In Psalms, chapter seventy-eight, verse thirty-seven, the Israelites failed to set their hearts to follow God faithfully and wholly throughout their lives. The essential benefit to maintaining a right relationship with God is a fundamental desire to remain faithful to God and His covenant until the day of final redemption.
The theme verse under God’s Guidance for His People section describes how the Israelites did not live up to the expectations accordingly. Their hearts were not on godly morals despite God advising them at the beginning of verse one in this theme chapter. “Give ear, of my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.” The response from the children of God is either listen and obey or disobey, go astray, and follow their ways, as in verse seven of this theme chapter. “That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.”
The theme concerns the heart. The Israelites failed to be in the right relationship with God because they were unfaithful. Therefore, to be in good standing with Him is to be faithful as He is to us. In First Corinthians one, verse nine declares, “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” Then, in the same book of chapter four, verse two, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
The requirement of being faithful before God begins from Numbers twelve. The first encounter in the Old Testament with Miriam and Aaron is in the first six verses, where they disapprove of Moses’ personal preference of marriage to a woman because of her background and speak against him. Here is the response in verse two, “And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath He not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.”
Moses was a meek person, which means shy, gentle, quiet, and controlled. However, God immediately calls Moses, Miriam, and Aaron to meet at the Tabernacle of the congregation. The Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, stood at the door, and called Mariam and Aaron to come forward. “And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision and will speak unto him in a dream.” The Lord says in the next verse, “My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.”
The Lord disciplines them toward the end of the chapter, and Miriam is leprous after God leaves. Despite what happened to Moses, he asked God to heal her. The reaction from Moses shows what kind of person he was. So, God upholds the faithful. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much,” from Luke sixteen, verse ten. “O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.” This verse shows how faith and love work together to have a right heart with God.