March 1 Readings

You can also check out all these Reading Plans Blogs to go through the Bible in a year from Back to the Bible Reading Lists:the Chronological Reading Plan blog; OT and NT Together blog; Historical Readings blog; Blended Readings blog and Beginning to End blog In addition, there is the Theophilus1 blog in the One Year Bible format

The Back to the Bible OT and NT Together Reading Plan

Numbers 20-22; Mark 7.1-13

In Numbers 20, the Israelites arrived at the Desert of Zin, and stayed at Kadesh, there Moses' sister Miriam died. They had no water, and naturally, they grumbled, and began to oppose Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron went to God in the tabernacle and prayed to God. God told Moses to take the staff, and gather the assembly, together. Moses was to SPEAK to the rock before their eyes and they would have water. Moses brought the staff and assembled the people as God had commanded, then he said, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock?" He then raised his arm and STRUCK the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out and everyone had water to drink. Although the Israelites got the water, Moses had disobeyed God! For whatever reason, he struck the rock instead of speaking to it, he (Moses) was told that he could not enter Canaan. These waters were called Meribah which meant quarreling! Joshua was to succeed Moses (Num 27.12-22). After that the Israelites went to Mount Hor, there Aaron died.

In Numbers 21, Arad a city of Canaan was destroyed by the Israelites. This chapter spoke about the bronze snake. The Israelites complained and spoke against God and Moses. God sent them some venomous snake among them, and the snakes bit them and they died. The people came to Moses and said that the sinned because they spoke against the Lord and Moses. So Moses prayed to the Lord. The Lord told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole, anyone who looked at it would be saved. And when it did it anyone who looked at the bronze snake was saved. Jesus said in John 3.14-15 that as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert so the Son of Man was lifted that everyone who believes in him have eternal life. This was a part of the conversation with Nicodemus leading up to John 3.16.

In Numbers 22, the Israelites had arrived at the plains of Moab, the end of the journey before they would enter into Canaan. Balak, king of Moab, was terrified of the Israelites, because he saw what they did to the Amorites. He summoned Balaam. He thought since he could not defeat Israel militarily, he would use divination against them by paying for the services of Balaam. God came to Balaam in the night and asked who these men were, he said Balak, told him to put a curse on the Israelites. God told him not. God intervened by having Balaam's donkey speaking to him. All the details are provided in the links below.

Balaam, Part 1, (Numbers 22.1-35)
Balaam, Part 2,(Numbers 22.36-Num 24.25)


Numbers 20 with Commentaries, verse by verse
Numbers 21 with Commentaries, verse by verse
Numbers 22 with Commentaries, verse by verse

Other Links
Dr. Thomas Constable Study Notes is a PDF file, open with Adobe Acrobatic Reader
Calvin Harmony of the Law Volume 1 Search for the chapter you want with (CTRL F)
Calvin Harmony of the Law Volume 2 Search for the chapter you want with (CTRL F)
Calvin Harmony of the Law Volume 3 Search for the chapter you want with (CTRL F)
Calvin Harmony of the Law Volume 4 Search for the chapter you want with (CTRL F)

Mark 7.1-23
The Pharisees again challenged Jesus, the Perfect Servant about his disciples eating without unwashed hands. The asked him why the disciples did not follow the traditions of the elders and not washed their hands. Jesus gave a quote from Isaiah 29.13, and gave them examples of how they say one thing but did something else, in this case honoring their parents. They had external form of religion based on traditions that did not reflect an inward change. He gave a parable about what cause sin, it was not what a person ate but rather what came out of his heart. Many of us today, even as Christians can get trapped by a formalism by which we may talk like a Christian and act like a Christian, live in a Christian environment but may not really experience a rebirth in our lives. We may talk the talk but have not walk the walk We should remember what Paul said in 2Cor 5.17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Stedman on Mark 7
Peter Pett on Mark 6-8


Stedman on Mark 6.7-52
Stedman on Mark 6.53-7.30
Peter Pett Commentary on Mark 6.7-8.26

More Links in Mark
Dan Hill on Mark
Ray Stedman on Mark
Jeff Miller on Mark
Chadwick on Mark
Dr. Thomas Constable Study Notes is a PDF file, open with Adobe Acrobatic Reader
Sermons on Mark by Ryle, Spurgeon, and Whitefield
John Piper Sermon's on Mark
Peter Pett Commentary on Mark 6.7-8.26

Jesus Saves
This Posting is NOT a commentary of the passages read today but it is a devotional. Please send a comment if something spoke to you today from the passages, links or thoughts that I have shared with you.