Righteousness through Providence, shared headship, Baalam as a near-king experience, and a tesseract in a fig tree

Even the seed of the righteous is delivered (Proverbs 11:21). This, to me, is clearly an aspect of righteousness that is assumed, expounded upon, and written about a great deal - that of applied providence! God provides for His will to be executed, magnified, and glorified, most of the time before we even think to ask to be a part of it!!

Also, let us add this to reasons to be just and to edify. More and more, it is clear that, even from the point of view of moral abstraction, following the Bible just makes good horse sense. And from the Bible-as-the-anointed-word-of-God perspective, it is a huge blessing that the Lord has placed this much clarity and focus, as well as a plethora of examples, which provide us many edifying models. He truly loves us!!

I've never understood why Numbers 30 was in the Bible - mostly because it seems out of place. There is no transition to it, nor from it. It stands out as distinct. It is not for lack of repetition (intensity), for in the chapter itself, the matter is certainly reinforced. But the presence of the contents is much like in the books of the prophets, where the prophets were speaking on something, then change focus in mid sentence.
However, it is of interest, simply because it appear that God places serious responsibility on the man of the house. So here is a question, tying into yesterday's mention of Moses placing some honour upon Joshua. Is an application of this, when the man of the house tells his oldest son that he is in charge, and to protect it, when he must be away for work? I'm certain he's off praying for his family ... but a large aspect of Numbers 30 is the idea that the man must HEAR the promises the woman is making. Yes, there are cell-phones, but the question remains: in such a situation, are the promises of the woman reinforced/negated by the eldest male child ... in that situation, was the child truly able to receive some measure of portion of headship?

Referencing several days ago, when I mentioned Baalam, I had had a discussion about how Baalam could be the likely blame for the Midianites introducing their young women to the Israelities, and if not for Phinehas (Numbers 25:7), the children of Israel might well have been wiped out. Certainly it was a subtle attack by the Midians, kinged by Balak, and because it happened immediately following Balak's focused request of Baalam that Baalam would curse the Midianites, and because it clearly mentions in Numbers 24:14 that Baalam would "advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days," one might conclude this MIGHT mean that Baalam was providing advise to Balak, specifically to entice to children of Israel, thereby bringing the curse of the very God that had been protecting them. This, I believe, is further verified in Numbers 31:8, where the five kings of Midian, and Baalam were killed. It rarely mentions individuals being killed unless they were of significance. This significance is revealed in Numbers 31:16, where it clearly states that the children of Israel committed trespass through the counsel of Baalam in the manner of Peor, which I believe references the plague that Phinehas abated, as referenced in Numbers 25:5 (...Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor). Baalam was a bad dude.

An additional point of interest relates specifically to Jesus. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness - so well and clearly is this true that Luke 4 is the reference for it. And I've read it before. But I have never really noticed some things that were done. Satan seems able to tele-port people - he brought Jesus different places while tempting him. Does this mean that Satan can, without the Holy Spirit to protect us, rearrange us like chess pieces, physically placing us where it will do the most harm? An interesting and scary thought, and I am so blessed (as are you, who read this) that God is greater! Likewise, we see Jesus, after being tempted by Satan in Luke 4:13, where Satan had brought him on a pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem (was this THE temple? A temple?), and in Luke 4:14, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, a distance of over 35 miles (distance varies, as Galilee seems to be a region, instead of a city, based on a few maps of the region. If it is a city, the distance is likely even longer. If the average person walks 6 miles an hour, Jesus would have had to walk 6 hours, in his dilapidated state. So it is a miracle, after the miracle of surviving the temptations, that Jesus was borne to Galilee by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is so merciful - we truly have a merciful God that gives us an anointed connection to Him through it!