Aaron and Miriam confront Mosesverses 1-3

 And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses

BECAUSE of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married

FOR he had married an Ethiopian woman

And they said – Has the LORD indeed spoken ONLY by Moses?

            has HE not spoken also by us?

And the LORD heard it

(Now the man Moses was very MEEK

above all the men which were on the face of the earth)

LORD confronts Aaron and Miriamverses 4-9

 And the LORD spoke SUDDENLY to Moses – and to Aaron

and to Miriam

Come out you three to the tabernacle of the congregation

            and they three came out

And the LORD CAME DOWN in the pillar of the CLOUD

            and STOOD in the door of the tabernacle

                        and called Aaron and Miriam

and they both came forth

And HE said – Hear now MY words

            IF there be a prophet among you

                        I the LORD will make MYSELF known to him

                                    in a VISION and I will speak to him in a DREAM

            MY servant Moses is not so

                        who is faithful in all MINE house

            With him will I speak mouth to mouth – even apparently

and not in dark speeches

            And the SIMILITUDE of the LORD shall he behold

                        wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against

                                    MY servant Moses?

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them

and HE departed 

Miriam struck with leprosy by LORDverses 10-12

 And the CLOUD departed from off the tabernacle

            and BEHOLD

Miriam became leprous – white as snow

            and Aaron looked on Miriam – and BEHOLD

she was leprous

And Aaron said to Moses

            Alas my lord – I beseech you – lay not the sin on us

                        wherein we have done FOOLISHLY

                                    and wherein we have SINNED

            Let her not be as one dead – of whom the flesh is half consumed

when he comes out of his mother’s womb

Moses prays for Miriam to be healedverse 13

 And Moses CRIED to the LORD – saying

            Heal her NOW – O God – I beseech you 

LORD replies to Moses prayerverse 14

 And the LORD said to Moses

            IF her father had but spit in her face

should she not be ashamed SEVEN days?

            Let her be shut out from the camp SEVEN days

and after that let her be received in again

Miriam outside camp for seven daysverses 15-16

And Miriam was shut out from the camp SEVEN days

            and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again

And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth

            and pitched in the wilderness of Paran

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 3        (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were on the face of the earth.) (6035 “meek” [‘anav] means bowed, marked by meekness or modesty, not arrogant or prideful, humble, gentle, afflicted, or unpretentiousness)

DEVOTION:  Humble is good. Moses was so humble or meek that he didn’t say a word to defend himself against the accusations of his brother and sister. He just allowed them to speak their mind. He didn’t stop them but turned it over to the LORD.

The LORD spoke in behave of Moses. HE defended him and his actions. HE wanted Aaron and Miriam that they were not speaking for HIM. HE wanted them to know that HE was not as close to them as they thought they were.

We have many individuals who think that they are close to the LORD and think that they can criticize a servant of the LORD who is trying to faithfully serve the LORD.

Many pastors fall into the category of those who are trying to faithfully serve the LORD. However, there is always usually at least one individual who think that they are just as good as any pastor the church can call to serve as their leader.

These individuals try to say and do things that cause dissention in the church. They might even think that it is better to divide the church or cause a church split over issues they have with the pastor or leaders. God is going to deal with them the same way HE deals with those who caused problems in the camp of Israel.

Even if, it is the brother and sister of the leader they will be judged. Judgment is what the LORD uses to correct these types of situations.

Our responsibility is to be like Moses and not defend ourselves in these types of situation. Leave it to the LORD to settle the issues HIS way. It happened here and it will happen in the future to other servants of the LORD.

CHALLENGE: Trust the LORD to bring you through this type of situation.

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 7        MY servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all MINE house. (539 “faithful” [‘aman] means to prove to be firm, reliable, permanent, steadfast, sure, verified, to be established, or verified)

DEVOTION: The LORD didn’t say that Moses was sinless but that he was one who was steadfast as a leader. He was someone who trusted in the LORD and listened to the LORD. He was someone that the LORD could count on to do what HE told him to do.

This was not true of Aaron and Miriam. They were looking for faults in their brother. They were jealous of what the LORD was doing through him.

The one fault, they thought, was that he married the wrong woman. They were wrong in bringing this up to the LORD. HE knew about the marriage and still approved of Moses. HE used Moses because he was willing to yield himself to the LORD after a time of trial.

