Promise 33 from Numbers 25:11-13

Num. 25:11-13 - "'Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the son of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. Therefore say, 'Behold I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.'"

God is a jealous God, He will go to extremes to protect His people from dividing their attention between Him and others. He will also go to extremes to bless those who are equally jealous for those things He is jealous for. Because of Phinehas' behaviour of killing the man who brought the Midianite women into the camp, knowing that the man's action would cause grave consequences later on down the road, God blessed Phinehas and all those who come after him in his family with peace and of priesthood. Meaning, they would never have to fight in war. Phinehas, himself made atonement for the sons of Israel, this made God happy. He loves it when we step up to bat and interceded for others so that they would come into right relationship with God. When we do that, God blesses us as well. He gives us His peace.

Promise 32 from Numbers 24:4-7

Numbers 24:4-7 - "The oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered.  How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings O Israel! 'Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens beside the river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed will be by many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and His Kingdom shall be exalted." - When looking a the promises of God in scripture, on needs to look at who the promise is for. God may not promise to one person what He promises to another. Even though Balaam is speaking over the Israeli camps, he begins with saying that oracle is for all who hear the word of the God and sees the vision of the Almighty. Balak was listening to the words of Balaam but he wasn't in tune to the vision of the Almighty. Therefore this blessing was not for him. So what is the blessing for those who hear and focus their eyes on the Lord? Your dwelling places are beautiful, overflowing with abundance, like valleys as far as the eyes can see, and beautiful gardens beside rivers of rushing, refreshing waters, like healing aloes planted by the Lord, Himself, and like strong cedars beside the water. There will be abundance of water, a symbol of life and refreshment, and your seed will be spread by the water, the symbol of multiplying growth and abundance. Your king, the One who is on your throne will be over all others and His Kingdom will be exalted, a promise of victory which is an eternal joy. This is what God promises His people. This is how God delights to bless His people.

Promise 31 from Numbers 24:1-2

Numbers 24:1-2 - "When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek omens but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him." - Balaam had a personal encounter with God when his eyes were opened to that which pleases God. Prior to this mission that Balak asked him to go on, and God gave permission to go, even though intially he wasn't supposed to go, his job was to curse the enemies of those who paid him or to bless those who paid him. I really didn't believe he condsidered God too much, except to have an awareness of Him and maybe even a fear of Him. Even though he was not to go on this trip with Balak, God used this time to show Balaam what brings peleasure to God's heart. It was after he saw what pleases God, then the Spirit of God fell upon him.
Something I've experienced myself the last few years is, as soon as God reveals to me something new about Him, especially those things that bring Him pleasure, then I feel the Holy Spirit come upon me, which manifests in a variety of ways. It usually isn't the other way around, from my recent experience. God, Himself gives a fresh revelation using whatever means He chooses; scripture, a sermon, a talk with a friend, a song or even nature, then "Bam!" enter Holy Spirit on the scene. I could write a book on this whole topic, but just to bring clarification, because I know most of the conservative christian world would disagree with my statement thus far. When we have Christ in us, of course we have the Holy Spirit in us too. It is the work of the Spirit of God that opens our eyes to see the new revelations of God. This is what I call "the gentle Spirit within us. He does his job and we get it, we get what He is showing us and that revelation drops from our heads into our hearts, which springs up joy, peace, healing, whatever the case may be, then the "Gentle Holy Spirit" rises up and becomes a "party animal Holy Spirit" who begins to celebrate that we got it. At this point our little fleshly bodies can't handle all that Holy rumbling going on inside us and it starts doing uncontrollable things in response. Its like our soul and the party animal Spirit start to dance and the body doesn't know what to with it. So the body falls down, or shakes, or rocks or dances, laughs or cries or does flips or stand on its head. This is what happens when the joy hits our souls when we understand and respond to those things that please God, when we come into agreement to be pleased with those things that please God. The spiritual party begins and the Holy Spirit is the D.J.  Balaam explains his experience in vss. 3-4, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, and the oracle of the man whose eye is opened; The oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered." The party began and he fell down at the revelation of the Almighty God. So what is the promise? God raises up the party animal Spirit within us when we come into agreement to be pleased with those things which please God.

Promise 30 from Numbers 23:5

Numbers 23:5 - "Then the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, 'Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.'" - I really don't know why, as believers, we fret so much when we are headed toward an interview, a speaking event or a confrontation with someone. If God can put words in a donkey (vs. 22:28), for crying out loud, He can put His words into us. Balaam obeyed God when God told him to "only speak the words I give to you to speak" (vs. 22:35). We can trust God, without a shadow of a doubt to give us the words we need, especially when those words are about blessings and revealing the character of God to others.

Promise 29 from Numbers 22:20-22a

Numbers 22:20-22a. - "God came to Balaam at night and said to him, 'If the men have come to call you rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do.' So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab. But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as an adversary against him." - Balaam starts out in this story doing all the right things. When Balak's men arrive asking Balaam to go with them so he can curse the Israelites he says, "Let's sleep on it and I'll tell you in the morning what God has to say about it" vs. 8. So God tells him, "Don't go with these guys because the Israelites are blessed people" (vs. 12). So Balaam tells the men, "Sorry, God says I can't go, have a great trip back home" (vs. 13). Then Balaak tries again to persuade Balaam with some higher ranking men and even promises great riches if he goes with his men. Balaam continues to do well and stands his ground and tells the men, "Look, you can promise me the riches of the world, but won't work, cuz I can't go against the words of my God" (vs. 18.). Way to go Balaam! Now, if he would have left things right there and sent the guys off on their journey back home, I think he might have gotten a special mention in Hebrews 11, but.... no. Instead of sticking to what he knows the desire of God is, he decides to see if God might change His mind. Well, lo and behold, God DID change His mind, in his ears anyway. God says, "If the men have come to call you, THEN rise up and go with them." It's no wonder the Lord sent His angel to block Balaam's path and to speak through the mouth of the donkey. The Lord wanted to make it very clear that Balaam was NOT doing what He said. How many times do we do so well in seeking the Lord for His guidance on an issue and even do as He says, but turn off that path because of either pressures from others or our own desires pull us off the path that God clearly directed us to? It's one thing to look to God and hear His voice, its another thing to maintain obedience to it. Balaam was clearly confused. "But... God, you told me I can go.... if you don't want me to go further I'll turn back", he says (vs.34). He wouldn't have had to step into confusion if he would've just stood his ground the first time and insisted to be obedient to God's wishes. So where is the promise in this? God did not let Balaam continue on the wrong path without showing him his wrong. When we do veer off the path for some reason or another, God will show us, He will give us warning signs, and most of all He will talk us through the decision we make. He won't strike us down right away but lovingly give us back the choice to follow Him and His direction once again.

