The Book Of Numbers

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This evening my purpose is to open to the book of numbers and it's twofold
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I hope to show you a layout of the book Look at some key themes so you can remember what this book is all about and as we do that I hope you can get a clearer picture of Christ and his work on our behalf in the book
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Now before I go there, I'd like us to turn to first Corinthians 10 Having said what my purpose is,
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I want us to think about what the purpose of the book of numbers might be So if you turn to first Corinthians 10,
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I want us to read a short passage before we get into numbers First Corinthians 10 beginning in verse 1
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For I want you to know brothers that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea and All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea
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All ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink
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For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them and the rock was
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Christ we're going to be seeing this event in numbers nevertheless with most of them
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God was not pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness and Here's the purpose now these things took place as Examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did
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Do not be idolaters as some of them were as it is written The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play
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We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did and 23 ,000 fell in a single day
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We're going to see both of these events in numbers. We must not put Christ to the test as Some of them did and were destroyed by serpents
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We're going to see this event also in numbers now grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer
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Now these things happen to them as an example, but they were written down for our
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Instruction on whom the end of the ages has come Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall
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No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man
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God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability
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But with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it
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Let us pray as we open God's Word a loving gracious holy and awesome
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God May the words of my mouth Conform to the truth of your scriptures
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May the meditations of our heart be informed by a
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Holy Spirit to apply these words and To be transformed thereof in Christ's name we pray.
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Amen All right. So now you can turn to the book of Numbers and as you are turning to numbers,
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I Just want to remind you this is the fourth book in the
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Bible the last in spring we covered Genesis Exodus and Leviticus and for those of you who remember
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Long back what we touched upon it's important to have an awareness of the thread that happens before we look at numbers so in Genesis, we saw the layout of two big divisions
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Genesis 1 to 11 the big scheme of creation and the Origin and then from 12 to 50, which is this one person
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Abraham Abraham Isaac Jacob and Joseph and we saw four people there and in the first half we saw creation the fall
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We saw the flood and the Tower of Babel we saw these grand schemes that were laid out in God's good purposes that was
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Corrupted by man's fall and God's redemption right there in Genesis 3 and then through this one person
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Abraham how God was going to work out his salvation for the whole world and The end of Genesis is picked up with beginning of Exodus Exodus broke down into Well, I told you there's a few ways we could break it down.
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But the way we did it was there were ten plagues There were ten commandments and there were ten articles in the tabernacle
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So we looked at those three major components of the book of Exodus and we saw how the
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Lord had grown this one Family into a nation in Egypt and how through their slavery
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God was going to work out a redemption and then that was going to bring these people From Egypt to the
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Promised Land. So we saw the ten plagues of the power of God of Christ revealed We saw the ten commandments of the law of God the holiness of God that only one person kept them faithfully and there was
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Christ and then we saw the Tabernacle of God dwelling in the midst of his people and how
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Jesus tabernacled in our midst Then we looked at the book of Leviticus and Leviticus was a little harder for us to break down The way
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I recommended was we'll go to the center of the book Leviticus 16 where you have the Day of Atonement You know the central piece of how
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God provides for the entire nation and then we broke it down into three group three I called them ladders.
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So on either side, it's a chiastic book so if you go down on either side you have the purity on Leading up to the
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Day of Atonement and following after your moral purity and ritual purity Then we had the priests the next level we see how priests were ordained and how what they were supposed to do and then we came
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The first section I called it the practice really it was the sacrifices that were ordained in order to come up to God approach him
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Acceptably and then we saw the Festivals that we were that were given to celebrate and remember what
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God had done and we saw in all of these Christ is our He's the means by which we can approach
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God he is the perfect sacrifice he is our priest great high priest and he is the only one who is perfect in keeping all the law and with that with Leviticus Exodus and Leviticus we saw this in Exodus God brings the people out of Egypt and in Leviticus he provides for holiness of this people where he takes the
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Egypt out of The Israelites so he's purifying them. And in fact in the beginning of the book of Numbers Let me just read verse 1 the
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Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the tent of meeting in fact, we saw in the beginning of Leviticus God is speaking out from God is in the tent of meeting
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Moses cannot approach it and Leviticus is that means by which people can approach God and Commune with him because they now have the sacrificial system through which
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God God's Holiness can be met by sinful man and we saw how all of these pre figures the holiness the
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Work of Christ in the New Testament as these are symbols and shadows of what Christ would eventually fulfill
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Now with that in mind, how do we think of the book of Numbers? How can we divide the book of Numbers?
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There's several ways to do it. I'm going to recommend one I'm gonna do it geographically.
