Bible Study With Jairus

Bible Study with Jairus-Numbers9

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 9

Numbers 9 tells two stories.  In the first story, the Lord was telling Moses to let the Israelites celebrate the Passover, and He answered Moses' question about whether the Israelites could still celebrate the Passover since they were ceremonially unclean because of a dead body, and were away on a journey (Numbers 9:1-14, NIV).  The Lord said that even if they were unclean because of a dead body or were away on a trip, they could still celebrate the Passover (Numbers 9:10, NIV).  But if a man who was ceremonially clean and not on a journey failed to celebrate the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people (Numbers 9:13, NIV).  A foreigner residing among the Israelites could also voluntarily celebrate the Passover.

The second story recounts the details God leading the Israelites through the wilderness. There was a  cloud covering the tabernacle by day and fire by night. (Numbers 9:15-23, NIV).  Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped (Numbers 9:17, NIV).  When the cloud stayed for a few days, the Israelites would set up camp for a few days, sometimes for a month or longer (Numbers 9:22, NIV).

What is the true meaning of Passover? What is the relationship between these two stories? The inspiration that I received was that the true meaning of Passover is to quiet down and wait to hear God's voice and enter into His presence.  The cloud over the tabernacle represents His presence.  This picture can be described with the verse, "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10, NIV).

When we take time out of our busy schedules to wait quietly before God as the Israelites did to celebrate Passover, we can enter into God's rest and presence.  We can then hear His voice and know that He is God.  Doing this enables us to live in His presence and follow His leading.

When it comes to celebrating the Passover, we need to answer a few questions. Why did Jehovah tell the Israelites to celebrate the Passover or keep the Sabbath?  Why didn't Jesus keep the Sabbath?  Instead, He healed the sick, cast out demons, and allowed the disciples to pluck heads of grain on the Sabbath.  We will be able to understand an essential spiritual principle and a mistake that the church has often made when we answer these questions.

Did God choose the Israelites to be Jesus' ancestors because they were special, or was it because God chose Jesus to be born amongst them that they became more precious to Him?  If you think about this, you might agree with my conclusion.  I believe that God's primary purpose for telling the Israelites to celebrate the Passover and Sabbath was to protect them from being occupied and defiled by worldly sin like the Gentiles. They remained holy so that Jesus Christ could be born into their nation at the right time.  God wanted Jesus to be born into righteousness.  Celebrating the Passover and Sabbath was a means and a tool to preserve the righteousness of the Israelites.  A similar example is when God chose Noah to multiply generations of people because he was righteous in God's sight.

Numbers 15 records a man who went out to gather wood on the Sabbath day and was stoned to death by Jehovah's order.  Why was there a need for such a severe punishment?  We need to understand that in addition to their many sins, the Gentiles were occupied with their own lives and didn't take time to draw near to God.  Ezekiel 28 describes God's judgment of King Tyre.  He specifically said, "By your great skill in trading, you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth, your heart has grown proud." "Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'Because you think you are wise, as wise as a god... '" (NIV, Ezekiel 28:5-6).  Many commentators believe that King Tyre represents Satan.  We can see from here that a person who is too occupied with the world's business will gradually be led away from God and sin will enter in.

I've heard testimonies of devout Christians who sometimes work twenty hours a day at Wall Street.  When I was a reporter in New Jersey, I interviewed a person who worked alongside a Chinese billionaire that managed an investment fund.  He gave me the day to day routine of this billionaire.  At 5:00 am, the billionaire's driver takes him from New Jersey to New York.  He stays at the office until 11 or 12 pm then heads home, often sleeping in the car. It was observed by the person that I interviewed that this man had no life of his own.  I know some Christian young people who work at Wall Street also.  They were once devout Christians who attended church regularly when they were in high school, but once they started working on Wall Street, they gradually moved away from God.  Their lives were too busy with business and money.  Some fell into a sinful lifestyle.  The first step of falling away from God is not spending time with Him.  As time passes, God's presence will be less and less and lead to sin. I'm not trying to insinuate that all Christians that work at Wall Street are dominated by the world, living a sinful life.  Based on my experience in the United States, Christians working at Wall Street or Hollywood face greater temptation.

The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 24:37-38 (NIV),  "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark".  The main idea of this sentence is "eat, drink, get married," which is the basic activity of human beings.  But there is an implication of human greed here. Yes, people need to eat, drink, and marry to survive.  In many cases, however, our business activities are no longer maintaining basic survival, but greed. And greed is endless. Returning to the example of gathering wood in Numbers 15, this Israelite may have gathered wood out of necessity or greed. The intention of Jehovah's severe punishment to him was for the Israelites to devote one day each week to worship and have fellowship with God alone.  They couldn't do anything other than this.

But over time, the Israelites have put the cart before the horse.  When the Lord Jesus came to the world as the Son of God, the Israelites condemned Him for not celebrating the Sabbath.  The original purpose of the Sabbath was to keep the Israelites from committing sins until the birth of Jesus Christ.  As Paul said, "Christ is the culmination of the law." (NIV, Romans 10:4). Paul also said, "The law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.  Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian" (NIV, Galatians 3:23-24).  When Christ came, the purpose of the Israelites to celebrate the Sabbath was achieved.  At this time, the Jews should not have focused on whether the Lord Jesus was keeping the Sabbath.  Instead, they should have seized the opportunity to have fellowship with God, because He intended for us to have fellowship with Him in Christ.  But most Jews were completely mistaken and did not seize this opportunity.

Though this chapter is talking about Passover instead of the Sabbath, I felt to connect them in a way as God instituted them as laws for the Israelites to keep.  There would be consequences if they didn’t keep them.  So in a general sense, we want to discuss the laws and rules and how we handle it.  The Passover in the history of the Israelites was only a one-time event when they passed through the red sea.  Often Christians consider this a type of coming out of the darkness of the world typified by Egypt.  The journey of the Israelites in the wilderness often signifies the fact that we are experiencing the test in our soul. God enacted the laws on keeping Passover and the Sabbath in the wilderness. The purpose of these laws was to help the Israelites get rid of the influences of sin and the world through keeping the Passover in a yearly circle or keeping the Sabbath on a weekly circle.  When they did that, they would be continuously reminded that they were no longer in Egypt.  As we know, even though they left Egypt, they still missed the onions and fish of Egypt.  In other words, they were out of Egypt, but Egypt was not out of them.

It is relative to today's Christianity.  Many Christians are out of Egypt, but Egypt is not out of them yet. So likewise, they need a period of discipline by the Lord to go through their wilderness, and then enter the good land.  Using Paul's words, the law acts like the guardian until faith comes so that we become the mature sons of God (Galatians 3:24-26).

Another important purpose of establishing the Passover and Sabbath was for the Israelites to have a special time to separate themselves from the things of the world and be able to worship God.  But many Jews regarded it as a law and a ceremony.  A lot of hypocritical things happened.  A Chinese Christian leader in the United States told a story about this.  He had a Jewish neighbor who couldn't turn on the stove or cook on the Sabbath according to Jewish law.  This Jewish neighbor wanted to cook, so she circumvented the law by having the Christian leader's wife turn on the stove for her.  She could truthfully say that she didn't break the law because her neighbor turned the stove on.  This is just an example of how modern Jews hypocritically deal with the Sabbath.  I'm sure that there are genuine people who follow the law, but I cite this as an example.

Christians can also be hypocritical.  They may attend church but spend the whole time scrolling through social media on their phones.  Most Christians will admit that to get close to God, you need to pray.  They may talk the talk, but in actuality, prayer is more of a thought rather than an action. I've heard people say that if you don't have a fixed prayer time daily, you don't have a real prayer life.  Lack of prayer gradually leads to a weak spiritual life and can end up propelling a person into sin.  A woman in our study agreed and testified that she experienced moving away from God because she didn't spend time in prayer.  She noted that because of illness and the coronavirus, she was forced to stay home and had more time to read the Bible and pray.  During this time, her relationship with God became closer, and the Word of God came alive to her.  She also had a vision of a cross.  A man in our study who works for a large company said that he became very agitated after the coronavirus outbreak.  He and his wife set aside time to read the Bible and pray every day in the evening and realized that he felt God's peace and presence.

I had a similar experience of moving closer to God through dedicated, in-depth prayer time.  In 2010 the failure of my wife's first IVF was a huge disappointment.  Because of this and other mistakes I made in our relationship, our marriage suffered. During that difficult time, my wife didn't speak to me for a month.  I was miserable.  I spent hours a day praying to God, pacing back and forth on the road of our community.  I repented and continually dedicated myself to the Lord.  A month later, this situation was better, and my prayer time was less frequent.  I suddenly realized that I was coming down from the cloud, so to speak.  It was almost like walking down a stairway from the cloud of God's presence.  At a later date, at noon, I was consistently repenting, dedicating myself, and praying to have children.  The same process repeated. 

When I was continually praying, I wasn't aware that I had entered the presence of God or into the cloud.  I found myself coming out of the cloud when I stopped praying.  These two spiritual experiences are very real and although I can't describe what that cloud or presence inside of me was like, I know that when I constantly pray, I enter into God's presence.  It's only when prayer stops that I gradually descend from the cloud.

The cloud in Numbers 9 represents the presence of God.  The presence of God is with us through His Holy Spirit.  The cloud on the tabernacle described here is a real experience.  The two prayers that led me into the clouds are also real spiritual experiences.  This is the internal manifestation of God's presence.

Why did I find myself descending from the cloud when prayer was not as fervent?  Paul tells us to pray continually to stay in God's presence (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NIV).  Brother Lawrence and others throughout history practiced continually living in God's presence.  I'm still learning how to do this, but I understand from these experiences that it's important to set aside time to pray before we can enter into His presence.  I get easily distracted by other things when life is running smoothly.  I don't seem to diligently focus on God and prayer as much as I was compelled to in the difficult times.  It takes more work to enter into God's presence.  I dedicated countless hours of prayer through the painful ten years of infertility. 

A Korean prophet told me that God wanted to lead me through this difficulty and harvest my prayer. I've entered into God's presence through prayer many times.  Still, after the birth of our miracle baby, when life became less stressful, I found that at times my prayers were not as sincere, intimate, and passionate as before.  I sometimes miss the difficult times and urgency of dedicated prayer.  While I was sharing my testimony, a man in our study felt like the Holy Spirit was highlighting Numbers 9:8.  The verse describes people who were ceremonially unclean because of coming into contact with a dead body so they couldn't celebrate the Passover.  It goes on to say: "Moses answered them, "Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you."  Even Moses wasn't sure what God meant and had to wait to get a reply from Him.  The man who mentioned this verse said that even though he was eager to pray and get closer to God, the distractions of the news and other things around him kept him from waiting quietly before God.  Although he wanted to hear and receive from God, he rarely heard His voice.

