Year in the Bible Daily Reading:
Numbers 1-2; Psalm 64; Hebrews 11 Listen to Today's Reading
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Numbers 1
Record keeping was never my strength. I tolerated it throughout my many years of employment but do not miss it now that I am retired. In my personal life, I do an adequate but not stellar job of it…begrudgingly.
One of the main purposes of Numbers is just that—organizing people by counting them. It’s record keeping. Yikes!
However, this book of the Bible is so much more. Known as one of the five books of Moses, it was written hundreds of years after the time of Moses. It is really “Moses--Part Two”. In it, we learn how to follow God by waiting for God to lead. In addition, we learn that awful things can happen to people even when God is present.
Walter Riggans, in his commentary, Numbers, states that there are two points in the very first verse of this book that help us better understand the Old Testament:
- God has initiative and takes initiative in dealing with God’s people. This is central to faith.
- Our relationship with God, based on our encounter with God, is rooted in the here and now. It is riveted in history, not in imaginative speculation or in vague mysticism. Rather, it is absorbed in the common world.
While numbers are records that may be a burden or chore at times for some of us, they serve to connect and enrich our lives in many ways. I immediately think of my own fascination with history-of all sorts of things as well as interest in the genealogy of my own family. In the book of Numbers, we see a connection as well, to our past, to each other, and most importantly, to God.
Questions for Reflection:
- Can you think of some ways that reading and knowing about the history in the Bible is enriching your faith and deepening your relationship with God?
- When was a time you remember God taking the initiative in your life?
- Do you remember any time you felt as if you were waiting for God?
- What did you do, if anything, to remind yourself that God is always present?
Prayer:
God of all the ages, thank you for your continual presence and control in our lives, even when we do not always recognize it. Help us to remember that you are a God of promises and covenants. In the name of your Son, our Savior. Amen.
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