May 30, 2026 - Numbers 12 & Psalm 118

We read Numbers 12 and Psalm 118, then observe what happens when criticism turns into a challenge against God’s appointed leadership. We connect Moses’ meekness and faithfulness to Hebrews 3, then move to Psalm 118’s steady refrain of deliverance and steadfast love. 

For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compassbiblesv.org. Keep reading. Keep growing. God’s Word is a lamp to your feet, and a light to your path. 

Transcript

Welcome And Today’s Reading

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Lamp and Light Bybreeding Plan, where we are seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength with God's word lighting the way. I'm Josiah Smith, joined by Tyler Sanborn. Today is Saturday, May 30th, 2026.

Numbers 12 Read Aloud

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Listen intently to God's written word. Numbers 12. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also? And the Lord heard it. Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the Lord said to Moses, and to Aaron and Miriam, Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting. And the three of them came out, and the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, Hear my words, if there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses, he is faithful in all my house, with whom I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed. When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said to Moses, O my Lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother's womb. And Moses cried to the Lord, O God, please heal her, please. But the Lord said to Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her but shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again. So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. After that the people set out from Hazaroth and camped in the wilderness of Peron.

Psalm 118 Read Aloud

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Psalm one eighteen. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Let Israel say, His steadfast love endures forever. Let the house of Aaron say, His steadfast love endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord say, His steadfast love endures forever. Out of my distress I called on the Lord. The Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side, I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper. I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All nations surrounded me. In the name of the Lord I cut them off. They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side. In the name of the Lord I cut them off. They surrounded me like bees. They went out like a fire among thorns. In the name of the Lord I cut them off. I was pushed hard so that I was falling. But the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord exalts. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord. The righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O Lord. O Lord, we pray, give us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Storm Damage And Camp Tension

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Tyler, there is a storm of brewing in Numbers chapter twelve in the camp. Now, yesterday here in Cunea, really in all of the valley, it seems like there was quite the wind gust. It was ripping. We were driving through uh parts of Meridian today, and there was trees toppled over, fences that were destroyed, signs like neighborhood entrance signs with you know the big stone archways. Uh those were blown over. A lot of uh a lot of destruction that happened yesterday with the the wind storm. And uh there's some destruction on the way in the camp of Israel because of the grumbling and the complaining, and it's even affecting someone like Aaron, who has been side by side with Moses really since the beginning when God called Moses back in Exodus, and Moses said, But I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, right? God says, Okay, well, I'll give you Aaron as a mouthpiece. Bring you a helper. Um, he helps him and he's been with him. They've been doing so many things side by side since Exodus, since the miraculous deliverance of Israel from slavery to the Egyptians. And yet, verse one of chapter 12 of Numbers, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married. So they've

God Vindicates Moses’ Leadership

SPEAKER_00 6:39

got some ideas, they've got some complaints, some grievances that they want to err, and they take them to Moses, and they're complaining and whining. They have a family meeting. Yeah, they do. And uh doesn't end well, it doesn't end very well because uh God has a lot to say about their complaints. He has actually a lot to say about Moses, uh, whom he considers to be faithful. Um, he says that there, uh, really in starting kind of in verse six, hear my words. If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision. So there's a comparison about to be made. I speak with him in a dream. So prophets in general, there's visions, there's dreams, not so with my servant Moses, he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles. And he beholds the form of the Lord. And then even this stinging question Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? Why did you feel so comfortable and confident, Aaron and Miriam, speaking against Moses, who is faithful in all of my house? And it says in verse 9, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed. Now, because I'm sort of shameless in our study of Hebrews, there's a connection here. Let's see a book of Hebrews. Come on. If you remember the beginning sort of chapter three, there's a comparison that the author of Hebrews makes. Jesus is greater than Moses. As much he is worthy of much more honor, as much more honor as the builder of the house has more honor than the house itself. And Moses was faithful in God's house as a servant. You remember this, Tyler? And Jesus was faithful over God's house as a son. And so he's quoting Hebrews 3 from Numbers chapter 12 and other places. But here, God himself says, He is faithful in all my house. And that's exactly what the author of Hebrews says. Moses was faithful in all of God's house as a servant. But Jesus was faithful over God's house as a son. And so Jesus is greater than Moses. And if you can even think back to that sermon a few weeks back, we talked about how Moses was described as the meekest man on earth. And we see that here. That's said in other places. I think I quoted it from Deuteronomy in that sermon. Uh, but it's also said here in verse 3. Now the man Moses was very meek, and that's kind of a twin word for humble or gentle. Uh he is meek more than all people who were on the face of the earth. Uh so there's even a sense of which Moses is not going to um in a sort of arrogant way stand up for himself, right? Not that he doesn't have a backbone or that he's some sort of uh doormat, but there's this sense that his meekness is going to lead him to not uh seek vengeance or to, in a very prideful, arrogant way uh try to clear his name. He recognizes that vengeance belongs to the Lord and that vindication belongs to the Lord. And that's what exactly what God does. God speaks on behalf of Moses. I mean, who would you want, Tyler, clearing the air for you more than God Himself?