The word "busy" in Chinese is composed of two parts. On the left, it’s a "heart," and on the right, it’s "death." In Chinese, it literally means that when we become busy, we will have a "dead heart."  It is often true in our spiritual experiences.  Even being too busy with Christian ministry can cause a person to be spiritually dry and dead.  Slowing down our lives from the complicated and busy world outside and waiting quietly before God is the real purpose of the Passover or Sabbath.  We must do this every week or every day to develop a strong spiritual habit.  If we do this, we can enter into God's presence, as represented by the clouds on the tabernacle of this chapter.  We will become a person who lives in the presence of God.  As we mentioned in the beginning, "Be still, and know that I am God." (NIV, Psalm 46:10).

At the start of 2016, I felt burdened to fast and pray for 40 days for my wife's infertility.  My family didn't understand or agree with this burden and didn't support me in it.  The burden didn't subside, and I continued to seek God's leading as I walked in the park during lunch break.  I usually speak in tongues for a while to calm down my spirit and then sit on a bench waiting for God to speak.  One day after I had been doing this for a while, I sat on the bench and felt sleepy.  I heard the Holy Spirit say suddenly: "Don’t eat at noon.”  I waited a few more days, and after confirming the words of the Holy Spirit, I decided to fast and pray at noon Monday to Friday.  I calculated that 40 days of prayer would equal about 120 meals.  If I didn’t eat at noon for 22 days per month, it would take about five months.  I began fasting and praying at noon and continued this for three or four months.  On one particular day, I felt confident that God had heard my prayers, and I gradually stopped fasting and praying.

Because my family objected, I never told them about this. Recently I started fasting and praying against the coronavirus at noon.  My mother-in-law didn't understand.  She said, “If you don’t eat at noon, will the coronavirus go away?”  It was then that I told her and my wife about the story of fasting and praying in early 2016. My wife was miraculously pregnant in May 2016. I told my mother-in-law not to underestimate the power of prayer.  I told my wife that even when it seems that nothing is changing outwardly by our prayers, if we don’t pray, we will suffer the consequences. Our individual prayer can be as powerful as “the prayer of faith will save the sick” (James 5:15).  And if we pray together with others, it’s even more powerful.  We must do our part to cooperate with God's work.  I fast and pray for God to end the coronavirus but also to pray for a spiritual breakthrough so that I can break the strongholds established by the enemy in me, become a more obedient instrument, and a better channel of blessing before the release of God's revival fire comes.

We all need to quiet down and wait for God to realize that He is God and enter into His presence.  This is the spiritual significance of the Passover or Sabbath and the cloud in this chapter.  We may already get out of Egypt, but we need to get Egypt out of us.  The way is to stop engaging with the business of the world temporarily and wait and worship God.  Then when we behold him, he will transform us into the same image of him (2 Corinthians 3:18). It is not by our effort, but we must give him time to do this.

We pray that this study blesses you.

 

Bible Study with Jairus-Numbers6

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 6

Numbers 6 tells two stories.  The first is about how the Nazirites dedicated themselves; the second story is God speaking a blessing over Israel.  Is there any connection between these two?  We felt that Jesus Christ, dedicated Himself to God as a sacrifice, satisfying the requirements of God's righteousness, holiness, and glory. So the Nazarite here is a type of Jesus Christ. Since He became a channel of blessing, God could then give us all the blessings in Christ.  We must follow the example of Jesus Christ and become Nazirites who dedicate ourselves to God and become a channel for God's blessings.

When we were reading this chapter, we noticed that the dedication of the Nazirites was a gradually deepening process.

For example, at the beginning of Numbers 6, anyone could make a Nazirite vow.  The requirements were simple.  A Nazirite could not drink any wine or vinegar made from wine and grape juice.  Wine, vinegar, and grapes were considered a luxury rather than a basic necessity of life.  Being a Nazirite was just abstaining from some pleasures in life. You could make your own  dedication according to your situation and decide the length of dedication.  Some people dedicated themselves to God to be Nazirites for life, while others just devoted a period of time.

Numbers 6:5 in the English Standard Version says: All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head, and he shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.  Hair is like the crown of a priest. The word "crown" in Hebrew means separation, consecration, and crown. According to Exodus 39:30-31 (NIV), the crown is engraved with the words "Holiness to the Lord," and they must tie a lace of blue unto the crown to fasten it on high upon the turban.  The locks of hair here are like the blue lace.

But the difference between the Nazirites and the priests is God chose the priests while the Nazirites voluntarily dedicated themselves to God.  For example, Eli was a priest, but his priesthood declined.  God then raised Samuel, a Nazirite, to replace him as priest. One must be a Levite to be a priest, but Nazirites do not have to be from the tribe of Levi. Just as the priesthood of Melchizedek was higher than the Levitical priesthood, the Lord Jesus became our high priest in the order of Melchizedek.  The Lord Jesus was not from the tribe of Levi; he was from the tribe of Judah, so He became a Nazirite and voluntarily dedicated Himself to God.  The Bible tells us that no one could take the life of Jesus Christ; He laid it down of his own accord (John 10:17-18). So the Nazirite in this chapter represents Jesus Christ.

A dedicated Nazirite could not touch the dead during the period of his dedication.  Even if his parents, brothers, or sisters died, he could not defile himself.  But there was a turning point in Numbers 6:9. It says that if someone dies suddenly in his presence, and he defiles the head of his separation, he shall shave his head on the 7th day of his cleansing.  On the 8th day, he will present two doves or two young pigeons to the priest. One is for the sin offering, and one is for the burnt offering. This is to make atonement because he sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day he is to consecrate his head again.  On the day he rededicated himself to the Lord, he needed to bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. 

This is where we were confused. It's the person beside him who suddenly died. Why was the Nazirite considered as having sinned? I can understand that he was unclean, but verse 11 had also said that he offered a sin offering and a burnt offering to make atonement for himself because he sinned by being in the presence of the dead body.

We can understand the fact that someone died next to him, so he was defiled and unclean.  But how come it says that he sinned?  Was he just like a priest who offered sacrifices for the sins of the dead man?  Or does he need to make atonement because he sinned by reason of the dead man?

There are three parts to the story of the Nazirite vow.  The first part is they could not drink alcohol; the second part is they needed to rededicate themselves after being defiled. The third part is the regulations for various sacrifices after they fulfilled the entire period of their Nazirite vow.  Before we talk about the third part, let's discuss our thoughts on verse 11.  Why should the Nazirite offer sacrifices of atonement when someone died beside him?

The English Standard Version (ESV) says: "and the priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall consecrate his head that same day." Judging from the grammar, it does say: because he sinned by reason of the dead body.

 I could be wrong, but let's assume I'm correct and discuss how I came to this reasoning.

We understand that we are all born into sin and commit sins.  One is singular, and the other is plural. Sin in the singular form refers to the nature of sin in us. For example, when we preach the gospel to people, we often say that we are sinners, and we need God's salvation.  But many of our friends haven't been illuminated by the Holy Spirit.  They don't understand that they have been born into sin, nor do they feel they commit sins.  When we first started preaching the gospel to our friends, they justified that they had not sinned.  We then often say that "Even if you didn't have sins, you still have a sin nature, so you still need to repent and be saved." Eventually, the Holy Spirit illuminated them, and they had repented and received salvation. The first thing they felt was their "sins," which was their sinful behavior, and they repented accordingly.  But if the Holy Spirit continues to illuminate on them over time, they may realize that not only their "sins" but the "sin" in their Adamic nature crucified Jesus Christ on the cross.

This is the Nazirite's experience.  We couldn't understand why he was declared as having sinned and why sacrifices had to be offered when he had no control over this person who suddenly died beside him.   There were three sacrifices offered.  Doves and young pigeons were valued much lower than the male lamb, which was much more valuable.  When Joseph and Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, offered sacrifices to God in the temple, they offered doves or young pigeons because they were not wealthy.  We don't know whether this Nazirite was rich or poor.  The lamb could have been a tremendous financial burden for them.  Because this person suddenly died beside them, they suffered a financial loss.  Since his separation time was defiled, the previous days of his separation didn't count.  This seems like a huge loss overall.

This is where the problem lies. Let me ask you something.  Why did the Lord Jesus offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, even if he did not sin?   Did He suffer a great deal?

The Lord Jesus is God who became a human being who was flesh and blood just like us.  He had no sin but became a sin offering for us.  He offered Himself on the cross for our sinful nature, which is the singular sin, and our sinful behaviors.  The Lord Jesus also offered Himself as a burnt offering.  We can liken it to the story of Isaac, who was offered to God by his father Abraham as a burnt offering.  The burnt offering is burnt entirely and offered to God to satisfy His requirements. Bible scholars generally think of Isaac as a type of Christ.  According to Leviticus 1, every part of this burnt offering (for example, a male from the herd without blemish) must be burned completely as a fragrance to God. Christ's death on the cross is likened to an unblemished sacrifice that was pleasing to God.  Just as Noah offered clean animals as burnt offering, God was pleased.

That's why the Nazirites offered doves or young pigeons here, which are also offered as a sin offering and a burnt offering. It is not only to cover his sin but to offer fragrance to God for His satisfaction.

Numbers 6:12, NIV says, "They must rededicate themselves to the Lord for the same period of dedication and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering.  The previous days do not count because they became defiled during their period of dedication."

Here it talks about the guilt offering.  The guilt offering is a sacrifice for our trespasses and inadequacy. The sin offering focuses on whether we sin and the type of sin, however, the guilt offering focuses on our nature to commit a transgression and the sin that this brings.  The transgression dealt with by the guilt offering often doesn't contain deliberate sins. But because of our negligence, character flaws, and imperfections, resulting in harm to others, we must offer the guilt offering. For example, Leviticus 5 talks about various cases of guilt offerings.  If you encounter an unclean body, but you did not notice it, and you thoughtlessly take an oath, then you need to offer a guilt offering. This is a sin, but it is not a deliberate sin, so the sacrifice offered is a guilt offering rather than a sin offering.  

Here the person suddenly died beside the Nazirite, but it is not his fault.  Did he sin? Yes. What was his sin?  We need to give an example to illustrate. This example may be too layman, but it can explain the problem.  For example, a eunuch carrying an emperor while traveling falls. Naturally, the emperor will fall also.  The eunuch didn't fall on purpose, but does he have the sin of negligence?

