DAY 49    Read Numbers 10:29 through chapter 13.

Today's reading:  Israel breaks camp at Mount Sinai, and the people start in the direction of the Promised Land.  One episode concerns Aaron and Miriam's jealousy of Moses.

Memory gem:  "Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel"  (Numbers 10:36).

Thought for today:
A snare so prevalent in this modern age is covetousness.  In the Ten Commandments it says: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's"  (Exodus 20:17).

God certainly knew what He was doing when He put that in His law.  Jesus said, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth"  (Luke 12:15).

Men covet not only money, but power and esteem, position and praise.  Nations have been plunged into war, millions of lives have been blotted out, billions of dollars in property have been destroyed to feed the ambition of a few men in power.  Covetousness leads to stealing and dishonesty and marital difficulties.  It affects Christians as well as those who are not.  It is difficult to realize that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15), when we see in these modern days the mad race for riches and power and glory and security.

God hates sin with a deadly hatred, but He loves the sinner with an all-encompassing love.  Christ can save you from these snares of Satan right now if you will have it so.  Right now ask God to forgive your sin in Jesus' name, and you will find real peace and a better life.

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Difficult or obscure words:

Numbers 12:1.  "Ethiopian"--literally "Cushite."  Zipporah was a Midianite, descendant of Abraham.  Her complexion may have been somewhat darker than that if Miriam, who used the epithet "Ethiopian" in a contemptuous manner.
Numbers 13:16.  "Jehoshua"--usually given in its abbreviated form, Joshua.

DAY 48    Red Exodus 21 through 23.

Today's reading covers a section of the civil laws designed to preserve "domestic tranquility" in a crowded desert camp--as well as later in a new homeland.

Memory gem:  "Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt"  (Exodus 22:21).

Thought for today:
These were the laws that God laid down for His people in ancient times, and I believe the principle on which they were based is just as binding today as it was then.  If we have wrongfully taken anything from any person or in any way defrauded anyone, let us not only confess it, but do all we can to make restitution.  If we have misrepresented anybody, if we have started slander or some false report about someone, we should do all in our part to undo the wrong.

Hugh Latimer, the great reformer, said: "If ye make no restitution of good destined, ye shall cough in hell; the devil shall laugh at you."  This is pretty strong language.  Latimer believed it was true.

Let me say this, friend, repentance demands restitution, which is evidence of true repentance.  True repentance always brings forth fruit.  If we have done wrong to someone, we should ask God to help us make things right, to make restitution.  If I have done any man a great injustice and can make it good, I need to ask God to forgive me until I am willing to make matters right and undo the hurt I have caused.  Suppose I have taken something that does not belong to me; I cannot expect forgiveness until I make restitution as far as possible.

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Difficult or obscure words:
Exodus 22:28.  "Gods"--more properly: judges.

DAY 47    Read Leviticus 8 and 9.

Today's reading:  This section on ceremonial rules duplicates what we found on Exodus 40 about the dedication of the tabernacle for worship.

Memory gem:  "Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses"  (Leviticus 8:36).

Thought for today:
We can see how important it was for the people in those days to take part in daily worship and to turn their minds toward God and the just One who was to come and die for them.

What is the matter with church life today?  Largely lack of prayer.  What is the matter with Christian homes today?  Largely a lack of prayer.  If the family altar were erected in every professedly Christian home this week, there would be a spiritual revolution in the world.  Juvenile delinquency would practically disappear, crime would decrease, confidence would take the place of fear, and peace would rule in the hearts of men as well as in the councils of the diplomats.

Do you have family prayer at the golden altar every morning and night?  Do you lift up your eyes by faith to our Lord as He ministers in the holy temple above?  I realize that many families are divided.  In that case, you can have your own private devotions, your own secret prayer.  And your petitions will arise, accepted by God, because of the sacrifice of our Redeemer.  They will ascend with the merits of our Lord Jesus, like the morning and evening incense from the golden altar of old.

And as we pray, we learn to pray.  We do not merely kneel before God and begin to beg for things.  We learn to talk to Him and with Him, and we listen to Him speaking through His Word or directly through the impressions of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts.

It has often been said that the family that prays together, stays together.  And it certainly is true that the more we have in common, the less likely we are to drift apart.  The father and mother who unite in prayer before God and lead their children to Him will be led to settle their difficulties before they become big ones and alienate their hearts.

DAY 46    Read Leviticus 5 through 7.

