NUMBERS 8-15 LEAVING SINAI2012 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Numbers 8-15 Leaving Sinai

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2012. All right, well this evening we're in the book of Numbers. We'll be picking it up in chapter 8 and moving our way through chapter 15. Junior higher dismissed for your class, by the way.

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And really that's the theme of the book of Numbers because over 29 times we see that phrase being used in the wilderness. And so the book of Numbers records for us the time of Israel's journey from Sinai to the edge of the promised land. And it records that time as they go throughout the wilderness for about 40 years. So that's what Numbers is all about. On our timeline here,

We, of course, started in Genesis. We covered quite a bit of history in the book of Genesis. Of course, beginning with Adam and Eve going through the flood, passing through with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And then in the book of Exodus, saw the children of Israel in Egypt and being delivered by Moses and led forth from Egypt.

and headed towards Mount Sinai. In Leviticus, we studied the things that pertain to the Levites and the priests, the priestly ministry. And now as we head into Numbers, we're focusing on the time in the wilderness as Israel is on their way to the promised land.

So the time period that's covered in the book of Numbers, here's a little bit zoomed in portion. We pick it up in Numbers chapter 9 verse 5. It's one year after leaving Egypt is the time period that the book of Numbers covers. So it begins one year after they left Egypt.

Then it goes through Aaron's death at 40 years after they left from Egypt. So we're covering in the book of Numbers a 40-year time span, basically, which begins with the second Passover feast, which we'll talk about tonight in chapter 9 of Numbers.

So Israel left Egypt. They've been at Sinai for about a year as God has caused them to build the tabernacle and given them all the instructions and given them the Ten Commandments, giving them all the instructions for the priests and their ministry. It's taken them a year to be there at Sinai, to receive all this from the Lord, to get everything together that he wanted to set in order. And

And now, finally, they're going to be setting out from Sinai about a year after they've left Egypt. Well, in the geography for the book of Numbers, we're looking at Egypt, of course. There on the left, that's where Israel was in captivity. They were there in Egypt for 400 years. They were led out from the region of Goshen by Moses into the wilderness where they camped at Sinai there at the bottom towards the south there.

And they camped there for about a year, as I was just sharing. They're going to be heading now to the land of Canaan, which is just north. They're on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. You see the Dead Sea there at the bottom, the Sea of Galilee with the Jordan River connecting them. That is the region of Canaan that God said he would give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

So that's their destination. That's where they're going. They don't quite get there in the book of Numbers. And so we'll be looking at that journey from Sinai to Canaan this evening and then also through the rest of the book of Numbers. Well, that brings us up to speed with the background information, the introduction. Now we head into our chapters this week. We began reading chapter 8 of Numbers last Thursday. And so this is where we pick it up. And verse 6 is the key verse of Numbers chapter 8. And it says this,

Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. What's happening here in chapter 8 is still they're camped at Sinai and God is giving some final instructions for how things are to be arranged and now dedicating the Levites to serve the Lord in the capacity that he has given to them.

So verses 1 through 4 record for us the arrangement of the lamps. You might remember the lampstand that they were instructed to build and put inside the tabernacle. And God's given a little bit of clarification here to the priest. He says, hey, make sure you aim the lamps correctly.

towards the inside of the tabernacle so that it lights up the tabernacle. Don't aim it towards the wall, but towards the inside of the tabernacle. So the light was supposed to be directed to the whole inside of the sanctuary of the tabernacle. Then verses 5 through 22, we have the cleansing and the dedication of the Levites.

Now, you might remember in Leviticus chapters 8 and 9, we had the dedication of the priests and the priestly ministry. And remember, they did all the sacrifices and put the oil and the blood on their ear and their thumb and their big toe. They went through all that. That was just for the priests.

The Levites, who were devoted to the work and the carrying of the tabernacle things, they were devoted to serve the priests and the tabernacle area. Now this is their time to be cleansed and dedicated. And so there in verses 5 through 22, we see the process of cleansing and the sacrifices that God instructed. And they were to shave themselves completely and go through this process to be dedicated to

to the work of the tabernacle and the work that God had called them to. I thought verse 11 was pretty interesting. Verse 11 says, "...and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord like a wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the Lord."

The wave offering, they would usually do with, you know, different pieces of animals that were sacrificed. And there was a certain way that they would wave it before the Lord, a certain pattern that they would follow. But this time, the wave offering consisted not of, you know, a thigh or a piece of grain, but this time it was the Levites.

And so the whole idea was, you know, they were supposed to do the wave, you know, like kind of like that. But they offer them as a wave offering and it was Israel's offering to the Lord. The Levites were saying, we give this tribe of our nation, this family of our nation, we give them to the Lord. And so the Levites were really living sacrifices, right?

as they were offered to the Lord as a wave offering there as part of their dedication to the Lord. And so they were to be given over to and devoted to the work of God at the tabernacle and the serving of the priests and the things that needed to be done.

And so this was the process that they went through, recorded there in verses 5 through 22. And then finally in verses 23 through 26, we have the age requirements of the Levites. And so God sets the parameters. The Levites, those who were of the tribe of Levi, would serve the tabernacle between the ages of 25 and 50.

