Heralds Digest

  “And it shall be, if you go with us—indeed it shall be—that whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same we will do to you.”” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭10:32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The relationship between Moses and Hobab, his brother-in-law, teaches believers the principle of living for the great commission by an absolute faith in God. There are too much pressure in trying to reveal the goodness of GOD on the account of our own personal goodnesses. While the conception of living by example is a fundamental necessity, it is absolutely insufficient to bring about a genuine conviction in people, without their own personal faith in God. After Moses’ request for Hobab to ‘Come with us, and we will treat you well’ was rejected, he goes ‘if you go with us—indeed it shall be—that whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same we will do to you ’. This was an invitation for Hobab to step up his own personal trust in God, just as Moses had demonstrated. It turned out that even the children of Israel, that had res...

  “Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed; they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.” Numbers‬ ‭9:22-23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If the relevance of the cloud to the children of Israel had been limited to protection and covering from the heat of the sun, the construction of a special canopy would have been initiated. Whereas, cloud camping is intentionally coupled with the commandment of the Lord for double assurance and the presentation of the presence of the Lord. Everyone knows how easy it is for the flesh to settle down at the treatment of comfort and high standard of living. Without the cloud camping initiative, it would have been difficult for Moses to get the children of Israel moving again at every...

  “Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him.” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭7:89‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ One of the major concerns of religious services, ceremonial offerings, and fellowship is the difficulty of proving the evidence of acceptance and divine interactions. For example, while people say prayer is a dialogue and not a monologue session; how often do we hear or ever heard from God when we pray? Little wonder, information is readily downloadable from the ‘cloud’ today than listening to “ the voice of One speaking… ” from the cloud. Even in the Old Testament, the scriptures say “ when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting to speak with Him (the Lord) ”…God spoke to him. Nevertheless, it is important to underscore the preceding uniformity of focus on God through a united presentation of sacrifices by the entire congr...

  “When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭4:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Given the preparation, arrangement, and the ceremonies that the tabernacle of meeting in the wilderness attracted, it is somehow strange that there would regularly come the morning time “ When the camp prepares to journey ”. Oftentimes, when the heart of man is focussed on extensive and extending life’s projects, it is usual for anyone not to see the light at the end of the tunnels. People would readily make a castle out of life’s situations and circumstances, until a supernatural power is released for breakthrough. Actually, in God’s agenda, there is always a “ When the camp prepares to journey ” phenomenon. Unfortunately, our lack of preparation for this morning meeting often results in the unpleasant delay of divine manifestation. Like it was for Aaron and his sons, there are always responsibilities ...

  “For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus‬ ‭25:55‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ There is no doubt that the children of Israel and the land of Egypt are respectively symbolic of believers and sin. When we, as believers, are redeemed from sin and its slavery, we become sold-out servants of God. The implication is simply that our priorities, passions, and pursuits in life are no longer personal, but sold-out to God. Unfortunately, believers often believe that God has become bankrupt and bereft of strategy for our prosperity, like ‘poor’ children of Israel who decide to sell themselves to strangers. Likewise, when we sell ourselves to the corrupt systems of the world, their fashion, entertainment, and business strategies, for temporal relief and mundane satisfaction, we simply just sell our birthright like Esau. Whereas, as sold-out servants of God, our inheritance in GOD is strictly reserved; because t...

  “Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭22:22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The emphasis on seasoned sacrifices is on the preparation of blameless offerings with all the necessary ingredients and through the acceptable procedures. Normally, this line of preparation and procedures will appear strenuous; but God looks more on the heart of obedience and willingness to offer a desirable aroma to the Lord. With a single heart of affection for the Lord, it is easy to realize that sacrifices to God are always simple. It is the same principle of consecration to God that screened out sacrifices with defects (i.e., blind or broken or maimed, or have an ulcer or eczema or scabs). Therefore, it is the responsibility of everyone, who is determined to make sacrifices to God, to prepare his instrument of sacrifice; and get them cleaned, healed, blameless, and ready. ...

  “No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.” Leviticus‬ ‭21:21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ One of the significant differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament is that the former revealed God as the Symbol of holiness, while the latter revealed God as the Source of our holiness. Now, at the splitting of the veil of the temple by our High Priest - Jesus Christ, anyone with the vilest of his defect can approach the throne of grace for mercy. Notwithstanding, the principle of righteous representation of the presence of God by anyone, called by the Lord, remains the same. We need to be purged of our defects before the Holy God can be truly represented in our relationships with this world. Sometimes, the oven for this purging is the home-front with all the challenges against our peace and prosperity. At another time, the theatre for t...