R³ Devotional - Day 63

We’ve just experienced the death of Aaron, one of God’s chosen leaders to get His people out of the control of Pharoah and we now see Israel (God’s chosen people) advancing through territories as they continue their journey.  An immediate defeat is noted quickly in chapter 21, which turns their hearts to God, vowing to devote to destruction the Canaanites in Arad.  It is good to note here that this is a defensive battle against the Canaanites, as God has not yet clearly stated His will to destroy them (we will read this later in Deuteronomy).

We then see an immediate turn away from God after growing impatient.  Imagine crying out to God for help, Him providing that help (in most likely a miraculous manner), and then growing impatient with Him because you are not getting things the way you want them.  That is a picture of what we see here.  God’s response is discipline of the people with “fiery serpents,” which some of the people encountered, were bitten by, and died as a result of.  I wonder in this situation if those serpents may have just been targeting the grumblers and doubters, but scripture does not clearly indicate that here.  Sure enough, this gets Israel’s attention and they seek for Moses to intercede for them with God.  We see Moses praying to God and receiving a response from God on what to do about the fiery serpents.  Moses is instructed to make a serpent (the Bible states Moses made one of bronze) and mount it on a pole so those that are bitten can look upon it and be saved.  We must pause here for a minute in this passage to see such a clear Gospel connection.  We see God’s people sinning and suffering the consequences of sin, yet if they look upon a figure mounted on a pole, they can be saved.  This is such a clear picture of Jesus on the cross, whom we must look to for our salvation!

Israel then continues their movement around the area, defeating and displacing others as they go.  They are building quite a reputation in the land and chapter 21 begins to close with them reaching out for safe passage through an area to a king (King Sihon) who refuses.  God was with Israel, and they defeated the king and his people.  Chapter 21 closes with the Israelites defeating King Og, someone God promised to “give into Israel’s” hand.
Chapter 22 covers a story many of you may be familiar with where we are introduced to Balak, Balaam, Balaam’s female donkey, and an Angel of the Lord.  Balak, seeing all the destruction that Israel was bringing to Israel with God on their side, seeks to have a pagan seer (Balaam) come to assist them in the pending battle with Israel.  We see God speak to Balaam and intervene in this situation through quite an interesting story of his donkey speaking to him when encountering an Angel of the Lord.  God now has Balaam’s attention, and He sends him on to counsel Balak, but with the words of God…not what Balak is hoping for.  This is where chapter 22 closes with more to come about Balak and Balaam.

Real Life Principles: Many are taken aback when reading of all the destruction of cities and peoples as we read about them in Old in the Testament.  Granted, it is a “tough pill to swallow” however we must realize that God is just and His plans are far beyond our comprehension.  That stated, we see clearly here that we can be blessed with God’s provisions, presence, and help yet still get impatient and selfish because of what we want or need.  It is not an easy shift, but it is a necessary shift in our faith walks to trust in God and His plans for us in our lives.

Relevant Life Applications: There are a few things we can pull from these two chapters that are applicable in our lives.  First, God’s will is going to be accomplished and we just have to decide where we are in that.  Our free-will and free-choice to follow Him determines our final outcome…what will you choose?  Next, there is such a Gospel picture given to us in chapter 21…look to Jesus for our salvation!  And finally, we really need to “open our eyes” to what God has in store for our lives…we can get so laser focused on us in our lives, we lose sight of what God wants us to do for Him.

Being Ready with Life Action Steps: No matter where any of us are in our Faith walks (even if they haven’t begun), these chapters show God’s plans are bigger than ours and His will is definitely going to be accomplished.  The question is where do we fit into that.  Are we going to witness His presence, “see” Him and yet still doubt or stray, or are we going to put our full trust in Him and His plans for us with obedience? Friends, we are going to struggle with that…it is in our sin nature!  The question we must ask ourselves (and answer with our actions) is, are we going to fall away or are we going to stumble and keep walking in His plans?  This is an easy question to answer, but it is so hard to live out daily!  Never forget the lesson in the object on the pole, friends, when we are lost and in need of a savior, turn to Jesus!