Thursday, July 10, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Numbers 21-23
Key Verse
Numbers 22:19 — “Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more.”
Devotional Thought
The children of Israel are nearing the end of their wilderness years, and the road has grown weary. When the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way, they spoke against God and against Moses, complaining that there was no bread and no water and that their soul loathed the light bread. God sent fiery serpents among them, and many died. Yet when the people confessed their sin and Moses prayed, God did not remove the serpents; He provided a remedy. Moses made a serpent of brass and set it upon a pole, and whoever looked upon it lived. Centuries later, Jesus would tell Nicodemus that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up.
Notice how the story turns from grumbling to singing. At Beer, God gathered the people and gave them water, and Israel sang, Spring up, O well. The same mouths that complained now praised. Then came the battles with Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, and God delivered both into Israel’s hand. When Balak king of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel, God met Balaam three times and put a blessing in his mouth instead. Balaam’s own ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with a drawn sword, and the LORD opened the ass’s mouth and then Balaam’s eyes. Even a pagan diviner could not curse what God had blessed.
We know this pattern in our own lives. How often have we grown discouraged on a long road and grumbled against God, only to find that His remedy was not the removal of every hardship but a provision we had to look to in faith? The serpent on the pole was not beautiful; it was a picture of the very judgment that had bitten them. So the cross is not attractive to our pride, yet it is where the bitten soul finds healing. And when God blesses, no Balak can reverse it. The blessing He speaks over His people stands.
This July, many of us are in the middle of a long stretch—a season of work, of waiting, of care for others—and the way can feel discouraging. The lesson of Numbers is not that the road gets shorter, but that the LORD travels it with us. He gives water in the wilderness. He turns curses into blessings. He lifts up a remedy for the bitten. Look to Him today, and sing to the well.
Reflection
- When you are discouraged on a long road, do you grumble against God or look to the remedy He has provided in Christ?
- Are there “Balaks” in your life—voices trying to curse what God has already blessed—and do you trust that His blessing cannot be reversed?
Prayer
Lord God, we confess that we have murmured against You when the way grew long and the bread seemed light. Thank You that You did not leave us in our sin, but lifted up Your Son on the cross, that whoever looks to Him in faith may live. Give us water in our wilderness and songs in the night. Turn aside every curse spoken against Your people, for whom You have spoken blessing. Teach us to look to Jesus daily, to trust Your unchanging word, and to walk the remainder of this road with grateful hearts, until we come into the land You have promised. In Christ’s name, Amen.