Tu’apulelulu Fepueli 26, 2026

NOMIPA 35-36; NEHUMI 1:6-9

It is vital to remember that Jesus is not just your Savior. Between your conversion and your homegoing, he is your refuge as well.

‘Oku matu’aki mahu’inga ke tau manatu’i ko Sisuu, ‘oku ‘ikai ko ho Fakamo’ui pe. Mei he vaha’a taimi ho’o fanau’i fo’ou mo ho’o ‘alu ki langi, ko Iaa ko ho Kolo Hufanga.

God's attributes never work in conflict with one another. His love does not weaken or negate his holiness. His justice does not derail his mercy. His sovereign plan does not work in conflict with his tender, patient heart. We see this clearly in Numbers 35:34: "You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel." In these words we see the Lord's holy justice and patient mercy working in cooperation. Let me explain.

Note these words earlier in Numbers 35:

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment." (35:9-12)

Now compare the two passages I have quoted and note that two things from the heart of God are operating here. First, God is uncompromisingly holy and will not have the land in which he dwells defiled by sin that is not properly dealt with. But that is not the only thing happening here. A city of refuge would provide mercy for the accused, a place where he could flee and stay until given a just trial. Although confined to a city of refuge, he would not be driven out of the land but, in mercy, could remain and be properly tried for his offense. In the creation of the cities of refuge, we see God's holiness and mercy acting not in conflict with one another but in perfect cooperation. In the cooperation of divine holiness and mercy we find hope right now, and hope to come.

We see God's holiness and mercy working in beautiful cooperation in a later account, too. The entire biblical narrative marches to a hill outside of the city, where, on a rough-hewn cross, God's uncompromising holiness and tender mercy would meet. The cross was necessary because God would not turn his back on the idolatry and rebellion of sin and act as if sin's offenses against him were okay. But the cross was necessary also because the God of mercy promised to provide a way for sinners to be forgiven and reconciled to him. This means that we, too, have a city of refuge to which we can run. Our city of refuge is not a place but a person, and his name is Jesus. It is beautiful to know that Jesus met all of God's holy requirements on our behalf and paid the penalty for our sin so that he could be a refuge for sinners like you and me.

 Pulelulu Fepueli 25, 2026

NUMBERS 33-34; 1 John 2:15-17

There is always a danger that the surrounding culture will weaken your trust in and daily submission to your Savior.

‘Oku fakatu’utamaki ma’u pe ‘a e ‘ulungaanga fakafonua ‘a e ‘atakai ke ne fakavaivai’i ‘a ho’o falala mo ho’o tukulolo faka’aho ki ho Fakamo’ui.

Most believers in Jesus Christ now deal with the pervasive influence of social media, a catalog of streaming services, and the twenty-four-hour infotainment cycle. We are constantly under the influence of voices that do not speak from a biblical perspective and have rejected the confrontation and comfort of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's naive to think that, while our lives are dominated by a flood of constant noise, we are unchanged by them. I am convinced that the enemy of our souls will gladly give us our formal theology and our regular worship services, if he can control the thoughts and desires of our hearts at street level. Many of us can't be quiet for thirty seconds before pulling out our phones. Many of us reach for a digital device as soon as we wake up and check in with that device just before we go to bed. Are we aware that we have been changed, and are we grappling with the nature of that change?

What is culture? Here's my best answer. Human beings made in the image of God interact with God's world, and culture is what results. God's people have always lived in the midst of culture and its influence. So it makes sense that, as Israel enters the promised land, God gives them this stern but loving warning: "If you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell" (Num. 33:55). These are the words of a jealous God who is unwilling to surrender to other gods the hearts of those he has set his love on and whom he has guided, protected, and provided for. He knows that his children have wandering hearts. They have demonstrated that they often have more allegiance to their own comfort than to his will. In light of the magnitude of God's love for them, they have at times been disloyal, even willing to question God's wisdom, faithfulness, and love.

All this means that, no matter how faithful God's people are in honoring the sacrificial and holy-day systems that God has laid out for them, their hearts are susceptible to wandering away from God and his plan for them. So God warns them against the danger of not driving out these pagan nations, of settling among them, of progressively assimilating their culture, and ultimately of serving their gods.

