Numbers 29, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Price of Pride - February 2, 2022

The other day I saw some children at play on a large vacant lot where someone had dumped a mound of dirt. They were playing the greatest of kid games: King of the Mountain. The rules are as simple as they are brutal: fight your way to the top, and shove off anyone who threatens to take your spot.

Versions of King of the Mountain are played in every dormitory, classroom, boardroom, and bedroom. And since mountaintop real estate is limited, people tend to get shoved around. Mark it down: if you want to be king, someone is going to suffer. Your arrogance might prompt a broken marriage, an estranged friendship, or a divided office.

Pride comes at a high price. Don’t pay it. Consider the counsel of the apostle Paul: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought” (Romans 12:3).

Numbers 29

On the first day of the seventh month, gather in holy worship and do no regular work. This is your Day-of-Trumpet-Blasts. Sacrifice a Whole-Burnt-Offering: one young bull, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs—all healthy—as a pleasing fragrance to God. Prepare a Grain-Offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for the bull, four quarts for the ram, and two quarts for each lamb, plus a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering to atone for you.

6 “These are all over and above the monthly and daily Whole-Burnt-Offerings with their Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings as prescribed, a pleasing fragrance, a Fire-Gift to God.

* * *

7 “On the tenth day of this seventh month, gather in holy worship, humble yourselves, and do no work.

8-11 “Bring a Whole-Burnt-Offering to God as a pleasing fragrance: one young bull, one ram, and seven yearling male lambs—all healthy. Prepare a Grain-Offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for the bull, four quarts for the ram, and two quarts for each of the seven lambs. Also bring a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering to atone for you in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering.

* * *

12-16 “Gather in holy worship on the fifteenth day of the seventh month; do no regular work. Celebrate a Festival to God for seven days. Bring a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a Fire-Gift of pleasing fragrance to God: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen yearling male lambs—all healthy. Prepare a Grain-Offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for each of the bulls, four quarts for each ram, and two quarts for each of the fourteen lambs. Also bring a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering.

17-19 “On the second day: twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen yearling male lambs—all healthy. Prepare Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings to go with the bulls, rams, and lambs following the prescribed recipes. And bring a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering.

20-22 “On the third day: eleven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs—all healthy. Prepare Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings to go with the bulls, rams, and lambs following the prescribed recipes. And bring a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering.

23-25 “On the fourth day: ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs—all healthy. Prepare Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings to go with the bulls, rams, and lambs following the prescribed recipes. And bring a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering.

26-28 “On the fifth day: nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs—all healthy. Prepare Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings to go with the bulls, rams, and lambs following the prescribed recipes. And bring a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering.

29-31 “On the sixth day: eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs—all healthy. Prepare Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings to go with the bulls, rams, and lambs following the prescribed recipes. And bring a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering.

32-34 “On the seventh day: seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs—all healthy. Prepare Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings to go with the bulls, rams, and lambs following the prescribed recipes. And bring a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering.

35-38 “On the eighth day: Gather in holy worship; do no regular work. Bring a Fire-Gift of pleasing fragrance to God, a Whole-Burnt-Offering: one bull, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs—all healthy. Prepare Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings to go with the bulls, rams, and lambs following the prescribed recipes. And bring a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering.

39 “Sacrifice these to God as a congregation at your set feasts: your Whole-Burnt-Offerings, Grain-Offerings, Drink-Offerings, and Peace-Offerings. These are all over and above your personal Vow-Offerings and Freewill-Offerings.”

40 Moses instructed the People of Israel in all that God commanded him.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Wednesday, February 02, 2022

Today's Scripture
Psalm 16
(NIV)

A miktama of David.

1 Keep me safe,c my God,

for in you I take refuge.d

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;e

apart from you I have no good thing.”f

3 I say of the holy peopleg who are in the land,h

“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

4 Those who run after other godsi will sufferj more and more.

I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

or take up their namesk on my lips.

5 Lord, you alone are my portionl and my cup;m

you make my lotn secure.

6 The boundary lineso have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.p

7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;q

even at nightr my heart instructs me.

8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

With him at my right hand,s I will not be shaken.t

9 Therefore my heart is gladu and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,v

10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,w

nor will you let your faithfulb onex see decay.y

11 You make known to me the path of life;z

you will fill me with joy in your presence,a

with eternal pleasuresb at your right hand.

Insight

Scholars believe David was on the run from Saul when he wrote Psalm 16. In 1 Samuel, we learn what he was going through at that time. He’d gained command of a band of misfits and possibly even outlaws (22:1–2). For a time, he stayed in a cave (v. 1) before going to a foreign “stronghold” (v. 4–5). Even his mother and father had to leave their home (vv. 3–4). Yet he wrote, “The boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places” (Psalm 16:6). As a fugitive, how could he say such a thing? David’s faith was so strong that he was simultaneously confident of God’s deliverance from his present difficulties and certain of “a delightful inheritance” (v. 6) in the future. He knew that the kingship awaited him, but what he most anticipated was eternity with God (v. 11).  By: Tim Gustafson

A Humble Posture

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
Psalm 16:2

“Keep your hands behind your back. You’ll be fine.” That’s the loving admonition Jan’s husband always gave before she ventured off to speak to a group. When she found herself trying to impress people or seeking to control a situation, she’d adopt this posture because it put her in a teachable, listening frame of mind. She used it to remind herself to love those before her and to be humble and available to the Holy Spirit.

