July 16 ▪ Day 197

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 19:14
Numbers 31–32
Matthew 16
Psalms 13

Verse Focus (Proverbs 19:14)

Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
     but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

Meditation

Today’s verse focus, Proverbs 19:14, says in the NKJV, “Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.” Yesterday the father and husband needed God to work in his relationships to protect his son from being a fool and to change his wife’s attitude. Today we again see how important it is for God to be involved in your life and in your relationships.

What is a prudent wife? One who is wise, practical, discreet, circumspect, sensible, thoughtful, and even thrifty — in other words, she is a good wife, a godly wife. A prudent wife is a gift from God. A godly spouse is a gift from God.

This brings up a couple of questions. For me, the first question is whether or not you see your relationships as gifts from God. Do you pray for your spouse, or future spouse? Do you pray for your family? For your friends? All of these are gifts from God. How much we recognize God’s hand in giving us these relationships is a measure of our gratitude. And having gratitude for your relationships will benefit you and strengthen your relationships far more than having a critical and complaining mindset.

But what if your spouse is not good? Does that mean that God isn’t in your marriage? That God is punishing you by giving you a horrible, no-good, lying, cheating spouse? People are very sinful, and marriage will highlight that. You cannot change your spouse’s flaws, but God can. And God can transform your own attitude, too. He can give you the forgiveness you need, and the ability to see the good and the positive things instead of always harping on the bad things. God is in your marriage if you want Him to be there. If you invite Him in. If you pray for your spouse and pray for your relationship. Give God a bit of time to work — and soon you will that your spouse really is the most special gift from God.

For those who are widowed, divorced, or single — I don’t mean to be simplistic, or dismissive of any trials you may have experienced in former relationships. God will heal the hurts from your past. In today’s meditation I’m only trying to say that God transforms people and relationships. I also believe wholeheartedly that how you view your partner directly affects the health of your relationship.

Father God, we long to see our relationships as gifts from you. We also long to BE the kind of person who is treasured because you developed godly character within us. Transform us into prudent people. Give us wisdom, give us love. And help us to commit our relationships to you. Let us see our loved ones through your eyes. May we overflow with gratitude for the people you have placed in our lives. Through Jesus Christ, Amen.

In Numbers 31, the LORD directs Moses to take vengeance on Midian for the Israelites who were lost at Peor through idolatry, sexual immorality, and the plague. So they equip a small army — 1,000 men from each tribe — and Israel wages war on Midian. The Israelites kill all the Midianite men. Five different kings of Midian are killed, as is Balaam son of Beor. The women and children are taken captive; they seize the livestock and take plunder, but burn all the cities.

Moses is angry that the army spared all the women — it was the women, after all, who had seduced their men “on Balaam’s advice (v. 16).” So he has them kill all the women who have had sexual relations with a man, and all the male children — the only ones left are virgins and young girls. Still, it leaves them with 32,000 captives.

The plunder is split half and half between those who went to war, and the rest of the Israelite community. The fighting men are required to give a tribute to the priests — one out of every 500 captives and animals. The Israelite community also gives a tribute from their half — but it is one out of every 50 captives and animals, and their tribute goes to the Levites.

None of the fighting men were killed. So they offer gold in atonement for the census of their numbers (Exodus 30:12), but it is in excess of the requirements. The gold is also a freewill offering in thanksgiving for their safety in this battle.

Why God had them fight Midian and not Moab is not known (although I did read of a Jewish commentator who said that Moab needed to be spared so that Ruth, David’s great-grandmother, could be born). But the effect of this battle is that the Israelites now have confidence in their fighting abilities. The Midianites were not of the seven Canaanite tribes who were to be destroyed, but now the Israelites are more ready to take on the inhabitants of the Promised Land.

In Numbers 32, Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh decide that they do not want to enter the Promised Land. They have a lot of livestock, and they covet the land of Gilead because it is very good pastureland. So they ask Moses if they can have their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River.

Moses is livid at first — he worries that Reuben and Gad will discourage the hearts of the other Israelites. He envisions a repeat of what happened when the spies came back a generation earlier — the people were disheartened and they ended up wandering the wilderness until that entire generation died. But when Reuben and Gad promise that they will go fight with the Israelites until all the Promised Land is subdued, Moses relents. He says that if they indeed do fight with the other Israelites, then “after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the LORD (v. 22).”

