July 13 ▪ Day 194

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 19:9
Numbers 25–26
Matthew 13
Psalms 10

Verse Focus (Proverbs 19:9)

A false witness will not go unpunished,
     and whoever pours out lies will perish.

Meditation

Today’s verse focus, Proverbs 19:9, is nearly identical to Proverbs 19:5, which we looked at a couple of days ago. Proverbs 19:5 says, in the ESV, “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.” Proverbs 19:9 says, again in the ESV, “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.” So the only difference is how the verse ends — “will not escape” versus “will perish.”

It’s curious that Solomon would include two nearly identical proverbs. Also, if you do plan to include very similar proverbs, why not set them next to each other? Why put several others in between? I suppose Solomon might have worried that the second proverb would lose its impact if it was set right next to the first proverb. Here, with several proverbs in between, it’s close enough that you remember the first proverb, but not so close that this one loses its punch.

And today’s proverb does make the consequences of lying more serious. Before, it was clear that you could not escape punishment, or some kind of consequences for your lies. But this proverb tells you straight out that if you repeatedly lie, you will perish.

To perish means to die — but it holds connotations of the death being sudden, violent, and untimely. In other words, it’s not a good death. In English, to perish is sometimes metaphorical — to suffer complete ruin or destruction, with no possibility of repair. The Hebrew word is, if anything, even stronger than our English word for perish. It means to annihilate, to obliterate, or to utterly destroy.

The one who pours out lies will be annihilated. He will be obliterated. Wow!

Father God, help us to take lying seriously. We tend to minimize how destructive lying is. We forget how much you detest falsehood. May your Holy Spirit be in our words today and every day. Amen.

Numbers 25 tells the story of how Israel again got involved in idol worship — this time, because of the influence of Moabite women. Even though Balaam is not mentioned in this chapter, this incident and its consequences are specifically credited to Balaam’s interference. He is believed to have told Balak that the way they could defeat Israel (or at least weaken them) was to have the Moabite women intermingle with the Hebrew men. And this is what started happening. Once the nations started intermingling, then the Moabites invited the Hebrews to the sacrifices of their god, Baal. Verse 2 tells us, “The people ate and bowed down to their gods.”

We don’t get many details, but the men who had “yoked themselves to Baal of Peor (v. 5)” were killed. The Scripture also tells of an incident where Eleazar killed an Israelite man and a Midianite woman while they were coupling. Even though she was a Midianite and not a Moabitess, Moab and Midian appeared to have a close relationship — Balak had consulted with their elders before hiring Balaam. Eleazar was commended for his actions — it was this particular death (and, presumably the earlier deaths of the idolaters) that is credited with stopping a plague from the LORD. In all, 24,000 people were said to have died.

As a result of this incident, the LORD directed Moses to start treating the Midianites like enemies. I do wonder how Moses felt about the command to start killing the Midianites — he had lived in Midian for so many years, and his wife Zipporah had been a Midianite. But later in the book of Numbers, the Israelites do go to war against the Midianites. Curiously, however, they do not go to war against Moab. The Hebrews were related to both nations. Moabites were descendants of Abraham’s nephew and adopted son, Lot. Midianites were descendants of Abraham by his later wife, Keturah.

Numbers 26 records the second major census of the Israelites. They are “in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho (v. 3)” — in other words, they are once again ready to enter the Promised Land. This is nearing the end of the 40 years in the wilderness. The Scripture tells us, except for Caleb and Joshua, none of the men counted in this census had been counted in the first census.

The number of men able to serve in the army now totals 601,730 (v. 51). In the first census, Israel had 603,550 fighting men. So it is only a slight decrease in their total number — 1,820 men. Even though the total number of Israelites available for military service is more or less stable, the tribes fared differently. Simeon’s numbers decreased by 63% (many assume it was mostly Simeonites involved in the incident at Peor), while the tribe of Manasseh increased by 63%. Benjamin, which had been one of the smallest tribes before, is now a medium-size tribe. So a generation’s difference does impact the relative size and rankings of the tribes — and, of course, this will affect the size of inheritance each tribe will get in the Promised Land.

