Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Monday, March 26, 2012

QT 26 Mar 12, Take your decisions to God, they may change ...


Num 20:14-21 (NIV) Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying:

"This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come upon us. 15 Our forefathers went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, 16 but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.
"Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory."

18 But Edom answered:

"You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword."

19 The Israelites replied:

"We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot — nothing else."

20 Again they answered:

"You may not pass through."

Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army. 21 Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them.

NOTE: Israel appeals to the Edomites on the basis of their common ancestry. The request seems reasonable, but Edom is unwilling to allow 3 million people pass through the country, even if they pay for damage and food consumed. Numbers 20 is characterized by a lot of human actions that fail. It is not clear if the cloud's movement was distinct as to require them to take the King's highway or if they misinterpreted the direction in their quest to get Edom's okay. Ultimately they take the much wider path into the Arabian desert to go around Edom.

The story does make one wonder how much human effort was being applied to problems. It appears they are near the end of the 40 years, but things still do not seem easy.

Even when the steps seem reasonable, we still need to take our actions to the Lord in prayer. He may change them, but if we don't even include him, then we risk catastrophe because we weren't willing to listen.

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