Today the Levite clans are given their tasks in the tabernacle, Psalm 88 sits honestly in the dark, and Paul stands before the Sanhedrin and hears God say, "Take courage!"
Numbers 4
📖 What are we reading?: The Kohathite, Gershonite and Merarite clans are given their duties for carrying and caring for the tabernacle and its holy things.
✞ What does this passage say about God? He is holy, and He is worthy of the utmost respect and adoration. Every item belonging to Him is handled with great care.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? Like the Levites, we are each called to serve God in some way, as verse 19 suggests. Do we bring our best to Him, and treat Him with the utmost respect and adoration?
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: Numbers, named for the censuses of God's people, was written by Moses around 1400 BC, and tells of Israel's journey through the wilderness towards the Promised Land.
Psalm 88
📖 What are we reading?: Undoubtedly the saddest of the Psalms. The writer is in such deep despair that, unlike most Psalms, he doesn't end on a note of positive trust.
✞ What does this passage say about God? He is big enough to hear our honest cries, even the ones that end in darkness. Some commentators believe these words capture Jesus' feelings on the cross.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? God's people can bring their darkest days to Him in prayer. Even here, the writer still prays and still calls God "the God who saves me" (verse 1).
Looking for some extra info?
🎤 A sermon on Psalm 88 by Timothy Keller.
➡️ The bigger picture: The Psalms is a collection of 150 poems and songs, written by David and others, expressing the full range of human emotion in response to God and to life.
Acts 22:22-23:11
📖 What are we reading?: Paul's Roman citizenship saves him from a flogging, and he is summoned to address the Sanhedrin. There he looks straight at them, and the night after a fierce argument, the Lord stands near him with words of encouragement.
✞ What does this passage say about God? He stands near His servants in their hardest moments. In verse 11, He gives Paul the encouragement he needs.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? Paul "looked straight at the Sanhedrin" (verse 1) with confidence, and the confidence was in God rather than in himself. He also humbly apologises when he realises he made a mistake (verse 5). That balance of strength and humility is typical of Paul, and it's a great example to follow. God does the same for us often, standing near when we need Him most.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: Luke's second book outlines the ministry of the early church - though it could just as well be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, as He guides and grows Jesus' small movement into something that changes the world.
A Prayer for the Day
🙏 Lord, thank You that You hear our cries even in our darkest hours, and that You stand near us as You stood near Paul. Help us to serve You with our very best, and to face every trial with confidence in You and humility before others. Amen.
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