Skip to main content

Be Thankful to God

Be thankful to God for the blessings in your life. 

This is our final lesson from Numbers 9, the second Passover.

Let's recap our 10 lessons from this chapter of the book of Numbers:
  1. Celebrate God’s work in your life. 
  2. Seek spiritual advice, especially in new situations. 
  3. Eagerly participate in spiritual community. 
  4. Be clean before worshiping. 
  5. Open your heart to worshipers who are different from you. 
  6. Value God’s character. 
  7. Emulate God’s character. 
  8. Honor God by being resistant to a complaining attitude. 
  9. Let God take the lead in your life. 
  10. Be thankful to God for the blessings in your life. 
The Lord’s cloud was a manifold blessing to His people.  Have you ever been outside on a hot day when the sun is just beating down on you?  And have you ever been out on one of those days and a cloud moves in front of the sun?  I always thank the Lord for the great relief I feel at those times.  A little cloud and a cool breeze can make all the difference between heat stroke and comfort, moving indoors or staying out.  God’s cloud helped these desert wanderers endure the heat of the environment they inhabited for forty years.  The desert gets cold at night.  The fiery cloud may have also provided some warmth along with light.  This climate control was a blessing to God’s people.  So many of us have heat in our homes and air conditioning in the summer as well.  It is something we may take for granted.  If you have ever gone somewhere that you did not have these comforts, you notice right away and perhaps even think you cannot endure.  Thank the Lord today if you have climate control in your home. 

Another blessing provided by the cloud was the reminder of God’s presence with Israel.  The expression “wherever the cloud settled” contains a verb that is related to the word Shekinah.  Many talk of the “Shekinah glory”.  “The English rendering ‘shekinah’ is built on the verb meaning ‘to dwell’ and the shortened form of the divine name Yahweh…This phrasing symbolizes both God’s nearness and his remoteness.  He is present as a cloud but hovers above; he is near as a fire, but one cannot draw very close.” (Expositor’s Commentary) The cloud is God’s favor.  We can be covered by the cloud like he hides us in the shadow of His wings (Psalm 36:7). 

Protection from the enemy was also a blessing provided by the cloud. As the Israelites were fleeing Egypt,  Exodus 14:19-20 says, “Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.”  And verse 24 says, “During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.”  So God controlled the fire in the cloud so that only the Israelite side was lit when the cloud moved between Israel and Egypt to protect God’s people fleeing. 

Finally, a blessing of the cloud was the guidance we have already been discussing.  God led them through the wilderness for 40 years by the lifting of the cloud and settling at the end of a march.  We need to be willing to move and patient to stay as directed by God. 

Ps 105:39 says, “He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night.” 

Israel had a God who was present in the cloud, giving relief from desert heat, lighting up the night sky, reminding them He was with them, protecting them from the enemy and guiding them on their way.  God does the same today for His children.  We need only look at His beautiful creation and read His eternal Word to know He is near.  The enemy is on the prowl for ways to ruin our testimony (1 Peter 5:8) so that every time we honor God, we can know He is there protecting us.  And as we look back at our lives, we can see the hand of God has led us in the direction we were to go.  What a wonderful, mighty God we serve! Be grateful and let Him know it today.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Traveling with God

Setting Out   My husband and I love to travel.  Before a trip, I start planning what to bring and I pack over the course of at least a week before we go. Before we pull out of the driveway, we pray to God for protection, a sweet time of rest and adventure and we pray that we will honor Him with our time.  The Israelites are given directives by God Himself on their marching order and travel plans.  The divisions of the camps moved out in the order designated by the Lord, led by the leaders chosen by the Lord.  The ark lead the way, with the cloud  above it.  Judah’s division set  out  behind the ark . Then the tabernacle wa s packed up and carted off by the  Gershonites  and  Merarites .  Next, Reuben’s division set out.  “Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things.  The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived.” ( Numbers 10:21 )   The divisions of the camp of Ephraim followed the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Quit Complaining

I live in America.  The land of plenty.  I have the hope of heaven.  I have nothing to complain about.  But sometimes I do complain.  The Israelites find out quickly that complaining dishonors God.  Let that message sink into your heart today. Right  from the start , Numbers 11 starts with the Israelites complaining!   There was  a joyous vibe  in  Numbers 10 because  it was time to move out.  Here  they sh ould all be exhilarated to think they were finally going to take the Promised Land.  Instead, they started complaining about their hardships.  Verse 1 said they complained “in the hearing of the Lord.” Can’t the Lord hear everywhere, everything?  Matthew Henry explains the  statement in this way: “ Though God graciously gives us leave to complain to him when there is cause ( Psalm 142:2 ), yet he is justly provoked, and takes it very ill, if we complain of him when there is no cause...
1 comment
Read more

Be Content

Welcome to Numbers chapter 4! You are doing a great job! Guess what Moses is doing at the beginning of this week’s passage? Counting!  Now that the Levites have been counted for redemption, they need to be counted for service to the Lord. Men could serve in the army at age 20 but priests served from ages 30 to 50. We need more maturity to be ministers of grace than to fight with arms. Matthew Henry says, “ A man may make a good soldier much sooner than a good minister.” Later, in Numbers chapter 8, the priest is said to enter service at age 25. It is thought that the first five years were more of an apprenticeship (expositors Bible commentary). Five years was a long training period. The Israelites did not take lightly the honor to serve God and make sure its men were appropriately prepared.  Jesus our Great High Priest began his ministry at age 30 ( Luke 3:21-23 ). Jesus subjected Himself to the age of priestly acceptance because everything He did fulfilled the L...
Post a Comment
Read more