Numbers Survey
Chapters 20 –25
Intro Ch.20 of the book of Numbers takes us to almost the end of the 40 yrs of wandering in the wilderness Rd Chapter 20:1
A)
Chapter 20 begins w/ the death of Miriam – Moses older sister & ends w/ the
death of Aaron Moses older Brother
B)
The death of these two people signals an important – point in the Exodus
1)
Their death’s
are an important demonstration of the fulfillment of what God promised:
C)
That the generation which refused to enter Canaan would die in the wilderness,
and the new generation would enter instead
D) Their death’s show us that there are no exceptions for the family of Moses / Miriam dies / Aaron dies – even Moses will die – not seeing ….
In this there is an interesting Picture Moses, who represents the law, could not lead them into the Promised Land,
A) nor
could Miriam, who represents the prophets, nor could Aaron, who represents the
priests.
B)
Only Joshua, that is, Jesus, could lead them into the land of God’s promise.
1)
Cannan
represents the spirit filled life we don’t enter into that life of blessing by
keeping the Law or by being Religious
C)
But only by Following JESUS
Now it is also worth noting that there
is little written about the last 381/2 yrs of their wandering experience –
A)From the time of their sin
of unbelief at Kadesh – only 5 ½ Chapters – while the single yr. They spent at
Sinai – comprises almost 50 chapters{Why
B) I think one reason is to demonstrate
these years accomplished nothing, except the death of the generation of
unbelief.
1) These were just years of
surviving in the desert, wasted years, waiting for the "old man" the
man of unbelief to die.
C) Interesting to note that during those 38 years, there was much movement - but no progress! Our walk with God can be the same way.
1)When we as individuals or
even as a Church are operating in the energy & inspiration of the flesh – Lots of action / activity / movement/ NO PROGRESS
D) Listen
the Flesh needs to die { the old man in us who wants to do things his own way
and not trust in God – listen to God needs to go!!!!
1)
If
he doesn’t we will simply wander from one Dry thing to another!!!
Now we looked at the first part of Ch.20 last Wed night the smiting of the Rock – awesome picture or Jesus – Smitten once – now speak to
A)Seen some great pictures of
Jesus in Numbers – Aaron standing between living & the dead / Red Heifer –
this is another / Pick up in
v.22-29
B) The passing of Aaron is a huge landmark in the history of Israel; he was the first high priest of the nation –
1)
and yet, not exempt from the decree that his generation would perish in the
wilderness!
C)
So Aaron went to the top of the mountain and went up and Eleazar was went down
to serve
1)
Whenever one of God's servants is removed, another will be brought in
I Love to
see how the Lord orchestrates these things –
D)
I used to cringe every time someone on staff came to me & said I think the
Lord is leading me such & such { I hate Change/ I love steadiness
1)but
now I get excited to see who the Lord is going to raise up
E)
Mark O looking forward to aaron &
AMY …..– Evan so blessed Jesus said: "I will build my My Church" Neat
to see how HE does that
Note VERSE 24
Aaron shall be gathered to his
people:
A
change of address / Going home to your people & to be with your God
B)
It is NOT being put in the ground
Ps.
116:15 Precious
in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
2Cor. 5:8 We are confident,
I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with
the Lord.
A)As the new generation of the children of Israel begin their approach to the Promised Land, the new generation encounters their first hostile army –
B)
Arad the Canaanite, in the South.-After having some men lost to Arad, Israel
vows to God that the cities of Arad they will utterly destroy –
1) that is, devote unto God by completely
destroying them, and God grants the victory.
Rd v.4-5
C) They had to go far out of their way because the Edomites refused them passage (Numbers 20:14-21).
1)In
fact, to go around the Edomites, they had to turn back towards the wilderness
and away from Canaan - how discouraging!
D)
They have a reason to be discouraged; but they have no excuse for their Complaining .
1) They are facing a real
challenge, something that is no fun at all. Yet, they have no excuse for not trusting
in God, looking for His victory thru it all.
v6 So the LORD sent fiery
serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of
Israel died.
A)How
were the serpents fiery? Some think they were a red color, like the
color of fire; others believe their bite caused an intense burning sensation,
so they were called "fiery serpents."
VERSE 7
7 Therefore 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.
B) Sin followed by suffering Suffering
is then followed by sorrow & confession "We blew it"
They
asked Moses to pray for them
1)
He could have said: "Hey guys, for 40 years you have chewed on me and
complained against God..... Take a hike"
D)
"You have been biting and devouring one another... Now you're bitten......
BURN" But Moses was a bigger
man than that
1) Sin, Suffering, Sorrow, Supplication and
then SALVATION V 8-9
A) a BRONZE serpent Bronze = Brass which is
symbolic of JUDGEMENT - Those who look
at the pole are healed !!!
B)
Interesting: The brass pole and brass serpent are still used today as the
symbol of the medical sciences
1) WHY would God have Moses do such a thing?
PICTURE
John 3:14-15 And as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted
up: That whosoever believes in
him should not perish, but have eternal life.
