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ROUTE 66

6. Destination: Numbers

Numbers is the 4th offering in the writings of Moses known as the

Pentateuch (The Five Books). Numbers is the 5th largest book in the Old

Testament. It contains 36 Chapters, 1,288 Verses. GENESIS — was about CREATION (beginnings). The creation of the heavens and earth. The creation and beginnings of mankind. In Genesis we see the first sin and we hear God make the first Gospel proclamation. All of that in the first three chapters. Genesis 12-50 dealt with God choosing a man named Abraham through whom God would create the nation of Israel — through that nation the savior of the world would come. EXODUS — was about REDEMPTION and INSTRUCTION. By the blood of a lamb God redeemed Israel from Egypt. God’s people moved from death and bondage in Egypt to the Government of God. God revealed to them how they are to live before Him and how they’re to live with one another. He led the Israelites to Mount Sinai where they camped here for a YEAR (Numbers 10). During that year at the base of Sinai the 10 commandments are given; the Law is given; the design for the tabernacle is given and it is constructed.

LEVITICUS — tells us what holiness looks like in the worship and walk of the redeemed believer.

NUMBERS — is about PREPARATION; preparing the children of Israel for what they will face once they cross the Jordan and they enter into the Promised Land; preparation to further the Kingdom of God.

Numbers is a big landmark on Route 66 because it pictures for us the work of God in preparing the New Testament church (you and me) to participate in the furtherance of His Kingdom.

THE TITLE — of the book is a bit misleading. Numbers gets its name because the people of God are numbered three times in the book. Once in Chapter 1, another in Chapter 3, and a final one in Chapter 26. But the book is about much, much more than numbering the people. The very title of the book, and the opening chapter that is 54 verses long and filled with names discourages a whole lot of people from making their way through

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Numbers. A lot of Christians have passed this off ramp on Route 66 and in doing that they’ve missed out on the wealth of spiritual value that is tucked away in the book of Numbers. Think of it like seeing a road sign on the freeway that says food and lodging ahead. The list of food services looks boring and from the freeway the town looks less that interesting — it looks like one of those places you’d only get off at if your bladder was about to explode. But unbeknownst to you there‘s a dozen incredible places to eat that are packed with incredible art and music. As a baby Christian I had no idea that there was such a thing as the book of Numbers in the Bible. You know how I discovered the treasures in this book of the Bible? My pastor taught through every book of the Bible. I just knew that every time I showed up he was going to say, “Let’s turn in our Bibles to _ _ _ _ .“ And every time he did that I was filled with truth, fell in love with God and fell more in love with His Word, and began to see that this really is God’s book and that it’s all about Jesus. The name Numbers was given to this book when the Bible was translated from Hebrew into Greek a couple of hundred years before Christ. Prior to that, the book carried a different name. It was taken from the very first verse of the very first chapter in the book.

Numbers 1:1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai The ancient title of this book was In the Wilderness. That title reveals the content of this 4

th book of Moses. It tells us that this book is going to follow

the children of Israel in their journeying through the wilderness. WHY IS NUMBERS SO IMPORTANT that the Holy Spirit saw fit to inspire it and preserve it for us? 1.

Numbers supplies for us a wealth of background information that will help us in understanding the rest of scripture. It’s pregnant (if-you-would) with people and events that are going to be influential and significant as the story of God’s redeeming plans and purposes unfolds in the rest of the Bible. Here are a few: Caleb’s heroics, the national unbelief, the water from the rock, the bronze serpent, Balaam’s prophecy. 2.

Numbers illustrates for us some crucial New Testament truth.

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Write 1 Corinthians 10:6 in the margin of your Bible up near the title of this book. Then turn to 1 Corinthians 10.

1 Corinthians 10:6 KJV Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

These things became our example/warning. What things? Things that happened in the book of Numbers! Paul references them beginning in 1 Corinthians 10:1. I’ll read them to you

1 Corinthians 10:1-5 NLT 1I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and

sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground.

