NUMBERS & DEUTERONOMY

What a blessed day we had yesterday!  Our International Sunday was a great day.  The auditorium was packed and we put out chairs.  Three choirs sang together in three languages and then later our teen choir sang as well.  It was a little bit like heaven (every nation, and kindred, and tongue singing God's praises).  A great crowd Sunday night as well.  God is so good to us.  I'm in Numbers and Deuteronomy and it took a long time to read this morning because I kept going back and checking out things in Numbers.  It has become to me a very interesting book whereas I used to very rapidly read over it.  Now I absorb it.  Here are a few thoughts: 1) RE-NUMBER- In Numbers chapter 1, the tribes are numbered; and in chapter 26, they are re-numbered.  A whole generation has died off in the wilderness, and now they are renumbered.  There were 603,550 fighting men  (20 years old and upward) in chapter 1, and 601,730 in chapter 26.  That is 1,820 fewer than they started off with.  Some tribes grew and others took a big hit.  They are numbered by their tribes and then totaled in verse 51.  Only Joshua and Caleb remained out of the tribes that were numbered in chapter one.  2) FIVE LADIES MAKE A CHANGE- In Numbers 27, Five ladies, the daughters of Zelophehad, made a change in Israel.  Their father had passed away leaving five daughters, but no son.  So, they approached Moses with their plight and Moses went to God on their behalf, and God said (vs. 7) that they were right.  A new law was then made by God as to how to pass down land if there were no sons born to the man.  vs. 8-11.  These five ladies were the Great, Great, Great, Great, Grand daughters of Joseph!  (Numbers 27:1) 3) 42- In Numbers 33, we have listed all of the places that the Israelites camped after leaving Rameses in Egypt.  Forty two cities are listed in the chapter.  Imagine in wandering for 40 years they only camped 42 times!  Wow!   4) A REAL BIG BED- In Deuteronomy 3:11 we see that Og, king of Bashan was a remnant of the giants, and it tells us that his bed was made of iron and it was 13 1/2 feet long and 6 feet wide.  This is a really big bed! 5) DON'T + or - !  In Deuteronomy 4:2, the Bible says:  "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."  6) HEAR & DO; TEACH & DO- Deuteronomy 5:27  "Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it." Deuteronomy 5:31  "But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it."    Deuteronomy 6:18  "And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,"  **Here, God tells the people to Hear and Do; and then to Teach and Do; but above all things do them! Hope you have a blessed day!  Pastor Mike Mutchler