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The end of the book of Numbers marks the end of Israel's time in the wilderness. What did God accomplish during those forty years? What was the Exodus' generation's role in the plan of God? What can that generation teach us today?

Paul writes that the covenant written on hearts of flesh is more glorious than that written on tablets of stone. Why was the first covenant written on stone tablets? What, if anything, is different about the covenant to be written on the human heart?

In God's eyes the Temple has become like a hide-out where robbers flee for safety. They go there to hide until pursuit dies down, not to repent of their sins. For this reason, the building is no longer truly the Temple and it cannot give sanctuary to the nation.

Both Pinchas and Elijah acted zealously when they were confronted by flagrant sinfulness and idolatry in Israel. The zealot is akin to a hammer in God's hand, sometimes necessary but not to be used routinely. In Elijah's encounter with God in the mountain cave, it appears that God was checking whether Elijah could tone things down in the future.

It appears that reports of Paul's trials and suffering during his missionary journeys were being used to call his apostleship into question. He puts his trials into perspective. In this he also gives the Corinthians a gentle rebuke.

Jeremiah is speaking truth to Israel in Biblical fashion which is difficult to understand today because our thought process is essentially Greek. One of the Biblical techniques is the maschil; typically a poetic couplet. The couplet is open ended and is designed to evoke reflection and discussion. In this chapter, the prophet is saying that Israel has fallen into wishful thinking which has lead them away from God.

Reading the story of Balaam, one wonders why it is included in the Torah. Why didn't God simply forbid Balaam from going to Moab the second time he asked? It turns out that Balaam gets mentioned as a bad example all the way from Deuteronomy to Revelation. In this, he serves to emphasize that sex is very often the hook that is used to draw people away from God and in to idol worship.

Some in the Corinthian church questioned if there was to be resurrection from the dead. Starting with the example of Y'shua, Paul explains that resurrection is central to Messianic belief. He also discusses the nature of the resurrection body.

Following the truth, God's way, will over time lead to happiness and prosperity. Both Israel and the United States followed His way for an extended period of time and flourished. They then entered a time of error during which they consumed all of the good that previous generations had built up.

Although a people may be enslaved quickly by means of conquest, more often it is that they abandon their liberty. This abandonment generally begins with an abdication or avoidance of responsibility. They decide they want government to do something that they should be doing by themselves. Having shed responsibility, they then begin to tell themselves comforting lies to justify their situation.

It appears that spiritual gifts, particularly the gift of tongues, were being used pridefully. Paul admonishes the church that spiritual gifts are given to benefit the body, not the person through whom they operate. When the church gathers, it is more important to be understood than it is to be envied by others.

To the extent that our society and its education system derive from classical Greece they ill equip us to understand Scripture. The Bible's way of presenting truth is very different. We read Scripture and think we understand it because the words are familiar. Jeremiah will correct our understanding if we will allow it. Judah did not.

The generation that left Egypt under Moses' leadership fell into bitter disappointment when they believed the bad report of the twelve spies. Korah took advantage of that depression to mount a challenge against Moses and ultimately against God Himself. His dream of assuming leadership was wrecked upon the rock of reality. God had decided and no amount of rabble rousing was going to change anything.

In response to a question on spiritual gifts, Paul admonishes the Corinthians that all of the gifts are necessary for the well being of the body. Apparently there was some status seeking on the basis of having one gift over another.

Truth is so precious and rare that people go to great lengths to counterfeit it. In this introduction we discuss the difficult problem of separating truth from opinion.

The journey from slavery to freedom ended for the wilderness generation when the spies brought a bad report about the land. Upon hearing that report, they gave up and asked to return to Egypt (and slavery). This represents one step in God's millennia-long project to develop a good relationship with the people that He created. The project began in the Garden and will culminate in the New Jerusalem.

Among the difficulties in the Corinthian church, there seemed to have been confusion or contention about gender roles. In addressing this, Paul starts with the order of creation and proceeds to then current customs. The upshot is that Scripture forbids dress or behavior that would confuse the two genders.

In the parable of the great banquet, the invited guests all make transparently false and insulting excuses why they cannot attend. This leads the master to cast a wide net and bring others in. In the parable of the wedding feast, the Pharisees assume they will have places of honor in the kingdom. In the parable of the narrow door the Pharisees are assuming that because they are Abraham's descendants, they will be admitted.

In Numbers 11 when the people complain that they are fed up with manna and want Egypt food, Moses has a melt down before God, complaining that he didn't want the job and would rather die than continue. God treats him gently as would a friend or parent and gets him some help. Similarly, Y'shua, who is the physical son of God, tells us to pray to our Father in Heaven. That is we are to have a family relationship with God. This idea of God as a friend or parent is unique to Judaism and Christianity.

After a defense of his apostleship, Paul turns to the generation that died in the wilderness. That generations failures should serve as an example and warning for us today. The temptations that caused them to fall are no different than those we face.