The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Numbers 1:1-4, “Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the
wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first of the second
month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt,
saying,
2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of
Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the
number of names, every male, head by head
3 from twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go
out to war in Israel, you and Aaron shall number them by their armies.
4 “With you, moreover, there shall be a man of each tribe,
each one head of his father’s household.”

The validity of the Book of Numbers is highlighted and
authenticated by the names of those to whom the LORD, and then Moses, spoke.
It might be compared with whether the President of the United States spoke
or some appointee of a much lesser rank. The place and the time of the
meeting were also indicated. In the effort to authenticate anything, the
more evidence given, the sounder the authentication.

The circumstances under which certain persons were directed
by their leaders, serves to underscore the validity of the meeting and what
was said.
Here the LORD spoke to Moses, giving him both instruction
and leadership over the people. He still calls pastors, evangelists,
missionaries, teachers, and parents to educate others in the ways that are
both honoring to Him and beneficial to the obedient.

Numbers cites the service of the people in the wilderness,
the failure of the people to adhere to the Divine Instruction the LORD had
given them; and the ultimate victory when they listened and followed the
LORD’s commands.

The circumstances of Israel are different from what we face
today. At the same time, the principles of leadership and obedience are very
much the same. The LORD gives us instruction in His Word. He gives us mature
and obedient leadership, that we might become all that He intends us to
become. As with Israel, we will do well to listen, learn and obey what the
LORD gives us in Holy Scripture. Failure to obey always results in
punishment. Obedience always results in victory. Thus, what-ever orders we
have from Him, we will do well to follow.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We shall never know that Christ is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Leviticus 4:1-6, “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, “If a person sins unintentionally in
any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits
any of them,

3 if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let
him offer to the LORD a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he
has committed.

4 “And he shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before
the LORD, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull, and slay the
bull before the LORD.

5 ‘Then the anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull and
bring it to the tent of meeting,

6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of the
blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.”‘”

If you’ve ever wondered why the LORD presented such a detailed analysis of
some Old Testament books, we only need to ask ourselves why we were
presented things that we continue to present to our children in such detail.
Things I tend to remember are the finicky little things my mother taught me.

Here in our passage above, we learn that Moses taught Israel one of the many
requirements of the LORD; namely, the holiness of God, mentioned almost 700
times in the entirety of the Scriptures. God is holy, and the remembrance of
that is ever and always to our advantage. “Thus you are to be holy to Me,
for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be
Mine” (Lev. 20:16).

Holiness is somewhat contagious, in that those who seek to live holy lives
are not only attractive, they are encouraging to others to be better than
they are. Yet, not just “better,” but more and more like the LORD
themselves. Are you holy? Are you seeking to be holy? Get close to the LORD
and His holiness will permeate your life.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Exodus 1:1-12, “Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one with his household:

2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

5 And all the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt.

6 And Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.

7 But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.”

8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.

10 “Come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply; and in the event of war, they also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us, and depart from the land.”

11 So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.

12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.”

It’s tough when someone who is available to help you suddenly disappears. Joseph was the ideal person to have helped his countrymen. His relatives also died, leaving the Israelites, who had just arrived in Egypt, to fend for themselves. I’ve had an experience or two like that. (They sure left me to figure things out for myself.)

What’s worse, a new king, who did not know Joseph or the Israelites, feared the possibility of a hostile takeover; so he appointed taskmasters who put them under hard labor, lest they join forces with those who did not like the king. Talk about a difficult situation!

But the LORD was more than a watchman over the situation! He arranged things so that the more labor the taskmasters heaped upon Joseph’s people, the more births they had within their families. Now, the king and his taskmasters were the ones in the difficult situation.

All of this should encourage us 1) not to worry about difficult situations that appear to have no “backdoor”; and 2) not to forget that the LORD was observing everything; and as soon as His people started to be treated harshly, He increased their numbers, giving the king and his ilk something to really be concerned about!

It’s just possible that you are facing difficulty with a new boss. His assignment is far beyond what you had been hired to do. What do you do? Trust the LORD! Do some serious praying! (Of course, all praying should be serious!)

Leave the situation squarely in the LORD’s hands. I know; that’s a tough assignment. Yet, there’s none better. Trust Him and see!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Genesis 1:1-5, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface

of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the
waters.

3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from

the darkness.

5 And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there

was evening and there was morning, one day.”

These opening verses speak to us of the commencement of life. When

“In the beginning” was uttered in Scripture, it initiated life -the life of
everything! As we look into the far reaches of the heavens, we know that the
LORD has put them there. All that we have is from Him, and all that is from
Him is absolute perfection.

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” These words-His
Words-are the first to be recorded in Scripture. And without His words, His
works would not be visible. It is He who is the Light, and it is His Light
that gives meaning to His Words and purpose.

The Light He called “day”; the darkness, “night.” If we understand His
words, we are able to understand His works and purpose. He made us to live
in His universe, and to love Him as He first loved us.

Ultimately, sin endeavored to besmirch and topple the LORD’s words and
works. Satan, chief of the fallen, rebellious angels, invaded human life and
works feverously to undo all that the LORD has accomplished.

Especially, Satan wants the LORD’s creation to rebel against Him and
enthrone Satan in their lives.

Jesus is God’s Son, the One whom the Father surrendered to the Cross to
redeem lost humanity. If you have confessed your sins to Jesus and are
trusting Him to have forgiven you your sins, He is your Savior – the One
with Whom you will spend eternity in Heaven. If you have yet to confess your
sins to Christ and trust Him as your LORD and Savior, it is vital that you
do it quickly! Time is rapidly running out!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

I Samuel 13:5-13, “Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel,
30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and people like the sand which is on the
seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of
Beth-aven.

6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were
hard-pressed), then the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, in
cliffs, in cellars, and in pits.

7 Also some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and
Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed
him trembling.

8 Now he waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel,
but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him.

9 So Saul said, “Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.”
And he offered the burnt offering.

10 And it came about as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering,
that behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him.

11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that
the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the
appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash,

12 therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at
Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself and
offered the burnt offering.”

13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the
commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for now the LORD
would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.”

The Philistines were perpetual fighters. They seemed always to be picking a
fight with Israel. Some people are like that yet today. They would rather
fight than anything. I was in seminary with a boxer. I never saw him fight,
but he talked more about it than he did about his studies.

Israel’s problem, however, was not so much with the Philistines, as it was
that they didn’t wait for the LORD. Saul was, at that time, king of the
Israelites. He had informed them he was coming, but Israel got scared and
offered a burnt offering to the LORD before Samuel arrived. Samuel verbally
chastised Israel for offering the sacrifice and for not waiting on Samuel.

Have you ever rushed ahead of the LORD when you knew waiting on Him was
best? The LORD can handle everything! Why do we think we ought to forge
ahead when He has clearly told us to wait? Why do we wait when He has told
us to forge ahead? Why do we seem never to do what He says?

In the end, Israel and Saul all suffered. Maybe we should think more clearly
-more biblically– about things. What has the LORD said? Why are we anxious
when we know He can and stands ready to fix things?

Heartily in Christ,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom