Good Morning!
A word of congratulations
to Jim, Jr. and Angie as they celebrate their 25th wedding
anniversary today!!!
Jesus said:
No one has ascended into heaven
except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be
lifted up, that whoever believes in
him may have eternal life. – John 3:13-15
You may be wondering where
this is going on a Monday morning that is just a few days away from our celebration
of the birth of Christ Jesus. I did too when I reviewed the Bible study lesson
for this coming week. The Scripture to
be studied is from Matthew, chapters 1 and 2, and from Numbers 21:4-9. Let’s take the Numbers passage first …
Numbers 21:4-9 English
Standard Version (ESV)
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to
go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the
people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this
worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent
fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many
people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to
Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on
a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses
made a bronze[a] serpent
and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze
serpent and live.
Footnotes:
Numbers 21:9 Or copper
When Jesus was speaking to
Nicodemus in the garden that night so many years ago, He already knew His earthly
fate. The incident that occurred in the
wilderness wandering was very familiar to a devout Jew. From our study in Numbers, we know that the wandering
Jews often complained about their food and their water. Time after time, God had punished them … even
to the point of destroying some. But
this time, it seems God had had it! The
impatient Jews spoke against both God and Moses. So, God sent serpents to bite the people. This time, the people GOT IT. They acknowledge their sin and ask Moses to plead
to the Lord on their behalf. God’s response was to instruct Moses to create a
bronze serpent and lift it on a pole.
Those who looked on the image (in faith) would live. Those that chose not to look would not live.
So, we come to the Matthew
passage … particularly the passage concerning Joseph’s reaction to finding out
that Mary was with child. Matthew
recounts …
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ[a] took place
in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed[b] to Joseph,
before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy
Spirit. 19 And her
husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame,
resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for
that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for
he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took
place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with
us). 24 When Joseph
woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his
wife, 25 but knew her
not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Footnotes:
Matthew 1:18 Some manuscripts of
the Christ
Matthew 1:18 That is, legally pledged to be married
Put yourself in Joseph’s sandals
… how would you handle the news that this woman that had already committed herself
to you was found to be pregnant … and you knew that you were not the
father. Better yet, imagine an angel of
the Lord comes to give you the low down of what is going on. What would you do?
Returning to our Numbers
passage, how often do we become inpatient with our Lord … and with His
provisions for us? While we may not confront our “Moses”, we may find ourselves
envious of others … and wonder why God doesn’t bless us with the same
things. We forget the rich blessing God
has already provided in the life and death of the Son of Man … the One we know
as Jesus. It is He who was lifted up. It
is He on Whom God has told us to trust.
Look upon the cross … see the Christ … and believe.
May God bless you this
coming week.
Agape’
Mr. Jim
Prayer: “Beneath the cross
of Jesus, I fain would take my stand. The shadow of a mighty Rock, within a
weary land. A hope within the wilderness
… a rest upon the way; from the burning of the midday heat … and the burden of
the day.” O Father God, thank You for
reminding me of my need to always be grateful to Jesus, the Christ. Thank You for Jesus and His life. Thank You for His sacrifice for me and for
all humankind. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture for today: John
3:13-15; Numbers 21:4-9; Matthew 1:18-25
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