I'm Following Jesus – Page 1138 – Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Saturday, March 06, 2021
Chapters: Numbers 25-27
Message: Beguiled, But Not Forsaken

Hello My Friend,

So many people reject God and or His Word because they cannot understand how He could love them if He kill someone at will just over one sin. They grab passages from books of the Bible and make their assumptions based on that, without actually looking at the broader picture as to why God was angry in the first place. We will never understand all of God’s reasoning behind what He does and the decisions He makes, but all that we really need to understand is that God knows what is best, if the things we want are going to hurt or lead His people to stray, then He will not hesitate to eliminate the source that brings the hurt from our lives.

[Matthew 18:7-9 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.]

[but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!] Sin, no matter what it is, brings death and pain, each and every one of us is responsible for our own actions. There is not one person to blame, but ourselves for the trouble we get into, or the pain we suffer as a result of sin. Although, in many cases it is sin does lead others to sin, and that is what brings judgment. You see, saved born again Christians are the examples that lead others to Christ. If they are living in sin, then it misleads the weaker or babes to sin as well by their example. As Israel prepares to enter into the land of promise, some of them decided to mingle with the people in Moab, which led them to fornication, idolatry, and worshiping this false god. Of course, that did not go over too well with God.

[Numbers 25:1-3,6-8 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; 8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.]

[who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle] The congregation was standing before the Tabernacle, seeking repentance for their sin, and to remove the plague. [and thrust both of them through,] Why did Phinehas kill these two? God answers that question. He actually commends him for what he did.

[Numbers 25:11-13,17-18 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: 13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel. 17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them: 18 For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor’s sake.]

[the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor’s sake.] These two were responsible for leading Israel to sin against God in the worshiping of this false god as well as prostitution. The Midianites were actually the people of Moses’ wife. This woman, Cozbi, happened to be the daughter of a prince of Midian, she is the one who beguiled or misled Zimri, who in turn led several other men of Israel to the fornication and idolatry with other Midianite woman, who were also misled by her as well. Do you see how sin is contagious? Do you see how easy it is to fall into the temptation to sin when we are around others who think it is okay to do these things? And do you see why Jesus tells us that it is better to pluck out one eye, rather than have two cast into hell? Salvation does not exempt us from the consequence of unrepentant sin. Jesus tells us that we are forgiven for our sin through our faith alone in Him, but He also tells us to sin no more, [John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. John 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.]

Are we condemned if we continue to sin? Of course not, but that does not mean that we are to continue to live in sin. We may be ignorant to sin when we first get saved, and until we learn that, God is rather patient and longsuffering to teach us these things as we grow in our faith. Ignorance only goes so far, we will suffer until we repent. After that fiasco, God commanded Moses to do another census.

[Numbers 26:4-11 Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward; as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt. 5 Reuben, the eldest son of Israel: the children of Reuben; Hanoch, of whom cometh the family of the Hanochites: of Pallu, the family of the Palluites: 6 Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. 7 These are the families of the Reubenites: and they that were numbered of them were forty and three thousand and seven hundred and thirty. 8 And the sons of Pallu; Eliab. 9 And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD: 10 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign. 11 Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not.]

[Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not.] Do you see what happened here? The children of Korah, this was the man who led to the rebellion, and God opening up the ground and swallowing all up him as well as the rest of the elders in that family. God did not end their children’s lives because of the sins of their parents. Now, all, but two of the first generation, are of the new generation that would be able to go into the land of promise, who by now are in their thirties and forties.

[Numbers 26:51,63-65 These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty. 63 These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. 64 But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.]

[six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty.] 601,730, that is the number of men, over the age of twenty, not counting the Levites. Compare that number to the first count before they were denied entrance into the promised land, [Numbers 1:46 Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.]

That number was, 603,550. Do you see how the number got smaller? Each new generation begins on average every twenty years, and sadly, with each generation there are less believers of God, and even less believers of Christ. This is why the new generation of today has very little faith, and that number will continue to get smaller until Christ returns. Nevertheless, Jesus will not return until the very last soul gets saved, [II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.]

We must understand that while God will deal with those who beguile His people into sin, we are each responsible for our own sin. As long as we have not believed in Christ in vain or are repentant of our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sin, and even help us get out of it should we fall into it. Yes, we do have to continue to confess sin after we are saved, it is not to keep our salvation, it is to keep us faithful to God. God confirms several times throughout the Scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments that we do not get denied a part of His inheritance due to others sins.

[Numbers 27:1-4,6-7 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. 6 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.]

[The daughters of Zelophehad speak right:] God is the one who decides when we are born and when we die, sometimes it is to strengthen us, heal us, grow us, or empower us through our grief. Sometimes it is show His Son, His grace, His mercies, or His wrath, but not one person dies for the sins of someone else. While we never lose our place in the Kingdom of God, we can lose out on earthly inheritances when we sin. God sent Moses up to mount Abarim, it gave a perfect view of the promised land. It was there that He reminded Moses of why he would not be joining them.

[Numbers 27:12-18 And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. 13 And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. 14 For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. 15 And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, 16 Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd. 18 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;]

[be not as sheep which have no shepherd.] God never leaves His sheep without a shepherd. As much as we would like to believe that we can stay faithful to God on our own, we need a guide, someone to keep us from being beguiled, and that is where Jesus comes in, He is our Shepherd. Moses knew that as beautiful as the sight of Canaan was, it did not compare to what he would see in the Kingdom of God. And while Moses might have been kept from going into the land that was promised to Israel, he was not kept from entering the land he was inherited by His Father. All saved, born again children are God’s and get to enter His Kingdom, no matter what they have done. It is not by our works that we are saved, but by the grace of God through our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, [Hebrews 11:24-27 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.]

Jesus Christ Magnified: [Numbers 27:21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for making the way to Your Kingdom simple, it is only by our faith and trust in Your Son that we can enter. It is truly a journey as we walk the path You take us, we will face lots of plagues and famines along the way, sometimes by our own doing. Nevertheless, You are faithful and just to forever forgive us of all our unrighteousness when we come confessing our sin. The trials and temptations we endure now will be all worth it when we get to receive our inheritance into Your Kingdom. Lord, lead us and guide us as we travel this earth, abiding in our temporary dwelling until You come and get us, keep us reminded of Your promise and let us be a walking, talking testimony of Your Son in our lives, by being the example that You need us to be so that the weak and or babes do not get beguiled into sin. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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