Numbers presents two strange bedfellows: God's wrath and his blessings. The focal point of the book is God's extreme displeasure over the Israelites' refusal to trust and obey (chapter 14). Their penalty was years of wandering around the desert. How do I experience God's displeasure? What does discipline or chastening look like? Has God ever placed me in a "desert" in order to shape me (as he did Moses), to discipline me (like the Israelites), or for some other reason?
Another major thrust of this book is that God deeply desires to enrich his people. He even instructs the priests how to ask God to bless! (6:22-27) Because of God's leading, a strange man (Balaam) can only utter blessings rather than the curses he was hired to pronounce. What blessings from God's hand am I aware of today? If I am not experiencing his riches, is there something that might be getting in the way?
