Tag: Moses

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

It’s about time

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Olga Nayda on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 90.

Kids grow up in the blink of an eye. Waiting an hour to see the doctor seems to take forever. Time is a curious thing. It may zip by or it may drag.

I would imagine that time dragged for Moses in the wilderness. Psalm 90 is attributed to him. Forty years out in the middle of nowhere. He tries to keep it in perspective.

For a thousand years in your sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:4)

It’s easy for God. From the perspective of eternity, a thousand years seems like yesterday. A single shift at work.

Our seventy or eighty years seems like a long time on the front end. But “they are soon gone,” and at the end of life, you wonder where the time went.

So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

It’s a learning curve to keep things in perspective. Our lives on earth are finite. Our lives with the Lord will last forever. Those two realities rattle around in our minds. Mortality and eternity.

That awareness gives us wisdom. The wisdom to enjoy this moment. The wisdom to remember life up to this point. The wisdom to keep eternity in mind. The one “who was, who is, and who is to come” enables us to live in all three dimensions without skipping a beat.

The watch on my wrist dictates much of my day. But it doesn’t define my life. The Lord does.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Something that lasts

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Maximus Beaumont on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Deuteronomy 29.

How many things have you owned for forty years? I’ve a sauce pan and some mixing bowls that were part of a set of Revere Ware my parents gave me for my first apartment after college. I bought my trumpet forty-five years ago. I’ve got a hammer, some screwdrivers, and a couple of wrenches I know I’ve had in my tool bag for decades.

I like to point out that sometimes God provides by letting your stuff last a long time. Getting seventeen years out of a hot water heater or 80,000 miles out of a set of tires is the kind of blessing God mentions in Deuteronomy:

“I have led you in the wilderness for forty years; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot” (Deuteronomy 29:5).

I know, they don’t make things like they used to. I’ve gotten used to replacing things every few years, not expecting them to last very long. So when something does last, I take note and give thanks!

Another batch of indestructible dog toys is due in the mail today or tomorrow. My dogs annihilated the last batch and the replacements they sent in a matter of minutes. At least they’ve grown out of chewing up my sandals, so maybe I’ll be able to wear them for a while. (But probably not forty years.)

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Want to see the pictures from our trip?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Numbers 33.

I’m old enough to remember the days when friends would invite you over to see the slides from their most recent trip. For those not old enough to remember, slides were transparent photos you could shine a light through and project onto a screen so a room full of people could all see them. We do the same thing now but on a big screen TV or the little screen of a phone.

Not everyone found travel slides or photographs as interesting as those who took them. But they were an important record of travel. Once I get home, I begin to forget all the places I went and all the things I saw and did. I’m careful now to journal every day of a trip. Alongside photos, this has enabled me to remember trips to Alaska, Israel, Haiti, and most recently, Hawaii.

That’s what Moses does. “These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt…Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage” (Numbers 33:1,2). He writes down the places Israel traveled and camped from their departure from Egypt to their arrival Moab, on the east side of the Jordan River. It’s not exciting reading, but it’s an important chronicle of the journey.

Before my dad died, he showed me pages in a scrapbook that listed everywhere he went while in the United States Army-Air Corps in World War II. He kept a careful record of every school he trained at and every island and atoll he stopped in the south Pacific. I was able to locate all of the places using Google Earth. Some places are nothing more than half an island out in the middle of the ocean. Others are towns in the Philippine Islands. All of them were far from home.

I’m glad he wrote it all down. When his ninety-year old memory began to fail, his part of United States and world history remained intact. Just like the nation of Israel, who often forgot about God and the amazing things he had done for them.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

One spear; two speared

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Bakr Magrabi on pexels.com

A “through the bible” devotion from Numbers 25.

In a flagrant display of unfaithfulness and disobedience, an Israelite man brings a Midianite woman into his tent. Responding in faithfulness and obedience, Phineas, a grandson of Aaron, takes a spear and runs it through the two of them at the moment they are intimately involved in the inner room of their tent (Numbers 25:6-8).

Phineas is commended for this horrific act and promoted to permanent position of priesthood (25:12,13). Priests typically interceded for atonement. Here, it is to execute judgment.

Moses even records the names of the guilty parties. The man was Zimri; the woman was Cozbi. Their actions and their death triggered Israel’s attack on the Midianites and put an end to their seductive idolatry.

If you’re shocked by this account, I don’t blame you. But I’ll bet you’ve seen much worse in the movies you’ve streamed into your home. I’ll bet you’ve heard about even more scandalous behavior on the news. You may have even been a part of it yourself. This is our world. This has always been our world.

No one would blame God for throwing up his hands and just letting Israel (and all of us) self-destruct. But someone like Moses or Phineas or intercedes and the story goes on.

We’ll read about a future stroke of justice when Jesus is run through with a spear after he dies on the cross. He’s the priest, he endures God’s judgment, and he bleeds out in a scene just as gory as this one. Jesus steps in, and the story goes on.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

How about some snakes?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from Numbers 21.

In response to persistent tears and tantrums, my dad said, “If you want to cry, I’ll give you something to cry about!” That straightened us right up, so he never actually had to follow through with that promise.

