June 27, 2026 - Numbers 36 & Psalm 121

We read Numbers 36 and Psalm 121, then step back to reflect on the full arc of Numbers from Sinai to the edge of Canaan. We weigh the cost of unbelief, the link between faith and obedience, and the steady comfort of a God who never sleeps. 

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 Opening Framing

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Welcome to the Lamp and Light Bibleing Plan, where you're seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, with God's word letting the way. I'm Josiah Smith, League, Pastor of Compass South Valley. Today is Saturday, June 27, 2026.

Numbers 36 Read Aloud

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Listen intently to God's written word. Numbers 36. The heads of the fathers' houses of the clan of the people of Gilead, the son of Makir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel. They said, The Lord commanded my Lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and my Lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zalopahad, our brother, to his daughters. But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe in which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. And when the jubilee of the people of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers. And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of the people of Joseph is right. This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zalophad. Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers, and every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to no one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance. The daughters of Zalopahad did as the Lord commanded Moses. For Malah, Tirzah, Hagla, Milka, and Noah, the daughters of Zalophad, were married to sons of their fathers' brothers. They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father's clan. These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Psalm 121 Read Aloud

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Psalm 121. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your life. The Lord will keep you. You're going out and you're coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Now

Why Today Is A Solo Wrap

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we are closing the book of numbers today. And today is a unique day because it's the end of Camp Compass. And just with everything going on with teardown and things like that, Tyler and I didn't have the chance to record together like we typically do. And so our practice has been to reflect together and to think back over the book of Numbers. But it's just me today on the podcast. So I will be reflecting myself on the book of Numbers and just hopefully reminding you of where we have been in the book of Numbers. Now, the book

Numbers In Three Geographic Movements

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of Numbers kind of divides, you could say, geographically, if you want to think about it this way, into three phases. It begins with Israel camped at the base of Mount Sinai. So if you can think of Leviticus, think of the law being given to Mount Sinai or to Moses at Mount Sinai. Think of just basically the book of Leviticus is all happening at Mount Sinai. And then Numbers picks it up and it starts right there. It begins with Israel still encamped at Mount Sinai. That's chapters one through 10. And then the next sort of section, the three main sections, the second one is Israel in the wilderness. So think chapters 11 through 21. And that's where we really see things kind of come to this negative climax in chapter 14, where the people of Israel rebel, they do not believe, they disobey, and as a result, they lose out on the promised land that God had intended for them. And so chapters 11 through 21, we see them in the wilderness. The wilderness of Zen specifically is mentioned. And then the last little section, chapter three, or section three, I should say, chapters 22 through 36 is Israel in the plains of Moab. And that was even just mentioned in the book that, or the chapter that we just read, verse 13. These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. So it begins at Mount Sinai and they're traveling towards the promised land, Canaan. Right now they're on the edge in chapter 36. They are on the edge of going into Canaan because they're about to cross over the Jordan River, and they are in the plains of Moab. So think of numbers in that kind of threefold geographical way. The first way, again, is Mount Sinai, chapters 1 through 10. The second progression is Israel in the wilderness, chapters 11 through 21. And then the third is Israel in the plains of Moab, chapters 22 through 36. Now we've

Unbelief Hardens Hearts Over Time

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learned a lot of lessons. There's been some explicit commands given to the people of Israel. Of course, as they uh, especially in that third movement in the plains of Moab, as they're about to enter into Canaan, there's been a lot of reiteration of the sacrificial system. There's been a reiteration of vows. There has been even some clarification on some laws. That's chapter 36. There were some laws that were given, I think earlier, I believe it was chapter 27, uh, when they were asking the question of what happens to this land allotment when someone dies, and then there's the specific stipulations of it going to the daughters. And if it doesn't go to the daughters, then it passes on to some other family. And a further question is being answered about that specific case at the end of Numbers, numbers 36. So there's a lot of instructions, commandments that God is giving to his people as they prepare to enter into the promised land. And really that was just uh uh God's way of saying, hey, remember the covenant that he made with them. Ultimately, that he was calling on the people of Israel to remember and to abide by the covenant that God had made with them. He said that he would be their God, they would be his people. Of course, the middle section in the wilderness uh section of chapters 11 through 21 is the painful reminder of their forgetfulness. It's the painful reminder of their inability to remember and believe. And so Numbers as a whole shows us the seriousness of unbelief. It shows us the reality of disobedience in the hearts that are hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We're getting some of that language, of course, from our study in Hebrews that commented on this what was going on in Numbers. And it's just a warning for us that uh obedience and faith, as we talked about in Hebrews, uh, go hand in hand, that obedience is a sign of a genuine faith. And so we saw that, of course, in the book of Numbers. But again, just think about Numbers and that threefold geographical movement beginning at Mount Sinai, heading all the way to the plains of Moab, and having a significant, of course, 40-year uh pit stop, you could say, uh, in the wilderness because of their disobedience and their unbelief. Now, Psalm

Psalm 121 And The Search For Help

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121 might be one of my favorite psalms because it asks really uh it's a it's a rhetorical ask. It doesn't actually ask a question, but in my mind, anytime I think of the question, uh, where do I go for comfort? Where do I go for help? Where do I go in times of crisis? Where do I go when I'm overwhelmed or when I'm anxious, or when I feel like I just can't take another step? I believe Psalm 121 is the clear answer, the resounding answer to those kinds of questions. Verse one says, I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? And that's ultimately, I guess that is the question that's asked. That that's ultimately what's what we all ask in our lives. Where does my help come from? Where can I find refuge? Where can I find strength? Where can I find hope? Where can I find peace? It's summarized here in this question: where does my help come from? And I love the answer. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. God is not asleep at the wheel. A God is is not becoming drowsy as he covers the watch into the night. No, no, no. God is always, of course, uh awake. He has no need for sleep. He doesn't grow tired, he doesn't uh need rest in the same way that we do, not really at all. Of course, he patterns rest in creation in Genesis, but again, that's not because he was uh physically exhausted or was uh overwhelmed by exerting himself in creating uh the earth. No, he he was patterning something that we are invited into. Of course, we have that whole discussion in Hebrews, but what a question here for us to wrestle with. Uh, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. And just this is such an encouraging psalm. And this is something that I I want you, as you as you think about just some of the difficult circumstances in your life, some of the discouragement that you carry, some of the uncertainty about the future, some of the questions that you're wrestling with, perhaps even just within your own hearts that you've never shared or said out loud. Here's the question that you need to ask and answer from Psalm 121. Where does your help come from? Where will you find help? And Psalm 121 says, With no uncertainty, my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. I love how that's put. The Lord who made all things, the Lord who sustains the universe by the word of his power. The Lord uh who is before all things, the Lord who is age to age, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the Lord who knows no other, the one who made heaven and earth. It is that God who will be your help. And what an encouraging thing for us to hold on to, to cling to. Remember, this is another song of a sense. So they're just rehearsing theological truths to themselves, they're reminding themselves of really some basic things that are true about our relationship with God, that one of the plights of the human condition, if you will, is we we are in a constant state of needing help. And the good news in in that in Psalm 121 is that our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. And even just think about it in in this way. If he had the power to make heaven and earth, and he continues to have the power to sustain providentially the heavens and the earth, he certainly has the power to help you. So ask that question today. Where does your help come from? When you're wrestling with something, when you're discouraged, when you're anxious, when you're anxious, when fear feels like it's running wild in your mind. Ask that question, where does your help come from? And know with faith that your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Well, thank

Final Encouragement And Next Steps

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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 compass bible sv.org. Keep reading, keep growing. God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.