C) In His dialogue with Nicodemus, Jesus pointed out that NUM 21:8-9 was a PICTURE of Himself -Jesus...... A serpent? Yes
2Cor. 5:21 For
he has made him to be sin for us, who
knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
D)
And now - Anyone who will look to Jesus for salvation will be saved
NOTE: The ONLY thing that had to be done was to recognize you were
bitten and LOOK at the brass serpent
A)Everyone
was capable of simply LOOKING to that pole
So If you died of that fiery bite, you had no
one to blame but yourself
B)BUT
- There might have been those who upon being told of the remedy would scoff at
it !!!
1) Get Serious "Do you mean to tell me that this deadly
bite will be cured just by LOOKING to that brass pole with the brass
serpent"
You don't
expect me to actually believe that do you?" "That is too simplistic
too STUPID”
C)
What a tragedy- The remedy was there the whole time and yet many perished
- Today the same is true
1)
All have been bitten by the lies of Satan and been stung by sin
D)
And there are those who perish for those same reasons/ NOT for lack of
remedy/ BUT for a proud rejection of
the truth
E)
And they get weaker and weaker until they keel over dead
1) Trying anything and everything but Look
to Jesus
Now
VERSES 10-15 tell of their various
journeyings & in v.14 mentions the book of wars
A)What is the book of the wars
of the Lord?- We do NOT know
B) The
Lord has not seen fit to preserve it for us Pick up the story in v.16 -18
C)
Once again they are out of water- They come to Beer / where they changed their attitude entirely
1)
Instead of reacting with murmuring they are making melody
Instead of
sighing they are singing
A)APPLICATION: When we hit the dry times
and the trials, we have a choice to
make
B)
You can MURMER or MAKE MELODY.... SIGH or SING
C) IF
you are in a trial, the Word of God says to SING OUT loudly and DIG DEEPLY
1)
Even if the Word seems dry, DIG and you will strike water
D) The Lord ALLOWS us to become spiritually dehydrated in order to prepare us for DEEPER REVELATION
1)
You find truths and insights that you would NOT find unless you were FORCED to
DIG DEEP { My Story – Wrestle w/ God
Sihon who was REFUSING to let Israel
pass through on the way to the land of promise was DEFEATED HOW?
A) By the edge of the sword - Spiritual
armor – sword of the Spirit the word of God
Hebr.
4:12 For
the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword
B) How will the Sihons in your life who want to drive you back into the wilderness be defeated? With THIS Sword
1)
Every time that Jesus was tempted He responded with the Word
VERSE 25-35
C) Note v.33 King Og means earth cake
He
was LITERALLY one of the heavy-weights of the Bible
1)
In the Book of Deuteronomy we will learn that when they defeated him the Israelites
kept his bed as a souvenir/ 13 ft.
long and 6 ft. wide
CH 22:1-6
Now we looked at the story of Balaam on
Sunday am – we saw how Balak the King sent for Balaam to curse Israel
A)At
first God said No you can’t go - Balaam
persisted – then God said go ahead & go – but say only what I tell you
B)
So Balaam goes trying to figure out how he can bring a curse on Israel – The
Angel of the Lord – Donkey talks – Pick up v.36-38
1)
well finally Balaam got the point – Here’s the deal Balak I can only
say what God tells me to say – But lets give it a whirl v. 39- ch.23:6
C) Now What happens in Ch.23 & 24 is that Balak takes Balaam up to 3 different Mt Peaks to get a view of the Children of Israel
1)
They
offer sacrifices – add a little Sorcery -
Balaam goes to Curse – but when he opens his mouth Blessing
D)
Note – Picture of the Cross – Awesome example
of God’s heart –
1)
Satan
wants to curse you – Accuser of the Brethren – But God has blessings in store
E)
God sees us in light of the Work of the Cross – The Curse is lifted – Jesus
became a curse for us – Cursed is everyone who Hangs on tree
1)
Check out What the Lord has Balaam say
Rd v.7-10
This first prophecy is short and to the point. This is a nation that stands apart from all other nations (verse 9), ALONE but not ALONE
A)and they will become even greater in number and strength (verse 10a).
B) Balaam says I can’t curse them if God has said they are blessed
1) Instead, God will bless
Israel - making them a singular nation, and blessing them with great size.
In this message, God rebukes Balak, and teaches Balak about His character:
A)That
God is not a man, that He does not lie or change His mind, that He
always performs His word, that He has all strength.
B) God also teaches Balak about His people, Israel: That they are blessed, God’s view of them
(He has not
observed iniquity in Jacob nor has He seen wickedness in Israel),
D)
The final verse, Numbers 23:24, concludes with a powerful word of promise and
warning.
1)
.
He will cause Israel to rise up like a lion. Like a lion, Israel will not rest
until it has destroyed and consumed its prey—
E)
The point of all this is quite clear—no nation ought to become the enemy of
Israel. This is precisely what Balak is doing.