It is hard to know what to think of this turn of events. Are Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh rejecting God? Are they turning away from Him? Or is He the one behind these events? Curiously, there is no word from God in this passage. If Moses consulted with the LORD, he does not tell us that he did so. So we do not what God thinks about this request. Moses, however, hints when he says that the tribes will be “free of obligation to the LORD” — surely the settling of the Promised Land is not their only obligation to God, and so it sounds like Moses believes they are removing themselves from the Chosen people. The Israelites had defeated the Amorites who had lived in Gilead, so they had already cleared that land even though it wasn’t within the borders of the Promised Land. And, if you recall, when Ezekiel drew up a map for the distribution of the tribes in the Promised Land, Reuben, Gad, and all of Manasseh received their inheritance within the borders of the Promised Land, on the west side of the Jordan River.

Of course, it’s not like God was surprised by what Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh did. Having them settle there was certainly part of His permissive will, regardless of whether or not it was part of His original plan for them. Part of me is disappointed in Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh — I feel like they failed to trust that what God promised to give them in the Promised Land would be better than what they saw immediately in front of them. I wonder if this is just another example of Reuben’s failed leadership. And I also wonder how much difference it would have made — would Israel have had less trouble with idolatry if all of the tribes had settled there? On the other hand, I know that God sometimes speaks differently to different groups. And maybe it was God whispering in their ears, and giving them the desire to stay in Gilead.

In Matthew 16, the Pharisees and Sadducees ask Jesus “to show them a sign from heaven (v. 1).” Jesus responds to them in verse 3, “You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times.” He tells them in verse 4 that no sign will be given to this “evil and adulterous generation” except “the sign of Jonah.”

It is true that the Pharisees and Sadducees could not read the signs of the times. We know from the gospel of John that Jesus performed many signs, such as changing the water into wine, healing a paralyzed man, and feeding the five thousand. But somehow they could not recognize these as signs from heaven. Later, when Jesus did rise from the dead — the sign of Jonah — the Pharisees and Sadducees still failed to recognize the sign from heaven.

Later in chapter 16, Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus responds in verse 17, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven.” Here we learn, once again, that revelation comes from the Father. And this is also the key to recognizing the signs.

So if revelation comes from the Father, why was Peter blessed when the Pharisees were not? Why are some people’s eyes opened, and some remain blind? In part, I think the answer is pride. Jesus did many works of power, but the scribes and teachers of the law knew that the devil could also do works of power, just like the magicians in Egypt had done. They wanted to see a sign that was indisputably from heaven — with no possibility of counterfeiting it. And yet they set themselves up as the judges of what kind of signs would be acceptable. And in their pride, they missed how God was communicating.

Even today people look for signs from God and signs of God. And they want something big and unmistakable. They fail to see how God communicates subtly in millions of little ways — through birdsong and sunshine, through “coincidences,” through people, through song, and Scripture. You need to stop and listen. Quiet yourself, humble your heart, pray, and wait expectantly. If you are open to seeing signs, if you seek Him, then the Father will reveal Himself to you.

In Psalm 13, David feels like the LORD is hiding from him. “Will you forget me forever?” David asks God in verse 1. David pleads for God to remember him so that David’s enemies will not think they have triumphed over him. Yet David concludes the psalm with his trust in God’s salvation. He remembers how the LORD has been good to him, and he sings praises.

This demonstrates a kind of pattern for godly people. We may feel forgotten. We may not perceive God in the present moment. But we move forward in faith, with praise, remembering that God has worked in our lives in the past. As I think of the Pharisees and Sadducees who were unable to recognize the signs of the times, I wonder if part of their blindness was also because they did not have an attitude of faith and trust while they waited for God to reveal Himself.

Father God, help us to remember always how you have worked in our lives, and in the lives of our ancestors. You sent Jesus to die for us even before we were born. Keep our hearts from becoming hard. Give us the eyes to see you. And when we cannot see you, give us faith and trust and praise. Thank you for your Scripture. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.