellowship offering; but only one item was to be offered for the sin
offering. It points to the truth that
only one item was to be offered for sin.
It points to the truth that only one thing can atone for our sin, the
blood of Jesus Christ. Regarding
fellowship, we contribute from our resources, namely ourselves as living
sacrifices, having our minds renewed by the Word of God and our Spirit transformed
by the Spirit of God. But ultimately
Christ is our all-in-all and He is our only path to access You, to hear You
speak. Amen.
March 2
Numbers 8:1
to
Glorious
Lord, it is hard to imagine the logistical challenge of so large a group
stopping and starting their relocations so quickly and frequently, but
obedience apparently prevailed in this particular duty. I suppose the people simply performed their
individual duties with efficiency, rather than overly concerning themselves
with the overall group duties. And since
everything was carefully delegated out first by modules and then sub-modules
and so on to the individual duties, then what at first seems impossible
actually worked just fine. I have known
those who present You as a God that operates in somewhat of a chaotic manner, but
this is not apparent to me. Everything
You do indicates You prefer order over chaos.
And of course since You operate (within time) from outside time, then
knowing the end from the beginning in Your creation is obvious. You have a plan, it is orderly, and it is
assured. Amen.
March 3
Numbers
11:1 to
Almighty
God and generous Father, Your provision never ceases and the only way we could
think it does is to take our eyes off Jesus and make the things of this world
our focus. You do not always provide
what we think we need, but You always provide what we need to be in accord with
Your will. Unfortunately, we do not
always apprehend the good things that are placed before us by You. You provide well for Your people but they are
seldom satisfied and cast blame at You.
Gracious father, Your provision is righteous and Your discipline is
righteous. Your love is divine. We are earthly and that is why we make so
many mistakes regarding Your love. But
You give us Your Spirit and You change us.
You enable us to love divinely.
We should never mistake Your wrath as a sudden “flying off the
handle.” You are never caught off guard
and so Your wrath should never be seen as separate from or set against You
love. Thank You, Father. Amen.
March 4
Numbers
14:1 to
Holy God –
Lord – Father, I would feel just irritation for the distrust and the murmuring
of the Israelites, but I am so like them at times, I think that would be
foolish. I have to say I feel sadness
for them; especially when some of them realize too late how foolish they have
been and try to please You by disobeying You.
I think we should all realize when there has been intentional sin that
there can be forgiveness and indeed will be, if we are in Christ – if He is our
Advocate. But we should remember that
along with the forgiveness, there may be punishment as well. Your justice is never compromised by Your
mercy, but then that is why, Father, You sent Jesus. Justice has been served, and He received it
on Himself. My Father, I know that the
only reason You could place a royal robe of the righteousness of Jesus around a
pig-sty resident like me, is because of Your inexplicably amazing nature of
love. Thank You. Amen.
March 5
Numbers
16:1 to
Lord, You
are holy and all who are in Christ are declared holy by You. I was struck by many things in this
reading. It was a very emotional
section. But Father, I was especially
concerned with “the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their
lives.” These censers were declared holy
by You and You commanded they be retrieved from the smoldering remains of those
who unwisely presented incense before the Lord.
And then You commanded the censers be hammered out and used to overlay
the altar. Father, it seems that it is
possible for the unholy to offer the holy, but apparently that act alone does
not change the condition of the unholy.
It seems that the lesson here could be that we cannot become holy by
announcing Jesus, but we become holy only by Jesus announcing us. It is not our declaration that justifies but
Yours, O Lord. We can only surrender to
You by the faith You have measured to us.
Amen.
March 6
Numbers
19:1 to
Father, I
wonder how people read Your written Word in the later Old Testament times. I know it was read publicly at times and even
explained – so there was teaching and probably even preaching (i.e. the
prophets). There were “scholars” also,
who supposedly knew Your Word better than others. It’s just that the photographs given in this
reading are so vivid. I know that I am
afforded the convenience of hindsight.
But it seems to me that at least one scholar would look at the coverings
the Lord provided at Moriah, the Mercy Seat, the Tabernacle, the system of
sacrifices and festivals, and now this burnt offering with the cedar, hyssop,
and scarlet wool, the snake lifted up on the staff, the salvation from the
deadly bite, and on and on. It seems like at least one would figure out,
especially with Psalms 22, that God will provide a sacrifice to save the
World. And indeed some did. Praise Your Name! Amen.
