Reading 1 – Num 31

“Balaam predicted that a scepter will arise to destroy ‘all the sons of tumult’ (Num 24:17). As a token of this, Moses is now ordered to wage war against the Midianite men of strife. He does so thus foreshadowing the coming day of vengeance (Isa 26:9; 61:2; 63:4; Rev 11:18). This fulfills the instructions earlier given him to ‘vex the Midianites and smite them; for they vex you with their wiles’ and have ‘beguiled you’ (Num 25:17,18). The Midianites, having enticed the Israelites to unfaithfulness, now must be punished. The key verse of this chapter is v 3, with the word ‘avenge’. It is significant that in the battle, not an Israelite is lost” (HP Mansfield, “Christadelphian Expositor”).

Reading 2 – Pro 22:6

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Pro 22:6).

“A statement of general tendencies and not of an inexorable law. Human beings are neither machines nor plants. They have a power of choice; they can respond to good influences or they can be rebellious. Some very good men have had a bad early training and some very bad men were given every opportunity in the instruction of their early days. One of the surprising discoveries made by each successive generation is that children differ from the very cradle” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs”).

Reading 3 – John 4

Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4): “At the beginning of the conversation he did not make himself known to her… but first she caught sight of a thirsty man [v 7], then a Jew [v 9], then a rabbi [vv 13,14], afterwards a prophet [vv 17-19], last of all the Messiah [vv 25,26]. She tried to get the better of the thirsty man, she showed her dislike of the Jew, she heckled the rabbi, she was swept off her feet by the prophet, and finally she adored the Messiah” (Tatian).

Reading 1 – Exo 22:1-9

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep… If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession–whether ox or donkey or sheep– he must pay back double. If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in another man’s field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard… If a man gives his neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double… In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to his neighbor” (Exo 22:1-9).

Restitution varies here according to several factors. First, restitution varies, depending on whether the stolen animal is recovered. Second, restitution varies according to the value of the animal, especially with regard to the productivity of the beast. If a man’s ox was stolen, the fields could not be plowed, the wagon pulled, or the grain threshed. Thus, a stolen (and not recovered) ox was to be paid for fivefold, while a sheep only fourfold. In Lev 6, the sacrificial system provided a means for the thief to repent, to make restitution, and to obtain forgiveness. In the New Testament, Zaccheus demonstrated his repentance by restoring fourfold what he had wrongly taken (Luke 19:8-10).

Restitution kept the offender out of prison, and kept him in society. It also enabled him to make his offense right by repaying the victim of the crime in a way that replaced the harm by a positive benefit. Thus, both the offender and the offended could live together, both with a sense of justice and human dignity. Today, most often, the victim receives little or no compensation, the offender makes no restitution, and is forced to live apart from society, at a price society is penalized to pay.

Restitution is a corrective, but not a cure for the crime of stealing. The Bible clearly prescribes the cure, especially in the New Testament. Crime would have the thief get ahead at the expense of one’s neighbor. Justice would have one person gain while, at the same time, the other party gained equally. Jesus Christ teaches that we should be willing to sacrifice our own interests if that benefits our neighbor: “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you” (Mat 5:42). “And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same thing. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men” (Luk 6:32-35).

Christ calls for nothing less than a complete reversal of the attitudes and actions of the thief: “Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need (Eph 4:28).

The thief does not wish to work, but rather to live off of others who work. The thief looks upon the needy as the vulnerable, whose weaknesses he may very well use to his advantage, and thus to prey upon them. The Christian must put away laziness and go to work. The Christian views the needs of others as the opportunity to manifest the love and grace of God to men, and thus reaches out to help, giving of his own resources.

Reading 2 – Psa 76:10

“Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained” (Psa 76:10).

“Surely the wrath of MAN shall praise thee” (AV). God has always directed man’s wrath to His own ultimate glory — a chief example of this being the crucifixion of His Son (see Act 2:23,24; cp Isa 53:10). In like manner, the hatred of Joseph’s brethren for him worked out at last to the glory of God and their own salvation (Gen 50:20). And Pharaoh’s opposition to God’s deliverance of Israel finally resulted in God’s Name and power being declared throughout the earth (Exo 9:16; Rom 9:17). And finally, in the Last Days, Gog’s enmity for Israel and her God will have the same result (Eze 38:22,23; 39:7).