2In the cloud and in the sea, all of them

were baptized as followers of Moses. 3All of them ate the same spiritual

food, 4and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank

from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. 5Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were

scattered in the wilderness. That’s the Book of Numbers. Then Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:6 — "Now, these things became our examples." As Paul continues there in Corinthians Paul tells us that the people and events in Numbers are recorded for us

Verse 6 — "so that we should not lust", Verse 7 — "and not become idolaters" Verse 8 — “nor commit sexual immorality" Verse 9 — "nor tempt Christ" Verse 10 — "nor complain" Verses 11-12 —

“Now these things happened to them as an example,

but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.

12Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take

heed lest he fall.”

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Six things we learn to stay away from by studying the Book of Numbers. Numbers is written just for you and me so that we can be instructed and grow in our relationship with Jesus. While we’re in the New Testament — make another right hand turn and go to the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 3:16-19 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?

17And with whom was he

provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?

18And to whom did he swear that they

would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19

So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Numbers teaches us huge lessons concerning disobedience and unbelief. 3.

Numbers is loaded with Messianic prophecy. It is packed with predictions concerning the coming of Jesus and pictures of Jesus. We’ll glance at a few of them and look at one in greater detail at the end of our time.

THE FLOW OF THE BOOK Remember — Genesis covers 3200 years. Exodus covers 82 years. Leviticus covers a month. Numbers covers 38 years. The book of Numbers is going to follow the Children of Israel as they march from Mount Sinai in the wilderness and finally arrive at the border of the Promised Land. The purpose of those 38 years? God is training His people, preparing His people for the special role that they’re going to play in the plan of Redemption. Here’s the big benefit to this series — We see the unity of this amazing collection of inspired writing we call the Bible. Remember — In Genesis God chose a man named Abraham. He promised Abraham three things: Seed, Sod, Salvation. He promised Abraham a son — and through that son a nation would come into existence. He promised Abraham land for his descendants (we call that place “the Promised Land”). And through Abrahams descendants would come the Savior of the world. Numbers is all about God moving His people forward in their role in that plan.

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I’m going to say something here that I hope you don't misconstrue. The flow of the Bible from here forward is: Numbers, Deuteronomy, and then Joshua (the account of the Israelites gong into the land of promise). In a perfect world, there would never have been the need for the book of Deuteronomy. Let me explain. Deuteronomy means “Second Law.” It’s not new truth. It’s old truth for a new generation. Moses is reiterating the law that was supposed to be taught to this new generation by their parents in the land of promise. We know that because God of what God says to the new generation in Deuteronomy 6:7

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

In Deuteronomy Moses had to instruct a new generation of Israelites because their parents never brought them into the land of promise. The adults that came out of Egypt should have made it to the promised land in eleven days. And when they got their it going to be their joy and privilege to live in the promised land by faith — and teach their kids the truths they were taught by Moses at Sinai. BUT HERE’S THE DEAL — Numbers tells us that the adults that were redeemed out of Egypt spent their lives wandering in the wilderness because of their unbelief — and died outside the promised land. Their children went into the land of promise orphaned. But in His faithfulness, God met that new generation. So when we get to Deuteronomy we will already have a sense that Deuteronomy is huge because that whole book is God meeting man in his failure. The Book of Numbers begins thirteen months after they left Egypt.

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When we read Numbers 1:1 they had spent essentially a year camped at Mount Sinai. They received the Law of God. They built the tabernacle. After finishing the tabernacle, God gave them specific instructions for worship (the book of Leviticus). Numbers will begin at Sinai. They will receive further instruction. They’ll be there 19 days — and then they’ll begin to head out on their journey towards the Promised Land. THAT is the story line of Numbers. I want to read a short verse from the opening chapter of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 1:2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of

Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. BIG STUFF — Kadesh Barnea is the place where they would camp and from that encampment send out a team of men on a reconnaissance mission within the land of Canaan. Sinai to Kadesh Barnea — an eleven day journey. 19 days at Sinai — 11 day journey to Kadesh Barnea. That’s 30 days by my math. How many years does Numbers cover? THIRTY-EIGHT! We’ll see why tonight. A BIG FEATURE OF NUMBERS — Numbers is a book on the move. There’s motion taking place. THE DIVISION OF THE BOOK — Numbers divides fairly naturally into three sections. Chapters 1-14 — deal with the first generation of Israelites that came out of Egypt. Chapters 15-20 deal with their wandering. Chapters 21-36 deal with the second generation, the new generation of Israelites that will go in to possess the land promised by God to Abraham. They’ll be instructed on what to do when they enter into the land. So, let’s get going.