Today's reading continues the regulations governing ceremonies in the sanctuary service.

Memory gem:  "The priest shall make an atonement for him....and it shall be forgiven him"  (Leviticus 5:13).

Thought for today:
There is a great deal of truth for us to study in the temple ceremonies, as they wonderfully depict the gospel and salvation in Jesus Christ.  Certainly the temple of the Israelites, in both its movable and its permanent form, had ordinances of divine service that foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus and also His work as our High Priest in the heavenly temple.  The definite proof of this is the statement made by the apostle in Hebrews 8:1-3, where he says: "We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hands of the throne of Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.  For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer."

"This man," of course, is Jesus.  He is our High Priest now in the heavenly sanctuary.  There He represents us before God.

The atoning sacrifice that He finished upon Calvary's cross is the offering that He presents for all repentant sinners before the throne of God.  What a glorious gospel these temple ceremonies of old picture for us!

DAY 45    Read Leviticus 1 through 4.

Today's reading begins a section on the many specific regulations about the ceremonial services.  Try to find revelations of Christ's ministry in all of this.

Memory gem:  "How much more shall the blood of Christ...purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"  (Hebrews 9:14).

Thought for today:
When I was a little boy, my father offered to give me a dollar if I would read the Bible through from the beginning to end and do my best to pronounce every word.  It took me a long, long time, but finally I finished it.  I shall never forget what a hard journey it was, getting through those long chapters of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  What was the meaning of all those sacrifices and offerings of various kinds, those feasts days, those yearly sabbaths, the ritual of the priesthood?  What was it all about?  I couldn't seem to make sense of it.  And no wonder.  No one who leaves Jesus out of it can make sense of it, for He is in every part of it.

One day a certain father was reading his Sunday paper, hoping that he would not be disturbed by his little girl.  So he cut up a map of the world which he happened to have handy and gave it to her to put together.  After a short time she returned to him with all in perfect order--every piece in its place.  The father was greatly surprised.  "Why," he said, "how did you do it, darling?  You don't know anything about geography."

The innocent little one replied, "There was a picture of Jesus on the other side, and I knew that when I had Jesus in the right place, the whole world would be all right."  And so it is.  When you put Jesus in the right place, you will understand all these uninteresting things in the Old Testament, and also everything in your own life will be right.

DAY 44    Read Numbers 8 through 10:28.

Today's reading returns to a recital of Israel's worship of God in the sanctuary service.

Memory gem:  "By his own blood he [Christ] entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us"  (Hebrews 9:12).

Thought for today:
In this day of growing modernism the Bible doctrine of blood-bought salvation grows less and less popular.  Look at some of the new church hymnals and try to find the old songs about the blood of Jesus Christ and His sufferings on Calvary.  You may be surprised to find many of those old songs omitted.

Not long ago in one of the large denominations it was suggested that all songs referring to the blood or to salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, be eliminated in the revised hymnbook as being too gruesome for our fastidious modern ears!


In spite of this so-called modern attitude toward the shed blood of Christ (this modernism is really as ancient as Cain), it is still true that, according to Holy Scripture, no man ever lived who had his sins remitted without the shedding of blood.  We read in Hebrews 9:22: "Without shedding of blood is no remission."

"All have sinned" (Romans 3:23, emphasis supplied).  All are lost.  Therefore, all need salvation.  It is provided for all, because Christ died for all (see 2 Corinthians 5:14 and Romans 5:6).  But all who are lost must come to God by way of the spilled blood of Christ.  There is no other way to climb up to heaven--no other avenue to redemption--no other door--no other gate.  "No man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6), are the words of Christ.

No human being can be cleansed without the shedding of blood.

DAY 43    Read Numbers 7.

Today's reading describes in detail the initiation of services in the newly completed and dedicated tabernacle.

Memory gem:  "Thy way, O God, is the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?"  (Psalm 77:13).

Thought for today:
In the ancient sanctuary services the believer looked forward to the Redeemer who was to come.  We look back to the Redeemer who actually has come and is now in heaven pleading our cause before the heavenly Father.  He is our High Priest in the heavenly temple, there appearing before the justice and love of God for us.

In the plan of God, He was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world"  (Revelation 13:8).  God's plan of redemption is revealed in the Man of redemption, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who was both the Lamb of God who died, and the High Priest who offered the sacrifice.  So the ancient tabernacle was a type of the way and fellowship of salvation.

