Pastor John The Book of Numbers Part 2

Well, praise the Lord and good morning. Good morning. I much prefer being here like this than being in my garage. So I really invite you. We're going to have plenty of social distancing if you want to come out and worship.

A lot of churches are worshipping now indoors. Some are worshipping outdoors. And the sheriff, the county sheriff said, you know, he's going to be real chilled about all this because this is an essential need.

It feels so good to already be together. And I'm so thankful for those of you that came out. For those of you that are watching at home, this will be an encouragement to your heart that it's a little more.

We'll get a little more worshipful. We'll have some singing each week. And so Psalm 112, to get us started, says, Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in his commandments.

His descendants will be mighty on earth. The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house and his righteousness endures forever. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness.

He is gracious and full of compassion and righteous. A good man deals graciously and lends and will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he will never be shaken. And really, that's what I want to encourage us with this morning.

No matter what we see going on in the world, a righteous man surely will never be shaken because of the Lord our God.

Amen?

Let's go ahead and pray. Our Heavenly Father, how thankful we are that we can gather together to worship you. We know, Lord, these are difficult and trying days. And I pray now for the corporate singing of your people, God, as we worship you, as we give our hearts to thee.

We pray for those that are watching by video, God. So we commit this morning to you, our worship to you, to the glory of God, the exaltation of Christ.

Well, good morning and good evening to some of you. You know, in these times, our hearts can wander. Our faith can falter. But God is faithful. He is firm. He is solid. And as we consider that this morning, let's meditate on these words.

So we're going to sing now. Praise to the Lord.

Praise to the Lord.

Wonderful singing. Please stay standing. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory. Let us sing now. Immortal, invisible.

Well, before we continue in our singing and then, of course, to the preaching of the word of God, we do want to take a moment and to understand that God's people are called to pray for our government.

We're living in challenging days. And I really, really want to encourage us to pray, to pray for our country, to pray for our president. We have an election coming up. There's so much confusion going on with COVID.

So many people's lives. One city has had an increase in suicide of 600 percent. So really, as Christians, we're to be light and salt, right? And we can't be when we're working at home. We can't be if we're not out, you know, shopping like we normally do and do those kinds of things.

But one thing we can do for sure, and that is to be faithful to pray.

Amen.

And I really challenge you every day. Pray for our government. Pray for our president. Pray for the Supreme Court. Pray for the Congress. Pray for the state for what's going on in our government, in our state.

We could go on and on. But the verse that kind of sort of came to my heart for this morning before we go to Lord and prayer is in 2 Timothy chapter 3.

Where it says,.

But know this, that in the last days, perilous, difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves. Lovers of money.

Boasters.

Proud. Blasphemers. Disobedient to parents. Unthankful. Unholy. Unloving. Unforgiving. Slanderers. Without self-control.

Brutal.

Despisers of good. Traitors. Headstrong.

Haughty.

Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away. For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women.

Loaded down with sins. Led away by various lusts. Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Janus and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds.

Disapproved concerning the faith. But they will progress no further. For their folly will be manifest to all as theirs also was. But you have carefully followed my doctrine. Manner of life. Purpose.

Faith.

Long-suffering.

Love.

Perseverance. Persecutions. Afflictions. Which happen to be at Antioch. And at Iconium. And at Lystra. What persecutions I endured. And out of them all.

Here it is.

What a wonderful promise. Out of them all. The Lord delivered me.

Yes.

And all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse. Deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of.

Knowing from whom you have learned them. And that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures. Which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God.

And is profitable for doctrine.

For reproof.

For correction. For instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete. Thoroughly equipped for every good work. May God have his blessing to the reading of his word. Would you agree we're living in difficult days?

Would you agree that that accurately describes what we're living in in our day? But would you also agree that out of them all the Lord will deliver us?

Amen?

And not maybe in this life. But in the one to come. For all eternity.

Let's pray.

Father God, you tell us and command us to pray for our leaders. For kings. We know that you have put the governor of this state.

The legislatures.

The super majority that is going on right now in Sacramento at the capital. The president, vice president. There is not a single power. In place that you have not ordained. And, God, that is really beyond our ability to understand totally.

When we think about what's going on in North Korea. When we think about the ethnic minorities in China that are, as they estimate, based upon the size of the camps, a million and a half to three million ethnic Uyghurs in concentration camps in western China.

And, God, with what's going on in our country, with businesses, it's beyond our ability to understand. But we know that you are a God that cares that not a bird falls to the ground. That you don't know that.

