(Through the Bible) Numbers — Zac Poonen

The Book of Numbers and Israel’s Wilderness Journey

We're going to turn today to the book of Numbers. This is the fourth of the books that Moses wrote and this deals with Israel's wanderings and Israel's wars in the wilderness. And there are a number of important chapters as you probably be noticing we can't go into every chapter in a brief study like we are having where we mostly take just one session to cover a book.

Census, Order, and Discipline in God’s People

So what I want to share with you is the important chapters and I hope that it wets your appetite to study the scriptures more deeply and intensely on your own. Now this book is called Numbers because the people of Israel were numbered twice.

Moses took a census of the Israelites where it says in Numbers 1 verse 3 from 20 years old and upwards all those who were able to go out to war. They took a census according to the families once at the beginning of their wanderings and then later on towards the end of their wanderings as well.

That you read in chapter 26. And in chapter 2 you have the arrangement in which the camps of Israel were to be placed. God is a God of order and one of the things you learn from this is the discipline and orderliness which God taught his people.

Remember there were a bunch of totally undisciplined slaves in Egypt and God when he let them out not only redeemed them, not only baptized them in the Red Sea and baptized them in the cloud, but began to teach them order, cleanliness, laws of hygiene.

Now these are important lessons for us because there are lots of Christians who say well I'm saved I'm born again by the blood of the Lamb but they're not clean, they don't have any sense of hygiene or cleanliness in their lives or in their home, there is no sense of orderliness in their life, there's no discipline in the way they spend their time or their money or the way they keep their rooms and all this affects our growth.

I've discovered that whatever experience of the Holy Spirit you may have, if you are not disciplined in your life you cannot become a godly person. Don't think that just because you've got experiences and you know the Lord that's good enough.

The orderliness with which you see the detail that you see in the book of Numbers, so many details, don't just get bored reading all that but what you can generally learn from those many details is the orderliness with which God conducted and led his people on and the discipline he wanted them to have.

God is a God of order and when there is a lack of discipline in our life we cannot be the men and women God wants us to be. I find that, let me give you an example, there are people who say the Apostles never went to a Bible school so we don't need to go either.

Well if you are a thoroughly disciplined person listening to the Holy Spirit I agree with you. I never went to one but I disciplined myself to study the Word and I've discovered a lot of people who try to follow the Apostles without the discipline that the Apostles had, they know nothing and one thing that some of you get here is a discipline of the study of the Word.

Discipline is so important. You cannot know God's Word if you don't take pains and discipline yourself daily particularly in your younger days to study the Word and open yourself to the Holy Spirit. Just if we can learn that from some of these details that are given in the book of Numbers you go to chapter 7 for example in the offerings of the leaders such detail one silver dish weighed 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighed 70 shekels and so much of it is repetition throughout that but God takes what we learned there is that God takes interest in every little thing that every person offered it's not as just a general statement I know that ten of those people may have offered the same thing but God says no I'll write down what this person wrote a game and what this person gave what this person gave there we see something of the heart of God the nature of God he's interested in the individual and particularly in a time like ours where you know in a large country like ours it's very easy to sort of get lost in feeling that I'm just one among so many.

You read something like Numbers chapter 7 and see how the Lord took interest in every single dish every single little thing that every single individual offered. And if you read through that I don't have time to show it to you you find the Lord could have condensed it and said all these people gave basically the same thing.

They generally gives a few things but he doesn't put it like that detail. You know that God is interested in detail in your life every little thing. These are some of the lessons that we can learn as we study these scriptures.

The Levites, Faithfulness, and God’s Choice of Servants

I want to show you here something else in Numbers chapter 3 I don't know whether you knew know this there were 12 tribes among in Israel. Why did God choose one the Levites to be the priests. Did God pick lots.

Was it just because they were favorites. God has no favorites. When he chooses a particular person for a particular task it's because he has that man and usually fulfilled certain conditions. Why did God choose Paul.

Why did God choose Peter. It was not random. Why does God choose one person today and not another. We may all offer ourselves for God's service. That's fine. But God picks out some people and he can pick you out.

There is no partiality with God if you fulfill the conditions. Paul says that in 1 Timothy 1 that Jesus Christ considered him faithful and put him into the ministry. God tests our faithfulness. We'll see that later on in the Bible too.

