Reflective Bible Study

¹¹ This is what the Lord said with his powerful hand on me.

He warned me not to follow the ways of these people:
¹² “Don’t say that everything these people call a conspiracy
    is a conspiracy.
    Don’t fear what they fear.
    Don’t let it terrify you.”
¹³ Remember that the Lord of Armies is holy.
    He is the one you should fear
        and the one you should be terrified of.
¹⁴ He will be a place of safety for you.
    But he will be a rock that makes people trip
        and a stumbling block for both kingdoms of Israel.
        He will be a trap and a snare for those who live in Jerusalem.
¹⁵         Many will stumble.
            They will fall and be broken.
            They will be trapped and caught.

¹⁶ Tie up the written instructions.
    Seal the teachings among my disciples.

¹⁷ I will wait for the Lord,
    who hides his face from the descendants of Jacob.
    I will hope in him.
¹⁸ I am here with the children that the Lord has given me.
    We are signs and symbols in Israel
        from the Lord of Armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

¹⁹ People will say to you, “Ask for help from the mediums
    and the fortunetellers, who whisper and mutter.”
    Shouldn’t people ask their God for help instead?
    Why should they ask the dead to help the living?
²⁰ They should go to the teachings and to the written instructions.
    If people don’t speak these words,
        it is because it doesn’t dawn on them.
²¹ They will pass through the land when they are hard-pressed and hungry.
    When they are hungry, they will be furious.
        Then they will look up, cursing their king and God.
²² They will look at the earth and see only distress and gloom.
    They will go in anguish and be forced into darkness.

Read Isaiah 8:11-22 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

¹ My child, do not forget my teaching,
    but keep my commands in mind.
² Then you will live a long time,
    and your life will be successful.

³ Don’t ever forget kindness and truth.
    Wear them like a necklace.
    Write them on your heart as if on a tablet.
⁴ Then you will be respected
    and will please both God and people.

⁵ Trust the Lord with all your heart,
    and don’t depend on your own understanding.
⁶ Remember the Lord in all you do,
    and he will give you success.

⁷ Don’t depend on your own wisdom.
    Respect the Lord and refuse to do wrong.
⁸ Then your body will be healthy,
    and your bones will be strong.

⁹ Honor the Lord with your wealth
    and the firstfruits from all your crops.
¹⁰ Then your barns will be full,
    and your wine barrels will overflow with new wine.

¹¹ My child, do not reject the Lord’s discipline,
    and don’t get angry when he corrects you.
¹² The Lord corrects those he loves,
    just as parents correct the child they delight in.

Read Proverbs 3:1-12 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

¹ That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. ² All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. ⁶ Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.⁸ If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

¹⁰ But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. ¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? ¹² I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

¹³ Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. ¹⁴ And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, Lord, are with these people and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, ¹⁶ ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

¹⁷ “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: ¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

²⁰ The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. ²¹ Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, ²² not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— ²³ not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.²⁴ But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

Read Numbers 14:1-24 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

¹³ The next morning Moses sat down at the place where he decided legal cases for the people, and everyone crowded around him until evening. ¹⁴ Jethro saw how much Moses had to do for the people, and he asked, “Why are you the only judge? Why do you let these people crowd around you from morning till evening?”

¹⁵ Moses answered, “Because they come here to find out what God wants them to do. ¹⁶ They bring their complaints to me, and I make decisions on the basis of God’s laws.”

¹⁷ Jethro replied:

²⁴ Moses followed Jethro’s advice. ²⁵ He chose some competent leaders from every tribe in Israel and put them over groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand. ²⁶ They served as judges, deciding the easy cases themselves, but bringing the more difficult ones to Moses.

Read Exodus 18:13-26 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!