The second phrase reads, in the AV: “The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” This means that the few survivors of God’s wrath are now restrained or quiet — having no more wrath of their own to vent.

Reading 3 – Mark 8:34

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mar 8:34).

“To deny one’s self is more than self-denial; it is to say ‘No’ to the very self with its tacit assumption of a right to the life we possess; it is to repudiate the ego which claims a right to go its own way. Man has no right in life, and therefore no right to use life as he pleases for his own ends; and the meaning of the saying was to be demonstrated fully and finally when Jesus himself went voluntarily to surrender his life. He deliberately substituted his Father’s will for his own, saying, ‘Not what I will, but what Thou wilt’; and when his life was ended in the darkness of death his own will was extinguished in oblivion” (LG Sargent, Mark 120).

Reading 1 – Exo 35:20-22

“Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD” (Exo 35:20-22).

Idolatry and immorality are often linked to such items of jewelry in the ancient Near East. The gold ornaments obtained from the Egyptians (Exo 3:22; 11:2; 12:35) were actually plunder (Exo 12:36). Possibly the gold ornaments had a direct association with the false worship of the Egyptians (cp Amo 5:26). And so the putting off of Israel’s ornaments and jewelry was an appropriate act of repentance, because these ornaments were similar to those which had been contributed to make the golden calf (Exo 32:2-4). These images seem to have had an idolatrous association with the past, with pagan gods. Thus, to put off these ornaments was to show Israel’s repentance over the golden calf incident.

It looks as though the Israelites never again put on these ornaments: “So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb” (Exo 33:6). Probably these ornaments, which the Israelites put off here, were later offered to God to be used for the furnishings of the Tabernacle (Exo 35:21,22). As implements of idolatry, these golden ornaments were fit only for destruction. But as tokens of Israel’s repentance, these ornaments were fit for use in the Tabernacle furnishings, in the very presence of God. In this way the “idols” of Egypt were still made to serve the One true God!

Reading 2 – Psa 93:5

“Your statutes stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days, O LORD” (Psa 93:5).

“We must be solid and consistent from outer surface to inner core. If we relax into foolishness or fleshiness in our non-ecclesial activities, our ‘holiness’ is a sham and a delusion. True saints are saints at all times, under all circumstances, or they are not saints at all. Holiness cannot be donned or shed at whim or convenience” (GVG).

Thus Isa 6:3 is brought to fruition: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

When Yahweh truly reigns (v 1), then all will be holiness to Him (v 5; Zec 14:20,21; cp Psa 97:12; 99:9). But it is also true that, even now, God’s spiritual House is — or should be — holy (1Co 3:17).

Reading 3 – 1Co 4:7

“For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1Co 4:7).

“The prideful individual nullifies Divine grace because he or she does not see the need for it. By whatever measure they have falsely valued themselves — be it works or knowledge or wealth or whatever — they have greatly overestimated themselves in the face of their Creator. The Pharisee, despite all of his knowledge of the Scriptures, did not understand who and what he was, but prayed instead saying, ‘God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are…’ [Luk 18:11]. The Pharisee did not see himself as a sinner — which was absurd. It is only when we see our utter worthlessness that we attain value in the eyes of God. As James puts it, ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up’ (Jam 4:10)” (Kyle Tucker).

Reading 1 – Lev 1:1,2

“The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock’ ” (Lev 1:1,2).

The offering was to be taken from the property of the individual. This was to be a fundamental principle: from his ordinary possessions, and out of his daily life, the worshiper was to find the means to give sacrifice and service to his God. God’s worship was not to be an extraordinary thing, something done by an elite few for the benefit of others, or something performed by an entertainer — for the amusement of onlookers. It was to be the regular devotion of the common man and woman — an acknowledgment that their God was with them every day, a presence in all aspects of their lives. So out of the common furnishings, the common fabric and tools of that day-to-day existence, they were to set aside a portion to be given to Him.

