KEY SCRIPTURE: Numbers 12:1-2 “And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it”.

Aaron and Miriam are the elder siblings of Moses. They spoke against Moses because he had married an Ethiopian woman. They also claimed God had not only spoken by Moses but spoken through them too.

We see two things playing here Miriam had known Moses at birth and was the very one who watched over him when he was put in the Nile river. Aaron was also an elder brother of Moses. These people had become familiar with Moses. They also rebelled against spiritual authority. We see

1. Familiarity

2. Rebellion against spiritual authority.

God’s calling is not an issue of age or association. It is purely by his choice. Romans 13:1 says “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God”. God ordains all the powers or authorities that function on the earth. These are delegated authorities standing in for God. Anyone who wrongly challenges these authorities’ challenges God. (Note; There are some imposters who have not been appointed by God)

There are two things about God that men may act against. Man may sin against God’s holiness, or rebel against His authority. God may easily forgive a sin against His holiness, but will not tolerate a rebellion against His authority. King David sinned against His holiness and was forgiven but King Saul rebelled against His authority and was rejected as the King.

Examples of such authorities are, rulers of nations, fathers at home, institutional heads, heads of churches and various leaders that we have in various aspects of our life.

The question is, what should be done when a man supposed to be in authority is breaking the laws of God, and acting in ways that is against the proper order that He has instituted? There are various ranks of authority in this life. If you happened to be under an authority that breaks the principles of God, you can find a way to express the error to that authority. If he or she disregards your concerns, appeal to a higher authority to bring him or her to order.

This was not the case in Moses issue. The Lord said Moses was the meekest of all men and had a very great favourable standing with God. It was God who saw His authority on Moses to be challenged, and so, He reacted. We must be careful how we speak against certain authorities. Romans 14:4 says “who art thou that judges another man’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Yea he shall be holden up for God is able to make him stand. A lot of people are fast to judge and even condemn some men of God and certain authorities. You must be very careful. You may be treading on a “naked wire”. This warning goes more to people in ministry and Christians as a whole.

PRAYER

I pray for all those in authority to act appropriately and also for all men to be very circumspect in attacking such people in authority.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Numbers 12:9-10 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.

And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

1 Samuel 24:6 ” And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:

Numbers 11:11 ” And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?”

Read Numbers 11:1-35

The children of Israel kept their complaints along the way. This caused the anger of the Lord to kindle against them, and fire from God consumed most of them who were at the outskirts of the camp. They cried unto Moses to pray to God for them. He did and the fire ceased.

They kept complaining. This time thy wanted meat. They even added that they did not know why they should be brought out of Egypt. At this point of the complaints Moses was very distressed. He asked God why has he placed all the burden on him as if he conceived them. In verse 12 Moses asked the Lord where can he get flesh to give them. Moses even asked the Lord to kill him. Now for the first time in all their journeys Moses doubted God whether He could be able to feed the thousands of people with meat. Numbers 11:21 “And Moses said the people among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month?

Why was Moses expressing such doubt? Dearly beloved, faith in God is not an automatic fixed stuff in a servant or child of God. If one allows the cares of this life to gradually take over his heart, his faith no matter how strong or agile it may be, will start dwindling. Moses had allowed the problems of the people to gradually overtake him. He was even asking God to take his life because he could not bear them. The Christian must not allow the flesh to take the lead in his or her life.

The flesh must remain dead so the spirit would continually lead. In the spirit every yoke is easy and every burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30)

In the spirit it is God who does the work through us. Everyone must take time to feed his/her faith. Keep reading the word of God. Keep listening to inspired messages. Anything that distresses and makes you doubt must be discarded. Stay fresh in the spirit to be able to endure every challenge that comes your way.

CONFESSION

God’s word is my necessary food. I give no place to the flesh, neither do I allow the cares of this life to weigh me down, for I daily feed on the word acting on it always. My faith is strong and I ‘m always a winner.

FURTHER STUDIES

Mark 4:19 “And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful”.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Numbers 9:8 “And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.”

(Read Numbers 9:1–23)

On the way to the Promised Land Moses encountered a number of interesting moments with the children of Israel. Among these instances was one occasion when some three men came to Moses and said:”…… We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel? Numbers 9:7

According to God’s law anyone who touches a dead body is defiled and must be put out of the rest of the people. Numbers 5:2 ” Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:”

To be put out of the camp meant you could not participate in the ordinances that God had instituted. This was the reason these men came to Moses explaining why they could not participate in the Passover ceremony and also to enquire from God what could be done about their case. Moses was not dogmatic or a very difficult leader. He did not throw them out and said, you know what the law says. Rather he said I will enquire of the Lord.

