MARCH 5 READINGS…Numbers 19:1-21:35
In today’s reading the Israelites, who were disobedient in not entering the promise land, now begin their wandering through the wilderness. Of course as they head through the wilderness they are not happy…not satisfied…and are continually complaining and whining about how good they had it in slavery in Egypt. As they head toward Edom they find themselves without water…this of course caused them to again rebel against God and Moses. The Lord tells Moses to speak to the rock at Meribah…but in anger he strikes it twice…this disobedience causes both Moses and Aaron to miss entering the promise land. The Israelites have trouble with King of Edom not letting them cross his land…and battle the Canaanites and the Amorites. Both Mariam and Aaron die during these travels.
I would like to draw your attention to the types of Christ (Messiah) in our readings. I remind you the Bible is about Jesus…and much of the Old Testament gives us pictures of the coming Messiah. The red heifer and the water of purification is a picture of cleansing that only comes to us through Jesus…you might even see a picture of ritual or water baptism in this passage. The heifer had to be spotless…just as Jesus was. It had to be slaughtered outside the camp…just as Jesus was slaughtered outside the city. The ashes of the red heifer had to be added to the water, in order for the water to bring purification to those on whom it was sprinkled…just as we are water baptized to testify of our faith in Jesus who cleanses us…without Jesus we would just be getting wet. The next picture given into today’s reading was the bronze serpent. Once again the people were complaining, and God sent serpents to bite them…they would have all perished except God instructed Moses to raise a bronze serpent up on a staff, so that if anyone was bit they would only have to look up at the serpent to and they would not die. The serpents represent sin to us…it kills us eternally, unless we look up to cross where Jesus is raised up for our sin…it is there that we find life and freedom from the sin that would destroy us. Hear these gloriously wonderful words from our Savior Jesus…”And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”-John 3:14-16.
Please share your thoughts from today’s readings. On a sized note…when we make our trips to the middle east we go to Jordan…and we have been to every site mentioned in today’s passage. I hope to do it one more time when all the COVID19 issues are over.
TOMORROW’S READINGS…Numbers 22:1-24:25