Reading 2 – Psa 103:14

“…who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion” (Psa 103:4).

We are also redeemed FROM all iniquity (Tit 2:14), from transgressions (Heb 9:15), from the curse of the Law (Gal 3:13), and from the Law itself (Gal 4:5), from among men (Rev 14:3,4), and from all nations (Rev 5:9).

We are redeemed BY Christ (Mat 20:28; Mar 10:45; Heb 9:12; 1Ti 2:6) and by God (Luk 1:68; 1Co 1:30).

We are redeemed THROUGH Christ’s life (Mat 20:28; Mar 10:45), his blood (1Pe 1:18,19; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14), and his death (Heb 9:15).

We are redeemed for ever (Heb 9:12), but only fully and truly and absolutely “redeemed” when Christ comes (Rom 8:23).

Reading 3 – 1Co 11:26

“For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1Co 11:26).

“At the Breaking of Bread, there is as it were a door opened in Heaven. To the left, against a sombre background, the modern disciple sees his Lord, praying in Gethsemane, suffering in Golgotha. To the right he sees a great glory, the Kingdom of God set up upon the earth, when God’s King reigns in righteousness, and His princes rule in judgment. In the centre he perceives two miniatures. The first is of a candidate for divine honour and immortality descending into the waters of baptism, over which waters there is this seal of the Spirit: ‘For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.’ The second miniature is of a table, on which are set bread and wine; all around is wilderness. Over the table the Spirit hath set this seal: ‘For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come’ ” (JB Norris, “First Century Ecclesia” 172).

Reading 1 – Lev 23

“The walk of fellowship… relates to the essential festivals that the Israelites were called upon to observe… The festivals are defined as ‘set times’ appointed by Yahweh. At those times Israel ‘met’ with God in the various particulars in which He was revealed to the people.

“In addition, the festivals of Lev 23 set forth the purpose of Yahweh as a prophecy foreshadowing developments to be revealed at the ‘set times’ as He appoints, as follows:

The Sabbath — with its typical week — emphasizes the purpose of Yahweh to be consummated at the millennium, the seventh from creation (see Exo 20:11). The Passover speaks of separation, deliverance, and redemption: the means whereby the millennium can be attained. It is fulfilled in ‘Christ our Passover’. The Feast of weeks commemorates the giving of the Law (Exo 19:1). The antitype of this was the preaching at Pentecost. The Day of Atonement provides the means of forgiveness when the law was broken, suggesting the Judgment Seat of Christ. The Feast of Tabernacles introduces the harvest rejoicing, as typical of the ingathering of all the redeemed in the future.

“It is important to notice that the festivals foreshadow the divinely directed steps towards salvation. First there is separation, then acknowledgment of the requirements of law, and obedience, the covering provided on the national day of judgment, and finally rejoicing at the ingathering of the harvest, anticipating the final joy of the future” (HP Mansfield, “Christadelphian Expositor”).

Reading 2 – Psa 128

Psalm 128 is right at the heart of these beautiful Songs of Degrees. And right at the heart of the psalm is Christ. Christ is seen in every verse, in every image. What is most wonderful in the contemplation of this psalm is the magnificent way in which the commonplace becomes profound, and the natural becomes spiritual. When the image of Christ is stamped thereupon, the base currency of everyday life becomes the finest gold. The simplest sights and actions glow forth with the most sublime meaning. As in the previous psalms — where sowing and reaping, sleeping and waking, are transformed into rich parables of faith — so every detail of these ordinary actions now pulsate with significance.

We seat ourselves at the family table for our evening meal, and suddenly we find that the Master is there. The bread is his body, precious seed cast into the ground to die and bring forth much fruit; we are that fruit! The wine is his blood, the blood of the True Vine, and we are his branches! The oil is the light of that perfect Life; in the darkest of all nights he knelt among the gnarled olive trees of Gethsemane while we slept heedlessly — he is the tree of life, and we are like him: little olive plants round HIS table!