Moses responded to the sincerity of these men and enquired from the Lord what he should do. In our dealings with people we have to look out for how sincere people are, to relate to them. When Moses asked God what he must do?, the Lord said  in Numbers 9:10 ” Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto the LORD.”

The law was changed because of these men. God was revealing His graciousness to His children. In our homes and relationships, we have to learn to show mercy, especially when men plead for mercy. Certain couples become so difficult when their spouses have faulted and they plead for mercy. Remember” Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy”. (Matthew 5:7)

NOTE: WITHOUT THE MERCY OF GOD, WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN QUALIFIED TO BE ALIVE?

PRAYER

Father, I pray for all families, relationships and associations that are tearing apart because of offences. May they be merciful to each other, that peace would prevail.

FURTHER STUDIES

Micah 6:8 ” He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD requires of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

Proverbs 16:6 ” By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 34:29 ” And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.”

(Read Exodus 34 :1–35)

Moses had been in the presence of the Lord forty days without eating or drinking water. This was an absolute fast or a supernatural fast. In our key scripture we see that the skin of his face began to shine although he himself was not aware of the change.

Moses experienced that supernatural transformation because of the long stay in God’s presence. There is always a transformation that we experience when we spend time in God’s presence receiving his word.  Our transformation takes place as our minds are renewed. (Romans 12:2). In 2nd Corinthians 3:18, the Bible says ” But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD”. This statement is amazing and revealing as well. The word glass used here means mirror. The word of God is described as a mirror.  Mirrors reflect the beholder’s image. In the mirror of the word our image is the nature or picture of what the Bible talks about.

From the law of mirrors, which states that ‘the image in the mirror is who the beholder is’. This implies the image we read about in God’s word is what we are. We are not what we physically know about ourselves. From God’s mirror we are  Holy, powerful, glorious, wonderful supernatural beings. . The analogy from the story of Moses exposes that, as we keep looking into this amazing mirror, we would be changed into the same image. This image is what we are in the inside of us.

What we need is discipline to keep beholding our glorious image in the mirror of the word. Moses spent forty days and forty nights and at the end the children of Israel could not behold his face. The Bible teaches the glory of Moses was a passing glory. 2nd Corinthians 3:8-9 calls the glory of Moses as a ministration of death whiles we have a ministration of the Spirit. It is also called the ministration of condemnation and we have the ministration of life. What a glorious impact we would make in our world if we are to give enough attention to the word allowing the glorious power of God to fully saturate us.

CONFESSION

God’s word carries a divine transforming power. As I behold it daily my mind is renewed, and I am changed into the very image I see.

FURTHER STUDIES

Romans 12:2 ” And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

James 1:25 “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 33:3 ” Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiff-necked people: lest I consume thee in the way.?

Read Exodus 33:1-23

The Lord calls on Moses and tells him to tell the Jews, because of their stubbornness he will not lead them to the promised land, although an angel would lead them. In verse 5 he added “He will come up into their midst and consume them”.

The children of Israel responded with fear and each person. Stopped wearing his or her ornaments. The Lord arranged a meeting with Moses in the Tabernacle of meeting. Moses spoke on behalf of his people and said “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I  have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight, and consider that this nation is thy people”. What was the Lord’s answer? In Ex 33: 14 it reads “And he, said my presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest”.

The Lord had shown His fury and anger against the people but Moses was able to turn the wrath to favor. How was he able to achieve this.? Moses had walked in the ways of the Lord uprightly. He had won the favor of God because of his obedience. Job 22:30 reads “He shall deliver the island of the innocent and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands. Purity always gives favor to any man who walks in it. Hebrews 12:14 says “Follow peace with all men, and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord”.

There are two aspects of Holiness. The first aspect is what we are, because of the presence of the Lord in us. His presence in any place or thing makes that thing Holy. The second aspects of Holiness is one’s response to living uprightly in the light of God’s word, and also acting on the nature of Holiness he or she has acquired because of the presence of the Lord with Him. It was Moses uprightness that endeared him such favor from God, so much that he granted him audience to speak to him mouth to mouth. The truth is that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation, he that fears him and works righteously is accepted with him (Acts 10:34)

Dear child of God, your uprightness can save multitudes of people. God can stay his judgments and punishments over a people’s sin because of your uprightness and faith in him. Without faith, it is impossible to please him and without holiness you can’t have audience with him. Go for both

PRAYER

Father, I pray for an awareness of holiness in your body. That all Christians act on this holy state to experience a greater power of God in our dealings with people. This I pray in Jesus name.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Job 2:3  ” And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause”.

Psalms 25:21” Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 32:11 ” And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?”

(Read. Exodus 32:1–35)

The children of Israel broke the law of God by making a golden calf to worship it. The Lord decides to destroy all of them. In Exodus 32:10 he said “Now let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them and I will make of thee a great nation”. The Lord said Moses should permit Him to destroy the whole of the children of Israel. Why did He say so? Why didn’t He just go ahead and destroyed them.

