MOSES FINISHES HIS WORK

MOSES FINISHES HIS WORK

The LORD told Moses to hike up to the top of the mountain and look at the land He was giving to the Israelites.

Moses knew the whole time he was walking up to the top of Mt. Nebo in Midian that he was going to die after he saw The Promised Land from a distance.  God had warned Moses when he and Aaron had rebelled in the Desert of Zin at the waters of Meribah/Kadesh that they would die before entering the promises because they had dishonored God with disobedience before the people.

The set time had arrived.

It must have been a bittersweet journey for Moses as he traipsed up that mountain.  I’m sure a lot of memories were going through his head; and I’m sure he had even more questions as to his spiritual future in the world to come.

I couldn’t help but think of Abraham walking up a very similar mountain trail way before the times of Moses, probably in the same torn and emotional state; knowing that God’s will had to be done and knowing that he was about to sacrifice his beloved Isaac.  He too must have been wondering about the state of his spiritual condition before God.

So many of God’s faithful walked up mountain trails that led to the summit of their days with God.  We could share so many beautiful thoughts about those things; but today we are thinking of Moses.

Aaron had already died; and Moses would need to take this walk alone.

ANOTHER SHEPHERD IS APPOINTED

Before leaving the people though; Moses asked God to provide them with another leader so they would not be “sheep without a shepherd.”

God instructed Moses to lay hands on Joshua the son of Nun.   Moses was told from God that Joshua possessed the spirit of leadership.

Moses told the new High Priest, Eleazer, to call the assembly together and together they commissioned Joshua before the people.  From this point forward, Eleazer would be the priest who would seek God’s answers with the Urim and pronounce them to Joshua who would then lead the people in and out of the places where God desired for them to be.

So it was that Moses passed on his authority to Joshua.

Before that last trip up the mountain for Moses; God emphasized once again the importance of his offerings at the appointed times.  Moses passed this information on to Joshua, Eleazer and the People.

DAILY OFFERINGS

He reminded them; the food offerings were to be two lambs a year old without defect, a regular burnt offering each day; one lamb offered in the mornings and the other at twilight with grain offerings of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives.  A drink offering was to accompany this with a quarter of a hin of fermented drink with each lamb.  The drink offering was to be poured out at the Sanctuary.  These were the daily food offerings.

God was reminding them officially (just one more time) not to forget His offerings.

The daily food offerings mattered and they were very important to God.

What parts of your life are you offering back to God on a daily basis?

It is true that Jesus died for our sins and there is no more a need for sin offerings.  Yet; these daily offerings were “food offerings.”  They consisted of the bread and meat of daily life, the things that sustain life within us; the things for which we should be forever grateful to God for providing.  The lambs are symbolic of Jesus living in us; the wine is symbolic of his blood offered up for us and the grain offerings are symbolic of the Bread of Life that Jesus provides for us for daily sanctification.

When you take your morning meal and when you take your evening meal in a daily manner; are you offering up your spiritual offerings to God?

He has given you the nourishment to help you to do spiritual things in this physical world.

Are you taking the time to offer up prayers at least twice each day that give God thanksgiving and praise?

God inhabits the praises of His people.  Bring Him into the Sanctuary of your home at least twice a day with the members of your family and offer your praise, your thanks and your daily prayers around the table.

What will you give back to Him from the fruit of the spirit that the act of taking Jesus into your soul has assured and provided for the present day that lies before you?

Do you think of these things?

You don’t bring these offerings only into the temple; you give them out as the day wears on.  The daily offerings teach us all how to walk through the routines of life.  They help us to move from failing, to struggling, to thriving and flourishing.

We must remember to offer our daily offerings as we go through our days.

It could be a smile, a word of encouragement to a brother, wiping a tear from a child’s face, taking food to someone who is hungry, visiting someone in prison, lending a hand to the guy down the street who needs some help; giving a meal to a stranger or helping someone who is too lost to find their way.

These are daily offerings.

Do we have time for them today?  Perhaps God has seen that we have been too busy with the world and He has carved us out some time to make this easier.

Will you come to His altar today while you can?

We should be pondering these things every day with their new Messianic meanings.  They are our daily offerings; they provide the act of doing for others the way that God has done for us.

Daily we have spiritual offerings to be lifted up to God.

He did not want anyone to forget this.

Here in the Book of Numbers Chapter 27; God is reminding the Israelites that though Moses will not be with them on a daily basis; now Joshua will be leading them to offer up their sacrifices on a daily basis.

We have better than Moses and Joshua.  We have Jesus!

In this similar way; though we do not have Jesus PHYSICALLY among us now; God’s Holy Spirit works in our lives like our Joshua; the one who will go with us and comfort us and lead us on while Jesus tends to matters in the Heavens and takes our prayers before the Father.

Pray daily; for that is part of your daily offering.