Now it causes a little bit of question because in the census that we saw earlier in the book of Numbers, God counted and specifically mentioned the Levites from 30 to 50 would be counted and would serve in the tabernacle. So it causes, in fact, we had a couple questions come through on that in Genesis.

this last week. And so the answer to that or the way that we handle that or believe that is happening is there was a five-year apprenticeship that would take place. So at the age of 25, a Levite, someone from the tribe of Levi, would then begin to learn how to do their role, perform their role, and depending on which family they were from, there's three main families of the Levites,

they would have certain responsibilities. And so they would learn those responsibilities officially at age 25. And then at the age of 30, they would be then now on their own and enlisted in the full service of the tabernacle. So that's the most likely explanation for the difference between the 25 and 30 as the starting age for the Levites. So that's what we have here in Numbers chapter 8, the beginning of the Levite ministry as they begin the work that God had called them to.

Well, Numbers chapter 9 verse 2 is the key verse. It says this, let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. So now God is giving the instruction for Israel to keep the Passover. Now the Passover, if you want to look at the history of the Passover, you can go back to Exodus chapter 12. But real briefly, the Passover was the event that caused Israel to leave Egypt.

The Passover, if you remember, was when God said, I'm going to strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. And so God instructed his people in order to avoid this attack.

plague that I'm bringing upon the land of Egypt, then you are to take blood of this land that you're to sacrifice and put it on your doorposts. And as you put it on your doorposts, then when the angel of death goes through, he will see the blood on the doorposts, he will pass over your home, and he will move on to the next home. And so whatever homes did not have the blood on the doorposts,

they would experience this death of the firstborn that God brought upon the land of Egypt.

And so that's why it's called Passover, because the angel would pass over the homes that had the blood on the doorposts. And so that was the event that caused Pharaoh, it was the final of the 10 plagues, to finally say, okay, get out of here. We don't want you here. You know, leave the land of Egypt. And so that's when Israel packed up and led by Moses, they headed out into the wilderness and

Well, God said that's to be a feast every year. You're to offer a Passover lamb every year. You're to eat a specific kind of meal with unleavened bread. You're to have, you know, and follow this feast of Passover that I've declared for you as a continual remembrance of what God did in delivering you from the land of Egypt. So the first Passover took place when Israel left Egypt. This is the second Passover.

So again, we're one year from Israel's departure from Egypt, from the exodus that took place as they left the land of Egypt. And so we find them celebrating the second Passover there in verses 1 through 14.

Now there's also an exception that pops up here in the celebration of the second Passover because there was a few guys who were not able to participate in the Passover because they were unclean. Because of a human corpse that they'd come in contact with, they were ceremonially unclean. And so they said, we can't celebrate the Passover, so what should we do? And God gave the instruction that they could celebrate the Passover together.

the second month on the 14th day. So postponing it one month for them to be able to become ceremonially clean, and then they could participate in the Passover. And so God said, every Israelite is to celebrate the Passover. And if they don't celebrate the Passover, then they'll be guilty of sin. Then God says specifically, they will bear their own sin in verse 13.

I think it's interesting that the requirement was you must celebrate the Passover or you will bear your own sin. And as we learn from Paul in the book of Corinthians that Jesus is our Passover lamb.

that you and I, under the new covenant today, we also must celebrate Passover, and that is that we must receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord. We must walk in fellowship with him, or else we bear our own sin, and we receive the judgment that is due for our sin if we do not receive Jesus as our Passover lamb, as the one who was sacrificed for us. So the second Passover takes place here. We're one year out from Passover,

Their departure from Egypt. And then we also have the note here, the cloud by day and the fire by night there in verses 15 through 23. And so God is here in the midst of his people and he's manifesting himself in this cloud that would lead them by day and

And at night, it would become a fire. And so it would serve a couple of purposes. In the daytime, the cloud would keep them shaded and would protect them from the desert sun, which would be very hot. At night, it would keep them warm. It would also keep the area lit. And so they'd be able to see.

But it was also the evidence that God was with them, and it was also how God would lead them. So when they haven't left yet, they're still at Sinai, but they're about to depart, and when they do, the cloud will go before them, or the fire by night, and that will lead them to the next place where God is going to take them. And so God was leading them, he was protecting them and caring for them visibly through this cloud by day and the fire by night.

Numbers chapter 10 verse 11 is the key verse. It says, So now in chapter 10 we have the big departure happening. They've been camped at Sinai for a year.

And now the cloud has been taken up. Again, this is how God would lead them. So the cloud was upon the tabernacle. His presence was there. Now the cloud is taken up, which is God saying, all right, guys, pack up. We're leaving.

And so I imagine there's a little bit of excitement going on with the camp as they begin to know, you know, God's been working for this past year and establishing their social structure. He's been establishing their judicial system, their religious system with the tabernacle and giving them all this foundation that he's going to be building this nation upon. And now that's complete. Now it's time to

to pack up, and to begin the journey to the promised land, to the land that God had sworn to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants. And so in verses 1 through 10, we have instructions for two silver trumpets. And these two silver trumpets would be used to indicate to the congregation. You might remember we did...

