When I am in dire circumstances, I can call on God and he will help me

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is when I am in dire circumstances, I can call on God and he will help me.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Numbers 21 & 22:  Israel defeats the Canaanites. The people complain AGAIN about the lack of water and the boring food. God sends “fiery serpents” (poisonous) to punish them for their complaining. The people repent and Moses creates a bronze serpent for them to look at, which when they did so would heal them of the poisonous bite of the “fiery serpents.” The Israelites continue on to Transjordan, find water, and conquer Transjordan. The king of Moab tries to enlist the help of Balaam in his defense against the Israelites, and fails.
• John 1: John writes a poetic summary of the way in which Jesus fulfills the prophecies of the old testament and comes to us as the light of the world. He then presents a chronological summary of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, beginning with John the Baptist announcing his arrival and then with the selection of the first disciples.
• Psalms 69: A prayer of lament and hope for rescue from dire circumstances.
• Proverbs 7: A reminder to keep God’s precepts, and to stay out of trouble.

In Numbers 22, we find one of my favorite stories in the Bible, because it involves a talking donkey and an angel carrying a sword. I mean, how often do you find those two things in a story together? The king of Moab has heard about the Israelites making their way from Egypt to their ultimate destination in the Promised Land. He has heard that they have conquered nations on their way, and he doesn’t want to be the next conquered nation. Balaam is a sorcerer of sorts, so Balak (king of Moab) pays Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites so that the Moabites can defeat them. Balaam actually tries to do this, but God comes to Balaam in a dream and tells him to do no such thing. King Balak offers him even more money, but Balaam assures him he can’t go against God, although he wants to because the fee is so rich. He continues on his journey to the place where he plans to curse the Israelites.

However, an angel with a sword appears in the way, blocking the path of Balaam and his donkey. The donkey can see the angel but Balaam can not, and the donkey refuses to approach the place where the angel is standing. Balaam beats his donkey, but not only does the donkey refuse to move, he also rebukes Balaam for beating him, speaking Balaam’s own language. Then suddenly Balaam is able to see the angel and the angel rebukes Balaam for ignoring the instructions God has given him, and for beating his donkey.

We’ll find out how this story turns out in the next chapters, and talking donkey or no talking donkey, the moral of the story is clear: none of us will be able to accomplish anything that goes against God’s plan for us or someone else, no matter how hard we try. Later in our reading through the Bible, we will eventually come across Isaiah 54:17, which states, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” That is what is going on here. God will not allow a weapon formed against the Israelites, in the form of Balaam and a curse, to even happen, much less prosper.

I find that comforting, because I have experienced people with ill intentions toward me actively working to do evil against me. Sometimes they have succeeded. When I read this story it reminds me that even if it feels like they may have succeeded, they will never be able to do the worst they have in mind for me, because no weapon formed against me shall prosper. God is looking out for me, and will prevent the worst from happening at their hands. When I find myself in dire circumstances, whether natural or contrived by someone intending to do me harm for their own purposes, it is my job to turn to God, pray, and seek his help. I like to imagine that for the person intending to do me harm, God sent them a dream with instructions to stop what they are doing, and if they ignored that he sent some other major sign (maybe not a talking donkey, but some other glaringly obvious obstruction to their plans) that they should stop. If they choose not to put an end to their evil plans, well that is between them and God, and they are likely in for some devastating karma. I’ve done as much as depends on me by laying my trouble at God’s feet and asking for his help. It’s not up to me to do anything directly against them to thwart the attack. I am to shake the dust off my feet and go on my way.

The other message I take away from this passage is that Israel didn’t even know this was going on. The king of Moab was plotting against them, and they had no idea. This also gives me great comfort, because it tells me that God knows what I need, even when I don’t, and he’s got my back. He sends help and protection even when I am unaware that I need it.

In Matthew, we received the historical and genealogical lineage of Jesus, providing evidence of his authority to make the claims that he did. In Mark, we received an accounting of all of the signs, wonders, healings, and miracles that he performed, providing further evidence of who he was, as set forth in the prophecies of the old testament. In Luke we received an ordered, anecdotal account of all that he did during his life. And now in John, we receive a more mystical account of Jesus’ oneness with God and position in the holy trinity, as John takes us back to the creation of the world to establish that Jesus was there in the beginning.

Each gospel provides a distinct and unique view of the various roles that Jesus played, the work that he did, and the significance of that work. There is some repetition in the stories, which only adds authenticity to the accounts. But each gospel is told with a different voice and a different viewpoint of those events; which also adds authenticity to the accounts.

When a crime or a major accident occurs, the police separate the witnesses before getting their statements. There are two reasons for this. The first is that they don’t want them to be unduly influenced after the fact by other stories they hear. The police want to get their statements with as little outside influence as possible. The other reason they are separated is that if their stories are identical, the police know that they are not true. When people are witness to the same event, they never see exactly the same thing. The major events that they report will be the same, but the details will always vary in some way, because what each person was paying attention to when the event occurred will be slightly different, based on their point of view.

That is what we see here in the gospels. Each accounting is slightly different based on the points of view of the witnesses and the authors who recorded the accounts, as well as the authors’ own points of view.

The opening of the book of John is the most poetic account, and one that takes into consideration the grand perspective of a universal point of view. Jesus was more than just another man; he was the son of God. He had divine insight and abilities. He was there when the universe began. John wants to make sure we don’t miss that important point.

In Psalms 69 today, we have a very long prayer of lament and hope for rescue from dire circumstances. This could have been a good prayer for the Israelites as they wandered around in the desert, and in today’s chapters in Numbers they found themselves complaining about a lack of water and boring food. It could be a prayer for us today as we endure difficult times. In my own life, I have some very difficult things going on right now, both financially and physically. Reading this psalm gave me great comfort and hope. Perhaps it will do the same for you.

In Proverbs 7 today we have a reminder at the beginning of the chapter to keep God’s precepts, and the rest of the bulk of the chapter is a warning to stay out of trouble.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

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This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.