March 7
Numbers
22:1 to 24:25
Father in
Heaven, this character, Balaam seems too much like me at times, having feet
that are too swift to overtake sin.
Knowing Your power, seeing Your will, understanding right, and yet
yielding to that law in my members. Only
Christ can deliver me from such a wretched state as this. Balaam seems to be a strong example of lost
potential. God clearly used him and yet
his heart was given to making merchandise of his gift. Is this not a picture of grace? Lord, You spoke directly to this man, or so
it would seem, and he spoke to You. And
yet we know that his spiritual condition was dull at best and evil at
worst. Maybe rather than a picture of
grace, this is a picture of sovereign grace.
And this rascal cashed in on it, even though he knew his limitations;
and he certainly must have sensed an undesirable, eternal destiny. It seems he always tried to push the
envelope. Father, at times I have done
the same. Forgive me for Christ. Amen.
March 8
Numbers
25:1 to 26:34, 1 Chronicles
Numbers
26:35-37, 1 Chronicles
Holy Lord,
my Father in Heaven, I suppose there are numerous reasons for taking this
census. There are only a few special
notes found here that are not found elsewhere, and each is very
interesting. But I think the most
significant reason is the one given at the conclusion of this reading – to show
the completeness of the “wilderness cleansing.”
Not one person in this census was in the census so many years before at
Sinai except for Joshua and Caleb. Of
course, there are notes about land allotments, and it is also notable that the
totals of each tribe of
March 9
Numbers
27:1 to 29:40
Holy
Father, I can only imagine what it must have been like in those days,
especially as a priest, but also as a congregant. The daily and monthly sacrifices, the
festivals with the almost endless sacrifices.
There was this constant reminder of the horrible ugliness of sin, and
the constant reminder that in and of themselves these sacrifices were wholly inadequate. The lesson was clear but I am not sure how
well it was learned. The only way to God
is by grace and the only way that could be apprehended is through faith. Ultimately, God has to provide the sacrifice,
human and pure; and only One qualified.
Thank You, Jesus. Thank You,
Father. And the reading today also
reminds me that male or female makes no difference. The value of the soul is the same. I feel almost like Zelophehad observing from
the grave, his brave bold daughters claiming the inheritance of the father they
love. Father, be glorified in this day
of deliverance through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
March 10
Numbers
30:1 to 31:54
Father in
Heaven, my Father, it is obvious that vows are important to You. A man’s conduct and a woman’s conduct
regarding integrity should always be godly.
And this is something that seems to be understood by even those who are
not believers. But Father, the real
message You send in this reading regarding vows is the nature of relationships
between a man and woman – husband and wife, as well as father and
daughter. The consistency of the Bible
is so beautiful - You have made man to be a covering for the woman. There are those that consider the woman and
man of different value, but this is not from You. Their value is not different, only their
roles as assigned by You. Glorious
Father, this reading today revealed the true blackness of Balaam’s heart and
the corruption and perversion of the Midianites. They thumbed their noses at You and destroyed
themselves and their children, when mercy could have been theirs. Amen.
March 11
Numbers
32:1 TO 33:56
My Father,
You are wonderful in every way, but Your grace appears so powerfully to me this
day. Like the relentless beauty of a
sunrise that refuses to be harnessed by the upstart clouds of threatening storms,
Your grace always emerges and triumphs over evil. Thank You, my dear Father, for Your awesome
plan of love – for salvation – for Jesus.
I love You and I need You. I have
left
March 12
Numbers
34:1 to 36:13
Dear
Father, I am thinking about the boundaries that You specified to Your
people. Even the
March 13
Deuteronomy
1:1 to
Gracious
Father, this section is one that arouses mixed emotions. It is a roller coaster of defeat and victory
– of faithlessness and trust. It is both
heartbreaking and encouraging. I love you,
Father, but it is a flawed love. I am
grateful that Your love is not a flawed love.
Your love is unmarred by sin or even the lust for sin. Your love is pure and relentless. You preserved this people who were so
faithless at Kadesh Barnea because it was Your purpose to bring Your Son - Your
salvation into the world through them.