“So shall no part of day or night

From sacredness be free;

But all our life in every step

Be fellowship with thee.”

Step by step, “degree” by “degree”, we ascend into the presence of God. Our daily routine is transformed into life on a higher level — a life lived to the fullest even now, because it is lived in joyful contemplation of eternity with Christ.

Reading 3 – Luk 6:12

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God” (Luk 6:12).

First Christ prays — before making any decision.

“If ever one of woman born might have lived without prayer, it was our spotless, perfect Lord, and yet none was ever so much in supplication as he! Such was his love to his Father, that he loved much to be in communion with Him: such his love for his people, that he desired to be much in intercession for them. The fact of this eminent prayerfulness of Jesus is a lesson for us — he hath given us an example that we may follow in his steps.

“The time he chose was admirable: it was the hour of silence, when the crowd would not disturb him; the time of inaction, when all but himself had ceased to labour; and the season when slumber made men forget their woes, and cease their applications to Him for relief. While others found rest in sleep, he refreshed himself with prayer.

“The place was also well selected. He was alone where none would intrude, where none could observe: thus was he free from Pharisaic ostentation and vulgar interruption. Those dark and silent hills were a fit oratory for the Son of God. Heaven and earth in midnight stillness heard the groans and sighs of the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended.

“The continuance of his pleadings is remarkable; the long watches were not too long; the cold wind did not chill his devotions; the grim darkness did not darken his faith, or loneliness check his importunity. We cannot watch with him one hour, but he watched for us whole nights.

“The occasion for this prayer is notable; it was after his enemies had been enraged — prayer was his refuge and solace; it was before he sent forth the twelve apostles — prayer was the gate of his enterprise, the herald of his new work. Should we not learn from Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under peculiar trial, or contemplate fresh endeavours for the Master’s glory?” (CHS).

Reading 1 – Exo 38:8

“They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting” (Exo 38:8).

“After the altar of burnt offering, there is a laver or large vessel, filled with water, at which the priests have to wash (or lave) before entering into the tabernacle to perform its services. As the Lord Jesus and the saints are the antitypical Aaron and his sons, the significance bears on them; and bearing on them, bears also on all who will finally be reconciled to God… After sacrifice, washing — purification, making clean. This is no accidental order of events. In the popular conception of things, sacrifice would be enough, for the whole burden of their preaching is that the blood of Christ is the only essential for a sinner’s salvation…

“This is not an enlightened statement of the case. The blood is only an element in the process of reconciliation: after reconciliation must come reformation, if the reconciliation is to continue in force. The sinner must ‘walk worthy of the vocation wherewith he is called’ (Eph 4:1), and, if he do not, he will be rejected: so Paul says (Heb 6:8), and in preaching thus, he only re-echoes the plain teaching of Christ, who says, ‘Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away’ (Joh 15:2). ‘If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love’ (Joh 15:10). The unprofitable servant is to be cast out (Mat 25:30). We must walk as children of light (Eph 5:8) otherwise ‘we shall die’ (Rom 8:13)…

“Life after introduction to Christ is, therefore, a probation. This is the lesson of the laver. It is not enough to have God’s righteousness declared in sacrifice, and endorsed in our baptism into the death of Christ: we must wash in the laver. We must conform to the exhortation, ‘Wash you, make you clean: put away the evil of your doings’ (Isa 1:16). Literally this is done by subjecting the mind to the influence of the word of God. The word of God is always spoken of as the cleansing power (Joh 15:3; Psa 119:9; Eph 5:26), and, in actual experience, it is found to be so. Kept clean by the word, we shall be qualified for admission into the holiest, in the change to the incorruptible” (RR, “Law of Moses” 151,152).

Reading 2 – Psa 100:2

“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs” (Psa 100:2).