Last week, we looked at the census and the 603,000 men that were counted there in the nation. And we estimate it's probably between 2 and 3 million people altogether that were there. And so how would you communicate with such a massive group of people without modern technology? You know, without radios and walkie-talkies and those types of things. Well, God gave them two silver trumpets to use to do that.

And so they would sound one sound and that would be the gathering sound. And everybody would gather to the tabernacle to hear what was going on and what God had to say. And then there was another sound which, according to Jewish tradition, was short blasts of the trumpet. That would be the indication that they're to set out to march and begin the journey or to enter into battle. So they had distinct sounds that were, you know, signified what was to take place.

That's the gathering sound for you. So the silver trumpets would sound, the people would gather, or the trumpets, as we'll see here, would sound and the people would depart from the camp and head out and follow the cloud as God led them throughout the wilderness. So in verses 11 through 28, Israel sets out from Sinai. They begin their journey. They pack up, they break camp, and they leave.

Verses 29 through 32, Moses' father-in-law is invited. Actually, that's Moses' brother-in-law. I put a typo in there. I apologize. Hobab is Moses' brother-in-law, his wife's sister. You might remember from Exodus chapter 18 that Jethro, which is Moses' father-in-law, was with Moses and he gave him some counsel and some advice. Well, it

evidently Jethro also brought Hobob, his son, to be with him. So he is the brother of Moses' wife. And so he's invited to be with them, to help them. You know, he knows his way around the wilderness. And so he would be helpful for them in the journey. Well, then verses 33 through 36, we have the Ark of the Covenant leading the way.

And this is how the children of Israel would journey. The Ark of the Covenant would go before them. Again, the cloud would go before them. The Ark of the Covenant under the cloud leading the people. It was God leading the people. The congregation really was not

centered around Moses, it was centered around the Lord. And it was not led by Moses, but it was led by the Lord. Moses was God's instrument, but it was the ark that went before the people. It was the cloud that went before the people. It was God who led the people there in the wilderness. Now we have the indication here in verse 11 that it's one year and one month that

after Israel departed from Egypt, that now they're departing from Sinai. So here in verse 11, it tells us it's the second month, the second year. So that's the second year. They've been gone for one year now from the land of Egypt, and now they're departing from Sinai to head towards the promised land. Well, last week, as we looked at chapters 1 through 7, we saw the layout of the camp of Israel. And so this is what it would look

look like, a rough draft perhaps, but you have the tabernacle in the center and that would be the center of their life, the center of their camp, the center of everything where God's presence would dwell. And so whenever they were

would make camp or when they're camped at Sinai, this is how it would be laid out with a tabernacle in the middle, the Levites all around the tabernacle, and then the different tribes in the direction that God declared. They would be camped, you know, from the north or the east or the west of the tabernacle according to the instruction that God gave.

Well, God not only gave them instruction for how they were to camp, but also how they were to journey. And so the tribe of Judah would lead the way. They were the first ones to break camp, and the tribes that were along with Judah would break camp with them. So you might remember, as we looked at last week, Judah, Reuben, Dan, and Ephraim, those four tribes act as representatives of the other two tribes that were along with them.

So the tribe of Judah also included Issachar and Zebulun when it talked about where to camp and the starting tribes or the first ones to go or the second ones to go or so forth. They were represented by Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan. So Judah would go first and along with them would be Issachar and Zebulun. And then God gives the instruction that the two of the Levite tribes are to go behind them. So Gershon and Merari were to pack up.

Now these were the ones who would carry the tent, the materials of the tabernacle, and then also the structure, the bars, the boards, the foundations, all of those hefty things they would carry. And so these two tribes would carry the structure of the tabernacle and they would go behind Judah and carry all of those things till the next place that they were going.

Well, then you had Reuben, Simeon, and Gad. They would go after them. And so there would be this procession that they would break camp third. And then the tribe of Kohath, which was the third Levite family, they would come. Now, the Kohathites were the ones who carried the actual articles of the tabernacle or the furnishings of the tabernacle.

So they had the altar of incense. They had the altar of the burnt sacrifices. They had the laver, the lampstand, the table of showbread. They had all of the furnishings. And so remember those had poles on them and so they would carry those.

And so they would go after Reuben, Simeon, and Gad. And it's interesting. I love how God has such order and such precision in this because he says they would go in that place specifically so that by the time they got to the camp, the tabernacle would be set up.

Because Gershon and Merari had the structure of the tabernacle. So you got a picture, you know, this is several hundred thousand people going before them. And so Gershon and Merari would go. They would get to the place where God said, this is the camp. And they would begin to set up the tabernacle. And, you know, behind them would be Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, these tribes. Again, lots of people, a couple hundred thousand people there.

And they would be taking time to get there. And so by the time Kohath got there with all the furnishings, the tabernacle was set up. And so they could just go right to where it belonged, set it there, and it was, you know, timed perfectly by the Lord. So he set the structure, he gave the order, and there were specific purposes to it.