Here’s a quick chart, FYI:

Tribe	# of Families	First Census	Second Census	Change	Original Sort
Reuben	4	46,500	43,730	6% decrease	1
Simeon	5	59,300	22,200	63% decrease	2
Gad	7	45,650	40,500	11% decrease	3
Judah	5	74,600	76,500	2.5% increase	4
Issachar	4	54,400	64,300	18% increase	5
Zebulun	3	57,400	60,500	5% increase	6
Manasseh	8	32,200	52,700	63% increase	7
Ephraim	4	40,500	32,500	20% decrease	8
Benjamin	7	35,400	45,600	29% increase	9
Dan	1	62,700	64,400	2.5% increase	10
Asher	5	41,500	53,400	28% increase	11
Naphtali	4	53,400	45,400	15% decrease	12
Total		603,550	601,730	0.5% decrease	13

In the first census, Ephraim had been listed before Manasseh. But now Jacob’s prophecy about Manasseh surpassing Ephraim and being doubly fruitful has come to pass. Their numbers are considerably larger than Ephraim, and in the second census they are listed first.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells seven different parables about the nature of the kingdom of heaven. What strikes me about these parables is that they are stories about the kingdom of heaven being present in the midst of the world. Those in the kingdom of heaven live side by side those not in the kingdom. At the end of the ages, there will be a reckoning and the mixed kingdoms will then be separated. But until that time, the kingdom will be right under our noses, growing bit by bit, changing from the mustard seed into the mustard tree. As Jesus says in verse 33, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

While these two kingdoms co-exist, there will always be some who can see the kingdom and some who do not. Jesus told his disciples in verse 11, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” The reason given why others do not understand these secrets is because “this people’s heart has grown dull (v. 15).”

It strikes me how important it is for us to have fresh revelation from God. We need the Holy Spirit’s renewing influence day by day. Notice those outside of the kingdom had their hearts grow dull — their hearts didn’t start out as stone, but they became hardened. We too can easily become hardened. It doesn’t take much for our hearts to start drifting away. It can start innocently enough — a little fatigue, perhaps. Add in a little disobedience, and soon our hearing becomes dull and our vision dims.

Fortunately, by God’s grace, we do have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. And the Holy Spirit will keep us from wandering, so long as we pay attention. We just need to keep seeking God first. And as we do that, we become the leaven that changes those around us.

I believe we need to pray the Scriptures, and pray the parables. I’ve told you before that I used to think we had no control over what type of soil we would be. We may desire being good soil, but fear we are really rocky or thorny ground. If that’s the case, then pray about it! Father God, I see that my life is being choked by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. Change my heart so that I do not love THINGS so much. Take my worries about finances, and give me peace and trust in you. Change me into good soil. Let me be fruitful and productive for you, in Jesus.

As we understand that the kingdom of God is hidden in plain sight, so too is God hidden in plain sight. Think of it as layers of reality, layers of understanding. At the core is the physical universe. But on top of that is a spiritual dimension that we can see only imperfectly. God needs to open our eyes to see Him, and to see His kingdom. But even when we can see the kingdom, there’s still yet more we could understand and more we could see if we had the eyesight to do so. I pray that God would continue to open my eyes to see Him and to see what He is doing. I pray that He would renew my heart daily. I pray to be fruitful for Him.

Psalm 10 begins with a question for God. “Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” the psalmist asks in verse 1. It does seem like sometimes God hides from us. But I think it’s really our eyes that have gotten dim. That’s kind of what trouble does. It sucks up your attention, and makes you focus on what is wrong. And looking so closely at this world, we lose some of our ability to see God. At least, that’s my theory. 🙂

I think that’s one reason why God allows us to go through trials. So that we learn to see Him and learn to trust Him even when the world around us is shaking. Or, maybe that’s a bit reversed. We learn to trust Him even when we don’t see Him. Once we trust Him, we eventually regain the ability to perceive Him.

Verse 14 assures us that God does see us. He pays attention to things that go wrong. He has always been and always will be the helper of the fatherless.

The psalm ends in confidence. “The LORD is king forever and ever,” says the psalmist in verse 16. Indeed, God will set things right.

Father God, thank you that your rule is forever. Thank you that you are just, and that you help the needy and the afflicted. Thank you that you will punish those who violate your law — even causing habitual liars to perish. Thank you, though, that your kingdom is always growing. Thank you that you leaven the world with your saints. I pray that you will use me for your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.