March 9, 2012 … Looking Back To Look Forward

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 35-36 ... To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 36: 13: … [Take Heed From History], … 13 These are the commands and regulations the LORD gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Corinthians 10 : 1-12, Chapters 35-36 ... To study these chapters, go to this link
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My Journal for Today: So, I close out the book of Numbers today in my chronological read through the Bible; and in the last verse of the last chapter in this book, Moses summarizes all which he captured in this book for the Book of the Law, … God’s chronicle of His direction and purpose for His chosen people, as well as documentation of their history. And why is this important to us today, being under the New Covenant of grace? Well, above I’ve linked you, if you’re following with me, to a passage written in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul, a letter to God’s church (in Corinth, but to all in the Church by context), where the Apostle also uses history, centuries after Moses wrote the historical chronicle of the Israelites trek through the wilderness, to help God’s people see the point of why obedience and spiritual discipline are so important to God’s people living God’s way.

Sometimes, it can be a bit of a drudge to read through God’s word in the historical accounts, such as in the Book of Numbers. However, God has chronicled the history of His chosen people so that we can see why it’s so important that we follow God’s way and His will; and that we do it by following God’s word. And that is why Moses was charged by God to write The Book of the Law; and it’s why Paul wrote so much of what we know of as the New Testament.

God’s Book, His Scripture, our Bible, lets us look back at history so that we can live forward into the future. And if we desire to live as God desires His people to live, though we move ever forward in our trek to God’s promised land, we need to know the pitfalls of the past to move forward into the future avoiding those pitfalls.

Knowing why God’s people trudged through that wilderness for those 40 years … and knowing what they did along the way, helps me to realize just how important it is for me to know and understand God’s word and the story of God’s people so that I can move forward and live my life, avoiding all the grumbling and egregious errors made by those immature believers out there as they wandered in the wilderness.

So, here we are with God’s people in the Book of Numbers, poised and ready to cross over the Jordan and enter into that promised-land; and we’ve learned by looking back to their history, in books like Leviticus and Numbers, how important it is that they follow the directions and dictates of God. And as we are poised and ready for our future (i.e., our “promised-land”), how are we going to be able to follow God and live the way He wants us to live? Well, we’ll read it, the way God had it down in His word. For example, when God charged Joshua to take God’s people into the promised-land [see Joshua 1: 1-9]. that commission, written in Scripture, becomes God’s prescription for how we are to follow the Lord as we move on in life.

And I’m going to close today by quoting what God said to Joshua and what Joshua wrote down in God’s Book for us to be Spirit-led and successful in our trek to follow God. He wrote (see Joshua 1: 8 … [NKJV] This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

I come here everyday, reading through God’s Book and digging into His word and praying for God’s Spirit to enlighten me. I desire to be successful in my faith, following God in this life; and I know, from Joshua 1: 8 above, that I will only be able to see clearly and follow my Lord diligently if I know His word and pour it into my heart and mind in order to allow His Spirit, the Author of God’s book of history, to lead me into my future for His glory.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I will continue to come to Your Book every day, seeking to follow You. So, as You said in the Psalms, let Your word be Your light unto my path. Amen