It is Your glorious design of grace.
Praise Your wonderful Name! Every
person whose sin had become full had to be destroyed. They had plenty of time to repent, plenty of
warning, and plenty of opportunity; but they apparently scoffed. Because even though they knew their fate,
they did not evacuate – not even their children. We must do the same eradication of sin in our
own lives. Whether big or little, all
sin must be crushed or else it will revisit.
This is the gift of repentance.
Thank You, Lord. Amen.
March 14
Deuteronomy
Holy Lord,
Your special people cannot be a holy people (as You are holy) if they do not
act holy. And You gave them
commands. It amazes me Father how often
we break the commands that we know will bring us abundant life if we just
obey. But nobody obeys. Instead we choose disobedient ways with the
delusion that they will bring abundance; but instead they bring only
poverty. Of course, You knew all this
even before You gave these commands, but You lovingly taught us with these
commands just how much in need of a Savior we are. Jesus still expects obedience. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” But when we embrace Him, we embrace Him not
only as Lord, but as Savior; and His covenant to save all who believe is a sure
promise. Father, I have loved and I have
kept commandments, but that love has turned selfish too many times and I have
broken commandments to my shame and discomfort.
Forgive me, Father. Amen.
March 15
Deuteronomy
6:1 to
Father,
Your love is relentless and while I sometimes lose sight of that, You never
do. You are the Guardian, the Protector,
and the Keeper of Your people. I do not
forget You, Father. I know these things
are true and have known since You first drew my heart. But I think, dear Lord, that I forget myself
in a way that is inappropriate. In those
times that I have yielded to my flesh, I have forgotten who I am and elevated
myself through pride and lust. But You
have never changed. Your love remains
relentless, and Your faithfulness to Your Son and those in Him is just as true
as always. It is ironic how quickly we
move to the list of rules and commands that You give us because we want to
express our love to You. But in our
haste we bypass the one commandment that would insure obedience of the
rest. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God,
the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Amen.
March 16
Deuteronomy
9:1 to
O Father,
there are so many emotions I feel as I read this section. I can’t help but think of how the people will
stray and it makes me realize how fickled my heart is. I think of Your love and faithfulness as I
read Your promises, and I just want to hide in the warmth that I feel when I
read Your wonderful Words of love. When
You exhort these people to do those things that assure them of abundant life,
beginning with the fear of the Lord, I want to run to You, confess my sins, and
abandon all earthly ties. Why, Father,
are we so weak, so fickled, so apt to wander like foolish sheep? But these are foolish questions, aren’t they? The answer is sin and the solution is
Christ. We are in a battle and the
victory is in You and through You. You
give us the armor and the sword and the faith.
You even give the command – awake!
Yes, Father, amen!
March 17
Deuteronomy
12:1 to
Father, I
love You. Forgive my lack of love. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, sanctify me,
and chase the selfishness from my heart and mind. Of course, You are the Good Shepherd, and You
are always doing this for Your sheep.
But it has been so painful with me, because my feet have been so prone
to wander into the habitat of wolves, my neck is stiff, and my heart is still
hardened. The exposure of this is
painful, the purging of this is violent, and the determination of Your loving
parenting can even be terrifying at times; but it all clearly evidences Your
heart of love and the assurance of my renewal into Your image and
likeness. And Father, I rejoice, because
Yours is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, forever. You simply care. You care that I do not worship other gods, or
worship You in the way they are worshipped.
You care what I eat, and You care that I care for others. Thank You for being our Good and Holy
Shepherd. Amen.
March 18
Deuteronomy
15:1 to
Father,
Your Word is a light to our feet and a lamp to our path. We know the proverb but I wonder if we are
too “spiritual” to be able to appreciate it.
I think we prefer to read it as, “Your Word is a light to my soul…” or
“Your Word is a magnifier to my spirit…”
Even though we know Your Word is valuable to us for daily practical
instruction, I think we suppress that in favor of that which “feels” more
spiritual. The reading today, Father, is
wonderfully practical and intensely applicable to our lives even today. And it is all about being partakers of the
divine grace to us from You through Jesus Christ our Lord. If we partake of Him as in the Passover
remembrances, if we show grace with our brothers in finance, grace with the
care of our priests and judges, grace with our employers and employees in the
times assigned to worship You, O God; then surely we will be blessed and our
“joy will be complete.” Amen.