Now behind Kohath would be Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin. So they would go third. And then finally Dan, Asher, and Naphtali would go fourth. And so this would be the order of the procession as they would go through the wilderness. Now again, as we talked about last week,

Each of the tribes had their banner that they would march under. And so they would march under this banner. Judah, again, would be the covering for Issachar and Zebulun. And so they would march under the banner of the lion of the tribe of Judah. Reuben would march under the man on their standard. Ephraim had the calf or the ox on their standard. And then Dan had the eagle on their standard. And we talked a little bit more about that last week.

So you can check out last week's information if you want to get more into that.

Well, so they're leaving Sinai. Sinai is located here at the south in the Sinai Peninsula, right next to the Red Sea, right on the border of the Red Sea. This is the traditional location of Sinai. We've talked about it in the past in the Book of Exodus about the other alternate locations. So I'm not going to get into that. But so just using the traditional location of Sinai, they departed from Sinai and they headed into the wilderness of Paran, which is just north of Sinai.

And they're going to be spending a couple days there and making their way now to the land of Canaan. So pretty exciting stuff if you're there with the children of Israel as they now finally break camp and they're making their way to the land that God had promised to them.

Although it's exciting, there's lots of good things happening, it doesn't stay that exciting for very long. Because here in chapter 11 now, it says in 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? About three days leaving Mount Sinai, the people began to complain. And

Now there's going to be some serious consequences for the complaining and the yielding to intense cravings that are going on. The people are complaining, and we see here in this passage there in verses 1 through 9 as the people are complaining, there's a mixed multitude that's part of the nation of Israel. When Israel departed from Egypt in the Exodus, it wasn't only Hebrews who left.

There were also, well, it's called a mixed multitude. So there were maybe some Egyptians, maybe some of the other nations around them that were slaves or were there, but they saw God work. And so when Israel left, they said, we want to go with you. And so they went with Israel. And so now this mixed multitude is kind of at the center of this complaining and this intense craving that is going on.

And so they begin to complain about the things that are going on, the conditions, and specifically, who's going to give us meat to eat?

Now you might remember that God has been providing manna for the people ever since their first month out of the land of Egypt. God's been providing manna and he will continue to provide manna for them. But they are wanting something more, something different. They're wanting meat to eat and then also cucumbers and melons and leeks and those kinds of things. They're wanting something else and something different.

Now, it's very easy for us to look at this and say, man, these fools, you know, I can't believe they'd be quickly complaining, you know, three days away from Mount Sinai. Already they're complaining. Already they're, you know, saying, hey, we want some meat to eat.

But I would encourage you, before you quickly get too judgmental of them, just try dieting for three days. And notice what kind of intense cravings you might have. And so that's kind of what's going on here. Not only is it a physical thing, but it's also a spiritual thing. It's a mixed multitude in the sense that

Some of these weren't, you know, fully committed to the Lord. And so they're more quickly and easily going to be doubting God and not trusting him to provide. And so there's this complaining that gets started by this mixed multitude and it begins to grow amongst the people.

Well, verses 10 through 15 describe for us Moses being overwhelmed, that he's unable to bear the people alone. And he's just overwhelmed by what's happening and by the demands and the complaints of this people. And so God gives him in verses 16 through 30, the 70 elders of Israel,

And so he takes, you know, part of the spirit that's upon Moses, the Holy Spirit, and also anoints these 70 elders to be able to assist him and help him in ministering to the needs of this massive multitude, this great nation that is journeying through the wilderness. Well, then in verse 31 through 35, you have the Lord bringing quail for the people. Now, they were complaining about not having meat, but they were complaining about not

And so God says, okay, I'll give you some meat. And he brings quail. Now, this is very different from the first time that God provided quail for the people. The first time God provided quail for the people was in the book of Exodus. They had left Egypt. They'd been out in the wilderness for one month. And at the same time when God was providing manna for them, he also began at that time, or he provided a one-time offering

I don't know what flock, I guess, would be the right term for quail. I'm not sure, but he provided quail for them after they had been out of Egypt for one month. So he began to give them manna. He also gave them the extra blessing of quail at that time. And it was a blessing. And they enjoyed it, and it was something that was good from God. This time, though, when God provides quail, it's not a blessing. In fact, it's a judgment. And sometimes the Lord uses...

The answering of our prayer as we yield to intense craving, sometimes he uses that to bring chastisement or discipline upon us. And that's what he's doing here. He's bringing judgment upon the people by bringing them the quail that they asked for. But notice how it takes place. This is really interesting. It points out that the quail that the Lord brought was a day's journey from the camp. And so as God provided this quail,

It was not, you know, that it just fell in their lap, but they had to purposefully and deliberately go out of their way to go and obtain this quail that the Lord brought. And so it was really a test to see where their hearts were at.

And God will often do that in our lives as well, where he places obstacles in our lives. We have those intense cravings. We have those sinful desires. But God will place those obstacles so that you have to deliberately go out of your way to engage in something that is not of him or in something that is sinful. Remember, the tabernacle was at the center of the camp. And so essentially, in order to get to the quail,

they would have to walk away from the Lord. They would have to go in the opposite direction where the Lord was. And so instead of going towards the Lord, they were going away from the Lord in order to give in to these cravings that they had. It reminded me of what Paul says in Galatians chapter 5. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill or gratify the lusts of the flesh. And it's a real good visual picture for us because God's at the center of the camp.