Although we are in a very different place than the children of Israel, this warning rings true for us today. We need Jesus's protecting grace so we can continue to seek and celebrate that very same grace, even though the story of this grace is seldom reinforced by the culture we live in. The warning in Numbers is repeated near the end of the biblical story: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15).

 Tusite Fepueli 24, 2026

NOMIPA 31-32; PALOVEPI 15:3

Our sins are never secret, because they never escape the watchful eye of the Lord.

Ko ‘etau ngaahi angahala ‘oku ‘ikai puli, he ‘oku ‘ikai puli ha me’a mei he fofonga ‘o e ‘Otua.

Scripture tells us that sin is deceitful. We are often deceived into believing two lies, as we step outside of God's boundaries and do what he has forbidden. The first lie is that no one will know. That may be true of the people near us. You can hide your sin so that those around you are unaware. But our sin is never hidden from the eyes of the Lord. His eyes are always on his children. You and I will never escape to a place where he is unable to see what we are doing. Hidden sin is a delusion. The second lie is that we can sin without consequences. I have sat with many adulterous men, with marriages in shambles, and thought to myself, "Where did you think this story was going? How long did you think you could have a relationship with a woman other than your wife and still have a healthy marriage?" I am amazed, in my own life and in counseling others, at our ability to convince ourselves that things are okay that are not and never will be okay.

Numbers 32:23 contains eight words of warning that not only were important for Israel, but are vital for us to hear as well: "Be sure your sin will find you out." Moses spoke these words because God had not only blessed Israel with the land of promise, but he had also called them to fight in his power to drive out all the enemy nations. The tribes of Gad and Rueben decided they didn't want to fight, so they settled outside of the promised land. This was not just an act of cowardice; it was direct rebellion against the commands of the Lord. What were they thinking? Did they actually think that God wouldn't care, or that he would say, "Okay, have it your way." God always sees, and he will never accommodate us by compromising his holy commands. Did the tribes of Gad

and Rueben think that their refusal to do what God commanded wouldn't have

Consequences?

These words have been recorded and preserved for us by our loving heavenly Father. They have been recorded for us as a defense against sin's deceit. Just as with the tribes of Gad and Rueben, our sin is never secret or without consequences. It's wonderful to know that our Lord meets us in our weakness and not only warns us but also empowers us to live inside of his boundaries. It is encouraging to see that God's warning to Gad and Reuben was not in vain. They did finally heed God's warning and obey his command. It is also good to know that rather than hiding, because of the completeness of Christ's work on our behalf we can run to him, confessing our sin and receiving his forgiveness once again. Sin is deceitful, but God's grace is up to the task; it will expose sin's lies again and again until we're on the other side and sin is no more.

 Monite Fepueli 23, 2026

NOMIPA 28-30; ‘AISEA 49:8-16

Hope for God's children is found not in their remembering him, but in his remembering them.

Ko e ‘Amanaki ki he fanau ‘a e ‘Otua, ‘oku ‘ikai makatu’unga ‘i he’enau manatua Iaa, ka ‘i he’ene manatua kinautolu.

I had just spoken at a conference and was in the lobby of the church greeting the attendees, when a man approached me. He came toward me with a big smile on his face, like he knew me and was glad to see me. As he hugged me, he said, "It's so good to see you." His familiarity caught me off guard, because I didn't know who this person was. He clearly knew me and began talking about things he assumed I would remember. But as I searched through my mental file drawers, I couldn't place this man. He could tell I was lost and kindly reintroduced himself to me, jokingly saying he could tell he had really made a big impression on me. As he walked away, I knew he knew that I had no idea who he was. How could I fail to remember someone whom I apparently was supposed to know well?