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NUMBERS 1-14 They deal with the generation that came out of Egypt. We’re going to cut this first section into three slices The first slice is Chapters 1-4 — They have to do with organizing the people of God. This is big stuff! There are 2-3 million people out in the wilderness. God desires to lead them. God has a plan and a purpose for them. That demands Organization! They can’t go in 2 million different directions. Those of you that have children understand this concept. When they’re little, it gets really hard when you’re outnumbered — because they all want to go different directions. There has to be some level of organization. So, God’s going to organize his people. The first thing He does is take a census.

NUMBERS 1 2“Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by

clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. Count the men! Now, the next verse is important. 3From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to

war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. All the men over 20 (he doesn’t tell us where the cutoff point is). But here’s the key — only those men over 20 and only those men who are able to go to war. In this first census God is counting only the people that are going to play a part in furthering the Kingdom. Numbers is about preparing them for battle. They are going to conquer the land of Canaan. The Book of Genesis makes it very clear that God gave the Canaanites 430 years to turn to him before he sent Israel in to judge them. There are lots of people who think God is unfair by displacing the Canaanites and giving the land to the Israelites. That’s not what was happening at all! God had extended mercy to the Canaanites for 430 years. God waited patiently for 430 years for the Canaanites to repent of their idolatry and immorality. 430 years of God’s mercy, patience, love and

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the grace of God — and all of it was ignored, spit on, and trampled on. The Israelites were not only entering the land to possess the promise made to Abraham — they were entering as God’s instrument of judgment on the godless, vile, pagan culture of the people in that land. Numbers is a book about war. There’s not a lot of wars fought in the book. But the word 'war' is used over 30 times in the book; the word 'battle' at least seven times. That's more times than any other book of the Bible. Joshua is the book where they battle and conquer, right? The word 'war' is used more times in the book of Numbers because if God’s people aren’t organized and prepared for war Joshua won't have success. God's work is always organized — it’s always worked out God's way.

NUMBERS speaks to the reality of spiritual warfare in the Christian life. The land of promise for the believer is not located on a map. The land of promise in the Old Testament speaks of the abundant life that Jesus died for us to possess, to live in. We need to be prepared for that. God organizes our lives individually, organizes the church, corporately, to enable us to possess allthat belongs to us in Jesus. This specific census comes up with 603,550 able men ready for war, 603,550. Is that a big army? Well it all depends on how big the other army is! In Chapter 13 Moses sent men into spy out the land.

Numbers 13:17-18 17

Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, 18

and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many,

When the men come back they essentially say — 603,550 are not enough. BIG LESSON — God didn't have the people number the army so they would say — 603,550! Nobody can stand against us! The point was this — Know your people. Organize them. But the numbers of men fit for war is not your source of strength or victory.

Ephesians 6:10 10

Finally, be strong in (who) — the Lord and in the strength of (what) — his might.

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Caleb and Joshua looked at the Lord. The other spies and the multitude of the people looked at the armies of the Canaanites. So the first lesson we

learn about getting ready for battle is that our strength is in the Lord.

NUMBERS 2 1The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

2“The people of Israel

shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. Whenever they stopped, The Levites — those who did ministry in the tabernacle, were divided into four groups. The pitched their tents around tabernacle. Then the 12 tribes were divided into four groups and they circled the tabernacle. If you we’re to look down on the nation of Israel as they encamped in the wilderness you would see two things. ONE — At the center of their camp was the tabernacle. The tabernacle is where God met with man and man could meet with God. FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD was the center of life for God’s people. That was God's design. They couldn’t miss His centrality. Every opening to every tent faced the Tabernacle and the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. HERE’S THE PICTURE — The same is true of us individually and of us as a church. Individually — Jesus wants to be the centerpiece — the focal point! Our lives move from Him, around Him and for Him! The first thing we face when we wake up — Jesus, The last thing we face when we go to sleep — Jesus! Jesus central — Jesus pre-eminent! Loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Corporately — the priority of Metro is to keep Jesus central. Everything we do, and the way we do it — should be very intentional to the end that Jesus is the centerpiece and focal point. TWO — God had a place for each individual, each family. 603,550 soldiers, and God had a place for each and every one of them. That place was related to the camp — where they fit in the whole company of the redeemed. God selected where you camped. They actually camped under a banner. Tradition has it that these banners were the same color as the gems that