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I know I didn't pronounce it, right? so the first Ten chapters are in the region of Mount Sinai and and then you have chapters 26 to 36 the last 10 chapters in the plains of Moab as they are about to enter the promised land and between 11 to 25 this
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Journey in the wilderness is what we are going to be looking at In fact the book of Numbers when we think of numbers
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We think senses and there are two big senses that happen in one to four and then later Which we will see the senses of the first generation and the senses of the second generation but that's not really the primary theme of the book the in the septuagint and in the
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In the Latin it is called numbers but in the Hebrew Old Testament it is called in the wilderness
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It is this time that the Israelites spend in the wilderness and it again comes from verse 1 in the wilderness of Sinai If you were thinking, you know,
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I know the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness When in the Bible does it talk about this is the book you want to come to because the first 10 chapters
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Talk about the first year that the Israelites spent when they left Egypt and they are in Mount Sinai.
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They're hearing the law. They're going to celebrate the second Passover and then comes this real tragic time of journeying where there is sin and rebellion and judgment and God's mercy and then there is this repeat over and over again and You get to see the heart of the people in their desire for their own selfish
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Needs and Forsaking the God who has provided them so richly and God Preserves his holiness by bringing judgment but also protects and there is intercession and we're going to see how
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Christ is prefigured in the mediation of Moses and how God brings forth his people through these times of this wanderings in the wilderness right to the
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Across the Jordan ready to enter the promised land so we are looking at 37 38 years that are covered in the book of Numbers the bulk of the time and really not a lot of it is talked
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About you have the first 10 chapters, which is like a year the last 10 chapters, which is a couple of months They're looking there at Moab and then the middle is all the time and you just have some events from that that are captured for Us so we can see what how
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God dealt with his people So another way to look at it is the first 10 chapters You can see the obedience of God as a law of God is given and how they observe the rituals and then you get to see 11 to 25 the disobedience of the people of God and Then as they come to the plains of Moab You see the renewal of obedience of the people are getting prepared the second generation is getting ready to move into the promised land
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So with that, let's dive right into the first section in Mount Sinai chronologically
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Chapters 7 through 10 come before chapters 1 through 6 So just keep that in mind, but I'm going to go from chapter 1 and on So right in chapter 1 we see that this is the
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Lord speaking to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai and it gives you the time First day of the second month in the second year out
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After they came out of the land of Egypt. So right here you have a year that has passed and In chapter 1 you have the command for the census and that's why the numbering the book is called numbers now
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The first census that happens here as you just tally all these numbers in chapter 1 comes to around 600 men
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Excluding the Levites and if you just look at the total number You're looking at 2 million plus people that are coming out of Egypt two years later
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And they are moving forward two and a half million one of the commentator says so that's the number of people that are gathered right at the foot of Mount Sinai and Among them you get to see the
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Levites How they are not to be numbered there are special people you will see how they are to be
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The replacement for the firstborn there is a special way in which God has ordained the
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Levites We saw in the book of Leviticus but in chapter 2 you get to see something very interesting how the camp is arranged right in the center of the camp is your
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Tabernacle and surrounding them is the Levites and then in almost like military formation you have three tribes on each of the north east west and south directions
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Judah being on the head and There is the sense in which when you look at I mean I'm just thinking if you look at really you could be seeing like you know here is this mighty army
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You know in order and their center is not some great general pattern or someone
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This is God himself Dwelling in their midst and the people can approach
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God favorably through the priesthood and the Levitical system So they can just kind of saunter in and get incinerated.
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They have the Levites around the tabernacle and So with that if you look through the first few chapters,
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I just want you to skim through it you see the Levites then you see the priests the sons of Aaron you get the duties there and then in chapter 4 you have the
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Kohathites who are serving in the tabernacle and then in chapters 5 and 6 you get to see some of the rituals that the
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Means to purity that God had provided for now why why do you think these things are listed here?
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God cares about how the people worship him. It is not about just going from journey
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A to B It is about the people getting to know their God and learning to worship him look at chapter 7 and here you get to see that the people bring forth from their
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From what they own the offerings to the tabernacle as it gets consecrated and this is why we think this is actually before Chapters 1 through 6 and then you have in chapter 9 the
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Celebration of the Passover Let me just read that the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the first month of the second year
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After they had come out of the land of Egypt Saying let the people of Israel keep the
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Passover in its appointed time on the 14th day of this month at Twilight you shall keep it at its appointed time according to all its statutes and all its rules
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You shall keep it So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the
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Passover and verse 5 This is what the people did you remember in the book of Leviticus?