But one example of it numbers chapter 3. It says in verse 40 and 41 the Lord said to Moses number every firstborn male the son of Israel from a month old and upwards make a list of their names. The reason was all these firstborn were supposed to be killed in Egypt.

They should have died and they escaped because of the Lord's mercy and the blood on the doorposts. But strictly speaking they were considered dead. Dead but alive. Just like we Christians we should have died but because of the blood we are alive.

And then the Lord said verse 41 take the Levites for me instead of the firstborn. And the cattle of the Levites instead of the firstborn of the cattle of the sons of Israel. So Moses numbered all the firstborn and they were.

Where's 43. 22 ,000 273. And they numbered the Levites and the Levites were 22 ,000. Exactly. It's almost the same number the remainder 273. They had to pay a redemption price. We read in verse 46 and 47.

But the point I want you to notice here is the reason why the Levites were chosen. First of all they were in place of the firstborn. The firstborn should have died but they escaped and therefore they belong to the Lord.

You should have died eternally but you escaped. And therefore like the Levites you and I are for the Lord. The firstborn like the firstborn you and I are for the Lord. Instead of the firstborn the Lord said I'll take the tribe of the Levites.

But there's one more reason and I want you to turn back to Exodus and chapter 32. Exodus and chapter 32 we read here in verse you know this is the time when Israel was worshipping the golden cow. Verse 26 it says here that when Moses came and he saw in verse 25 the people were out of control.

He stood in the gate of the camp and he said who is on the Lord's side. Come to me. And all those 600 ,000 people heard it and the Levites came forth. All those Levites they came and stood there. What were the others doing.

They had the opportunity. The tribe of Judah could have come. The tribe of Reuben could have come. None of them came. The Levites came and stood there. That was the day God chose them to be his servants.

He saw one group of people who was willing who were willing to stand against the entire lot of compromising so-called believers who had been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb baptized in the Red Sea baptized in the cloud.

And do you know how God chooses his servants today when he sees one person it may be you who is willing to stand with God and with God's servant with Jesus. Moses represents Jesus here standing and saying who's on the Lord's side.

Come and stand with me. And if you are willing to stand with him against your compromising fellow believers against your brothers. Remember Judah Reuben Simeon all these people were the brothers of Levi and stand against their brothers and stand even against their parents.

God will pick you up to serve and he will make a covenant with you that you will be his servant. That was the reason I want you to turn also to Deuteronomy and chapter 33 and verse 9 and 10 it says about Levi.

Verse 8. This is the blessing with Moses blessed the Israelites. Verse 8 of Levi he said Levi said concerning verse 9 concerning his father Deuteronomy 33 9 and his mother. I did not consider them. He did not even acknowledge his own brothers.

He did not regard his sons. This isn't that time you know when they stood for the Lord but they observed thy word and kept thy covenant. What was that. See when these people came and stood with Moses.

Moses told them in Exodus 32 27. Take your sword and go back into the camp and kill every man his brother every man his friend every man his neighbor. Don't worry that's a special friend of yours. Take the sword and kill.

And 3 ,000 people were killed that day by the Levites. That's what he's referring to here that they did not consider whether that person who were that they were going to kill was their father or mother or brother.

They were on the Lord's side against their relatives. If the relatives compromised they say you can compromise today we don't use the sword literal sword today we use the sword of the scriptures the Word of God.

That's what we use. We're not men of violence in those days. They use the literal sword. But we stand with the Word of God against our friends relatives neighbors. And that's how the Lord picks us out.

The Levites’ Responsibilities and Respect for God’s Authority

Now we turn to Numbers and chapter 4. Now when I'm just picking out a few things from the book of Numbers and you can study it on your own. I hope it whets your appetite to study this wonderful book. In Numbers chapter 4 we read of the the sons of Levi who were given responsibilities in the tabernacle.

That was Levi did not choose his own sons. No it was God. God may choose my son to serve him but God must choose him. I can't choose him. That's the point Levi God said the sons of Levi have got to have these responsibilities.

Levi had these three sons Kohat, Gershon, Mererai. Now you know that earlier we studied that yesterday that the sons of Levi Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire and they were killed. They would have had a tremendous responsibility in in the camp the sons of Aaron but they missed it.