“Delight in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who serve God with a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving Him at all; they bring the form of homage, but the life is absent. Our God requires no slaves to grace His throne; He is the Lord of the empire of love, and would have His servants dressed in the livery of joy. The angels of God serve Him with songs, not with groans; a murmur or a sigh would be a mutiny in their ranks. That obedience which is not voluntary is disobedience, for the Lord looketh at the heart, and if He seeth that we serve Him from force, and not because we love Him, He will reject our offering. Service coupled with cheerfulness is heart-service, and therefore true. Take away joyful willingness from the Christian, and you have removed the test of his sincerity. Cheerfulness is the support of our strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the remover of difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a railway carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and if there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will be clogged with weariness. The man who is cheerful in his service of God, proves that obedience is his element” (CHS).

“Have one simple aim in life: serve God. This is the key to joy, here and hereafter. This alone has permanence. Natural life is composed of changing conditions and ended dreams — until at last all collapses in death, and the utter emptiness of it all is made pitifully manifest. It looks so interesting and attractive at first: lovely babies, carefree laughing children, active intensely-living young people, successful adults. But what is the point in it all? All ends at last in sickness, senility, death. What a mockery is anything that does not have permanence! Only one thing has permanence. Only one thing will be left when all the glitter of natural life is gone. Only one thing gets better and stronger and more valuable as life ebbs and the inevitable end comes to all. Serve God! Make that the spring of every action. Gradually, logically, methodically eliminate everything else from the spectrum of your supposed ‘interest’ and ‘enjoyment’, for this alone is real and lasting. Everything else in the world will fail you — yea, cruelly mock you — at the end” (GVG).

Reading 3 – 1Co 8:1

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1Co 8:1).

“[Paul] was not condemning knowledge, but simply stating a truth. Knowledge of the right kind is excellent, but even that may tend to inflate the individual who possesses it. Men may be puffed up even by their knowledge of the Scriptures, especially if their reading has been ill-balanced. Much charity is needed to guard against this evil and to make knowledge lead to edification. There are people who will say that it is only the dangerous ‘little knowledge’ that puffs men up, while those who have studied deeply are truly humble and never boast. This thought has been stated often, but it is not true. Indeed it would be difficult to define the words of such a saying. All the knowledge of mankind is only little. The most ignorant and the most cultured are only separated by a few degrees. It is quite true that intelligent people perceive the ugliness and folly of blatant boasting and so if they boast they do it more skillfully. Or it is possible for a man to feel himself so superior to the common run of humanity that he finds no pleasure in the admiration of the multitude. His detachment is a form of pride, and he may fall into the worst of errors by being puffed up against God” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs” 128-129).

Reading 1 – Num 15:37-40

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God’ ” (Num 15:37-40).

“What nation under heaven can show a feature of civilisation like this? Talk of the fashions for the month. Here is a fashion for ever! whose sole object was to keep before the mind the one thing most odious of all others to the taste of the followers of Parisian models. It shows more eloquently than anything else the place which God should have in human life, according to God’s view of the matter, and His view alone is the one which will prevail with the children of wisdom. All other views are bound to become as extinct as the vegetation of the carboniferous era” (Robert Roberts, “Law of Moses” 81).

Reading 2 – Pro 11:25

“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Pro 11:25).

“We are here taught the great lesson, that to get, we must give; that to accumulate, we must scatter; that to make ourselves happy, we must make others happy; and that in order to become spiritually vigorous, we must seek the spiritual good of others. In watering others, we are ourselves watered. How? Our efforts to be useful, bring out our powers for usefulness. We have latent talents and dormant faculties, which are brought to light by exercise. Our strength for labour is hidden even from ourselves, until we venture forth to fight the Lord’s battles, or to climb the mountains of difficulty. We do not know what tender sympathies we possess until we try to dry the widow’s tears, and soothe the orphan’s grief. We often find in attempting to teach others, that we gain instruction for ourselves. Oh, what gracious lessons some of us have learned at sick beds! We went to teach the Scriptures, we came away blushing that we knew so little of them. In our converse with poor saints, we are taught the way of God more perfectly for ourselves and get a deeper insight into divine truth. So that watering others makes us humble. We discover how much grace there is where we had not looked for it; and how much the poor saint may outstrip us in knowledge. Our own comfort is also increased by our working for others. We endeavour to cheer them, and the consolation gladdens our own heart. Like the two men in the snow; one chafed the other’s limbs to keep him from dying, and in so doing kept his own blood in circulation, and saved his own life. The poor widow of Sarepta [1Ki 17:9] gave from her scanty store a supply for the prophet’s wants, and from that day she never again knew what want was. Give then, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and running over” (CH Spurgeon).

