Paula Wiseman

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Posts that mention Moses, the man of God

The Few Who Go or the “We” Who Stay

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In Numbers 13, Moses sent a group of spies to check out Canaan. Forty days later, they returned. The land is great, they said, but the people are intimidating and the cities are fortified strongholds. They're unreachable. However, Joshua and Caleb added, "The Lord is with us. Do not fear them." (Num 14:9) God brought us here, He gave us the land, He will see to it that we take possession of it.
 
We know how the story goes. The nation listened to the majority report and a generation died without receiving what God had promised. They chose to believe what they saw rather than the God who sent them.
 
Fast forward hundreds of years. Jesus stood on a mountain and He said to go. Now we go and we scout things out and we report back to Him, "But Lord, the people are intimidating and the cities are unreachable." We don't go any further. We stay and we wander and we die off.
 
Except for a few. 
 
A few who understand what Jesus meant when He said "All power, all authority has been given to me, and I'm telling you to go."
 
A few who believe 'the Lord is with us, do not fear them.'
 
Too often, most times even, I'm one of the "we." Intimidated. Staying. Wandering. But here's the thing. It's not just the generation of believers who will die off. There's a generation of folks who have never heard the name of Jesus except as a swear word. A generation who only knows Christians as silly caricatures or sign-waving protestors. They've never met the life-changing Savior who redeems, who heals, who transforms. And they'll die off, too.
 
Unless I and the rest of the "we" choose to trust God and His power and His plan more than I and "we" trust what we see.
 
What are "we" gonna do? Stay or Go?
 

Study Tip: 2 Timothy

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If you knew you had mere days or weeks to live, what would your frame of mind be? What things would you want people to know? What instructions would you give to ensure your work continued? These are the questions answered in the Apostle Paul's final short letter to his young protégé, Timothy. It's quick, heartfelt read.  
 
Since Timothy was quite familiar with Paul's doctrine, you won't find much exposition in this letter. Instead you find unique insights into the heart and mind of the apostle. 
 
Keep track of what you learn about Paul. Where is he? What is his emotional state? What things are weighing heaviest on his mind? 
 
List the instructions and admonitions he gives Timothy. What seems to be his greatest concern for Timothy?
 
 
Bonus study: Compare this letter with Deuteronomy 31. Both Moses and Paul knew death was imminent. Are there similarities in the tone or content in their final words? What differences do you notice? 
 
 
How would you summarize Paul's last words?

A Friend of God

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coffee"So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." Exodus 33:11
 
Not as a man speaks to his servants.
 
Or to his son.
 
But to his friend.
 
Jesus reiterated this in John 15:15 "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."
 
Not enemies. Friends.
 
This includes me. This includes you.
 

 

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Show Me Your Glory

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This past week, I started reading The Pursuit of God, by A.W. Tozer. 
 
I struggle with complacency when I crave passionate intimacy with God. Tozer cites a moment in Moses' life, on Mount Sinai. 
 
(Exodus 33:17-18) So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
 
I have found grace in God's sight. God knows my name. 
 
I just need to ask.
 
 

 

Tozer ends chapter 1 with a prayer. 
 
I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
 
Tozer, A. W. (Aiden Wilson). The Pursuit of God (pp. 14-15). Kindle Edition. 
 
 
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Study Tip: Deuteronomy

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scroll Deuteronomy. You make it through Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers only to hit some weird Biblical deja vu in Deuteronomy. It isn't just the "read the Bible in a year weed-out", "separate the saints from the sinners" test of true spirituality. It's unique recap of God's law for a new generation poised to seize God's promises and it's an intimate revelation of the God who made those promises. Being the nerd that I am, I like Deuteronomy. 
 
Here are some things to remember as you read it-
  • It's a series of farewell addresses Moses delivers. These are the things he really wants Israel – the regular folks, not the priests or the Levites – to know and remember before he dies. You can almost hear the urgent parental pleading in his voice.
  • Jesus quotes Deuteronomy – a lot! In fact, in His epic temptation standoff with Satan himself, all the Scripture Christ uses as His defense comes from Deuteronomy.
  • The name means "second law", so yes there is some repetition of those legal details from Leviticus, but hang in there.
 
 
As you study Deuteronomy-

1.  Keep a list of the things you learn about the character of God.

Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. 4:39 NAS
 

2.  Notice the special relationship God has with His chosen people. Even though we aren't Israel, God has chosen us as His through the blood of Christ.

For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7:6 NAS (The following verses are good ones, too.)
 

3.  Pay close attention to our responsibility to Him.

Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 10:12-13 NAS

 
 
Then toward the end, in chapter 27 there is an amazing convocation where the entire nation of two million or so is divided in half and they take their places on two facing mountains, Gerizim and Ebal. There, at Moses' direction, they take turns rehearsing the blessings and curses contained in the Law. Imagine what that must have been like!
 
 
Have you ever done a study of Deuteronomy? What did you learn?
 
 
 
 

 

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Study Tip: Exodus

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Ten CommandmentsExodus, the epic story of God's deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage makes a great study. In fact I'm working my way slowly through Exodus right now. Often the detail and repetition discourage folks from reading and studying the book. For others, any study of Old Testament law seems irrelevant. However, here are a few things to watch that might help.
 
1. God speaks – Watch God's revelation of Himself through His words. I also love His conversations with Moses. After Moses' death, these words are recorded "But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." That's a relationship worth studying!
 
2. God acts – Take note of how God intervenes on behalf of His people, both in Egypt and in the desert. Some of my favorite passages are God's display of power at the Red Sea and His holiness at Sinai.
 
3. Leadership lessons – Moses makes a tremendous character study. Key traits are his humility, his compassion and his intercession. His humanity shows through many times, too.
 
4. Object lessons – Everything about the Passover and the tabernacle point to the coming work of Christ.
 
What have you learned from your studies of Exodus?
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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