The Nazirites separated themselves and consecrated their heads, which represented God's presence.  This was God's great trust in them.  We must understand that if the Nazirites are defiled, it will also bring defilement to God, so it is not allowed.  As a Nazirite, what we do and think is not just for ourselves; it is also for God who is with us. If we dedicate ourselves to God as a Nazirite, God's presence is also with us. Our words and deeds are not only about ourselves, but God's reputation is also at stake.  But many Christians do not see this.  Their words and deeds are often defiled by uncleanness. They never considered the fact that inappropriate words and deeds would defile God's presence and name.  This principle is also seen in God's command to the Israelites in the Old Testament, recorded in Deuteronomy 23:12-14.  The Israelites should find a place outside the camp where they can go relieve themselves, and cover up their excrement so that when the Lord moves about in their camp, He will not see anything indecent and turn away.  The camp of the Israelites is where God's presence is, so God cannot see anything indecent among them.

Although the sudden death of the man beside him was not the Nazirite's fault, it was not the crux of the matter. The crux of the matter was the presence of God. Because of the Nazirites' separation, God's presence is represented by their head.  If God didn't want to defile Himself, He could withdraw His presence from this Nazirite, so that He wouldn't be defiled.  But God values the Nazirite's dedication and was not willing to remove His presence from him.  So the only way is to let the Nazirite make atonement of this uncleanness so that God can continue to be with him.

Although this Nazirite paid the price of time and money, he did not lose the presence of God. In other words, it depends on what you treasure. If you treasure the presence of God over anything else, anything lost is considered nothing.

The experience of the Nazirite here is actually what Christians can experience every time we pray. For example, Christians all know they should set aside time to pray, so the time set aside is like the Nazirite's dedication.  

When you set aside special time with God to pray, keep your focus on the relationship, and fellowship with Him.  Avoid thinking about ministry or things you have to do that day.  Most people who take time to pray, find themselves distracted with their thoughts wandering.  The enemy often influences the mind with unclean thoughts.  Paul tells us that the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6, NIV).  These unclean thoughts come from the flaming arrows of Satan to prevent your mind from being focused on the Spirit (Ephesians 6:16).  If you don't understand the enemy's tricks, you'll find your prayer time shallow, devoid of entering into God's presence, and feeling like a waste of time.  Prayer time should be intentional.  It shouldn't be a task that you check off your list of things to do.  The whole purpose of prayer is to enter into God's presence.  When your mind is distracted, it is defiled, which equals death and is no more than a religious duty.  We can liken it to the Nazirite who devoted himself to God.  The sudden death of a person near him defiled him, so the previous days of dedication didn't count.

Therefore, in this situation, you must use Christ, who is the sin and guilt offering to cleanse your mind of sin and eliminate the enemy's arrows that defile your Spirit. Don't give up; keep praying!  Dedicate your time to the Lord again and continue to work hard to enter His presence.  As long as you persevere, you will enter into God's presence.  I was saved in the Local Church Movement, and Witness Lee always taught that you must spend at least half an hour or more to enter into God's presence.  This is true from my experience.

I often practice this way. I pray at least half an hour every morning, devoting the day to God (just like the Nazirite devoted himself to God) and then pray that God is with me all day.  I use Christ as my sin and guilt offering to God so that I can enter into God's presence.  Throughout the day, I keep calling on the name of the Lord and pray-reading the Lord's Word.  After receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, often I even prayed in tongues to continue to be in His presence.  There are times when I get up late and don't spend enough time in prayer to enter God's presence, which makes it difficult to live in His presence that day.   Sometimes, I am too busy, my mind is overactive, or I am excited by something in the natural realm, or I am defiled by something I saw, heard, or thought.  I find it difficult to enter into God's presence since the mind governed by the flesh brings spiritual death.  Sometimes at noon, I go out for a walk to pray.  By the time I'm finished, I've walked almost ten thousand steps, still focusing on my own thoughts.   The time that I was supposed to be praying passed without me entering into God's presence.  I ended up worrying more instead.

 That was an example of a failed prayer time. But many times, I do have successful experiences. Though dominating or unclean thoughts try to defile me and I feel the Spirit of death and an absence of God's presence, I don't give up.   I pray for the blood of Jesus to cleanse me by the washing with water through the word and His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:26).  I offer my body as a living sacrifice to God and put on the whole armor of God and fight against the enemy's arrows by calling on the name of the Lord, pray-reading out loud, proclaiming and singing the Bible verses such as Colossians 3:2-4, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things for we already have died"; or Galatians 2:20, "We have been crucified with Christ, and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us"; or 2 Corinthians 3:16-17, "Whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." I use Christ as my sin and guilt offering, and through God's word, I win the battle in my mind and rededicate myself to Him. Slowly, I achieved victory over my mind and entered into God's presence.

 This is the process each time I pray.  If I dedicate myself in the morning, enter into God's presence through at least half an hour of prayer, and keep myself from being contaminated by the world, my body, and mind, I will live in His presence throughout the day.  But if at times vain imaginations, earthly thoughts, worries, or unclean thoughts from Satan come in, and I have no victory over the defilement or the death brought by the defilement, I will need to rededicate myself. I use Christ as the sin and guilt offering and pray again to enter into God's presence through Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and men.

Many Christians experience failure in prayer though they are willing to pray every day and live in God's presence.  Most don't have victory due to their circumstances and a mind governed by the flesh, which causes spiritual death.  Prayer becomes a frustrating time because they can't control the multitudes of thoughts that flood through as they attempt to pray. 

Often a person's heart is open to pray, but because they spend too much time watching unhealthy programs on TV, their minds have difficulty focusing on spiritual things.  In America, even as Christians, we can easily be consumed with media, social networking, and TV.  The first step to change is to dedicate yourself to the Lord as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).  This doesn't mean you drop out of life, become a pastor, and preach full time or go to seminary.  To dedicate oneself as the Nazirites did, we just need to abstain more from the things that distract us from going deeper with God.  The Nazirite had to abstain from wine, which represents entertainment in life.  Is it wrong to drink or watch TV?  Like drinking wine, TV isn't wrong unless you abuse it.  Drinking too much alcohol makes you more susceptible to sin.  Watching unwholesome things on TV defiles your Spirit, making it difficult for you to enter into God's presence.

The paragraph above is similar to the early stage of our Christian experience.  The more fully dedicated to God you are, you will experience what Ezekiel did in chapter 47. God's presence is represented by flowing water in this chapter. This water can also be likened to the Holy Spirit. It's only ankle deep at first, allowing you to move freely in your flesh.  As you give more of yourself to God, the water gets deeper and deeper making it more difficult for you to behave in the flesh.  You have to swim in the water of the Holy Spirit to move.  This represents a life saturated and flowing with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Let's return to the third part of the story of the Nazirite vow and continue the discussion.  When his period of separation as Nazirite is over, he would need to offer more sacrifices to God.  This includes a year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, which represents that Christ has filled his life.  He would also need to offer a year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering (Numbers 6:14, NIV), which represents that he has freed himself from the dominion of sin to a certain extent. He also needs to offer a ram without defect for a fellowship offering (NIV, Numbers 6:14), which represents that he has already pleased God.

Together with grain offerings and drink offerings, he will also offer a basket of bread made without yeast--cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil, (Numbers 6:15, NIV).  The Nazirite will also shave off the hair that he dedicated and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering (Numbers 6:18, NIV).  After he shaves his head, the priest shall offer a wave offering and a heave-offering.  At this time, the Nazirite may drink wine.

 Why is it that the Nazirite couldn’t shave his head or drink wine before his separation period was over but it was okay to do so after the separation?  Why did God stipulate under the law that the Israelites had to obey keeping the Sabbath? Why then, when Jesus, the son of God, came, did he not observe the Sabbath?  Paul said in Galatians 3:24-24, "The law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.  Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian." The Nazirite followed the law by not drinking wine or shaving his head to help him develop spiritual discipline so he could overcome the defilement of the world, including sin, flesh, and his mind.  This allowed him to be filled with God and become free in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.  By the time the Nazirite's separation and dedication is over, he has become spiritually mature and can overcome sin and worldly influences. It's not about what our outward behavior looks like; spiritual maturity is the important thing.

 This Nazarite has become spiritually mature by the time his training is finished.  He could now become a channel of blessing, bringing in the blessings of God.  When the Lord finished the instructions to the Nazirites, He told Moses to bless the Israelites and say to them, "May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26).

On the surface, this blessing has nothing to do with the story of the Nazirite vow, but it is actually very relevant.  Because God was pleased with the Nazirite's dedication, which opened up the channel of God's blessing to the Israelites. Think about the fact that Christians today can receive God's blessing because Jesus Christ dedicated Himself to God as a Nazirite.  If you dedicate yourself to God as a Nazirite, accept God's help and become spiritually mature, how much blessing will you bring to the people around you?

 

Bible Study with Jairus-Numbers4

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 4

Numbers 4 records how the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites transported the things in the Holy of Holies, the sanctuary, and the outer court, respectively. The key verses that we will be discussing today are verses 17-20.

4:17 (NIV) The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

4:18 (NIV) "See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites.

4:19 (NIV) So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry.

4:20 (NIV) But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die."

According to the records of Chronicles, Levi had three sons - the eldest was Gershon, Kohath was the second, and Merari was the third.  But Kohath, the second son, was Aaron and Moses' grandfather.  The Kohathites were assigned to carry the things in the Holy of Holies and the sanctuary, while the eldest son Gershon and Merari, the third son, were assigned to carry some things in the outer courtyard.  Does this have any spiritual significance? Why did Jehovah choose the second son to carry the most important and holy objects?  Jehovah specifically instructed Moses and Aaron not to let the Kohathite tribal clans be destroyed from among the Levites, yet later the Kohathites (led by Korah) were not satisfied with their assigned service in the sanctuary, and were jealous of Aaron's work in the Holy of Holies and subsequently judged by Jehovah and went down alive into hades (Numbers 16:33).  What's the relation between these?

In the Bible, the Word of God transcends time and space.  The Holy Spirit can also speak to us through His Word in a timely manner (Rhema).

 As we seek to understand this chapter, God will enlighten us and apply it to our lives today.

In Leviticus 10:1-2, when Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's sons, offered strange fire before the Lord, they were burned to death by Jehovah because He didn't command them to do so.  This shows the solemnity of entering the Holy of Holies. It is recorded in the Old Testament that only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year.  One can see from here that when the Kohathites were transporting the things in the Holy of Holies and the sanctuary, they could only carry them.  They couldn't touch the holy things, or they would die.