Reading 3 – Luk 24:2

“They found the stone rolled away from the tomb” (Luk 24:2).

Was ever a mountain so “large” as the great stone which sealed Christ’s tomb? Truly, as miracles go, no miracle has been or could be so great as the one that caused this “very large” stone to be removed, and thus proclaimed Christ’s tomb to be open… forevermore.

Jesus had told his followers, “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him’ ” (Mar 11:23). Of course, we have trouble with moving literal mountains, even as we have trouble explaining this passage.

But seen from a spiritual perspective, isn’t the greatest “mountain” of difficulty — which no man can move — death and the grave? Engineers with bulldozers and explosives can move even literal mountains. But who among them can move the mountainous “stone” that covers the grave? Not a one!

And even the disciples of Jesus could not move such a stone from the mouth of his sepulcher… not at that time; they were weeping in sorrow, and hiding in fear. It was the faith of Jesus alone — though he was dead and unconscious in the tomb — that moved the hand of the angels of God, and rolled back the stone. It may be said that the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performed was this: the blood of this wholly righteous man cried out from the depths of the earth, and the Father heard!

Do WE, today, have faith to move mountains? The answer, I believe, is really another question: ‘Do WE have faith that the greatest “mountain” has already been moved?’ “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mar 11:24). Our faith may be — not a prospective — but a retrospective faith: we look backward, and ask, ‘Do I really believe that the “mountain” has been moved?’ If we truly believe that, then — it is absolutely sure and certain — ALL THINGS are possible for us!

Reading 1 – Num 36:1-12

The proposed division of the land — suggested by the census in Num 26 — brought up a special question of considerable importance to Israel. Zelophehad, of the tribe of Manasseh, and of the family of Gilead, had died — not in any special judgment, but along with the whole generation that perished in the wilderness. He had left no sons, and his daughters were anxious to obtain a “possession,” lest their father’s name should be lost among his family. By Divine direction, which Moses had sought, their request was granted, and it became a judicial statute in Israel ever after: that daughters or — in their absence — the nearest kinsman should enter upon the inheritance of those who died without leaving sons, and should if possible raise up that would carry on the name of the one who had died.

In all such cases, of course, the children of those who obtained the possession would have to be incorporated, not with the tribe to which they originally belonged, but with that in which their “inheritance” lay. Thus the “name” of a man would not “be done away from among his family.” Nor was this statute recorded merely on account of its national bearing, but for higher reasons. The desire to preserve the name of a family in Israel sprang not merely from feelings natural in such circumstances, but was connected with the hope of the coming Messiah. Until he appeared, each family would desire to preserve its identity, and its legitimate claim to its own special portion of the Land of Promise.

Reading 2 – Pro 27:17

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Pro 27:17).

“This suggests that even those of equal knowledge and ability can sharpen each other. It is not necessary to have a qualified teacher to enable us to learn. A man’s ideas are ‘right in his own eyes, but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.’ The neighbour may not be of equal calibre with the one he so ‘searches’ and yet his criticisms may be of great value. The original idea may need a good deal of modification to make it sound, and the explanatory words may need much clarifying to make them fully intelligible. We may often be surprised at the failure of our friends to appreciate a good thought or to understand language which seems perfectly clear to us. If we are to render service our thoughts must be such as can be appreciated and our language must be easy to understand. A very humble critic may serve us well by misunderstanding us, if he tells us of his difficulties” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs”).

Reading 3 – John 9:7

” ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing” (John 9:7).

So he was sent to wash, even though he could not as yet see!

