Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 21:7, 8-9

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 21:7, 8-9

"And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."

There are other verses in The Book of Mormon that give more details on this event.

"And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished."

(1 Nephi 17:41)

"But behold, this is not all; these are not the only ones who have spoken concerning the Son of God.

Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.

O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works.

(Alma 33:18-22)

This brass serpent was not only a representation of Jesus Christ it was also a means to heal them from a very serious bite from a fiery serpent. Some were healed because they looked, and others died because they refused to do so because of the simpleness of the way. Throughout this pandemic I have thought often of these verses. In the past several days they have been pressing on my mind. I am witnessing this pandemic continuing and spreading, and a virus that is mutating. Even with the miracle of vaccines, as a prophet of God called them, available to us. There are people that will deny the miracles God has prepared to save us. We are witnessing those now perishing because of the hardness of their hearts and the simpleness of the way. It breaks my heart even more so because of the innocent being hurt. What will it eventually take for the fiery serpent to burn out?

Day 2297

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 20:8,10-12

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 20:8,10-12

"Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them."

I looked for what Moses did that angered the Lord. He was told to speak to the rock. Moses instead spoke to the people. He then makes the mistake of telling them, must he fetch them water. He implied it was his works and not God's. Then he hits the rock, which he wasn't told to do. I can imagine the entire spirit of this miracle would have been different to those that witnessed it if Moses had only spoken to the rock to bring forth water. It makes me think of how Jesus healed the blind and lepers. It was done quietly, not with anger or for show. I did notice that even though Moses and Aaron disobeyed, blessings still came to those receiving water. Ordinances are not voided if the vehicle is unworthy, yet still holds the key.

Day 2296

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 19:2, 9, 20

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 19:2, 9, 20

"This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:

And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.

But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean."

I started my study by wanting to know what the red heifer stood for. Especially, because I know the Jews are currently trying to bred an unspotted red heifer to make a sacrifice. Instead this is what I found.

Laws of Purification

"Anciently, an Israelite who had been in the presence of one who died or had been dead was held to be defiled. This chapter in Numbers describes the way in which such a person was purified. First, a red heifer was slain, burned, and the ashes laid aside. Then the ashes were placed in pure water and the mixture sprinkled upon those who had been defiled. This was known as “the water of separation,” since by it one was separated, or purified, from sin. Failure to avail oneself of the cleansing power in this way resulted in being “cut off from among the congregation”.

Much vital symbolism can be found in this ordinance. One who defiles himself with sin undergoes a spiritual death and is cut off from God’s presence through the loss of the Holy Spirit. Recovery from spiritual death is obtained by faith in Christ’s Atonement (symbolized by the death of the red heifer), repentance from sin, baptism in water, receiving the Holy Ghost, and obedience to God’s commandments. All who thereafter commit certain serious sins and refuse to repent are likewise “cut off from among the congregation,” that is, excommunicated.

(Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel, "Wilderness Wanderings, Part 2")

Instead of needing a red heifer what is needed is faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion and the gift of the Holy Ghost. What is needed is to get on the covenant path.

Day 2295

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 18:1

Today's Favorite Verse: Numbers 18:1

"And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood."

I had to look up what it meant to "bear the iniquity of the sanctuary", and the "iniquity of your priesthood." I couldn't see how there would be iniquity in either. The footnote is "IE bear any guilt incurred in failure to bear the full responsibility thereof." So the iniquity comes when you don't live up to what you were called to do.

Day 2294