Bible Reading: Numbers 11 | Galatians 5 | Psalm 124
Devotional for June 26, 2025
Reading: Numbers 11 | Galatians 5 | Psalm 124
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Numbers 11
Numbers 11 describes the first of three protests from the people regarding the difficulties of the journey to the Promised Land. That alone is more than enough to consider as a theme that highlights the Christian pilgrimage. The Christian life is full of dangers. The world, the flesh, and the devil constantly assail us. We face persecutions, calamities, oppositions, and a host of other unpleasant things as we journey to our heavenly rest. The question is: “How are we going to face those things? Are we going to follow the poor example of the church of old, or are we going to rest content in the divine providence of God, who promises our safe arrival?
The people of Israel do not handle their pilgrimage well, as highlighted in this chapter. There are three sections to consider.
11:1-15
In short, the issue in this section centers on the response of the people to their “misfortunes.” Whatever the problem, it is described in rather ominous terms. Misfortune is unpleasant. It is the opposite of fortune. The people have suffered as they journeyed, but they rarely give thanks to God and demonstrate their contentment in his divine purpose. They forget him and his promises. They complain, and that sinful behavior invokes the anger of the Lord. The passage tells us that his wrath was kindled, and fire broke out in the camp, burning among them and consuming some of the outlying parts (11:1).
The second event that invokes the griping of the people and the anger of the Lord has to do with the manna from heaven that God graciously provides. Instead of being satisfied with the Lord’s provision, they whine and cry and complain. They even go so far as to compare their struggles with their life in Egypt. The sin of the people couldn’t be worse. AS a result, God is angry with them, but Moses intercedes for the people and pleads for help.
Complaining is a wicked sin. It is considered a “respectable sin” because we don’t usually witness the anger of the Lord as the people did in this chapter. Yet, it is still evil. It is an attack on God and his providence. It questions his wisdom and will. It is forbidden in the Bible. At the root of a complaining spirit is a lack of trust in God and contentment with his provision and providence. Few things demonstrate a lack of trust in the Lord like complaining. God’s people should not complain. Instead, they should be thankful that God does not treat us as we deserve. He is good to us, giving us our daily bread. He blesses us with the good things of this life, and we should praise him, not gripe at him.
11:16-30
At the request of Moses (11:10-15), Jehovah provides him with helpers to manage the people. He gives them seventy men of the elders of Israel (11:16). They receive some of the Spirit that is on Moses, and they become his helpers to carry the burden of the people.
The other event that occurs in this section is the judgment of God. He gives the people what they want (not what is good for them) to teach them. The threat of meat is issued to the people, and they will be forced to eat it for an entire month until it comes out of their nostrils.
11:31-35
This section highlights the quail and the plague that comes from the Lord because of the sin of the people. Complaining brings consequences, and the people reap the whirlwind.
Galatians 5
Paul urges the people to walk in freedom – freedom secured by Christ, but to do so under the power of the Holy Spirit and not give ground to the works of the flesh.
It is a useful duty to regularly review the fruit of the Spirit as Paul gives it in Gal. 5:22-23. Pray for greater fruit in your life by the power and working of the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 124
Psalm 124 is another Song of Ascents, used by the pilgrims as they journeyed to the place of worship in Jerusalem. It is a thanksgiving hymn, occasioned by the deliverance of God due to some opposition or distress. The Psalm has three stanzas.
124:1-5
The Psalm opens with a contemplation: “If the Lord has not been on our side.” Imagine life without the Lord on our side. The trials and difficulties of life would be unbearable. As it is, they are sometimes very difficult to endure, but imagine if the Lord were not with you. What help would you find? He promises to be with his children. Since that’s true, we do not have reason to fear, because he is watching over us day and night. The contemplative statement is offered twice for emphasis. The answer comes in 124:2b-5:
People rose against them.
Those people would have defeated them.
The flood would have carried them away.
The Psalmist is drawing a picture from their past, and they are singing about it in humble thanks to their God. The picture comes from their bondage in Egypt and their deliverance at the Red Sea. In those days, the people sang a song to the Lord (Ex. 15). Here, they do the same.
124:6-7
This section highlights praise to God for their safety and deliverance. As the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea safely and escaped the clutches of the armies of Egypt, they sang a song to the Lord; these pilgrims do the same.
124:8
Our ultimate help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. We do not depend solely on our efforts, although we are called to utilize the means God provides.
The picture of this Psalm applies to us today. We are pilgrims. We are travelling to the heavenly city to worship the God of heaven. Trials, oppositions, calamities, hardships, and suffering will come to us as we make our way to the New Heavens and the New Earth. Like the pilgrims of old, we depend on the Lord. We trust his will. We rely on his deliverance. We do not have to fear, because our help is in the name of the Almighty and Sovereign Lord, who made heaven and earth.