A)This beautiful prophecy speaks of Israel’s blessed abundance, and the dominance over neighbor nations God will give Israel;
B)They
are like gardens, planted by the river. God will faithfully water them, and as
He does, they will grow stronger,
1)
so
that they will utterly defeat their enemies (verses 5-9).
C)
The imagery of a lion devouring its prey introduced in the last oracle (23:24)
is once again employed (24:9).
1)
most of all, it speaks of the abiding blessing of God on Israel, and directly
rebukes Balak for trying to curse Israel (cursed is he who curses you).
D)
Well needless to say Balak is not too happy – v. 10-14 { My note Key on Latter
days
1)
Well
In spite of his anger, Balaam gives Balak a final, unsolicited word from the
Lord in his fourth and final Prophesy v. 15-25
He speaks about a King who is going to rise up from the ranks of Israel who is going to Rule over the surrounding nations
A)(Moab,
Edom, Amalek, and the Kenites)
B)This
is a Prophecy of Jesus the coming Messiah – what he will do in his
1)
2nd
coming – He is referred to as a Star coming out of Jacob - Briefly
consider
how Jesus is like a Star – Note 4 things
1st Jesus is a star in the sense: He
shines in the Darkness – Jn.8:12 Light of the world
2nd He is the pattern of Constancy – Always there { Never leave …..
3rd A source of Guidance – He is the word – Thy word is a lamp
unto our feet light unto our path
4th – Object of wonder Those who take out telescope & take a deep look
are amazed – those who will take the time
C) So Balaam gives this awesome Prophecy concerning – the Coming Messiah - v.24 He went on his way – empty handed
Now what happens next we are not told here in our text – but we are told else where in Numbers 31:16
16
Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam,
to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague
among the congregation of the LORD.
Rev
2:14
14 But I have a few things against you,
because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak
to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things
sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
Apparently Balaam came up w/ an idea – goes back to Balak – I can’t curse them – but you can get them to curse themselves ………..
A)The
Plan is set into motion – Ch.25 is the result of that – v.1-5
B)
So Moses gathers the leaders & says – we need to take care of this
1)
Each
one of you is responsible for those men in your tribe who sinned in this way {
Wasn’t all on Moses –
C) The
Leaders were responsible for their area of oversight - - that is the way it is
to be – Areas of oversight –
1)
Ron
/ Steve / Doug / Eddie / Howard
D)
What happens next is Radical v.6-9 { Great Defiance
Phinehas was one of
the leaders & He wasn’t about to stand by and let this happen –
{ implication is they were in the Act
A)This
is a great example of how to deal w/ sin – Aggressively & Swiftly
Samuel
w/ AGAG
B)
Note It was after Phinehas reaction
that the plague stopped
1) For a brief period of time, it looked as though Balaam had succeeded.
C)
The nation had been seduced and had fallen into spiritual harlotry. God’s wrath
had been provoked, and thus He had sent a plague upon Israel.
1)But
Thanks to the zealous action of one man—Phinehas—the nation was spared
D)
Undoubtedly, Phinehas was not the only LEADER to make such a stand for righteousness; but
his was the singular act that stopped the plague.
APP We may think our
particular stand for righteousness makes no difference in the awesome tide of
sin around us;
1)
but God can honor just one righteous act and cause it to make the difference.
In Closing tonight note This text gives us
some lessons about leadership
1st
Leaders must not only be men of character, they must also be men who truly lead,
men who take action when it is required.
A)Phinehas
teaches us that leadership is not just a matter of holding an office, although
he did serve in a leadership role as a priest.
1)
Leadership is not just instructing or commanding others to act as they should. Leaders are men of Action – who lead by Example
2nd We should also note that
the zealous and courageous action of Phinehas in our text did enhance his
leadership role. Read v.10-13
A)The
divine response was the “covenant of peace” God made with Phinehas and
his descendants.
B)
But There was also a human response.{ Phinehas was recognized by the others as
a man who cared for the people
1)
And
as a man who could be counted on !!
C)
When Moses sent the Israelites to war against the
Midianites, he sent Phinehas with them, along with the holy instruments
and signal trumpets.
1)
It
was in this battle that the five Midianite kings were slain, along with Balaam
(Numbers 31:6-8).
D)In Joshua 22, we find that when a report reached the Israelites that the Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh / had built an altar at the entrance to the land of Canaan (22:11),
E) They assumed their brothers had turned from
worshipping God to worshipping the gods of the
Canaanites.
1)
They
sent a leader from each tribe of Israel and Phinehas.
F)
If their brothers had turned away from worshipping God in truth, the Israelites
knew that Phinehas was the man to deal with it.
1)When
a serious moral problem arose in the tribe of Benjamin,
Judges 20, Phinehas was very much a part of Israel’s dealing with it No wonder
we read 1 Chronicles 9:20 that “the Lord was with him.” Here is a leader
who truly stood before his people. { We need more men
& women like Phinehas
Lord
you are Our STAR – Shine brightly in us
We
are filled w/ wonder at You
LOOK
TO THE POLE
LET
THE FLESH DIE
MAKE US LIKE PHINEHAS