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you have the festivals and Passover is one of them and Exodus showed this demonstration of the power of God as the
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Angel of death passed over and destroyed all the firstborn except those who had blood on the lintels they had to have this lamb that was slain and the blood posted over and that was the means of redemption for the people that their firstborns would not die and as we know this prefigures the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf and this
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Annual celebration of the Passover where they remember what God has done as They remember the provision that God has made for them our needs to be central in their worship of their
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God And it needs to be the central it needs to be central as we remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf now
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Pastor Mike read this and I just want to just point you to this this morning the Aaronic blessing in chapter 6 if we just go back to chapter 6 verses 22 to 27
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The Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to Aaron and his son saying thus you shall bless the people of Israel You shall say to them the
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Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you
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The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace
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So they shall put my name upon the people of Israel and I will bless them
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We have a God who's a covenant -keeping God and the means by which he can bless us where he can grant us his peace is
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Through the work of Jesus Christ. And in fact, this is one of the oldest
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Texts that we have in the manuscripts. It's a silver scroll from the time of David which is thousand
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BC and we have a Copy of that much older than most of the other manuscripts that we have of the
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Old Testament Now 1 through 10 we see the people at the base camp as it were but when you come to chapter 10
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The people are now getting ready to leave So look at verse 11 of chapter 10 in the second year in the second month on the 20th day of the month the cloud
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Lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony Let me just back up a bit in the in chapter 9
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I missed this section chapter 9 verse 15 on the day The tabernacle was set up the cloud covered the tabernacle the tent of the testimony at evening
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It was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning so it was always the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night and whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent after that the people of Israel set out and In the place where the cloud settled down there the people of Israel camped at the command of the
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Lord the people of Israel set out and at the command of the Lord they camped and as long as The cloud rested over the tabernacle they remained in the camp.
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So the Instruction for the movement of the people was not some general finding out what needs to be done
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You know is the is the conditions good for us to go it is God himself directing them by Moving and the people were to follow now the first 10 chapters of the people are in Sinai in Exodus.
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We saw some of the troubles they had you remember when the law was given people were worshipping a golden calf
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But as they start to move from Sinai the troubles start to compound
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In fact, the wilderness journey is the second section that we're getting into you can just see them as a series of troubles chapter 11
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Chapter 12 chapter 13 chapter 14 chapter 16. It is just one thing after the other as the people
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Do not look up to their God the God who has rescued them powerfully from Egypt who is providing for them, but instead
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Show a heart of unbelief what we saw in first Corinthians 10
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So with that in mind, let's look at chapter 11 the first trouble and the first problem
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That they face chapter 11 verse 1 the people complained in the hearing of the
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Lord about their misfortunes and when the
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Lord heard it his Anger was kindled and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp
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Then the people cried out to Moses and Moses prayed interceded to the
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Lord and the fire died down So the name of the place was called Tiberia because the fire of the
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Lord burned among them Here are people traveling through the wilderness they see
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They are discontent with what they meet and they complain against God You've heard pastor
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Mike talk about this, you know, there's gone Christmas. There's murmurings this complainings. They just are Dissatisfied with their lot that God has provided for them.
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They are constantly Looking back at Egypt and saying oh how good things were back there forgetting that they were slaves and oppression
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I had cried for deliverance from God and God had redeemed them powerfully by showing his hand his power and rescuing them and just a year has passed and the people forget the goodness of God and instead are consumed by The problems that they face and God judges it by his holiness and then you see in verse 2
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Moses prayed to the Lord and this is going to be a Repetitive theme in the book of Numbers.
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You're going to see over and over again These are people who are going to be sinning and they're going to face the judgment of God and then you get to see the gracious intercession of Moses their mediator
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In fact in the next book we are going to be looking at another prophet like Moses who is to come and he is the
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Great mediator Jesus Christ. He is the one who intercedes on our behalf to the father because he has propitiated the wrath of God he has assuaged
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God's wrath by taking the fire that was rightly due to us and satisfying
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God's wrath against sin our sin By dying on the cross on our behalf, but you look at verses 1 to 3 and you would think oh, okay
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The people have seen their camps in fire and they would change but no that's not the case verse 4
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Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving and the people of all Israel also wept again and said
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Oh that we had meat to eat verse 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing the cucumbers the melons the leeks the onions and the garlic
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It would seem almost humorous to think of what these people were asking for But now our strength is dried up and there is nothing at all
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But this manna to look at Now the manna was like coriander seed and its appearance was like dillium
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You remember manna when God provided for it. They didn't have to work for it
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They just had to wake up in the morning go outside the tent everything that they needed was there They just had to gather as much as they could eat come prepare and eat they could prepare it in a number of different ways, but a year has gone by where God has been faithful day in and day out and the people say nothing at all, but manna in John chapter 6 when people looked at Jesus and Jesus said
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I am the bread that has come down from heaven He says that in response to the people saying what sign will you do our fathers ate manna in heaven
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This is the kind of fathers That the first century Israelites had and this is the kind of fathers
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That we need to remember and be warned of because they are given as examples to us they had this great provision of God and they said no,
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I want my leeks and my onions and That exposes the heart of these people really it's not a question of you know
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Did I like a different taste but it is am I content with what God has provided or am
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I going to go? Seeking and craving for those things of the flesh that war against the providence of God that has been so rich and merciful and and and powerful in my life and today as Christians we could look back at Jesus Christ and say, you know,
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Jesus is the bread of Who has come down from heaven? He has satisfied all my needs or I can say
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Jesus good. He's died for my sin, but I Crave for Fill in the blank.
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What is it that your life craves for today if Christ does not satisfy you you're showing a heart of Unbelief see what happens to these people.