Here are a few interesting facts. Kohath, Gershon, and Merari could only carry the sacred elements and not touch them. Instead, Eleazar and Ithamar, along with their father Aaron, the priest, prepared them for them, and they are directly responsible to Eleazar and Ithamar.  We know that only Aaron the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies.  Many of the things carried by Kohath were from the Holy of Holies and sanctuary.  This was done under the direction of Eleazar, the son of Aaron.  Meanwhile, most of the sacred elements carried by Gershon and Merari were the ones in the outer courtyard.  This was done under the direction of Ithamar, Aaron's son.

As we mentioned earlier, the Kohathites rebelled, and the Lord judged them.  In addition to the earth swallowing Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, the Lord struck the people with a plague.  Moses asked Aaron to take the censer and pray in the midst of the assembly, and the plague stopped.  But there were still 14,700 people who died   (Numbers 16).

When Saul violated the oath to kill the Gibeonites, a famine came to Israel (2 Samuel 21).  When David sinned by counting the Israelites, a plague struck, and 70,000 people died (2 Samuel 24).  The plague stopped after David's sacrifice.  God's judgment often included plagues.  Some believe the current outbreak of the coronavirus was sent by the enemy to instill fear and panic, as well as to stop evangelism in the world.  We understand that God can stop or prevent these things from happening. Why does He withhold his hand on this and allow it to happen?  God is a good God.  He is never the source of temptation.  It's our own evil desires and thoughts that lead us into sin, which eventually leads to death (James 1:13-15).

Jehovah is omnipotent and omniscient. Perhaps when He began to choose the Kohathites to serve in the sanctuary, He foresaw their rebellion.  Therefore, He specifically reminded Aaron and Moses too, "see that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites" (NIV, Numbers 4:18).  Jehovah may have been reminding Aaron and Moses to intercede for the Kohathites for fear that they would be judged because of their future rebellion and that God would have no choice but to eliminate the family of Kohathites.  I guess maybe Aaron's initial prayer may not have been enough, because, in the end, Korah's descendants still rebelled. Later, Aaron took the censer to intercede in the middle of the assembly.  Not only did the plague end, but some descendants of Kohath and Korah also survived, because we know some of the Psalms were written by Korah's descendants (Psalms 42-49, 84-85, 87-88).

As mentioned earlier, when we sow to the flesh or sin, we will reap destruction.  One of the ways God intervenes for us today is to raise intercessors like Aaron to pray for us Just as Aaron prayed for the Kohathites and Abraham prayed for Lot, it's the same with the church today.  If God's people pray, unbelievers will repent of their sin, and God will forgive.   Although we live in the era of God's grace, if the church lacks in prayer, people's sin will accumulate, and eventually, people will reap what they have sown, and at the last day, the judgment will come.  So if we apply this principle today, we can see, on the one hand, God allowed the coronavirus to happen to lead people to repent.  On the other hand, He wants to raise the burden of intercession in churches.  Many people in the world are beginning to feel the fragility of life, and the rigidity in their hearts is gradually being shaken.  We can also see that the burden of stronger intercession is slowly rising in various churches.  When these two combine, it will be a "preparation" role for God's next move.

 This may be a very challenging time, but God's intentions are ultimately good.  God so loves the world and doesn't want to leave his people to destruction; thus, He allows destruction to come as a wakeup call.  The Bible says that God's judgment begins with God's household (NIV, 1 Peter 4:17).  Is God trying to wake up His church by allowing this virus?   Did this destructive virus come to China first because God has ordained a great revival in China, and this great revival will spread all over the world?  God told me through countless dreams that this great revival is coming.   I told the Holy Spirit that I heard that one out of ten Chinese had been saved since the revival in 1980.  He challenged me to imagine two out of ten or more, which would be over 100 million Chinese people saved in the upcoming revival.

No doubt, looking at this story in this context has timely significance.  We hope that after we finish our Bible study, readers will not only have the burden of interceding for unbelievers but also praying for God's mercy so that people can repent and end this pandemic as soon as possible.  Moreover, we must break our natural limitations. We should look at this problem spiritually, and see that God's beautiful blessings and great revival are about to come to China and the world like a tsunami.  Before this happens, cleansing is needed. Christians should not live in fear.  Instead, we should live in the promises of Psalm 91. This difficult trial period will help unbelievers to repent and be saved while helping believers to go deeper with God.  Our prayer is for God to intervene as we diligently intercede for unbelievers to repent and be saved, the pandemic to end and for revival to come.

If Aaron's intercession could stop the plague, then it could also have prevented Korah's rebellion in advance.  Of course, we know that the nature of human rebellion is very difficult to remove, but at least Jehovah's warned Aaron and Moses to intercede.

At our Bible study, I suggested that if Christians all over the world, or at least all Chinese Christians, got up at 5 a.m. every day to pray for China, maybe this coronavirus epidemic would not have come to China.  Although we know that some Christians pray faithfully, most Christians probably don't pray enough.  This pandemic can't be blamed only on unbelievers; the church is at fault for its lack of intercession and reflection before God.

First, let's look at why God chose Kohath to do the most important and holy work rather than his other brothers.  We aren't sure why God did this, but the Bible has a regular pattern of choosing the second child.  For example, Abel was the second son, and God accepted his sacrifice but despised Cain's, who was the firstborn.  He also chose Jacob, the second son over Esau, the firstborn.  God chose Joseph's second son Ephraim over Manasseh, the firstborn.  There are many other examples of this.  Spiritually speaking, it could mean that the first child represents the first man Adam, and the second child represents the las Adam, which is Christ (NIV, 1 Corinthians 15:45). Aaron and Moses were also descendants of Amram, while Korah and Samuel were descendants of another son of Kohath.  Samuel is also the descendent of Korah (1 Chronicles 6:38).  Amram's wife was Levi's daughter, so whether it was the genealogy from the father's side or the mother's side, Aaron and Moses were descendants of the Levites.

Apart from Moses, who could speak with God face to face, the person closest to God was Aaron, the High Priest.  Moses represents Christ because Moses said that God would raise a prophet like him and that the Israelites would listen to him (Deuteronomy 18:18-19).  Aaron also represents Christ being the High Priest of God, who still intercedes for us in heaven. The objects in the Holy of Holies and sanctuary carried by the Kohathites represent Christ, too, as well as the objects in the outer court carried by the Gershonites and Merarites. The entire tabernacle represents Christ. Aaron and his sons, Kohath, Gershon, and Merari, represent the three stages of service.  Their degree of holiness and intimacy is different, so their jurisdiction of coming near the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies is different.

Although the Kohathites could carry the objects in the sanctuary, as well as the objects in the Holy of Holies, Jehovah ordered them not to look at the sanctuary, or they would die.  Moreover, Jehovah specifically instructed Aaron and Moses not to destroy the Kohathites from among the Levites.  So why did Korah's rebellion still happen, and the Kohathites were almost destroyed amongst the Levites?

Let me use Confucius's words as a metaphor to explain. Confucius said, "Proximity incurs impertinence while distance incurs complaints."  He is describing a type of person - If you are too close to him, he will not respect you.  But if you are too far away from him, he will blame you or hate you.

I'll be mainly discussing the first aspect here.  Let me give a few examples to illustrate.  For instance, in ancient China, there are many stories of eunuchs killing the emperor and usurping power.  There are even stories about eunuchs taking advantage of the emperor.  One of these stories is "calling a stag a horse."  When Qin Shihuang, the first emperor who unified China, died, Eunuch Zhao Gao helped Qin Shihuang's second son Hu Hai to become emperor and killed the eldest son who should have succeeded to the throne.  But the second emperor, Hu Hai, was very weak, so Eunuch Zhao Gao wanted to usurp power. He wanted to test whether the ministers were obedient to him. Thus, one day he brought a stag to Hu Hai and said it was a horse. He asked the ministers just to say that it was a horse. Many people did not dare to offend Zhao Gao and said that it was a horse.  Those who said it was a stag were driven away by Zhao Gao.  Hu Hai was later forced to commit suicide.  But Zhao Gao did not become emperor in the end. Instead, he was killed by Qin San Shi, the third emperor.  I imagine that stories like this are part of Western history as well as Chinese history.When serving the king, there were people like Zhao Gao who didn't respect the king.  So, when serving God, would the Levites in the Old Testament make the same mistake and not fear God?  The answer is yes.

 

For example, when Jehovah commanded Moses to bring water out of the rock by speaking to it, Moses struck the rock twice instead.  Because of this, the Lord punished Moses, saying that he did not honor Him before the Israelites, so he could not enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12).  Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu also didn't respect God because they offered strange fire before the Lord, which He did not command, and God struck them dead (Leviticus 10).   Aaron and Miriam were jealous of Moses and said, "Hasn’t Jehovah also spoken through us?” God got angry and punished Miriam with leprosy (Numbers 12). The Kohathites rebelled against God here in a similar manner.

Take a look at these verses in Numbers 16:

 16:8 (NIV)Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites!

16:9 (NIV) Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? 

16:10 (NIV)  He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.

As a descendant of Kohath, Korah and his fellow Levites were separated by God from the others to service the tabernacle of Jehovah.  Over time as they saw the priests packing the holy things, they felt that they, too, were qualified to do the same work as the priests.   Familiarity breeds contempt. This is what the quote of Confucius that I cited earlier is trying to say.  Aaron and Miriam, and Nadab and Abihu all made the same mistake - Aaron and Miriam were jealous of Moses while Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire to God.  Do we make the same mistake today?  We do.

This is one of the problems facing the church in the United States today.  The United States is a Christian country. Many people grew up in places where Christian culture was dominant.  It is very easy for them to make the mistake of equating “familiarity” with “intimacy.”

These people may possess a lot of knowledge about Christianity and think they understand who Jesus is mentally but haven’t openly accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Salvation is not based on the knowledge that you’ve grown up with; it’s based on a personal relationship with Jesus.  I’ve met many people who have grown up in Christian families in the United States that have not accepted Christ as their Savior.Another example is someone who has been a leader in a Christian organization or denomination for a long time and has naturally assumed the position as a spiritual leader.  He may be taking this for granted.  Just because you’ve been there a long time does not necessarily mean that God has chosen you for the position.  It’s not about position and time as much as it is about intimacy with the Lord.  When you are close to Him, he calls and entrusts you to complete His mission.

There is an order of service in God's household. It’s not that we can’t improve or make progress.  Instead, our progress doesn’t come from our ambitions or serving out the measure God gave us, or self-approbation, but from the degree of our sanctification and intimacy with God.  In addition to serving God in the Holy of Holies, Moses and Aaron's duty was to intercede for people like the Kohathites, to make them more holy, and to pray that they would not go beyond the measure God had given them because they were not holy enough.   They also would not be judged because of this, which would lead to the danger of their tribe being destroyed.

