Numbers Survey

Chapters 9 & 10

 

VERSES 1-8

1. (1-5) The first Passover in the wilderness.

a. Israel celebrated Passover as they were leaving Egypt (Exodus 12); the Passover here marks the one-year point of their journey out of slavery and into the Promised Land.

b. According to all its rites and ceremonies you shall keep it: Passover was meant to be a reminder of God’s "passing over" Israel in the judgment of the firstborn at the Exodus from Egypt.

 

The Passover was meant to be a continual reminder of this occasion of being spared judgment, and of the deliverance that followed in the Exodus.

ii. Jesus fulfilled the Passover sacrifice by His death on the cross (1 Corinthians 5:7); the covering of His blood causes the judgment of God to "pass over" us. We are commanded to continually remember our occasion of being spared judgment and the deliverance that followed, by remembering Jesus’ work on the cross through the Lord’s Supper.

 

Notice VERSE 8  And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.

 

      This is the CLASSIC answer........ It is the BEST answer

 

            It is also the most FRUSTRATING one

 

      What we NEED to do is

 

            Not Panic

 

            Not try to figure out what we can do

 

            Not see who we can talk to

 

            Not see what we can do or get others to do

 

      We NEED to stop and seek the Lord

 

Example: Red Sea Stand Still & see the Salvation of our God

 

      Another EXAMPLE: In Isaiah 30 the Israelites were surrounded by the                 Assyrians

 

                  They panicked and went an sought an alliance with the                                 Egyptians

 

                        Isa. 30:1   Woe to the rebellious children, saith the   LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:

 

                        Isa. 30:2-3;   That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.

        NOTE:

 

                  Isa. 30:15   For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of                                 Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength:

 

                  The Lord KNOWS that they are surrounded

 

                        But He wants them to come to Him and listen to Him

 

                  WHEN they do that, the Lord said

 

                        Isa. 30:21   And thine ears shall hear a word behind                                                 thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn                         to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

 

                  IF they would RETURN to the Lord and REST and be QUIET,                             THEN they would here direction from Him

 

                        We MUST get away and spend time with Him

 

                        WHEN was the last time that YOU took a day to seek the                                            Lord?

 

 

      Moses was a man who knew this truth

 

            Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.

 

     

VERSE 9

 

The Lord spo9ke to Moses

 

      He WILL speak to you IF you will stand still

 

VERSES 10-11

a. The unclean must not neglect to keep Passover; it was a reminder and an identification with spared judgment and deliverance that must always be remembered. However, the unclean had to wait one month and keep Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month.

i. Are we to think these were the only two in Israel who had defiled themselves on the Passover? Of course not. Then why do only these two come forth? Perhaps because others who had become unclean on Passover saw it as an excuse to not partake. They could have a "day off." But these two wanted to partake of Passover, and are bold enough to ask Moses - to ask God! - for an exception to the previous command! (Leviticus 7:20; 22:3)

ii. Thus, provision was made for the unclean to remember God’s spared judgment and deliverance - and the unclean needed most to remember it!

b. However, those among Israel who were clean and not traveling must keep Passover, or be cut off from among his people. The punishment for not keeping Passover was severe: That man shall bear his sin, instead of having it borne by the Passover lamb.

i. In the same pattern, we must partake of Jesus, or bear our own sin. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. . . . He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. (John 6:53, 56)

c. Additionally, it didn’t matter what bloodline or ethnic group the person came from: Even the stranger could and must partake of Passover, or be cut off. A Jew with the purest bloodlines would be cut off if they neglected Passover; the most mongrel gentile would be accepted if they participated in God’s Passover.

d. Before Israel can enter into the Promised Land, they must remember what got them there: The sparing of God’s judgment, and His glorious, miraculous deliverance. Promised land people must always live in remembrance of God’s deliverance, and it all flows from the work of Jesus on the cross.