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So these people When Moses verse 10 heard the people weeping the anger of the
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Lord blazed hotly and Moses was displeased and you get to see that God is not
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Just winking at this sin of these people when they are
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Rejecting the God who has provided for them now in verse 16 God actually Helps Moses in sharing this burden by giving them giving 70 elders to minister with him
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But I want you to go down a little bit and see verse 18
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God says to Moses say to the people Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow and you shall eat meat
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For you have wept in the hearing of the Lord saying who will give us meat to eat for it is better for us in Therefore the
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Lord will give you meat and you shall eat you shall not eat Just one day or two days or five days or ten days or twenty days, but a whole month until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes
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Loathsome to you because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and I wept before him saying why?
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Did we come out of Egypt and if you just continue reading the passage is just like Moses who knows
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God who has? Stood in the rock and seen his glory pass by he's like Lord.
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We are in the wilderness a whole month How do you how do you do these things and look at God's response in verse 23 is the
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Lord's hand shortened? now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not and so Moses goes out tells the people and We get to see what happens in Verse 31 a wind from the
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Lord sprang up and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside this Beside the camp about a day's journey on its side and a day's journey on the other side around the camp about two
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Cubits about the ground imagine that you have to wade through these quails to get through it The people rose all the day all the night and all the next day and gathered the quail those who gathered least
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Gathered ten homers and they spread them out among themselves all around the camp.
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Is this a blessing? Or is it a curse? Where's 33 while the meat was yet between their teeth before it was consumed
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The anger of the Lord was kindled against the people and the Lord struck down the people with a great plague
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You're gonna be seeing events like this through the book of Numbers there are going to be things that You'd be thinking.
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Oh, you know the people just asked for food and God was so gracious to give the food and then
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BAM Judgment there was there was death in the camp and there is death filling the books the pages of Numbers and You need to be very careful when you're reading this in this particular event
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It says clearly what the problems of the people was We saw that in verse 10 the anger of the
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Lord burned blazed Heartly because these people had rebelled against God and it is explicitly laid out
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It won't be always laid out in all the different events that we are going to be seeing in some cases you will just see them do something and you'll see
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God's anger come back and You need to be asking yourself How am
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I reading these texts in this particular text it exposes the heart of unbelief a
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Rejection of this good and benevolent God that was in their midst and God while providing for their craving
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Showcases that there is a he is a holy God and not want to be trifled with and he will judge unrighteousness and wickedness in the camp and There's going to be other places and I'm going to point them out to you
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You need to remember that our God is a holy God a God is a God of justice
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He is not a capricious God He does exactly
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According to what his holiness dictates. So when you look at these people asking for things what you should be
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Saying is it's not that they needed meat But they needed faith in the one who provides their meat.
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These were not people who said Well, thank you. Lord. These are people who just ran out two days
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Continuously just say meet meet meet they had rejected the God they had not given Thanks to the
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God who is the God who provides for them and you and I need to be very careful when we look at The trials and troubles that we go through there are times when there are genuine need maybe there is no meat
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There is no food. You want to ask God for food, but ask not by Demanding how dare
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God do this and place you in the circumstance, but come with prayer and supplication but Thanksgiving I Don't see any
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Thanksgiving in chapter 11 We want to come before God Seeking him as our father the one who has rescued us out of Egypt the one who has saved us from sin and hell and damnation
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Who provides us for all things in Jesus Christ, and when he provides we don't want to be just going off and celebrating the
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Provision, but we want to be celebrating the one who provides for all our needs in Jesus Christ our
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Lord so here in chapter 11 what ought to have been a Celebration of the miracle of God and providing in the wilderness turns into a
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Condemnation of the people chapter 12 you think oh, it was just the rabble who do these types of things
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No, you have Miriam and Aaron demanding that Moses was
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Lauding it over them and God has to come down and I'm going to just read one verse from here
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So you can see what happens a couple of verses so Verse 2 of chapter 12 they said has the
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Lord indeed spoken only through Moses has he not spoken through us also and The Lord heard it be very careful when you go against those whom
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God has placed an authority if you look at verse 9 and 10 the anger of the
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Lord was kindled against them and he departed when the cloud removed from over the tent behold
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Miriam was leprous like snow and Aaron turned toward Miriam and behold she was leprous
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Aaron said to Moses. Oh my lord. Do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned and Then in verse 13
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Moses cried to the Lord. Oh, God, please heal her, please you can just see the tender
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Affection that Moses has for the for his brother and sister And the
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Lord said to Moses if a father had but spit in her face Should she not be shamed seven days let her be shut outside the camp seven days and after that she may be brought in again
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So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days The people did not set out on the march until Miriam was brought in again
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I want you to be thinking about two things in chapter 11 You have the rabble those who have unbelief who are not believers who are in the camp and they need to be dealt with and this is judgment and You have
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Miriam and Aaron Who have been serving Aaron's been ordained as the priest and he too
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Struggles with sin on the one hand there is judgment and condemnation and on the other hand you have chastisement for Miriam Does Miriam enter the promised land?
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We're gonna see it does Moses enter the promised land We need to be very careful when we think about what it is that God does to his people
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While we are on this pilgrimage this journey while we are here on this side of eternity while we go up into heaven
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We are going to be We are redeemed not because we
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Defeated the king of Egypt and the Pharaoh and got out. We are justified by the finished work of Christ.