For a country like China, most people still don’t know God.  Their situation is like what Paul described in Romans 1. God created everything for people to enjoy.  God’s nature and power are visible to all of His creation, but many people are blinded by darkness.  They do not acknowledge the existence of God. This is a form of contempt.

The service of the priests and Levites was to intercede for the Kohathites so they would be free from sin. This is also the duty of the church today.

The Bible records that God cannot be mocked (NIV, Galatians 6:7).

As servants of God, we should stay focused and intercede for the people that God entrusted to us and not concentrate on what others are doing.  This could lead to jealousy and strife. Instead, we should keep our eyes on God and take care of those He entrusted to us.  Christianity can become so familiar to us that we equate it with intimacy with God.  That is not often the case, and we must be careful to cultivate our relationship with God so we won’t be prone to mistakes.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23 (NIV), "Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’  We need to recognize that Jesus is God and knows everything about us.  The tragedy of the verses above is that the people were familiar with Jesus thinking they knew Him, but He made it clear that He didn’t know them.  The bottom line is that you can’t pretend to know God and get by with it because you use the right terminology.  That’s like mocking Him.The spirit of mocking God comes from Satan.  He was “familiar” with God but sinned because he wanted to be equal with God.  This spirit is pervasive in countries where Christianity is a minority, as well as in the United States and their churches.

David counting the Israelites is a form of mockery.  David tried to count his personal merits without glorifying God, so he was judged by God, and the plague came to Israel.  The plague killed 70,000 people. Later, when the angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, Jehovah was sorry and relented from the destruction telling the angel that it was enough and to restrain his hand. When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said, "I was the one who sinned.  Why punish the Israelites?  Punish me and my father’s house."  Then the prophet Gad let David build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite, and the plague ended. Although David sinned, his heart softened towards God, and he quickly repented.  The altar and sacrifice was only a symbol.  The true sacrifice penned by David in Psalm 51 is a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart.  This is what He desires; other sacrifices aren’t pleasing to Him.

The best and fastest way to end the outbreak of the coronavirus is to repent.  We should posture ourselves like David and be quick to repent rather than like Saul, who tried to find excuses for himself.  We don’t want to have a hardened heart like Pharaoh, either.  The church must first repent and then intercede for the world to repent.  This is one lesson we can learn from the story of Kohath.If we want to grow spiritually and have more authority in the Lord, we need to follow Samuel’s lead and offer ourselves as willing servants to God, and in His time, He will raise us up.  We don’t want to be presumptuous as Korah was, assuming we know more than God when in fact, He hasn’t brought us to the place where he can trust us.

 

 

Bible Study with Jairus-Numbers 3

Bible Study with Jairus - Numbers 3

 

The Holy Spirit illuminated verses 44-46 to us in Numbers chapter 3. Let's look at those three verses.

 3:44 (NIV) The Lord also said to Moses,

3:45 (NIV) "Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine. I am the Lord.

3:46 (NIV) To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 

One of the questions raised at the meeting was, "Why were the firstborn male Levites who were a month old or more to replace all the firstborn Israelite males?" According to this chapter's record, the total number of Levites, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000, while the total number of firstborn Israelite males was 22,273. One male Levite (a month old or more) redeems one firstborn Israelite male, which accounts for 22,000 people. But they had to spend money to redeem the additional 273 people who exceeded the number of Levites. The price of each person was 5 shekels. Does the number 273 have any special significance?

We know that the numbers in the Bible aren't meaningless. Many numbers have meaning behind them.  Unfortunately, we tend to be limited by our lack of understanding of the Hebrew language and our shallow knowledge of the Bible, which can hinder our ability to discern the meaning of Biblical numbers.  While reading these scriptures, I was inspired by the Spirit to share and give some practical help for our Christian walk today.

To fully comprehend this story, we need to understand why the Levites were used to replace the firstborn Israelites.

In Exodus, the last plague sent by Jehovah in Egypt was the killing of the firstborn of all Egyptians. The Jews were obedient and ate the Passover lamb and smeared blood on the lintels, so the angel of death passed over the Israelites. In other words, because of the lamb's shed blood, the Israelites were forgiven. Almost all Christians acknowledge that this picture is a representation of New Testament believers. Through the redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ, those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ can experience what the Israelites experienced. We die with Him in Christ, and we will also be raised to life as He was. This is general knowledge for Christians; however, we won't focus on that topic here.

The focus of our discussion is why did the Book of Numbers (the book right after Exodus) record that Jehovah let Moses substitute all the firstborn Israelite males with the Levite males who were a month old or more? Many of us know that the experience recorded in Exodus is like a picture. It represents Christians transferring from Satan's kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the light of God's beloved Son. The book of Numbers tells the story of Israelites wandering in the wilderness, and the book of Joshua tells the story of Israel entering the Promised Land.

Egypt, the wilderness, and the Promised Land represent three stages of our Christian spiritual growth. Egypt represents the world. So, leaving Egypt represents we can break away from the world's power. The wilderness represents our soul. Thus, the wilderness experience is to experience the change and salvation of our souls. The Promised Land represents our spirit. The experience of entering the Promised Land represents a spiritual stage wherein we can defeat our enemy.

It's like the journey of the Israelites – they left Egypt, experienced the wilderness, and in the end, reached the Promised Land. Our Christian experience should be salvation in the spirit, transformation in the soul, and redemption of the body. This is the salvation of our spirit, soul, and body. It's a complete salvation.

First, the firstborn sons of the Israelites in Egypt were covered by the blood in order to survive. The firstborn Israelite males born in the wilderness also needed this redemption. Second, this is not just a simple repetition, but an act of deeper spiritual significance.

There is a subtle point here that I didn't notice before when I read the Bible. The firstborn Israelite males had 273 more males than the male Levites, who were a month old or more. Does this mean that 273 people had no way of using the Levites to redeem their firstborn sons? What kind of family did these 273 people have? There are no more male Levites older than one month left, leaving them no choice but to pay money to redeem their firstborn sons.

Let me share my own experience to explain this. Chinese people place great emphasis on Guanxi, which means relationships or connections. In Chinese society, one person may not get anything done without Guanxi. But another person with Guanxi can do it. In China, people who have a lot of friends and who spend more time socializing will get things done easier and more conveniently.

When college students are looking for good jobs after graduation, in addition to having an excellent education, they need Guanxi. I came from a rural family in China and didn't have a lot of social connections, so I had no Guanxi. After graduating from college, some of my classmates stayed and worked in Beijing through Guanxi. I knew that since I had no Guanxi and wasn't the best student, that my chance of finding a job in Beijing was minimal.  I decided to go to graduate school in Beijing but didn't pass the entrance exam.  Most of the other students had already found jobs, but I still didn't have one and figured there was no chance of me getting one in Beijing.

Although I didn't know the Lord at that time, He was in the process of leading me to experience "Egypt." God's will was for me to come to the United States to study, come into contact with the gospel, and accept the Lord in this process. But at that time, I didn't know that this was God's plan for me. When I was studying at college, God inspired me to prepare to study abroad, but I let go of the opportunity. I told myself that I was going to graduate school in China. If I passed the entrance exam, I would not study abroad. If I didn't, I would consider studying abroad. I worked very hard to prepare for the postgraduate exam in China.  My total score was very high, but when I took the politics exam, I had a headache, and I ended up failing.  I was only 2 points away from passing this subject. I never have headaches, and I was good at this subject. Years later, after I was saved, I realized that God had intervened. He wanted me to study in the United States, but I didn't know at that time.

I didn't find a job, nor did I get into graduate school. Emotionally, I sank into a very dark and painful place.   Then something very unexpected happened.  A department of my university was planning on hiring a student who had been an intern in this department for a long time.  Unfortunately, they found out that his province had just sent him there to be trained and then return home to work.  The concept is a little confusing. But this is like the J-1 visa requirements in the US. J-1 visa holders in the US must return to his or her country of origin to work for two years or more. Because of this, one of my teachers recommended me because I didn't have a job at that time. The head of the department interviewed me and agreed to accept me, so I stayed in Beijing and worked at the university.

It may be difficult for people who don't understand China to understand what I'm saying.  This is most likely true for Americans because the United States is based more on equality, and situations like this more than likely don't exist.  This doesn't mean that Guanxi isn't needed or doesn't work in the United States.  For example, the President's son may be financially independent and not need to rely on his father for money; however, as the President's son, he would have a lot more Guanxi than an ordinary citizen just because of his connections.

I don't have any Guanxi. I don't have any relatives in Beijing. I come from a rural area, and my family doesn't have money to bribe people. I'm not exceptionally smart either, so it was tough to stay and find a good job in Beijing. Once I was sure I was staying in school, I met another teacher who didn't like me. But I knew that one of my classmates had a Guanxi with her. She tried her best to help him stay in another department of the school. I met her one day, and she asked me if I had a job yet. I said that I might work at the school. Immediately, she said scornfully, "That's impossible. Stop dreaming." "I put a lot of effort into helping your classmate get a job in school, and I'm not even sure if he can get one so you should stop dreaming."

From this story, you can see the importance of Guanxi in China. Without Guanxi, it's difficult to get things done. Thinking back, this was God's sovereign arrangement allowing me to stay in Beijing and continue to prepare to study abroad.  He made a way for me to continue my education in the United States, come to know the Lord and get trained. Looking at it from the outside, I have no Guanxi. But from a spiritual perspective, I have a "Guanxi " with God who created the universe and is the ruler of all things. The God of the universe ordained me to be saved and to come to America, so my Guanxi is huge. I was able to stay in Beijing because of my Guanxi with God. Although I didn't realize it at the time, as I look back at my life and experiences, it now makes sense. God is omniscient. Not a sparrow will fall to the ground outside of His care (NIV, Matthew 29:19), so I can say that it's because of my "Guanxi" with God that I stayed in Beijing. God also used many people to help me.  There were other teachers who didn’t think I was an exceptional student and discouraged me from working at the college. They strongly recommended another student to work there. They belittled me and even argued with the teacher who hired me. In the end, the teacher who hired me was enraged, saying she wanted no one else but me. Many others applied for the job later, hoping to take this job position, but none of them succeeded. I remember another classmate in my class also expected to get this position, and he also failed.  He was so angry about it that he smashed a table in the dormitory.