SPEAKER_01 9:55

There's not a single.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Yeah. Hey, hey, you got it all wrong. My brother Tyler is, and it's the creator of the universe that's saying that on your behalf. That's what he does uh for Moses. Not so with my servant Moses, he is faithful in all my house. Quit your complaining, quit your accusations, or whatever's going on here in numbers 12. With him I speak mouth to mouth clearly and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. So the anger of the Lord is against Aaron and Miriam, and of course, Miriam uh is struck with lepros or leprosy disease. And again, that there's leprosy proper, and then leprosy also in Leviticus and in Numbers can represent any number of skin conditions that Leviticus talks about, and all the different things that the priests were to do to diagnose and to make uh specific prescriptions of how they were to uh regain uh ritual purity that we read about in Leviticus. But numbers 12, there's a storm brewing, and of course, you know, on Monday, Numbers 13, uh that's where the spies get sent into Canaan, uh, where they see the giants, and then in numbers 14, the people rebel. So the wind's starting to pick up and things are starting to collapse. There's some destruction on the way, and we're again we're starting to see that the first fruits of that here in numbers 12.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Yeah, what a what a time to be an Israelite in uh in the wanderings. And um uh let's not again, we talked about yesterday, but let's not forget, we too very well would have just filed in and followed along in in the complaining, or in this case the accusations if if we were in uh the spot of of Aaron or or Miriam.

Psalm 118 Deliverance And Steadfast Love

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Uh and so let's now look over to Psalm 118. And if you have a worship song running in the background as you're reading this psalm, you're in good company because uh I was there too um with with a mighty hand, uh mighty arm and outstretched hand. His love endures forever, and all the all the while I'm like, sing praise, sing praise, right? So we have um just uh another another heartfelt psalm. Um some people think that this song uh psalm might have been written by Moses because we see uh the the song of Moses um referenced here in verses 14 and 15. And they're a strong Exodus 15, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:21

The song of Moses, I believe.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Yeah, right after the Red Sea. Uh the first couple verses, first few verses here. Um, the Lord is my strength and my song, he has become my salvation. And a very similar language here in verse 15 glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, and we were thinking about the Red Sea crashing down on Pharaoh's army, drowning them out. And in this psalm, there is deliverance, uh, there is a strong call out to the Lord. Uh, verses five uh through seven, out of my distress, I called on the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. And that had has me thinking about just the bondage of uh of sin and slavery. And for the the human being today, we could look to the song, uh psalm and be reminded that at one point for the Christian, you recognized, I recognized, uh, we recognized our need for salvation, for a savior. We needed rescuing. We were in great distress. We were trapped, enslaved, and there was no way out of our position other than the Lord intervening, and he has he has won the victory. We don't fear death any longer. What can man do to us? Uh, only accelerate our uh our um our timeline to be with with the Lord. And I say that tongue in cheek, and that's not really actually the cause. The Lord has our days numbered, but if you're thinking about the lifespan, the timeline of your life, uh, the worst thing that someone can do to you is is end your life, and you are now in the presence of the Lord. So the the Lord is our source of strength, he is our salvation, and and we have uh tones of of Moses' um words here in the heart of this psalm.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

One thing that stuck out to me, this is just kind of an intertextual connection that I saw here in verses two, three, and four. That's almost the exact same formulation that we see in Psalm 115. Uh so let Israel say, let the house of Aaron say, let those who fear the Lord say. That's exactly what Psalm 115, verses 9, 10, and 11 say. So Psalm 115 says, Oh, Israel, trust in the Lord, he is their help and shield. Uh Psalm 115, verse 10, O house of Aaron, trust the Lord, he is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord, he is their help and shield. And then in Psalm 118, let Israel say, His steadfast love endures forever. Let the house of Aaron say, His steadfast love endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord say, His steadfast love endures forever. So there's a similarity there. So maybe a similar author, uh, so or at least similar themes, similar structure here, Psalm 118, 2 through 4 that we see in Psalm 115. Uh I love this. This this Psalm is a chiasm, meaning that it has a very specific kind of structure. It ends exactly how it begins. Verse 29. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Uh, that's exactly how it begins. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. And there's just themes of uh the Lord being strength and salvation. Um, I love even verse 22. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. That's quoted later on in the New Testament by the Apostle Peter. Uh, lots of connections here, both uh in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. This is a very pivotal psalm and uh one that again highlights the steadfast love of the Lord or his loving kindness that endures forever.

Psalm 119 Preview And Closing

SPEAKER_00 16:01

Now, Psalm 119 is next. Uh, this is the longest psalm uh in the book of Psalms in the Psalter, and we're gonna spend quite some time uh just working through this section by section. Um, and actually, Tyler, you'll be kind of kicking us off on Monday and Tuesday, uh, reading through Psalm 119. But this is based off of the Hebrew alphabet. So uh you'll see the structure there. Each sort of groupings uh are one, it's it's uh structured again in that sort of mnemonic kind of way. So Aleph is uh one through eight, bait is uh you know nine through um sixteen, gimel, dalit, uh he vav, uh, and and it goes on. So that's the Hebrew alphabet. There's 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, so there's 22 sections that we will go through one at a time, and it's all focusing on uh the word of God, and um, it even is titled there in my Bible, your word is a lamp to my feet. So you you could say that Psalm 119 uh is uh, I don't know, this feels like a trivial word, but the anthem of the lamp and light bible reading plan. This is the the backbone of this podcast, and uh, we're looking forward to diving into it uh together starting on Monday. Well, thank you so much for joining us today on the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Podcast. For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compassbiblesv.org. Keep reading, keep growing. God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.