Monday, March 22, 2010

Numbers 7

3 comments:

Unknown said...

"When Moses went into the Meeting Tent to speak with the Lord, he heard the Lord speaking to him." v89

I didn't realize how long this chapter was until I went to type in that verse reference and then double checked it in another translation (89 verses!). My bible was so kind as to skip all the repeated details accompanying each offering and only listed the tribeal leader and the day that they brought their offering. Phew.

Anyway, based on the post I put up at Prologue the other day this struck the same chord within me. Moses TURNED ASIDE. By entering the tent, with the purpose of speaking to the Lord, He then in turn was able to hear the Lord. He turned aside from other conversation, from his to do list, whatever... he turned toward the Lord and the Lord bent down to Him.

The Lord is always bending down to us, if we aren't too harried to brush right past.

I am reading a phenomenal book right now on the disciplines (which essentially help us train in the "turning aside") and while I have read numerous books on spiritual disciplines this is one that I would holler MUST READ to every believer. It is not mystical, not philosophical, not intellectual. Really down to earth, easy reading that hits the nail on the head when it comes to this whole turning aside business and WHY and HOW this an essential part of discipleship. Being a disciple requires discipline! And you are not disciplining yourself in order to win the race, you are disciplining yourself in order to be able to even RUN the race.

FABULOUS stuff. I'm on a bit of a high right now when it comes to this theme. Truly, when we turn aside, when we meet Him, when we are filled up with HIM, life becomes euphoric.

Jude said...

Okay Prairie Chick...you've got us all on pins and needles. What is the name of this great book on discipleship?!?!?

What was impressed upon me: order in the dessert! I think I have said it before but the Lord is certainly orderly. It appeals to me greatly and makes me think of Ecclesiastes 3: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time time to tear down and a time to build up......and on it goes.

The different offerings also caught my eye and I did a bit of Googling to find out the difference. On one site, the writer spoke about how the different offerings reflected the different benefits we experience through Christ's ultimate sacrifice...something we may sometimes take for granted. The Old Testament people were very mindful of the different benefits of sacrifice as they had to choose which benefit they most required at that time...or was required of them. The fellowship offering was also called the peace offering and signifies the peace we experience because of Christ's sacrifice. The sin offering symbolized the forgiveness of unintentional sin. Those were the two types of sacrifices mentioned in this chapter but perhaps there are more.

I am curious about the word 'unintentional'. What about intentional sin? Was there any way to atone for that? Anyway, all this just made the sacrifices seem a lot more meaningful to me...a New Testament believer.

Unknown said...

Sorry! The book is "The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People" by John Ortberg. Highly recommend it!