March 10-14
[M] Numbers 26-29; Luke 2
[T] Num 30-33; Psalm 35; Luke 3
[W] Num 34-36; Luke 4
[T] Deuteronomy 1-3; Ps 36; Luke 5
[F] Deut 4-5; Luke 6
Dwell Plan Day 51-55 | CSB | Digital PDF | Printable PDF
Notes from Jon & Chris
Monday
Luke 2:52 | And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. This is one of the most important verses when it comes to thinking about the humanity of Christ. I think that it’s really easy to, in our mind's eye, when we think about Christ, to lean towards his divinity. He raised people from the dead. He healed countless people. He walked on water and calmed the storm.
But He also grew up. He had to learn how to walk. He had to learn how to read. He went to synagogue and did Bible lessons with a Rabbi. He lived His life as a real human, but filled with the Holy Spirit.
This is important for a few reasons: First, as a real human being, Jesus can represent us before the Father. Second, because He was a real human being, He can sympathize with us in our weakness. Third, because He was a real human being, He understands our suffering.
What an amazing God we serve!
Numbers 26:2 | A census is taken | In the Old Testament, sometimes God calls His people to number themselves, to count how many folks there are. Then, at other times, taking a census is a sin, as when David does it later. What’s the difference? Whatever is not of faith is sin—that’s the principle we see—and we see it in the Old Testament as much as the New Testament. Counting can be an act of unbelief and fear, depending and focusing and relying on human “strength in numbers,” so to speak. But His strength isn’t revealed in ours, is it? It never has been. The kingdom principles are still the same, where we are weak He is most strong.
Numbers 27:12-23 | Joshua is (along with Caleb) one of the only folks from the Exodus generation who comes into the promised land. Moses, the lawgiver, led Israel to the edge of the land but could not bring them in. That task fell to Joshua, a foreshadowing of how the law reveals our need for salvation but cannot save us—only Jesus, the true Joshua, can lead us into the ultimate Promised Land.
Tuesday
Luke 3:1 | In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene | One of the criticisms we’ll often hear about the scriptures is that they are just myths that developed over time. It’s generally a popular-level critique and not one held by even most unbelieving scholars.
There is a lot of evidence that a) the New Testament was written very early and b) the New Testament authors write as if they are writing real historical accounts. This verse is one of the keys in that discussion. Look at all these names and titles. Luke (who also wrote Acts) is very precise in his historical accounting.
C.S. Lewis said, “I have been reading poems, romances, vision-literature, legends, and myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know that not one of them is like this. Of this text there are only two possible views. Either this is reportage… or else, some unknown writer… without known predecessors or successors, suddenly anticipated the whole technique of modern novelistic, realistic narrative. The reader who doesn’t see this has simply not learned to read.”
Numbers 30 | Jesus teaches us not to take vows or oaths in His preaching. Why would He do that? His instructions were plain: let your yes be yes and your no be no. But that doesn’t really line up with Numbers 30. At first it seems like a big difference and leaves you wondering; but that misses the weight of what Christ is actually saying. He’s saying our “yes” is equal to a solemn oath and the most holy vow. The importance and value of integrity isn’t diminished here, nor is the vitality and necessity of commitment.
As we become a people of the Word, and as we see Christ is that Word made flesh, we begin to see how the words we speak, even just a little “yes” from us, is meant to be God’s words taking shape in our flesh. And so our yes is now God’s yes through us and in us.
Numbers 31 | Here is the note from the Biblical Theology Study Bible: Vengeance on the Midianites. The Israelites fulfill the Lord’s earlier command (see 25:16–18 and note). This victory is another foretaste of the victories the Lord will give them in the promised land.
Numbers 33:52 | There’s a lot of moral crisis for modern Christians when we read about God’s program, His instructions to His people that they had to exterminate the folks who lived in the promised land. I can’t and won’t answer all of those objections or concerns, but there is something to consider as you read this.
Most of the ancient archaeological excavations in Palestine, and all across the world for that matter, are a record of one people wiping out another people. Genocide after genocide happens in the ancient world, and all we are left with are the ashy layers of culture after culture being extinguished. Conqueror after conqueror coming through. What’s the point?
In this one instance, with the people of God being God’s punishment on the evils of the local population, we are getting to see the mechanism of God’s perfect grinding justice. His justice is always pure and always has been. We’re sinful and under judgment. Death, war, and suffering are His fair response to human wickedness. Here we get to see how that judgment is truly personal for God, and how His judgment scales to include whole people groups. It’s happened again and again in human history, only this time you’re getting an insight into the why. You might be tempted to judge God for this, but He does not submit to our judgments.
So, this conquering program that God has His people on, it achieves His justice and punishment through their actions. This becomes a lens through which we can now see that all human cultures and societies will be judged by God. When the Israelites enter the promised land, it’s just a glimpse of God’s eternal and final justice “breaking in” for us to see it clearly in real time. When these mighty moments of redemptive history are happening, heaven and hell, eternal life and judgment, salvation and destruction—they are all heightened and deepened. They don’t satisfy all of our questions about justice, but they do call us to trust and know God on His terms.
Psalm 35 | This a poem and a prayer of David for God to fight against his enemies. These kinds of prayers often feel strange to us; somehow contrary to the gospel of Christ’s love. Perhaps with the wrong spirit they would be, but something else is happening here: this poem anticipates the coming kingdom of Jesus and the conflicts it will create. David is complaining how bitter and full of betrayal his opponents are. It doesn’t make any sense to him and it’s destroying him. Why are they so intent on hurting him? He doesn’t know, and complains how they return evil for the good he does for them. This becomes the experience of Jesus! There is a kind of natural “unnatural” rejection of God and Jesus by people. Jesus warns us about it. They hated me, they will hate you. These poems are a script for us, a guide for how to respond to these kinds of attacks. It normalizes them. Don’t be alarmed. This struggle against irrational enemies is a part of the battle between the kingdoms of darkness and light. We need songs and prayers for that struggle, and God has provided them for us.