Promise 28 from Numbers 21:8

Numbers 21:8 - "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and let it come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live'." - Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on the top of a staff, just as God instructed. The people realised their sin and repented of it. They came to Moses to repent of their sins. Now God could have, with just one word, removed the poison from everyone's bites and they would be healed, but He didn't. In God's Sovereignty and His ability to see the big picture, from beginning to end, He tells Moses to make a prophetic symbol which will hold significance not only for the Israelites at that moment, but for God's people for all time. The bronze serpent is a symbol of the healing and saving nature of Jesus. "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up" Jn. 314. When the Israelites looked on the snake, they were given life, they were healed, they were saved. The Israelites had to do their part by looking at the snake. God could've just saved them all, but after their awareness and repentance of sin, they needed to look toward the snake for the healing. The same is for us, just realising we sin and say "I'm sorry!" isn't enough, we need to then look to the One who can give back our lives, heal us and save us, Jesus! The bronze is a metal made up of two alloys; copper and tin. When the two are mixed together they form a strong bond that can never be separated. When we look to Jesus and call Him to become a part of us, He brings the strength of the power of His Spirit which holds us together, a bond that can never be broken. We must turn to Him first in order for this to happen.

Promise 27 from Numbers 21:2-3

Numbers 21:2-3 - "So Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, 'If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.' The Lord heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. Thus the name of the place was called Hormah." - The Canaanites began an offensive against the Israelites and they were winning. They had already captured some of them. When the Israelites realised they couldn't do this in their own strength, they regrouped and sought the Lord. Their pleas however wasn't "Lord, save us!" but it was a strategic move in working together with the Lord. The plan was, 'God delivers the Canaanites into their hands', in others words, 'You drive them toward us, and we'll take care of the rest.' This was a vow, or a promise they made to God, but it stems from the realisation that they couldn't do it on their own and needed His help. This wasn't a vow such as "Lord if You help me win the lottery, I'll give to the poor!" but a vow of working together against the enemy. Some people think they have no control over the enemy, so they wait for God to come and wipe him out, but God blesses those who realises the authority they have in taking control of the enemy with God's help.

Promise 26 from Numbers 20:12

Numbers 20:12 - "But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them'." - This is such a difficult verse and so difficult to understand. The consequences of something that seems like semantics, given to the ones called His friends and spoke to personally. What was it that caused such hard punishment? It wasn't Moses' striking the rock too hard or even yelling at the sons of Israel, but it was his lack of belief in God. He felt he needed to handle the situation his own way, so as a result of his lack of belief, and probably anger toward the people, he spoke to the people and struck the rock, instead of speaking to the rock and letting God strike the people with a new revelation of His love, care and holiness, by giving them water. If only Moses hadn't taken his eyes off the Father. If only he didn't let his own emotions take over. How different it would look for him and Aaron. How often do we take our eyes off the Father in frustrating circumstances? I would hate to see how many promises have been deterred and how many blessings I've missed out on because of my lack of faith in believing that God will do what He says He'll do. There are consequences to our unbelief.

Promise 25 from Numbers 20:8

Numbers 20:8 - "'Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.'" - Many of us who are raised in conservative churches are taught to pray pleading "if it only be your will God" prayers when we want Him to act on behalf of other people. God tells Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock, 'tell it what you want it to do' and it will happen. God gave them the authority to exercise His power. He didn't tell them, "Now go in front of all the congregation and plead to Me, asking if it be My will to bring forth water out of the rock", He said, "Go speak to the rock and it WILL happen." So often we dishonour God's character by questioning His will while we pray, when He makes His will known to us all over scripture. What people don't realise is that He is waiting for us to receive what He is freely giving us; authority to use His power so that He gets the glory when people see it is His will and see His character shine through us. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Jn.10:10. It's the theif that robs people from water, from health, from relationships, etc... God gives us the authority to claim back what has been stolen so that God's abundance can be poured out on His people.

Promise 24 from Numbers 20:6-7

Numbers 20:6-7 - "Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them; and the Lord spoke to Moses." - Moses and Aaron were once again targets of complaint by the people. Even in the midst of mourning the death of their sister, the people rose up against them and blamed them for bringing them to a place with no food or water. People suffer terribly at the words and actions of others. We live in a world of angry people who only think about themselves. I've seen how people can absolutely destroy another through their complains, anger and disrespectful actions. So what did Moses and Aaron do during this very difficult time? They went into the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. They retreated back to their God. There was nothing more that they could do, but to fall on their faces before Him. In that position of surrender, the glory of the Lord filled the room. God came before them right in that place; and spoke! Often  times people feel as though God has abandoned them during times of trouble. Usually the case is that people don't get themselves to that place of surrendering all that stress and sorry and fall on their faces before Him, so as to hear His voice. God doesn't always wait for us to be in that desperate place before He speaks, He's always speaking, its just that in that quite space we can hear Him clearer. If you haven't heard God's voice lately, maybe its fall on your face time. He will come to you in all His glory and speak!

Promise 23 from Numbers 18:20

Numbers 18:20 - "Then the Lord said to Aaron, 'You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.'" - Do you realise what a relief this is? I don't know about you, but I've spent so  much time "investing" in people and places during my life time. Investing in relationships, investing in status, investing in culture, investing in the spiritual lives of others. There was a long season of my life where respect was a must for me. I also NEEDED to be needed. This lead to a life of striving for that status of respect from others and a place to be needed by others. Praise the Lord for God's freedom! No person and no place owes me anything! God is my portion, and Him alone. I can work along side others, I can love people and can be sensitive to the culture around me, but I am not chained or obligated to anyone or any place. God has given that freedom. I don't need to strive to inherit anything from this earth, I have my full inheritance in Christ, He is my portion, He fills me up! Thank you Jesus!

Promise 22 from Numbers 18:8

Numbers 18:8 - "Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, 'Now behold, I Myself have given you charge of My offerings, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual allotment. This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire; every offering of theirs, even every grain offering offering and every sin offering and every guilt offering, which they shall render to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons.'" - All of the offerings given to the Lord, He entrusts to Aaron and his boys. God has a full store house of riches, the holiest of holies that He desires to give us free access to. All of the gifts of His Spirit He delights to fill us up with, the gifts of His power to heal, to love, to encourage, to bring knowledge, etc... He entrusts us with these things, Jesus said, "All that I do even more, you can and will do because I go to My Father who is in Heaven." What a sacrifice God makes to entrust us with His gifts. How are we stewarding them? Are we accepting them? Are we opening our hands, hearts and minds to receive what is freely given to us? Are we using that which we have for His kingdom and His glory? He will never let our hands be empty. We will never have an excuse that God doesn't care. He lavishes us with gifts that rightfully belong to Him.