That that we read the other day the sons of Aaron they could have been in this number who were doing a ministry in the camp but they missed it. But these people this the tribe of Levi Kohat and Mererai and the sons of Mererai Gershon and Kohat they had the responsibility to move the tabernacle.

The most sacred job in the moving of the Israelites was given to the sons of Levi. And what we see here is that you cannot take God's commandments lightly. That's what I mentioned yesterday how Uzzah in David's time tried to touch the ark because he thought it was falling and God killed him and said you are not a Levi.

You're not allowed to touch the ark. The lesson we learned from that is if God has not given you a responsibility you should not try to touch it. For example when people go and criticize another church I say that's none of your business.

Are you an elder there. No leave those elders to take care of that church. Do you criticize somebody else's children. Are you their father. Mind your own business. When you criticize somebody else's children you're touching something which God has not given you to touch.

When you are trying to sort out something in another church where you've been given no responsibility you're like Uzzah touching the ark. The ark was to be handled only by certain people. So that's what we see here and each were given specific tasks.

For example we see here in verse 24 this is the service of the family of the Gershonites verse 33 this is the service of the families and the sons of Mererai. It was specific. And now I want you to see something interesting in chapter 7.

In chapter 7 we read that the leaders of Israel verse 2 made an offering to the Lord and the all the leaders that offerings are mentioned and they brought their offering verse 3 six covered carts 12 oxen.

A cart for every two leaders and an ox for each one. So they presented these six carts and 12 oxen. Now when you divide six now this was to carry the items of the tabernacle. Now when you divide six carts between three people you know three groups.

Kohathites, Mererites, Gershonites. How many carts do each people get. How much. How many carts does each group get two. When you divide 12 oxen among three groups how much. How many oxen does each get four.

Right now listen see how he did it. So Moses verse 6 took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. And he gave two carts and four oxen to the sons of Gershon for their service. Good. But he gave four carts and eight oxen to the sons of Mererai.

And verse nine he did not give any carts or any oxen to the sons of Kohath because they had a special privilege to carry the Ark and that was not to be carried on a bullock cart. The Philistines did that later on and David did it then that's when it began to topple and Uzziah touched it.

They were to carry it on their shoulders. So it could have been very easy for these Kohathites to say well here God has given that brother two cars or carts or cars today it's cars those days it's carts.

God's given that brother four cars. And here I have to walk or I have to cycle to serve the Lord. You have complaints like that. God in his great wisdom does things very exactly. Don't bypass these verses hidden in the middle of numbers.

There's a message for you over there that can deliver you from complaining when you see somebody else has got two cars and you don't. You've got only a cycle. Does God answer these problems. He does in the middle of numbers.

Cleanness, Healing, and Discernment

In these chapters you skip and move on. I hope I will encourage you thereby to study the scriptures more carefully. Numbers chapter 5. I want to show you something else here about God's command concerning lepers.

It says in numbers 5 verse 1 and 2 command the sons of Israel the Lord spoke to Moses that they send away from their camp every leper and everyone having a discharge and everyone who's unclean because of a dead person.

Now there are some people who feel and who give people a wrong impression that because the Lord said in Exodus 15 26 I am the Lord that healeth thee. All Israel got healing whenever they were sick they went to the Lord.

They were healed. They were not. The lepers were not healed. They were put outside the camp. Here is the verse. It says. Command the sons of Israel that the lepers should trust the Lord for healing. No they should be put outside the camp.

Could the Lord heal them. Certainly. When Jesus came every leper that came to him he healed not. Even one was left out. But here the Lord could heal them but he didn't. Now that's just to teach us that we should not try to lock God down in a box.

We make a little doctrine and we say the Holy Spirit must live within this doctrine. He's going to heal everybody. You take that type of position and you'll be unrealistic. And you will kill certain people who could have been healed with medicine and do a lot of stupid things like that.

There was a law for the cleansing of the leper. We saw that in Leviticus 14 yesterday 13 and 14. But here we see here that you cannot dictate to God and say you said in Exodus 15 26 I'm the Lord that healed thee.

Now heal this leper. We're not going to put him outside the camp. The Lord said put him outside the camp. Humble yourself and acknowledge that there are situations where the Lord does not heal for some good reason or the other.

