Day 36 – October 18, 2023: Numbers 20-23 and I Corinthians 5-6

So yesterday I read one chapter too long and we spoke about the death of Miriam and of Aaron which actually happens in chapter 20, which is today’s reading. But that’s okay, doesn’t hurt you to read it twice. Now for the other chapters we read in Numbers a strange conflagration of Israelites who obey God and gentiles who look for help from prophets of God to curse Israelites as they make their way through the land. God remains with Israel and provides the victory time after time. But then we have this story of Balaam and Balak.

It is clear to me that Balaam is a prophet of the Lord who is asked by Balak, a king in the region, to curse the Israelites so that his army could win the battle as they come up against him. Balaam does what the Lord commands, rides his donkey to see Balak, but then the next verse we see an angel of God come as an adversary to him because he is going to see Balak. It is here where his donkey speaks. I love that, a talking donkey which reminds him that he has to stay focused on God’s work which means keeping his eyes open to the signs that God puts in his path. We may be so focused on doing that which God has asked us to do that we miss ways in God is communicating to us as we go about doing God’s business.

In Corinthians we have Paul speaking out against immorality within the church community. I love the line that we read in 6:12ff – “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial.” We do not have a list of rules that God commands us to follow. We follow God’s law of loving Him and loving neighbor. That gives us a wide range of freedom, but within that freedom we have to ask whether our actions are for the sake of the kingdom or just for our sake. It isn’t always self-evident, but it is helpful to use that as a measuring stick.

Another helpful verse is 6:19 which reminds us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and they are not our own. I love that image, that our body is a temple of God and not our own. It really resonated with me.