That every hair on our head is numbered. We know, God, that you can do anything you want to do. That's what the Bible tells us. So we plead with you for grace and mercy. We pray for families that have been impacted.

Business owners that have lost their business. People that have lost their jobs, God. Family members, Father, that are being affected in various ways by this. We pray, Father, for Stefan and Miko that have just recently moved to Texas.

A dream come true in that sense, God. We pray, Father, for our country. You know, Lord, that the church has, in many respects, dropped the ball. Father, as we look at our own lives, God, we know that there's opportunities we have to share the gospel.

We haven't done it. We know, God, that it is only the gospel that is going to change people's hearts. Laws don't change people's hearts. Legislation doesn't change people's hearts. The gospel does. So, Father, we lift up our nation.

We pray for the salvation of political leaders, God. I pray for that capital ministry, how this is impacting them, where legislators are not in their office. They're doing things on video. You know all these situations, God, and we do pray and do plead with you, God, for your mercy upon our nation.

You would protect us, God, that your will would be done in all branches of government, Father. You would give wisdom to those Christians that serve, as I hear constantly, this Christian, that Christian, serving in the White House, serving in think tanks, serving in ministries, Father, targeting state legislators and governors.

I pray for them, God, that you would strengthen them, that you would hold them, Father, fast in your hand, that they would know that they could trust you, God, and that you will guide them as they move forward in their ministries, God, and in their service to our country.

We pray for the men and women in uniform, Father, that protect us, for their safety. And, God, we pray for our church family. We pray, God, that as a church, Faith Bible Church, even if we're not here today, even if we're watching by video, God, that you will unify us, strengthen us as a church family, God, that we would be people of the book, people of the word, that we will learn from the experiences of Israel, God, for our betterment.

Well, in light of what John shared in the passage from 2 Timothy, I'd like to share another verse with you. It's always been close to me, and I've drawn strength from it, and that's Philippians 4, 6, and 7.

Many of you know that verse. It is, That is our hope, and we can hold on to that today and tomorrow and for the rest of our lives. Please stand with me again as we sing, Like a River Glorious.

Praise God.

The Book of Numbers as an Overview of Israel’s Journey

Open your Bibles to the book of Numbers, and how about if we go to Numbers 11, okay? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers 11. And I apologize. I will have notes for the people that are watching from home, and I will have notes for you guys next week, and I'll fill in the blanks for you, okay?

But we want to finish up the book of Numbers, and I'm so thankful for those of you that came out today because it's so encouraging to see eye to eye, and I just found out that two of the men are willing to read Scripture, so we'll go back to a Scripture-reading schedule.

Jack, if you're watching from home, you will, huh?

Three?

Oh, okay.

Very good.

So we will have that, and please remember to be sitting at least one row from everybody, okay, just for the social distancing. That's a loving thing to do, and if you want to wear a mask, then you wear a mask.

So we're doing an airplane view of the Old Testament. I'm already working on Deuteronomy, and it looks like it'll be one message, even though it's a pretty extensive book, but Numbers, two messages, so we're going to finish it up.

And remember, it's a book about what? The title of the book is Numbers, so what do you think the book has to do with? Numbers, right?

Exodus?

You don't have to go to seminary to know it's about an exit, right?

Exodus?

See the exit signs?

Where are they?

Can you see one?

No.

I can see them. Anyway, exit, right? An exit for God's glory. Numbers, it's about numbering, and it's about specifically two numberings. One occurs at the beginning of the book. Israel has just come out of the Promised Land.

They're camped at the bottom of Mount Sinai, and God says, take a census, and then at the end of the book, if you read it, you've had time, hopefully, at the end of the book, there's another census. When they're getting ready to go into the Promised Land, they're going to cross the Jordan River in the book of Joshua.

They're going to go into the Promised Land, and God has them take a census at the beginning of that adventure and just before they head into the Promised Land. So 40 years in the wilderness, a census, a numbering before and after.

And you might remember last week we saw that the book basically has two main key ideas. People complaining and God forgiving, right? So if you think of the book of Numbers, Numbers, remember the cartoon, and maybe next week I'll talk to Victor.

I'll have some slides for you next week. The numbers running around the wilderness with their blindfolds on, okay, that's a great way to remember. And just think, the counting before and after, before at Mount Sinai, and then before they go into the land, and people complaining and God forgiving.

Aren't you thankful for God?

God is just.