See the Bible is very realistic. And it's people who don't study the Bible carefully who get all these wrong doctrines. And the multitudes of Christians who are being deceived today even by people who've gone through Bible schools and got doctorates who do not know the Bible unfortunately who have not studied the scriptures carefully.

I want to ask you my dear brothers and sisters use your time here to study the scriptures carefully so that you understand God's heart and God's laws and God's ways and lead God's people are right. That is so important.

It grieves my heart when I see poor people being led astray by leaders who do not know God and do not know his word. And those poor people suffer. So there's a very important responsibility that we have here.

Jesus himself said in the time of Elisha there were many lepers in Israel. None of them were healed. Jesus said in Luke chapter 4 but Naaman the Syrian he was healed. So that's just in passing. Then I want to show you something here about restitution.

Restitution and Spiritual Discernment

We saw a little bit about that yesterday and that's mentioned here in Numbers chapter 5 and verse 11. No not verse 11 sorry we're 6 to 8. When a man or a woman commits a sin acting unfaithfully he shall confess his sin and he shall make restitution verse 7 in full for his wrong and add one-fifth and give it to him whom he has wronged.

You know it's a sin against the Lord but it's also a sin against a person like we saw yesterday about the guilt offering and it says when you give restitution again the Lord repeats here give 20 more because you have cheated that man.

I remember many many years ago when I got converted one of the things the Lord spoke to me was to make restitution to the government and to people concerning things I had cheated and I was debating in my mind you know how we can be calculating.

Yeah this is how much I feel I owe. But I had a little bit of a doubt. Was it this much or was it this much more. And the doubt I had was exactly 20 more and I never knew about this verse. I was debating thinking how much should I give and I was going to give what is less.

And then I read this verse it was almost as if the Lord spoke directly to me. Add 20 and give it. Let it be more rather than less. If you're in doubt as to how much you should give back to somebody give more rather than less that your conscience will be clear in the day comes again.

That's what I felt. I don't want that extra 20 in my bank and not be ready for the coming of the Lord. Okay now in verses 11 to 31 we read of instructions concerning if a man's wife has committed adultery.

There's a way in which God would expose them by taking some water with the dust from the tabernacle and make the woman drink it and her belly would swell. Now the method used in the New Testament is not with like this with water and dust but by the discernment of the Spirit like when Peter exposed Ananias and Sapphira supernaturally by the gift of the Spirit.

Something this woman did in secret was revealed by this method and by the discernment of the Spirit what Ananias and Sapphira did in secret was also revealed and as this was a very important part of the New Testament law discernment given by the Spirit where God gives a leader discernment to see the true spiritual condition of a person is a very important requirement to serve the Lord.

The Nazirite Vow and the Priestly Blessing

Numbers chapter 6 deals with what is called a Nazirite. Vow not. N-A-Z-A-R. It's got nothing to do with Nazareth. N-A-Z-I-R. Nazirite. Jesus was not a Nazirite. The last part of Matthew 2 it says he was a Nazarene.

Sorry Matthew chapter 3 he was a Nazarene not a Nazirite. And he he dwelt in Nazareth. I think that's Matthew 2 perhaps the last verse. Anyway he was a Nazir Agreeing means he lived in Nazareth. And that's referring to the verse in Isaiah 11 1 not Nazirite.

Because a Nazirite had to have long hair. He could never cut his hair. He could never drink wine. You know about Samson. He was a Nazirite and it says here in Numbers chapter 6. In verse 3 he shall abstain from wine.

And verse 5 no razor shall pass over his head until the days he dedicates himself for a certain period. In Samson's case he was dedicated for life as a Nazirite. There were two ways in which Samson could have lost his strength.

One was by cutting his hair and the other was by drinking wine. If he had drunk wine he'd have lost his strength. His strength was not in his hair. His strength was in his dedication and that dedication was shown by his not cutting his hair and not drinking wine.

Either of the two would have made him lose his strength. Now Jesus did cut his hair and he did drink wine. So he was not a Nazirite. In verse 22 to 27 we see the blessing number 6. 22 to 27 we see the blessing with which Aaron was commanded to bless the people of Israel.

