Numbers Survey
Chapter 15
We saw in our Last study Children of Israel are at the door
way to the Promise. 12 MEN were sent in
to SPY OUT the land
A)When the spies came back from the promised land they
brought back fruit that was indicative of the abundance that God had in store
for the Israelites
B) The Grapes that were so large that one bunch had to be carried on a pole between 2 men
1)BUT They not only brought
back the FRUIT... they brought up the FOES
C) There's giants in the land - They're so big that we're like
grasshoppers in THEIR sight - BIG
troubles
D) And BECAUSE of their
unbelief, the people of Israel had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years
until that entire generation died off
What was
to be w WALK to the promised land turned out to be a WANDERING in the
wilderness
A)What was to be a MARCH to the promised land turned out to be murmering in the wilderness
B) These People who should
have been SINGING in the promised land ended
up SIGHING in the wilderness
1) People who were to be a WITNESS in faith ended up wailing in frustration
C) Sad story & Powerful
warning to us – against Unbelief & hardening our hearts towards the Lord
1) Chapters 15-25 deal with
that period of wandering until the entire generation died off
Read
v.1-13
Now, this to me is really special. In that they have
just been turned away from the land.
A)They have just been told
that they are going to have to wait for 40 yrs yea Their unbelief in God has denied them access into the promised land.
B) Then they tried to reverse things & go in & fight against
those in the land anyway – they get their tales whipped by the
inhabitants of the land,
1) Down & defeated looking
at the prospects of spending the next 40 yrs in this wilderness – most likely thinking about their families
C) It is at this time that
God then gives to them the commands of the type of offering that they are to
offer, when they come into the
land.
1) Key word is when
He does NOT
say IF you make it
He says WHEN
D)
God is reassuring them that there is
going to be those who will make it into the land {Their kids are going to have
an inheritance
LESSON
A)God's blessing can be DELAYED- But His purposes can
NOT be stopped
Phil 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has
begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; NKJV
B) Some times thru our unbelief
or our unwillingness to yield to the HS – we can delay the
plan of God for our lives
1)
We
can go thru the school of Hard Knocks –
but God is committed to complete the work that He has become –
C) How quickly it happens depends
often times on how Pliable we are going to be !!!
1) So the Lord gives them
this word of Hope – When you come into the land these are the offerings that
you are to Present
A)All was laid on the altar
and all was consumed on the altar
2.) MEAL The OFFERING - Speaks of consecration of service
A) The gifts that God has given to us are to be given back to Him and
used for Him..... empowered and energized by Him
3.) The PEACE OFFERING - Speaks of
fellowship
A)The Holy bar-b-que
B) Part waved before the
Lord.... Part eaten by priest.... Part eaten by the one brining the offering
C) Enjoying peace and
oneness and fellowship/ included in this was the drink offering – which speaks
of fellowship
A)They are NOT mandatory....
they are free will offerings
B) The FINAL 2 offerings
were mandatory..... Obligated
4.) The SIN OFFERING - Deals with the
FACT of sin
We have a sin nature that manifests
itself daily
5.) The TRESPASS OFFERING deals with the ACT of sin-
So what we have here is a
REITERATION of INSTRUCTION
A)But It is also a
RE-ESTABLISHMENT of INTENTION- God’s heart –
1) He was going to Place a group of people in this Land & make of
them a great nation
B)
By reiterating to them these instructions about the offerings they were to
offer up in the land of Promise
1)
God’s intention is to set their mind on the Promised Land, even though they are
a long way away from it.
C) Keeping their minds
on His promise will help SEE THEM
through the wilderness
1)
and prepare the hearts of the new generation to succeed where the old
generation failed.
D) What helps us make it thru the WILDERNESS & Desert times of this life ? The PROMISE that Heaven is waiting !!!!!
1) Col 3:1-4 If
then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above,
not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ
in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with
Him in glory.
