I knew that Aaron died a few verses before, in Numbers, and I thought to observe his passing as signal for a few reasons, one of them being he was the first to die of the generation that would need to pass before the children of Israel were to make it to the promised land.
I believe this was further verified in Deuteronomy 2:14, where it states the people (who I take to mean the children of Israel) took 38 years to travel from Kadesh-barnea the brook Zered, "...until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host..." So Aaron might have been the first, might have been only one of the first (although at 123 years of age, without the active blessing of God, he likely would not have lasted the remaining years.)
Another is that of Moses, in Deuteronomy 3:25, where Moses is pleading with God to let him go over to the promised land. It has always been interesting to me, because Moses had interceded so many times on behalf of the children of Israel, and had asked for very few things for himself, that after years of traveling, when Moses finally got to the promised land, and finally saw what it was they had all been believing for, that Moses still couldn't walk across the threshold. The obvious reference is the waters of Meribah (Numbers 20:8-12) and I am left with the awareness that sometimes intercession works, sometimes it doesn't, and in the end, it’s all for the glory of God!
- Is there something God has called you to do?
- Is there a prize to be given at the end?
- Does it have conditions?
God is really forgiving in any way I can fathom, and in many dimensions I can’t, but one of the enduring consistencies I always walk away from scripture is the realization that, even when he is doling out punishment, or granting requests, or calling to action, he is consistent. God is sometimes sneaky. Not in an underhanded way, but in a specific way.
We know that Jesus will come, as a thief in the night, and so this aspect of God’s character should be no new thing. The reality is that one aspect of God’s will for our lives is that His thoughts are above ours. And I think another way to look at that is to say He thinks differently than anyone you’ll ever meet. And sometimes those thoughts look sneaky. But His character has not changed.
In addition, there are few promises given by God that do not have conditions. This isn’t because He is limited, but because WE are. And so it is of import to be aware what your own obligations are when you wish to honor God, or intercede for someone.
So my call to action for you today is simple:
What promises are you claiming in His word?
What are the conditions attached to those promises?
Learning what they are will bring in you closer union with Him and will likely increase the chance that you’ll honor them.
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