NUMBERS & DEUTERONOMY

I sure enjoyed Church yesterday!  What a blessing.  Several visitors and a great crowd of God's people.  We had the Lord's Supper in the morning plus the preaching, and the Lord spoke to our hearts.  God is so good to us.  Today, I am reading in Numbers into Deuteronomy and here are a few things I marked in the margin of my Bible to share this morning:   1) BLESSINGS & CURSINGS- In Numbers 24:9, Balaam said: "Blessed is he tht blesseth thee, and cursed is he tht curseth thee."  He says this being led by the Spirit to do so.  This is the same as the blessing of Abraham in Genesis 12:3  "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:  and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."  I thought of this verse as I read what Balaam said in Numbers.  God confirms His Word over and over again to us.  This is one of the reasons that we should be for Israel and for the Jews.  Not for their disobedience, but for them as a people, because God is not through with them and the blessing and cursing thing.... still applies!  We need to be on the side of this little nation.   2) BE SURE, YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT!  This warning was given in Numbers 32:23.  The context of it was that 2 1/2 tribes of Israel wanted to stay on the east side of Jordan.  Moses thought they were asking to stay there and not help their brethren conquer the land of Canaan, but they made it plain that they were going to settle in their wives and children, and then go and fight with the other tribes to conquer the land.  They would not go back to their land until all of the land was conquered and all of the tribes had their land.  Moses was good with that plan and said that if they did that then they would "be guiltless before the LORD" (vs. 22), vs. 23 "But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD:  and be sure your sin will find you out."  So the sin is the sin of inactivity while others fight the battles of the LORD!  How about that in a church as well?  Don't be among the inactive group who enjoy church but don't carry the weight, the burden, the ministry, the mission, the testimony of the church.  Let God use you!  or.... your sin will find you out!   3) 43 in 40.  Numbers 33 gives us the names of 43 places the Israelites camped having left Egypt to the river Jordan.  They camped in these places in 40 years.   4) THE ANSWER IS NO!  Deuteronomy 3:24 says:  "O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand:  for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?  (vs. 25) I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan that goodly mountain, and Lebanon."  The answer:  vs. 26 "But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me:  and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter."  The LORD said, I don't want to hear about it again Moses... the answer is NO!  Sometimes God gives His answers to our prayers but it is not what we want to hear... just accept it, God has higher reasons that we know of.   Well, I have more to write about, but my time has gone.  May God bless you today and go with Him!  Pastor Mike Mutchler