Holy Spirit: Being Warmed by the Fire of God's Spirit (Numbers 27:18-23)
“Let us become more aware of Your presence. Let us experience the glory of Your goodness.” – Bryan & Katie Torwalt 🔥
Dear freezing fellow,
Has your heart become cold at one time? Were you the kind who won’t give a beggar even one dime? Were you once like Snow Queen Elsa who wanted to be alone? Were there many times you didn't want to answer your phone?
December is here, and for those in the
northern hemisphere, it’s the cold season. (Yes, I learned that from Animal
Crossing.) But for us Christians, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
It’s Christmas season! What keeps us warm on the inside is our fervent love for
Jesus Christ.
If you’ve been following along, you know our story takes place in the desert. This is going to be our Numbers series finale, so it has some wintry feels despite the location. And, hey, there’s cold season in the desert, too. The passage we have is the passing of the baton from Moses to Joshua. The book of Joshua, however, comes after Deuteronomy, which is the account of Moses’ last day on earth. It’s pretty much him preaching the new generation God’s whole law.
Let’s now read how God appoints Joshua as the
next leader of the Israelites.
Numbers 27:18-23 (NASB)
18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; 19 and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight. 20 And you shall put some of your authority on him, so that all the congregation of the sons of Israel will obey him. 21 Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his command they shall go out, and at his command they shall come in, both he and all the sons of Israel with him, all the congregation.” 22 Then Moses did just as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
Why is Moses commissioning Joshua to be the leader? If you have read Numbers 20, you know that Moses disobeyed God's command of speaking for water to come out of the rock in Meribah and struck it instead. Because of this, God told him, “Since you did not trust in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them (Numbers 20:12).”
God describes Joshua as “a man in whom is the Spirit” and so he’s fit to be the next Moses. This reminds me of my favorite Bible character and songwriter, David. When Samuel anointed him as king, “the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13). The Holy Spirit empowers people to do great things like leading a nation. To add a touch of Christmas to our discussion, I'd like to point out one important thing that the Holy Spirit was able to do: He enabled Mary to be pregnant with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how powerful the Spirit is.
Jesus promises His apostles that the Holy Spirit will be their Helper (John 14:16). The Spirit came to them in Pentecost or the Jewish Feast of Harvest. Tongues of fire rested on each of them and they were filled with the Spirit, speaking in tongues (Acts 2:3-4). The Holy Spirit permanently dwells in us once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise (Ephesians 1:13).”
I like the representation of the Spirit as fire because I love the concept of zeal, passion, and giving your best for God. However, I’m not a fan of literal heat, unless it’s a hot cup of coffee we’re talking about. This love for zeal is actually new to me. I just started this blog last year in May. I had some downtime during my last semester of college as I only had one subject, Research II, so I’ve decided to do this blog as my ministry.
I’ve always loved God. That’s for sure. But how is that love seen? There has to be a fruit. I wrote poems about it before, telling God I’ll do something for Him. Years have passed, I got busy with college, and then, my mom and I joined our church's Worship Team. Eventually, my family joined the choir. It was a privilege serving God through singing and playing the piano. When we had to go back to our home country, I went back to just being busy with college, but when I had time, that’s when I started this blog. Before, what I do is I post Bible verses on Instagram and before that, on my TV.com blog entries. (That site doesn't have blogs for users anymore.) I thought I should do something more. Actually, this blog idea was fueled by the Bible study I have with my extended family. We discussed on a part of the fruit of the Spirit, love, and we had this question of how we can show love to our neighbor. I then thought I should share about Jesus through a blog.
Having love is just one part of the fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 says that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” The whole package of these characteristics just comes to us the more we walk with God. It’s not something we can produce ourselves, but what God grows in us.
It’s really something supernatural for a sinful human to be able to have this fruit. How do you love, rejoice, and stay peaceful in a world full of hate, sorrow, and violence? How can you be patient, kind, good, faithful, and gentle when the people around you aren’t? And how can you have self-control when your flesh just keeps on desiring selfish things? Jesus said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).
What we are to do is to walk moment by moment by the Spirit that we may “not carry out the desire of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).” It’s like praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), having God in our mind in everything we do, making each task an offering to Him. “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all things for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
This seems hard to do, especially when life’s worries and temptations get the best of us. However, we can direct our issues to God in prayer. We’ll waste no time worrying or sinning but find comfort and strength in God by praying. Let’s trust that He’ll work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).
Let us keep the fire of our love for God burning amidst the storms of snow and hail. We may make mistakes, but the Lord’s mercy will never fail. Let His Spirit fill us in the Name of Jesus. In this cold, dark world, let His glory radiate. Love the people around you even when they hate.
Well, this wraps up this blog’s series on the book of Numbers. I might not be able to do the Deuteronomy series in the coming months. Doing a devotional on a chronological Bible reading is one ambitious project, and I have other things I’m working on and rather prioritize over this. For my high school and college student readers, I’d like you to check out the Elevate website and YouTube channel. I write entries for its blog, and that's where you can continue reading my work. I’ll see if I can get back to this blog, and I really hope I do if that’s God’s will.
This is a goodbye that's wishfully temporary. I told you this one's going to be wintry. I pray that spring will come to bloom this blog again. I pray for better things to come in Jesus' Name, amen!
I wish you all an advance merry Christmas!
With much warmth and fervor,
Celina <3
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