Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2022
This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but I have divided it so that we will spend half the year in the OT, and half the year in the NT.
Bible Readings: Numbers 26-30
Background:
Today's reading begins with the second census that takes place toward the end of the 40 years in the wilderness. In chapter 27, the issue of Zelophehad's daughters is addressed - shall daughters have an inheritance in Israel? Viewed in the cultural context of the Ancient Near East, this is a radical concept. The last 3 chapters here deal with various offerings and technical details.
Daily Devotional: God, Numbers, and Blessing
I have pastored churches that were experiencing rapid growth and I've seen times of struggle and decline - when the numbers were not so great. We as evangelicals, and especially as Baptists, have a tricky relationship with numbers. We want to quantify everything we do, to have a final score that tells us whether we won or lost the game. We also know that salvation is in the hands of God and that we are called to sow seeds and proclaim truth, not to bring the harvest.
Numbers is about, well, numbers. There is a numbering of the fighting men of Israel at the beginning of the book and another one here in chapter 26, nearly 40 years later. In that 40 years, Israel's fighting force has decreased by about 4000, from around 605,000 to about 601,000. That is no significant drop but the numbers here seem to be important.
In Scripture, nearly every truth is held in tension with another truth. We are only spiritually healthy if we keep these truths in balance. God promised his people that if they obeyed him, if they followed him, if they served him, he would prosper them. No, we are not adherents of the prosperity gospel - our faith is not measured in money or in anything else that can be measured here on earth. But the fact that the people of Israel were the same size, even slightly smaller, after 40 years was a sign that they had walked in disobedience. Had they walked in faithful obedience, God had promised them far better things.
We can never measure our faithfulness numerically, but when we walk in obedience to God, our lives are meant to count, to make a difference. A church that never reaches anyone, a life that makes no difference - these are markers of spiritual failure, of disobedience and ought to be a concern to us all.
Of course, there are times when God allows us to suffer hardship and lack for his purposes. But we should never settle for lives of spiritual uselessness and vanity. Our lives are meant to count. Israel wasted 40 years in the wilderness - wandering without purpose. Let us never do the same.
Numbers is about, well, numbers. There is a numbering of the fighting men of Israel at the beginning of the book and another one here in chapter 26, nearly 40 years later. In that 40 years, Israel's fighting force has decreased by about 4000, from around 605,000 to about 601,000. That is no significant drop but the numbers here seem to be important.
In Scripture, nearly every truth is held in tension with another truth. We are only spiritually healthy if we keep these truths in balance. God promised his people that if they obeyed him, if they followed him, if they served him, he would prosper them. No, we are not adherents of the prosperity gospel - our faith is not measured in money or in anything else that can be measured here on earth. But the fact that the people of Israel were the same size, even slightly smaller, after 40 years was a sign that they had walked in disobedience. Had they walked in faithful obedience, God had promised them far better things.
We can never measure our faithfulness numerically, but when we walk in obedience to God, our lives are meant to count, to make a difference. A church that never reaches anyone, a life that makes no difference - these are markers of spiritual failure, of disobedience and ought to be a concern to us all.
Of course, there are times when God allows us to suffer hardship and lack for his purposes. But we should never settle for lives of spiritual uselessness and vanity. Our lives are meant to count. Israel wasted 40 years in the wilderness - wandering without purpose. Let us never do the same.
Father, use my life to count for your kingdom. I will not measure my success numerically, but may I never be satisfied when my life is not affecting others for your kingdom.
Consider God's Word:
Is your life blessed by God?
Are you making a difference, or wandering in the wilderness of purposeless living?
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