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!