As I read through numbers, I see a pattern developing. Another day in the wilderness, another complaint from God’s people. The journey isn’t what they expected. “We loathe this worthless food,” that is, the manna God graciously and powerfully provides every day (Numbers 21:5). Oh really? You think this is bad? How about about some snakes!

Attitudes change when people start dying from venomous snake bites. They ask Moses to pray for them. The snakes don’t go away. But Moses puts a bronze snake on a pole. Snake bite? Look at the snake on the pole and you’ll be fine.

I guess if you step back and look at the bigger picture, this episode makes sense. Life’s not easy, but it’s not God’s fault. Remember the serpent in the garden? Remember God’s promise of his defeat (Genesis 3:15)? You do now!

You also need to remember that this is the wilderness, not the promised land. You’re in coach with hardly any leg room, no peanuts, long lines, turbulence, and frequent delays. You can complain all you want, but it’s not going to do much good.

You’ll get there. And then it will be great!

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Ouch, that hurts

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by ArWeltAtty Attila from pexels

A “through the bible” devotion from Numbers 20.

“I’m so angry I could…” Spit. Scream. Explode. Everyone has a favorite way to finish that sentence. Unfortunately, reacting in anger or frustration rarely serves us well.

I think Moses was perturbed when he had to deal with grumpy people demanding water. Again. “What are we doing out here in the middle of nowhere? We’re all going to die.” I wonder if Moses rolled his eyes? Come on. God provided before. God will provide this time, too. Haven’t you learned anything?

God’s instructions to Moses are simple. Speak to the rock and water will come out. There will be plenty to drink for everyone.

Not far from the end of his rope, Moses says,  “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock (Numbers 20:10,11).

It sounds like another happy ending until God says, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” (20:12).

No one saw that coming. But when Moses takes control of that moment, he robs God of his glory. The consequences are severe. At the end of the journey, Moses will not be entering the promised land with everyone else. He loses that ultimate reward for one brief moment in the spotlight.

Today I heard a pastor say, “Don’t give up something you want for something that feels good.” In the moment, though, it’s easy to take our eye off the prize.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The obstacle course

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by cottonbro studio on pexels.com

A “through the bible” devotion from Numbers 13 and 14.

One rainy day when they couldn’t go outside and play, the kids decided to make an obstacle course. Jumping from chair to chair, crawling under tables, and hopping over pillows can keeps them plenty busy. The more obstacles the better!

Life can be like an obstacle course. It’s just not as much fun.

Ten of the twelve spies Moses sent across the Jordan so spy out Canaan reported, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are” (Numbers 13:31).

Joshua and Caleb insisted, “The Lord is with us; do not fear them” (Numbers 14:9).

Either the obstacle will block your view of the Lord, or he will obscure your view of the obstacle. Which will it be?

The obstacles were huge: strong, tall, ruthless people living in large fortified cities. They felt small. Tiny.

But it’s not just about perspective. God said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?” (Numbers 14:11). It was unbelief. They chose not to trust the God who had done amazing things to deliver them.

The storm is huge. The diagnosis is grim. The cost is out of sight. Your hate runs deep. The tears won’t stop. You burned the bridge.

Get a good look at God each day before you’re faced with an obstacle. Turn over the baseball card and check out his stats. He’s brought you this far. He’ll get you through today. You can trust him with tomorrow, too. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Roadtrip

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Carolina Rincon on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Exodus 40.

Where do you feel closest to God? It could be a church building. But would that be an empty sanctuary, or one filled with people?

I’ve experienced both. Sometimes it was an early Sunday morning before anyone else arrived for worship. Just me and God. Other times, God was there in a room full of people gathered for worship.

Some feel close to God on a clear, starry night. Or on a path through the woods where there’s little to hear other than their own footsteps.

I’ve felt close to the Creator holding a newborn in my arms. Or sitting next to someone taking their last few breaths on earth.

When Moses set up the tabernacle, “the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34). God was as close as he could get, day and night, living in a tent set up in the center of all the other tents of the nation of Israel.

Can you imagine God living in an RV? He’d be hooked up for the night just like everyone else. All those sacrifices being burnt on the altar? It’s the aroma of meat on his grill wafting through the campground. The lampstands are his camping string lights. You might run into him at the camp store or in the laundry room.

I love picturing God on the road with his people.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Good job!

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

A “through the bible devotion” from Exodus 36-39.

“I bought a table (chair, shelf, credenza, or other piece of furniture). It’s arriving tomorrow.”

I know what that means. It means a box full of furniture parts packed in cardboard and styrofoam that I will be putting together.

I make these moments into a game. I know how most of the boards and hardware fit together. But how quickly can I complete the project?

Bezalel and Oholiab and a team of craftsmen have projects to assemble in Exodus 36-39. Reading these chapters is like watching them assemble tables and altars, curtains and garments, poles and bases, and incense and oil.

When they were finished, we read, “According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work” (Exodus 39:42).

What? They followed God’s instructions? They were obedient? That doesn’t happen very often. Moses even says, “Good job!” (He blessed them for it in verse 43.) I’ll bet he was relieved after the whole golden calf thing a few chapters before.

Do you think you’ll ever get a “Well done, good and faithful servant?” Only by the grace of God.