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Day 49 – Thru the Bible
Today we continue Numbers and Psalms.
Numbers 28 and 29 – This section on festivals is founded upon the people’s anticipation of possessing the land, delineating the proper response of worship once settled within it, and thus reaffirming God’s promise to bring them in.
Moreover, the large number of sacrifices called for presupposes that the land is indeed flowing with milk and honey, and that God’s people will experience His abundant blessings. In addition, these regulations serve as something of a pledge that God will provide for them abundantly.
How is this promise affirmed in the New Testament by Jesus Himself? Hint: Matthew 6:33.
The sacrifices direct our gaze to Jesus, Who in being sacrificed once for all fulfills ALL the sacrifices, ushering us into the presence of God in worship so that we are able to taste the future glory and sweetness of divine fellowship even now, as we journey through the wilderness (Hebrews 12:22–24).
Numbers 30 – As sacrifices were often used for the payment of vows, this chapter flows naturally out of the previous two. Yet we should keep in view the presupposed entry into the Promised Land as the gracious context for these injunctions: because God fulfilled His vow to Abraham to bring His people into the Promised Land, so the Israelites out of gratitude should now keep their vows.
Knowing that God’s grace is lavished upon us, how does this not lead to increasing sinfulness, but rather lovingly compel us to honor Him in all our ways? Hint: Romans 12:1–2; Ephesians 5:1–2.
Psalm 49 – The psalmists provide three strategies for combatting bitterness toward pompous unbelievers. The first is to follow God’s Word. When disciples meditate on the promises of God’s Word, they will focus less on material inequity and more on the certainty of God’s promises (Matthew 6:33–34).
Second, they will sing God’s Word. Worship through song fertilizes the Word in the deepest parts of the heart. Viewing God with the eyes of faith minimizes even the most foreboding threat.
When one feels like the way of righteousness is a waste of time, eternity is the third place we are invited to focus our eyes of faith. No matter how valuable the unbeliever believes his worldly possessions to be, they do not equal the cost to ransom a soul.
What was the price Jesus paid to ransom our lost souls? Hint: Mark 10:45; John 15:13; 1 Timothy 2:6; 1 Peter 1:18–19.
What other thoughts or questions does today’s reading bring up?
Some of these notes are from the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible study notes. We highly recommend this study Bible.
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