God is just. He has to punish sin. He said the penalty for sin is going to be death. And because He's just, He has to punish sin. Even though He's just, He is also of God of grace. And He freely forgives because of the life, ministry, and work of Jesus Christ.

The death, burial, the birth, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we saw last week that the book of Numbers has three basic parts to it. Israel at Mount Sinai, camped. Israel, 40 years, wandering around in the wilderness, in Kadesh Barnea, in that whole area in the wilderness.

And then finally, right before they cross the Jordan River up in the northern part of that area of the ancient Near Middle East in an area called Moab.

Okay?

So, Mount Sinai, SKM. Can you say that? SKM. Mount Sinai, Kadesh, Moab. That's the outline. And last week we looked at God's preparation. The time at the base of Mount Sinai was preparation. Preparation.

They had to build the tabernacle, right? They had to have a place to worship. God had to give them some things. Hey, I'm going to feed you. I'm going to take care of you. All of that stuff was preparation to go into the wilderness.

And that's what we covered last week. Chapters 1 through 10. They were numbered at Mount Sinai. God's chosen people were prepared at Mount Sinai for the trip north into the promised land. That's part 1.

And then we come to part 2. And part 2 is best described, and it takes up from chapter 11 to 16, is best described as God's people's failure at Kadesh. Failure in the wilderness. Remember, in spite of God's preparation, His incredible setting them up for this journey, His visible presence in the middle of the camp, right?

A pillar by fire at night, a cloud during the day. Despite all of that, despite all that they had seen God doing, they had ongoing hindrances and problems and issues trusting Him. I mean, I'm going to take you out of Egypt, and the first thing they did was what?

Literally, read the book, the very first thing they did was complain. Oh, to go back to Egypt where we had all this stuff, right? And we can refer to this complaining as sin, which I'm going to call failure.

And this tragedy is seen throughout the Bible. But especially when you read chapters 11 through 16, the people are wandering around in the wilderness near Kadesh. And try to put yourself and picture this if you can.

From Genesis all the way through the plagues in Egypt, to the parting of the Red Sea, to the manna that they found every morning, except on Sundays, to the water that He provided. From the moment they left Egypt, God faithfully and miraculously provided for His people.

And yet, they still had this ongoing problem of not trusting Him. And this failure is demonstrated a number of ways. We won't take time to look at them all in chapters 11 through 16. Number one, their failure to trust the Lord is seen in their constant complaining.

And the complaining wasn't new. As I just said, they complained basically from the time that they left Egypt all the way to Mount Sinai. And really, when you break it down, the complaining revolved around their failure to trust God.

Look at chapter 11, verse 1. Chapter 11, verse 1. Now, when the people, what?

Complained.

Okay? And we can add complained again because this isn't the first time. And notice God's response to this failure. And look carefully, right alongside the complaining. Right alongside God's response.

Look how this evolves. Now, when the people complained, it displeased the Lord, for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.

Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. So he called the name of that place, Teberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them. So the people complained.

We don't have time. I was going to read a lot more, but we just don't have time. But it's rooted in a lack of trust. They complain about their difficulty. They complain about their hardships. They also complain about their food, which occupies most of the rest of chapter 11.

Look at verse 4. Now, the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving. So the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.

Are you ready for lunch? I mean, every time I read that, I get hungry. But now our whole being is dried up. There is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes. And then later, look at verse 14.

Moses cries out to God, Where am I going to get meat to give all these people? They weep all over me saying, Give us meat that we may eat. And the list goes on, and it goes on through the rest of the chapter into chapter 12.

But I want you to see in verses 1 through 3. Go back up there. In verse 2, the people cried out to Moses. And when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. So what do we see there? Moses' intercession, God's grace, God's forgiveness, God's mercy.

What is that pointing to?

To our great high priest, interceding for us this very day, this very moment. This old covenant pointing us to the new covenant. Now chapter 12, verse 1. It goes so far that even, listen, even Miriam, Moses' own sister, starts complaining.

Then Miriam and Aaron, his right-hand man, spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman which he had married. For he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?

Has he not spoken through us also? Uh-oh, somebody was listening. The Lord heard it.

You know what?

When we complain, somebody besides whoever we're complaining to is listening. You ever thought about that? God's listening. Now, some people get caught up in this, that this is all going on because Moses married this Ethiopian woman.