And if you're walking in the Spirit, if you're heading towards the Lord, if you're seeking to be close to Him,

then you will not go outside of the camp, a day's journey away from the Lord, in order to give in to the cravings of your flesh. And so it's a real important lesson for us to make sure that we're keeping Him in the center, that we're putting Him first, that we're seeking Him, that we're walking in the Spirit, so that we don't go that day's journey to give in to the lusts of the flesh. Well, that brings us to Numbers chapter 12.

Verse 1 is the key verse. It says, So it's one problem after another for Moses. First the people are complaining. Now Miriam and Aaron are ganging up on Moses. And they're beginning to speak against Moses amongst the people. What are they saying? Well, their accusation was really an excuse.

It wasn't their real issue, but it was the excuse for them to come against Moses. And that's found there in verse 1. And that is that they were bringing up this issue that Moses had an Ethiopian wife. Because he'd married an Ethiopian woman.

Moses, if you remember, when he was 40 years old, he was there in Egypt. He'd been raised by the Pharaoh's daughter. And he thought, hey, I'm God's deliverer. And so he kills one of the Egyptians that's beating the Hebrew slave. But then he finds out that Pharaoh knows about it. The word is out. And so he gets freaked out and he flees to Midian.

And so he flees far away from Egypt. He spends some time there, 40 years in the wilderness as a shepherd. And there he gets married to a woman named Zipporah. And so now Miriam and Aaron are complaining about this because Moses didn't marry someone of the children of Israel. He married this outsider, this woman that was there in the wilderness before.

where Moses was. And so they're complaining about this. They're saying, hey, this isn't right. Look at him. He isn't married the right kind of person. And, you know, this is not right. Now, their real complaint, though, that was just the facade. That was just, you know, something to stir up commotion. But we find the insight into their motives and their heart in verse 2. They said,

Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also? And it says, and the Lord heard it. So here's the real complaint. Here's really what they want changed or what they want to address. And that is, we want more authority. They're accusing Moses of pride, of promoting himself and saying, I'm the only one. God can only speak through me. Now, God had chosen to speak through Moses, right?

God had chosen to use Moses to lead the nation. Moses didn't take that responsibility upon himself. But Miriam and Aaron at this point decide, hey, we want some of that action. And Moses isn't the only one that God can speak to. God's spoken to us too. And so we need to have, well, a bigger part in the decisions that are being made. And people need to come to us when they have questions about the Lord and what God wants to do. They were chosen.

seeking more authority. They were coveting the power and the authority that Moses had. Now God rebukes them sharply there in verses 6 through 8. He says, look, Moses is unique. When I speak to prophets, I speak to them in an entirely different manner. But with Moses, I speak to him as if it were face-to-face, directly, clearly, not through visions, not through signs, but I speak to him face-to-face.

And so he asked them the question there in verse 8, why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? This is a very serious error that they have made, a very serious issue that is brought up. And so the result is in verses 9 through 16 that Miriam is struck with leprosy.

She struck with leprosy as a result of her insurrection, as a result of her accusations against Moses, whom God had appointed to lead the nation. Now, Moses, we see, does an incredible thing in that he seeks the Lord or beseeches the Lord on her behalf.

And so even though, you know, she's trying to stir up something and, you know, she's coming against Moses, at the same time Moses is praying for her and asking for God to have mercy upon her. And so God says, okay, she'll be cured of her leprosy, but let her wait outside the camp for seven days to go through this process to become ceremonially clean. And then she can be in the camp again.

What's interesting about this, aside from all those things that we just talked about, is we see here a good picture for us to understand that sin not only affects an individual, but it affects the whole camp.

Miriam's sin does not just affect her, but the whole camp, the whole nation of Israel, all two or three million people are not able to move on. They're not able to continue their journey to the promised land until this seven-day process takes place and Miriam is allowed back into the camp. And so she delays the whole nation. She

impacts the whole nation with this complaint and speaking against Moses. I think that's really interesting and important for us to consider.

Because of course the enemy and our flesh tells us, hey, your sin only affects you. And you know, hey, if it only harms you, if it only affects you, then how bad could it be? You know, and let other people worry about their own stuff. They don't got to worry about me because, hey, I know what I'm doing. I got it under control and it only affects me. And I've decided, you know, I can handle that. But here's the reality. Our sin also affects the people around us. It impacts the people around us.

Now, we may not be able to see it as visually and clearly as we see in this account here, but that's why we have this account, so that we can understand the spiritual principle. This is the picture. Your sin affects the whole camp. We often refer to Ephesians chapter 4, where Paul there is talking about the body of Christ. And in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 16, Paul makes it very clear that the body of Christ...

The church of God grows, it develops, it matures as each part does its share. And so I often refer to God designing the body in a way that we are intertwined.

I need you and you need me. And none of us is more important than the other. And in order for us to grow, in order for me to grow, you need to fulfill your part and use your gifts and do the things that God has called you to do. And in order for you to grow, you need me.

