Daily Encouragement

February 7, 2010 - Being Holy To Possess The Promised Land

The various regulations for the Israelites were for the purpose to make them holy before the LORD. For the LORD Himself was holy. (v. 26) And holiness was the qualification for them to possess the good land that God had promised to lead them in. The holy God was disgusted with impurity and demonic beliefs with their influences. God punished those who practiced unhealthy marital relationship. He wanted His people to be clean and healthy in everything so the germs would not spread among them. He would specifically punish those who practiced medium or offered their children to idols by fire. All those awful practices were the reason of God's destruction upon the people who occupied the land of Canaan. (v. 23) God warned His people not to be influence by them.

So it is today, Christians are warned not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. "For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you." (2 Corinthians 6:14-17 NKJV)

If you are preparing to go into the Promised Land God has prepared for you in heaven, you need to live a clean and holy life.

February 8, 2010 - Seven Feast Of Yahweh

Meditation on Leviticus 23

God had revealed to Moses that beside the Sabbath, His people were to observe seven Feasts of the LORD (Yahweh). They were, I believe foreshadow of God's program for His people. Let us listed them and their implications for us in the following:

1. The Passover (v. 4-5; Exodus 12) - The redemption of Christ, our Passover. (1 Corinthians 5:7)

2. Unleavened bread (v. 6-8) - Communion of saints. (1 John 1:3; 2 Corinthians 5:8)

3. First Fruits (v. 9-14) - Christ's resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) Notice the offering was on the morrow after the Sabbath, which was Sunday.

4. Pentecost (v. 15-21) - The descent of the Spirit. (Acts 2:1-3; Ephesians 5:18)

5. Trumpets (v. 23-25) - The trumpet for Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and the regathering of Israel. (Isaiah 27:13; Jeremiah 23:8; Deuteronomy 30:1-6)

6. Atonement (v. 26-32) - Future atonement of Israel. (Zechariah 12:10, 14:1)

7. Tabernacle (v. 33-44) - The Tabernacle of God is with men, the New Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:1-4)

Four of the implications of these feasts have been fulfilled already. But three more are to come. Let us rejoice in God's revealed program and wait for the soon coming of Jesus.

February 9, 2010 - The Land Is Mine

Meditation on Leviticus 25

God had set up two regulations regarding to the field and land for His people. One was the Sabbath for the field of agriculture. The farmers must take a rest on the seventh year so the field would have a holy rest and not be cultivated. Whatever the harvest grew from its own accord would be left for the servants, hired workers and the aliens among them as well as for their livestock and beasts. (v. 1-7) Another statues was the year of jubilee: Every fiftieth year from the beginning of their occupation of the land that God gave them. In this year everyone can have the right to buy back the land that was assigned to them from the beginning. Or their relatives could redeem it for him or her. Therefore everyone could return to the land that they owned in the first place. For God said, "The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land." (v. 23-24 NKJV)

We can learn from these regulations that God does not only care for His people, He also cares for all people regardless of their status. Moreover, He cares for the protection of the land and environment. He owns everything. We are but His servants to take care of what is rightfully His. (v.42, 55)

We should also remember that we are but sojourners in this world. Our permanent home is in heaven!

February 10, 2010 - Numbers Are Important

Meditation on Numbers 1

The book of Numbers recorded God's way of dealing with the Israelites. He demanded their obedience. He judged those who were disobedient. And He was faithful to take care of His people.

True to the name of this book, numbers are faithfully recorded in this account of Israeli's first organization as a nation. God was interested in numbers. Therefore I believe that we should be interested in numbers also. Numbers can give accurate pictures of how we are doing. Recording numbers shows our accountability. Good numbers can indicate our faithfulness to the task.

When a leader does not record the numbers and statistic of his organization, he may not be a reliable person for his organization and his job. How we hope that many of us in Christian ministry should pay attention to numbers. If we face the reality of figure, we may do a better job in seeking God and His direction for improvement in our work whether it may be great or small. May the Lord of numbers helps us.

February 11, 2010 - God's Requirement Must Be Fulfilled

Meditation on Numbers 7

The "Mastering the Old Testament" Commentary has observed that it was after the tabernacle had been consecrated and all the tribal leaders had offered their gifts to God then God's voice was being heard by Moses in the holiest of holy sanctuary. (v. 89) The detailed of those offerings were recorded and repeated for the twelve leaders even though they were all the same. It again showed that God was interested in accurate numbers as well as the offering of His people, specially the leaders. When the people of God manifested their action in sacrifices and dedication, God would communicate His will to them. He demanded high standard for His people.

Look at the rules to insure faithful relationship in marriage, the special diet and appearance for the Nazirite who made a special vow to serve God, the specific cleansing and offering for all the Levites. They all showed that God held His people to a certain standard to make them realize their separation from the world and God's requirement of holiness.

Today in the New Testament, all Christians belong to the priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9) Therefore we are all urged to follow a higher standard than the world in living holy life and serving God's purposes. By the grace and strength of Jesus Christ our Lord, we can. (Philippians 4:13) When we do that, we shall have no problem in hearing God's direction for our lives.

February 12, 2010 -The Burden For A Spiritual Leader

Meditation on Numbers 12

A leader usually would face criticism and jealousy. Moses was no exception. He even had to endure verbal attack from his own brother, Aaron and sister, Miriam. They were jealous of Moses' position and authority. Apparently they used his martial relationship with a Cushite as an excuse against him. Some Bible students think that Zipporah was that woman, while others think that perhaps Zipporah died and Moses married another woman who was a Cushite.

Though Aaron and Miriam's open complain were not justified, Moses did not take revenge with his own hand. The Scriptures says that "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth." (v. 3 NASB) His quality of meekness and humility was to be admired and follow. That was the important quality of a great leader. We can also look to Jesus as our example. For He said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:29)

As Moses was humble before His followers, God took upon Himself to defend for Moses' integrity and position by showing his displeasure against Aaron and Miriam. So it should be for all servants of God. When you are under attack, just keep silence and be humble. The Lord will be on your side to make you stand tall for Him.

February 13, 2010 - The Serious Consequence Of Undermining People's Faith

Meditation on Numbers 13-14

Moses had sent twelve spies to explore the land of Canaan. When they came back to give report, they all concluded that the land was indeed a very good land. They needed to have two of them to carry a pole for bringing back a branch with one cluster of grapes. (13:23) But ten of the spies gave a bad report saying that all the people they saw in it were giants and "we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (13:33 NKJV) They said that these people dwelt in fortified and very large cities. (13:28) Therefore they concluded "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger for us." (13:31) As a result, all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried and wept. They complained against Moses and Aaron. They wanted to select another leader to go back to Egypt. (14:1-4)

But Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and spoke to calm the people, "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them." (14:7-9) Yet the congregation wanted to stone them with stones. So God intervened and protected these two spies who trusted in Him and relied on His purpose and promise of leading the people out of Egypt. If it was not for Moses' intercession for the people, God would have wiped out right away the entire congregation who had no faith in Him even though they had experienced and seen with their own eyes the mighty power and provision of God throughout their exodus from Egypt and journey into the wilderness. At least, God was willing to take these people's children into the Promised Land eventually while all the ones from twenty years old and up would continue their wondering in the wilderness for forty years until they perished.

As for those ten spies who brought back a bad report, caused the whole congregation to loose faith and complained against God, they were inflicted with plaque before the LORD and died. There is a serious consequence for causing others to distrust God. Sometimes, God's punishment is immediate. A believer's task is to build up others' faith.

We should never be a stumbling block to others. Jesus had warned us about that. (Matthew 18:6-9)