March 19
Deuteronomy
19:1 to
My Lord,
while it is true that we are not a nation called by Your Name; as an
individual, I am called by Your Name.
While it is true that
March 20
Deuteronomy
23:1 to 26:19
O Father,
to be the people of promise. How awesome
Your grace. This grace is the most
perfect parallel to that expression, “mighty hand and outstretched arm.” How many times have my feet gravitated to the
slippery slope, but Your outstretched grace rescued me in my calamity. How many times have I desecrated the camp
where You move about Your people, but You disciplined with the loving arm of a
Father and cleansed me and brought me back to the fear of the Lord. You are my Good Shepherd and I am under Your
watchful eye. Forgive me – guide me –
deliver me and then I will stand in the assembly of praises and proclaim with a
shout that Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Your concern for the holy behavior of your
people reveals Your loving heart for all those other nations who might look on
and be saved. Amen.
March 21
Deuteronomy
27:1 to 28:68
My Father
in Heaven, the benefits of obedience are very good, but the results of
disobedience are unthinkable.
Nevertheless, You want them to be thought of. They are sobering and yet You know we will disobey. And as horrible as the consequences are,
there is the sense of a loving Father warning His children with the greatest
intensity. These are not just deliberate
punishments. These are disciplines that
result naturally from the behavior that causes them. They are measures of discipline because the
Lord allows them to happen. And these
are only a small fraction of the judgments awaiting those discovered outside
Christ. But those who believe that Jesus
received these curses – these judgments – on Him because of their sins; those
who believe that Jesus the Innocent was punished for us; those who believe that
He rose from the dead – those are the ones who will be saved. Thank You, Father. Amen.
March 22
Deuteronomy
29:1 to 31:29
You know, O
Lord, You know. We forget so easily that
You know the end from the beginning. You
see all right now. How awesome You
are. We consider ourselves so strong in
the ecstasy of our new birth. We just
know that we love You with all our hearts, but You see the secret chamber where
we have kept the massive reserve of self-love.
You know what we do not know.
Such things are too great for me.
I can only bow and buffet the pridefulness and know that unless You
circumcise the heart, it remains uncircumcised.
Jesus said we must love You with all our heart, soul, mind, and
strength. Father, if that is the
definition of “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” then I cry to You, “I believe,
help my unbelief!” Purge, forge, fire,
buffet, mold – I surrender. Consume me
for Your glory. Remove any vestige of
love for the things of this world. And
make me a reflection of Your love to all.
Amen.
March 23
Psalm
90:1-17; Deuteronomy 31:30 to 32:52
My Rock of
Salvation, so many do not recognize their need of a Savior. They do not allow their hearts to take in the
wonder of design and how awesomely holy their Creator is. They see no need to cry out for the favor of
God, for the rescuing grace of the Lord.
They do not allow their minds to ponder the brevity of their days. If they catch a glimpse of Your glory, they
quickly suppress it and blindfold their own spiritual eyes. They say, “Such thoughts must not be
entertained. They are foolishness. My destiny is the moment in which I live and
the gratification that I might seize. I
may never get another chance. Life is
too short. I have to go for the gusto!” But how often has it happened – they are
suddenly cut off without remedy from the land of the living, coming immediately
into the presence of Your holy wrath.
Father, help me to live so that Your love will be seen, and people will
turn to You. Forgive me for neglect in
this. I love You. Amen.