Similarly, the story in the Bible is also like that. God also looks at "Guanxi" or "relationship" with his people. He actually desires an intimate relationship with them. Your "Guanxi" with God is important. Though God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11), it doesn't mean that we all have the same intimacy with God. For example, Moses' brother and sister, Aaron and Miriam, complained, saying, "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Doesn't He speak through us also?" And Jehovah heard what they said and got angry, saying that he spoke to the prophets through dreams or visions, but he would talk to Moses face to face (NIV, Exodus 33:11). The Guanxi between Moses and God was different from the Guanxi between Miriam and God. This doesn't mean God despised Aaron or Miriam, but it states the need for us to develop an intimate relationship with God like Moses.

So what was God's purpose for the Levites to replace the firstborn Israelite males?  It was to build a close relationship with people, but this relationship would be established through the Levites (including the priests). The Levites would be building this relationship. If an Israelite approached the Levites often to offer sacrifices, he would establish a good relationship with the Levites as well as with the Lord. When the time came to ransom, why wasn't he able to find a Levite to redeem his firstborn son?

Many of the Levites at this time were only about a month old, but if the parents of these children had a good relationship or Guanxi with the Israelites, why couldn't they find a Levite to replace their firstborn sons?  I would imagine that if a person regularly offered sacrifices to God through the Levites, the Levites would fight to become a ransom for them.

The Bible does not record how Moses determined which Israelites had no Levites to redeem them. It just says that there were 273 Israelites who had no Levites to redeem them, and they had to pay for the redemption.   What I mentioned above is only a guess, and may not be correct. Regardless of this, there were more firstborn Israelite males than there were Levite males who were one year old or more. Where there is competition, there will be choices. With choices, Guanxi becomes very important.

Only a Levite male who was one month old could redeem one firstborn Israelite male, so there may have been a degree of competition.  Any competition involves choices, and this is where Guanxi becomes essential.

In the Old Testament, the Levites (and some as priests) were the mediators between God and mankind.  This is a type or symbol which represents Jesus Christ, who is the only mediator between God and mankind in the New Testament (NIV, 1 Timothy 2:5). To become a Christian, we come to God the Father through His son Jesus Christ our priest and mediator, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (NIV, Ephesians 2:18).  Jesus Christ develops our Guanxi with God.  Without Him, we have no relationship or Guanxi with God.  Even though God is our creator, we still have to come to Him through Jesus.

Christians should always draw near to Christ and experience  His life-giving change in our souls. Let's continually be transformed into the image of the Son of God, with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (NIV, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18),  just like the Israelites continuously came near the priests and Levites.

Perhaps the 273 Israelite families were negligent and didn't come near to the priests often enough. Maybe that's why they have to pay the price by giving redemption money. "God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." (NIV, Galatians 6:7-8).

Perhaps the parents of these 273 Jews neglected to come near to the priests, or they didn't worship and offer sacrifices every year according to Jehovah's rules, so, in the end, no Levites could ransom them.   Perhaps they were at the bottom of the Levite's list of favorites and didn't get chosen in the shortage.  God is merciful and still gives them a chance by allowing them to pay redemption money to make things right.

 One of the biggest problems in the church today is Christians who are saved but live in the world like those who aren't saved.  They lack a holy life and a close relationship with God. This is wrong. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction (NIV, Galatians 6:8). We must "make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (NIV, Ephesians 5:16-20)

It's time to put neglectfulness behind and press into the transforming power of God because one day, we will face God's judgment. Complacency in the church is a big problem, especially in an affluent country like the United States.  Many Christians aren't in the habit of developing a close relationship with God.  We need to realize that if we are diligently praying for our loved ones and friends, they will get saved.  If every Christian in the United States were to take this seriously and appeal to God daily, revival would come.

And don't assume that God's discipline is only in the future; rather, He also disciplines us now. Remember the story of the Israelites in the Book of Judges? When the Israelites rebelled against God, God put them into the hands of their enemies. It's the same today whether it is the difficulties faced by the United States as a country, or some of the problems we face in our personal lives, which could be the Holy Spirit's discipline. ' Is it possible that God has allowed us to be put into the hands of  our enemies as He did to the Israelites in the Book of Judges?

The Israelites called on God for help in the book of Judges, and He raised judges to help and save them.  In the same manner, when we call on God through His son Jesus for help and focus on building a closer relationship or Guanxi with Him, God will save us from our enemies' oppression.

This isn't just a historical story, nor does it only apply to the Israelites.  We experience the same thing today. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (NIV, Hebrews 13:8). Let's make the most of every opportunity we have to develop Guanxi with Him so that when we meet Him, he won't tell us, "I never knew you" as we try to convince him that we prophesied and cast out demons in His name (Matthew 7:22).  Jesus is our high priest and mediator between God and man.  The Levites in this chapter represent or are a type of Christ.  Developing an intimate relationship with Jesus is the most important thing we can do in our lives to experience the transformation of our soul and the redemption of our body.  As we lay our lives down and allow Jesus to live through us daily, we become transformed and our lives redeemed.

 Jesus died for us, and the Levites' redemption of the firstborn is a perfect picture of Jesus' substitutional death for us.

I believe that the redemption of the firstborn Israelite males by the Levite males who are one month old is not a simple repetition of what God did in Egypt for the first generation.  God generally doesn't repeat Himself unless there is a new meaning to it.  I believe the new meaning is that the first generation must come closer to God through the Levites to have the redemption of their future generations. Or, in other words, they must become more sanctified to have their son redeemed. This principle applies to the church today. The degree of holiness the church can obtain will determine the degree of her transforming power to the world.

 If the Levites represent the church and the male Israelites are the unsaved, the picture is clear.  The more the church becomes light, the more power it will carry to bring salvation to the world.  God alone saves us, but He chose to use us, the church to shine His light to a lost world just as He chose the Levites to redeem the male Israelites.  If individual Christians lived sanctified lives before the Lord, can you imagine the power that we can release to the world?  If the church as a whole sanctified itself unto the Lord, imagine how many people could be saved and redeemed.

Bible Study with Jairus-Numbers 2

Bible study with Jairus- Numbers 2

Numbers 2 records Jehovah’s arrangement of the encampment of the 12 tribes of Israel around the tent of meeting in the following order: Judah takes the lead in the east, next to Judah is the tribe of Issachar and Zebulun.  To the south is the tribe of Reuben; next to Reuben is the tribe of Simeon and the tribe of Gad.  On the west is the tribe of Ephraim; next to Ephraim is the tribe of Manasseh and Benjamin. The tribe of Dan takes the lead on the north; next to them is the tribe of Asher and Naphtali. The Levites were, of course, not counted.  The names of the leaders, as well as the division numbers in each tribe, were mentioned in addition to recording this order.

 Many readers may be confused after reading the names of these unfamiliar tribes, leaders, and numbers.  It’s enough to make one’s head spin.

Just this week, I saw one of my teachers from the United Theological Seminary, post a sentence on Facebook by John Wimber (the founder of the Vineyard Church).  It reads, "When we are losing the encounter of the Lord, we will start counting on people.” I am paraphrasing it as I did not know where it came from. This means that we should focus on meeting the Lord every day instead of the achievements we have done for the Lord.

The Bible records David's two sins.  His first sin was committing adultery by marrying Uriah’s wife. The other sin was counting the Israelites. This census was the sin of spiritual immorality. Why? As Joab (David’s general) said, if David is not satisfied, he can ask God to give him more. Why count Israel? When David was counting the Israelites, his heart became proud, and he had drifted far away from God. He was counting his achievements and those achievements became the idol of his heart causing God to be displeased.

Watchman Nee, the founder of the Local Church Movement, often said that God values more what we are than what we do. It’s not hard for us to draw inspiration from the story of David and the words of John Wimber and Watchman Nee. We don’t need to pay too much attention to the names and numbers of those tribes in this chapter. Rather, we should pay attention to how we can stay focused on the Lord. Under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, we did notice that a very important phrase in this chapter from the second verse "around the tent of meeting." Numbers 2:2 (NIV) says, "The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family." While we had our Bible study, the Holy Spirit especially illuminated this and reminded us to pay attention to these words “around the tent of meeting.” In the version of the Chinese Bible we used, it was translated as “facing the tent of meeting.” The translation in the NIV is not that clear. But the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) version says, “The Israelites shall camp each in their respective regiments, under ensigns by their ancestral houses; they shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.” It also says, “facing the tent of meeting on every side.”

In other words, Jehovah’s encampment isn’t just focusing on the order, division numbers, and the names of the leaders of the twelve tribes. These are important, but what’s more important is the principle of the encampment of the tribes of Israel: to "camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. " In other words, the principle of spiritual warfare is to "face God and turn one's back on the world and the enemy." This sounds different from the strategy in the world. We usually face our enemies.  What should we do if the enemy suddenly attacks?  It’s a different story here. Although we need to understand the enemy’s movements, the key to win at spiritual warfare is to “face God,” receive enlightenment and guidance from Him, rather than fighting the enemy according to our flesh.

Many pastors often testify that when they feel overwhelmed by the needs of the world and the busyness of working for the Lord, they slowly lose God’s presence and their peace in the Lord. They become overwhelmed to the point of suffering a nervous breakdown. “Burnout” is a word that can describe this situation.

The tent of meeting or tabernacle serves as the dwelling place of God. This is where God’s presence is. To the east of the tabernacle is the gate to the outer court of the tabernacle where the priests offer sacrifices, manage affairs in the outer court and perform their services. In the center is the Holy Place of the tabernacle, and to the west is the Holy of Holies.

Each tribe is to camp facing the tent of meeting on every side, each man under his standard with the banners of his tribe. Although the Levites were not counted here, it doesn’t mean that the Levites had no status. On the contrary, the Levites have a very important status here. They are the connection between God who dwells in the tabernacle and the different tribes of Israel who encamped facing the tent of meeting. By serving each tribe, the Levites brought their needs before God. At the same time, the Levites also brought God's presence and instructions to the tribes of Israel outside.

If you weren’t able to recognize the work of the Levites, it is easy to think of this arrangement of Jehovah as a few dots. But when you notice the work of the Levites, the arrangement of God is no longer a few dots, but rather, a net. In this net, God and man form a big wheel through the link between the Levites as priests and the cooperation amongst different tribes. It’s like what Ezekiel mentioned, wheel intersecting a wheel (NIV, Ezekiel 1:16).

No matter which tribe we belong to, or in which church God places us, our most important task every day is to draw near to God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is our High Priest. It’s just like what the ministry of the Levites represents here. Our most important task every day is to meet with God. Our hearts must be towards God. We must face God and turn our back on the world and its needs. It’s not that we shouldn’t get in touch with the world and carry out various activities. But rather, we must ensure that we don't deal with things for the sake of just dealing with them.