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We are Transformed into the image of Christ as God works in us and transforms us
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Yeah the Levitical priests the Levitical sacrifices that were there in the book of Leviticus they were
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Meant to remind people of the holiness of God to approach him acceptably through the sacrifice and today as we are in Christ We remember that God has already done the work on our behalf.
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We remember that we have a holy God, but we have a holy Intercessor on our behalf.
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He has provided the sacrifice and he is mediating on our behalf And when we sin, he our
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God is not a God who just lets us go, but he chastises He brings us back to him and we are going to see both
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Moses Miriam and Aaron and even Moses how the Lord works in their life before They reach the promised land
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But chapter 12 is this next trial and chapter 13 comes to this tragic event of the
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Spice You all know the story very well. There are 12 Spice one from each of the tribes Each of the 12 tribes they are asked to go into the land
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Scouted and bring back a report of what is out there before they are to go In fact,
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I want you to just notice one thing in verse 1 and 2 the Lord spoke to Moses saying
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Send men to spy out to the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel So it's a
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Lord's command that these people go out. These people go out spend 40 days scouting the land.
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They come back in What is the report that they give? At the end of 40 days verse 25 they return from spying out the land
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They brought back word to a Moses and Aaron and to the congregation showed them the fruit of the land
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They told him We come to the land to which we came to the land to which you sent us
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It flows with milk and honey and this is its fruit However, the people who dwell in the land are strong and the cities are fortified and very large
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Besides we saw the descendants of Anak there. Is that all true? Yes, indeed. This is exactly what they saw
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Nothing sinful in what they just said Verse 30
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Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said let us go up at once and occupy it for we are well able to overcome it
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And this is where the sin is in verse 31 The men who had gone up with him said we are not able to go up against these people
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Why for they are stronger than we are so they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out saying the land through which we
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Have gone out gone to spy it out is a land which devours its inhabitants and all the people we saw in it are of great height
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We saw the Nephilim the sons of Anak who came from Nephilim We seem to ourselves like grasshoppers and so we seemed to them
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So here through the eyes of the flesh They saw their trials the the what lay before them and they had forgotten that the
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God in the beginning of chapter 13 had said This is the land that I give
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I am giving to the people of Israel It is the God who had rescued them out of Egypt who is promising him and promising them this land this
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Impossible land to get into because they had a God who was mightier than everything else that they saw
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But they would see through the eyes of flesh rather than the eyes of faith Trusting in the God who said he would provide and then in the beginning in the first half of chapter 14 is this tragic tragic
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Situation where you have all the congregation crying out loudly and they rebel against Moses and Aaron they say you know what?
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Forget this. We're gonna just get another leader and get back to Egypt. We don't we're done with this exercise.
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We'd rather go back and Listen to what they say in verse 3 Why is the
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Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword our wives and our little ones will become prey
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Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt and that's when they decide to choose a leader and go back
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No matter Moses Aaron Joshua, they try to convince the people but there is no convincing.
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They've made up their mind and they want to go back, but I Want you to look at What God says in verses 11 and 12
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He is displeased with what they have done and he is ready to Disinherit them and there you have once again the
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Intercession of Moses and what does Moses say verse 18? This is who the Lord is the
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Lord is slow to anger abounding in steadfast love Forgiving iniquity and transgression and then in verse 19, please pardon the iniquity of these people and verse 20
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I have pardoned but as I live the earth will be filled with the glory and Look at verse 22
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None of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and yet have put me to the test these ten times have not obeyed my voice shall see the land that I swore to their fathers and He allows for Joe Joshua and Caleb and then
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In verse 28 as I live says the Lord what you have said in my hearing I will do to you your dead bodies shall
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Fall in this wilderness and of all your number listed in the census from 20 years old and upward who have grumbled against me no one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell except Caleb the son of Japheth and Joshua the son of Nun and verse 31
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But your little ones whom you said will become a prey I will bring in and they will know the land that you have
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Rejected but as for you your dead bodies shall fall in the wilderness And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness 40 years and shall suffer for your faithlessness
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Until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness According to the number of days in which you spied out the land 40 days a year for each day
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You shall bear your iniquity 40 years and you shall know my displeasure
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The people said by our by our arm we cannot Accomplish what is there?
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They had forgotten that they have a God who has rescued them who had promised them that he will take them into the promised land They did not trust in the
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God who said he will do what he has promised and they said this is what we fear If we go we will die and so will our children and God says here is your judgment according to your word
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Will it be to you? You shall die in the wilderness, but your children whom you said Will perish
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I will by my mighty arm take them in and that's what we see in the end of this book as we look at Numbers Deuteronomy and Joshua God is faithful to accomplish what he has said but the interesting thing is in the end of chapter 14 this people revealed something that is desperately wrong in us
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They saw this Trial that they could not face on their own instead of trusting in God.
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They said let's turn back. God says this is the judgment You shall not go into it.
