Foundations for Faith

Weeks in a row, it's a big lift, and she's been doing a great job, so hopefully she can

rest a little bit today and I'll be able to fill the gap.

But let me open us in prayer real quick before we get started, if that's all right.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for the truth that it brings to our lives.

As we consider this morning the book of Numbers, we ask that you would prepare our hearts and

minds to receive the word that you have for us.

I pray that you would guard and guide my words, that they would be only that which you have

ordained for us today, and I pray that this discussion would bring you honor and glory

even as it instructs and encourages us in our walks with Jesus.

And I pray this in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

All right.

So we're picking up this week in our study of the Pentateuch with the book of Numbers.

So I'll just get started with a little bit of background and setting the scene.

Numbers is the English translation of the Greek title of the book, which is derived from the

pronounced focus on numbers in the book.

The Hebrew title, though, is translated in the wilderness, which may arguably be the better

title as we follow the Israelites through their journey from Mount Sinai.

So I'm wondering, when you guys think of the book of Numbers, I'm curious to hear what comes

to mind.

Complaining.

Complaining.

It's a great answer.

What else?

Boring.

Boring.

Let's get straight to the point.

Yeah, boring.

Okay.

So a lot of Bible reading plans can struggle when you get to this point in the Leviticus

and Numbers arena.

But actually, my hope today is that we can infuse a little bit of excitement and enjoyment

into the book.

What else?

Unpronounceable names.

Unpronounceable names.

Another good one.

So there's censuses.

Yes.

So there's lots of information, descriptive and prescriptive information that we're trying

to get at or that's being reported to us in the book of Numbers.

So there's law giving, counting of the nations.

There's dividing up of the promised land.

We're setting borders.

But there's a few other things.

There are fiery serpents.

Miraculous healings.

People being devoured by the earth.

The earth opens up and devours people.

Food falling from the sky.

Water flowing from rocks.

Talking donkeys.

Prophecies.

It sounds kind of like a fantasy novel to me if you kind of like lay it out that way,

right?

So in the midst of these stories, and we also, again, have these censuses and laws, and it's

kind of, there's a stark contrast.

And I think because of a lot of the laws and the information, like I said, like Ivor pointed

out, Numbers has a reputation for sort of lacking relevance in our daily lives.

Even in the narratives, it does sound a little bit like fantasy, and it's hard to understand

how do I make this apply to my life.

But I hope that we can uncover some of the flavor of Numbers today and provide a little

bit of fresh encouragement.

So Numbers picks up after Leviticus, and at this point, God has delivered Israel from Egypt

by miraculously leading the entire nation out of Egypt.

They've crossed the Red Sea to arrive at Mount Sinai, where God establishes his covenant with

the nation of Israel, and he's providing a framework that's necessary for him to dwell

with his people.

So Numbers begins with Israel encamped at Mount Sinai and taking a census of the warrior-aged

men in the nation in preparation for conquest of Canaan, which is the land that God had promised

to Abraham.

So there's one way of viewing the structure of the book, the structure and content of the

book.

We're following the movement of the Israelites through the wilderness, so the breakdown can

kind of be summarized by these phases of law-giving and journeying.

And this is kind of a diagram that's been put forth by a guy named Gordon Wynnum, so if you're

interested to see it.

But we have law-giving at Mount Sinai that happens roughly in chapters 1 through 10.

And then there's a journey.

I can't write that way.

Journey.

Oh, wow.

That's not good.

Journey from chapters 11 to chapters 10 through 12.

Sorry.

Then there's more law-giving.

This is a journey from Sinai to Kadesh.

Then once they get to Kadesh, there's more law-giving that happens from chapters 13 through 19.

And again, another journey from Kadesh to the plains of Moab in chapters 20 through 22.

And then finally, more law-giving from 23 to 35, 36.

So it breaks down this way, starting in Sinai, then journeying from Sinai to Kadesh, more law-giving

in Kadesh, journeying from Kadesh to Moab, and then more law-giving.

And there are narratives interspersed throughout the entire thing, but a lot of the narratives

happen in these journeying moments.

So while law-giving is certainly a significant component of the book, I'll focus a little

bit more today on the narrative components.

Laura will be covering Leviticus and Deuteronomy together next week, and I'm sure she'll be covering

the law in more detail then.

