heard it – Praying Pint

46.w. “Wilderness” – 11.b. “He who planted the ear, does he not hear?”

Num 12:1  Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it.

Psalms 94:7-9   and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”  Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise?  He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?

Ezekiel 35:12-13   And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it.

Of course, God heard it. God always does, and He hears according to truth, not according to mere appearance. Miriam and Aaron accused Moses of pride, the very same sin that motivated them to make the accusation. (Guzik)

The patience of Moses was tried in his own family, as well as by the people. The pretence was, that he had married a foreign wife; but probably their pride was hurt, and their envy stirred up, by his superior authority. Opposition from our near relations, and from religious friends, is most painful. But this is to be looked for, and it will be well if in such circumstances we can preserve the gentleness and meekness of Moses. We have reason to be afraid of saying or doing any thing against the servants of God. And those are presumptuous indeed who are not afraid to speak evil of His servants. (Henry)

Do you ever truly think about the thoughts that you allow to occupy time in your mind? Do you ever truly believe God is able to hear these thoughts? What kind of thoughts do you allow that are because you are being influenced by news outlets, social media, and other sources? Surely you might not say out loud these base thoughts but you allow them to run their course though your mind. Now what do you think will happen if these thoughts are given just enough time to take root in your heart? What kind of watering will it take to grow these thoughts into words or actions? What seeds of discourse and discontentment will come from the fruit of these thoughts?

Remember this:

God knows every thought that you allow to fester and grow in your mind.
Neglect of God’s Word makes you complacent and affects your thought life.
Being complacent toward things of God leads toward paths of self-reliance, self-approval, self-worth, etc….
Every word spoken and every action taken begins with our thoughts.
God knows your thoughts.
God hears your words.
God sees your actions.
Nothing is hidden from God.

How are you to recognize good thoughts from bad thoughts? Is it not by knowing, understanding, and applying God’s Word? What manner of person should you be in light of who God is? What thoughts are allowed into your mind because you have become complacent and neglectful of the Word of God and the Things of God? What would your life be like if the Word of God and Things of God were permeating every space in your heart and mind?

Oh, that our minds would be soft to hear the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit on this. I fear that we allow too much of the things of this world to influence our thought lives. Can you imagine talking to someone and they said; “I read this verse in the bible today” when speaking in a normal conversation, rather than; “did you hear what is in the news”, or “Did you see what was on the news today”, or “I saw this posted on social media”?

Our thought life reflects our true commitment to God’s Word and the Things of God.

“He who planted the ear, does he not hear?” “He who formed the eye, does he not see?”

46.o. “Wilderness” – 10.u. “And the people complained”

Num 11:1 And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.

Here is the people’s sin; they complained. See the sinfulness of sin, which takes occasion from the commandment to be provoking. The weakness of the law discovered sin, but could not destroy it; checked, but could not conquer it. They complained. Those who are of a discontented spirit, will always find something to quarrel or fret about, though the circumstances of their outward condition be ever so favourable. The Lord heard it, though Moses did not. God knows the secret frettings and murmurings of the heart, though concealed from men. What he noticed, he was much displeased with, and he chastised them for this sin. The fire of their wrath against God burned in their minds; justly did the fire of God’s wrath fasten on their bodies; but God’s judgments came on them gradually, that they might take warning. It appeared that God delights not in punishing; when he begins, he is soon prevailed with to let it fall. (Henry)

Unaccustomed to the fatigues of travel and wandering into the depths of a desert, less mountainous but far more gloomy and desolate than that of Sinai, without any near prospect of the rich country that had been promised, they fell into a state of vehement discontent, which was vented at these irksome and fruitless journeyings. The displeasure of God was manifested against the ungrateful complainers by fire sent in an extraordinary manner. (Brown)

murmuring complaining spirit is always displeasing to him, when a thankful heart for mercies received is an acceptable sacrifice; murmurers and complainers God will judge at the great day, and the Lord heard it: though it was an inward secret complaint, or an evil scheme formed in their minds; at most but a muttering, and what Moses had not heard, or had any knowledge of; but God, that knows the secrets of all hearts, and every word in the tongue before it is well formed or pronounced, he heard what they complained of, and what they whispered and muttered to one another about it and his anger was kindled. (Gill)

Every single thought of man is known by God. What is it that fills your mind and moves you down paths that are away from God? What thoughts do you entertain and allow time in your head? When we allow ourselves to be consumed by things of this world they will surely implant wrong thinking and actions. Set your heart, mind, and soul on honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do, and your thought life will manifest words and actions that honor and glorify Him.

17.t. “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

John 12:27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Isaiah 49:3-7 And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God.” And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength— he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

I was a little perplexed by “ Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Specifically “I have and I will”. Jesus was troubled by what He knew was coming and the suffering He would endure. He does not ask that this pending suffering be removed but rather God be glorified. And then we hear “I have and I will”. Does this mean I have glorified it by the virgin birth, sending My Son, miracles, signs, wonders, and proclaiming the coming Good News of grace, mercy, and love? Does it mean I will continue to glorify it by what is coming, death, resurrection, ascension, redemption, salvation, and infilling of the Holy Spirit? How is God glorified in this? Imagine a perfect creation given free will to choose to follow and obey the Creator. They are deceived by the Father of all lies, Satan. Creation chooses to disobey (sin) and is separated from their Holy God and receives a death sentence from God as it were. The All-Knowing God has established His perfect purpose and will in redeeming lost mankind. God is glorified when His creation believes in, clings to, and relies on Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” God is glorified when we freely choose to believe in Jesus Christ’s redemption. He is glorified when we seek and desire to do His will in our lives. He is glorified when we surrender fleshly self-centered wants to doing that which honors and glorifies Him. Nothing honors and glorifies Him more than complete surrender to Jesus Christ and fully trusting in His perfect will, plans, and purposes no matter the circumstances. Jesus Christ surrendered fully to the will of God for our redemption and salvation. He alone is worthy of all honor and glory. How will you live today so that He is honored and glorified?

2.c. You did not rely on the Lord your God

2 Chronicles 16:1 In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king’s house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, “There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease. Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.

We can learn so much from this about God and our natural intents. Here is Asa a man who was wholly true to God and when he needed help he went to man, not God. He trusted in his own wisdom and cunning to overcome the issue at hand and it worked. I doubt he even knew he walked down a path apart from God until the seer spoke to him. It is never good for us to walk apart from God. It is always good to seek God in decisions we are thinking about making.

Look at Asa’s reaction. He was angered, retaliatory, and mean spirited. He did not even seek the Lord for his physical problem. We all have to be mindful of our ability to become neglectful and complacent with our service and honor to God. One day, one decision, one moment away from the presence of God and we can take a path away from Him. Paul told us to be on guard and to put on our whole armor for each day will be a battle with self. We are to renew our mind each day. We are to study His word and be a workman approved by Him. We are to open the door of our heart and mind to Him every single moment of each day. We are to seek and desire Him more and more each day. We are to grow in this knowledge and understanding each day. We are to confess our sins each day. We are to live by faith each day. We are to desire to hear Him speak into our life each day. We are to seek to honor and glorify Jesus each day. We are to deny self each day. We are to forgive each day. We are to be generous each day. We are to keep our eyes focused on Him each day.

Be mindful of how easy it is to trip, slip, and drift away from God. It is never God drifting away. It is always us when we do not keep a daily intentional choice to live to humbly honor, serve, glorify, follow, trust, and obey Him.