Meditation

11/16/2020

“Then Moses became very angry and said to the lord, ‘Do not accept their offering. I have not taken as much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.’” (Numbers 16:15)

Korah, the leader of this rebellion, wanted to usurp the priesthood for the Levites (v 10); he was jealous of Moses’ leadership. God had appointed Moses. God did not honor Korah’s prayer and worship because it was not aligned with God’s purposes.

Moses’ prayer appealed to the integrity of God’s history. God does not honor prayer which seeks to get Him to contradict His previous work with His people. He would not do this then, and never will beloved.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Precious Abba, Korah and it band of leaders challenged both Your integrity and also Your authority. They had forgotten the covenant that You established with Your people, and that You never forget Your commitments. Today, Abba, we come before Your throne of grace, seeking to recommit ourselves to You and to Your son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and it is in His name we pray. Amen

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“Why should God answer us if we’ve shown Him we won’t obey anyway?”

KNOWING GOD:

“The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.” (Joshua9:1)

This is one of the few cases in the Bible where failure to to pray is pointed out. The Gibeonites had come before Joshua telling him they came from a far away place, because they had heard of the God he served and sought a treaty of peace. He agreed with them, but not God’s wisdom and then found out they were actually neighbors!

Because of the misrepresentation of the Gibeonites deception, Joshua confronted them and told them he would uphold his treaty of peace, but that they would be woodcutters and water bearers for the Israelite community. Thus, his treaty with them would stand, and not be compromised

I AM

“Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the lord cut him off from the tents of Jacob—-even though he brings offerings to the Lord Almighty. Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, ‘Why?’ It I because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.” (Malachi2:11–14)

There were two offenses that prevented God from accepting the offerings of the people—-marriage to a pagan and the man’s broken faith with the wife of his youth, his partner and the wife your the man’s marriage covenant.

A right spirit, not an emotional outpouring, would make the offerings acceptable. Family relationships greatly affect our prayer life, beloved.

SECOND THOUGHT of the DAY:

“As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’” (Mari5:18-19)

Beloved, some prayer receive an answer of “no.” As worthy as the desire to stay with Jesus was, Jesus had a higher purpose for the former demoniac. Prayer leads us to follow God’s will to achieve His purposes.

Jesus’ miraculous healing of Legion, casting the demons out of him, was a powerful demonstration of the grace of God. Grace is the unmerited blessing, the gift of God’s overflowing love to one who does not deserve it and has no grounds for asking for it. Jesus Himself was the instrument of healing for the pathetic, demon-possessed man, but He told him that the blessing that came to him was mercy from the Lord. God’s grace is manifested in every good thing that we enjoy in life.