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And what do they do? Verse 40 Rose early in the morning and wet up into the hill country and say let's try to Take the land on our own
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We don't want to die in the wilderness It is a constant rejection of everything that God has said, you know, this is a tendency that Is part of human nature.
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It is just a dissatisfaction with what we hear Someone tells us this is the Word of God and this is what is right.
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It's like no, I want to do what I want Someone comes back around and says the opposite thing is like who are you to tell me that I want to go back and do
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What you just told me a little bit earlier and that's exactly what the people are doing It's I want to do my way not the
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Lord's way and there is judgment That's the people go and fight they lose and now they are forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years now with these
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I'm just going to wrap up the rest of the middle section of the problems in the wilderness it just give you a sample of where the people the heart of the people was and How the
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Lord is holy and just in judging and how he is merciful With the intercession of Moses in chapter 16 you get to see this horrific event where Korah and his
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Followers would reject Moses in a similar fashion to what
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Miriam does but in a much more dangerous fashion where they say we will approach the Lord on our own terms and You get to see how
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God judges Korah in chapter 16 and the earth Opens up its mouth literally as it were and brings down Korah and his followers and there is a fire that comes down from heaven and Burns the priest who said they will do things they will offer
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Incense before the Lord and there is judgment that comes in the camp. And once again Moses prays for the people and God For stays his wrath
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Now I want you to look at move forward to chapter 20 and we see there the death of Miriam how many people who died in the wilderness?
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Didn't make it to the promised land but Are in heaven today
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Chapter 20 Miriam died there and was buried there. This is in the wilderness of Zen, but right following this you have a very
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Difficult passage to look at and I want you to read in verse 2 There was no water in the congregation and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron What ought they to have done?
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There is no water. You ask the Lord you pray to the Lord you don't rebel against the
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Lord and his leaders the people quarreled and once again would that we had perished with our brothers and Perished before went up where others perished before the
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Lord in the last judgment if he had died that would have been better than for us to suffer this thirst that we have today and And actually
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I want you to look closely at what they say here This it is no place for grain or figs or wines or pomegranates.
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There is no water to drink and Here in verse 8 God Gives a very specific command take the staff
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This is the one that Moses raised when the Red Sea was parted and he struck the rock in Exodus in order to provide water assemble the congregation you and Aaron your brother and Tell the rock before your eyes to yield its water
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Remember again first Corinthians 10 the rock that followed them was Christ And so you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle
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Very clear and direct instructions a little different than the instructions that Moses had when the people needed water the last time
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Moses took the staff from before the Lord as he commanded him and verse 10
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Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock and he said to them here now you
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Rebels shall we bring water for you out of this rock?
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What was Moses supposed to speak look back in verse 8? Tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water and Moses is speaking to the people and he's saying you rebels shall who bring the water?
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Shall we bring the water? For you out of this rock and Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice and water came out
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Abundantly the congregation drank and their livestock and here's what you see about God and his character here verse 12
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The Lord said to Moses and Aaron because you did not believe in me to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel therefore you shall not bring this people into the land that I have given them
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These are the waters of Meribah where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord and through them he showed himself as as holy remember what
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I told you about the Rebellion of the people whether they believe unbelievers or believers and the judgment of God that comes there are times where God explicitly lays out the heart of the people where they are sinning and What the reason for the judgment is and other times you won't see it
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You will just see the judgment and what you need to remember is our God is a holy God. He's a righteous God. He never he never does evil and What might seem like oh just a small error on Moses part he could have
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You know, maybe he was just too tired. Maybe he was just thinking of something But the Bible here explicitly says in verse 12 you did not believe in me and that was a
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Sin that Moses is judged for he was told to do something
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Explicitly and as you know, there is a there is a sim symbol behind the rock and the water that comes behind it
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There is a power of God that is manifest as as Moses was Intended to communicate the will of God by speaking to this rock and showing the provision of God on their behalf
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You and I ought never to come in between God and his work to this people and presume that we are
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God's agents Providing in God's stead and that's really what happens here when it talks about the unbelief of Moses and the judgment is
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Tragic he shall not see the promised land Is he in heaven?
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Yes, he is, but he will not enter Canaan that was promised to him because God has deemed it.
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So Now with this we are going to move quickly through the rest of the book We have
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Edom So what has happened is they've come from on Sinai they've come to the wilderness of Paran and as they came into the promised land the
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Spice didn't go in and now in the waters of Meribah they are journeying toward a different direction to enter the promised land and That involves going through Edom that's below the
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Dead Sea and when they come to Edom These are the the Edomites are the descendants of Esau. There's the
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King's Highway that goes through it and as they come there Either might say nope, you guys are too big you come close to me
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I'm going to attack you and God says you shall not attack them. They are your brothers go around them They go all the way around and then come back on the other side and in the end of chapter 20 you get to see also the death of Aaron as he too shall not go for participating in the sin of Moses and then you get to see in beginning of chapter 21.