We need to realize that the LORD uses those HE can count on. HE doesn’t have to find someone who is perfect but someone who is faithful and willing to be chastened of HIM and still be willing to serve faithfully.

God wants the same today from us. HE wants us to be willing to follow HIS leading without asking questions or wondering why HE has allowed so many things to go wrong in our life. Moses had many years of seclusion before he was used of the LORD.

The LORD waits for HIS servants to be ready to serve faithfully before HE gives them more responsibility in HIS service.

Are we willing to wait on the LORD? Are we willing to serve HIM without question once HE calls us? We have to realize that HE doesn’t call anyone who is perfect, except HIS Son Jesus, but HE calls those who are willing to serve after times of trials.

CHALLENGE: Are you one of those followers, who after being chastened by the LORD, are willing to serve without question?

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: 8        With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? (2420 “dark speeches” [chiydah] means riddles, parables, proverb, difficult questions, enigmatic sayings, or ambiguous sayings)

DEVOTION:  When Jesus taught HIS disciples HE did so in parables because they were the only ones HE wanted to understand what HE was teaching. The rest of the people didn’t understand the full meaning of the parables. The disciples had to ask the LORD the meaning of most of the parables because they were still learning about how God worked in their world.

Moses was the only one of his siblings that the LORD talked directly to. HE told his siblings that HE spoke mouth to mouth with their brother Moses. In other words, the LORD was telling them that Moses had a closer walk with HIM than they did.

HE was disturbed that they would speak against Moses. HE was putting Aaron and Miriam in their place. Aaron is mentioned first because he might have been the one who put Miriam up to confronting Moses about his wife. The instigator in all situations in our homes and in our churches and in our country is known to the LORD. No one can hide the truth from the LORD in any given situation.

Once God describes HIS relationship with Moses HE manifests HIS anger toward Aaron and Miriam.

The LORD manifests HIS anger toward those who mistreat HIS servants even today. It might not be in the same way but those who are experiencing the anger of the LORD know when it is happening. We need to watch how we criticize people especially those individuals who are trying to be HIS close servants in ministry.

It happens today but whoa to those who are guilty of gossip against the LORD’S anointed. We need to watch our attitudes and actions toward those the LORD has called to ministry. Those who are false will have to answer to the LORD either here or in eternity. Those who are true will be chastened of the LORD for their actions. Those who gossip and backbite will have to be judged as well.

CHALLENGE: Watch what you say to others about those who are faithfully serving the LORD. God is listening to our every word.

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 11      And Aaron said to Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech you, lay not the sin on us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. (2973 “we have done foolishly” [ya’al] means act foolishly, show wicked folly, to turn out to be a fool, to behave in a way that shows a lack of wisdom or understanding good judgment)

DEVOTION:  Aaron sees what has happened to his sister because of the LORD’S anger. Leprosy was a contagious disease and it required individuals to be separated from the rest of the world. Those with leprosy had to live outside the camp. They could not come near the Tabernacle.

Now Miriam the sister of Moses had the disease for her rebellion against her brother. Aaron pleads with Moses to ask the LORD to take the leprosy away from their sister.

Aaron finally realizes that he had been acting foolish in his treatment of his brother. This happens in many families where brothers fight against brothers and sisters fight against sisters. This is not the LORD’S plan for a family. HE wants families to work together in their service to HIM.

Imagine families where everyone in the family is a follower of Jesus Christ and they worked together to reach everyone in the family for the LORD and then reached out to other families to reach them for the LORD. It would be good in the sight of the LORD.

Siblings working against one another don’t please the LORD. The LORD showed HIS displeasure in this situation.

CHALLENGE:  Aaron recognized what they were doing was SIN. We need to recognize the same fact in our dealings with fellow believers.

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: 14      And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. (3417 “spit” [yaraq] means a token of contempt, gesture of curse and rejection or to spit)

DEVOTION: Family can be an encouragement or a discouragement in our walk with the LORD. If our family members are individuals who love the LORD, they should be an encouragement. Those outside of Christ will sometimes be a discouragement. What happens if those who are believers are ones that seem to discourage our growth in the LORD?

Some do it out of jealousy. Some do it out of the thought that they know that we are sinners and shouldn’t have any ministry. They think they are not as bad a sinner as we are. Here we find that Miriam and maybe Aaron were jealous of Moses position with the LORD. They wanted to put him in his place.

