No god or curse can defeat the God of Israel. For the Israelites, God works in many ways. So, when their enemy tries to invoke a curse on them. God does not block the curse or change it or miraculous protect Israel from it. Instead, God talks to the enemy and commands them to bless the Israelites only. God can talk and work with anyone or anything, enemies included and donkeys of your enemies. God spreads his protective wings over the Israelites. Do you have any enemie

Numbers challenges you and I to reflect on who we are for our local Church community. “Then somebody who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them in a clean place outside the camp.” Then later in the chapter “Then someone who is clean will take hyssop, dip it in this water, and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the vessels and persons that were in it, or on the one who touched the bone, the slain person or the other corpse, or the grave.” Who is t

We hear again about God’s mercy on all his people. “Then the priest shall make atonement for the whole Israelite community; and they will be forgiven, since it was inadvertence, and for their inadvertence they have brought their offering: an oblation to the LORD as well as their purification offering before the LORD. Not only the whole Israelite community but also the aliens residing among you shall be forgiven, since the inadvertent fault affects all the people.” What stri

Do you believe the Lord is with us? The Israelites had a difficult time believing. The Lord asks us to trust his ways. That does not mean all suffering and hardship will go away. The path of the Chosen People shows us. Forty years they wandered in the desert. Do you sometimes feel like you are wandering through the desert? Most if not all journeys have some desert time. Trust the Lord to guide you through it. He did not give up on the Israelites he will not give up o

The Levites were dedicated to the service of God, “For they (Levites), among the Israelites, are totally dedicated to me…” Those in our Church that are ordained or take religious vows are also totally dedicated to the service of God. While they do get to retire earlier than I do, I guess that makes sense since life expectancy has probably changed in the course of 3000+ years since the Exodus. “Everyone twenty-five years old or more shall join the personnel in the service of

The author of Numbers shares with us a beautiful blessing, “This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace! So, shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.” We are adopted as God’s chosen people so, we to are blessed. Receiving God’s blessing offers us peace, not as the world gives, but as God does

When I first started serving as an altar boy in 1964 in third grade, we were not allowed to touch the Chalice only its cover, and the way we were told one would think he would die if he did touch it. Numbers chapter four says the same thing to the Kohathites (one of the clans of Aaron's sons), "But they shall not touch the sacred objects; if they do they will die." What does the Lord ask you to carry as you sojourn on in faith? Are you doing this in a way that reflect God'

I do understand that Leviticus was not an easy book of the bible to read and pray with and The Book of Numbers will also prove difficult. But it is God's word trust that you can find him in these words. Pray for a heart open and be ready to see him. You, with God's help, can do it. I have faith in God and you! Israel was to be a great nation as indicated by a total of six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty ready to fight for the people. We don't need to g

There is value to human life. So, understand you are not to take life, but honor it as a gift from God. Be it your own life or the life of another. When we hear “that Christ died once for all,” for me that means no one else’s life is to be taken. Life is a precious gift from God. All the things of the world around us are to be respected as blessings from God. How much stuff is enough stuff for one to have? I would like to say if you must ask the question you probably

Our God wishes us to care for the earth as much as we need to care for ourselves. The Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee Year call us to acknowledge that all is a gift from God even the land we walk on. We are to treat one another justly. God reminds them about not worshipping idols. It speaks about erect a carved image or a sacred stone as an idol. Some people accuse us as Catholic of worshipping idols because we have images in our Church. We do have statues and crucifi