A)The stranger... the proselyte.... was invited & welcome to go along with them.- BUT - He MUST
go along with the Word
B) The one who was NOT
Jewish was invited to come along in worship AS LONG as he went along with the
Word
1) APP: We want to embrace ALL that want to
come along with us
C) BUT - We are NOT to
compromise in any way concerning the Word of God – Stay
true to the word of God
1)
Nor
are we going to try to twist the word or water
down the word to make it easier for them to come –
D) Altar calls – giving away
a new Car- ( Price is right – Come on down) No talk about turning
from Sin & turning to the Lord
1) Anyone can come – but
they have to come on God’s terms not their own
V.17-21
Now this regulation pertained to the offering of the first
fruits of the harvest –
A)Notice once again – the
word When – further encouragement
B) When the people entered
into the land of Cannan & began to enjoy it’s produce, they were to
show their devotion to the Lord
1)By Presenting to Him a cake Baked of the First Cuttings of their grain
C) It was the First fruits of the grain harvest
D) That really should be the first thing that we seek to do – w/ our blessings the first fruits of our increase – Given in gratitude to the Lord
1) Showing our Love & Appreciation –
Now vs 22-36 talk about what to do w/ those who sin
Unintentionally & those who sin Presumptuously – Read v. 22-29
A)First of all we are told
how to they were to respond to those who sinned Unintentionally {Didn’t mean to
{ Thumb w/ Hammer
B) Or they did it in ignorance – Back in 1984 my very first Sunday as YP here at CCV – old Church Hacienda – Heading home Bobier 50Mph /35Mph
1) Officer pulled me over - Ticket – bad omen ––I told the officer It was unintentional / I never saw the sign – pleaded for mercy – Still got a ticket
C) Whether it was intentional or not the Law was broken & the price needed to be paid – so too here w/ the people of Israel
The sin might be corporate involving the entire nation
–v.24-26 or it might be the transgression of an individual v.27-29 – it didn’t
matter
A)The sin needed to be dealt w/ I didn’t know will not avail at the throne of God
B) But the sinners had to come God’s appointed way so that HE could forgive them & restore them to fellowship & blessing
C) If the whole nation sinned they were to
bring a young bull for a burnt offering (dedication), plus the required drink
offering & grain offering and a male goat for the sin offering (atonement).
D) The individual who sinned had to bring a year old female
goat as a sin offering .
1) God promised to forgive those who truly sought Him by faith
Now in vs (30-31)
Addresses presumptuous sin. Read
A)Now to sin presumptuously Literally means to sin "with a high hand"; it speaks of a flagrant rebellion against God, the law of Moses, and the nation as a whole.{ Out right Rebellion
B) Such sin was NOT to be tolerated in Israel; here is commanded a cultural mechanism for addressing this sin,
1) and ensuring that such arrogant flaunting of public immorality would not be rewarded. Person guilty was Cut off
C) This is in stark contrast to our modern culture, where notorious, flagrant sinners are rewarded with fame and fortune.
1) Instead of saying his guilt shall be upon him, our society puts guilt on anyone who would "judge" or "condemn" such depraved individuals by calling what they do evil.
D) God doesn’t fool around – He says their shame shall be upon them & they shall be cut off -
1) Having then given that law for the presumptuous sin, we immediately have an example of a man who was guilty of presumptuous sin.
Now while the children of Israel were in the
wilderness, they found a man who was gathering sticks on the Sabbath day
(15:32).
This was a presumptuous sin. They were told the Sabbath day
was to be holy unto the Lord, they weren’t to do any type of labor.
A)This man knew the law, so his gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, was a presumptuous sin. { God says take him outside & stone him to death
B) This seems harsh Why
is God so concerned with the Sabbath day?
God is serious about the Sabbath
for TWO reasons One is PRACTICAL... The other is
PROPHETIC
1st Practical Reason
A)He is our maker- He knows HOW we are made and HOW we function best/ He has PERFECT knowledge of our physical makeup
B) He KNOWS that we need ONE day out of seven to be set aside for our own well being
INTERESTING: One commentator cited medical research that confirms to us that man is on a 7 day biological clock.... Our physiology is built for a seven day cycle
Doctors say that 6 days/week your pulse is faster in the morning than in the evening but on the 7TH day it is slower in the morning than in the evening
C) So You are programmed to slow down & rebuild on the 7th day
STORY: The Apostle John
According to tradition, when the apostle John was bishop in Ephesus, his hobby was raising pigeons. On one occasion an Ephesian elder passed his house as he returned from hunting. When he saw John playing with one of his birds, he gently chided the old bishop for spending his time so frivolously.
John looked at his critic's bow and remarked that the string was loosened. "Yes," said the huntsman, "I also loosen the string of my bow when it's not in use. If it always stayed tight, it would lose its rebounding quality and fail me in the hunt." "And I," said John, "am now relaxing the bow of my mind so that I may be better able to shoot the arrows of divine truth."
D) We need that – Listen God says: ONE day out of seven is necessary for your welfare
1) So there was Practical reason –
2.) But Much more important
than that is the PROPHETIC aspect
A)This day... the Sabbath... Is a PICTURE of Jesus Christ
It points to the one who said Matt 11:28 Come unto me
weary…..REST
B) From the day
of it’s inception by the Lord It
WAS pointing to & picturing Jesus
1) In the Book of Colossians, Chapter 2, Paul gives us instruction concerning the true meaning of the Sabbath Turn
Col 2:16 So
let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon
or Sabbaths,
C) NOTE: The PRINCIPLE of keeping one day out of seven is still in effect
1) BUT - don't let anyone tell
you that you must keep it on Saturday
D )IF someone judges you because you worship and rest on Sunday, THEN tell them that Paul says that you CAN'T be judged concerning the Sabbath days
Col. 2:17 Which
are a shadow of things to come; but the substance (or the body) is of Christ.
A)The Sabbath day is a SHADOW of things to come / The REALITY... The SUBSTANCE is Jesus
B) Pt . DON'T get hung up in the
shadows EXAMPLE:
C) Imagine that you are away on a business trip for 2 weeks
1) You come home and your spouse comes out to greet you, or your son or your daughter.
D) And they fall down before you and begin to hug & embrace your shadow
They're totally into your shadow
1)You would say: HELLO PEOPLE that's my shadow... I'm the substance"
E) Paul is saying that is the Shadow – the Real Rest is found in Jesus embrace Him !!!
The author of the Book of Hebrews picks up on the same
subject in Ch 4
A)Jesus is our SABBATH...He is our place of rest!!/ Jesus Christ is the FULFILLMENT of the Sabbath
B) We are to be a people who enter into HIS rest
1) No more working to earn the blessing of God.. the love of God
But instead RESTING in what Jesus has done for us
C) You see, Jesus Christ made an awesome declaration from the cross.....
It is finished
1) That was NOT a cry of DESPERATION or DEFEAT
It was a PROCLAMATION of VICTORY
D) The work of salvation is accomplished/ There is NOTHING more that CAN be done
1) There is NOTHING more that MUST BE DONE / All that remains for us to LEARN to rest in it - We are to WORK at RESTING
E) It is a FINISHED work - There is NOTHING that I can do... or that I should try to do.... to add to that work
But
it is very easy for the believer to fall into the trap of gathering sticks
A)We try to ASSIST that work - We try to PROVE that we are worthy of that salvation
B) We think things like "I know that I was saved by grace, but now my standing with
God has to be maintained by my FERVENCY of prayer and my GENEROSITY of giving
and by my PURITY of lifestyle"
C) NO- NO- NO – 1000 times NO!!!! - You can NOT add to a work that is completed /The issue is what Jesus did on the cross
1) NOT what you are doing
D)Any attempt on your part to ADD to what He did is an insult to His work... it pollutes it / Example
EXAMPLE: Imagine
if someone gave to you the original painting of DaVinci called the Mona Lisa
A)You gratefully accept it... After all it's a priceless work of art
B) But you think that her smile is a little to small and the colors are a little too dull / So you decide to ADD a little bit to DaVinci's finished work
1) You take out you little water colors/ Barely passed finger painting in K-5 But begin to enlarge her smile and add a little color to the thing
E) Now IF someone saw you doing that, they would say: STOP!!!!!!
Don't
be FOOLISH.... That's a PRICELESS masterpiece and you're RUINING it... You're
POLLUTING it"
D) You might respond: "No- I'm only ADDING to it" BUT - The truth is that you CAN'T add to it
1) You can only DETRACT from such a finished work
APP:We as Christians can take the
masterpiece of salvation... the work of the cross which Jesus said was
FINISHED...
A)And we say: "I'm going to add a little bit to it"
B)"I'm
going to PROVE that I am every bit worthy of what Jesus did by getting up at
5:00 A.M. every morning to pray and seek God"
1) "I'm
going to tithe... not 10%... but 11.25%"
C) Those things are wonderful if you are RESTING in the finished work of the cross and you do these things out of sheer love & gratitude for what Jesus has already done to save you)
D) But if you are doing them to try to improve your standing w/ God then you are trying to improve on Christ Masterpiece – Finished
1)Standing in Jesus is as good as it gets
E) Know this: Any attempt on my part to ADD to the finished work of the cross will lead to DRYNESS and to death { Reason for harsh reaction } v. 37-41
The tassels on the corners of their garments & the blue
thread in the tassels of the corners were intended to remind Israel to Whom
they belonged;
A)They were God’s people Such reminders are an effective preventive remedy for sin!
B) But why a blue thread? The ark of the covenant was covered with a blue cloth; blue curtains adorned the tabernacle;
1) blue was in the high priest’s garments. BLUE IS THE COLOR OF HEAVEN
C) God wanted the people to put a band of blue on their garments in order to
remind them that they are a heavenly people
1) Every time they looked on that fringe they were reminded that they were just passing through.
D) BLUE JEANS : Reminder of Heaven - That mindset is so liberating
1) When We understand that everything is TEMPORARY and PREPARARTORY for heaven