This chapter is an account of Miriam being mad at either Moses’ first wife or a second wife that he had married. There is no Scripture that tells us that Moses’ first wife had died. This is probably a dispute between Miriam and Zipporah. This was used as an excuse to challenge Moses’ leadership.

The LORD comes to defend Moses. Miriam is judged with leprosy. Aaron confesses his sin and asks Moses to pray for her. Moses does pray. The LORD gives his judgment. Seven days outside the camp. HE also says that her human father for this incident against Moses would have judged Miriam. Her human father would have given a token of contempt for this.  This is sometimes used of a token of contempt.

The LORD is telling her brother that she needed some correction. She needed to be corrected for her sin. HE was going to allow her to have leprosy for seven days to give her time to think about what she had done. Why only her? It might be that she was the one who encouraged Aaron to confront their brother. The LORD knows who is responsible for wrong actions. She seemed to believe that she was just as good a prophet as Moses.

Sometimes, people we love lead us in the wrong direction. Here is an example of a sister leading a brother into sin. We need to watch who we follow. We need to watch how we lead people. Many churches had instigators in them that need no followers.

However, we find that they do have followers. Remember that God is the one who places people in key positions and we need to watch what we say against them. Remember that God will defend them. Those in leadership need to remember that the LORD is able to defend them against false accusations. Trust HIM!!!

CHALLENGE: If you have a family member who is in ministry – be an encourager. You can confront them if they are doing something wrong but remember it is to be one on one with an attitude of reconciliation.

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Moses prays for Miriamverse 13

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)

Tabernacle of the congregationverses 4, 5-10

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

LORD speaks in visions and dreamsverse 6

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

LORD (Jehovah)verses 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 14

LORD came down in a pillar of the cloudverse 5

LORD speaks to Moses through vision and dreamsverse 6

LORD speaks mouth to mouth with Mosesverse 8

Anger of the LORDverse 9

God (Elohim)verse 13

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth, twenty-four hour period of creation)

Ethiopian womanverse 1

Hazerothverse 16

Paranverse 16

Sin Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

Sibling rivalry verses 1, 2

Speak against God’s servantverse 8

Sinverse 11

Done foolishlyverse 11

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Meekverse 3

Prophetverse 6

Servantverse 7

Faithfulverse 7

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Miriamverses 1, 4, 5, 10,15

Became leprous

Shut up out from camp seven days

Aaronverses 1, 4, 5, 10, 11

Mosesverses 1-7, 13, 14

Meek

God’s servant

Faithful

Cried out to the LORD

LORD speaks to siblingsverse 4

LORD judges Miriam with leprosyverse 10

LORD answers Moses prayerverses 14, 15

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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DONATIONS:

Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org  Also if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method.  Thank you.

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QUOTES regarding passage

11–13 The repentance of Aaron for the sin of presumption (v.11) is touching both in its intensity and in his concern for their sister. His description of the appearance of Miriam’s skin (v.12) is ghastly but effective. Moses then calls out to God to heal her. His prayer is remarkable in its urgency and simplicity (v.13). He screams out, “O God [ʾēl], please heal her!” (Allen, R. B. (1990). Numbers. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 803). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

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Moses too, out of both fraternal love and intercessory obligation, appealed to the Lord for immediate healing. But Miriam’s offense was serious because she had led an insurrection against God’s choice servant and covenant mediator. If she had merely suffered the disgrace of being spat on in the face by her father, she would have had to remain outside the camp for seven days. Surely, she must remain outside at least that long for having committed such a serious breach of propriety. Spitting in one’s face expressed contempt (cf. Deut. 25:9). The Lord expressed His contempt for Miriam’s presumption by afflicting her with a horrible skin disease. In line with ceremonial law, which required a diseased person to remain outside the camp for seven days (Lev. 13–14), Miriam was forced to do so. Only after that did the people … move on from Hazeroth (cf. Num. 11:35) to the Desert of Paran. (Merrill, E. H. (1985). Numbers. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 229). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)

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The impassioned plea (vv. 11–13). Aaron knew the significance of the leprosy and he begged Moses to intercede for Miriam and himself, for the pronouns are plural: “We have sinned.” Aaron was the interceding high priest for Israel and yet he needed an intercessor! As further evidence of his meekness, Moses prayed for his sister; and the Lord did remove the affliction.