But it's really not the issue. Because verse 2 really gives us the answer. Why are they complaining? Has God indeed spoken only through Moses? That is the issue. Complaining and more complaining. And see, one way, if you want to get the rubber where the rubber meets the road, if you want to get to how this kind of stuff and this complaining applies to us, if you want to strap on the sandals that they were wearing and say, Okay, what does this all have to do with me?

And ask this question, How might this failure of God's people under the old covenant apply to me today? And one of the things that really helps get traction when it comes to taking all of the stuff that's going on in this Old Testament is, and a lot of Christians make this mistake, we have to have a foundational kind of a freshman biblical theology and understand a very important truth.

In the Old Testament, when God is talking about Israel, he's talking about his people, right? Under the old covenant. Who are his people today? Anybody under the new covenant. So we're not talking, when we talk about Israel in the Old Testament, we're not talking about unbelievers.

We're talking about professing believers, right? We are the seed of Abraham. What did the Pharisees keep saying to Jesus all along?

Hey, we're the seed of Abraham.

We belong to God. So one of the ways to get some teeth to what's going on in the Old Testament and applying it to us is to realize that God, these things are happening to professing believers. Are you with me?

Shake your head. I get that. In other words, we could say, now this is not correct, but we could say, talking to people in the church.

You understand?

These are old covenant professing believers. We're new covenant. So we're not, but it's talking to people who said, who would have said like today, what do you mean? I'm a Christian. And you say, okay, where do you get that all from?

Well, how about Matthew chapter seven? Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not cast out demons? Did we not do this? Did we not give to the poor? And what does Jesus say to them? Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.

I never knew you. So to make that link between the Old Testament, Israel and New Testament believers and help us to understand, how do I apply all this to me? We have to say, wait a minute. He's talking to people who would say today, I'm a Christian.

I belong to Jesus.

All right.

Now, where do you go from there? Ask a question. Do I find myself complaining? How often do I find myself complaining? And I don't know about anybody else here. Please don't talk to my family. Guilty as charged.

How often do I find myself concentrating on what's wrong rather than what's right? Focusing on, oh, I only have manna to eat and no potato chips. Guilty as charged. Believers need to look in the mirror and say, am I a complainer?

See, we want to separate ourselves from these unbelievers in the Old Testament. That's not who this is. We're talking about professing believers. Am I truly trusting God in all things? This happened at our school this very week.

Because we're focusing on the fact that the county just issued an order on Thursday making it impossible for us to have in-person instruction. Up until Thursday, we as a private school could have in-person instruction.

You can't believe the reaction of some of the parents. We had our orientation Saturday morning. I talked, this lady came up to me and she was so upset. Because she's coming to our school, she took her child out of public school and brought her to our school because we would be open for in-person instruction.

And now it's been pulled out. And she's a Christian. And here's Moses interceding. And here's Jesus interceding. The only thing that can change this behavior is the gospel.

Do you understand?

What is all this pointing to? Their need for the gospel, their need to trust God, our need to trust God. Our need to trust in God, not in chariots and horses and attorneys. And that's what we're going to do as a school.

And I think I encourage you as a church. You know what we need to be doing for our country? We need to be praying for our country. Do we need to write legislatures? Do we need to vote?

Absolutely.

But the number one thing we need to do is to pray and to trust God. That's what Israel needed to do instead of complain. So secondly, a second example of Israel's failure is seen in their rebellion. Israel failed to trust God.

That led to complaining and that led to rebellion. Go to chapter 13. This chapter is an amazing chapter because it begins with so much hope. And if you're looking at it, you're going, Uh-oh, John, this is one reason why I stopped reading at the book of Numbers.

Because I had to say all these names. Reuben, Shamuan, Zakar. No, no, we're not going to do all that. Go to verse 1. Look at this. This is fantastic. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel.

From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them. So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of the men who were heads of the children of Israel.

Now, hope. After all the centuries of God's waiting, God's people, all those years in Egypt, right? Those 40 years in the wilderness, they are poised to enter the promised land and to prepare them for that entrance, right?

God tells them to go ahead and pick out these men, leaders from each tribe, and they're going to go as spies and they're going to go into the land and they're going to evaluate it. And did you notice that God specifically says a leader from each tribe?

All right?

Now, watch what happens. We get all these names. I'm not going to read them, and you don't have to read them. Look at verse 13. The spies returned. Whoops, not verse 13. Did I mess up? Oh, verse 26. Sorry about that.

Now, they departed and came back, the spies, to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.

I mean, they're all excited. They all come back. They got fruit. I mean, they're carrying, you know, big grapes and everything else. Look at what happens.

