Daily Reading Passages
Click below for access to the passages. Biblegateway.com is an excellent site with many versions of the Bible. The link below opens in NIV. Youversion.com is a new site that allows you to annotate your own Bible, make notes, and comments once you create an account. That link opens in the TNIV version. Other versions are available at both sites.
Coaching Comments
In today's Old Testament reading we turn a page. (Numbers 10:1 - 11:23) Now that Israel has set out from Mount Sinai there's going to be a whole lot more action. We'll still come to sections where there are more laws and detailed things, but on the whole each day's reading is going to see something happen.
We start chapter ten with God commissioning Moses to make some silver trumpets that will be used to signal the people in various ways - to gather at the tabernacle, to set out, to go to war. This is just one more of the logistical needs for leading such a giant group of people. Once the trumpets are made, the cloud lifts, the trumpets are sounded and the whole group sets out on the first leg of their journey to the promised land.
You'd think that would be the start of an enthusiastic adventure, but in fact it's the beginning of Israel's problems. Almost immediately the people start complaining, a problem we're going to see a lot of in the future. Their complaints were blasphemous because they were complaining that God was leading them astray and that they were better off as slaves in Egypt. The first time God sent out a little fire from His presence to remind them that He was there. You'd think that would be enough to remind them to hold their tongues. But it wasn't.
Shortly they began to complain about the food. They'd been eating this Manna for nearly two years, and there wasn't enough of anything else in the desert to feed them. So they began complaining that they had eaten better in Egypt. Of course, they didn't mention the fact that they ate better in Egypt because they were slaves and their food was provided by their slave masters.
When the people really got going on this complaint, Moses started feeling overwhelmed. He went to God and complained himself, in what is one of the most whine-y and self-pitying speaches in the Bible. It makes me laugh every time I ready it. Moses basically says, "If the people are going to be like this, just kill me!" But God response that He will in fact give the people meat. More meat than they can stomach, meat until it comes out of their nostrils. Moses doesn't know how this is possible, but God says wait and see.
The New Testament readind is Mark 14:1-21. We are moving quickly toward the passion week. First we see Jesus eating in Bethany when a woman came in to anoint him. Some of the people reacted badly to this display of love. But Jesus defended her and chastised them, saying that she had anointed him for his burial. This is when Judas snuck away to arrange to betray Jesus.
A while later it was time to celebrate the passover, the festival commemorating God freeing His people from slavery. Of course, what the Jews didn't realize is that it also pointed forward to God's gift of freedom through the Messiah who would take away the sin of the world. Jesus and his disciples got a place to celebrate the passover meal together. That's the meal that Christians know as the "Last supper." They make arrangements, and sit down together to have the meal. And it's at the meal that Jesus reveals that one of them is already going to betray Him.
The Psalms reading today is the 51st Psalm, Psalms 51:1-19. This is one of the most beautiful and powerful passages in the Old Testament. It was David's response of brokenness and contrition, when the prophet Nathan confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba. I think this Psalm is one example of why David was "a man after God's own heart." When he fell, instead of retreating into bitterness or blaming, he owned his responsibility, repented, and ran to God. This is one that probably ought to be underlined in your Bible, and certainly parts of it are great for memorization.
The Proverbs reading, Proverbs 10:31-32, shows us once again the connection between righteousness, wisdom, and saying the right thing. What we say reveals our hearts. Our wisdom and righteousness (or foolishness and unrighteousness) will have impact on those around us through our words.
2007 Cohort Comments
Comments (3)
Rich Rawlins said
at 6:01 pm on Mar 8, 2009
I found the trumpet thing at the start of the OT passage kind of interesting. I never really thought about it before, but it must have been close to impossible to communicate with that many people with no radio communication of any kind. Can you imagine?
"1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah, [b] because fire from the LORD had burned among them."
More stuff I don't understand. Anyone of us, or, well, at least me, would be sick of manna at this point. Shoot, I probably would have the one that started the rebellious uproar. According to traditional teaching, God must have known this was going to happen since He knows everything, right? (How come it really does not seem like it then) Then he gets really miffed again and starts shooting some kind of flamethrower at the camp? What's that about? Sorry, These kind of events still don't stack up, at least for me. It just doesn't seem like He's the same guy in the NT that made the statement about "who would give his kid a rock when he asked for bread." A'm I totally out to lunch here? I wish someone could make sense of this for me. (I did get the book Marc recommended and I just finjished the second chapter. I will admit that the author already has made some good points, but I'm a long way away from "getting it")
I also think Moses makes a good case. I would never have lasted as long as he did trying to satisfy that bunch.
...rich
Nate Burton said
at 3:33 pm on Mar 9, 2009
I'm with you on this question Rich, I still don't fully understand the difference between this picture of God, and the one Jesus portrays. I admit I would would've whined & griped with the worst of them, though I might've also been scared enough of the presence of God that I'd keep it to myself. I'd be just as guilty either way. What can I say, I love variety in my diet!
Marc Schelske said
at 2:30 pm on Mar 10, 2009
Regardless of what we do with the story, for me it's such a great reminder to me of my on human nature. Dissatisfied, rebellious, even when I'm serving others getting frustrated with what it costs me. Good for me to remember.
As for what to do with the God portrayed here... keep reading and reflecting. I don't think anyone is claiming that there is no difference between how God interacted with disobedience then and now. There are clear and stark differences. I think the core question is why. That's the thing we have to wrestle with. Dispensationalists argue that we are witnessing the pure power of God's justice unmediated by grace which had yet to be opened up to the world. I don't know that I'm totally in line with that, but I do think that God is clearly establishing for His people the difference between holiness and disobedience. There are very clear and firm boundaries and harsh consequences. In some sense I'm led to think of the difference between my response and punishment with my children when they do something small vs. when they do something that has the potential to harm them. I can be very harsh with my kids when they need to hear harshness. Perhaps part of what is going on is that God is drawing very clear lines in the sand with this community of people so that they can be absolutely clear on what obedience is.
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