To fulfill my part and do what God's called me to do and use the gifts that he's given to me. There's this dependency upon one another in the body of Christ. God has designed it that way so that we grow as each part does its share. Well, the other side of that coin is what we see here in Numbers chapter 12. At the same time, while we grow as each part does its share, our growth is stunted as each one is involved in sin.

And so your sin affects the rest of the church. And the growth of the body of Christ is affected and is impacted by our sinful practices. And there's occasions where we can't move on because of the sin that's in the camp. There's occasions, we'll see later on as we head into the book of Joshua, that, well, there's defeat because of sin in the camp.

And so we have these pictures in the scripture to help us understand, to help us get the point because, well, we're really good at deceiving ourselves that, hey, it's not that big of a deal. Sin's not that big of an issue. You know, I look around and nothing real bad is happening and everything seems to be okay. So, you know, I guess God doesn't mind if I practice this sin, if I'm involved in this.

But we don't see what's really taking place beneath the surface. The spiritual impacts are big. And so I want to ask you to repent. If you're involved in sin, if you're practicing sin and you're part of the body, God has assigned you to this place, to this group, to this gathering. You're sin. You have a responsibility to be holy.

To be set apart for God. And that impacts the rest of us. Not just for myself. Of course, if I'm living in sin, that will impact the body. But also each member. Remember, Paul makes it very clear. There's none that are more important than the other. We all need one another. We all need one another to walk uprightly. To repent of sin. To turn away from it. And not to continue to practice it.

And so we see that very clearly illustrated here in Numbers chapter 12. Important lessons for us to learn. Well now as we move on to Numbers chapter 13, the key verse is verse 32. It says, 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.

Here in Numbers chapter 13, we have the account of the spies being sent into Canaan. They're in verses 1 through 25. So they go throughout the land, they spy out the land, and then they come back and they give their report.

Now at this time, Israel is camped at Kadesh. Kadesh Barnea is the full name. And so they're right there. It's really on the border of the promised land, the border of the land of Canaan. They're right there on the edge. God's intention for them is to go from Kadesh Barnea into the land of Canaan. So they left Sinai. They began their journey through the wilderness and

And they're right now at the border of entering into this land that God has been promising to them for over 400 years. I mean, this is pretty exciting. This is great stuff. They're right on the edge of God's promise. They're right on the edge of the fulfillment of what God said. And so they send the spies into the land. Now, it tells us there in chapter 13 that God's giving this instruction for the spies to go into the land. Check it out. Find out what kind of battles are we in for.

Do they live in little villages with no real walls? Or do they have defenses? Are they strong warriors? Or are they kind of a wimpy people? What are we in for? What do we need to be prepared for? Also, what's the land like? Bring back some fruit. God said it's going to be filled and overflowing with milk and honey and there's going to be this abundant fruit. So bring some back. Give us a sample. God's giving the people a preview of...

The blessings and the trials that await for them as they're camped there right at the edge about to head into the promised land. And so the spies leave from Kadesh Barnea and they go throughout the land of Canaan. We don't know the exact route that they took. There's a couple names mentioned. Some of the locations are not specifically known. But here's a general generic route that they possibly would have went through the land of Canaan to get a glimpse of

Who is there? What kind of defenses they had? What kind of armies they had? And then they come back to Kadesh Barnea where the people are camped and they give their report. Now what I think about, what I see about this that's interesting to me is that as they begin to give their report, it's accurate. What is their report? Oh man, there's giants in the land. Were they exaggerating? No, there were giants in the land.

There were the descendants of Anak there who were giants. They had giants in the land. They said, the cities are strong and well fortified. Were they exaggerating? No. We'll even see as we head into the book of Joshua and the battles that take place. The defenses are described. I mean, the city of Jericho is a great example. Very well fortified. Strong city. Their report was accurate.

The problem began in verse 31 and the problem was unbelief. So they're giving their report. I mean, there's this great fruit. They bring some of it back. Oh my goodness, this is amazing. Wow. But then there's also these challenges. There's also these battles that await them. And in verse 30, it says, then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once for we are well able to overcome it.

So far, so good. Up to verse 30. The report's accurate. Caleb says, all right, now we know. Let's go. God's with us. We can do this. God's going before us. He'll be faithful to his promises. So far, so good. But then verse 31 is where the real problem starts. And that is unbelief. It says, but 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.

So there's 12 spies that go into the land. Two of them come back with the attitude, hey, their report to the people is, yes, there is challenges. Yes, there is battles. There are battles, I guess is more proper. There's going to be challenges, but there's great blessings and God's with us. Let's go. Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, that was their report. But the other 10 said, oh, this is too hard.

The other ten were walking by sight instead of by faith. They're walking in unbelief. They're counseling the people to live in unbelief. I think what David Guzik said about this is really important. He says, unbelief often presents itself as being factual or practical or down to earth. Yet the most factual, practical and down to earth thing we can do is trust the word of the living God. They had faith.

what you could consider reasonable concerns. There's strong armies, strong defenses. This is going to be very dangerous. There's going to be real battles. That's practical advice, practical considerations. But it was unbelief. Because in their accounting of the situation, they're not factoring in the Lord. And so they say, those enemies, they're stronger than we are. Because they were excluding God.

