Steve Webb  0:00  
What we do know is that we're called to be salt and light. It's The Law Monday and we'll read Numbers 25 through 28 here on the Lifespring! One Year Bible. Thanks for inviting me in. Before we read, let's pray. Our heavenly Father, we thank you for this day and the opportunity to gather around your Word. Bless our time of reading today, we pray that you would teach us in Jesus' name, Amen. All right, let's begin. 

Steve Webb  0:29  
Numbers, chapter 25. While Israel stayed at Shittim, the people were not faithful to the Lord and began to have sex with the daughters of Moab. They asked the people of Israel to bring gifts to their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry with Israel. The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people, kill them, and put their bodies in the bright daylight before the Lord. Then the strong anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor.” Then one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family. Moses and all the people of Israel saw this while they were crying at the door of the meeting tent. When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the religious leader, saw it, he rose up from among the people. He took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the tent. Then he cut through the bodies of both the man of Israel and the woman. So the very bad disease that spread on the people of Israel was stopped. Those who died because of this bad disease were 24,000. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the religious leader, has turned My anger away from the people of Israel. He was jealous with My jealousy among them, so I did not destroy the people of Israel in My jealousy. So say to them that I make My agreement of peace with Phinehas. It will be an agreement for him and his children after him that they will always be religious leaders, because he was jealous for his God, and did what he was to do to pay for the sin of the people of Israel.” The name of the man of Israel who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu. He was a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites. The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur. Zur was the head of the people of a father’s house in Midian. The Lord said to Moses, “Be angry at the Midianites and fight against them. For they have brought trouble to you with their false ways. They have fooled you and turned you to the wrong way. They have brought you trouble at Peor with Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister. She was killed on the day the very bad disease came because of Peor.”

Steve Webb  3:02  
Numbers, chapter 26. After the plague the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, “Take a census of the whole community of Israelites, from twenty years old and upward, by their clans, everyone who can serve in the army of Israel.” So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan River across from Jericho. They said, “Number the people from twenty years old and upward, just as the Lord commanded Moses and the Israelites who went out from the land of Egypt.” Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. The Reubenites: from Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; from Pallu, the family of the Palluites; from Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; from Carmi, the family of the Carmites. These were the families of the Reubenites; and those numbered of them were 43,730. Pallu’s descendant was Eliab. Eliab’s descendants were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram who as leaders of the community rebelled against Moses and Aaron with the followers of Korah when they rebelled against the Lord. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and Korah at the time that company died, when the fire consumed 250 men. So they became a warning. But the descendants of Korah did not die. The Simeonites by their families: from Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; from Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; from Jakin, the family of the Jakinites; from Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; and from Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. These were the families of the Simeonites, 22,200. The Gadites by their families: from Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; from Haggi, the family of the Haggites; from Shuni, the family of the Shunites; from Ozni, the family of the Oznites; from Eri, the family of the Erites; from Arod, the family of the Arodites, and from Areli, the family of the Arelites. These were the families of the Gadites according to those numbered of them, 40,500. The descendants of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. and the Judahites by their families were: from Shelah, the family of the Shelahites; from Perez, the family of the Perezites; and from Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. and the Perezites were: from Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; from Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. These were the families of Judah according to those numbered of them, 76,500. The Issacharites by their families: from Tola, the family of the Tolaites; from Puah, the family of the Puites; from Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; and from Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. These were the families of Issachar, according to those numbered of them, 64,300. The Zebulunites by their families: from Sered, the family of the Sardites; from Elon, the family of the Elonites; from Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. These were the families of the Zebulunites, according to those numbered of them, 60,500. The descendants of Joseph by their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. The Manassehites: from Machir, the family of the Machirites (now Machir became the father of Gilead); from Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. These were the Gileadites: from Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; from Helek, the family of the Helekites; from Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; from Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; from Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; from Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. Now Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons, but only daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. These were the families of Manasseh; those numbered of them were 52,700. These are the Ephraimites by their families: from Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; from Beker, the family of the Bekerites; from Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. Now these were the Shuthelahites: from Eran, the family of the Eranites. These were the families of the Ephraimites, according to those numbered of them, 32,500. These were the descendants of Joseph by their families. The Benjaminites by their families: from Bela, the family of the Belaites; from Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; from Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; from Shupham, the family of the Shuphamites; from Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. The descendants of Bela were Ard and Naaman. From Ard, the family of the Ardites; from Naaman, the family of the Naamanites. These are the Benjaminites, according to their families, and according to those numbered of them, 45,600. These are the Danites by their families: from Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These were the families of Dan, according to their families. All the families of the Shuhahites according to those numbered of them were 64,400. The Asherites by their families: from Imnah, the family of the Imnahites; from Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; from Beriah, the family of the Beriahites. From the Beriahites: from Heber, the family of the Heberites; from Malkiel, the family of the Malkielites. Now the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. These are the families of the Asherites, according to those numbered of them, 53,400. The Naphtalites by their families: from Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; from Guni, the family of the Gunites; from Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; from Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. These were the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those numbered of them were 45,400. These were those numbered of the Israelites, 601,730. Then the Lord spoke to Moses: “To these the land must be divided as an inheritance according to the number of the names. To a larger group you will give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group you will give a smaller inheritance. To each one its inheritance must be given according to the number of people in it. The land must be divided by lot; and they will inherit in accordance with the names of their ancestral tribes. Their inheritance must be apportioned by lot among the larger and smaller groups. and these are the Levites who were numbered according to their families: from Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; from Merari, the family of the Merarites. These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram. Now the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. and to Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister. and to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord. Those of them who were numbered were 23,000, all males from a month old and upward, for they were not numbered among the Israelites; no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites. These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the Israelites in the plains of Moab along the Jordan River opposite Jericho. But there was not a man among these who had been among those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, “They will surely die in the wilderness.” and there was not left a single man of them, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

