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: Tuesday, March 02, 2021
Chapters: Numbers 16-17, Psalm 90
Message: Only One Way
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today, two things came to mind, there are many who are among the church, and I have witnessed this also, who really have no faith, but continue to come just for the sake of all the stuff they get. We may not know who they are, but Jesus does, and calls them out, [John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.]. The other thing that came to mind, just how often Jesus must stand before His Father, and plead with Him not to consume all of us when these fools provoke God. It truly is only by the mercies of God and the pleas of Jesus, that we are not consumed, [John 17:9-10,17 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. J7 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.]
The world, thinks they know who God is, religion, who thinks they know who God is, they both have bought into the lie that their goodness or religion will get them to heaven. Many who have never stepped foot into a church have even convinced themselves that if they believe in God, then that means they get to heaven. God does not now nor ever has worked that way. If you do not believe in who He is, you can say all the hail Mary’s, our Father’s, or prayers you want, He will not accept you. We just read about the ten spies and evil report they gave that caused such an uproar that God denied them access to the promised land for forty years. The head of the Kohathites, who happened to be a Levite and thought that since he was of the Levites and carried all the holy things that they had every right to enter the promised land convinced some men went to rebel against Moses.
[Numbers 16:1-3 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: 2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?]
[seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them,] These men believed that since they were Israelites they had every right to go into the promised land. You see, Korah, gathered every disgruntled person he could find and tried to overthrow the authority Moses and Aaron, stating that Moses and Aaron were the ones making these rules, and not God. He, like so many other Jews [Israelites], thought that since they were of the children of Israel then they were untouchable, and that God would not do anything to them. Moses had a challenge for them, if they thought he was lying, then prove it by bringing their own censers before God.
[Numbers 16:5-7,18-19,31-33 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. 6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; 7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. 18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. 19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation. 31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.]
[and all that appertained to them,] The censers, remember, could only be lit by a priest, who was consecrated. All these men, including family members, and anyone who supported them were literally cast into hell. This is the unfortunate truth that it does not matter what religion you follow, if they do not come to God through His Son, then hell is the only destination, [Romans 13:1-2 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.]
Now, God was not done, He still had Dathan and Abiram to deal with, who thought it did not matter what tribe they belonged to, they all could stand before God. They too stood before the congregation and lit their censers.[Numbers 16:12-14,18,35 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: 13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? 14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. 18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. 35 And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.]
[Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land] This reminds me of those who come to church or take advantage of the good hearts of Christians because of all the things they are receiving. They have no intention of getting saved, only attend or volunteer in functions as long as they are getting something out of it. Once they cannot get something they are quick to turn on the church. This is what Jesus refers to as those who receive God with stony hearts, [Matthew 13:20-21 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.]
Tribulation and persecution, oddly enough is what draws true believers of God to Him, and as He brings them it, He shows them His Son. True believers will always see Jesus for who He is and receive Him gladly, they actually become testimonies of Christ not only saving their souls, but getting them through those tribulations. While a few will see Jesus through their testimonies and get saved themselves, the majority will ignore or reject Christ. Now, you would think that with all that happened that the rest of the congregation would finally listen, but that was not the case, even more of them rebelled, God had had enough, He was ready to destroy them all, until Moses, once again, interceded.
[Numbers 16:42-49 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. 44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. 46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. 47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. 49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.]
[that I may consume them as in a moment.] How many times do you think God says this to Jesus as the world rebels against Him? I imagine that number is astounding. And still, Jesus stands before His Father, pleading with Him to make an atonement for those who put their faith and trust in Him, [John 17:2-3 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.]
[And he stood between the dead and the living;] Do you see how Aaron stood between the ones who died and those who were still alive to make an atonement for the ones who were still alive? There is no salvation for anyone who does not receive Christ while they are yet alive in the flesh. Jesus is standing right there, ready to protect and preserve the soul of the one who receives Him, but they must come to Him in order to be saved from the plague of death and hell, [I John 5:11-13 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.]
God is merciful in that He has not consumed the entire earth yet, Jesus is merciful in that He is willing that none should perish who believe in all that He is until the time comes when He will destroy the earth. God will not be mocked, you either come to Him by faith through His Son or do not come to Him at all. This is not mans rule, this is God’s rule, and every church that teaches this truth is holy and blessed, those who do not will end up just like the rest of the fools who rebel against His Word. Once again, you would have thought that after even more of them died from the plague that the rest of the congregation would listen, but they did not. Now, they go after Aaron, this time for his having authority in the Tabernacle. To prove to the congregation once and for all that God is the one who chose Aaron, God commands every tribe to bring a rod and set it before the Tabernacle.
[Numbers 17:2-3,5,8,8,10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. 3 And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. 5 And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. 8 And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. 10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.]
[to be kept for a token against the rebels;] Aaron’s rod was placed inside the Ark of the Covenant and still remains in it, with the blooms and almonds on it. When the day comes that Jesus returns the Ark will be opened and all of the things inside, the two slabs of stone with the ten commandments written upon them by God’s own finger, a bowl of manna, the rod, and it is probable that the first two slabs of stone that were broken when Moses came down with them are in it as well, [Hebrews 9:4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;]
All of this could have been avoided, had they just repented in the first place, and trusted that God would bring them into the promised land, especially after all they had witnessed. When they continued to rebel what they were literally doing was telling God His authority did not matter. Anytime one chooses religion, another god, another gospel, or changes God’s Word to suit their own needs, they are rebelling against God, and He will flat out deny them entry into heaven. We are on this earth for only a short amount of time, we get no where, but hell by rebelling against God, but His mercies endure when we trust every Word.
[Psalms 90:1-2,8-12,14-15 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. 8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. 9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. 10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. 14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.]
Jesus Christ Magnified: [Numbers 17:8 And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.]
Today’s Prayer: God, You know, that there are times that we can do some foolish and rebellious things when we are denied something we have been waiting so long for. Nevertheless, You know who are Yours and we thank You for Your mercy upon all who call upon Your Son to save them. You know our hearts and exactly what we plan to do with the gift of salvation that You have given us. Lord, give us Your power to use that gift in whatever You call us to do so that we can be a witness and testimony of what You have done in and through us. Help us to keep looking to You and Your Word as our guide to keep from getting caught in the middle of a battle between You and the rebellious. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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