READINGS FOR OCTOBER 30, 2024: NUMBERS 34, HEBREWS 10, PSALM 114
Numbers 34
The boundaries of the Promised Land are given. The list of the leaders of each tribe is also provided. The expanse of God’s blessing upon this people is evident in the amount of land it was given to possess.
The land is to be divided among the tribes according to their size. The leader of each tribe will work with each clan to further subdivide the tribe’s land until every family has claim to property.
Hebrews 10
The author reiterates that the law is only a shadow of the things that are to come. It does not compare to what Christ will bring.
He quotes Psalm 40:6-8 to emphasize his point. In the Psalm, David states that the system of temple sacrifices is not what God desires. What God truly wants is a person who is dedicated to serving God.
The author then quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34 (previously cited in chapter 8.) The new covenant in Jesus Christ guarantees that sins will be forgiven. There is no need for additional temple sacrifices to be made.
Since we have Jesus, the High Priest, who sits at the right hand of God, we can draw near into God’s presence. Those who draw near will have 1) a sincere heart – an undivided allegiance; 2) full assurance that faith brings – a faith that knows no hesitation in trusting in and following Christ; 3) hearts cleansed from a guilty conscience; 4) bodies washed with pure water. The ideas of a heart sprinkled and a body washed are an allusion to the sacrament of baptism.
Verses 23-25 are often quoted (and often dealt with separately). Verse 23 – We have hope because God is faithful. We are assured of the promises that Jesus made because we know that God will follow through. Verse 24 – It is imperative that we assist one another in the living of our Christian faith. We must work together for the strength to persevere. Verse 25 – We must not abandon our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must not stop meeting together as the body of Christ. We must encourage one another in faith.
The author warns those who deliberately go on sinning. Those who have experience the grace and mercy of God and have rejected it have chosen to continue in sin. Verse 29 states:
How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (NIV)
Those who have “fallen away” or those who have “stopped meeting together” have sinned by rejecting the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ.
READINGS FOR OCTOBER 30, 2024: NUMBERS 34, HEBREWS 10, PSALM 114
Psalm 114
Psalm 114 is a hymn that celebrates the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt. It tells of God’s wondrous deeds in free God’s people from bondage. Scholars consider this hymn as one of the most beautifully constructed hymns of all the Psalms.
There are five events alluded to in the Psalm. The giving of the Law on Mount Sinai (Verse 2); the parting of the Red Sea and the parting of the Jordan River (Verses 3-6); twice providing water from a rock (see Exodus 17 and Numbers 20).
The God who provided these things for the people of Israel in the desert is still with us. The God who did these amazing things, who stopped the waters from flowing and provided for God’s people, is still providing for the faithful. We should be in awe of the God who provides for all our needs.
