Brian Maloy

Last week’s Sunday School lesson covered Numbers 22, when Balaam is confronted by the Angel of the Lord for his selfish motives, and his sweet donkey is used to awaken him to his blindness. 

Naturally, the lesson plan hops all the way over to Numbers 33 for this week… so we have much content to cover. I will JUST hit the ultra high points.

Numbers 23–33 traces Israel’s final wilderness stretch before entering the Promised Land, it’s marked by divine protection, moral failure, military victories, and territorial preparation. Rather than listing out a LOT of context, I would encourage you to read it.

Following Plans (Num. 33:50-53)

Have you ever heard that great leaders also are great followers? Well, I looked it up to confirm.

The phrase is attributed to Aristotle: “He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.” — think about the implications of that.

It’s a principle that resonates with biblical leadership too.

• Moses followed God’s commands before leading Israel.
• Joshua served under Moses faithfully before becoming commander.
• Jesus modeled submission to the Father, even as He led with authority.

So if that’s all true — why is it so important to follow plans laid out for us? 

OR look at it this way — 

If even Jesus submitted to the Father’s plan, what does that teach us about trusting the paths laid before us?

1. Following is good for us; it teaches us discipline and humility.
2. Plans are helpful for us to build trust. Even children who see plans laid out, follow them, and see positive results know this.
3. Helps remind us of the ultimate authority of Yahweh God.
4. Sometimes God even uses obedience to plans to prepare us for future responsibility.
   • Look at Joseph, David, or even Joshua

For those of us who follow the Lord, we have to consider the danger in leaning too hard into the “personal agency” of the day — and remember who we follow, who our King is. Spoiler… it’s not us. 

Despite the culture telling us that we can form ourselves in whatever image we desire. But beautifully, and sometimes hard to grasp — we were made with purpose, dignity, imago dei (in the image of God).

Distractions are Distracting

God’s people have been prepared. He has tried to get them to trust and obey. They have a HARD job ahead of them. It’s hard for us to fathom: weeding out and taking dominion of the Promised Land, killing and driving out those who live there. But God’s purpose was larger than we see at first glance. God’s people were going to be distracted, tempted, and led astray if they didn’t take care of the evil dwelling there. It was not a racial or ethnic cleansing… it was spiritual and moral. The people dwelling there worshipped demonic forces masquerading as “gods”, sacrificed humans and children, they had truly given themselves over to their depravity. 

God knew the Canaanites would be a distraction to His people — they would struggle to obey, trust, follow, and remain holy and set apart. 

We may not have Canaanites, but we DO struggle with distractions. Things that pull us away from our Lord. We are the Israelites here. God knew what would distract them from living holy lives in the promised land. 

Do you know what is most likely to distract you from following Yahweh earnestly? Do you know what is going to lure you away? What promises of this world will cause you to doubt God’s faithfulness? If you do not, I think it’s really wise to pause — consider this — ask the Holy Spirit for discernment — and take action. It’s hard work, but it’s well worth it. Jesus (and NT) reminds us of this all over scripture (Col. 3:2, Heb. 12:1-2, Phil. 3:14, 1 Jn. 2:15-17, Matt. 6:24, 1 Tim. 6:9-10, Matt. 26:41, Matt. 6:13, Luke 8:14, Rom. 12:2, James 1:5, Phil. 4:6-7).

I thought about this for me… maybe it’s relatable and helpful for you as you ponder. 

• Busyness — it’s so hard when you let yourself overdo it too often.
• My phone — I simultaneously hate my phone, and know I can’t avoid it… it’s become a necessity, but it also does an annoying job of capturing my attention too much.
  • (helpful Brian tip, if I catch myself using FB Market too much, or any app, just zone out, I delete it… I can redownload later, but sometimes “fasting” from it helps reset)
• Efficiency — I LOVE being productive and efficient, but sometimes you need healthy inefficiencies… 
• Fatigue — I hate this, but when I let myself get so run down, I stop praying, I zone out, I don’t read my Bible, or do anything life-giving.
• Control — I love a good plan, and backup plan, and backup backup. But I have to let go sometimes and let God be God — and work harder to be faithful to His plans.

