Shabbat Devotional May 30,2026

TORAH: Numbers 4:21-7:88 

PROPHETS: Judges 13:2-25

GOSPEL: Luke 1:11-20 NIV

While reading this portion it became clear to me that God cares deeply about every individual and he has a plan and a purpose for each of us. It reminded me that he calls us to be holy and to consecrate our lives to him. Our God cares about purity and making restitution for our wrongs all to bring about unity amongst his people. When we study the Old Testament, we can see his divine care for his people. In Numbers 4 God has Moses count all the Levites. You see each person matters! Moses gives them their specific job duties just as God prescribed them. The heavy lifting of carrying all the articles that built the Tabernacle were done specifically by Levites. The Gershonites carried the curtains and outer coverings while the Merarites were to carry the frames and cross bars. Their jobs were specific to each one yet for the same purpose, the care of the Tabernacle. This is the very place where the presence of God dwelt among them. Considering the Gospel, we see that each of us has a job to do for the kingdom of God and every job matters to him. When we follow his plan for our lives we find unity, we become one body. Some are called like Aaron and Moses to Holy purpose, and others like Joshua and David for leadership and still others for ordinary purposes. Think about it he called simple fishermen and even a tax collector to walk beside Jesus not pharisees or priest, just ordinary Jewish men. Those ordinary Jewish men are who wrote and carried the Gospel message to us today.

One of my favorite things about this passage of scriptures is that in Numbers 6 God tells Moses how Aaron is to bless the Israelites. This beautiful blessing is still spoken by Rabbis and New Testament Pastors over their congregations and parents over their children today. 

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace,” Numbers 6:24-27

I also saw that God sees each of our tithes and offerings as a special gift. He does not hold any one higher than the other. I believe this is why he gives us the account of the offerings of each tribe. It seemed redundant to me at first, recounting each one and each the exact same offering. Then it dawned on me. God sees it all the same. He shows no favoritism by what we bring before him. He cares about the heart of the giver not the size of the gift.  Jesus makes this clear when he recognized the poor widow in Luke 21. 

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ² He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.³ “Truly I tell you, “He said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴ All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”  Luke 21:1-4

 This too shows that everything we say and do is important to God. From the jobs that we do, the gifts and offerings we lay before him, the calling on our lives, and how we love and care for one another. It all matters to God. I love that the Gospel account for this week is the account of the angel’s visit to Zachariah declaring the birth of John the Baptist. The angel of the LORD gave specific instructions on how John was to be raised as a Nazarite and that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born. John was called and created for a Holy purpose that fulfilled prophecy to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. This is what the angel told the Priest Zachariah 

“And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17

He had a divine purpose for John. He had a divine purpose for Moses and Aaron for Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John and he has a divine purpose for you and for me! He knew that full well before we were even born. His love for us is so big, so unimaginable! 

 “This knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” Psalm 139:6