S) "31 Now this is the duty of their loads, for all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle and its bars and its pillars and its sockets, 32 and the pillars around the court and their sockets and their pegs and their cords, with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign each man by name the items he is to carry."
Numbers 4:31-32 (NASB)
O) And now we have the census for the Levites in chapters 3 and 4, and it gets very specific. Not only does the tribe get numbered, but the clans get a breakdown number, and then just the men 30-50 years old get numbered, and here we see that God wants the work each man does (during the transport of the tabernacle) to be specific to each man. So, if I was a Levite son of Merari, I might be assigned to carry one particular socket that fits a bar (which someone else would carry).
A) The specificity of our God continues to astound me. Sometimes, I get the feeling that God's will is some kind of spectrum. Like, there are clearly things which are outside God's will (like sacrificing your kids to Molech). Then, there are things which are clearly within God's will (giving thanks, for example). But sometimes, things seem to fall into some sort of middle area of uncertainty. Like, is it God's will for me to watch a PG13 movie? Is it His will for me to watch any movies? Even when it's more of a ministry, there can be this conundrum. Like, if God's calling me to be a pastor, do I go to seminary first? If I am a pastor, what order should my service be? What time should my service be? Should I have more than one service? Etc., etc., etc.. Sometimes, I get the response that God's has a perfect will and a permissible will, and a lot of these questions go to the latter. I think God has a specific will. I think the more we deviate from that, the more we forfeit what could have been. I know God is gracious and merciful, and I am thankful because I know that I do not hear Him as clearly as I want to hear Him. So, where it leaves me, is knowing that I serve a God of specificity, but He is gracious to allow for my tone-deaf ears. I will seek His perfect will and be thankful that He can use my imperfect execution.
P) Father, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear. Let me become more and more in tune to Your will about my life. As I read Your Word each day, let me become more and more aware of what Your will is in every facet of my life. Holy Spirit, guide me toward perfect obedience and remind me to pray and ask for direction in the first place. I believe that You are exceedingly good. I believe that You know the best possible choice, the best possible outcome, for every decision before me. So, let me seek Your ways first, and give me wisdom to make the most of what I can discern. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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