So this morning, I'd like to first just take a quick walk through some of these narratives

in numbers, and we'll talk about them in their particulars, and specifically what they're

revealing about God and about humanity.

And then at the end, I'll try to zoom out a bit and talk more about where the book sits

in redemptive history, so how it's pointing forward to Jesus and what it can mean for us

today.

Sound good?

All right.

So first, as we move through these narratives of the Israelites wandering, I think there's

a loose pattern of the events that can be helpful as we think about interpreting the stories.

Much of the narratives include some kind of sin that takes the form of a complaint or rebellion,

like Matt was saying.

These events then have some downstream consequence or result, and importantly, they all have some

kind of resolution at the end.

And as we examine these events, we'll see our sin contrasted against God's holiness and

righteous judgment.

But in these, we'll also see God's steadfast love, his grace and his mercy toward his people

in the midst of our unfaithfulness.

All right.

So let's take a walk through a few of these.

I won't...

There are lots of narratives, so I won't hit all of the narratives, just a few as examples.

So first, as the narrative begins around chapter 11, that should be chapter 11, I think, we find

the Israelites packing up for their first trip from Mount Sinai on the way to Kadesh.

So remember, they've already been camped at Mount Sinai for approximately a year since God

rescuing them out of Egypt.

And he's been dwelling with them in the tabernacle.

And so now they've packed up the tabernacle according to all of the instructions that he's

given them, and they're moving through the wilderness to their next destination.

So as they're moving on this journey, there are three events which follow that loose pattern

I mentioned, a complaint or a sin.

There's a consequence, and there's some kind of resolution.

So not long after the journey begins, the Israelites descend into, in verse 1, complaining in the

hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes.

So in other words, circumstances were bad, and they blamed Moses, and by extension, God.

And the result is God kindling his anger against them and consuming the outermost parts of the

camp by fire.

The fires stop after Moses' intercession on behalf of the Israelites, but the grumbling

sort of continues and even becomes a little bit more specific.

They say, oh, that we had meat to eat.

Remember, God had been providing manna up to this point, but now they remember the quote-unquote

better days of their enslavement in Egypt when they had fish, had mango, and garlic, and other

satisfying foods.

And they say, but now our strength is dried up, and there's nothing at all but this manna

to look at.

And God's anger blazed hotly.

And Moses basically says to God, Lord, if you find favor with me, take me now.

I can't take the weight of this anymore, and I don't want to see my wretchedness.

I don't know if this is intended to be funny, but if you have even one fussy eater at home,

it's hard not to chuckle a little bit at this.

But in seriousness, I think Moses is saying, I really cannot take the weight of this.

You've given me this entire nation that I'm supposed to be leading, and they're asking

for meat, and I simply can't provide it, and I don't want to see my failure in this.

So ultimately, in God's grace, he sends his spirit to more people to help Moses bear the

burden of caring and interceding for the nation.

And God also provides quail in plenty for the Israelites to eat.

But in his sovereignty, he also predicts that they will be overcome by their greed and gluttony.

So he sends the quail, and in fact, the people end up collecting roughly 480 dry gallons of

quail for themselves.

I don't know what that would look like exactly.

But the abuse here is addressed by God through a very great plague that strikes down many people

in the camp, it says, while the meat was yet between their teeth.

So already, we're seeing this pattern of sin and consequence, and the resolution we have

to look deeply at to understand how God is resolving these things.

But again, in this journey, there's a third event unrelated to these.

Miriam, Moses' sister, and Aaron grumble against Moses because of the uniqueness of his authority.

They say, has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?

Has he not spoken through us also?

So God reiterates Moses' unique stance before him, and then he inflicts Miriam with leprosy,

and Moses has to plead with God to heal her.

And she ultimately has to be shut outside the camp for seven days to be healed.

So in just three days, we already have instances of discontent, fear and anxiety that the Lord will not provide for their basic needs,

greed and gluttony when he does provide for their requests, and pride mixed with selfish ambition.

And already, we see that the consequences of sin are severe.

We see destruction by fire, death by plague, and exile by leprosy and uncleanness.

So the tendency here, I think, is usually to focus on the severity of the consequences, right?