“Our blind eyes are touched by the ointment prepared by the mingling of the dust of the ground with the moisture from the mouth of him who was sent from heaven. But this does not cure us. We receive the command to go and wash in the waters of Apostleship (John is careful to point out that Siloam means Sent). It is a long and difficult journey. Some do not undertake it at all; some begin only to give it up and resume their begging at the gate. Often it is made shorter and easier by the friendly guidance of one who can see. It is the responsibility of all enlightened ones to listen for the tapping of the stick and the cry to be directed to the waters of Siloam. But faith and obedience are rewarded. With the washing of the waters we enter a new world illuminated by the Sun of Righteousness. This may mean estrangement, persecution and sacrifice, but it will also be an opportunity for witness and loyalty. Jesus will know. He will seek us out and invite us into a fellowship so deep and abiding that all the former relationships are like the phantom sounds and movements of the dark world from which we have been delivered” (Melva Purkis, “A Life of Jesus” 240,241).

Reading 1 – Num 35:6-34

Six of the 48 Levitical cities — three east and three west of the Jordan — were set apart as “cities of refuge,” for the unintentional manslayer. These cities were for the protection of the accidental manslayer, but it must not be imagined that the simple plea of unintentional homicide afforded safety. The law specified that the roads to these cities were always to be kept in good repair. But, according to v 25 (cp Jos 20:4), a seeker for sanctuary would, on arriving at the gates of a city of refuge, first have to plead his cause before the elders of that city. If they accepted his case, they would give him provisional protection. If, however, afterwards, the “avenger of blood” claimed his extradition, the accused person would be sent back under proper protection to his own city, where the whole case would be thoroughly investigated. If the homicide was then proved to have been unintentional, the accused would be restored to the “city of refuge,” and enjoy its protection, till the death of the high priest set him free to return to his own city.

As for the duty of “avenging blood,” its principle is deeply rooted in the Old Testament, and traced up to the relation in which God stands to our world. For, the blood of man, who is made in God’s image, when shed upon earth, which is God’s property, “cries out” to God (Gen 4:10) — it claims payment like an unredeemed debt. Hence the expression “avenger of blood,” which should be literally rendered “redeemer of blood.”

Symbolically, the cities of refuge are the place of God’s merciful protection. There, the manslayer was to find a refuge, sheltered, as it were, under the wings of the grace of God, till the complete remission of the punishment at the death of the high priest. This death foreshadows the death of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, who has made a perfect covering for all sins.

Reading 2 – Pro 26:17

“Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own” (Pro 26:17).

“Adults often reveal less capacity for learning than children. They have the advantage of books containing all the accumulated wisdom of mankind, and beyond all this and permeating a great deal of it, there is the instruction that has come direct from God, yet the knowledge is very little used. Life is full of avoidable evils through men ignoring principles or rules of conduct which are perfectly well known, and which have had their wisdom demonstrated in every generation.

“Sometimes the individual failure is so obvious that almost all observers smile at it. I recall… instances of this kind in which the facts were related by the victim when sufficient time had passed for him to join in the amusement… a young man, when returning home one night, chanced to pass a low part of the city where there was a quarrel between man and wife. The young fellow, perceiving that the woman was being ill-treated, gallantly went to her assistance. He was, as he expressed it, ‘getting on very nicely’ in his contest with the man when the ungrateful woman came up behind and hit her champion on the head with a saucepan. According to his own account, the young man spent a carefree hour in the gutter before he came back to consciousness of this painful life. Then, as he limped slowly homeward, he began dimly to recall to memory certain maxims regarding the unwisdom of meddling with strife that does not belong to us” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs”).

Reading 3 – John 8:29

“The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” (John 8:29).

“Have only one motive in life: to please God. Get all your pleasure and satisfaction from that. It will, at one stroke, eliminate 90% of your ‘problems,’ and ALL your inner ‘unhappiness.’ Don’t seek praise. Don’t seek status with others. Don’t seek advancement. Don’t seek THINGS. All these pursuits are happiness-robbers. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor pride with praise, nor lust with possession. All these are ashes in the mouth at last. Even of themselves they are stupid, but as set against and displacing spiritual motives and pursuits, they are pure suicide. Check every thought and word, and ask: ‘Will this please God? Could I at this moment be pleasing Him better?’ This wonderfully pacifies and harmonizes and unifies life, and gives it purpose. Set the goal of your life to bring every thought into harmony with this, and to eliminate everything out of harmony with it. This is success” (GVG).

