A couple days ago, I did a deep dive into Numbers 13 with one of my teammates. It was so good, and I want to share some of what I got with you all. First, we searched what each of the tribes’ and leaders’ names meant. This was crazy because it’s again a prophecy of Jesus coming down and our Just God redeeming us.
Reuben- behold a son
Leader- renowned
Simeon- to hear
Leader- to judge or govern
Judah- praise
Leader- nimble or beholder
Issachar- his reward will come
Leader- redeemed
Ephraim- fruitful and productive
Leader- save
Benjamin-son of the right hand
Leader-God liberates
Zebulun-dwelling of honor
Leader- God is my fortune
Manasseh- to forget
Leader- fortunate
Dan- God is my judge
Leader-people of God
Asher- happy and blessed
Leader- hid, destroying
Naphtali-struggling, wrestling
Leader- very secret
Gad- fortune
Leader- God’s redemption
Then we searched what Joshua and Moses meant and made an exciting connection.
Joshua- God is salvation
Moses- to pull out draw out
Out of water as a baby, but also God used him to draw the Israelites out of Egypt. In his perfect timing, he draws us out of the hard times. Stay dependent.
Then we talked about what stuck out to us within the verses and made connections to now.
God called them out in faith to go to the promised land, and they saw the fruit of that step of faith. How quick are we to see the promise of God and see the fruit that is confirmation from God, and then we doubt? We see the struggles and what it’s going to take to get there, and we doubt even though we know that God is with us and has already promised that he’s going to carry us into it if we have faith.
How often do we see and hear God’s promise for us and then compare ourselves to others? We compare gifts, looks, and personalities when God has uniquely and beautifully made each of us. He didn’t make us so we would try to be someone else. He wants us to step into who he has made us to be. He created us the way he did and gave us the gifts we have so we can serve others with the skills he gave us. We can each relate to people on a different level because of our past and the gifts that God has given us. What a blessing that God created us differently. We should step into who God created us to be and not compare ourselves, trusting that his promises will come to fruition. Yes, there will be struggles
along the way, but trust that God equipped us and chose us to be used for the kingdom, and he will carry us through with his loving arms.
Overall it was an excellent study, and I encourage you to deep dive into names in the Bible because God is so intentional with names.