From the creation of man, the rule of the earth was given to man. (Genesis 1:26-28). God can only act, do anything on the earth upon man’s invitation. He is the owner of all things yet He has given the right to rule the earth to man. Genesis 1:26  “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have DOMINION over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth”.

Man was given DOMINION over “all the earth”. This gives a great responsibility to us.

A lot of things that go on around us depends on us, what we do or fail to do. Secondly this is also the reason for prayers. Until men pray God will not intervene. People should not blame God for allowing certain evils to go on, on the earth. The responsibility lies on the children of God to consistently stand in the gap and make intercessions on behalf of the people of the earth. Luke 18:1” And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” To have the hand of God in your affairs always you need to pray always.

Moses interceded for the children of Israel. Moses was in no way a selfish man. He never sought for a name for himself, although the Lord said, He would wipe all men and raise a new generation after him.

During Moses intercession he brought out arguments why the Lord must not destroy the Israelites. Moses used God’s own words to argue on behalf of the Israelites. In our prayers we must say what God’s word says about the situation.

 In verse 19 when Moses got to the camp his anger burnt so much that he broke the tablets of the law beneath the mountain. He could not control his anger. He prayed God would have mercy yet he could not control his temper. We always need God’s ability to act appropriately always. Moses made sure that the camp of the Israelites was sanctified by destroying all those who had chosen idolatry. Although he interceded for them, he did not compromise with their sin.

 PRAYER

I pray for world evangelism and the salvation of souls. May the Lord break the deception of the devil over the minds of them who believe not the gospel, in the name of our Lord Jesus.

FURTHER STUDIES

Exodus 32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

Exodus 32:31-32 “And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 24:4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Read Exodus 24:1-18

In this passage we see Moses show great commitment unto God. The Lord asked him to come along with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy of the elders who worshipped God from some distance off.  Moses was asked to come alone closer to God. He returned to the people and rehearsed all the words in their ears. He copied all that God said to him, rising up early to build an alter unto the Lord.

In all these we see a man who’s dedicated to God and the assignment God gave him. Our Lord Jesus when he walked on this earth showed that He was extremely dedicated to doing the will of God to the letter. He says in John 4:34 as follows “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish it”. The Lord Jesus as early as twelve years revealed to His earthly parents that in Luke 2:49 that “……. How is it that you sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my father’s business? In John 4:34 he meant, that which gives Him pleasure for living is to do that which I was sent to do.

We the children of God have all been sent to fulfil a task. John 17:18 “As thou has sent me into the world even so have, I also sent them into the world”. The Lord is saying that we have been sent just as the father sent Him. We must have the same attitude He had. Before the Lord Jesus was raised up into heaven, he commissioned all his disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19,20). Many of us are simply at ease in Zion”. Amos 6:1. Dear child of God the Lord believes in you, that is why he has entrusted such a work into your hands. You can’t afford to fail. Arise out of your sleep and be committed to the master’s commission. Apostle Paul says, “woe is me if I preach not the gospel. ‘Woe’ is an exclamation of grief or danger. You got to see how dangerous it is not to do the work of God. In Romans 1:14 Apostle Paul says “I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise”. What a great spiritual man.

May this awareness and burden come on all children of God.

 PRAYER

Oh God, Open the eyes of all your children to understand the magnitude of their commission.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Matthew 28:19-20  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Romans 1:16 ” For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 20:2 ” I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

 This study is not dealing directly about the character of Moses but has a lot to teach us. We would be looking at the ten commandments as given to Moses.

John 1:17 says, ” For the law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”. This verse gives a sharp contrast about the law and grace in relation to their sources. Moses gave the law but Jesus brought grace and truth. What then is the relationship between grace and the law? These two principles are all seeking for men to relate to God acceptably, but the law falls short of making provisions to make one acceptable before God. The laws make demands from men, whiles grace makes provision. The first commandment states that, “thou shall have no other gods before me”. It tells or commands us not to serve any other god but the Lord God alone. The sad truth is that most men or women fail, when it comes to obeying these commandments. Idolatry is the number one sin of humans. (Note: Idolatry is anything that takes the place of God in our lives).

It is only the grace of God that makes us free from falling short of these laws. What is the grace of God? The grace of God is first and foremost a person. The grace of God is our Lord Jesus taking over a man’s heart to express Himself through that man. Grace is the source of perfection. The grace of God takes the attention from ourselves to Christ. We can’t fall short to any of these laws when the grace of God is fully functioning in us. Romans 6:14 “Sin shall not have dominion over you because you are not under the law but under grace”.

To be under grace means you acknowledge that it is Christ at work in you and He does everything through you. He becomes the centre of your love, and the target of your praise. There is then no place for idolatry if Jesus is the Centre of your love as well as the target of your praise. Every one of the nine commandments would not be a struggle to do when Jesus is working through you. To make this statement in another sense, ‘when the grace of God is working in you, you would not struggle to fulfill these laws.

May we say with apostle Paul, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

 CONFESSION

It is no longer I that lives, but it is Christ alive in me. My life is a manifestation of His works, that produces victory and excellence in all I do.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Philippians 4:13 ” I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”.

Romans 8:3-4 ” For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 19:13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

After three months of their journey to the promised land. The Lord called on Moses to come up to the mountain. The Lord commanded Moses to instruct the children of Israel to sanctify themselves because he would be speaking to the whole congregation. Moses instructed them never to touch the mountain. These people were not to touch the mountain because God had come on the mountain. His presence on the mountain meant it had become Holy. Exodus 19:13. The bible teaches we are the temple of God and God lives in us. If God came unto a mountain which cannot be touched because it had become a Holy mountain, why are we the temple of God yet we look so ordinary. Many of us do not recognize we are very pure as God, because His presence in us gives us the very Holiness of God. We can only transmit the impact of His presence to the world around us, when we relate to Him with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). 1st Corinthians 3:16 “know ye not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you”.

Many of us look ordinary because we do not recognise the magnitude of power that we carry. Many of us have become so accustomed with the life of the world around us  ,and so  we live just like them. Many Christians fear what they fear. A lot more just live like the way people who have no faith in God do.

When Christians acknowledge the magnitude of the power and glory that resides in them and begin to talk, act from the point of view of the greatest power residing in them, then they would continually be a  manifestation of the power of God.

In 2nd Samuel 5:1-7, the Philistines took custody of the Ark of God and placed it in Dagon’s room. Dagon was their chief God. On the next morning Dagon had fallen  down facing   the Ark of God. They raised it up locating it at it’s proper place. By the following day Dagon was not only on the ground but the arms and legs were broken from the body.  This is a wooden box which carried God’s presence. Dear child of God you have been sanctified by the blood of Jesus, bought by His blood and God lives in you. Do not live as an ordinary person. Acknowledge that the greater one lives in you and you cannot be molested by demons and any evil power.Your life must torment the Devils instead.

          CONFESSION

I am the living Ark of God, for God lives presently in me.My life is a special kind ,bearing the very Holiness of God and manifesting the great power of God.I am a terror to the evil powers of this life and no evil power can harm me in Jesus name.

FURTHER STUDIES.

1 Peter 1:15-16 ” But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

Colossians 1:26-27 ” Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 18:14 And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, what is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sitteth thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?”

Jethro the priest of Midian and Moses father in law heard of all that God had done for Moses and the people of Israel. The Bible said Jethro came with Moses’ wife and his two sons whom he sent back to Midian. Why did Moses send them to Midian? The Bible does not give any specific reason or reasons yet one could speculate. Moses was the main man who challenged Pharaoh and the kingdom of Egypt. If Moses could not be touched or attacked by Pharaoh, his wife and sons could be attacked. The best way to protect them was to send them back to Midian. Do you remember the Lord Jesus in his infancy was sent to Egypt by his parents so he could escape from the attack of Herod?

Every man of God involved in cutting edge ministries that stops the works of evil must seek for ways to protect their children who may be vulnerable. Do not expose your children to certain conditions that Satan could attack them. Don’t leave them in the care of some people you can’t trust. Always plead the blood of our Lord Jesus over their lives. Above all spend time interceding for them. They are access for the devil to attack you. Don’t give Satan that opportunity.

During Jethro’s visit with Moses, he saw that Moses took his seat as scores of people stood by with cases to be judged by him. Moses sat down from morning to evening. Jethro saw that Moses would wear himself down, and would likewise wear the people down. He said to him “This thing you are doing is not good”. Exodus 18:17. He advised him to look out for able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness and place them to be rulers over thousand, rulers over hundred, rulers over fifties and rulers over ten.

The qualifications of such men were to be:

1.Have the ability to rule

2.Men of very high morals.

These qualities are what we should look out for in our leaders that we appoint. Having the ability or know how is very important. The other important quality is having good morals. The moral aspect is the failure of African leaders. Politicians describe being in power as “good times”. Good times means having money at your disposal. Most appointees of every political party in power leave the governance as very rich people. Why is this so? They come into power to amass wealth, not to selflessly serve people We must look out for the moral impeccability of candidates before electing them or appointing them into offices.

PRAYER

Father raise sincere men to lead our Nations.

FURTHER STUDIES:

Proverbs 29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

Acts 6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.