Day Thirteen

Numbers 10:1-10

1.) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2.) "Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp.

3.) And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

4.) But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you.

5.) When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out.

6.) And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out.

7.) But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm.

8.) And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations.

9.) And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.

10.) On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God."

         The first five books of the Bible can seem tedious at times. But, as always, there is more than meets the eye.

         I had a Youth years ago who figured he was pretty clever. Actually, he was clever, just not as clever as he thought. He would read the Bible and then, in Youth Group, toss something out to trip me up. It was good natured. Not at all like Jesus and the Sadducees and Pharisees. I think he considered it a challenge. He once asked why it was that adults were so against premarital sex when the Bible doesn’t even mention it. Of course, the attention of all the kids came immediately to me. I told them that in God’s eyes there was no such thing as premarital sex. The kids were confused. I continued on that there were no weddings in the Bible. Wedding feasts, yes, but no weddings. At some point during the feast, the bride and groom would slip out and, at a prearranged place, they would consummate their marriage, thus becoming husband and wife. So, if you have a sexual relationship and then go on and marry someone else, you are committing adultery. OH! The Youth didn’t like that! I held up my Bible and challenged them to prove me wrong. They never could prove me wrong.

         Anyway, another question concerned this passage. The question was asked smugly. This time my smart young friend had me dead to rights.

         “Pastor, it says in Numbers 10:9--- And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. You talk about we need to be ready in this Spiritual war right here in America against the ‘unGodly,’ as you put it. Why don’t we just make horns to the specifics in this passage, blow them and let God handle it.” Told you he was smart.

         So, we went back to the passage and read the whole passage so that verse nine would be in context.

         “Now, Bozo,” that made the kids laugh, “why do you suppose there was so much care given to the making of the trumpets. You play trumpet in the band. The brass instruments produce more sound that silver. Brass was easier to work with and less costly to make. Brass can be made as flawless as silver. Other items in the Tabernacle were brass. And why not gold? Easier to work with and more valuable. Why was everything so painstaking and why was silver used?”

         No one had an answer, so I gave them one. “Obedience. We are to be obedient even when we don’t understand. If we are to win this Spiritual war, we have to put away the things of the world and be obedient.”

         Four years later the smart young man lay on a steel table in the basement of the funeral home I now worked for. He was quite dead. He had gone off to college, found out some of the stupid things he had been missing out on and he had died as a result. He had been picked up and taken to a morgue and the coroner of that county quickly determined the cause of death. Therefore, he was sent to us still dressed. With shaking hands I went through his pockets to get his belongings to take to his parents. In one pocket I found a pocket Bible he always carried and I thought back to obedience discussion. You can’t just carry the Bible. You must read it.

         Today, the Spiritual warfare in our country is far more pronounced than back then. It seems to be getting worse as we go along. We pray about it, but to no avail. I am wondering if the disobedience of Christians today is causing us to blow brass trumpets instead of silver. Are our lives truly obedient? Do we make every effort to live our lives as Jesus would?

         Today, we pray for humbled hearts. We pray that we might see ourselves as the Lord sees us and see for ourselves where we are failing. We pray for the Lord to give us silver trumpets to blow because we have become obedient.

         Father, please save our land from the enemy.