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the high priests wore on his chest representing each tribe. Each tribe had its place around the tabernacle. Each tribe had its banner — and the members of each tribe camped under their banner. That was their place. And when it came time to march they would march according to that camp. HERE’S THE PICTURE — This is an Old Testament preview of the Body of Christ and the local church! God has a desire to further His kingdom in this world. That's his desire. In fact, Jesus told us to pray for that. "Father, your Kingdom come" — right? God's method for advancing the sphere of His rule is the Church. The world outside of Jesus is nothing more than a collection of billions of little Kingdoms of One! Individualism. The individual relates to the world around him on the basis of how everyone else can serve his individual desires and needs. Then God rescues you out of your dark, doomed, claustrophobic Kingdom of One and places you into the collection of men and women living for God’s Kingdom and God’s glory! God's method for reaching the world is The Church. Each an every authentic Christian is placed, by God’s choosing, into a local assembly of believers. If we're going to be battle ready, if we are going to be prepared and organized to advance the Kingdom of God and the mission of God to make disciples — we need to be in “the camp” right where God wants us to be.

NUMBERS 3-4 — bring us to the third area of business and that is:

“Who’s going to do the work of the ministry?” Remember — In chapter 1 they numbered the 603,550 guys whose job was to go to battle. In that numbering there was one tribe that didn't get numbered — the Tribe of Levi. God said, Don't number those guys. Please know this — This was in no way an easy out — like a deferment in the draft! It’s not that the tribe of Levi didn't go to battle. They were just called to engage in a different kind of battle — a different arena of warfare. It’s interesting that the word used to speak of the Levites serving is a word that's is translated other places in the Old Testament as fighting a war. Instead of taking a physical sword and going into the field, they were going to fight for the spiritual maturing and development of the nation. THE LEVITES — Their job description

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Numbers 3:6-7 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.

7They shall keep

guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. They were to serve the Aaron, the high priest, they were to serve the people, and they were to serve the tabernacle. HERE’S THE PICTURE — God chose an entire tribe to do the work of the ministry in the Tabernacle. An entire tribe is given to Aaron, the high priest, to minister to him. In the New Testament Jesus is called our great high priest. We don't need to a priest or some clergyman to represent us; we don't need a "go between"; we can go directly to the Father through our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament says that we are a royal priesthood! Theologians call this “the priesthood of the believers.” We have been given to Jesus Christ to do His work as part of the body of Christ while He is away. We minister to Jesus in our service. We minister for Jesus in our service — serving the Body of Christ — serving in the church. If you're a Christian — God has chosen you to serve Jesus — the congregation of the redeemed and the house of the Lord. He not only chooses us to serve — He gifts us and organizes us for that work. We ought to be about the business of discovering our gifts, seeing where we fit, seeing how we can be a part of the Lord's work on earth, and then serve the Lord with all of our heart.

NUMBERS 5 The first four chapters dealt with outward organization — the next couple of chapters deal with inward condition. Chapters 5-6 teach us that camp has to be holy. In Chapter 5 the people are about things that they need to avoid. There were people that have become unclean by the behavior; they needed to be cleansed. There are some people that are involved in sin; they need to repent. There are some marital problems, some unfaithfulness in marriage — and for the camp to be holy all of those things need to be addressed.

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So before they go marching God says, You have to deal with the things that are wrong within. In Chapter 6 there are some things that needed to be encouraged. Chapter 6 is one of the very interesting chapters in the Old Testament because it tells us about the vow of the Nazarite. This vow could be taken by anyone on the nation — no age restraint, no gender restraint, no time restraint. The vow of the Nazarite was all about consecration. During the duration of this time of special consecration you weren’t to touch a dead body, you weren’t to eat anything that comes from the vine, and you weren’t to cut your hair. The cutting of the hair meant the end of the vow. You could do that at any time — at any time you could say, The time of my vow is completed — and signify it by cutting your hair. The most famous person associated with this vow was Samson. His was unique in that he was to be a Nazarite for life. Everyone knows that his demise was the cutting of his hair. For Samson to let Delilah cut his hair was essentially saying — I'm not committed to the Lord anymore. That was why his strength departed from him. HERE’S THE PICTURE — Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. Chapter 5 — If we’re going to move forward, make progress in the plan of God, we need to keep sin out of the camp. Chapter 6 — If we’re going to move forward, make progress in the plan of God, we need to go to a deeper level in our commitment to the Lord.