They told him, they said,.

We went to the land where you sent us.

It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is the fruit.

Uh-oh.

But nevertheless,.

The people who dwell in the land are strong. The cities are fortified and very large. And moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there and the Amalekites dwell in the land of the south. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites.

Dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.

Nevertheless, God said,.

This is your land. I'm giving it to you. And they go into the land, and everything is exactly how God told them.

But. Oh, no.

Nevertheless,.

When someone responds to a promise of God with nevertheless or with the word but, they're headed in the wrong direction. Go to chapter, or go to verse 30. Then Caleb quieted the people. So what happened?

They reacted.

Okay, here's all this wonderful thing.

We're all excited.

But.

Okay, calm down, calm down. Calm down. Let us go up at once and take possession. For we are well able to overcome it. Now, what did Caleb base that on? God's promises.

Right?

Doesn't that echo James 1? If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, but let him not ask doubting.

Hey, if we ask God for wisdom, has he promised us to give it to us? Yes. Do you see this? You see how this is just...

Now, watch. But the men... But, another but.

Nevertheless,.

The men who had gone up with him said, we are not able to go up against his people, for they are stronger than we. And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, the land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature, and we saw these giants.

What are they saying? We can't attack these people. They are stronger than we are.

It is amazing.

God promised them deliverance from Egypt. It happened.

God said,.

Don't fear this Egyptian army, this Red Sea divided.

God said,.

I'm going to feed you manna. He fed them.

God says,.

Your clothes aren't going to wear out. They didn't wear out. Your shoes aren't going to wear out. They didn't wear out.

God said,.

I'm going to protect you from your enemies. They had no enemies while they were in Kadesh. But now, all of a sudden,.

God's going to say,.

Well, I'm done with this. There's the land. It's exactly like I told you, but I'm not going to protect you from those enemies, even though I've protected you from all these enemies.

You see?

Some spies come back. They spread this bad report. A little bit of gossip. A little bit here. A little bit there. Some bad leaven to this person. Some more to someone else. And do you know the same thing happens in businesses today?

The same thing happens in churches today. There's a pattern. Someone or a few people express a little doubt, a little concern here. They might acknowledge the good things, but then, nevertheless, they raise question.

They sow seeds of doubt and dissension, and pretty soon, the leaven has leavened the whole loaf.

Verse 32.

They gave the children of Israel a bad report. And this is exactly how it goes among God's people 4 ,000 or so years later today. You go to chapter 14. What happens next? That night, all the people of the community, as a result of this bad report, look at chapter 14.

So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. And the whole congregation said to them, if only we had died in the land of Egypt.

If only we had died in this wilderness. Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?

So they said to one another, let us select a leader and return to Egypt. Joshua and Caleb, at their wits' end. Verse 9. Do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of land, for they are our bread.

Their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us.

Do not fear them.

And look at verse 10. Look at what the bad report brought them to. Look how far down they go. Verse 10. All the congregation said to stone them with stones. So sad and so tragic, isn't it? The people fail.

They complain, they rebel. Now what happens? What's the result of this failure? Well, God is merciful, but God is also just. You know, by His very nature, God has to judge sin. He's told them that. Remember, fire consumed some of the people at the edge of the camp.

He told them, hey, if you sin, you know the wages of sin is death. He has no choice but to execute judgment. And this begins in verse 10. The glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle and meeting before the children of...

It begins there. And it goes all... And it plays out through chapter 16. In response to their rebellion, God punishes the people. The Lord's verdict directly follows their talk of stoning Joshua and Caleb.

Verse 10. The glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle and meeting before the children of Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, how long will these people reject me?

How long will they not believe me?

With all the signs which I have performed among them, I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them. And I will make of you, Moses, a nation greater and mightier than they. What does Moses do?

What does Jesus do? Moses said to the Lord, the Egyptians will hear it, for by your might you brought these people from among them. And they will tell it to the inhabitants of the land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among these people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands above them, and you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

If you kill these people as one man, then the nations, which have heard of your fame, will speak, and so on and so forth. What is the message of numbers? People complaining, and God, what? Forgiving. Look at verse 20.

Moses goes on, verse 20. I have pardoned, according to your word. The Lord again forgives. He doesn't immediately sweep Israel off the face of the earth, but there are consequences. You go to chapter 14, verse 22.

Where am I? Yeah, verse 22. Because all these men who have seen my glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and have put me to the test, now these ten times have not heeded my voice.