I just mentioned it here to show you that this is the greatest blessing that God can ever give us. The greatest blessing God can ever give us is not healing is not prosperity. This health and wealth gospel is not the good news that the Bible speaks about.

Not in the Old Testament and not in the New Testament. When the Lord wanted to bless the people of Israel. He did not tell Aaron to say may the Lord bless you with a lot of money with many children and a lot of prosper and a lot of good health.

No listen to this. May the Lord bless you and keep you. That's my prayer for you keep you from falling into sin. May he make his face shine upon you. That means may you be able to look clearly into his face every day because you got a clear conscience.

And may he give grace to you. And may he lift up his face upon you and give you peace. There's no help there. There's no welfare but there's grace. There's peace. There's keeping. There is the face of the Lord shining upon me.

I say Lord I don't want anything else. I don't care whether I have help or wealth. If I have this it's enough. And he says you invoke my name like this and I will bless them. This is the blessing of the Lord that we are to seek even today.

Following God’s Cloud and Rejecting Murmuring

And I want to turn now to numbers chapter 9. We read in numbers chapter 9 verse 15 to 23 how the Lord led his people by the cloud that covered it during the day verse 16. And it was not by the appearance of fire.

It had an appearance of fire at night whenever the cloud was lifted Israel set out. And when the cloud settled down Israel camped. Sometimes verse 20 the cloud would linger for a few days. And verse 19 sometimes it lingered for many days.

And sometimes verse 21 if the cloud remained from evening until morning when the cloud was lifted in the morning they'd move out. If it remained in the daytime at night whenever the cloud was lifted they'd set out.

Now notice in verse 21 it says they would come and settle down in the evening and probably in the morning they'd move now. That's just one sentence. But just think of this practically what it meant. Here were people traveling with their little children with all that tents and their animals and they had to set up the tent.

Ah the cloud is stopped. Now let's set up our tent and they spend many hours setting up that tent and go to sleep and get up in the morning and the cloud is moving. Can you imagine there the opportunity they have to complain.

Why can't God wait a few days. We just set up our tent last night. You know a true servant of God will never complain when God tells him to do that which is inconvenient. Maybe he told him to go and then he told him to return or told him to stop.

This is how God led them by the Holy Spirit led by the Spirit. I told you yesterday that you can be born of the Spirit baptized in the Spirit led by the Spirit as many as are led by the Spirit. Romans 8 14 are the sons of God.

There's a difference between a child of God and a son of God. When I say this is my child and this is my son we're talking about a grown-up son. Those who are sons of God are led by the Spirit and the cloud led them and they had no complaint.

If the cloud stopped they stopped and in the cloud moved next morning they were to pack up and they were not to complain. God was very strict against this murmuring complaining attitude among the Israelites for which he punished them.

The Bible says in Philippians 2. Let all things be done without murmuring and complaining. One of the things we see throughout the wilderness wandering of the Israelites is murmuring and complaining. And if you murmur and complain my brother and sister that is the clearest proof that you have not entered the land of Canaan.

You are still in the wilderness. I don't care who it is. It may be a pastor a leader. If he one he murmurs and complains he is still in the wilderness and he will lead people into the wilderness not into Canaan's land.

One proof that we have finished with the wilderness and got into Canaan's land is we have stopped grumbling. We've stopped murmuring at home and outside and stopped complaining. We have started giving thanks for what the Bible says 1 Thessalonians 518 and Ephesians 520 give thanks for everything in all things.

Okay. So whenever the cloud moved they moved. Whether it was verse 22 whether it was two days or a month or a year. Sometimes the cloud stayed for a whole year. And the thing is they couldn't predict it.

When the cloud stopped you didn't know how long it is going to stop. So is everyone born of the Spirit. It's like the wind blows where it is. You cannot say when the wind is going to blow when it's going to stop.

So is everyone born of the Spirit. We move with the cloud. Okay we move on now to chapter 12 where we read about the complaining of Miriam and Aaron against Moses. Aaron and Miriam were jealous because they were older than Moses.

Aaron was three years older. Miriam was probably 12 years older. And here was God choosing this younger brother to be a prophet and to be the leader. It's not easy when God chooses a younger person to be the leader.

Miriam, Aaron, and the Authority of Moses

But God chose Moses and Miriam and Aaron. They couldn't find any fault in this man because he was a very humble man like it says in Numbers 12 3 the man Moses was very humble more than any man who was in the face of the earth.