Steve Webb  11:13  
Numbers, chapter 27. The daughters of Zelophehad approached; Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh from the clans of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, “Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah’s followers, who gathered together against the Lord. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan? Since he had no son, give us property among our father’s brothers.” Moses brought their case before the Lord, and the Lord answered him, “What Zelophehad’s daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers and transfer their father’s inheritance to them. Tell the Israelites: When a man dies without having a son, transfer his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. If his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative of his clan, and he will take possession of it. This is to be a statutory ordinance for the Israelites as the Lord commanded Moses.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and see the land that I have given the Israelites. After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was. When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against My command to show My holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin. So Moses appealed to the Lord, “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the community who will go out before them and come back in before them, and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole community, and commission him in their sight. Confer some of your authority on him so that the entire Israelite community will obey him. He will stand before Eleazar who will consult the Lord for him with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, even the entire community, will go out and come back in at his command.” Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire community, laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

Steve Webb  14:12  
Numbers, chapter 28. The Lord said to Moses, “Give this command to the Israelites: Be sure to bring me my offerings at the right times. They are my food. They are offerings by fire, a soothing aroma. These are the offerings by fire that you must bring to the Lord. Every day you must bring as a daily burnt offering two one-year-old lambs that have no defects. Offer one in the morning and the other at dusk. With each of them also bring a grain offering of eight cups of flour mixed with one quart of virgin olive oil. This is the daily burnt offering which was established on Mount Sinai. This offering is a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. Also bring a wine offering of one quart of wine for each lamb. Pour it out to the Lord in a holy place. Offer the other lamb at dusk along with the same grain offering and wine offering as you brought in the morning. This is an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord. “On the day of worship, offer two one-year-old lambs that have no defects, a grain offering of 16 cups of flour mixed with olive oil, and the wine offering that goes with it. This burnt offering is for every day of worship, in addition to the daily burnt offerings and the wine offerings that go with them. “On the first of every month bring the Lord a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs that have no defects. With each bull there will be a grain offering of 24 cups of flour mixed with olive oil, with each ram a grain offering of 16 cups of flour mixed with olive oil, and with each one-year-old lamb a grain offering of 8 cups of flour mixed with olive oil. This is a burnt offering, a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. The wine offering that goes with each bull will be 2 quarts of wine, with each ram 1½ quarts of wine, and with each lamb 1 quart of wine. This will be the monthly burnt offering for every month of the year. In addition to the daily burnt offering with its wine offering, one male goat must be offered to the Lord as an offering for sin. “The fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover. The fifteenth of this same month is a pilgrimage festival. For seven days you must eat only unleavened bread. On the first day there will be a holy assembly. Don’t do any regular work. Instead, bring the Lord an offering by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs, all of them without defects. Along with them bring grain offerings of flour mixed with olive oil. Bring 24 cups for each bull, 16 cups for each ram, and 8 cups for each of the seven lambs. Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin to make peace with the Lord. Offer these in addition to the morning burnt offering. Bring all these offerings on each of the seven days. They are food. They are offerings by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord. They will be offered in addition to the daily burnt offering and the wine offering that goes with it. On the seventh day you must have a holy assembly. You must not do any regular work. “During the Festival of Weeks, you must have a holy assembly. On that day you must not do any regular work. Bring the Lord your new grain offering, the first produce harvested from your fields. Bring a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord—two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs. Along with them bring grain offerings of flour mixed with olive oil. Bring 24 cups for each bull, 16 cups for each ram, and 8 cups for each of the seven lambs. Also bring one male goat to make peace with the Lord. Offer these animals that have no defects along with their wine offerings, in addition to the daily burnt offerings and their grain offerings.”

