Numbers 22:21-23:26 ; Psalm 37:32-40 ; Luke 6:37-7:10 "Blessed Is The One ..." © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Pen & Ink on Paper Today in our readings we come to Numbers 22:21-23:26. In this chapter, we are introduced to Balak, the king of Moab, and to Balaam, a pagan prophet. Balak and his subjects, the Moabites, are “filled with dread because of the Israelites” (verse 3), so Balak summons Balaam to “put a curse” on the Israelites (verse 6). Balaam is an example of a

Numbers 21:4-22:20 ; Psalm 37:21-31 ; Luke 6:12-36 "July 15th, 1989 Journal Entry" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Pencil Sketch on Paper We come now to Numbers 21:4-22:20 where we observe another failure of the Israelites and more frustration for Moses in the incident with the bronze snake. The people of Israel “traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea to go around Edom, but the people grew impatient on the way and spoke against God and against Moses ”

Numbers 19:1-21:3 ; Proverbs 8:1-11 ; Luke 5:33-6:11 "Der Äpfel Fällt Nicht Weit ..." © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Ink Woodcut on Paper In our readings today, we come to Numbers 19:1-21:3. In chapter 19, we read about the water of cleansing. This particular law was given because the Israelites – who were confined to their wandering around in the desert – came often into contact with death and dead bodies. Keep in mind that the number of Israelites who perished during

Numbers 16:36-18:32 ; Psalm 37:10-20 ; Luke 5:17-32 "Creation of Many Worlds" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Acrylic on Cardboard Numbers 16 contains many serious warnings. It shows us the rebellion of “Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their 250 well-known, Israelite community leaders who grew insolent and rose up against Moses” (verses 1-2). We see here that opposition to Moses was equal to opposition to God. When summoned to “come before Moses,” this rebellious group re

Numbers 15:1-16:35 ; Psalm 37:1-9 ; Luke 4:38-5:16 "St. Wolfgangskirche, Reutlingen" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Pen & Ink on Paper In Numbers 15-16, we see the Lord’s regulations about presenting supplementary offerings such as “special vows, freewill offerings, or festival offerings” (verse 3). From this we learn that God has certain standards by which He is to be freely and voluntarily worshiped. Often, we want to honor or worship God out of a special sense of gr

Numbers 13-14 ; Psalm 36 ; Luke 4:14-37 "Parasol Parade" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Ink & Styrofoam on Paper Yesterday, we saw that whenever we choose our own will over God’s will for our lives, we are rejecting the best for something less than the best. Today in Numbers 13-14, we see this principle exemplified again. God wanted to give the Israelites the land, but they were not willing to receive it His way . We read, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Send some men to ex

Numbers 11:4–12:16 ; Proverbs 7:21-27 ; Luke 3:23-4:13 "Dark Dream in the Woods" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Ink & Watercolor on Paper Our readings today emphasize the problems of evil influences. In Numbers 11:4–12:16, we see that, after things seemed to be going along so well for the Israelites, they began to “ complain – arousing the anger of the LORD” (cf., Numbers 11:1). As a result, God “consumed some of them” (verse 2). In our section for today, we also rea