The embarrassing delay (vv. 14–16). Though Miriam was healed, she had to remain outside the camp for seven days (see Lev. 13:1–6; 14:1–8; 15:8) because she had been defiled. This meant shame for Miriam, for the whole camp knew what had happened. But it also meant delay for the people, for the camp had to wait for her restoration before it could move. The rebellious sinner is always a cause of holding back the progress of God’s people.

It’s a serious thing to be a spiritual leader, for the greater the honor, the greater the responsibility. It’s also a serious thing to try to usurp the authority God has given to others. “Those [elders] who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear” (1 Tim. 5:20, nkjv). Jesus warned that our enemies might be those from our own household (Matt. 10:34–36; Micah 7:6).

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17).

“Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way when you came out of Egypt” (Deut. 24:9, nkjv). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1999). Be counted (pp. 51–52). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)

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Ver. 13. And Moses cried unto the Lord, &c.] With a loud voice, and with great earnestness and importunity, being heartily affected with the miserable condition Miriam was in: saying, heal her now, O God, I beseech thee; in the original text it is, O God now, heal her now; for the same particle is used at the close as at the beginning of the petition; and the repetition of it shews his earnestness and importunity that she might be healed directly, immediately, without any delay; and Moses uses the word El, which signifies the strong and mighty God, as expressive of his faith in the power of God, that he was able to heal her; and at the same time suggests that none but he could do it; and so Aben Ezra interprets it, “thou that hast power in thine hand, now heal her;” this prayer is a proof of his being of a meek, humble, and forgiving spirit. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, pp. 761–762). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

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13. And Moses cried unto the Lord. The event now proves, what was recently asserted, that Moses was of a meek and gentle disposition beyond all other men; for he is not only ready at once to forgive, but also intercedes with God for them. And thus the presumption of Miriam is best reproved; for the only hope of safety that remains to her is in the dignity of Moses, which of late she could not endure.

From the reply of God, it is manifest that the punishment which she alone had received was intended for the instruction of all. The pride and temerity of Miriam were sufficiently chastised, but God wished it to be a lesson for all, that every one should confine himself to his own bounds. Meanwhile, let us learn from this passage to pay due honour to the judgments of God, so that they may suffice us as the rule of supreme equity. For if such power over their children is accorded to earthly parents, as that they may put them to shame at their will, how much more reverence is due to our heavenly Father, when He brands us with any mark of disgrace? This was the reason why Miriam was shut out for seven days, not only that she might mourn apart by herself, but also that her chastisement might be profitable to all. It is likewise addressed to us, that we may learn to blush whensoever God is angry with our sins, and thus that shame may produce in us a dislike of sin. This special example afterwards passed into a law, as we have already seen, (Deut. 24:9); for when God commands lepers to be separated, He recalls to the recollection of the people what He had appointed with respect to Miriam, lest, if internal impurity be cherished, its infection may spread beyond ourselves. (Calvin, J., & Bingham, C. W. (2010). Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony (Vol. 4, pp. 50–51). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)

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And Jehovah speaks well of His servant Moses. He is declared faithful. With him He speaks and the similitude of Jehovah he is to behold. Compare with Hebrews 3:5–6. A greater than Moses is here! Christ is faithful as Son over God’s house. Aaron confesses his sin and Miriam’s sin. She is leprous and excluded from the congregation of Israel, where she tried to be the leader, but graciously restored at the appointed time as the result of the prayer of Moses. And may we not read here Israel’s story, leprous now, but some day healed and restored? (Gaebelein, A. C. (2009). The Annotated Bible: Genesis to Deuteronomy. (Vol. 1, p. 325). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)

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FROM MY READING: 

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

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The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity? (By Donald Whitney “Ten Questions to ask as you start the New Year”)

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 A Christian is not a man who relies upon himself. It is only the Christian who knows his own weakness. It takes a Christian to see the darkness of his own heart and the frailty of his own nature. There is a type of Christian, I regret to say, who behaves as if he can do everything. He has had an experience of conversion, and now he is ready to face hell and the devil and everything. Poor fellow, he will not go very far before he loses that sense of confidence. “Let him that thinketh he standeth,” said the apostle Paul to such people, “take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). No; the Christian is a man who knows his own weakness, and he is afraid of it. So he prays for a steady spirit, a reliable spirit. He wants to be a sound man. (Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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Dennis Rainey writes in “Moment with You”:

