This Weeks Passage: Numbers 14:5-19

¹³ And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)

¹⁴ And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

¹⁵ Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,

¹⁶ Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

Numbers 14:13-16

Explanation:

There are a few observations that strike me here.

First, Moses cares about these rebellious people enough to go to God on their behalf. They want to stone Joshua and Caleb. Moses and Aaron had been face down in fear of avoiding God’s judgement on the people. And yet he is still advocating to God on their behalf.

Second, Moses knows God cares about His name among the gentiles. He appeals to God’s reputation as a reason not to kill the people.

Application:

We should concern ourselves with thinking the way God thinks and then praying according to His will. Moses knew God well enough to appeal to what he knew God valued. We should know God like that.

We should concern ourselves with people, interceding to God on their behalf. We ought to pray for ourselves and for others that they would be right with God.

Response:

1. Who is someone who needs you to pray for them?
2. How well do you know God? Is this reflected in your prayer life?
3. How is your prayer life? Do you pray often? Do you pray for others?