I often hear people say that it’s not the needs of human beings that motivated the ministry of Jesus. Rather, the will of the Father was what motivated Him. He only did what He saw His Father doing. If Jesus came to earth because He was merely trying to meet the needs of human beings, then his ministry was not successful, because many people's needs were not met. But the Lord Jesus came to fulfill God’s will for Him. If the Heavenly Father spoke, He spoke; if the Heavenly Father did something, He did it. Similarly, we should operate in this way to serve the affairs of the world, such as caring for the orphans and poor people. If it’s because we are simply responding to the needs of human beings, we will eventually collapse and fail to meet all the needs of the world. If we do it because of God’s will and guidance in our lives, no matter how much we do, we are filled with God’s presence and rest.

Many pastors and other spiritual leaders start their ministries by first waiting on God. But slowly, the needs that they are facing become greater, and gradually, the needs take all of their attention, causing them to unknowingly focus on the needs rather than God.  Remember, we cannot turn our backs on God and face the world and its needs; we need to turn our back on the world and its needs and face God.

There is a saying in China called "Take a coat by the collar,” which means if you grasp the main idea of something, the minor details will become clearer. The main point here is "facing the tent of meeting.” When each tribe is "facing the tent of meeting,” many of the following activities will be easier to do or manage afterward. But if a certain tribe begins to take his eyes off the tabernacle or off of God and turn to his enemies outside, or if he pays too much attention to the tribes next to him, which then generates competition, this main point or collar is destroyed. Problems will occur in the operation of this big net or this big wheel designed by God according to His wisdom.

For example, we know that God's chosen people should be in unity. But when we see the shortcomings of other Christians or denominations, it is inevitable to criticize and judge. It is not that we should not help other churches but that God leaves the right of judgment to Himself; therefore, it is not our responsibility to judge others. We should keep our eyes on God, and not others, denominations, etc..  When we are more focused on what others are doing either right or wrong, the enemy will take advantage of us creating discord and destroying the large net woven by God.  

We should not be jealous of other’s gifts and different callings. Just as the eyes should not be jealous of the ears, we should be satisfied with our own gifts and take hold of our calling firmly. Our eyes should be focused on God and treat other people and denominations from God's perspective.

Now that we understand this most important principle let's look at the order, names of the leaders, and the number of people in each tribe and see what kind of spiritual significance they each have.

First of all, let’s take a look at the tribe of Judah on the east, towards the sunrise. We know that Judah is the tribe of war.  The book of Judges records that when the Israelites went to fight against the Benjaminites, they asked Jehovah who should go up first to fight, and the Lord said that Judah should go first. The Lord Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. ​​In Genesis 49,  Jacob prophesied that his son Judah was a lion’s cub.

Next is the tribe of Issachar. Judges said that the tribe of Issachar were men “who understood the times” (1 Chronicles 12:32 NIV). We can say this tribe has the gift of prophecy. We don't know exactly what the gifts of each tribe are, but it seems that Judah has more like the gift of an apostle, and Issachar has more like the gift of a prophet. Their different gifts complement each other.  The apostles and prophets are the foundation that the church was built on In the New Testament.

The next tribe, the tribe of Zebulun, may represent provision and gospel preaching because Zebulun is a harbor; his border will extend toward Sidon (NIV, Genesis 49:13). Perhaps the tribe of Zebulun represents the gift of the evangelists in the New Testament. This is only my guess, but in any case, I think the order of the twelve tribes here is not according to the natural order of their births, nor is it the order of whether they came from the same mother so that they may be arranged according to their gifts and their spiritual maturity before God. These three are collectively referred to as the camp of Judah.

Second is the camp of Reuben, which is located in the south. This includes Reuben, Simeon, and Gad. I think that the gift of Reuben is shepherding because he tried to protect Joseph when some of his brothers plan to kill him. The meaning of the name Simeon is “heard,” while the name Gad means “luck.” I don't exactly know what gifts Simeon and Gad represent. Maybe they represent God's mercy because Simeon slaughtered countless people and could have been the key person that participated in the plot to kill Joseph. But God pitied him. Reuben also sinned, but Moses prayed not to let the tribe of Reuben be few. Jacob prophesied in Genesis 49:19 (NIV), "Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.” Perhaps Gad has the gift of resurrection from failures.

Behind these two camps is the camp of the Levites. They are responsible for carrying the instruments of the tabernacle. We could say that they were moving tabernacles around, or in other words, they carried the presence of God around.

The third camp is Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, which is located on the west. All three are descendants of Joseph. The West is where the Holy of Holies is. I feel these groups of people represent what John the beloved represented in the New Testament. John rested in the bosom of Jesus, and he was an intimate friend of Jesus. These three tribes are all dependents of Rebekah, whom Jacob loves most.

The fourth camp is the tribe of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, which is located in the north. To me, they also represent certain aspects of Christ, who is our ultimate savior. Of course, other tribes also represent certain aspects of Christ as well.

 I’m not sure why Jehovah has arranged it that way. However, my guess is perhaps they are arranged according to their different gifts and the maturity of their spiritual lives.

Let's take a look at the leaders. The leaders of each tribe are mentioned here for the second time because the Lord has already appointed them in Chapter 1. For example, the leader of the tribe of Judah is Nahshon, son of Amminadab. There is no detailed record in the Bible, so we have no way of knowing what kind of a person Amminadab was, how he could give birth to a leader like Nahshon, and what education and help did Nahshon receive to become the leader of the Judah.

Nahshon commands 74,600 soldiers in the tribe of Judah. I don't know how many people you are shepherding or how many people God has entrusted to your leadership, but I know that a pastor leading a church of 2,000 people, or even a church of 200 people, is a very difficult job. Therefore, it was not easy for Nahshon to lead 74,600 people. He must have received excellent training and help from God to take such responsibility.

Being a leader is not a ruler but a shepherd. Nahshon would have to face God every day and bear the responsibility for 74,600 people. On the one hand, he was leading these people. On the other hand, he was shepherding them or carrying them on his shoulder or his back before the Lord because the New Testament had already told us that the responsibility of the elders was not to rule over but to shepherd. We are all priests who carry those who are under our shepherding.

I just cited Nahshon as an example to tell you that he has a legacy from his family, and he learned this from his father Amminadab. God knew him. God had personally called him to be a leader, indicating that God had already personally trained him. The same goes for the other tribes and their leaders. Not only was a tribe’s leader mentioned, but the names of their fathers were also mentioned. We won’t mention each one of the leaders of the other tribes. But hopefully, this helps you to see the principle behind each leader.

Let's take a look at the numbers now. Each tribe’s division numbers are different. Don't think this is just a trivial matter. This reflects the prosperity of the tribe. Naturally, the increase in number reflects that they have been blessed before God. Judah’s tribe was the largest. This may be one of the reasons they were in the first camp.

I don't know the meaning of each set of numbers.  I know God wasn’t happy when David was counting the numbers of Israelites. But it’s okay for Moses to count here. Why? It's still the principle that we talked about earlier, "camp facing the tent of meeting on every side" is the main point. When Moses was doing the counting, he had a face to face encounter with God. He was doing it in the correct order. But David’s heart was full of pride when he was counting the numbers. He was doing it in the wrong order.

Meeting God first is the priority. If God is first, counting the things that you do spiritually for God is okay.  If you neglect God and just focus on the spiritual needs in your ministry, it won’t be pleasing to God.   We must first pursue God before working for Him or pursing His gifts.  I’m not saying to neglect service or gifts but we need to balance it all correctly by seeking God with all of our hearts first. This will enable us to walk confidently in our calling and be victorious in battle.

 Let’s meet God first daily before we face the needs of the world. No matter what we do, hopefully, it is done out of our love for God instead of duty or ambition. In this way, we will certainly be able to please God. But let’s not overlook the fact that God has indeed given us different gifts. Just like the twelve tribes, they are all placed in certain places by God to carry out certain duties according to the calling and gifts that He has given us.

 

Bible Study with Jairus-Number1

Bible Study with Jairus- Numbers 1

The first chapter of the book of Numbers seems to be very boring and difficult to read because it is the list of names of the different tribes of Israel and the number of Israelites they counted. But behind these boring numbers, there is profound meaning. It’s like someone who doesn’t understand advanced mathematics or physics; numbers and formulas may be very boring for them. But for those who understand the principles, it’s very simple, and may also be very interesting.

The same is true when reading the Bible. Often, when we read a certain part of the Bible, we feel that it’s boring because we are not familiar with the "numbers and formulas" inside. But once we are familiar with these things, we may find it interesting.

So, how many boring numbers recorded in the first chapter of the Book of Numbers are related to our actual life and the church today? These two are closely connected. But we need the illumination of the Holy Spirit to help us understand this relationship.

I’ll use a historical story that the Chinese are familiar with to explain. Chinese legends always mention leaders who are good at commanding the army. For example, Zhuge Liang, who sets up an "Eight-Array Maze" when fighting the enemy. I won’t discuss how the “Eight Array Maze” works because I’m unsure of all the details.    It involves divination in traditional Chinese culture (or something of that sort), so it is just a metaphor here. Usually, "Eight-Array Maze" refers to a complex and diverse military arrangement. If the soldiers follow the command according to this strategy, they will defeat the enemy.   However, the enemy often thinks of ways to destroy this "Eight-Array Maze."

We can think of the number of people who were counted in the Book of Numbers and the encampment later as an "Eight-Array Maze" or a complex battle structure established by God. If God's people embattle the army according to this "Eight-Array Maze," it will be very easy to defeat the enemy. And under the leadership of God's appointed leaders Moses and Joshua, many battles were won. But we all know that later, the descendants of Israel couldn’t drive out the enemies of Israel completely. So, in the end, they became thorns in their flesh, which made them fall. Therefore, Israel has suffered many defeats in its many years of war with neighboring countries.

Why is it that under the leadership of people like Moses, Joshua, and even Caleb, Israel could win the battle, but later, the Israelites were repeatedly defeated? Generally speaking, many Christians regard the book of Numbers as a book of war, because after Jehovah led the Israelites out of Egypt, the Israelites were formed into an army and were brought by Jehovah to the Promised Land (Land of Israel) to drive the enemy away. The Bible calls God the "The Lord of Hosts" many times (1 Sam. 1: 3; Psalm 24:10; Isa. 1: 9; Ha 1: 2). So as the leader of hosts, God is a great military strategist and conductor.