Particularly in our modern sensibilities, people tend to read these types of events and kind of wonder if God is just a spiteful and vengeful ruler.

And this stems, I think, from the underlying tendency to believe that we're all inherently good.

It's a message that we're constantly hearing from the world around us, and because of this perspective,

the kinds of consequences we see here might feel extreme to us because of our own assessment of ourselves.

But the reality is that God is perfectly pure and perfectly holy in a way that we simply cannot comprehend.

And even a slight offense against the eternal and perfect and living God deserves some kind of judgment.

But there is good news in the resolutions of these events.

God is righteous and holy, and he is also personal and merciful.

God does not completely wipe out the nation for its sin, though he would be perfectly justified in doing so.

He listens to the prayers of the righteous, and he responds in grace.

He listens to Moses' intercessions, and he relents in his judgment by ending the fires that are consuming the camp

and providing a path to healing and restoration for Miriam.

Even in the midst of complaining, he still provides meat for the Israelites at their request,

knowing that their sinful hearts are going to take hold of this as an idol rather than receiving it as a gift.

And in this, I think there's an invitation to examine our own hearts and experiences,

and to recall God's faithfulness in our own lives despite our sin.

Because we do this, don't we?

We grumble about our circumstances.

We often forget about the gifts that God is giving to us, even in that same moment.

We take those good gifts, and we can turn them into idols.

We think very highly of ourselves, and we desire glory in the eyes of man.

And yet God is still there in our midst, walking with us through the wilderness.

And where Moses was interceding for the Israelites, we now have Jesus interceding for us,

which we'll talk about a little bit more.

All right, so journeying to Kadesh, we have those instances.

And now after a few days, the Israelites reach Kadesh and set up camp.

And now we encounter one of the most recognized events, I think, in the book of Numbers,

the sending of the spies.

So God instructs Moses to send out spies to evaluate the land of Canaan,

which God had already promised to give Israel.

And a representative of each tribe is appointed to go to Canaan to check things out for 40 days.

And at the end of the 40 days, the spies return to the camp and give their report.

They say, there is no way we'll be able to overtake the people residing in Canaan.

They're so scared of what they saw that they actually deliberately overstate their observations.

They cite Canaan as a land that devours its inhabitants with people who are of great height.

They even reference the legendary Nephilim in Genesis.

So in short, the people hear the report of the spies and they rebel against Moses and God

by seeking to return to Egypt for safety.

And God sentences the current generation to die in the wilderness.

He says, only your children will receive the promised land, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb.

So again, we have another event, failing to trust in the provision and protection of the Lord.

And we have a consequence and a resolution.

And what's interesting about this passage is that the consequence of wandering and death in the wilderness

is actually the result of God's mitigated wrath.

In this result, we're told that God pardons the unfaithful generation.

Again, at the behest of Moses.

And he does this according to his steadfast love.

By pardoning their iniquity, he reduces their sentence,

again from utter destruction,

to a delayed entrance into the promised land.

This is in chapter 14.

So now, sorry, we're here.

There's some law giving, but there's still a narrative here.

So in this narrative, we see the consequence of sin,

but the resolution, so to speak,

is that the faithful few of the nation are preserved according to God's promises,

and they're raised up to inherit the land.

God is keeping his promises,

and he's sovereignly maintaining his people in the process.

So lots more happens in Kadesh,

much of which mirrors the events that are already described.

We see Levites paying the price for their arrogance,

and we see people suffering a plague that's halted

after some dramatic intercession from Aaron,

and then Israel picks up to move on to Moab.

So now we're going to continue our journey onto the plains of Moab.

So during this journey, we see that even Moses,

despite his unique standing with God,

is not exempt from sin and its devastating consequences.

After another episode of grumbling by the Israelites

about a lack of water in the wilderness,

God instructs Moses to speak to a rock to bring forth water.

Moses, however, stands at the rock and speaks to the nation.

He says,

Here now, you rebels,

shall we bring water for you out of this rock?

And he strikes the rock twice to bring forth water.

God ends up sentencing Moses and Aaron to die in the wilderness

with the rest of the nation

because they, quote,

Did not believe in him

and did not uphold him as holy

in the eyes of the people of Israel.

There are various interpretations

around what exactly Moses did wrong here.

It's not exactly clear.

It could just be a simple failure

to follow the instructions.