Promise 21 from Numbers 17:10

Numbers 17:10 - "But the Lord said to Moses, 'Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.'" - More than 14,700 people had just died because of their grumbling against the Lord. The Lord knew that if the people went on without punishment then the results would be even worse for the people of Israel than the plague which killed the 14,700. Some people read passages like these and think God is heartless, but God is not limited in His knowledge by the present. God is a merciful God. He put in measures, through the budding of Aaron's rod, to assure that there wouldn't be a repeat of more deaths. It wasn't so that the people wouldn't grumble anymore, but so that they wouldn't die. God loves His people. He was just as saddened by their deaths as those who remained alive. The whole purpose for Him bringing His people out of Egypt is so that they would have life and life abundant. The people were too self absorbed to see and to hear and to believe what God was giving them. Can you imagine how much that breaks His heart? So many believers today are living their lives grumbling instead of living the abundant life that God is giving them. When will believers open their eyes, ears and hearts to step into the promises given to them by God?

Promise 20 from Numbers 17:5

Numbers 17:5 - "It will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout, thus I will lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you." - It sees that in every group where conflict exists, in some form or another, among believers there always seems to be one person who is the silent observer. They are the ones who are slow to speak, hold back engaging in the emotional flavour of the rest of the group and sits in quiet assessment over the situation. When he or she does speak, they are usually heard and their words are respected by others. This person is the "Aaron" of the group. I must confess that my rod doesn't bud very often in circumstances such as this, but I do recognise those whose rods are blooming. They bring fruit into the situation and God's favour is clearly upon them. I praise God for the "Aaron" who is on my current team. She inspires me to look at difficult situations with kingdom eyes instead of out of my own will and desires. If  we struggle to be "Aarons" ourselves, the we need to pray them into our circles. God will grant that prayer, that is the promise.

Promise 19 from Numbers 15:26

Numbers 15:26 - "So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be forgiven, with the alien who sojourns among them, for it happened to all the people through error." - The whole congregation made a mistake, the whole people group. I can totally see how this can be a real scenario, however in these cases everyone truly believes that they are doing nothing wrong. People in many lands are quick to be conformists to the majority so as to not "make waves" or to not draw unwanted attention to themselves. They may recognise their wrong, yet this is not a strong motivator to stand up for what is right or to make any effort to draw everyone else's attention to the right, which is opposite of their wrong. Many lands miss out on the blessings of forgiveness by God, simply because they don't ask for it. So God allows them to continue on in their corruption and suffering the consequences of their wrongness. The promise however is that God will forgive the whole people, if only they confess their wrong and ask for it.

Promise 18 from Numbers 14:31

Numbers 14:31 - "'Your children however, whom you said would become a prey - I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected.'" - God is telling Moses to tell the people, who had little faith in Him, that they will not enter the promised land, yet their children, for whom the Israelites feared would fall to the hands of the enemy, will be allowed to enter the land and they will be the reapers of the promised land. Fear can cause harsh consequences. The Israelites automatically assumed, without giving God a single thought, that they would be overtaken by the Amelekites and their children would become their slaves or killed. They automatically threw away all that they know about God, all that they've seen and heard from Him and let fear of what "possibly could happen", in their own minds, guide their thoughts and actions. This happens so very much in the lives of people. It is one of the strongest tools of the enemy; he temporarily wipes the memory of what God has done in our lives and what He has promised so that the door is opened to fear. So many blessings have been missed out on because of fear. God always keeps His promises, but people don't always receive them. Can you imagine what this world would look like if believers simply trusted in God, in His promises and that He is who He says He is?

Promise 17 from Numbers 14:27

Numbers 14:27 - "'But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different sprit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.'" - The Lord was telling Moses how all the people who refused to hear His voice will be denied access to the promised land. Then He said it is Caleb who will go into the promised land. The difference between Caleb and the others is their spirits. Caleb's spirit was different from the others. The others only thought about themselves, whereas Caleb kept his focus on the Lord. God said that Caleb followed Him fully. Which means, he never took his eyes off the Lord, he never put his own desires and his own agenda ahead of the Lord's. He didn't just watch the Lord or listen to Him from a distance but He stayed close to Him, He went where God went. Because God had already gone before them into the promised land and had already told them what it was like; flowing with milk and honey, and had already promised that He would be there with them, in Caleb's mind there was nothing more to question. It was a done deal and his spirit knew it. He had a spirit that believes in and trusts that what His God says, He will do, and that's final! Oh to have a spirit like Caleb's, to follow the Lord fully, to see what God sees and to go only where God goes!

Promise 16 from Numbers 14:19-20

Numbers 14: 19-20 - "'Pardon I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your loving kindness. Just as you also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.' So the Lord said, 'I have pardoned them according to your word.'" - Moses is an amazing man. Just at the time he is on his face in despair because the people of Israel were ready to call forth a new leader and head back to Egypt, out of fear that they would be slaughtered in the promised land, God showed up. God wanted to smite them all down and just raise up a nation from Moses' line. You would think in his despair, Moses would say, "Please smite them all, get rid of my pain." But he doesn't, God's honour and reputation was much more important to him. So, for the sake of defending God's name, he asks for the people to be forgiven. I don't think God pardoned the people out of fear of what the Egyptians and Amaleks would say about Him, but out of His love and respect for Moses, the one He talks to face to face as a friend. Moses draws upon God's loving-kindness in his plea; not to use it as a pawn, but because he knows it is the character of God, more so than the character to destroy the people. He knows his God, he knows His love and His compassion, he knows God's true heart for His people, so that is what he calls down into the situation and the people are pardoned. When we pray for others, we need to call down the character of God into the situation; verbalising kingdom truth and God's character into it. We need to call out what we know about God, not just what we "hope" to see from Him. God responds to those who stand in faith and believe in what they 'know' is true of Him.

Promise 15 from Numbers 13:2

Numbers 13:2 - "'Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out  the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from  each of their father's tribes, everyone a leader among them.'" - It is interesting that God decides to send out spies into the land that He already knows He will give them. Was this a test of their faith? Why did the Lord not just send them into the land and let them have the faith to believe that He would be with them in the land, no matter what the land holds? Well, this is my hypothesis. God sent the leaders of the sons of Israel to see what was in store for them. The good and the challenging, so that they could make the choice whether or not to receive what God was freely giving them. After all the difficulties crossing the wilderness to reach this point, you would think the Israelites would jump at the chance to settle down in the promised land. Later on we find that it isn't so easy. It wasn't so easy because the Israelites allowed fear to rob them of the blessing that God had for them. I think we would be amazed at all the opportunities for blessing we pass up on because of fear of both the known and the unknown. All the Israelites had to do was step in and trust that God was going to continue to be the God they have seen Him to be. What blessings are you missing out on because of fear? God's hands are always extended toward us, filled with great blessings, We just need to receive all that He is freely offering us.