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You're going to now start to see Nations that are being conquered as they get ready to enter the promised land and one of them is the king of Arad who is
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Who fights against Israel this is and took some of them captive and then they are defeated by The Israelites but in chapter 21 verses 4 through 9 you get to see this famous passage
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I wanted to spend more time on this, but we won't Here, let me read what the problem is in verse 5 the people spoke against God and Moses Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?
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There is no food no water and we loathe this word worthless food. No food. No water and we loathe this worthless food
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Do you see a contradiction? Is there food or is there no food? No food, but we loathe this worthless food
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Here is the way the people were thinking it is what I want and I don't care that that God has provided for me
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I'm just gonna say I'm not satisfied. I'm not happy I'm this little cranky child that is just going to keep yelling against God But unlike a child who senseless this is a deep -seated heart of unbelief that comes out and God sends these fiery
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Serpents in verse 6 and they bid the people and many died and Once again, there is sin that is judgment the people repent either through intercession or by themselves in verse 7
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They come to Moses. We have sinned and spoken. Please pray and Moses prays he intercedes and once again
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You'd want to be remembering. This is what Christ has done. He has provided for salvation and he's our intercessor We confess our sins.
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He is faithful and just to forgive us of all our Unrighteousness and then in verse 8 the
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Lord said to Moses make a fiery serpent the word fiery is burning its set of It's the word set off like the angels the maker serpent may be out of bronze
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That's like bright and shining set it on a pole everyone who's bitten when he sees it. He shall live
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No medical treatment it is belief you look to this What God has said when you trust in him
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He shall rescue you and so Moses made the bronze serpent set it on a pole and if the servant bit anyone
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He would look at the bronze serpent and live and you need to be remembering this is the provision that God made for the people in the wilderness and When Jesus speaks to Nicodemus in chapter 3 of John, he says
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Just as Moses lifted up the serpent. So must the Son of Man be lifted up And it is by faith in Jesus Christ that you are rescued from the
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Bite of sin as it were you have no cure except by trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ our
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Lord and Savior now after this as you just look through the next few chapters you get org and Sihon Sihon is the king of Amorites org is the king of Bashan and they are defeated as the people are now getting stronger this is the second generation that is coming out and In chapter 22 to 24, you have this interesting account of Balaam and Balak So Moab the king of Moab goes to this prophet for hire from the
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Euphrates and he tells them come on over These people are too big. I can't take get rid of them and the way that I need to Defeat them is through your magic, you know, you curse these people and I know that I can defeat them and so whoever you bless is blessed whoever you curse is cursed and that's what he has heard about Balaam and This is a prophet who wants to make profit.
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He's a prophet for hire He you pay him and he will do the job for you And so that's how he hires this person and then you get to see how
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God speaks to Balaam not to go Because you cannot curse the people that God has blessed and Balaam says, okay
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And then Balak sends another contingent and Balaam decides to go agreeing to God that he will not
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He will not do anything God does not say only what God says he will do
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But while he is going there you get to see him having an encounter with an angel Why do you think the angel was there?
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If Balaam had said I'm going to only bless the people if you tell me to bless them
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Why was the angel there with a sword does
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God know the heart of man? You get to see in that encounter a strong warning to Balaam about his the danger his life is in and you get to see the in the donkey talking to Balaam There is an angel that you cannot see that is out there to get you and Balaam is so upset with his donkey that he forgets
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That a donkey is talking. He's just yelling back at his donkey and saying, you know, you can't speak in tongues He should have said that he didn't say that.
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He just said why wouldn't you go ahead and And you get to see Balaam does do what
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God told him he does not Speak against the people of God and so three times he tries to do what
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Balaam says which is to curse But God gives him a blessing. So he blesses blesses blesses and Balaam is like, you know, go away
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I was gonna bless you with a lot of money. You are you're not gonna get any money But then Balaam says, you know, here is a prophecy and I would just want to read that verse for you
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In chapter 24 verse 17 I see him but not now I behold him but not near a
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Star shall come out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. Israel has no king today
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It'll have Saul and David later. But what this is talking about if you connect star and scepter together, you should be thinking of The Magi coming in the book of Matthew they said we have seen a star in the east and we have followed it and we are looking for the
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King who is to be born, uh -huh It's quite likely that this Passage maybe through Daniel made its way to the to the pagan lands and here you have the wise men coming back looking for the king and this is a prophecy through a false prophet that God turns his mouth to speak what he wants his people to hear and In the end of chapter 20 chapter 24
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Balaam rose and went back to his place and you seem to think okay Balaam Didn't do anything wrong. Is that true?
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No, you need to go to 2nd Peter. You need to go to Jude 11 and you get to see Balaam was Despite him doing speaking the words of God.
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He actually was deceptive. You need to go to Numbers 31 16.