 

Such a person shall keep the Passover on the 2nd month

 

 

Note VERSES 13

 

For those that were unclean, the Lord gave instruction to postpone it for 30 days

 

      BUT - IF a man refuses to keep the Passover, THEN that man was to be cut off

 

            NOTE: Refusing to keep the Passover led to ISOLATION

 

                  It led to SPIRITUAL INFIRMITY

 

      The Passover was a celebration to remind them of the work of God in Redeeming them

 

            It has it's fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ       

 

            And it's New Testament counterpart is communion

 

                  We are to celebrate communion even as they were told to0                                     celebrate Passover

 

                        Luke 22:19   And he took bread, and gave thanks, and                                            brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

 

                  We are to REMEMBER what God did for us

 

                  It is a MEMORIAL service

 

                        A time to REMEMBER that Jesus bore my sin

 

                  There is something inside of us that FORGETS that or that                          has a hard time coming to grips with it

 

                        The Lord's table deals with this

 

                        It reminds us of the COMPLETE pardon that is ours

 

                        For there, by faith, we see afresh and new the broken                                        body and the shed blood that purchased our pardon

 

            Concerning communion Paul said

 

                  1Cor. 11:29-30   For he that eateth and drinketh                                                unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not               discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

 

                  One commentator said that the language infers that the         issue is NOT my worthiness

 

                        It speaks of the worth attached to the Lord's table by                                        the partaker

 

                        It refers to the person who comes to the Lord's table and                                              does NOT give it value

 

                              They DON'T realize it's importance

 

                              For THIS cause many are WEAK spiritually, SICK                                                            physically and have died eternally

 

                              They attach no value to the Lord's table and thus to the cross

 

                        The REMEDY is to come to the Lord's table and there                                                 recognize the work accomplished once and for all

 

      So the person in the O.T. who did NOT partake of the Passover would suffer consequences

 

 

VERSES 14-23

 

Isaiah 63:7-14 tells us that the CLOUD that COVERED and LED them in the day and the FIRE by night was actually the presence of the Holy Spirit

 

      The Holy Spirit led them

 

      Don't you wish He would lead you by a cloud or by a pillar of fire?

 

            It would take the pressure off deciding where to go to school or                        whether or not to buy a house or who to marry

      We long for that

 

            NOTE: They were led by the cloud and the fire

 

                  But it was EXTERNAL

 

                  EXTERNAL direction can lead to great frustration

 

                  In the New Testament we are led INTERNALLY

 

                  It is NOT EXTERNAL direction..... It is INTERNAL desire

 

Phil. 2:13   For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

     

He leads us by giving us desires and changing our desires to conform us to His will

 

Though it is TOUGH to discern His will from ours, such leading is SUPERIOR to the EXTERNAL leading

 

BECAUSE they were GRUMBLING all of the way - INTERNAL DESIRES make it a matter of DESIRE rather than DUTY

 

 

Ps. 37:4   Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

 

I would rather have my heart changed than to have EXTERNAL direction and complain all of the way

 

It isn't always easy to discern the will of God

 

      IF you are walking with God you will end up in the will of God

 

But - IF you are NOT walking in the will of God, do NOT        follow the desires of your heart..... You will end up in a mess

 

b. This cloud of God’s Shekinah glory was evident at different times in Israel’s history; when Solomon built the temple, the cloud of glory filled the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11); but when Israel apostatized, and before the temple was destroyed by conquering Babylonians, the cloud of glory departed (Ezekiel 10:3-4, 18-19).

i. Which would be worse - to have never seen such an amazing visual emblem of God’s presence and glory, or to have seen it - and then watch it depart? This is why God so sparingly appeals to our physical senses with the emblems of His glory; we will be (perhaps rightly) devastated when the emblem is gone.

 

c. Additionally, this was more than "show and tell"; the fire at night was obviously a comfort to Israel in the midst of a dark wilderness, and the cloud by day would be a shade from the hot wilderness sun.

i. For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat (Isaiah 25:4) The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day (Psalm 121:5). In the Lord, we genuinely have it "made in the shade"!

2. (16-23) Guidance by the cloud by day and the fire by night.

a. Though Israel had been organized and ordered by God; though they had been cleansed, and set apart, and blessed, and giving, and walking in their priesthood, they still had to be guided by God each step of the way to make it to the Promised Land. God had not done all those previous things to make them able to start towards the Promised Land on their own, but to make every step in constant dependence on Him.

 

 

CHAPTER 10

 

VERSES 1-10

 

      We learned about these TWO SILVER TRUMPETS on last Sunday morning

 

      They were to be blown to

 

            1.) Assemble the people together

 

            2,) Call leadership together

 

            3.) Give direction for marching

 

            4.) Call the people to battle

 

            5.) Celebrate worship

 

      In them we see God heralding good news to us

 

      He wants to have fellowship WITH you

 

      He wants to open opportunities of service FOR you

 

      He wants to give direction TO you

 

      He wants to wage war THROUGH you

 

      He wants to work worship INTO you

 

NOTE ALSO: Not just the composition of the trumpets... But look at who plays the trumpets

 

Num. 10:8   And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.