Jesus will hear you and take your prayers before God.

WEEKLY OFFERINGS

Each Sabbath the People of Israel were reminded to make an offering of two lambs a year old without defect along with drink offerings.

These were the weekly burnt offerings.

Each week we should be gathering in fellowship with others to pray and to offer our thanks to God.  We could offer our preaching.  Some could offer their teaching.  Others could offer their service to keeping The House of God in order.  Everyone has some special gift to offer.  This is our weekly offering.  Included in this weekly offering is the fact that we are to have a Sabbath rest every seventh day.

God has not removed these things from our weeks.

Now; the offerings are more spiritual than physical; which is a sign that we are progressing toward God in a more positive way.

The burnt offerings were the ones on the altar that were completely consumed by God.  Once a week our spirits should be set apart from the world and our daily activities turned off long enough that we can let ourselves be completely consumed by God; with no other distractions pulling us away from Him.

Keep your appointment for God’s weekly offerings.

MONTHLY OFFERINGS

On the first of every month the people were reminded to present an offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Along with the bulls they were to present grain offerings of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil; with the ram, a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil and with each lamb, a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil.

These were the burnt offerings.

The bread was unleavened flour mixed with fine olive oil.  The olive oil is symbolic of God’s Holy Spirit.  The Bread is the Body of Christ given up for us.  These things combined are the perfect offering.

With each bull there is to be a drink offering of half a hin of wine; with the ram, a third of a hin; and with each lamb, a quarter of a hin.  The symbolism of The Blood of Christ for our salvation and our sanctification.

This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon during the year.

Each new moon brought the changing of the sacred month and the changing into a new month required a monthly offering to take place.  Each month was also to include a sin offering; that would be one male goat.  Today that is not necessary.  We who believe trust in Jesus for atonement.  Seeing the monthly sin offering from before though does remind us to repent on a regular basis.

NUMBERING OUR DAYS TO BRING OUR OFFERINGS

Do you make monthly spiritual offerings like these physical offering that the people of old were required to bring before God?

I’ve been doing an experiment this year where I am keeping the calendar by the phases of the moon just as Israel did.  I’m counting the months and days by numbering them instead of naming them; as the scriptures so often do.  I’m doing this because I believe this is the true calendar that God gave to us to guide us into His appointed times.

Every seven days is a Sabbath; and every 30 days is a time of a new moon and the turning of another month is the gift of time that God has given to each of us.  God’s clock up in the night sky shows us when the months change.   Like the ancient Israelites I know that God requires new spiritual offerings at the beginning of each month.  Keeping the calendar this way helps me to remember.

The people of Israel have been keeping this time for thousands of years now.  The monthly new moon is called Rosh Chodesh.  The Jewish culture always observes Rosh Chodesh; probably because of this very passage that we are studying today in Numbers, Chapter 28.   It is a monthly reminder for them to become pure before God by the new beginning of each new month.

IT ALL MATTERS

God was reminding the people of ancient Israel one more time not to forget His offerings.

The monthly offerings mattered.

They all mattered.

Since Jesus gave himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins; our monthly offerings are now more of a type of prayer offering.  Once a month we should be examining our hearts.  If we belong to God we are to live as if we are living sacrifices, placing our lives upon His altar daily, giving up the old and moving in the new.

All types of prayers are used here; including the prayers of repentance and intercession for others.  Jesus makes all things new.

Are we moving in the love of Jesus?

This would be in a way that offers up our monthly offerings.

What parts of your life are you offering back to God on a monthly basis?

What old thing have you needed to give up and what new things have you needed to add?

It is true that Jesus died for our sins and there is no more a need for sin offerings.  Yet; these daily, weekly and monthly offerings are the way we continue to offer our souls up to God.

The fact that we are now covered in the blood of Jesus is what makes the offerings that we bring acceptable.  That is the ONLY reason; it is nothing that we can do.

God was reminding His people one more time not to forget His offerings.

Have we remembered?

THE HOLY DAY OFFERINGS

They were reminded once again that an offering is supposed to be given to God at Passover.

The Festival of Weeks was also a time of offerings to God.

All of the requirements of these Holy Day offerings that God commands are spelled out in The Book of Numbers.

Moses made sure the people were very clear on God’s requirements for daily, weekly, monthly and Holy Day offerings.

Once he had shared these reminders with Israel; God gave Moses a few more things to re-emphasize before the people.  These last instructions in the ways of God are extremely important for all Christians to know and understand.  We will cover those things that God led Moses to remind the people in greater depth in the days to come.

As we move into the Book of Deuteronomy we will hear flashbacks of memories and how Moses remembered this whole long journey through the wilderness.  Together we will study the song that God gave to Moses before he died.

There were just a few more things to do; then Moses would leave them and began one long last walk up the mountain with God.