The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730.

52The Lord said to Moses, 53“The land is to be allotted to them as an inheritance based on the number of names.

These are the ones counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. 64Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. 65For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the wilderness, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

So Moses brought their case before the Lord, 6and the Lord said to him, 7“What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.

Lord God my Father,

You know the number of the grains of sand, you are all knowing and you have an order in all things. Help me to know your order and apply it to my life. Help me to bring reason to my questions so they may be pleasing to you.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Balaam answered, “Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?”

“May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!”

Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, 13‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord

Lord God my Father,

Make my heart hear only you and turn away from any distractions. Bless my actions and overwhelm the nature I have developed that is not honoring to you, restore me. You are the only prize for me.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

But the people grew impatient on the way; 5they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. 

Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. 

Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me.

Lord God my Father,

Keep me in your Peace so I may not allow my emotions to divert your desire in me. Give me courage to do your will and open my eyes to see your desire. Help me to see what you wish and not what I expect.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here?

Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors, 16but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.

Lord God my Father,

Protect my attitude when I see a personal struggle, keep me from the desire to give up. Help me to see your strength when I am weak and give me the confidence to embrace the strength you will reveal to me, a strength I am unable to believe in yet.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come! 13Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us!

He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.

Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.

“Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.”

The Israelites said to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! 13Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?”

Lord God my Father,

Keep me from questioning you and make me obedient to your call. Thank you for Jesus who stands between my sin and your glory to make me acceptable to you. Help me to not question your way or try to understand your plan, for it is to great for me to know.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?

If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;

establish the work of our hands for us—

yes, establish the work of our hands.

Lord God my Father,

Keep me in your hope and delightful way, keep me from spiraling into darkness. Help me to know you so I may follow you without distractions. Help me to lead the lost to find you through how I live, keep me humble. Make your face to shine on me and those in my family and friends so your will is obvious to us.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen