Live the Word Bible Studies

Purpose Study Bible 160: Boundaries

As we close this series on Numbers, let's look at God's directions for how the land was to be divided when the people got there:

The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries" (Numbers 34:1-2).

God then laid out a plan that situated the tribes within specific borders. God is still doing the same thing today but instead of land, He is apportioning gifts and responsibilities according to each person's capacity and faith:

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

You don't know your boundaries—how much you can do and where you can do it—until you step out and try. Also your boundaries may not be local, but may extend or be exclusively among people or in a nation not close to your background or heritage.

What are your gifts and talents? Do you know what your borders are? Where are you most effective in your work or ministry? What are you doing when you are "in the groove" and flowing with the Lord? Are you open to God expanding your borders? What changes will have to take place in you for that to happen?

Purpose Study Bible 159: Stages

As we get ready to close out our study of Numbers, we read the following verses at the beginning of Numbers 33:

Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. At the Lord’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages (Numbers 33:1-2, emphasis added).

Did you notice that the word stages was used three times in those two short verses? It seems the Lord wanted them to be mindful of how He brought them into the Land. It wasn't an orderly journey, but included many stops and starts, with the people remaining where they were for varying amounts of time before they moved on again. Why do you think God had Moses record the stages of Israel's journey as He did? 

Like Israel, you're on a journey in the Lord, which is why believers have often been referred to as pilgrims. A pilgrim is defined as "a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons." As Israel was heading to the Promised Land, believers in Christ know where they are now is not their home. They are just passing through on their way to their own Promised Land.

Yet, this passing-through journey has eternal implications for God uses it to prepare you for who you will be and what you will do forever. Therefore, it would be good today for you to sit down and map out your journey just like Moses did. Put down on paper or a white board all the significant events and turning points in your life, good or not so good—births, deaths, graduations, job changes, moves, times of great gain or loss. Nothing is irrelevant if you think of it. Just put it down.

Now look at your own life that is laid out before you. As you look at it all, ask God to open your eyes and speak to you. Can you see any patterns? Have changes come with a regular, almost predictable pattern? Ask God to speak to you out of the timeline that reveal the stages of your own life. When you are done, thank God for His faithfulness over the years, but then keep on looking for hidden clues that may help you in your search for purpose.

Purpose Study Bible 158: Lots of Bull(s)

In Numbers 29, God laid out His requirements for the annual Feast of Tabernacles. Besides many other offerings, the people were to sacrifice the following:

"Present as an aroma pleasing to the Lord a food offering consisting of a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect" (Numbers 29:13).

Then for each of the eight days of the festival, they were to sacrifice one less bull per day, so that at the end of the eight days, they would have sacrificed 70 bulls. No matter how you look at it, that's a lot of bulls! Why such an extravagant requirement? To answer, let's consider the significance of the bull.

A bull tends to be the stronger gender no matter the species. They not only represent strength but also productivity and fruitfulness. They also provide the greatest amount of meat for they are larger and the female's purpose is more to provide milk for their young (and for others). Bulls also tend to be more feisty than the female and present a greater threat if precautions aren't taken to control them.

The bull in you is the same as represented by the animal kingdom. It is your stronger side that can produce much fruit but can also be the more ornery expression of your being. You are constantly to be dedicating your strength to the Lord, asking Him to help you direct it into channels that will serve Him and not your own career, hobby, or interests. We will see in the next book that the Lord commanded His people to "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Have you harnessed your bull-like strength for God's purpose He assigned? Are you asking the Spirit to help you control your bull-like anger or independence so you can use your strength to do God's will? Where does your bull still have a tendency to wander off in its own stubborn direction where your purpose or creativity are concerned? Take some time this week to ask God to see your bull as He sees it and to help you get it under control to work for you rather than against you—and Him.

Purpose Study Bible 157: A Pleasing Aroma

Here is what the Lord required of the people on a daily basis as they entered the Promised Land:

The Lord said to Moses, “Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Make sure that you present to me at the appointed time my food offerings, as an aroma pleasing to me.’ Say to them: ‘This is the food offering you are to present to the Lord: two lambs a year old without defect, as a regular burnt offering each day. Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight, together with a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives'" (Numbers 28:1-5).

