Today’s passage: Numbers 15
Helpful thoughts:
- After Israel had just been disciplined by the Lord and told they would not enter the Promised Land for another forty years, they may have wondered if they’d ever get in. Verse 2 answers that question.
- Once they were in the land, there would be provisions they currently did not possess. These additional provisions would change the contents of their prescribed worship and sacrifice.
- In the law and in these sacrifices, the Lord makes a distinction between sins committed unintentionally (or ignorantly) and sins committed with a “high hand” (knowingly and purposefully).
- The command from the Lord in verse 39, do not follow after your own heart (or eyes).
- Jeremiah 17:9
- Psalm 37:4
- When we delight in the Lord and abide in His Word (John 15), the things our eyes and hearts value will come in line with what the Lord values. When our hearts are in tune with His heart, we will be able to pursue our desires with joy and without regret.
- The color blue was used in the tabernacle curtains and the priests garments. When the people saw the blue in their tassels, they were to remember whose they were and what their purpose was (Exodus 19:6).
Questions to consider:
- How would the commands concerning how things would change in the Promised Land give hope and purpose to the people (even if the older generation would never see it themselves)? How does hope in the future gracious promises of God give us purpose and resolve to persevere in the world today?
- Can you think of any examples of unintentional sins today? How would a person sin with a “high hand?” How might our prayers of repentance sound differently if we were turning back to the Lord in either case? How were both kinds of sins paid for in our case (Romans 6:10)?
- In those days and in the surrounding cultures, tassels were only worn by higher-class people. What would God’s command for everyone to where tassels have communicated concerning His people? What have we been given under the New Covenant to remind us of our status in the family/kingdom (Romans 8:16-17)?