Numbers 29 describes the blowing of the trumpets at the beginning of the holy convocation on the first day of the seventh month. The blowing of the trumpets was much more than an announcement that the convocation was beginning; it did more than call the children of Israel to attention. The blowing of the trumpets was a prayer, a specific and important prayer (see Num. 10:10). The trumpets were not blown for the people; they were blown to the Lord. The sound of the trumpet was a prayer for God to remember his people, and in remembering them to continue to guide, protect, and provide for them. The present security and the future hope of Israel rested on one foundation: that God would remember his people and all the promises he had made to them concerning his presence, his provision, his protection, and his forgiving grace. The children of Israel had no ability to control what they needed to be controlled, to conquer what needed to be conquered, or to provide what needed to be provided. They were wholly dependent on the Lord's remembering them and, in remembering them, working on their behalf. They would never grow into independence but would always need to rely on God's remembering and providing grace.

When God calls us to himself, he doesn't put us in a process that moves from dependence to independence. Christian maturity is not about independence, but about a growing willingness to be wholly dependent on the providing grace of the Savior. We can depend on him because we know that God never forgets or loses track of any of his children. With a loving heart he remembers all that he has promised us in Christ, and, because he does, we have both hope and help right now and a secure future waiting for us. It's good to always remember your Lord, but it is glorious to know that he always remembers you.

 Sapate Fepueli 22, 2026

NOMIPA 26-27; SENESI 12:1-3

God not only blesses us with his great and precious promises, but he also works by grace to prepare us to hear them.

‘Oku ‘ikai ngata ‘i he tapuaki’i kitautolu ‘e he ‘Otua ‘aki ha ngaahi palomesi lahi mo lelei, ka ‘oku ne ngaue fou ‘i he ‘Ene kelesi ke teu’i kitautolu ke tau lava ‘o ongona ‘ene ngaahi talaa.

Imagine that an attorney informs you that a distant relative has left you an inheritance of property and money larger than you ever dreamed you would have. It's wonderful that you have been granted what you couldn't have achieved or earned on your own. But now you have a problem. How in the world do you manage your newfound wealth? It's one thing to be given an inheritance; it's another thing to be prepared to receive it. You now need property management and investment skills. You need qualified advisers to help handle your inheritance wisely. Imagine that you're in a state of panic, only to discover that your distant relative anticipated your need to receive and use your inheritance wisely, and he made provision for all of the necessary training and counsel.

This is what the final chapters of Numbers are about. God is about to fulfill his commitment to deliver the promised land to Israel, but they need to be prepared. Like a loving father who is about to send his children off on the adventure of a lifetime, God wants to make sure that they are prepared to receive what he promised so long ago. We see in these chapters that God is not distant, uninvolved, or uncaring. This transcendent one is intimately involved with his children. He is actively concerned for their welfare. He will not make promises and walk away. He not only promises; he also prepares. The numbering of the tribes and clans and the appointing of the next generation of leadership are God's preparing his children to receive all that he has promised them (Num. 26-27).

And this is what is happening right here, right now for all of God's children. Because of Christ's work on our behalf, we have been given a future and an inheritance beyond our wildest dreams. The Bible makes it clear that this broken world is our present address - not our final destination. What is going on right now is preparation. God is actively working to mold us into the image of his Son so that we will be ready for the destiny that is ours by grace - a new heaven and perfect new earth. This is how much God loves us. He not only blesses us with things we could have never created on our own, but he also works to prepare us to receive his gifts of grace. So when God takes you where you never intended to go, be thankful; you are being prepared for the awesome destiny that is yours because of the righteous life, the substitutionary death, and the victorious resurrection of Jesus. Your Lord not only promises, but he prepares. And it is a good   thing that he does.

 Tokonaki Fepueli 21, 2026

NOMIPA 23-25; TAITUSI 1:1-3

Hook your past, present, and future to a God who cannot lie.

Nono’o ho kuohili, lolotonga ni, mo e kaha’u ki he ‘Otua ‘oku ‘ikai malava ke loi.

The "prophet" Balaam is perhaps the most complex, complicated character in the Old Testament. Nothing good is said about this man in all of Scripture. He was probably more of a spiritualist medium than a true Old Testament prophet. He comes onto the scene in Numbers because Balak, king of Moab, was scared to death of the approaching armies of Israel. So he sought out Balaam, to hire him to pronounce curses on Israel. Numbers records four of Balaam's oracles (prophetic utterances). But they were not curses, because God had another plan. Although Balaam had taken the king's money to do his cursing work, Balaam's oracles were blessings. It is a weird but comforting story of how God uses whomever he will to do whatever he wants. Balaam was far from a righteous man, but he became a tool for good in the hands of a sovereign God.