Promise 14 from Numbers 12:13

Numbers 12:13 - "Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, 'O God, heal her, I pray!' But the Lord said to Moses, 'If her father had spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterwards she may be received again.'" - Miriam sinned by complaining against Moses, his wife and God, so now she is being punished. Traditionally, I would say the western church does not do church discipline well. We are so eager to "not offend" people out of fear that they'll leave the church, that discipline just isn't addressed. However, the Heavenly Father gives us a great example of what it should look like. I love that He used the example of father to daughter when He was speaking to Moses. "If her father were to spit in her face..." The Heavenly Father is disciplining her as a father should, to give consequences, yet it is only temporary. He says that after the seven days outside the camp, she will be welcomed back or received again. Maybe that is why our churches don't do well with discipline, its because they don't know how to receive people back, or welcome them back to the fold. They allow the offenders to be marked for life. There is a no grace extended for the "leprosy" to be healed. Its such a shame. The promise to us is, that God in His love will discipline us and He will always receive us back, totally forgiven, with no blemishes. Thank you Lord!

Promise 13 from Numbers 12:6-9

Numbers 12:6-9 - "He said, 'Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household' With him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?' So the anger of the Lord burned against them and He departed."

Miriam and Aaron were complaining about Moses' choices of wife and God heard them. So He called the two and Moses to join Him for a sit down at the tent of meeting. God is showing them who His favourite is, He says, 'If I were to speak to you guys, I would speak through you as a prophet by way of vision and dreams of Myself, but not my buddy Moses, we have face to face chats, I let Him see Me." Then He says, "So how do you even have the gall to raise a complaint against My buddy, My favourite one?" Its like He is saying, "Do you not realise who you are complaining against? You are complaining against your Creator's best friend." And He shows His anger and punishes Miriam by putting leprosy on her, just long enough to scare her and Aaron. God goes to bat for His friends. He sticks up for Moses, affirms Him and does not allow the complaint to go any further than what was spoken out. But He also takes the complaint personally. When a complaint rises against His humble servants (see vv.3), then it rises against Him as well. The complainers demonstrate a lack of respect for the actions or decisions the complainee made, therefore they complain against God's role in leading that decision, thereby showing a lack of respect for God. God is not going to allow leaders of people to follow through and lead others into a lack of respect for Him and His ways. He also is not going to let them lead others into a lack of respect for His chosen servants, His friends. He will bring justice and righteousness into the situation and snuff out the complaint.

Promise 12 from Numbers 11:26-29

Numbers 11:26-29 - "But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. So a young man ran and told Moses and said, 'Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.' Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, 'Moses, my lord, restrain them.' But Moses said to him, 'Are you jealous from my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit on them!'" - I love this story! Here the Spirit had fallen on the 70 elders and they prophesied but it was a only a one-off thing and they didn't do it anymore. While they were still away from the camp, these other two guys who didn't go with the rest of the elders, stayed back at the camp and the Spirit fell on them. Even though they weren't with the larger group of elders, and they prophesied too, but they didn't stop. God can work both at the Tabernacle and in the camp. He can work in the church and out of it too. He can pour out His Spirit on anyone He chooses. You can be sharing the Gospel with someone on the street and His Spirit can fall on them. God does not limit Himself to a location and He doesn't limit Himself to who He wants to use. He will give the gift of prophesy to whomever He chooses. I love that Moses recognised it would be greater if all God's people were prophets. Then all would be able to speak to others using kingdom eyes and ears.

Promise 11 from Numbers 11:25

Numbers 11:25 - "Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again." - I love the intimacy and intentionality of God. He came down to Moses to speak to him. He didn't stay up high to have this booming voice come out of nowhere speak at him. He came down to Moses to speak to him face to face. Moses was hurting, tired and depressed at the time, so God met him where he needed to be, close and intimate. Then God took some of that, which is from the Spirit, off of him and put it on the seventy. But it is interesting that the scripture says He put Him on the seventy. It was Spirit residue that He took off Moses and pasted on the them but it was like He passed the Spirit onto the others while He still remained in Moses. I must ask myself, "Am I positioning myself close enough to others that God can share the Spirit that is in Me with others?" It is interesting in this passage too that a sign that His Spirit was on these elders was that they prophesied. When the Spirit entered them, they got a glimpse of kingdom eyes. It was just a glimpse however, because they didn't prophesy again. God chooses when to give the gifts and when to withhold them. I certainly would be interested in knowing why it was only for that one time. Was it just to encourage Moses by giving him a physical sign that God did what He told Him He would do by filling the leaders with His Spirit so Moses knew he had helpers, supporters and was not going carry the load alone again? It would be a good question to ask later on. The promise here is that God comes and meets us where we are, face to face. He brings others to share our burdens and He pours out His Spirit on those He chooses. Those whom have the Spirit of God on them have kingdom eyes to prophesy those things that God sees. Thank you Lord!

Promise 10 from Numbers 11:23

Numbers 11:23 - "The Lord said to Moses, 'Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not.'" - Moses was trying to figure out in his own mind how in the world God was going to provide meat for well over 600,000 people for a month, however he was processing this question out loud and to the Lord. Remembering that Moses was already depressed and overwhelmed, it is no wonder that he didn't have the faith to believe God's word. Most people struggle to believe God's word when they are down, depressed and hopeless. But God snaps him out of his woes and says, "Is there nothing too difficult for Me? Is there any limit to My power? You'll see that I'm good on My word." God's power is not dependent on how we feel. God doesn't limit Himself when we limit Him, from a place of our despair. God's power doesn't change. He promises to be true to His word in spite of our weakness.