A Bug’s Life

 We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us. NUMBERS 13: 31

I remember the first time I walked into the office of Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. I was spending a college summer break working with Campus Crusade for $50 a month. When I had the opportunity to meet with Bill, I noticed that on his desk was a plaque engraved with these words: 

“I’m no grasshopper.”
When I asked what the phrase meant, he said it referred to the spies who were sent to scope out the land of Canaan in the Old Testament book of Numbers. God said He was giving the land to the Israelites, but 10 of 12 spies reported that it was impossible for the Israelites to conquer the land: “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:33, NIV) 

Only two spies said they should trust in God. Unfortunately, the nation of Israel refused to believe the minority report and consequently ended up wandering aimlessly in the wilderness for 40 years, never entering their promised reward. 

“When I arrive in heaven,” Bill said, “I don’t want my life here on Earth to have been characterized by viewing myself as a grasshopper. My God is so big, I want to expect and believe Him for great things.” Are you living in the camp of unbelief, overwhelmed by the struggles you are facing in your life, marriage, family or work? Are you paralyzed in unbelief or anger toward God for your circumstances? Do you feel like a “grasshopper”? 

Or are you turning in belief to the God who promises to work through you to accomplish the impossible? 

No matter how foolish you’ve been, no matter how many times you’ve failed before, Jesus stands ready to work through you if you’re ready to be a man or woman of faith. 

DISCUSS

What issue seems so big to you right now, you don’t see any way it can turn out well?

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The Wisdom Mine
“Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:20)

In one of his monologues, the patriarch Job compares his search for spiritual understanding to human explorations for metals and precious stones. “There is a vein for the silver,” he said, “and a place for gold….Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone” (vv. 1-2).

These all are easier to find than true wisdom. “It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold” (vv. 16-19).

Neither have animals discovered it. “The fierce lion passed by it….it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air” (vv. 8, 21). “The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me” (v. 14).

“But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?” (v. 12). Job is driven to ask: “Where must one go to find and mine the vein of true wisdom?”

It is certainly “not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought” (1 Corinthians 2:6). The mine of evolutionary humanism that dominates modern education and scholarship will yield only the fool’s gold of “science falsely so called” (1 Timothy 6:20).

Job found true wisdom only through God, and so must we, for only “God understandeth the way thereof…unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:23, 28). The Lord Jesus Christ is the ever-productive mine “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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Ephesians 2
All men are dead in sin, but by grace through faith in Christ they may be saved from sin.
INSIGHT

Two of the most wonderful words in the Bible occur in this chapter: “But God . . .” We were dead in our transgressions and sins; we followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the spirit of disobedience; we lived to gratify the cravings of our sinful natures; and we were by nature objects of wrath. BUT GOD, because of His great love for us, made us alive with Christ. We have been saved; God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms, that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  (Quiet Walk)

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Listening Beyond the Stars

Seek the Lord while he may be found.

Isaiah 55:6

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HOLINESS

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
1 John 3:3
Holiness is not something we are called upon to do in order that we may become something; it is something we are to do because of what we already are. There is a great deal of teaching on this subject that really amounts to this: “We are to be holy and live the holy life in order that we may become truly Christians; every phase or aspect of the doctrine of justification by works really teaches that.” But any suggestion we may have in ourselves that we are to deny ourselves certain things, that we are not to do certain things, and that we are to discipline ourselves in order that we may become Christian is a denial of the doctrine of justification by faith. I am not to live a good and holy life in order that I may become a Christian; I am to live the holy life because I am a Christian. I am not to live this holy life in order that I may enter heaven; it is because I know I am going to enter heaven that I must live this holy life.
That is the emphasis here: “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” I am not to strive and sweat and pray in order that at the end I may enter into heaven. No; I start rather from the standpoint that I have been made a child of God by the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. I am destined for heaven; I have an assurance that I have been called to go there and that God is going to take me there, and it is because I know this that I am preparing now.
A Thought to Ponder
Holiness is not something we are called upon to do in order that we may become something; it is something we are to do because of what we already are.
                     (From Children of God, p. 41, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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