Then there were Sabbath, weekly, and holy day sacrifices as well. Why was the Lord weighing the people down with so many worship requirements? The answer lies in the phrase "an aroma pleasing to me."

God has the right to set the worship standards that He expects from His people, including you. That means you approach God not as you think is best but as He has prescribed. You come to God as He made you to be and not as you think you need to be. Thus, when you flow in your purpose and express your creativity, you're a pleasing aroma to God for you are giving back to God through service what He has given to you. It's now much easier to worship God on a daily basis than it was in Numbers 28.

What's more, this "pleasing aroma" was to be offered to God on a daily and weekly basis. As a believer, there's no off-duty time that belongs to you. It all belongs to Him and is to be used as He determines. Are you committed to serving Him with the gifts and purpose He has assigned? Are you a full-time worshiper? That doesn't mean you sing and pray all day, but it does mean you are mindful of the Lord and His requirements for you, not just in holy behavior but also in actions that are consistent with the person He made you to be.

Purpose Study Bible 156: The Spirit

When God told Moses his time had come to depart, Moses prayed,

Moses said to the Lord, “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd" (Numbers 27:15-17).

God's response was immediate:

"So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him'" (Numbers 27:18).

The NIV states that Joshua had the "spirit of leadership," while most other translations read that he had "the Spirit." It would seem, however, from the context of Moses' prayer, that the Spirit was present in Joshua's life to impart to him the characteristics that were an answer to Moses' prayer. Moses prayed for a leader and the Lord said Joshua had what it took by the Spirit to be a leader. Thus, he had the spirit of leadership.

The point is that you also have the Spirit of—and then fill in the blank. Perhaps it's the Spirit of creativity or teaching or administration and the Spirit empowers you not only to do those things but to be those things but also to be those things. What's more, you are an answer to someone's prayer who needs who you are and what you do.

What "Spirit" is in you? What does the Spirit empower you to do? Are you willing to be the answer to someone's prayer who needs you? Are you ready to relocate or do what you have to in order to connect with their need? The good news is that you don't have to strive to be who you are, you just have to accept the Spirit's presence that makes you who you are. It's time to step up and be who the Spirit has equipped you to be.

Purpose Study Bible 155: The Second Census

In Numbers 26, the people were about to enter the Promised Land when the Lord gave Moses these instructions:

“Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the Lord commanded Moses" (Numbers 26:4).

Moses obeyed and came up with a total of 601,730 men over the age of 20. This number didn't include women or children, so the total in the Wilderness could easily have numbered several million. The Lord had no problem caring for all those people along with their flocks and herds in the desert. What a mighty God we serve.

The previous census Moses had done when the people left Egypt totaled 603,550, so the Lord had taken care of that number of people for 40 years. When the second census was completed, the Lord revealed the reason He wanted it:

These are the ones counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the wilderness, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun (Numbers 26:63-65).

Why did the Lord want the second census? He did so to prove His promise that none who had doubted Him in the desert would ever get into the Land, except for Joshua and Caleb, had been fulfilled. Notice that the Lord made sure the number of people in the second census was almost exactly that of the first. When God makes a promise and invests Himself in fulfilling it, the end result will be precise and exactly as He wants it. He replaced the doubters of the first generation with the children of the second generation man for man.

Are you walking in faith like Joshua and Caleb, or are you panicking in fear as those who died in the Wilderness did? Are you trusting the God of the census to provide for you in your desert times? Are you looking forward to the fulfillment of His promises to you, delivered just as He promised? Keep in mind that Joshua and Caleb had to wait 40 years to see their promise fulfilled. If you are waiting, make sure you're thanking God for the ultimate outcome and not despairing of His goodness during the days and years spent in your own wilderness.

Purpose Study Bible 154: Not For Sale

As Israel traveled through the land, their reputation preceded them: "Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites" (Numbers 22:3). So the king of Moab decided to enlist the services of a prophet named Balaam to come and curse Israel so they would not succeed. We don't really know who Balaam was or how he came into such a prophetic ministry since he was not part of Israel. However, God did speak to him as we read, "But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed" (Numbers 22:12).

The king was used to getting his way, however, so "Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first." Balaam answered, "Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God" (Numbers 22:18). It's safe to assume that Balak made a better offer to Balaam on the second trip, but Balaam held out for even more, which is why he hinted that he wasn't for hire—while he really was.