And I believe that's written in brackets. If you look in your Bible it's written in brackets to show that Moses did not write that he wrote the rest of the book of Numbers. And perhaps Joshua inserted it there that Moses was the humblest man on the face of the earth.

And we read here that when they could the only fault they could find with him was that this man Moses went and married a non-jew. So they questioned him about that. Why is he married this Cushite woman.

And it says. And the Lord verse 2 heard it the Lord hears whenever you speak against his anointed servants. And the Lord appeared and said call them out. And the Lord's came there and said listen to me.

Verse 6 if there is a prophet among you I will reveal myself to him in a vision or in a dream. But with Moses he is more than a prophet. I don't have to speak to him in visions and dreams. I speak to him.

Verse 8 mouth-to-mouth face-to-face. Now tell me something my brother sister which is better for the Lord to speak to us directly face-to-face when we are awake or when we are asleep in a vision or a dream.

It's very clear from this passage that the Lord speaking to us face-to-face is far superior to his speaking in a vision or a dream. And yet there are so many believers who today think that if a man has a vision or a dream he is spiritual.

No the one who is more spiritual is the one who can hear God speaking face-to-face directly in his heart and be led by the spirit that is superior to visions and dreams. Take time to study that passage and you'll see it very clearly.

And then the Lord was angry with these people and the cloud withdrew from the tent and Miriam suddenly became full of leprosy. Verse 10. And suddenly Aaron said Oh Lord please don't let this sin be imputed to us because her flesh is being eaten away and she'll be put outside the camp.

And Moses even against whom they criticized said Lord heal her. The Bible says pray for those who persecute you. That was not an Old Testament commandment. But Moses was a new covenant man living in the Old Testament an amazing man.

Just like today. There are people who live in the New Testament age and lived by Old Testament principles. There were one or two in the Old Testament who lived by new covenant principles. It's not a question of when you live in history you can live today and be an old covenant Christian.

For example if you don't have victory over sin you're like people in the Old Covenant who had forgiveness but no victory. Many other marks of that. Moses was a new covenant Christian and he prayed for him and the Lord said okay put her outside the camp verse 15 for seven days so that she learns a lesson and then let her come back.

And they learned a lesson for their life. But all the others did not learn a lesson. We come to that later. When you come to chapter 13 you'll find that the Israelites are brought to the borders of the Promised Land in a place called Kadesh Barnea and the Lord said go in.

The Spies, Majority Opinion, and Faith

But the children of Israel sent 12 spies to examine the land and 10 of them came back and said it. 12 of them came back all 12 and said it's a wonderful land. But 10 of them said there are big giants and we cannot conquer them.

But Caleb and Joshua said there are big giants but we can conquer them. And the 600 ,000 Israelites listened to the majority. What we learned from there is it is very dangerous to follow majority opinion.

Majority opinion is invariably wrong. The way to life is narrow and few there be that find it. The majority don't find it. The way to destruction is broad and many there be good going there at. If you follow the majority you will definitely be on the broad way in Christendom.

I want to tell you the majority is wrong. Don't think the largest Church is the most spiritual Church. It's not 10 people versus 2. Whose side will you take. God is on the side of the 2. Joshua and Caleb unbelief and the devil were on the side of the other 10.

And the Israelites followed majority opinion. And that was why they wandered in the wilderness. They had no discernment to see. It's not a question of whose majority here that is for politics and for elections.

Here it's a question is whose side is God on. And if God is with one person I would rather be with him. God was with Moses when the Israelites were worshipping idols and only the tribe of Levi recognized that.

And here when God was with Joshua and Caleb even the tribe of Levi did not recognize it. Everybody sided with the other 10. Be careful. These have got lessons for us today. Christendom is in a compromising situation today here and there God raises up people who stand for the truth of God's Word without compromise.

If you have discernment you will see God is with that man. I can sense it. I can discern it. I would rather stand with that man against all of compromising Christendom. And you won't be wrong. You will enter the promised land.

How do you identify the man with whom God is. He speaks the language of faith. Joshua and Caleb spoke the language of faith. We can overcome. We can overcome anger. We can overcome lust. We can overcome jealousy.