Promise 9 from Numbers 11:17

Numbers 11:17 - "Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone." - Reading this story in ch. 11 is bringing a revelatory promise specifically for a friend and her missionary team who are at the moment hurt and worn down by a group of believers that has complained the church to literal death. My friend is very gifted and is full of the Holy Spirit, yet like Moses, the complaints and the whining of the people wore her down to a point of deep illness in her spirit. Moses even prayed 'Lord if I have favor in Your sight, just kill me.' I'm sure that thought has probably crossed her mind a few times. However, the Lord saw what Moses couldn't see, a way out. A different solution. So He asked Moses to call together 70 men from the elders (and who knows maybe they were complainers too) and then the promise came. God said He would put the Spirit that was on Moses on those men too, so that they can share the burden with him. Moses didn't recognize the Spirit that was still on him. Just as I don't believe my friend does either, she felt as though she failed and just couldn't see the Holy Spirit that resides in her. It is interesting that God's solution was not the same as men's would be; "God, just make them all shut up by giving them meat!" That would've been the easier solution, but instead He appointed, anointed and filled 70 others up with His Spirit so that they would be able to help bear the burden. Afterwards, God provides meat, even though He knows that giving the meat is not the true solution to the condition of the Israelite's heart. God will not let His chosen ones bear the burden alone. He will bear the burden of fallen man and difficult believers.

Promise 8 from Numbers 10:10

Numbers 10:10 - "Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the Lord your God." - God says, "After you are attacked, and then saved and in your time of gladness, sound the horn." - Living in a land where people were attacked and then saved it took a long time for gladness to set in. After attacks, people were grieving, worn out, tired and numb. Gladness is not a "natural" feeling that takes place after such traumatic events. Yet God says 'In your gladness' sound the horn. He wants us to make a choice; Be glad! Gladness comes with thanksgiving. It is Him who saves, so with thanksgiving, be glad, look to Him, sound the horn to Him and you will be on His mind. We can't heal our own wounds, so when we look to Him with a thankful heart in gladness we get His attention (that is the promise) and He heals, He restores, He energizes, He comforts, for His is our Lord, our God, our Saviour. Sound your horn today!

Promise 7 from Numbers 10:9

Numbers 10:9 - "When you go to war in your land against the adversary who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you maybe remembered before the Lord your God, and be saved from your enemies." - In reading this it reminds me that the battle does not belong to us, it is His. It is the Lord Himself giving instruction about making the silver trumpets, that wasn't man's idea. God gave them a tool to use as a physical modality to call on the Lord in times of battle. This verse says, "after you have been attacked (on your own turf), you sound the horn." Basically His is saying "Call Me and I'll be there; don't try to tackle this on your own." He says, "Do this so that you will be remembered by the Lord your God and be saved. Give the battle to Me and I will save you." This is His promise. I know I don't sound the horn near as often as I should. Today is a good day to start! (Written Feb 23, 2012)

Promise 6 from Numbers 8:19

Numbers 8:19 - "I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons Israel, so that there will be no plague among the sons o Israel by their coming near the sanctuary." - The Levites were set apart from the other sons of Israel and God calls them "His own" (v.14). It was Moses' job to cleanse them, then they were presented to the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, then Aaron presented them as a wave offering to the Lord which then qualified them to perform services to the Lord. After all this their true significance was identified. They were gifts, chosen by God, to Aaron and his sons, to do the work that will allow the sons of Israel to freely approach the sanctuary and enter into the presence of God. God gives gifts in the form of people. These gifts are for the purpose of bringing redemption, restoration and holiness to those who are the receivers of the gift. The Levite's duties however were to do all the dirty work, in cleansing the utensils, killing the animals for sacrifice and all the clean up. It was a smelly, hot, difficult life to be set apart to do. However, their service to the Lord allowed others to step into the presence of the Lord. The jobs that God sets us apart to do may not be the most glamorous, but they are so essential, like a matter of spiritual life or death for others. The Levite's main identity however was not as servants or slaves but as chosen ones and as gifts. They are called "Mine" says the Lord. It doesn't matter what we were set aside to do for Him, the truth of the matter is that our identity is as chosen ones, we are gifts to enable others to step into the Kingdom and we are "His".

Promise 5 from Numbers 7:89

Numbers 7:89 - "Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, so He spoke to him." - I love the details that are given as to where God's voice is coming from. Here Moses went into the tent of meeting to talk to God, but when He got in there God beat him to the punch and began speaking to him from a very exact location. I wonder how often God would be ready to speak to us but we don't shut up long enough for Him to get a word in. I fear that I've missed many many opportunities to hear His voice simply because I came to Him with my own agenda. The tent of meeting is a place that was secluded from all the outside concerns. There was Moses, alone with God, face to face, vulnerable before Him in intimate relation with each other. Then they chatted. Moses walked into a distractionless environment to be one on one with His God, and God spoke! If we truly quiet ourselves before Him, we will hear His voice, it will be clear. This is what God does, this is who He is. He longs to speak to His people, His children, His family.

Promise 4 from Numbers 6:27

Numbers 6:27 - "'So they shall invoke (or put) My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.'" - There it is plain and simple; God blesses those who carries His name. To have the Father's name "put on" you not only seal the individual's identity for themselves but it shows others to whom that individual belongs. It is such an honour to carry the name of our Creator, to have His DNA. Of course we can't fully live in a way that fully reflects the character of our Father, yet He does bless us with the gift of the Holy Spirit to direct us and guide us and show us what it looks like to carry His name.

Promise 3 from Numbers 6:26

Numbers 6:26 - "'The Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.'" - Because we were created to look and act like our Creator Father, He puts His mood on us as well. If we are down, He lifts us up, because that is the mood He is in. When we are experiencing turmoil in our hearts, He washes away the stress with His peace. His desire is not for us to adopt the responses of the enemy, such as shame that we hold onto, taking offence over silly things or accepting self dishonouring thoughts. The scripture is clear about what the Lord thinks of us. We need to step into the identity He has given us, not what the world and enemy has put on us.

Promise 2 from Numbers 6:25

Numbers 6:25 - "' The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.'" - The second segment in this blessing the Lord is teaching Moses to teach Aaron, addresses the promise of His love and care on His people. 'He makes His face shine upon you.' This can be looked at in two ways; He smiles on us with a great big smile on His face because He is pleased with us, or He fills us up so much with His DNA that people can't help but see His face on us. He allows us to glow in the glory of His love as He enables us to love others. Either way you look at it, He expresses His delight in us and sees far more our potential than we are able to see in ourselves. That potential He sees flows out of His graciousness. We think that we can make God love us less when we mess up, but the opposite is true. No one understands us more than He does. He is the one who can look into the very fibres of our souls and what He sees are the roots of His creation, for whom He is well pleased. His love and grace trumps a repentant heart of His child. He is so wonderful!

Promise 1 from Numbers 6:24

Numbers 6:24 - "'The Lord bless you, and keep you.'" - The Lord is telling Moses that he should tell Aaron and his sons to say this prayer of blessing over the sons of Israel. Because this is the instruction from God to Moses, God is proclaiming what He will do. This isn't a prayer of 'hope' but it is a proclamation of 'truth' over the individual who is being blessed. The Lord is saying, "I WILL bless you and I will keep you." In other words He will pour out the riches of His kingdom over you because you are His. He delights to "keep" us. We are His children. He will never let us go out of His watch. This is His promise to His children. This is just the first segment of the blessing, there is more to come!

