Author: Erin Newton

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Numbers 30 Listen: (2:20) Read: 1 Corinthians 4 Listen: (3:15)

Scripture Focus: Numbers 30:2, 9

2 When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.

9 “Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.

Reflection: Weighing In but No Way Out

By Erin Newton

During the final weeks of each academic year, I contemplate quitting the program. The hours of reading, stress of studying and writing, and the financial burdens tempt me to give it all up. Then some dear friend reminds me of why I started in the first place. As most attest, those in seminary generally feel “called” to be there. So, instead of giving up, I hunker down and finish the term.

Numbers 30 speaks of vows made to God by both men and women. In the context of the preceding chapters that spoke of festivals, feasts, and offerings, it’s likely that these vows are offerings of sorts, usually with some economic importance tied to them. Numbers 30 reminds the people that what they have vowed to give to God they must see to completion.

Of course, there are some caveats with the vows—as we read that some vows could be reversed depending on the decision by a woman’s new husband or existing father, a.k.a. head of household. To our modern ears, this sounds rather patriarchal and antiquated, but what is fascinating here is the clear and unabashed freedom women could have over finances (at least in some circumstances). Such insight is a welcomed relief to many today.

Apart from these few exemptions, Numbers 30 sets forth the rule: give what you said you’d give to God. The people are said to be bound by these vows. They are seen as more than suggestions. They are not empty words dumped in a fit of brainstorming.

The binding nature of the vows also meant that the people should be careful with their words. It would not do to quickly pledge a large sum or valuable resource to God without understanding its impact on one’s personal life.

Such a vow was both a barrier to impulsivity and a motivator in times of weariness. People would need to think about their resources and their current life situation and then follow-through despite what the future may actually hold.

As Christians today, we also make vows to God, all the time. We tell him that we will devote our lives, time, money, or energy to him—if he will grant us some blessed measure to do so. But we are also tempted to give up and look for a way out.

Let us bind ourselves to our vows after taking the time to weigh the costs.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Let us make a vow to the Lord our God and keep it; let all around him bring gifts to him who is worthy to be feared. — Psalm 76.11

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime

 by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Called to More

Beware rash vows, but consider: Is the Holy Spirit stirring you to something “more?” Is there a “vow” you are called to?

Called to More

Read more: Your Net Worth

All of our lives, the work of our hands, the proportion of our gifts are dearly valued by God.

Your Net Worth

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Numbers 23 Listen: (4:01) Read: 1 Thessalonians 5 Listen: (2:37)

Scripture Focus: Numbers 23:11–12

11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!”

12 He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Reflection: The Puppet “Prophet”

Erin Newton

A message from God is a force that cannot be equaled. Behind the words is power that is unparalleled and unmatched. Nothing can be formed against it. No human can resist it.

It can speak both judgment and blessing. It can bring life into creation and banish evil to the depths.

We expect the godly to spout the words of God—with joy no less. Shouts of praise and unashamed proclamations of God’s goodness are welcomed reverberations in the walls of churches.

The godly may pause before messages of criticism and judgment, but the power of the word is overwhelming. Jeremiah hesitates, “But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20.9).

A prophet, the chosen mouthpiece for God, may falter ever so slightly, but the word burns like a fire.

And so it is even with fools. The word of God is not hampered by the motives of the speaker, for Balaam proves that God is not deterred by any vessel. Balaam and Balak were mouthpieces for a world hostile to God, hoping to bring curses to God’s people. Over and over they try to bring a foul word. Again and again, they fail. Overpowered by the good news of God, Balaam speaks words of blessing and praise to the God of Israel’s salvation.

Do you languish waiting for a godly, prophetic voice to speak words of blessing? Are you discouraged at the presence of leaders who only seem to plot curses? Let us not be dismayed. God has overpowered the minds and mouths of even his staunchest opponents. Through the most unlikely mouths, curses have been turned into hope. Messages meant to destroy have been overshadowed with messages of good news.

It is more likely that we pray for good leaders to rise up and wicked speakers to be silenced—but Balaam’s story reminds us that God’s message will prevail—no matter the vessel he must use.

Let us pray for the embers of God’s word to ignite within the mouths of unlikely people. Let us recognize the divine power behind such words.

And remember, Balaam is no happy conversion story. He is a symbol to all who try to stand against God that they are merely puppets.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

I will bear witness that the Lord is righteous; I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High. — Psalm 7.18

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime

 by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Balaams and Balaks

Balaams today claim to speak for God yet seem willing to tickle the ears of the powerful in exchange for assurances of influence and power.