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I'm not going to go there and also in the beginning of chapter 25 you get to see how the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab and they
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Sacrificed to their gods and bowed down to these idols the bale of fear and God's wrath is kindled and in chapter 31
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Moses says this is what has happened Bale a Balaam had said, you know,
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I can't curse these people But you know what I can make God curse his people and here's how you do it
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Make them intermingled with the people of the land help make them worship their idols and God will do the rest of the job
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He will punish them and that's basically Balaam's advice in deceiving the people or tricking them into false
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Idolatrous worship and in fact both Moab and Midian are in this if you look through chapter 25 now so all of this is the problems in the wilderness and we'll wrap up with the
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End -game as it were of the book of Numbers in the plains of Moab in chapter 26 You have the second census and again once again a similar number you have to remember now 40 years later
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This next generation has come you would think that with all these deaths and judgments that the people would be dwindled in size
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But they are just as big you're 600 plus 600 ,000 plus men and you have a large group of people that the
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Lord has provided the children that they said will die God has preserved and he is bringing them into the promised land and in chapter 27
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Just as God told Moses you shall not enter. He now leads he raises up the next leader, which is
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Joshua and he is going to take the people of God into the promised land and then in chapters 28 to 30 you get to see once again the offerings the worship of this next generation of people as they purify themselves and consecrate themselves for worship and In 31 there is a judgment on Midian by the people of God remember in chapter 25 this
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Moabites and the Midianites had Brought the people into false worship and God brings judgment on them through the people of Israel and this is a
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Precursor of what is going to happen as the people enter Canaan remember? Why is God bringing them to Canaan at this point in time the land is spewing them out of because of the wickedness they?
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Had filled the land with its unrighteousness and God is going to bring judgment through these people and the war against Midian is the precursor the first part of what happens as things
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Get ready for the people to enter and chapter 32 You get to see the people in the land of Gilead, which is on the east side of the
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Jordan before crossing over Reuben and Gad and the half -tribe of Manasseh look at it and say hey this land is pretty cool
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We don't want to go into the promised land. We are happy as it is. Oh, so if you want us to come We'll come and fight for you, but can we please stay here in fact?
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If you stand up on top of the mountain and look into the promised land the eastward side of the land doesn't look that great
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You need to kind of cross over into the land to see how Canaan is actually a land flowing with milk and honey these people say well, we'll come and fight for you, but we'll stay here and So they do
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What would be the consequence of them staying in the land of Gilead remember with later the land will break up into Israel?
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And Judah Israel is the land that would go apostate all its kings would be following the
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False gods and later they would be the first to go into captivity with Assyria And then in the time of Jesus this region won't even be part of Israel.
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It'll be Decapolis It's it's a different place altogether and in fact every time there is a war against Israel.
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They are the first ones to get attacked God you said Canaan we think this land is good have it your way and face the consequences now
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In 33 you get to see an account of the 40 -year travel you know it's some commentator say it's about 40 times that Israel had to Move from camp to camp through those 40 years and Chapter 33 gives you an account of the various places where they go and then chapter 34 to 36 you get to see the
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Geography of the land and and the city of refuge the provision that God has for the place that they go how he is going to preserve justice in the land as they enter but To close the book of Numbers.
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I want to do two things one Let's look at the last verse in the book of Numbers These are the commandments and the rules that the
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Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the
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Jordan at Jericho you want to be thinking in the book of Joshua they're going to cross over from this plains of the
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Jordan into Jericho and the Lord would provide Jericho let make Jericho fall
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Supernaturally, but here are the people standing on the verge of the Jordan as it you were this is one of those metaphors That we are so familiar with as God is about to provide us
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What he has promised to his people but as we close, please turn with me to Hebrews 3 and We will close
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Looking at how God has been faithful to his people and how we as his people want to be careful of The precious gift of salvation that has been given to us when
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God saves you. He will make sure he reaches you to Make sure that you reach the promised end but you want to remember
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Philippians 2 where The salvation that God has given to us you are intended to work out your salvation with fear and trembling do not
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Presume upon the salvation of the Lord and that's what the message of Hebrews 3 is all about Chapter 3 verse 5 now
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Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant to testify to the things that were spoken later
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But Christ is faithful over God's house as a son and we are his house If indeed we hold fast our confidence and are boasting in our hope verse 7 therefore as the
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Holy Spirit say Today if you hear his voice Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion on the day of testing in the wilderness
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When your father's put me to the test and saw my works of 40 years Therefore I was provoked with that generation and said they always go astray in their heart.
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They have not known my ways As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest
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Take care brothers lest there be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the
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Living God but exhort one another every day as long as it is called today that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of Sin for we have come to share in Christ.
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If indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end Let us pray
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Dearly father. We thank you for this book of numbers given as an example of How you are?
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faithful To accomplish what you promised how you are patient and Forgiving and How you are also holy and a
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God of justice Help each of us here today to remember that it is only through the work of Jesus Christ that we are able
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To come before you help us Lord in our times of weakness
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To fix our eyes firmly upon Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith help us to trust him when the odds
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Seem to great help us Lord not to walk away like those ten spies But hold fast to your word.
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I pray for any here who do not truly know you That you would indeed quicken them
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That you would confront them With your greatness With your holiness
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Help us Lord even this week as we walk forth from here To be a people who look up to you with gratefulness and thankfulness
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May we see your hand in our lives through your word in Christ's name.