It's unbelief. They weren't trusting in the Lord. Joshua and Caleb included God in the picture, and they realized we're able to overcome. Not because we're strong, not because they're not stronger than us. No, we can acknowledge all that. I think that's important to understand. They're not saying, hey, it's all going to be so easy. There's not going to be any battles. You know, those guys are wimpy. We don't even have to worry about it. That's not their report. Their

But we are able to overcome because God is with us. They're walking by faith and not by sight. But the people don't listen to Joshua and Caleb. And so Numbers chapter 14 now, we continue the story. Verse 30 is the key verse. It says, except for Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. So God says, that's it.

Everybody's going to die. None of you are going to enter into the promised land except for Joshua and Caleb. In verses 1 through 10, we see that the people are rebelling against God. They're saying, no, we will not go. God said, go into the land. You're able to overcome it because I'm with you and I'm going to drive out your enemies. They said, no. They rebel against the Lord. So verses 11 through 20, now Moses intercedes for them. He's praying for them.

for God to show mercy, even though they've rebelled against him. And so the Lord answers Moses' prayer in verses 21 through 25, and he pardons the people. He doesn't give them the judgment that they deserve, which was immediate penalty, immediate death. Instead, God pardons the people. He shows mercy, but then verses 26 through 38, he pronounces their sentence.

So he's merciful, but he also is dealing with their sin. This is how God works. He works in mercy, but he also deals with sin. And so the consequences of their rebellion, their unbelief, is that they're going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. And in that time of 40 years, all the men of Israel, 20 years old and above, are going to die. They're all going to die in that wandering time period.

Then, once that 40 years is complete, the people who were 19 and less at this moment will be the ones who enter into the promised land. So if you were 19, you would then be 59 years old. Didn't even have to take off my shoes. Aren't you proud of me? 59 years old would be the age limit of those who would enter into the promised land. So,

them and their children would be the ones. It's the next generation which will be led by Joshua into the promised land. Now the exception to that was Caleb and Joshua who were faithful to the Lord, who encouraged the people, we can go in, let's do it. So God pronounces their judgment and now the people decide, oh, okay, never mind. We're going to trust God and we're going to go in and we're going to take the land and we're going to conquer.

And so they attempt an invasion. They're in verses 39 through 45. And Moses says, don't go up. Don't do it. The Lord's not with you. He even says there, the Ark of the Covenant didn't go with them. God's not with you. But they try anyways. And of course they fail. They're defeated by the Canaanites. So many times, you and I, we have these episodes of unbelief. We don't believe in

God has us right there on the border. We won't go in. And then after God says, fine, you're not going to go in then. Then we decide, okay, wait, wait, wait. I want to go in. I want to go in. Okay, wait, wait. I want to be faithful. I want to obey. And you know, sometimes God's merciful and then he lets us continue forward. But that's just because of his mercy. And here he says, nope, that's it. I'm not going to kill you on the spot. But you're not going to enter in. You're going to miss out. The rest of your life is going to be different. Because you would not believe me.

And so again, we have here the recording of what happened. It's the history of Israel. But it's also the picture, the reminder for us of the importance to walk by faith and not by sight. To believe God and trust in Him at His promises, at His commands. Not just take things into our own hands because while it's real practical, it makes a lot of sense to us. I don't know why God said that, but this makes a whole lot more sense what I've decided to do.

Well, that's all well and good until you experience God saying, okay, well, I'm going to let you have it your way and you're going to miss out on what I wanted to do, on what I had in store for you. We need to trust God and obey him, even when we're scared or even when it doesn't make sense to us. So the result is their time in the wilderness now is going to be 40 years. If they had trusted God, they wouldn't have spent 40 years in the wilderness. They would have spent the one year

Because after a year, they departed from Sinai, they went up to Kadesh Barnea, and they would have just continued on into the land of Canaan, and God would have been with them, and they would have had victory. But they did not believe. It's an important lesson for us to learn. If you want to learn more about that, or be challenged a little bit more, read Hebrews chapter 3 and 4, where the author of Hebrews challenges us to believe.

To not have unbelief like the children of Israel did. Which resulted in this 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. So they're at Kadesh Barnea. They're about to head in. But now no more. They're not going to head in. They're going to spend 40 years going in circles. Wandering in the wilderness. There's spiritual pictures here that have great depth and meaning. Because the journey of Israel...

does represent for us the Christian faith or the Christian walk. If we look at Egypt, we see it as a picture of our sin, our flesh, the world. Where when we believed in Jesus Christ, and as we believed and we are baptized, it's like we're passing through the Red Sea, passing through the water, being born again.

And we're now beginning our journey to the promised land. Now the promised land is not heaven because there's some serious battles that go on there. But the promised land, instead we see it as victorious Christian living. Romans chapter 8, where we're led by the Spirit. We have victory over the flesh. Now like the spies, we need to have an accurate report. We need to understand there are real battles in the Christian life.