Promise 30 from Leviticus 26:44-45

Lev. 26:44-45 - "'Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhour them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.'" - The verse prior to this said, "because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhourred My statutes.' God considered the utter rejection of Himself by His people, and yet He choose to remember His covenant made to their ancestors, therefore not destroying them. Sometimes it doesn't make sense why god is so tolerant when people utterly reject Him and His followers in this world. We don't know what promises have been made to those who have gone before us, however this gives hope to those that we think are hopeless; who act out of hard hearts and reject all things that are Godly and holy. God will keep His promises by keeping the door open to all who will choose to seek Him and turn from their wicked ways. God is faithful, He won't abandon even the most ruthless criminal and evil mind if they so choose to turn to God.

Promise 29 from Leviticus 26:40-42

Lev. 26:40-42 - "'If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me .... or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.'" - Any broken relationship is redeemable. From verses 14-39 God is telling the people what He will do to them if they reject His laws and commandments and break His covenant and if they act in hostility against Him. His punishment is harsh. Yet, He says "even after doing these things and reject Me but turn back, repent and humble yourselves before Me, I will restore My covenant with you. I will remember your land and restore favour upon you." We need to fear the Lord, His wrath is fierce, yet we also need to acknowledge that even when we turn away from Him and reject Him, He doesn't reject us when we come back to Him. He is ready to restore His blessings to His people. This is His promise to us.

Promise 28 from Leviticus 26:12

Lev. 26:12 - "'I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall by My people.'" - This is so great! Not only does God just show up, but He stays! He dwells, He resides, He puts down stakes, He builds His foundation in us and He stays! He walks with us and is engaged in every bit of our lives. He is our God and He loves us, He loves to walk and talk with us. Let Him take your hand on the walk and speak to you. See what He has to say!

Promise 27 from Leviticus 26:11

Lev. 26:11 - "'Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you.'" - I've never really thought about God's soul. I love that thought that in the deepest part of His soul, His desire is to dwell in us, to ALWAYS be with us and to never leave us or reject us. This shows the compassion of a loving Father. He doesn't desire to dwell with us as a judge ready to find fault but to be with us out of His delight and love. Thank you Lord! His love is so incredibly great!

Promise 26 from Leviticus 26:9-10

Lev. 26:9-10 - "'So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you. You will eat the old supply and clear out the old because of the new.'" - God promises newness! Nothing ever stands still with God. He delights in moving us forward especially when the "forward" with us is to complete our understanding of what He has been telling us all along. He goes back to the covenant again and says, "I'll confirm it! I'll show you that what I said I mean." There are many scriptures that we tend to read right over or dismiss without consideration because we think those words were only for the Israelites or for the disciples. We don't take them on board personally, realising that once God reveals His character through the fulfilment of His word, then He reveals a truth about Himself that we can stand on and believe for; God calms storms, He provides through multiplication, He heals, He defeats the enemy, He gives gifts to all who are ready to receive them, He is trustworthy and faithful, He will never leave us. This is our God. And now He is saying "Watch out, there is even MORE that I want to reveal to you." We don't need to stay in a place of stalemate in our situations whether it be physical or spiritual, God always has more for us. But He wont reveal it until we show HIm that we really want it, that we believe Him and truly surrender our attention and devotion to Him.

Promise 25 from Leviticus 26:7-8

Lev. 26:7-8 - "'But you will chase your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword; five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword.'" - This sounds like a scene right out of the movie or book 'Lord of the Rings', the few conquer the masses. But in the film,it is one little guy, through much perseverance, who defats the big enemy, by throwing the evil ring into a volcano, whereas all the other evil ones fall when the big evil one is defeated. But the Bible isn't a fairy tale story, God says where two or three are gathered in His name, He is in their midst. There is no enemy that can stand against that. Just as the good guys in the film didn't just hold out their swords and close their eyes and pray God will direct their swords to slay the enemy, we should not be timid and have "hopeful" or pleading prayers when we pray against the enemy. Just as the good guys in the film fought with boldness and confidence, we can pray with boldness and confidence to command the enemy's defeat because, our God is with us, He is on our side, the enemy will be defeated. That is the promise!

Promise 24 from Leviticus 26:6

Lev. 26:6 - "I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down with no one making you tremble. I shall also eliminate harmful beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land." - This verse reminds me of the women's shelter where my colleagues took christmas gifts to last night (written Dec.21). There are women who have lived in fear and under abuse from their spouse or spouse's family. With police protection, they were brought to safety. There are many people who live in fear, unfortunately the source of their fear sleeps under the same roof as they do, in their homes. God promises a way out. He is the God who brings peace and who makes the "evil beasts" go away. He says that you will no longer lie down with those who make you tremble. His peace is perfect. Can you put your trust in Him today and in faith watch Him bring peace into your life? He's waiting for you!

Promise 23 from Leviticus 26:3-4

Lev. 26:3-4 - "'If you walk in My status and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.'" - During this difficult time of work, I am latching onto this promise of rains. It is intertesting that God says, He will pour down rain "in its season." Rain out of season is not fun nor healthy, it ruins crops, causes floods or freezes. God promises to send rain to those who follow Him at just the right time, in the right season. While standing on this promise during difficult times. We know that the difficult times will pass and the season of fruitfulness is coming. Thank you Lord!

Promise 22 from Leviticus 25:20-22

Lev. 25:20-22 - "'But what if you say, "What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?" then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years. When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crop, eating the old until the ninth year when the crop comes in.'" - God is saying to His people that not only do people need a Sabbath rest but the land does as well. God is a God of abundance. We can work and work non-stop on whatever our professions is, but sometimes God forces us up from striving in our own strength to do our job and wants us to let go and see what God does with it. We can produce fruit, but God can provide abundantly more. It is difficult to let go of a thing; difficult for parents to let go of their children or a pastor of his church. But God says, let it rest and I will take care of it. You will see it thrive. God is a God of abundance.

Promise 21 from Leviticus 24:13-15

Lev. 24:13-15 - "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then let the congregation stone him. You shall speak to the sons of Israel saying, 'If anyone curses his God, then he will bear his sin.'" - This is not a very warm fuzzy passage, but a promise is a promise. God is a jealous God, He does not like His name to be cursed, blasphemed or profaned. He hates it so much so that the consequences are death. I highlighted this verse because of the feeling of appallment that rose up within me as I think of how many in this world curse the name of God or blaspheme it. Trickling through the internet system during this Christmas season (Written Dec. 9 2011) is anger, sadness and frustration of Christians, especially in the US, at the fact that so many public places will not allow their employees to say "Merry Christmas." To deny anyone the right to proclaim the name of Christ in connection to the celebration of His birth is blasphemous. It is not our rite to take the position of judge, and we don't have to because God promises that those businesses will face consequences. Can He possibly allow those businesses to prosper? I think not. So Christians everywhere just get on your knees and pray for the God of judgement to rise up over the individuals who set the rules. and have His way with them.