In the middle of his second oracle, Balaam spoke these words of foundational hope and comfort:

God is not man, that he should lie,

or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Behold, I received a command to bless:

he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.

He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,

nor has he seen trouble in Israel.

The LORD their God is with them,

and the shout of a king is among them.

God brings them out of Egypt

and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

For there is no enchantment against Jacob,

no divination against Israel;

now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,

"What has God wrought!" (Num. 23:19-23)

What King Balak hoped to be a curse became a righteous pronouncement. Balaam essentially said, "Balak, don't you understand? Nothing can stop these people, because God has promised to bless them, he has promised to be with them, and he will allow nothing to be against them. And he is a God who cannot lie. What he has promised and what he has declared will be fulfilled." In these words the hope and help of Israel would be found. The God who covenanted himself to unleash his power for the blessing of his people cannot lie. Israel and the surrounding kings could be sure that he would do everything he had promised until the nations stood in awe and said, "What has God wrought!"

Remember that those of us who have been chosen by God and have put our faith in Christ are now the inheritors of those covenant promises. Our hope and security are not in the promises, however, but in the character of the one who made them. Our God cannot lie. All he has promised us in and through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son, he will do. And there will be a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will say, in submission and praise, "What has God wrought!"

 Falaite Fepueli 20, 2026

NOMIPA 21-22; SAAME 96:10-13

God, the righteous Judge, is also a gracious Redeemer. Because sin exists and leads to death, both judgment and atonement are necessary.

Ko e ‘Otua, ko e fakamaau faitotonu, ka ko e Huhu’i ‘alo’ofa. Ka koe’uhi ko e kei ‘i ai ‘a e angahala ‘oku iku ki he mate, ‘e kei fiema’u pe ‘a e fakamaau mo e totongi huhu’i.

You would not want to live in a city where there was no law, no punishment for crime, and no restoration for the criminal. Life in such a city would be dangerous and unbearable. In the same way, you and I should be thankful that God is a perfectly holy Judge who hates sin in all of its forms. You and I should be thankful that sin has consequences and penalties. You and I should be thankful that the one who sits on the throne of the universe takes sin seriously and is angry with sin every day. If God were to turn his back and let sin reign on the earth, we would have no hope. At the same time, you and I should never stop celebrating that, because God is who he is, he not only judges sin but also extends grace for sinners. This is the overarching plot of the biblical story: sin, judgment, and atonement.

That plot plays out in brief form in Numbers 21:4-9. The people of Israel attacked the very character of God: his goodness, his faithfulness, and his commitment to provide. They said they hated where God had led them and loathed what he had provided. There is no way that a holy God who loved his children could have turned his back on this rebellion. So God sent deadly serpents among his people. The serpents were both a discipline and a warning.

But God was not done. He had no intention of wiping out his children. As he disciplined them in righteous anger, he remembered his covenant to them and provided for them a way of escape. He commanded Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole; those who looked upon it would live. Here again is the great plot of the biblical narrative: sin, judgment, and atonement. But here also is a foreshadowing of where the biblical story is headed. There would be another tree. Nailed to it was not a serpent but the Son of God. He hung there as the atoning sacrifice for my sins and yours (John 3:14-15). We, too, have questioned God's goodness. At times we have loathed what he has provided. We have rebelled against his authority, choosing to follow our own way. We have looked back longingly at the idols that once enslaved us. We deserved God's judgment, but he met us at that tree outside the city walls. His anger with sin and his grace toward the sinner drove Jesus to the cross.

Because of God's unrelenting anger with sin and because of the magnitude of his grace, there will be a day when sin will be no more. There will be no more rebellion. There will be no more questions of his goodness. There will be no more challenges to his authority. And we will be with him in a place of complete peace and righteousness forever. God takes sin seriously, and, because he does, we have hope now and for all of eternity.