           

 

      Aaron was the High Priest

 

            Aaron is symbolic of our Great High priest, Jesus Christ

 

      BUT - It was the sons of Aaron who played these SILVER trumpets

 

            Even as those who are the sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ are the ones who are to PROCLAIM... to HERALD.... to TRUMPET the Good News throughout this world

 

            NOTICE what Jesus said

 

                  Mark 16:15   And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

 

 

 

 

 

            There are many occupations that would be interesting and          rewarding to do

           

                  Life Guard.... Surgeon... A benevolent millionaire

 

            BUT - The GREATEST occupation that you can be called to is what we have been called to

 

                  To TRUMPET the Good News

 

                        To tell mankind that God loves them

 

                        To tell mankind of the forgiveness of sins

 

                        To tell mankind about heaven... About life

 

            Yet we sometimes refuse to sound the trumpet because we are              embarrassed

 

            Question: What is embarrassing about telling someone that they are loved and can be forgiven and can go to heaven?

 

 

Notice one last thing... That is: WHY the SILVER TRUMPETS were played

 

We know that they were sounded to INFORM the people

 

But they were also called to ENTREAT the Lord

 

      Num. 10:9   And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the     trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

 

      Num. 10:10   ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt         offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD   your God.

 

 

 

      The most OBVIOUS reason for the sounding of the SILVER          TRUMPETS was to INFORM the people

 

      But the more SUBTLE... and perhaps more SIGNIFICANT reason for      sounding the SILVER TRUMPETS was to entreat God

 

            God is saying:

 

                  "When I hear the trumpets, I will remember you"

 

                  "When the Word is being preached. I will REMEMBER you                                   and SAVE you"

 

            They were sounded NOT to MANIPULATE the Father

 

                  We sounded them.. Now you must answer

 

            They were sounded to MANIFEST their faith

 

                  We BELIEVE you Father... We EXPECT you to answer Father

 

            In FAITH they sounded the trumpets and God responded and gave them VICTORY

 

 

            APPLICATION:

 

                  As YOU trumpet the Word of God, God hears and answers

 

                  Whether we are articulating the Word of God as it relates to                                    our circumstances.... Or whether we are declaring the Gospel to the lost

 

                  In doing so we are NOT manipulating God, we are manifesting confidence in the PERSON of God

 

     

One would be tempted to think that after such extensive preparation - a virtual transformation from slave people to Promised Land people - the actual entering into the Promised Land would be easy. This will not be the case! The preparation was exactly that - preparation. Ahead of them are the greatest challenges, challenges that can only be met by faith. A soldier might think boot camp finishes something - but it doesn’t. It only prepares for a greater challenge: The actual battle itself.

 

VERSES 11-28

 

The encampment of the Israelites

 

VERSES 29-33

 

We studied these verses this morning and the invitation of Moses to Hobab: Come with us

 

 

33-36) Rise up, O Lord!

a. As they begin the journey to the Promised Land, they were guided by God’s presence - and not by themselves. They followed the cloud no matter where God led them. If they were to camp in a rough place, they did it. If they were told to go on from a comfortable place, they did it. They allowed themselves to be guided by God, not by their own desire for comfort and ease.

b. When God’s presence led them on, Moses would pray: Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You!

i. The idea is simple: "God, go before us and take care of our enemies. It’s too dangerous ahead unless You do so!" What a fitting prayer for every believer to pray! God has things before us, places to lead us - shouldn’t we pray this same prayer?

ii. Isn’t this a fitting prayer also by which to remember the glory and strength of our resurrected Lord? When Jesus rose up, were not all His enemies scattered? Who dared oppose Him? Is not all our victory found in His risen glory?

c. When God’s presence stopped, and indicated a place to camp, Moses prayed: Return, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel. The idea is, "here we camp, Lord. Stay with us!"

i. God sometimes tells us to move on, sometimes tells us to "camp out" - either is fine when we are guided by His presence.

d. "Will you and I go home and pray this prayer by ourselves, fervently laying hold upon the horns of God’s altar? I charge you, my brethren in Christ, do not neglect this private duty. Go, each of you, to your chambers; shut to your doors; cry to him who hears in secret, and let this be the burden of your cry - ‘Rise up, Lord; and let thine enemies be scattered.’" (Spurgeon)