Promise 20 from Leviticus 23:39-40

Lev. 23: 39-40 - "'Go exactly the 15th day of the 7th month, when you have gathered the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for 7 days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the 8th day. Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches, and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.'" - The Lord loves a good party. Not only did He command a preparatory rest before the week-long celebration but He commanded one day rest afterwards. What could be so worthy that God Himself commands such a huge party event? We are celebrating the 'feast of the Lord'. Its a week long dance celebrating His provision, His harvest. Of course, that which is from Him is worthy of celebration. Not only is the party ordered by Him, but He wants to be included. He said, "You shall rejoice before the Lord your God." He wants to be there, He doesn't want to be left out. He promises a good time when we stop to celebrate Him and all that He has provided for us. When was the last time you danced before the Lord?

Promise 19 from Leviticus 23:24-25

Lev. 23:24-25 - "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.'" - Just imagine, a whole culture that stops at the blow of a horn and rests. I can just see what that would look like today; At the same time all radios, TV's, computers, cellphones, weather warning horns and rams horns would all sound off in unison the same pitch, a mighty horn. Shops that had just been opened would close, people would turn around in their vehicles, horses or camels and go home, schools would shut down, internet services turned off, every business door would be shut and locked. Students would head to their dorm rooms, holidayers to their hotel rooms (or the beach or other place in nature). All would stop and take a day of rest. Can you imagine people taking one day specifically to sit around the fireplace or to camp out in the backyard just to chat, to do absolutely nothing, no games, no reading, no internet, no facebook, no TV, nothing that would separate one from another (except to sleep) and just chat with one another in a relaxing quiet environment. Go one step further and add, offering songs of praise together and praying to the Lord together as family and friends, offering that time up to Him. Can you imagine? This was a commandment to His people by God, so why aren't His people doing this? What a blessing we are missing out on!

Promise 18 from Leviticus 23:10

Lev. 23:10 - "'Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.'" - I love the fact that God didn't say, "IF you reap its harvest" but He said, "When you do." Whenever God sends us to a place, He prepares the way by making sure we are placed where the soil is fertile and there will be a harvest to reap. I'm sure there are many places in this world where the ground seems dry, hard, malnourished and hopeless. Yet, God doesn't send us to a "promised land" without a promise. His promise according to this verse is "You WILL reap the harvest" and have 1st fruits to offer Him!

Promise 17 from Leviticus 22:32-33

Lev. 22:32-33 - "You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the Lord." - In the previous chapters the Lord gives Moses instructions on who within the priests and their families are qualified to eat of the holy offerings and which offerings are considered holy and acceptible. Through His law, God removes any barriers that might cause His name to look bad. Holiness is important to Him. By reading these passages it might appear to some that He commands perfection, because neither the offering nor the one who qualifies to eat the offering shall have any physical defect, not even through birth. I must admit that this is a tough one for me to get my head around and I don't understand it and will just have to wait for the Lord to reveal His thought about this to me. However, in God's sovereignty He has the right to write His laws. His promise is though, out of His expectation of the protection and maintenance of holiness by those who represent Him before the people, He is the One who sanctifies those and that who receives the offering and is the offering. It's interesting that He says, He Himself will be sanctified before the people, but also it is He who sanctifies His people. What God is essentially saying is, "I want you to be like Me!" He sent His Son Jesus to us so that Jesus can show us what it means to be like the Father. "Be holy for I am holy" and "You will be sanctified as I am sanctified." When we are born again by His Spirit He puts His DNA into us to look like Him, so He wants us to act like Him too.

Promise 16 from Leviticus 20:26

Lev. 20:26 - "'Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.'" - What does every parent want to see of their children? First thing they look for, after the baby pops out, is if it is breathing, then if it has all its parts; if it is moving and then if it will eat. As it grows up, if it is developing well; learning at the same level or higher as the other kids; they want to see success in school, in sports, in relationships and they want their child to be good, respectful, honourable and most parents would probably admit that they would like to see their child excel and stand out above all the rest. If that is the desire of an earthly parent, just think how much more it is the desire of the Heavenly Father for His children to be healthy and excel above all the rest. He, Himself said that He has set His people, children apart unto Himself. He has hand picked and chosen His children, the one's He wants to adopt into His Kingdom. Our holiness is not for the sake of man, and not ever for ourselves but it is for our Heavenly Father, He not only desires it but commands it. Bill Johnson from Bethel church, Redding, CA defined holiness as, "the beauty and the wonder of God's nature on a person." I just love that, our holiness means that we are clothed with His righteousness. We take on His DNA! How much do you look like your Heavenly Daddy?

Promise 15 from Leviticus 20:23-24

Lev. 20:23-24 - "'Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things and therefore I have abhorred them. Hence I have said to you, 'You are to possess their land, and I, Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.' I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.'" - These verses continue on with the theme of conformity. The customs of the culture were abhorrant in the eyes of God. Just because "everyone" is doing it, doesn't mean it is right. I was recently at a website where it was obvious that followers of Jesus had conformed to the modern "customs" of our day and through testimonies on the site they talk about life-long struggles of finding peace, hiding, depression, and inability to find churches which are sympathisers of their lifestyles. Each person who testified put the blame of their lack of peace on other christians, where in reality their lack of peace comes from living outside the blessings that God has for them. Their customs keep them from God's promise to 'give them the land'. So, via the web, they are striving to create their own plot of land where they can feel safe and free to continue their lifestyle.... It is so sad, they don't realise that the peace they so long for is available right within their reach they just need to grab it. Anyway, back to this passage. God promises to give His followers the land, not just the land but the good things about the land as we continue to live as "set apart" ones for that land God wants to give us. Living in a clash of cultures does not have to be a terribly stressful thing. God gives us a choice; we can step into a lifetime of stress and frustration by conforming the other culture, or we can choose the peace and prosperity God gives us when we stand firm and live according to His Kingdom culture. The land is ours to possess when we make the right choice.

