Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Numbers 14:39-45.

“When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly.  In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Here we are;  we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised.”  But Moses said, “Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD, when it will not succeed?  Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the LORD is not among you.  For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following the LORD.  And the LORD will not be with you.”  But they went up heedlessly to the ridge of the hill country;  neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses left the camp.  Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as Hormah.”  Numbers 14:39-45.

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We want to take things into our own hands.  Like, the sons of Israel, we want to take our own path to the Promised Land.

The LORD may promise us something, but we should wait for the LORD to accomplish it when and how He wants to do it. We should follow and obey the LORD.  

Sometimes, we need to take the long and winding path through the wilderness.  Remember the words of the LORD. “Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys;  turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”  Numbers 14:25.  

We should continually pray that His will be done, not only in the ultimate result, but also in the timing, in the way it should be done, and in the path that we should take.  

“In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:6.

But, there is hope!

“The mind of man plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9.

“Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:21.

“8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.” Psalm 32:8-11.

As the following Scripture shows us, sometimes the path taken by those who prosper appears to be the straight path, but that path is in truth the crooked path.

“7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.” Psalm 37:7-9.

But, Jesus, Who is the Way, the Truth, the Life, and the Light, is the straight path.

“Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6.

“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12.

“You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Psalm 16:11.

“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” 1 Corinthians 1:30-31.

Today’s devotion comes from Numbers 14:20-38.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%2014&version=NASB1995

I quote only the following verses.

“So the LORD said, “I have pardoned them according to your word;  but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.  Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it.  But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.  Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys;  turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”

…

Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected.  But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness.  Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness.

…

As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the LORD.  But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.”  Numbers 20-25 and 31-33 and 36-38.

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It is easy to join in the grumbling when family, friends, and leaders grumble.  

It is difficult to hold your ground and and stand apart like Joshua and Caleb and give a good report based on faith in God’s promises when everyone else is giving a bad report based on sight of giants and fortified cities, so to speak.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5.

Easier said than done.  Most people seek faith that is based on their own wisdom and own willpower.  

But, there is hope!

There is a faith that comes from God as a gift of God which is justifying faith that Christ purchased for God’s elect through His death on a cross.  

Consider the following from Canon of Dordt in the section titled FIRST HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of Divine Predestination in which it is stated:  “election is the fountain of every saving good;  from which proceed faith, holiness, and the other gifts of salvation, and finally eternal life itself”.

Article 9.  This election was not founded upon foreseen faith, and the obedience of faith, holiness, or any other good quality of disposition in man, as the pre-requisite, cause or condition on which it depended;  but men are chosen to faith and to the obedience of faith, holiness, etc., therefore election is the fountain of every saving good;  from which proceed faith, holiness, and the other gifts of salvation, and finally eternal life itself, as its fruits and effects, according to that of the apostle:  “He hath chosen us (not because we were) but that we should be holy, and without blame, before him in love,”  Ephesians 1:4.

Likewise, we read in the Canons of Dordt in the section titled SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby in which it is stated that Christ gave the elect “faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death”.

Article 8.  For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation:  that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death;  should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing;  and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”  Ephesians 1:3-6. 

“Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised;  not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant.  May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers;  may He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers.”  1 Kings 8:56-58.

“So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.  And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them;  the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand.  Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed;  all came to pass.”  Joshua 21:43-45.

“For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.”  And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.  For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.  In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”  Hebrews 6:13-18. 

“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”  1 Thessalonians 5:24.

Today’s devotion comes from Numbers chapter 13.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%2013&version=NASB1995

I quote only the following verses.

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses saying, “Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel;  you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”  …

When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the Negev;  then go up into the hill country.  See what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many.  How is the land in which they live, is it good or bad?  And how are the cities in which they live, are they like open camps or with fortifications?  How is the land, is it fat or lean?  Are there trees in it or not?  Make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land.”  Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

…

When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh;  and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.  Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us;  and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.  Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large;  and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.  Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.”  But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.”  So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants;  and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.”  Numbers 13:1-2 and 17-20 and 25-32.

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“The LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me?  And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?  I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”  Numbers 14:11-12.

But, Moses interceded for the people.  “Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”  Numbers 14:19.

“So the LORD said, “I have pardoned them according to your word;  but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.  Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it.  But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.”  Numbers 14:20-24.

But, there is hope for us too, because like Caleb, we have “a different spirit”!

“For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”  2 Timothy 1:7.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you;  My peace I give to you;  not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  John 14:26-27. 

“Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous!  Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9.

“but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 15:57-58.

Today’s devotion comes from Numbers chapter 12.

“Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman);  and they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses?  Has He not spoken through us as well?”  And the LORD heard it.  (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)  Suddenly the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.”  So the three of them came out.  Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam.  When they had both come forward, He said,

“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.
I shall speak with him in a dream.
7 “Not so, with My servant Moses,
He is faithful in all My household;
8 With him I speak mouth to mouth,
Even openly, and not in dark sayings,
And he beholds the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant, against Moses?”

So the anger of the LORD burned against them and He departed.  But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow.  As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous.  Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned.  Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb!”  Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “O God, heal her, I pray!”  But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days?  Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.”  So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.

Afterward, however, the people moved out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.”  Numbers chapter 12.

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“Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;  He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.  For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.  For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.  Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later;  but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”  Hebrews 3:1-6.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.  The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”  James 5:16. 

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:9. 

Today’s devotion comes from Numbers 11:24-30.

“So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD.  Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent.  Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him;  and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders.  And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied.  But they did not do it again.

But two men had remained in the camp;  the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad.  And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp.  So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”  Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.”  But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake?  Would that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!”  Then Moses returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.”  Numbers 11:24-30.

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“Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.  For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God;  for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.  But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.  One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself;  but one who prophesies edifies the church.  Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy;  and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.”  1 Corinthians 14:1-5.

But, there is hope!

“‘17 AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says,
‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;”
18 EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,
I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT
AND THEY SHALL PROPHESY.” Acts 2:17-18.

“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  …  

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;  until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”  Ephesians 4:7 and 11-13. 

Today’s devotion comes from Numbers 11:10-15.

“Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent;  and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased.  So Moses said to the LORD, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant?  And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me?  Was it I who conceived all this people?  Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’?  Where am I to get meat to give to all this people?  For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’  I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me.  So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”   Numbers 11:10-15.

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The main point of this devotion is that when we are burdened and oppressed by what man does, as Moses was by the complaining of the people in today’s Scripture, we can pray to the LORD and pour out our heart to Him and trust Him to help us.  

As Reformed believers who are well aware of the “Total Depravity” of man, we should not expect man to be reasonable and trustworthy.  We should not reserve our happiness and peace in changing man;  we should focus on God and call upon Him as Moses did.

“He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’” Psalm 89:2.

The secondary point, but still part of the main point, is that trusting God often requires us to wait longer than we want for the answer and salvation.  But, as God gives us grace to pray and trust Him, God gives us grace to wait.

First, I will quote the main verse which is the summary for this devotion, and then I will follow it by quoting a larger part of Psalm chapter 62.  

“Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah.” Psalm 62:8.

“5 My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah.

9 Men of low degree are only vanity and men of rank are a lie;
In the balances they go up;
They are together lighter than breath.
10 Do not trust in oppression
And do not vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.

11 Once God has spoken;
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God;
12 And lovingkindness is Yours, O LORD,
For You recompense a man according to his work.” Psalm 62:5-12.