I think it's more likely

that there's a heart level issue here

with Moses when he says,

Shall we bring forth water?

He may be kind of elevating himself

to God's level here.

It could be the angry outburst

that did it.

It's not exactly clear,

but I think the summary here,

again, we see in God's mercy

in Deuteronomy 34

that God still allows Moses

to see the promised land from afar,

which is a mercy

that the rest of the first Exodus generation

didn't have.

So we also know that God is, again,

he's keeping his promises to Israel,

and we see also that he's raising up Joshua

to take Moses' place

to lead them into the promised land.

So again, the thread here is

God dealing with sin

and keeping his promises

to carry his people

through the wilderness

to the place that he promised

to deliver them.

And again,

in yet another instance of grumbling,

the Israelites complain

about a lack of food and water,

which was, again, abundant

in Egypt.

So this time,

God sends fiery serpents

that bite and kill the people,

and the key difference

in this passage

is the reported repentance

of the people.

They go to Moses and they say,

we have sinned,

for we have spoken

against the Lord

and against you.

Pray to the Lord

that he takes away

the serpents from us.

after Moses' intercession,

God doesn't grant

the exact nature

of their request

by taking away the serpents,

but rather he makes a way

for them to be delivered

from the effects

of the bite

by having Moses set up

a bronze serpent on a pole.

And this bronze serpent

is the object

of God's deliverance.

If anyone bitten

by a snake

would look

to the bronze serpent

in repentance

and faith,

they'd be saved

from death.

And importantly,

this looks forward

to Jesus

as the one

who would be lifted up

on the cross

so that anybody

who would look to him

in faith and repentance

would receive

eternal life.

That's in John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

So again,

there's sin

in grumbling,

there's consequence,

this time it's fiery serpents,

and there's

a resolution,

there's healing

and restoration

following repentance.

And we see, again,

God is keeping

his promises

and now we're also

seeing that God

desires

to forgive

his people

and to restore

his people.

Okay, so

now

we've reached

the plains

of Moab

and

the Israelites

are overlooking

the promised land

and we reach

the final

major set

of narratives

that describe

God's faithfulness

to preserve

the Israelites

and he does this

through a pagan seer

named

Balaam.

So at this point

in the story,

the king

of Moab

is scared

of Israel

because

of their size

and recently

they've had

military success

against the

Amorites

and so

he's feeling

concerned

that they're

going to

overtake him

as well.

So he hires

Balaam

to come over

and curse

the nation

of Israel.

So God

tells Balaam

that he shouldn't

go to the king

but he

eventually

allows it

after a second

petition

only on the

grounds

that Balaam

will do

what God

tells him

to do.

So Balaam

hitches up

his donkey

and he makes

his way

to the king

and the king

asks him

to curse

Israel.

This part

of the story

also I think

is a little

funny to me.

We see

Balaam

saying,

he says,

the word

that God

puts in

my mouth

that must

I speak.

But he

tells the king

you can go

ahead and

build an altar

anyway and

we'll kind

of see what

happens.

So it

feels a little

bit like

almost biblical

sketch comedy

here.

You can

see it

coming that

the king

is driving

towards something

that's obviously

not going

to happen.

And indeed

on three

separate occasions

each at a

different location

Balaam is

pronouncing blessing

on Israel

instead of a

curse.

Each blessing

gets better

and better

and makes

the king

more and

more angry.

He says,

what are you

doing to me?

And he even

gets tired

of the antics

and he says,

stop cursing

them,

don't even

bless them,

just stop

what you're

doing.

So there's

a little bit

of humor

in this.

But the

humor, I

think, is

there because

it illustrates

this kind of

nonsensical

human approach

to try to

control or

change outcomes

that God has

already ordained.

So God has

said, and we

know this from

the entire

Pentateuch, that

he's made this

promise and he's

God and he's

going to keep

it.

And God is

using this

pagan seer to

announce to

the world this

very fact that

he is preserving

the nation of

Israel and he's

doing it despite

the best efforts

of the nations

in Canaan.

We even see

statements about

God's character

and plan of

salvation from

Balaam's

blessings.

He says things

like, God is

not man that he

should lie or a

son of man that

he should change

his mind.

And he says

later, his king

shall be higher

than Agag and

his kingdom

shall be

exalted.