Destroying the Idols

“Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”
— John Owen

This line captures Owen’s heart in his preaching: that believers must actively and daily put sin to death through the power of the Holy Spirit. He saw spiritual warfare not as a one-time event but as a lifelong discipline rooted in union with Christ.

Does that sound familiar to the work that God is calling the Hebrews to in Num. 33? 

God called His people to rid the land not only of the evil people but of the evil practices. They were to destroy all the vestiges of their pagan worship. They were to destroy all the idols, carved images, or metal idols, destroy all of the high places of worship, and pagan altars. They were truly to do away with idolatry in the land, anything that would tempt them away from worshipping the one true God, Yahweh.

Again, it was about guarding their worship. Yahweh had taught them proper worship and how to live holy and set apart. Knowing the proper way to worship and actually doing it are important — but ridding ourselves of the things that will hinder that worship is also important. 

The only way they could truly inhabit the land, to live in the promise — was to honor the God who gave it to them by trusting Him enough to obey.

Lives of Obedience (Num. 33:54-56)

It’s hard not to read these books in the Old Testament, especially the wilderness era and entering the promised land, and not see the deep need for God’s people to just simply obey! 

Alas, I too need to simply obey. A life that is marked by obedience to the Father is a life well lived. It is a life that radiates an inner peace, a calm in the storm. An obedient life to Yahweh draws others toward the heart of God. 

Obedience is beautiful, although quite countercultural.

I read a book years ago by Eugene Peterson that I loved, “a Long Obedience in the Same Direction”. Peterson described discipleship as “a long obedience in the same direction,” emphasizing steady, faithful living over time.

Really at its heart, learning to obey our King, our God, Yahweh — is discipleship. God was seeking to disciple His people, just like He still does today.

Assuming we desire a “long obedience in the same direction”, how do we get there? What can we learn from the Hebrews here?

My thoughts may be helpful for you too:

• Practice remembering (scripture, prayers, stories of God’s faithfulness)
• Obey in the ordinary (if we can’t be trusted in the small things, why would God ever assume we can be trusted in the big)
• Guard yourself (we should take time to know what will tempt away, our own personal lures, Flee from them, to Jesus)
• Trust God’s Heart (let obedience flow from love, not fear — learn to see God’s commands as means for flourishing)

Remember, obedience is not perfection, it’s a long walk in the same direction. It’s the daily choose to walk toward the Father, even when the path is slow. 

The Hebrews show us both the cost of compromise and the beauty of faithfulness to the covenant. We can learn from both.

Dwell In Safety

Obedience is clearly the big takeaway for me from this passage. And rightfully so. As we read through Numbers (and Exodus, and Deuteronomy, and Leviticus), it’s not hard to tire of the ridiculous lack of trust the Hebrews have for God. 

And naturally, if we insert ourselves with an ounce of humility, we can see easily that we too are exhausting in our lack of obedience and trust in Yahweh. 

So truly, what is the follower of Jesus to do? 

1. What actions can we take to safeguard from idolatrousness in the world around us?
   • Name your lures.
   • Practice subtraction, fast from what numbs you. Make space for the Lord.
   • Build Biblical rhythms.
2. How can we see the idolatry of our age?
   • Learn to discern what is being worshipped.
   • Watch for false promises. 
   • What is shaping us? If we aren’t being formed by the Spirit, we’re being formed by something else.
3. How can we stand firm, resolute even, on God’s Word to protect and guide us?
   • Dwell in scripture — read it, memorize it, listen to it, sing it. Let yourself be formed by it. 
   • Anchor yourself in community, we need others to remind us, correct us, and walk with us.
   • Obey in the small things. Faithfulness in the ordinary builds strength for the storms.

Obedience isn’t flashy. It’s daily. It’s costly. But it’s beautiful. And it’s the path to peace, purpose, and presence with God. Let’s walk it together.