NUMBERS 7 — Continues in the theme of consecration. There's an

offering there by the leaders. 2the chiefs of Israel, heads of their fathers’ houses, who were the

chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were listed, approached 3and brought their offerings before the Lord,

Their offering is very interesting and instructive. None of what they offered to the Lord was required by God in the ministry of the tabernacle — but it was all useful. Especially the carts and the oxen!

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The Levites rather were divided up into four groups. Aaron's group was the priests — then there were three other groups. Each of these three groups were given responsibilities, and those responsibilities were labor intensive. Some of the guys had to carry heavy silver blocks that were the foundation stones that the tabernacle was built on. It was their job to carry them from camp to camp. I don't know if you’ve ever picked up a cinderblock — but imagine going on a day and a half journey and your job is to carry that cinderblock. That thing is going to get really heavy really quick. Here’s what’s sweet about this offering. These men were the princes among the people — perhaps well off, successful, leaders — and they were looking at and thinking about these guys who are going to be doing the heavy lifting. They said, There's got to be a better way than throwing a heavy silver block on your shoulder and walking for a day. Let's build carts — and we can give these guys carts and they can put those blocks on the cart and let the wheel and the oxen do the work! Now there were certain things that weren't allowed to be carried on carts — like the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. But other things could be. Here’s what’s so beautiful about this — it doesn't say that God told them to do it. They were just looking around — looking for needs they could meet. They said, We’re here to help — we want to help you serve better, more efficiently so you can serve more effectively. What a great way being a part of what God's doing — praying for the church, praying for what God's doing — looking at how ministry can be done better.

NUMBERS 9-10 — are critical to the theme of preparation. The

people are learning how to follow the Lord! They’ve been organized — shown their place among the redeemed! In Chapter 9 we learn that they were to move when the Lord moved (when the cloud by day or pillar of fire by night moved) and they were to stop when the Lord stopped. In Chapter 10 we learn about two silver trumpets. Those trumpets were to be sounded to break camp and make camp. They were to be used to call the entire congregation to the tabernacle — they were used to call the leaders of the nation, and they were used to call people to war.

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Moving in the will of God. Following God into His will!

QUOTE: J. Sidlow Baxter — "Our motto must be this. The will of God, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else, always everywhere and at all cost." "Our Lord's work for us is perfect. We must rest in it. Our Lord's word to us is perfect. We must live in it. And our Lord's will for us is perfect. We must walk in it." There's a story about a pilot who was landing his plane on really foggy day. He couldn't see the ground and he had never been trained in how to fly or land by instrument. So he radioed to the tower and the tower was walking him through all the things he needed to do to land safely. But the pilot knew the terrain. Even though he couldn't see the terrain he knew there were hills and tall buildings and he started to panic. The tower could hear the panic in the pilot's voice and so in a stern but calm voice the tower said to the pilot, "You just obey our instructions and let us worry about the obstructions." In Numbers 9-10 God is saying — just follow my instructions. As Christians we don’t have the cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night. We don’t have the silver trumpets. But we do have the Light of God’s Word and the Leading of the Holy Spirit. There is one thing — and one thing only for us to do: He says, Walk by faith, obey His commands, and don't worry about the rest of the stuff. When we’re worrying about when God is going to move us or call us somewhere we get all panicked over “what about this, and what about that…?" Just follow instructions — just take one step of faith, and then another, and then another — and pretty soon you'll have a whole walk of faith.

Chapter 10 ends with — 35

And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.”

36And when it rested, he said, “Return, O

Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.”

NUMBERS 11-13 — we come to the place where we find out how an

11 day journey turned into 38 years of wandering. It had its beginnings roots in two things — but their undoing was unbelief.