March 24
Deuteronomy
33:1 to 34:12; Joshua 1:1 to
Gracious
Lord, when I think of the blessings pronounced on
March 25
Joshua 3:1
to
Father, I
am struck this morning by the succinctness of these amazing accounts of Your
care of the Israelites. Entire books
have been written about these verses of Scripture, but You gave these to us in
such special measure and meter and mystery, so that we could consider Your
salvation and ponder Your abilities. We
know that when there was nothing, You created something. You spoke the universe into existence and You
designed the molecules. You sustain it
all continually and there is not one neutron or proton that is independent of
Your attending will. And yet You are the
God of order. You have created nature
and thus sustain Your creation. It is
only for Your wonderful purpose of salvation that You will occasionally
override the forces of nature, such as with the waters of the
March 26
Joshua 7:1
to
Father,
there is much adventure, excitement, and triumph in this reading today; and yet
there is so much heartbreak. The sadness
is all about disobedience. When I think
of how easy it has been for me to forget You momentarily, or worse, to suppress
my awareness of Your presence, I want to scream out to Joshua to call on the
Lord – to remember the Lord. I want to
whisper to Achan, “For the love of God and your family, don’t do this!” Joshua loved the Lord, and I think Achan may
have loved the Lord; but I also think Achan succumbed to the lust of his eyes,
while Joshua succumbed to the pride of life.
Joshua failed to seek the Lord about Ai and it cost 36 men their
lives. And yet amazingly, Joshua once
again made the error of not seeking the Lord concerning the disguised
Gibeonites. This mistake would
eventually prove to be the most costly.
Thank You, gracious and merciful Father, for Jesus and for Your Spirit.
March 27
Joshua 10:1
to
Father, I
know that there is strong allegorical value in the literal, historical, Old
Testament accounts. And this is the place
and time that we learn the battles and the victories that are ours when we
pursue Your Promise - the Promise of everlasting life through faith in the
death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. But the message of consecration must not be
lost. If there are any battles lost in
the
March 28
Joshua 13:1
to 15:63
My Father,
it is a sad thing to draw near the end of the earthly journey only to realize
one’s destiny was not fully realized – that “there are still very large areas
of land to be taken over.” And then to
have You list the regions of the land yet to be acquired would be
heartbreaking. This speaks of a lack of
faith and a loss of focus. This speaks –
of me. Your mercy always speaks
forgiveness and I thank You. I thank You
for always being faithful to Your Promise.
And I thank You for granting the “rest from war” even before the land
was secured. I thank You also that You
give peace even from the battles that were self-inflicted. The showers of Your grace through Jesus
Christ endure forever. Just as the
Jebusites had not been evicted from Your holy mount, so I have too many times
resigned myself to spiritual cohabitation with the enemy. But the victory is not mine and never has
been. It is Yours and Yours alone, O
Sovereign Lord. Amen.
March 29
Joshua 16:1
to 19:9
Father, I
love that word – Father. And You have
granted by Your Son, Jesus, that I might be called Your son. Your grace is amazing and the righteousness
of Jesus is sure. Thank You, my
Lord. There is a bittersweet atmosphere
to the reading today. We witness the
glorious unfolding of Your Promise as the various sections of land are
allotted. But we are also reminded of
past failures as well as current failures.
Most of the tribes were not moving forward to take possession of the
land that was their promise from God. I
suppose the end of the war and the rest You gave them left them in a sort of
culture shock – a daze. Simeon’s
allotment reminds me of the previous curse on them. And then there was the greed and laziness of
Ephraim and the firm stance of Joshua.
There was just a lot of sadness along with the joy, and as usual, the
reason was people forgetting their God and losing their faith. Revive us O Lord. Amen.
March 30
Joshua
19:32 to 21:42; Joshua 21:43-45, 1 Chronicles
My faithful
Father in Heaven, I celebrate Your faithfulness. Let God be true and every man a liar. Jesus said He is truth – no promise broken –
ever. The record of the past assures the
future. Jesus said He will come again
and death provides no hindrance any longer to our reunion with our Savior. Father, people use the phrase “you can bank
on it” but banks fail! Your bank of promises
is the only bank that will not fail.
Father, we can bank on Your promises.
And this is a worthy celebration, for there is no hope outside Your
Promise. I can only imagine how Joshua
felt as the final allotments of land were completed. But Father, there is a sense of sadness
amidst the celebration. Because even
with the land distribution and even with the “rest on every side,” there were
two disappointments that remained:
Save us
Lord! Amen.
March 31
Joshua 22:1
to 24:33
Dear
Father, You are awesome in Your mercy; and Your grace extends beyond our
definition of distance. Every time I
read this area, I feel brokenhearted for the Israelites and for myself, and
also for the people of God in
Ó
2007 C. E. Briggs