Sunday, March 8  Numbers 8-11; Colossians 1 

Numbers 8:  How are the Levites to purify themselves for service to the Lord?

Numbers 9: How long did the Israelites remain in one place? 

Numbers 10:  When did the Israelites set out for the first leg of their journey?

Numbers 11: What did the Israelites complain about? What did Moses ‘question’ God about?

Colossians  1: What titles and descriptions of Christ do you find in 1:15 to 20. What is the mystery that Paul talks about in verse 26?

Journal Prompt:  Paul talks about reconciliation with God through Jesus’ death, and we have all heard the ‘once saved, always saved, but what is the caveat in verses 22-23?  What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you about this?

Numbers 8: The levites were to be sprinkled with water of cleansing then to shave their bodies and wash their clothes. They they would stand before the congregation, offer their sacrifices and lay their hand upon the heads of the two bulls that was to be sacrificed.

Numbers 9: The Israelites remained where they had stopped as long as the cloud of the Lord was covering the tent.  When the cloud lifted, they would pack up and set out toward their next destination.  Sometimes it was just over night – it could be for two days, a month or a year.  Imagine the work associated with setting up and taking down the camp – the Tabernacle – all of their livestock, etc.

Numbers 10: The first leg of their journey began on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year.  It seems like they had been there between two years building the Tabernacle and making preparations for their journey. They had arrived at the desert of Mt. Sinai on the first day of the third month.

Numbers 11: The Israelites complained about heir hardships, their desire for food other than manna.  Moses questioned God about putting the burden of leading these people on him (so the Lord anointed 70 leaders to help him – by giving them some of the power of the Spirit that was his.) and then Moses questioned God about the ability to provide meat for the entire community.  (Read v.23 . . “Is the Lord’s arm too short?”