Promise 14 from Leviticus 20:22

Lev. 20:22 - "'You are therefore to keep all My statues and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out.'" - God is giving His people a land that is filled with terrible practices such as child sacrifice, idol worship, sexual offerings, homosexual practices and other abhorrent behaviour. He then tells them to not do the things they will see others do but to be strong and keep His laws and ordinances. It is interesting that He says that His laws shall be followed so that the land doesn't "spew" or force them out. You would think that the opposite would be true, that if they didn't go along with the cultural practices, they would be forced out of the land. In god's kingdom, in His domain, and on His children, it is the unrighteous that bows to the righteous. It is the unrighteous who flee from righteousness. Because God is ultimately in control of His creation, His perfect order makes holiness and righteousness trump over everything else which falls short. One righteous person is strong enough to infect a whole unrighteous culture, which can spread throughout the land bringing healing and transformation of that culture into purity and holiness. Henry Varley was correct when he said, after the all night prayer meeting in Henry Bewley's home in Dublin in 1873, "The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him." God knows His potential, therefore stay strong in Him and all else that is not of Him shall flee!

Promise 13 from Leviticus 19:25

Lev. 19:25 - "'In the fifth year you are to eat of its fruit, that its yield may increase for you; I am the Lord your God'." - God is giving instruction about harvesting. He said after planting trees, don't eat any of its fruit the 1st three years because it is forbidden. During the 4th year the fruit is holy and is an offering of promise to the Lord, but on the 5th year you can eat it and it will gain profit for you. The Lord began this part in vs. 23 with the words, "When you enter the land and plant all kinds of seeds." This signifies at a time of beginning a new thing, maybe it is a starting a new business or maybe it is going to a different land and the seeds are words and deeds which reveal who God is. For the most part in our cultures we are taught to desire immediate gratification, we desire immediate results and in some cases if we are under authority we are punished if we do not produce immediate results; the quicker, the better gets the reward. However in God's economy this is not always the case. In a new business, ideas need to grow, the product needs to strengthen in quality and in fame. The same is true with people, the truth of who God is needs time to sink down deep. People need a chance to watch the sower to see if they are professionals in handling the produce of the seeds they are planting. People need time to really grow and let the words take root into their souls then as the fruit of understanding begins to blossom, it is to be celebrated by giving praise to God. Only when it is ripe and people are healthy spiritually in themselves, they will begin to increase and their fruit will increase in the Kingdom. Just as in that new business, when the product becomes famous the company prospers. When Jesus' name becomes famous in new place, the Kingdom prospers.

Promise 12 from Leviticus 19:2

Lev. 19:2 - "Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy'." - Holiness is not an unreachable goal that we should shoot for the rest of our lives, but it is a command straight from God. It is possible because we are created in God's image and He build that into our character. He created us with holy fibres. It is our decision to sin, which causes our built-in holiness to be defiled. We need to make the decision to be holy, to set aside all thoughts and actions that defile the holy nature that God has put into us. The promise to us is; that because He is the Lord our God, holiness is possible to achieve right now.

Promise 11 from Leviticus 18:3-5

Lev. 18:3-5 - "'You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statues. You are to perform My judgements and keep my statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God. So you shall keep My statutes, and my judgements, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.'" - In most of the societies we live in, there is an understanding that if one conforms to the norms of the culture then they will have peace in that culture and will live in harmony with those around them. As cultures change with the shifting of morality, (I perceive it personally as a decline in moral integrity) our cultures tend to integrate around the morals, or the lack thereof, so as to say, "This is OK now, so if you do not agree you are going against the flow of the cultural wrong, therefore we wont like you anymore." We see this happen over and over again in our industrial societies. God's desire is not for us to live in harmony doing the things that those around us do, but to conform ourselves with Him, with His Kingdom culture, which says, "Whatever things are true, honourable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent and worthy of praise... think on these things", not only think but dwell or be conformed to these things (Phil. 4:8). We may not be loved or respected by those who do not agree with us, but the Lord said, when we live according to His Kingdom standards, there is life. He increases the quality of life in those who practice righteousness.

Promise 10 from Leviticus 16:30-31

Lev. 16:30-31 - "For it is on this day (the annual day of atonement) that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you shall be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statue." - Once a year the high priest is to perform a ceremony of atonement for all the sins of the people, once this is done the Lord says, that the people shall be cleansed and that their sins will be forgiven. This is to be a day of humility, a solemn day. How often do we take time to be silent before the Lord, for a whole day and offer all our sins before the Lord? Praise the Lord that Jesus is our High Priest and we don't have to wait for the annual day of atonement to confess our sins and wait for forgiveness of them. However, even though we have immediate access to the Lord, it wouldn't be a bad thing to set aside a day of personal reflection in prayer for the Holy Spirit to reveal sins in our lives that maybe we didn't realise we have, so that we may offer those up and walk in holiness. Freedom from sin is a gift given to us through God's promise of forgiveness for our sins. We should seek that gift as often as needed then be thankful for it, so as to not think that we earned it nor deserved it, but because God's mercy made it possible for us to receive it.

Promise 9 from Leviticus 11:44-45

Lev. 11:44-45 - "'For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy'." - Sometimes we think that uncleaness or unholiness just falls on us and we find ourselves stuck in it. Recently in a conversation with a friend about the topic of sin, she said, "Well, everyone has their own secret sin that they hold onto and don't want to give up." I wonder how many other strong Christians feel that same way? It is sad to think that sin can be easily reasoned away through the justifying words of "well, everyone does it" or "everyone sins." But I want to argue and I firmly believe, that this is not true. God clearly states two things in these verses. One, man makes himself unclean and two, holiness is possible because just as man can make himself unclean, he can make himself clean by consecrating himself before the Lord so that he maybe holy. God commanded that we be holy so it must be possible. He is not going to command something of us that is impossible for us to do. Am I saying that there are sinless people in this world? "No" because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), However, that sin can very easily be given up and wiped away so that righteousness and holiness takes its place. God's promise to us, when we take those steps of getting rid of our sin is that we will be holy, for He is holy therefore all things are possible through Him.

Promise 8 from Leviticus 9:23-24

Lev. 9:23-24 - "Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burn offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." - After Moses and Aaron blessed the people then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Look what happens when God shows up... the remnant of sin is wiped away. The Lord Himself shot fire down to burn away any reminders of the people's sin. The offferings were representative of their sin to the Lord, and He consumed them all in fire. That is what He does when He shows up. His presence alone demands purity and holiness, no one can stand before Him unclean, Yet He appeared before all the people. That was possible because they confessed their sin, then offered up a sacrifice as a replacement of that sin. Then they were blessed in assurance that their sins were forgiven, afterwards to seal it, God wiped away all memory of it. When we give our sin away to the Lord, there is no taking it back. After it has been forgiven, it is gone. That is our promise. God doesn't bring it up again, so we shouldn't go looking for it either.