Wednesday
Luke 4:41 | And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. | There is a theological idea called the "Messianic Secret.” Throughout the gospels, these demons are constantly saying that Jesus is the Messiah and then he tells them to zip it. Why?
The answer is pretty simple: imagine that you made a movie. And you thought it was really good. And then you read an article where Bill Cosby and Kevin Spacey both say that they loved this movie. You’d think, “Thanks, but that’s not helping.” That’s the idea here. These demonic forces are the enemies of humanity. These are the baddies. Jesus doesn’t want or need them talking about him.
Luke 4:1 | Pastor Drew taught from this passage that the Holy Spirit leads, but the devil misleads. That’s a great way to sum up this story of temptation, but Drew’s words lingered in my mind. It seemed to me to be worth noting this: the Holy Spirit leads, and notice where He leads. Directly into a place of temptation and trial! He doesn’t always lead us that way, and we pray that He won’t. But sometimes He does. At times when you’re being tempted, it’s vital to remember that God’s Spirit might be the reason you’re there! Our God tests us, to see what’s in our hearts and show it to us.
Numbers 35:9 | Whole cities that are pictures of God’s mercy, rescue, and love: cities of refuge. It’s a call for a community to function in ways that reveal God’s love. To form and commit to this very purpose: you find refuge and safety here. This becomes a paradigm for the church community that God creates in the New Testament, where the entire purpose of the new kingdom community is salvation! We are now the place of refuge as we preach and practice the saving love of God in Jesus Christ His Son. His community continues to function the same way today in and through us.
Thursday
Luke 5:13 | And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. | What a beautiful picture of the heart of the Lord. He could have healed this leper without touching him. But this man, because of his disease, probably hadn’t felt human contact in a very long time. And so Jesus didn’t just heal him (as amazing as that is); He touched him and let this man feel like a real person again.
Psalm 36:1 | Transgression speaks to the wicked; deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. | When we read verses like this, our instinct is to think of someone else—those who reject God, the obviously sinful, the truly wicked. But Scripture holds up a mirror, not a magnifying glass. This verse isn’t just about them, it’s about us.
This was who we were before Christ saved us. Sin wasn’t just something we did; it was rooted deep in our hearts. We didn’t fear God. We didn’t seek Him. We weren’t worthy or righteous. And yet, in His mercy, He saved us anyway. Our salvation was never about our goodness, but about His grace. The more we remember where we came from, the more we’ll rejoice in the love that rescued us. Do you still marvel at God’s grace in saving you?
Deuteronomy | Check out the ESV introduction to the book of Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy, which means “second law,” is a retelling by Moses of the teachings and events of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. It includes an extended review of the Ten Commandments (4:44–5:33) and Moses’ farewell address to a new generation of Israelites as they stand ready to take possession of the Promised Land. Moses reminds them of God’s faithfulness and love, but also of God’s wrath on the previous generation of Israelites because of their rebellion. Repeatedly, he charges Israel to keep the Law. Deuteronomy is a solemn call to love and obey the one true God. There are blessings for faithfulness and curses for unfaithfulness. The book closes with the selection of Joshua as Israel’s new leader and the death of Moses.
Deuteronomy 1-5 | This is a recap of the previous four books, and it’s worth paying attention to how Moses interprets the events of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. This historical summation is important.
We did not know, until the 20th century, that Deuteronomy is actually written in an ancient format. Scholars found a number of 4,000 year old Hittite treaties and they all start with this same kind of historical recap. It’s a summing up of the story of the relationship between a lord or a king and a vassal or a subject. They would “cut a covenant” as cutting a deal. Deuteronomy has all of the detailed structure of those Hittite documents. Right after the “recap” you have the law in ch. 5—that’s also a part of Hittite treaty structure. After the history lesson, the standards of the covenant are listed: what you’re commanded to do. Being aware of this meta-structure can help you as you read. This whole book is in the form of an ancient contract—the same contract that Christ refers to at the table. “This cup is the cup of the covenant in My blood, shed for the forgiveness of sin.” Praise Him!
Friday
Luke 6:12-16 | The Calling of the Twelve | At the 1992 Olympics, the U.S. put together what many consider the greatest basketball team of all time—the Dream Team. Some might argue that 2024’s squad with all of our favorite Warriors players was even better, but that’s a debate for another time.
What made both teams so dominant was their sheer talent: Jordan, Magic, Bird, KD, Steph. It makes sense to us: assemble the best, gather the most skilled, and you’ll achieve greatness. But that’s not the approach Jesus took when He chose the twelve. He didn’t pick the most brilliant minds, the most influential leaders, or the most religiously devout. These men weren’t spiritual giants.
Yet, this small unimpressive group turned the world upside-down. How? How did a handful of uneducated fishermen and a despised tax collector transform history? The answer is simple: they didn’t. The Holy Spirit did. They were merely the instruments God used. This is our prayer as leaders for both of our churches: We don’t want the best or brightest. We don’t want the most brilliant scholars. We just want our churches to be filled with people who want to be used by God.
Deuteronomy 5 | The Law | Compare this list with the ten commandments from Exodus 20. You’ll notice one strong difference. Can you explain it? In the first list, God’s creation of the world is mentioned. In the second list, God’s saving power from Egypt is mentioned. Why the difference? What’s changed in the 40 years in between? Pondering this change and thinking through it is important. It prepares you for how the Old and New Testaments are vitally and truly connected. We believe in the full counsel of God, not the part counsel. Creation and redemption are the two mightiest works of our God. And they both together are reason to truly rest.