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Numbers chapter 14 the people rebel Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night, and all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, with that we had died in the land of Egypt, or with that we had died in this wilderness. Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword, or our wives and our little ones will become a prey? Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? And they said to one another, let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel, and Joshua the son of nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes, and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, the land which we pass through to spy it out, and is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them. Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. And the Lord said to Moses the how long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they. Moses intercedes for the people. But Moses said to the Lord, then the Egyptians will hear of it. For you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land they have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them, and you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, it is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give them, that he has killed them in the wilderness. And now please, let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, the Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression. But he will by no means clear the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation. Please pardon the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, Just as you've forgiven this people from Egypt until now. God promises judgment. Then the Lord said, I have pardoned according to your word. But truly as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these 10 times and have not obeyed my voice, should shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea. And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, how long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me, say to them, as I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And of all your number listed in the census, from 20 years old and upward who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell in. Except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in. And they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness 40 years and shall suffer for your faithlessness until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness, according to the number of the days in which you spied out the land 40 days a year, for each day you shall bear your iniquity 40 years. And you shall know my displeasure. I, the Lord have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me in this wilderness. They shall come to a full end, and there they shall die. And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land, and the men who brought up a bad report of the land died by plague before the Lord. Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive. Israel defeated in Battle When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly. And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, here we are. We will go up to the place that the LORD has promised, for we have sinned. And But Moses said, why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord when that will not succeed? Do not go up, for the LORD is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword because you have turned back from following the Lord, the LORD will not be with you. But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the Ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them even to kormah. Numbers chapter 15 Laws about sacrifices the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land that you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, and you offer to the LORD from the herd or from the flock a food offering, or a burnt offering, or a sacrifice to to fulfill a vow, or as a freewill offering, or at your appointed feasts to make a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Then he who brings his offering shall offer to the LORD a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil and you shall offer with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice a quarter of a hin of wine. For the drink offering for each lamb or for a ram you shall offer for a grain offering two tents of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil and for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And when you offer a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or for peace offerings to the Lord, then one shall offer with the bull a grain offering of 310 of an Ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil and you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, and as a food offering a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Thus it shall be done for each bull or ram, or for each lamb or young goat, as many as you offer, so shall you do with each one, as many as there are. Every native Israelite shall do these things in this way, in offering a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you and he wishes to offer a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he he shall do as you do for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever. Throughout your generations, you and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land to which I bring you, and when you eat of the bread of the land, you you shall present a contribution to the Lord of the first of your dough. You shall present a loaf as a contribution, like a contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. Some of the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord as a contribution throughout your generations. Laws about unintentional sins. But if you sin unintentionally, do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses, all that the Lord has commanded you by Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandment and onward throughout your generations. Then, if it was done unintentionally, without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord with its grain offering and its drink offering according to the rule, and one male goat for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the people of Israel, and they shall be forgiven because it was a mistake, and they have brought their offering a food offering to the Lord and their sin offering before the Lord for their mistake, and all the congregation of the people of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who sojourns among them because the whole population was involved in the mistake. If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake when he sins unintentionally. To make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally for him who is native among the people of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them. But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord. And the person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he had despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off. His iniquity shall be on him a Sabbath breaker executed. While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the Lord said to Moses, the man shall be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp. And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded. Moses. Tassels on garments. The Lord said to Moses, speak to the people of Israel and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And and it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord to do them not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God. Luke, chapter 4, verses 14 through 37. Jesus begins his ministry. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. And a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues. Being glorified by all, Jesus rejected at Nazareth. And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, is not this Joseph's son? And he said to them, doubtless you will quote to me this proverb. Physician, heal yourself. What we have heard you did at Capernaum do here in your hometown as well. And he said, truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up. Three years and six months. And a great famine came over all the land. And. And Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha. And none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their myths, he went away. Jesus heals a man with an unclean demon. And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and he was teaching them on the Sabbath. They were astonished at his teaching, for his words possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, ha. What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, be silent and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, what is this word for? With authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. The reports about him went out in every place in the surrounding region. Psalm, chapter 48, verses 9 through 14. We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. Let Mount Zion be glad. Let the daughters of Judah, rejoice because of your judgments. Walk about Zion. Go around her, number her towers. Consider well her ramparts. Go through her citadels that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God, forever and ever. He will guide us forever.
Date: March 26, 2026
Host: Erika Kirk (with Pastoral Advisor James Kaddis)
This episode guides listeners through Numbers 14 and 15, Luke 4:14-37, and Psalm 48:9-14. The main theme centers on human rebellion versus faithfulness, the necessity of obedience, God’s just yet merciful character, and the inauguration of Jesus’ public ministry. Through narrative, law, prophecy fulfillment, and praise, the readings invite deeper reflection on trusting God’s promises, the consequences of unbelief, and the identity and authority of Jesus.
“If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey... Do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us... The Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” (00:56)
“The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression...” (02:06)
“Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed?” (03:30)
“One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.” (04:42)
“It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord... and be holy to your God.” (07:08)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor...” (07:35)
“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (08:02)
“No prophet is acceptable in his hometown.” (08:16)
Demon: “I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” (08:54)
Jesus: “Be silent and come out of him.” (08:58)
“With authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” (09:08)
“This is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.” (09:45)
Joshua and Caleb’s Courage:
“The Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” (00:56)
Moses Reminds God of His Character:
“The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression.” (02:06)
Principle of Equal Law for Sojourners:
“One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.” (04:42)
Jesus Declares the Fulfillment of Prophecy:
“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (08:02)
On Spiritual Authority:
“With authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” (09:08)
Praise for God’s Permanence:
“This is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.” (09:45)
This episode powerfully juxtaposes the dangers of fear and rebellion (and their consequences) with the invitation to radical trust in God. Jesus is unveiled as the long-awaited redeemer operating with divine authority, signaling a new era of hope for the spiritually needy and oppressed. The readings invite listeners to remember God’s faithfulness, obey His commands, and proclaim His guidance to generations to come.