Breaking The Covenant

Deuteronomy 28:15-68

God pronounced blessing upon blessing, if the people of Israel would remain faithful to Him.

His promises were extravagant, a reflection of His pleasure in doing good on behalf of those who love Him.

But the 14 verses describing blessings in the first part of chapter 28 are followed by 54 verses describing the most heart-rending curses imaginable.

God goes to extra lengths to warn the Israelites of the dangers of breaking the covenant.

The ravages of sin are severe!

This section of Deuteronomy sets up the next few hundred years of Israel’s history and gives the background for why the people will eventually be led into exile.

The House of Israel had broken God's Covenant!

Walk By Faith

Numbers 13:26–14:12

By nature we are sight-walkers, not faith-walkers.

We tend to have confidence in what we can see and know.

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The Israelites feared what was unseen and unknown, even though success had already been promised to them.

The whole nation, apart from Joshua and Caleb, refused to journey toward the Promised Land because they were intimidated and afraid.

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Not only did the Israelites not go forward, they wanted to return to Egypt, the place where they had been enslaved.

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We sometimes idealize our past and want to go back because we fear the future.

But that isn’t faith.

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God is always calling us forward.

He is always assuring us that He is with us for our good.

Let's Walk by Faith.

Don't Walk by Sight!

Moses Face To Face With God

Numbers 12:1–16

In the previous chapter, Moses expressed a desire for all of God’s people to be able to prophesy, a desire echoed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:1–5.

The ability to hear God and speak forth His thoughts and purposes was not to be limited to a select few.

But when Miriam and Aaron, Moses’ siblings, attempted to downplay Moses’ unique relationship with God and elevate themselves, they were disciplined.

In this case, there were normal prophets (Numbers 12:6), and then there was Moses, who spoke to the Lord face to face (Numbers 12: 7–8).

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Astonishingly, this is the kind of relationship we are urged to pursue.

In fact, we are offered an even better one (2 Corinthians 3:12–18).

We are being transformed into Christ’s image and given an invitation to seek the Lord’s face freely.