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Numbers 11:1; 4 1And the people complained in the hearing of the

Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp….. The people went from groaning to grumbling. They were groaning in Egypt under their cruel bondage. Now that they’ve been redeemed they’ve turned to grumbling and complaining. I don't know why we have to move now — now is not a good time to move. Can't we wait two months — that would be a much better time to move. Take a look with me again at the first verse of Numbers 11

Numbers 11:1 And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Back in Numbers 2 God made it clear where everyone was supposed to be. Who was supposed to camp on the outskirts? Nobody! There wasn't supposed to be anybody on the “outskirts! Everyone was assigned a place in the inskirts The very first thing that started the process of 38 years of wandering was people deciding to be where they wanted to be, not where God wanted them to be. 4Now the rabble (KJV – mixed multitude) that was among them had a

strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat!

5We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that

cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.

6But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at

all but this manna to look at.” In Verse 4 we read about the “rabble,” "the mixed multitude” who were among — and how those people had a strong craving!

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When the Israelites left Egypt there were Egyptians who said that they didn't want to be Egyptians anymore. I don't want to be those guys; I want

to be those guys. The rabble — the mixed multitude were those who changed teams, but they didn't really commit to the Lord. Like a guy who decided that he wanted to stop hanging out in the bar and start going to church. He’s seen his friends get hurt, go to jail, even die, and he didn't want to be on that team anymore. So he starts hanging out at church — but he never gives his heart to Jesus! The rabble were men and women who had one foot in Egypt and one foot in the camp of the redeemed. They weren't fully committed to the Lord. They weren’t yielded to the Lord — they were yielded to the desires of the flesh. That didn't end so well. They said — we're sick of manna. We don't want any more manna; we want meat. God says fine. I'll send you meat! He sent quail! Enough quail to feed millions of people. They came in like waste high fastballs! The people took bats and whacked them. It says that they started devouring the meat — they gorged themselves. 33

While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague.

34Therefore the name

of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah — The Graves of Lust. What an accurate picture of fallen culture — So many buried in Graves of Lust.

NUMBERS 13 — The big sin takes place in Chapter 13.

This is the most famous part of the Book of Numbers. In Numbers 13 were told how 12 spies were sent into the land. The objective of the mission was NEVER about whether or not they should go into the land — or not go into the land. The objective was to see the goodness of the land — see the people that God was going to evict — see the enemies God was going to defeat. They discovered that the land was good! It took two men to carry a single bunch of grapes. But then they saw the walled cities and the size of the warriors.

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Numbers 13:26-31 ….They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.

27And they told

him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

28However, the people who dwell in the

land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.

29The Amalekites

dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

30But 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.” 31

Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.”

NUMBERS 14 — 1Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that

night. 2And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and

Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our

wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

4And they said to one another, “Let us

choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” 5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of

the congregation of the people of Israel. 6And Joshua the son of Nun

and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes

7and said to all the congregation

of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land.

8If the Lord delights in us, he will

bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.

9Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people

of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 unbelieving hearts undermined the faith of millions! As a result they would spend 38 years wandering in the wilderness — it was a 38 year a death march — until every one of that generation would die.

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Unbelief keeps us from walking in the abundant life that Jesus died to give to us. Those 38 years are recorded in Chapters 15-20 In Chapter 16 — there's the account of a Levite named Korah and 250

others who resented the place God had given them in Israel and claimed

that they had a right to do what Moses and Aaron were doing. The

essentially dared God to something about their rebellion. That didn't end

well!

28And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me

to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. 29

If

these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all

mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30

But if the Lord creates

something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them

up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol,

then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”

31And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the

ground under them split apart. 32

And the earth opened its mouth and

swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who

belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33

So they and all that belonged

to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them,

and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34

And all Israel who

were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth

swallow us up!” 35

And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the

250 men offering the incense.

NUMBERS 17 — God reaffirms the call of God on Aaron by causing

the staff of Aaron to bloom and bear fruit. Dead sticks don't produce fruit. It was an absolute supernatural work of God! HERE’S THE PICTURE — Fruitfulness in the Christian life, in ministry, is a miracle. We have zero capacity to produce fruit. We are dead sticks grafted into Jesus, the living vine — and HE produces fruit in and through

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our lives. God anoints someone and something supernatural happens and fruit is borne.