Balaams and Balaks

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Links for today’s readings:

Read: Numbers 15 Listen: (5:09) Read: Galatians 4 Listen: (4:13)

Scripture Focus: Numbers 15: 32–36

32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Reflection: Atonement is Not Permission to Sin

By Erin Newton

Israel’s relationship with God was founded on the covenant. Much like marriage, this relationship was built on trust and fidelity.

Numbers 15 talks about the ritual required for sins committed unintentionally. These are sins that had no premeditation; they just happened. Determining the intentionality of sins was based on the motivation of the person. Was this due to forgetfulness or naivety? Or was this something that was openly acknowledged and then willfully ignored? Those would be called “intentional sins.”

Thankfully, God provided the people with rituals to enact when unintentional sins were committed. The guilty parties would offer the proper sacrifice and a clean slate would be issued.

The process of atonement seems like a way to guarantee forgiveness—a biblical get out of jail free card. The law is easy to measure and to judge oneself against. Any flaw could be erased. Any error could be corrected.

Sort of.

The problem of oversimplifying life under the law is that we risk using atonement as permission. Or as Paul said, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” (Rom 6.1).

Should we? Even before Christ, they had a way out for unintentional sin. But the law is clear about those who sin with a high hand. Such actions were the equivalent to breaking a marriage vow. The person who chooses to sin against God’s command is choosing not to be in covenant with him.

The man caught gathering sticks on the Sabbath has chosen to work when he was told to rest. (How many of us could fall prey to the spirit of the workaholic?) Taking a day off was more than observing self-care. For ancient Israel, it was specifically the sign that they were in a relationship with God, their Redeemer from slavery and their Provider in the wilderness.

The death penalty for such high-handed actions sounds harsh. The punishment fit the crime of treason (in this perspective, it was treason against their King).

Although we are no longer under the law, we are still bound to God in the same relationship of trust and fidelity. “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life” (Rom 6.12-13).

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

Jesus taught us, saying: “Everything now covered up will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places will be proclaimed from the housetops.” — Luke 12.2-3

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime

 by Phyllis Tickle

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Read more: Wandering Sin

We don’t get to say, “I didn’t intend this” or “I didn’t do that.” We are connected to these sins and must confess them.

Wandering Sin

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Numbers 7 Listen: (12:50) Read: James 2 Listen: (3:32)

Scripture Focus: Numbers 7:3-5, 9

3 They brought as their gifts before the Lord six covered carts and twelve oxen—an ox from each leader and a cart from every two. These they presented before the tabernacle.
4 The Lord said to Moses, 5 “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the work at the tent of meeting. Give them to the Levites as each man’s work requires.”
9 But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were to carry on their shoulders the holy things, for which they were responsible.

Reflection: Nothing More, Nothing Less

By Erin Newton

We talk a lot about giving to others, ministry, and the church. Numbers details how one should bring offerings (what kind and in what measure) and how someone could be symbolically dedicated to the Lord through financial giving.

But what about the receiving end? What if you are responsible for the finances of a church, ministry, non-profit, etc.? How are you handling that which is given for the work of the Lord? Do you know how to ethically receive?

With the new tabernacle built, a series of “housewarming” gifts are brought. The tribal leaders bring six carts and pairs of oxen to pull each one. They were not to be slaughtered or burned as a sacrifice. These are practical and useful offerings to the Lord and distributed for the work.

The Kohathites received none of these gifts. But this was not a punishment! Their duties were to carry the most holy items on their shoulders. These were items too precious and sacred to be carried by mere oxen. It was a privileged duty. Carts and oxen simply were not part of their equation.

As Roy Gane states, “The gifts meet needs created by the Levite job descriptions.” The job requirements determined what was given and who got what. No special favors were done.

I’m sure the Kohathites could have found some alternative use for carts and oxen, perhaps to carry personal belongings. But that would have been a misuse of gifts and would have taken items that belonged to another part of tabernacle ministry.

In Acts 2:45, the community of new Jesus-followers shared their wealth and resources; “they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” Gifts were based on needs.

How do you receive gifts in the spirit of Numbers 7?

It is no small thing to be entrusted with distributing money or resources that are benevolently given. Many church leaders today are criticized for their excessive lifestyles, seemingly taking the financial gifts from the church and increasing their salary in return.

Are these gifts received to meet the need described by the pastor’s duties? Some may claim a private jet is a necessity or a church-funded vacation is justified by their hard work. The luxury accrued by leaders is like Kohathites taking oxen and carts.

God calls his people to serve him with the necessary gifts and resources to get the job done—nothing more, nothing less.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

I will offer you a freewill sacrifice and praise your Name, O Lord, for it is good.
For you have rescued me from every trouble, and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes. — Psalm 54.6-7

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

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