The revchristruelsen’s Podcast

Cloud and Fire

Text for discussion: Numbers 9.  

In Numbers 9 we find the first celebration of the Passover after the actual event.  It is amazing to think that the intricate work of the making of the Tabernacle is complete.  Now, they are led in the wilderness by God.  These are unique events in history, but like golden threads, they can be tied to earlier Scriptural events, and events to come . . . .

The art: The Jewish tabernacle and priesthood, 1874, by George Needham, from an old catalog.  Public domain.  

The hymn: Be Still My Soul. (Public domain.)

More Precious Than Gold

Text for discussion: Numbers 8.

Numbers 8 is a story of plunder and transference.  God plundered the Egyptians (and their gods), carrying their wealth out with the Israelites in the Exodus.  The finely crafted lamp stand, made of gold, provides light in a dark sanctuary that was made without windows for natural light.  

The Israelites transfer their sins and transgressions to the priests, who in turn transfer the sins to the sacrifices, but something bigger, much bigger is going on here.  It is a foreshadowing of how God plunders the old evil foe, and a demonstration of how you, to God, are far more precious than gold.  

Hymns: What Wondrous Love is This, Eternal Father Strong to Save.  (public domain)

Photo: In the Darkness, copyright Redpipi, shared for free use on Wikimedia Commons.  Author's description: "It shows the way a fire can light up the darkness."

Who Would Buy That?

Text for discussion: Numbers 7.  

The Israelites consecrated the tabernacle and offered various kinds of offerings for acceptance by God and the forgiveness of sins.  To enter into God's presence they had to be made new again, made whole.  They, like we, were imperfect.  Who would purchase something like that?  Blemished, imperfect, even sometimes on its last legs?  

The hymn:  For All the Saints.  (Public domain).  (One of the best of all my hymn recordings).

The artwork: Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise by Auguste Rodin, 1887 (public domain).

What is a Promise Worth?

Text for discussion: Numbers 6.

Have you ever taken a vow?  Have you ever made a promise?  How seriously did you take that promise, or have you forgotten a promise almost as soon as you made it?  Numbers 6 is about making a vow and keeping it.  Our promises often get broken, but going even back to the earliest times of the world, God has kept His promises-millennia after He promised a Messiah, in the fullness of time, His Son was born.  

The hymn: A Mighty Fortress. Public domain.  

Painting: The Sacrifice of Isaac by Juan de Valdes Leal, 1659.  Public domain.  

Impossible Things, Revisited

Text for discussion: Mark 10:17-31.  

When we reflect on our lives, we would all like to think that we are good.  When we try to justify ourselves, a reflection on our deeds and our lives will remind us forcefully that we fall short.  In understanding this, Jesus shows us how to do the impossible: thread a camel through the eye of a needle.  

Hymn:  Built on the Rock (public domain).

Painting: Christ Weeping over Jerusalem by Ary Scheffer, 1849.  Public domain.  

 

 

A Test of Truth

Text for discussion: Numbers 5.  

In Numbers 5 we find an unusual test of truth.  The test was designed to discern guilt from innocence in regard to adultery.  

What do we make of the test; how do we bear the burden of the Law?  

Hymn: Be Still My Soul (public domain)

The artwork: The tabernacle, engraving from Robert Arnauld d'Andilly's 1683 translation of Josephus. Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons.

God in the Midst of the Wilderness

Text for Discussion: Numbers 4. 

 God makes His presence known in the midst of the Tabernacle.  In far more ancient times, He walked with humanity, but Fallenness made it so that man had to call upon God.  (Genesis 4).  Now God is in the midst of His people, but coming is the time when He will walk among humanity again, tabernacling in human flesh: the incarnation of Christ.  On a side note, in this one you will also find out what "hexaplex trunculus" is! 

The artwork: The tabernacle, engraving from Robert Arnauld d'Andilly's 1683 translation of Josephus. Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Hymn: Amazing Grace.  Public domain.  

The Origins and the Destiny of the Priesthood

Text for discussion: Numbers 3.  

Why the Levites?  Why was this tribe designated for the priesthood of Israel?  And what is the destination of the priesthood, what become of it?  It's a remarkable history, and the final destination is perhaps unexpected, but not surprising when you understand the scope of holy history.  

Hymns: Upon the Cross Extended, On My Heart Imprint Thy Image (public domain).  

The artwork: Melchizedek detail, created by the studio of FX Zettler, Munich,   from St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Springboro, OH, Aug 31, 2023, by Nheyob.  (free to share and copy with attribution).  

In the Wilderness: The Israelites on the Move

Text for discussion: Numbers 2.  

Some scholars have doubted that such large numbers of people could have crossed the barren lands on the way from Egypt to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey . . . . 

Though the event was miraculously guided by God, the numbers do not have to bow to the concerns of skeptics.  Comparisons with other large movements of people show that this movement is plausible and possible.  

The hymn:  Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me (public domain).  

The artwork: The tabernacle, engraving from Robert Arnauld d'Andilly's 1683 translation of Josephus. Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

 

God's Plans Unfolding: In the Wilderness

Text for discussion: Numbers 1.  

Exodus was the story of God's people coming out of Egypt.  Leviticus was about the laws and regulations and worship that God planned for the people in the desert, and for their new life in the Promised Land.  Numbers seems like a strange name among the others in the 5 Books of Moses, but it recalls the census here in chapter 1 of Numbers.  The actual Hebrew name for the book is different than the name that comes to us in English, and perhaps more descriptive of the real experiences in this book.  

The hymn: God Himself is Present (public domain)

The painting: Moses Strikes Water from the Stone by Krzysztof Lubieniecki.  1714.  (public domain).