Steve Webb  18:18  
Okay, last week in Numbers 22 through 24 Balak tried to get Balaam to curse God's people because he was afraid that they were a threat to him because they were so numerous. Balak wanted to drive them from his land. He was sure that if Balaam would curse them, he would be able to defeat them. But God told Balaam that these were his people, and he shouldn't curse them. God would not allow it. And he protected his chosen people from those outside threats. But here in chapter 25 what happened? Israel brings a curse on themselves from God because of their own behavior. They begin to commit sexual sin with the women of Moab apparently in the service of their god of fertility Baal-Peor. Now, I've often heard and you probably have, too, that prostitution is a victimless crime, especially if both parties are willing participants. Of course, that's hogwash. But I'm not here to discuss prostitution and the damage it causes. What I do want to say is that God's judgment on Israel as a result of this sin, should tell you everything you need to know about how the God of the universe thinks about it. God told Moses to, quote, "Arrest all the leaders of the people and hang them up before the Lord in broad daylight so that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel," unquote. Those who had a responsibility to lead the people in righteousness and who seem to have even participated in this great sin were to be executed. And later in the chapter, we learned that God sent a plague on the rest of the people. Twenty-four thousand people died from the plague and it was only because Phinehas killed, with a javelin, one of the Israelites and the Midianite woman he was publicly having sex with - where? - at the entrance of the Tabernacle, that God stopped the plague. Beloved, sexual immorality is not something that should be taken lightly. That's the lesson that comes through loud and clear. But there is another lesson that I mentioned in passing at the beginning of my comments today. God did not allow Israel to be attacked from without. But because of moral and spiritual breakdowns within, they almost came to a terrible end. If it wasn't for the zeal and the indignation of Phinehas, the plague that God unleashed on them might just have ended them. It was the action of one righteous man that stopped the destruction of Israel. Beloved, hear me, we cannot stop praying for our nation. Right now, I'm talking mainly to people in the United States. But for those of you around the world, don't go away, keep listening. Look what's happening around us. Look at how far our morals have fallen. Look at the agenda of those who want to prey on our children with their perverse desire to confuse them as to whether they're boys or girls. This is evil, and it's perverse, and is completely counter to the clear teaching of Scripture. Our nation is falling apart, Beloved, in so very many ways. Our election system is under attack. We have people in high political office that hate our way of life and the ideals that our nation was founded on. America is under attack from enemies within. It has survived attacks from without for over two hundred years, but it's in danger of falling because of rampant immorality and hatred of God within. We must not grow weary in our spiritual warfare, Beloved. We must be strong. We must speak out. Some of us need to seek political office. All of us need to stand in the way of evil. With God's help, we can make a difference. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, "We are human, but we don't wage war as humans do. We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ." Beloved, as Phinehas stopped God's judgment on Israel, I believe we can stop God's judgment on America. Perhaps we are in the final moments of time, and Jesus will soon return, but we don't know that for sure. What we do know is that we're called to be salt and light. We're called to proclaim the name of the Lord. Will you stand? Will you speak out? Will you pray? And that goes for people around the world. What's happening here in America is not entirely unique. There are leaders from around the world, the World Economic Forum, these people are making decisions and they're making policies to destroy us, to destroy you, no matter where you are. If you don't believe me, do some research. But know this, it is evil. I believe that without the people of God intervening in prayer, and in standing up against them, the world we live in, in five years will be completely different than the world we live in today. What are your thoughts? You have comments or questions? Contact information will be at the end of today's show. Or if you've got a modern podcast app, comment via boostagram. Tomorrow will be Gospel Saturday, and we'll complete the book of John by reading chapters 19 to 21.

Steve Webb  23:50  
James in Norway came in with his monthly $20 donation, making him today's Associate Producer. Thank you, James. And God bless you. You know, the Lifespring! One Year Bible is here for you every day to help keep you on track to read through the entire Bible. You won't ever hear any outside advertisers here but I do have expenses. And that's where you come in. If you value the show, because it is helping you stay in the Word every day or because the comments I bring to you on every show and the fact that I don't compromise God's Word then please support the show. Donate what you feel is equal to the value you receive from the show. Pray about it, would you? And then do as the Lord leads.

Steve Webb  24:28  
Lifespringmedia.com/support. 

Steve Webb  24:32  
I'll thank you and I believe that God will bless you. If you have a comment or a question, a prayer request, or a praise report, send a boostagram using a modern podcast app or call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511. Or for prayer requests and praise reports go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com. Our next time of prayer together will be Wednesday. For comments or questions, go to comment.lifespringmedia.com and my email address is steve@lifespringmedia.com. And to find other Lifespring! Media shows go to lifespringmedia.com. There are over three thousand episodes including interviews, music, and short devotional-type shows. Check 'em out.

Steve Webb  25:30  
Thanks to Sister Denise, Michael Haner, Scott Snider, Jason Paschall, and Sister Brittaney for their donations of time and talent. Today's show art is by Jason Paschall. And thanks to today's Associate Producer James in Norway for his support. It was good being with you. I'll see you tomorrow. And until then, may God bless you richly. I'm your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. Bye.

Steve Webb  25:58  
Lifespring! Media, bringing the message of hope, love, and good news since 2004.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai