February 15, Numbers 8-10

The Israelites were obedient to God, they marched when He said march and they camped when He said camp. Obedience brings life and blessings, disobedience brings death and curses. Why do I choose disobedience so often?

These verses in Chapter 10 really struck me:

1 -3 God spoke to Moses: "Make two bugles of hammered silver. Use them to call the congregation together and give marching orders to the camps. When you blow them, the whole community will meet you at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

4 -7 "When a bugle gives a single, short blast, that's the signal for the leaders, the heads of the clans, to assemble. When it gives a long blast, that's the signal to march. At the first blast the tribes who were camped on the east set out. At the second blast the camps on the south set out. The long blasts are the signals to march. The bugle call that gathers the assembly is different from the signal to march.

God was giving them instructions on how to communicate - it reminded me as New Covenant Girls, we must know the Voice of our Shepherd! Then we read in verse 29:

29 Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We're marching to the place about which God promised, 'I'll give it to you.' Come with us; we'll treat you well. God has promised good things for Israel." 30 But Hobab said, "I'm not coming; I'm going back home to my own country, to my own family."

Hobab was hurt is some way, home looked better than where he was going. How often does the old look better than the new. The familiar whether it's a rut or all the way back to bondage in Egypt - we know what to expect, we've been there done that. The Promised Land is new, it's different, we must live and hope and go for it...