It's not all just, you know, fields and flowers and lovely things. There's some serious life and death, dangerous eternal battles. But the Lord's promised to be with us. And we need to be walking by faith and not by sight. But not pretending like there's never trouble, there's never trials. No, there's real battles. But we have victory in the promised land by believing in the Lord and walking in the Spirit.

And so it's this picture. Now, the wilderness time, there was a legitimate time in the wilderness, this one-year journey.

There's a time as we become believers in Jesus that is legitimate, that, well, we're learning the law, we're establishing the foundation, God's building that foundation in us so that we're prepared then to enter into this victorious Christian life that he has set apart for us. And it might be a year, and it might be a shorter amount of time, it just depends on how God works in us and how we allow him to work in us. But there's a legitimate time of this journey into this promised land.

But the wilderness wandering that Israel is now heading into is something also that Christians can get caught up in, where it's just that cycle of continual unbelief, continual defeat, just continual wandering around and not having victory. It boils down to, it comes back to, the root of it is unbelief. And so there's some important pictures here for us to consider and evaluate. Are you just going in circles?

Or are you experiencing victory? Yeah, you might be facing battles, but God is with you and you're overcoming by the power of the Holy Spirit. Well, we finish it off in chapter 15 of Numbers, verse 30. It says, "...but the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people."

Now, chapter 15 and the next few chapters are going to get back into some instruction, again, regarding the structure of the nation and the things that they're to do. So verses 1 through 21 talk about the grain and the drink offerings. And there's specific grain and drink offerings that are to be presented along with their sacrifices, along with the peace offering and the sin offering and so forth. And so that's given there.

One of the questions that was brought up this last week was, hey, where did they get the grain for the grain offerings? Because if they're in the wilderness for 40 years, you know, they're not planting and harvesting. So where does the grain come from? And I didn't know at the time, but now I do because verse 2 says, when you come into the land.

When you come into the land, then these are the grain offerings that you're to bring. So they probably brought some grain from Egypt when they left, but this specific instruction was regarding when they've entered into the promised land, they've begun to plow, they've begun to grow and harvest, and then they're to offer these grain and drink offerings along with that. Well, then we have the law for unintentional sin in verses 22 through 29.

And so this was the normal type of sin that we talked about in the book of Leviticus and the sacrifices that would need to be offered. It was sin that was committed, not deliberately, but it was on accident. It was unintentional.

Unintentional sin is still sin and still requires a sacrifice and something still has to die in order for it to be atoned for. Of course, for us as believers today, that was atoned for by Christ. But it is an important point that just because you didn't mean to hurt somebody doesn't mean that it wasn't sinful. Unintentional sin is still sin. But in contrast, we have presumptuous sin and the law for that in verse 30 and 31.

Now presumptuous sin, or could be translated high-handed sin, it's open rebellion. And so open rebellion, that type of sin, that was handled differently. Unintentional sin, you did it by accident, you're not in open rebellion against the Lord, then you could offer these sacrifices. But if you decided, I don't care what God says, I know what he said, and I've decided I'm going to do what I want to do.

Well, that kind of sin, there was no sacrifice for you to perform. Instead, you would be cast out of the camp. You would no longer be allowed to be amongst the people. Many of those presumptuous sins also required the death penalty. As we see in verse 32 through 36, you have the death penalty for breaking the Sabbath. So here we have an immediate example of presumptuous sin. All of Israel knew about the Sabbath law, but here this guy decides, I'm going to gather some sticks on the Sabbath.

And so the people grab him and say, what do we do? And they seek the Lord, which is always the important thing to do. Don't just do what you think, but seek the Lord. And so they seek the Lord and God says, that deserves the death penalty. And so they stone him to death for this presumptuous sin, this deliberate open rebellion against God.

And then finally in verse 37 through 41, he gives them instruction to put tassels on their garments. And so they were these strings. Here's a picture of one as they look today. It was to be blue and white. And so they would be attached to their garments so that they would have this constant reminder of

To obey the commands of God. So God gave them something physical to be able to remind them as they put it on in the morning to remember to obey God as they took it off at night, as they encountered it all throughout the day, that they would be reminded, obey the Lord, walk with the Lord, that you're to be set apart for Him and devoted to the things of God.

And so there's great opportunity for us as we see later on God says, post scriptures all over your home and put it on your gates. And you know, God gives us those kinds of instructions. And it's important for you. You should consider setting up some memorials, some things that remind you regularly and throughout the day to obey the Lord, to walk with him and to be set apart for him. So great lessons here that we learn as we continue our journey through the book of Numbers. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, as we consider these lessons, I pray, Lord, that you would drive home right into the hearts of each and every one, Lord, the things that specifically apply to each one of us. Lord, you're so amazing that you dwell within our midst, that you work in our lives, that you are aware of what's going on within and you're able to use your word to work in us. And sometimes it's different than the way that you're working in the person next to us.

And so God, I pray that you would just continue to water and to allow to grow these words that you've planted in our hearts tonight. Lord, that you would bring change, that you would bring growth. Lord, that you would help us to walk in faith, trusting in you and experiencing the victory that you promise. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.