Jan’s understanding of humility is rooted in King David’s observation that everything comes from God. David said to God, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing” (Psalm 16:2). He learned to trust God and seek His counsel: “Even at night my heart instructs me” (v. 7). He knew that with God next to him, he’d not be shaken (v. 8). He didn’t need to puff himself up because he trusted in the mighty God who loved him.

As we look to God each day, asking Him to help us when we feel frustrated or to give us words to speak when we feel tongue-tied, we’ll see Him at work in our lives. We’ll “partner with God,” as Jan says; and we’ll realize that if we’ve done well, it’s because God has helped us flourish.

We can look at others with love, our hands clasped behind our backs in a posture of humility to remind us that everything we have comes from God. By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

How do you feel when you place yourself in a humble posture before someone else? How could you depend on God to help you with the tasks before you today?

Creator God, You’ve created the world and all that’s within it, and yet You love me and want to use me for Your glory. Help me to look to You for help and strength.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 02, 2022
The Compelling Force of the Call

Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16

Beware of refusing to hear the call of God. Everyone who is saved is called to testify to the fact of his salvation. That, however, is not the same as the call to preach, but is merely an illustration which can be used in preaching. In this verse, Paul was referring to the stinging pains produced in him by the compelling force of the call to preach the gospel. Never try to apply what Paul said regarding the call to preach to those souls who are being called to God for salvation. There is nothing easier than getting saved, because it is solely God’s sovereign work— “Look to Me, and be saved…” (Isaiah 45:22). Our Lord never requires the same conditions for discipleship that he requires for salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Christ. But discipleship has an option with it— “If anyone…” (Luke 14:26).

Paul’s words have to do with our being made servants of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. God makes us as broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be “separated to the gospel” means being able to hear the call of God (Romans 1:1). Once someone begins to hear that call, a suffering worthy of the name of Christ is produced. Suddenly, every ambition, every desire of life, and every outlook is completely blotted out and extinguished. Only one thing remains— “…separated to the gospel…” Woe be to the soul who tries to head in any other direction once that call has come to him. The Bible Training College exists so that each of you may know whether or not God has a man or woman here who truly cares about proclaiming His gospel and to see if God grips you for this purpose. Beware of competing calls once the call of God grips you.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading.  My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L

Bible in a Year: Exodus 29-30; Matthew 21:23-46

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 02, 2022
The Silence of the Good Guys - #9148

Okay, let's get the controversial part out of the way first. I'm a New York Yankees baseball fan. All right, "Boo!" Okay, good, got that out of the way. Now, I remember a very heated time when the Toronto Blue Jays came to town to play the Yankees. Some years ago actually.

They were the first team to ever take the championship in Canada - the Blue Jays. I once attended the game between those two teams, and the rivalry at that point was intense. It went too far at this particular game. See, because we now have baseball teams in Canada and the U.S., there are two national anthems. And someone from the Metropolitan Opera got up and began to sing O Canada, the Canadian national anthem.

Well, the people in the bleachers - you know, the notoriously polite New York fans - started to "boo" during the Canadian national anthem. That's classy! I thought, "Oh, gee! Here goes the New York fans!" But suddenly, and I'm proud of this part. Suddenly there was this wave of cheering and applause that broke out, and it just continued as the Canadian anthem continued. And pretty soon the good guys that were cheering were making so much noise it drowned out the booing of the bad guys. Yeah!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Silence of the Good Guys."

Our word for today from the Word of God is not about baseball. It comes from Psalm 107:1-2 where God says, "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this; those He redeemed from the hand of the foe." Or as the King James Version says, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." Well, here's the call to God's people to make some noise.

Guys in the bleachers sure make their negative noises in our world, don't they? You know, whether you're at work, or at school, on line, social media. People are unashamed to talk about sin; about the stuff that breaks God's heart. They talk about the stuff they've done that we know sends people to hell ultimately.

They'll talk about the raunchy things that went on at that party, the sexual escapades, the dirty joke, dirty movies. Now, if you're judged by only what's talked about most, well you'd conclude that virtually everyone thinks sin is cool; that what God calls abnormal is really normal. That no one cares about what's pure. No one cares about what's right. No one cares about God. But they're not speaking for you are they? No they're like those bleacher "boo" birds. They didn't express how most of us felt, but they were the only ones making any noise. So it sounded for a while like that was how everyone felt.

Then someone decided to speak up for the other side, and they found a lot of other people felt the same way. Now, your corner of the world needs a leader like that; a leader who will speak up for what's right. And that needs to be you. Maybe you've just been sitting by silently; maybe you even wince inside as the people on the road to death are bragging, and entertaining, and mocking, and promoting their darkness. And everyone around you says, "Well, I guess this is the only way there is."

It isn't and you know it isn't! Isn't it time you spoke up? Not in a harsh negative judgmental way. No, that won't help. Not attacking. Not putting down the promoters of the wrong. Those guys in the stands didn't boo the people who were doing the booing. They just started to make some positive noise to drown them out.

It's time you came in talking about your weekend that had no regrets, why you're keeping sex special, why you're proud to be a virgin. You need to talk about some heroes who are standing up for what's right. You've got to talk about how you believe that marriage is forever, about how Jesus is answering your loneliness, your guilt, your pain. People have no idea what Jesus is like, or they have the wrong idea. And you know why? Because of the silence of the good guys.

Why don't you say, "Lord, help me to never again be ashamed of You; not when You loved me enough to die publicly for me." I'll tell you, I'm tired of the noise from the bleachers of sin, aren't you? Because of Jesus, we have so much more to make noise about. Let's start to hear some positive noise from your section. If you'll start the cheering for what's right, I'll bet you'll find some other people will start cheering with you.