Let us look for a moment at some of the wonderful pictures flashed before us from the temple and its services, the type of Christ and His salvation.  By faith we are justified from the guilt and power of sin--so teaches the altar of burnt offerings.  We are to be sanctified by the washing of His Word (see Ephesians 5:26).  There at the tabernacle was the laver of purification.  We are to shine as light-brearers, a testimony of the Lord's goodness--the lampstand (see Revelation 1:12).  We are to pray.  Our prayers are symbolized in the ancient sanctuary by the golden altar of incense which stood in the holy place.  Here, the mingling of incense with the ascending prayers typified Christ's merits and intercession, which alone makes man's worship acceptable to God (see Revelation 8:3).  We are strengthened by the Bread of Life (see John 6:48), pictured by the shewbread.  And we are to look forward, hastening to appear before the very throne of God Himself, as portrayed in the earthly sanctuary by the ark of the covenant.

Our hope is certain; God's promise is sure.  My friend, all this wonderful teaching of the sanctuary is for you.  Do you not see in Christ, the Lamb of God, the One who has died for you--your hope and your blessing and your salvation?  Have you responded to His love?

DAY 42    Read Numbers 5 and 6.

Today's reading takes up various rites and regulations under the ceremonial law.  It ends with the beautiful Aaronic blessing.

Memory gem:  "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace"  (Numbers 6:24-26).

Thought for today:
Why should people in our so-called Christian dispensation not be as fully honest as men were to be under the Mosaic law?  We may go to church, sing hymns, make donations to missions, give our children in Christian education, and still our prayers will not be heard by God--in fact, they will be an abomination to Him--unless we are completely straightforward in our daily life and our business dealings.

I think it was Charles G. Finney, the great evangelist, who said that one reason for the requirement the apostle penned in Romans 12:2, "Be not conformed to this world," is the tremendous instantaneous influence it would have if everybody would do business on the principles of the gospel.  In fact, Finney maintained that if Christians would do business for just one year on gospel principles, it would shake the world.  I believe he is right.

You see, Bible righteousness is very practical.

DAY 41    Read Numbers 3 and 4.

Today's reading concerns largely the duties of the Levites--the tribe set apart to carry on the religious services for Israel.  These people were born with a special mission in life.

Memory gem:  "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service"  (Romans 12:1).

Thought for today:
We meet people constantly who do not know what to do with their lives.  They seem to be wandering about in a daze.  Many are disappointed at the way things have turned out.  Their plans have not worked.  They have not found in life what they expected.  They know there is something better, and they are reaching for it, staggering along through a fog of misapprehension.

If you want to find life in its highest reaches, give your life to some great cause, some good, though unpopular truth.  Then sacrifice, work, and spend your life for it, and you will be happy all the way along.

Remember this: God's Word is the greatest truth; His cause is the greatest and the most unpopular to the natural heart of man; and Jesus Christ Himself is the greatest personality.  Avow your allegiance to Him, His message, and His Holy Word.  Give your life, all that you have and are, to God's service, and your complete loyalty to Him as revealed in Jesus Christ.  Then you will have joy, even in the midst of sorrow.  There will be no disappointment that is not His appointment.

You will find that there is no sin which He will not forgive.  There is no loss which He cannot turn into an eternal gain.  You will discover that there is nothing too difficult for God and that His love blots out the darkness of the past and opens the door to the only future worth striving for.  Why not try it?

DAY 40  Read Numbers 1 and 2

Today's reading:  A census was taken at Sinai and the encampment was organized with precise detail.

Memory gem:  "Let all things be done decently and in order"  (1 Corinthians 14:40).

Thought for today:
"The Hebrew camp was arranged in exact order.  It was separated into three great divisions, each having its appointed position in the encampment.  In the center was the tabernacle, the abiding place of the invisible King.  Around it were stationed the priests and Levites.  Beyond these were encamped all the other tribes...

"The position of each tribe was specified.  Each was to march and to encamp beside its own standard.....

"Scrupulous cleanliness as was as strict order throughout the encampment and its environs was enjoined.  Thorough sanitary regulations were enforced.  Every person who was unclean from any cause was forbidden to enter the camp.  These measures were indispensable to the preservation of health among so vast a multitude; and it was necessary also that perfect order and purity be maintained, that Israel might enjoy the presence of a holy God.  Thus He declared: 'The Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy.' "--Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 374, 375.