NUMBERS 20 — records the failure of Moses.

Numbers 20:1 1And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came

into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. DON’T MISS THIS — This is the place where their wandering began 38 years ago. They had gone in one giant circle 38 years.

And Miriam died there and was buried there. His sister dies. Where? In the wilderness. Does she get to enjoy the fruit of the land? She is the poster child of how GRUMBLING and UNBELIEF keep us from receiving everything God has promised to us in Jesus!

They start complaining again. 2Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled

themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3And the

people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord!

4Why have you brought

the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle?

5And why have you made us come up out of

Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.”

6Then Moses

and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them,

7and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

8“Take the

staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”

9And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he

commanded him.

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Moses comes out from before the Lord and says — I'm going to give you a very, very loose paraphrase — You worthless, good-for-nothing people, you never listen to God. And he takes his rod and he slams the rock and water comes out and the people drink. God takes Moses aside and says — You misrepresented me. That's not how I felt about the people — you're not going into the Promised Land. Why was this such a big deal to God? In the New Testament Paul would write that Jesus was that rock in the wilderness. It is a picture of Jesus. Jesus didn't need to be struck twice. Jesus didn't need to go to the cross twice. But here’s something I’d like us to think about. Way back in Exodus, 38 years before, they had no water, the people were desperate for water and complaining against Moses. On that occasion Moses was commanded by God to strike the rock. Moses struck the rock and water came out. Instead of naming the place, “Awesome Rock Place!” or “This is The Crazy Place Where We Hit the Rock and Water Came Out,” he names the place Bitter

Complaining. Think about it! That was Moses’ takeaway from the moment! He just struck a rock with a wooden staff and water came out — enough to give 2 million people water — all he could think about was they were complaining? That was what stayed in his heart about that place — how bitter the complaining was. 38 years later he’d just watched his sister die. She never made it into the land. And in this moment this bundle of bitterness he’d carried around for 38 years came out. Bitterness will always do that. It will

always come out. When we don't deal with it — it's going to show up and it's going to show up in a way that's costly.

The last part of the book takes us from Chapter 21 to the end IN this last section they will have three victories and one devastating loss. Their loss will not be in a battle — their loss will be in the form of compromised relationships and idolatry involving a very strange enigmatic guy named Balaam.

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They'll be another census — and the census reveals to us that in the wilderness some of the tribes grew and some shrank. That census determined the way land was distributed to the tribes when they crossed over the Jordan. POWERFUL PICTURE — Their experience of the Lord in the land was related to their growth in the wilderness. In these final chapters we see how some of the redeemed stopped short of the promised land. Reuben, Gad and half Manasseh decide they don't want to enter the Promised Land. They decide they want to live on the outskirts. I want us to close with a very powerful picture of Jesus in Numbers 21

NUMBERS 21 —

Numbers 21:4-9 4From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red

Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way.

5And the people spoke against God and against Moses,

“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the

people, so that many people of Israel died. 7And the people came to

Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8And the Lord said to

Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

9So Moses made a bronze

serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. You get bit by a poisonous snake — what's the cure? What do you do? Is the cure to look at a fake snake? Write this one in the margin of Numbers 21:6

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

15that whoever believes in him may have

eternal life.

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It’s a miracle if looking at a bronze snake is going to cure you of being bitten by a poisonous snake. In the same way it's a miracle that believing in Jesus Christ can save a sinner. How simple did God make it for millions of rebellious, disobedient ungrateful people to be saved from that deadly bite? Just look at a bronze snake? How hard is that? I'm going to die, I'm going to die. Look at this snake. No, no, you don't understand, I'm dying. Just look at the snake. But I can't, I'm going to die. You don't have to die — Just turn your head and look at the snake. How much work is involved in our part to be saved? Jesus was lifted up from the earth — nailed to a cross — to satisfy the justice of God for our sins. Jesus said, whoever believes in me, that's it! You trust Jesus Christ.

Trusting Jesus Christ transforms your life. But the first step is simple belief. And that's found tucked away in the Book of Numbers.