We then read, "That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you” (Numbers 22:20). God had already told Balaam not to go but then gave him permission only to oppose him on his way through the bizarre incident of the talking donkey.

Have you put your spiritual gift, the talents and strengths God has given you, up for sale? You may say, "God forbid" or you may not see how you have done so with the wisdom or faith God has bestowed upon you. The best way to ensure you will never do so is to find ways that the people of God can benefit from who you are while you also earn your living through sources outside the church.

What's more, if the church doesn't have a way to benefit from your gifts, are you open to inventing ways on your own to bless others whom God would have you bless? That can happen by starting your own ministry to orphans or widows, for example, or some other creative expression built around who God made you to be.

Purpose Study Bible 153: Inspired Words

As Israel made their way through the Wilderness, it seems that their creative people were working, even though desert conditions were difficult. Here are three examples:

That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord says: '. . . Zahab in Suphah and the ravines, the Arnon  and the slopes of the ravines that lead to the settlement of Ar and lie along the border of Moab" (Numbers 21:14-15).

"Then Israel sang this song: 'Spring up, O well! Sing about it, about the well that the princes dug, that the nobles of the people sank—the nobles with scepters and staffs'" (Numbers 21:17-18).

"That is why the poets say: 'Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt;  let Sihon’s city be restored. Fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the citizens of Arnon’s heights. Woe to you, Moab! You are destroyed, people of Chemosh! He has given up his sons as fugitives and his daughters as captives to Sihon king of the Amorites. But we have overthrown them; Heshbon’s dominion has been destroyed all the way to Dibon. We have demolished them as far as Nophah, which extends to Medeba'" (Numbers 21:27-30).

Some of the eyewitnesses were taking the time to record what they were witnessing, expressing their creativity in the process (a historian, a song writer, and a poet). The result was that the author took what they had composed and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, made what they wrote part of God's inspired Word.

Have you said you are too busy to create? Yet look at these three instances when people took the time in less-than-ideal circumstances to create something. Have you dismissed your creative ideas by thinking "Who will read or sing what I write?" Until you create something, no one will be able to enjoy or benefit from your creative gift or insight. And finally, have you ever thought, "My insight isn't special or unique enough for God to use"? Yet each of these three examples was simply reporting on historical occasions, putting what they saw into words. Are you ready to take your place among God's creative army to report what you see, hear, and know, giving God something to use if He chooses to do so?

Purpose Study Bible 152: Make a Snake

No sooner than Moses had gotten into trouble for striking the rock, the people were complaining again about their living conditions so the Lord sent venomous snakes among them. When the people confessed their sin, Moses prayed for them and then the Lord spoke:

“Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived" (Numbers 21:8-9).

The people would have been in trouble if Moses did not have the creative ability to make a snake from bronze. For him to do what he did meant that he had to shape and fashion the snake from heated metal and then finalize its likeness into a reasonable facsimile. In other words, it was a piece of art.

We know that this replica lasted for centuries because we learn much later in the history of Israel that the people still had and were worshiping the snake on the pole. That indicates Moses did a good work on the project because it endured desert heat and multiple moves.

Is the Lord asking you to do something with your creativity? Are you dismissing it as not important or irrelevant? What latent creative skill do you have that you don't think much of, take for granted, or have forgotten about and thus neglected? You may want to ask the Lord to help you answer that question and then ask Him if He wants you to put what He shows you to use.

Purpose Study Bible 151: Speak to Your Rock

Deserts are dry places and God had Israel walking through a desert to teach them to trust in Him. When they complained that there was no water, the Lord told Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock that was following them and water would come forth. However, an angry Moses adjusted the plan when he stood before the people:

He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them" (Numbers 20:10-12).

Later we learn that the rock following them was actually Christ: "They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:3-4). When you are pursuing purpose and creativity, you can go through a dry place for a lot longer than you thought you would. When you do, it's important not to become discouraged or angry over the process God is putting you through.

Are you angry? Angry at people who have disappointed you? Angry at God for not moving fast enough to come to your assistance? What are you speaking in response? Words of faith that will release your living waters or words of anger and frustration to force God and others to do your bidding? Don't forfeit a trip into your Promised Land because you hit the rock in your day of trouble instead of praying in faith to see provision come from the hard place God has you in.