God does have an enemy, and His enemy is very cunning, but in a battle between God and His enemy, He will prevail. This battle however, becomes a little bit complicated because it involves people. God chooses to let people fight with Satan and his evil forces, and He often helps them. But if they are prideful and don't accept the right guidance, they will naturally be defeated.

There is an old saying in China, "A true gentleman should keep silent while watching a chess game." This means that when people play Chinese chess, they don't like to hear others guiding them. Because the people who play chess think they are smart enough to play the game. Therefore, they don't like others to guide them.  Humans and Satan are like the two players in chess.  God is the one watching. If people ask God for help, He will help them. But sometimes, people who play chess are reluctant to accept help, and God silently watches even though He is qualified at a high-level. When the person who plays chess loses, and humbly asks Him for help, He’ll step in and help.

God is always with us; watching us play chess or watching us fight our enemies. Sometimes, we are too full of ourselves. We don’t like being told what to do, so God keeps silent. But when we fail and humble ourselves and ask God for help, He will help us.

The history of the book of Numbers can be said to be a picture depicting how God's people were able to win the battle through His guidance and under the correct leaders Moses and Joshua.  The book of Joshua recorded many of the victorious battles that God’s people won, but by the time we get to the book of Judges, the Israelites suffered a crushing defeat.

So when we read the book of Numbers, we must pay attention to how God leads and enlightens people like Moses and Joshua to fight and also how God's people cooperate. Moses and Joshua are leaders who obeyed God and who listened attentively to His voice. God’s people were also willing to obey and submit to Moses and Joshua’s leadership, enabling them to have many victories in battle. But in later years, the Israelites lacked good leaders like Moses and Joshua. Although God kept raising the judges, they continued to fail because of the idolatry of the Israelites and the fall after the judges were victorious.

 I shared with those in the bible study that the current condition of Christianity in the United States is the same situation as described in the book of Judges. It’s like Israel’s repeated failure in history. Of course, this is not to discourage our American brothers and sisters. Many people talk about how God will judge the United States and how it will fail.  This does not necessarily mean that God is not helping America. Just like the example of chess I mentioned earlier and the example in the book of Judges, when American churches continue to fail and start to humble themselves and ask God for help, He will help them to stand up again and achieve victory in battles.

So, not only do I disagree with many people's negative views on the future of American churches, but I am also full of hope and confidence in the future of American churches because when people realize that they need God's help, victory is not far away. However, I know that many people are discouraged by the negative state of American churches. Recently while studying for my Ph.D. at the United Theological Seminary, I met a man who pastors a United Methodist Church.  This church is located in an unsafe neighborhood  and there are only a few elderly people in the congregation. He told me that the Methodist Church is currently facing division because it questions the authority of the Bible and because of its approach to homosexuality.  This denomination was once one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States but its population has shrunk dramatically and is facing much division.   I have met many Christians in the said denomination who love the Lord with all their heart and who worry about their denomination’s future and the future of the United States and this pastor is one of them. I tried to comfort him, saying that God’s great revival would soon come to the United States, and American churches will have a good future.  This wasn’t what he was seeing or experiencing, so I’m not sure if my words of encouragement had any effect.

Since we are reading the book of Numbers, we should look at how God can achieve victory in battles, and how God's strategy and tactics are used. I might as well discuss a few points on this.

First, God's strategy is roundabout and patient. We know of God’s displeasure with those who lived in Canaan.  He called Abraham to come there and promised to give the land to Abraham and his descendants. Actually, God had already given this land to the Israelites. Just like in the New Testament, we are more than conquerors through the redemption of Jesus Christ. But the Israelites had to go through battles before they could finally enter the Promised Land. On the one hand, God told Abraham that the Amorites had not yet reached its full measure (NIV, Genesis 15:16), so Abraham and his descendants had to be slaves in Egypt for 400 years. When the time came, God would bring them into the Promised Land again. Do you know why God did this? On the one hand, God is giving the Canaanites time to repent; on the other hand, God is helping the Israelites build up strength because Abraham alone or his hundreds of followers didn’t have enough power to drive all the Canaanites out. So God adopted a roundabout strategy, a strategic retreat. He let Abraham and his followers retreat to Egypt to recuperate, build up strength and multiply, waiting until their strength grew to the place that they were ready to fight and win.

We’ve now covered the background of the book of Numbers. When the number of Israelites had multiplied to a point where more than 600,000 men were over 20 years old, it was then estimated that the number of Israelites exceeded 2 to 3 million, when you add women, children and the elderly.  Abraham’s strength which was weak before, has now grown into millions of people who have the power to knock out the enemies of Canaan.

Similarly, for the church to achieve final victory, it needs a process of building up strength. Consuming one’s power too early is equivalent to dying. Christians and churches need to know how to build up their strength. But the enemy is very cunning. They often cause trouble, leading the church to fight. Just like Goliath's scolding, if you don’t have enough strength and you fight Goliath rashly, you’re on a dead-end street. But David is different. He has been accumulating power in the wilderness. By the time he came out to challenge Goliath, his power had been accumulated enough to defeat Goliath. When he was in the wilderness before, he had already defeated the lion and the bear with the help of God.

I’ve heard that one of the reasons the Communist Party was able to gain victory and defeat the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) during the Chinese Civil War was  because the Kuomintang's strength at that time was concentrated on fighting the Japanese.  The Communist Party tried to avoid fierce conflict with the Japanese. Instead they concentrated on accumulating strength. There’s a story,  about Peng Dehuai, a military leader of the Communist Party who launched the "Hundred Regiments Offensive" and was in direct conflict with the Japanese, but was blamed by Mao Zedong, because Peng Dehuai's military operations destroyed Mao's strategy. After the end of World War II, the Japanese were defeated, and the Kuomintang's strength was also exhausted. But the Communist Party’s strength increased, so they were able to win the victory in the Chinese Civil War. Of course, this is just a story. We don't know if it is true or not. We are not discussing politics here. We are just using this example to illustrate the importance of accumulating strength.

God knows the importance of accumulating strength very well. When the Israelites didn’t have enough strength, He placed them in Egypt as slaves. On the surface, it seemed that the Israelites were slaves and were tormented by the Egyptians. This was God’s good intention. The purpose was to let the Israelites multiply and be fruitful. Unfortunately, many Israelites kept complaining, and it wasn't until 400 years later that God heard their complaints and sent Moses to save them.

Today, whether as individual Christians or church groups, God often puts us in a stressful environment to develop our character within, allowing us to multiply and be fruitful. But we don’t always recognize God’s good intentions and instead complain like the Israelites.

There is a story about a type of bamboo in China called Mao Bamboo. When the farmers plant this bamboo on the first year, it is just an inch tall; in the second year, it grows an inch taller; in the third year, it grows an inch taller again; in the fourth year, it still grows an inch tall; but the farmers are working hard to keep it watered. By the fifth year, it will grow several feet tall every week, and within a year, it will be dozens of feet tall. Why? Because in the first four years, the bamboo has deepened its roots each year dozens of feet down in the ground. Although above ground, it seems to be only a few inches tall, it is deeply rooted in the ground, so when the fifth year comes, the bamboo can grow dozens of feet tall above ground in a year.

Some people say that if the enemy can’t take God’s calling from you, he will let you fight prematurely when you are immature. Just like Moses, who tried to rely on his own power to save the Israelites when it wasn’t time yet, leading him to get into trouble. He retreated into the wilderness for forty years and became a shepherd. It seemed like he was wasting time. But actually, Moses was accumulating strength. When the time came, God used him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

From my personal point of view, one of the biggest problems with the American church today is that the church or individual Christians don’t have deep enough roots in their lives. If your spiritual roots are not deep enough, you can’t withstand the enemy’s attacks and trials. We must learn to accumulate enough strength to defeat the enemy.

Many Christians lack a life that places equal emphasis on personal prayer and Bible reading. They also lack experiencing the transformation of the soul through the work of the cross. Therefore, the individual is superficial in their Christian life.  When trials and temptations from the enemy come, they are weak and shrink. The same goes for the church.

Many people are saying that a great revival is coming, but without every Christian taking root in their lives, a great revival will not come. Even if it does, it won’t last that long. The multiplication of life takes time, it doesn’t happen overnight. It was like when the Israelites left Egypt, they had experienced 400 years of multiplying before they could finally form a huge army.

Second, God's strategy is that His people have good leaders and that people obey these leaders.

It would be a shame if God had many wonderful strategies and plans, but we don’t have a leader like Moses, who can execute them. We must have a leader who can clearly hear the voice of God and express it well or a faithful and confident leader like Joshua, who could lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. But if the church leaders don’t have a close relationship with God just like Moses, or have complete faith in God like Joshua, then naturally, God's people will often fail in battles. Satan often incites attacks against church leaders, causing them to fail. Once the church leaders fail, it is difficult for the church to prevail.

Paul teaches us first to pray for political leaders in the world. Actually, the same is true for the church. We must pray for the church leaders.

In addition to the church's need for such a leader, God's people also need to be obedient. We should be willing to obey God's reign and rule through Moses and Joshua. But God's people often rebel. For example, when the Israelites told Samuel they needed a king, Jehovah told Samuel that the Israelites did not dislike him, they disliked Jehovah as their king. Satan's strategy is often to attack God's chosen people, let them live in the spirit of rebellion, and make them refuse to obey any discipline. This type of situation, often used as an excuse against legalism, is the reality of rebelling against God. This spirit of rebellion is very popular in the culture of American society. It naturally affects the church.

Third, God's strategy is to have the twelve tribes work together as one body with their own gifts. We are all members of the body of Christ. We are all imperfect. All of us have the calling and gifts of God. We need to come along side each other and work together.

Each of the twelve tribes of God performs its own role. Each one is responsible for its own ministry. For example, the Bible specifically mentions the tribe of Issachar were men who understood the times (NIV, 1 Chronicles 12:32). In layman’s terms, the said tribe has the gift of prophecy. They know what to do in a certain period of time.

Each of us is a member of the body of Christ. As Paul said, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard.” (NIV, 1 Corinthians 2:9). But one of the tricks of the enemy is to let our fellow brothers and sisters sow discord, valuing their own gifts and calling but not recognizing the calling and gifts in others.  Or, conversely, clearly, they are eyes, but they are eager to do the work of a mouth. In the natural realm, people can’t do their own job, nor can they unite and cooperate nor can the church win the war through the natural realm.

In short, the book of Numbers is very rich. I hope that when we read the book of Numbers in the future, we can learn more about the battle strategies that God has created for us in His wisdom. I am deeply convinced that this will bring a lot of inspiration to the spiritual warfare that is happening in churches today.