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5/6 Reading Portions: Numbers 14; Psalm 50; Isaiah 3-4; Hebrews 11
But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed out of the camp. Numbers 14:44
PRESENCE
Presumption following disobedience, as was the case with the Israelites who refused to go into the Promised Land, was a recipe for disaster. Once God pronounced His judgment upon them, the rebels decided that they had better go into the land and subdue it. They were warned that the “Lord [would] not be with” them (Num 14:43). They were soundly defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites (Num 14:45). Neither the Lord’s presence (the ark of the covenant) nor the righteousness of Christ (Moses as a type of Christ’s righteousness) accompanied them in their mischief. For the Christian, presumption is never a good idea. Presumption is not the way of the King. We are to be totally submissive to the leading of God by the Spirit and completely surrendered to the will of God in Christ. We must have the presence of Christ and His righteousness accompany us in any and every endeavor. To go forth in the power of our own strength, in the strength of our own flesh, is the acme of foolishness. In our daily Bible readings, we must read, consider, and meditate upon the Scriptures in the presence of Christ; with an eye of faith upon Him and His exaltation. When we pray, it is not the petitioning and interceding sheep the principalities and rulers of darkness fear, but the presence and power of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. When we speak of Christ Jesus to others, it is not the enticing influence of our words convincing souls to be saved, but instead, the very person of our Lord Christ drawing them to Himself through you and me. When we minister blessings unto our brothers and sisters, the greatest encouragement they receive is seeing Christ in us. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Presumption only gives way to
Th’ idolatry of pride;
By God’s good grace, submit we must
To Christ who liv’d and died.