Reading 1 – Lev 15:2,7

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean… Whoever touches the man who has a discharge must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening” (Lev 15:2,7).

“Not only a leper, but any man having a running issue out of his flesh, was to be regarded as unclean till he was cured — unclean in himself and defiling to others. All contact with him in any way was forbidden. Everything he used or touched was to be considered as defiling, whether saddle, crockery ware, chair, or bed; and any one touching any of these, was to be considered unclean for the whole day, and compelled to wash, both himself and clothing. The advantage of such a law as a hygienic protection, is self-manifest, but it is the spiritual significance we are in search of. There are moral lepers and men whose mouths are a fountain of uncleanness — men comparable only to running sores in the community. ‘Avoid them’ [Rom 16:17], says Paul: ‘turn away’ [2Ti 3:5] — ‘Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them’ [Eph 5:11]. Their company — their very touch — is defiling. Men of God may be thrown into contact with them, as the Mosaic type contemplates: but they have a resort for cleansing which is also figured in the type: they bathe themselves in the water of the living word, and wait with a sense of contracted uncleanness till the next day, when sleep and prayer will bring a return of the purity that is native to the mind in which God dwells” (Robert Roberts, “Law of Moses” 260).

Reading 2 – Psa 118:22

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone” (Psa 118:22).

This “stone” is specifically interpreted as the Messiah in Mat 21:42-44: “Jesus saith unto them, ‘Did ye never read the scriptures, “The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes”? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder’ ” (cp Mar 12:10,11; Luk 20:17).

To his quotation of Psa 118 Jesus adds (in Mat 21:44) an allusion to the “stone of stumbling” of Isa 8:14,15 — equating both the rejected stone and the stone of stumbling to himself. Peter confirms this, and also joins Isa 8 together with the tried and precious cornerstone of Isa 28:16: “To whom [ie, to the Lord] coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed [ie, rejected: Psa 118:22] indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively [living] stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded’ [Isa 28:16]. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious {Isa 28:16]: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner [Psa 118:22], and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence [Isa 8:14], even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient” (1Pe 2:4-8).

The repeated use by Jesus and the apostles (cp Paul in Rom 9:32,33 and Eph 2:20-22) of these Old Testament “stone” prophecies calls for special attention. Undoubtedly they saw the great altar-stone of Zion as emblematic of the sacrificial work of the Messiah.

The One who came to offer his life as the perfect sacrifice was rejected in that task by the would-be spiritual heads of Israel (Act 4:11); but it was through that very rejection, and only because of it, that Jesus was actually offered as the sacrifice for the sins of all men. And so the cross of Christ, while precious to some, became at the same time a source of confusion and offence, or stumbling, to others (1Co 1:18-29, especially v 23). But, like the original altar-stone, Christ too can never be moved or replaced (1Co 3:11). He is, and will be, the sure foundation of all the apostles and prophets, and in and around him the whole “building” of God’s holy temple has been, is being, and will be framed (Eph 2:20-22; cp Dan 2:34,35,44).

Reading 3 – 2Co 10:12

“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” (2Co 10:12).

Let us not compare ourselves with one another — that is, with the brethren and sisters around us; that is not wise. Such actions foster judgmentalism and pride. By this course, a community’s standards of conduct and holiness and service and sacrifice gradually and imperceptibly sink lower and lower toward the way of the flesh, in blind complacence.

Let us rather constantly and honestly compare our service and way of life with the holy precepts of the Word, and with the humbling and mortifying examples of Christ and of Paul; these are specifically set before us as patterns to copy and standards of comparison (cp 1Co 11:1). This way a community’s devotion and service are gradually lifted higher and higher, growing and developing toward the Spirit of God, going on “from glory to glory” (2Co 2:18).