Again, beginning

to point forward

to Jesus and

his forever

kingdom.

The sadness of

the story here

is that while

Balaam is

delivering his

final blessing

at Peor,

Israel is in

the plains of

Moab, continuing

to sacrifice to

other gods.

God is

there keeping

his promises,

protecting and

preserving and

purifying his

people.

And he's

carrying forward

his gospel

narrative through

redemptive history

here in the

book of

Numbers.

So, that's a

select number of

the narratives in

Numbers.

That takes us to

the end of

chapter 25, and

the rest of the

book is a final

census of the

new generation and

some additional

laws and

regulations that

are required for

the Israelites

before they enter

into Canaan.

So, I think as

we zoom out from

the particular

narratives, there

are a few

important overarching

themes to

consider that

connect the

book of Numbers

to the rest of

the gospel

narrative.

Numbers serves

as a key part

of the redemption

story by

illustrating God's

fulfillment of

his covenantal

promises to his

people despite our

unfaithfulness.

Numbers also

points forward to

Jesus as the

culmination and

fulfillment of his

ultimate promise.

And lastly, I do

think Numbers

serves as a

exhortation to

the people of

God to be on

guard against a

prideful and

rebellious heart.

All right, so

first, Numbers is

an important part of

the Pentateuch in

that it clearly

connects to the

fulfillment of God's

specific promises to

Abraham.

So, again, recall

from Genesis 12 that

God made a covenant

with Abraham in

which he promised

four things.

He promised a

covenantal

relationship.

You will be my

people and I

will be your

God.

He promised land

to Abraham's

descendants.

He promised that

Abraham's descendants

would be numerous

and he promised

blessing and

redemption to

Abraham's descendants

as well as those

who blessed his

descendants.

So, first, God's

covenantal

relationship with

Israel is

illustrated, I

think, clearly and

physically through the

tabernacle.

This was a place

where God desired

to dwell with his

people and it

required purity,

which is the basis

for many of the

narrative results

that we just

discussed.

And a covenantal

relationship here

means an

unbreakable

promise.

And we see this

play out in that

God never leaves

nor forsakes his

people despite their

continued rebellion

against him and

despite the need to

continue purifying

the camp so that

he can do as he

desires and dwell

with his people

in the wilderness.

We also see God's

faithfulness in

keeping his promise

to provide land

to Abraham's

descendants, a land

that was intended

to be a place of

rest for his

chosen people.

We don't see this

promise play out

directly in the

book of Numbers

because of the

response of the

spies and the

people when they

scoped out the

land.

God is very clear

that he will keep

his promise to

Abraham and that

the next generation

will still inherit

the land.

And this promise

is so secure

that God goes

ahead with

delivering the

rest of the

relevant sacrificial

and civil laws that

they need to keep

when they enter the

land.

The promise also

is so specific

that God goes

ahead with

prescribing the

division of the

land for the

individual tribes

of Israel.

So it's not like

God is saying,

I'm going to send

you into Canaan

and then if you

obey and you do

all the things that

I ask and you

accomplish it,

then we'll talk

about what you do

when you get there.

He's saying,

no, we're going.

I'm taking you

there and when you

get there, here are

the things that you

need to do.

So God is

keeping his

promises to

provide land

and we see that

even in the giving

of the law here.

We also see

God's faithfulness

in keeping his

promise to number

Abraham's descendants

as numerous as the

stars in the sky.

The very first

chapter of

Numbers includes

a census that

counts 603,550

men aged 20

to 60.

That's men of

fighting age.

Some historians

have noted that

the estimate of

total Israelites

when you extrapolate

these numbers

to include women

and children

and elderly men,

you arrive at

something like

2 million people,

which is a clear

and tangible display

of God's faithfulness

in this specific

promise.

We even hear

Balaam affirm

this in one of

his oracles.

He says,

who can count

the dust of Jacob

or number of the

fourth part of Israel?

And again,

even in the midst

of these displays

of unfaithfulness,

God's promise

does not waver.

We fast forward

to chapter 26

for the second census

after the Exodus

generation has died

and we see nearly

the same number

of men

of fighting age,

601,730.

So despite the fact

that God sentenced

the Exodus generation

to die in the wilderness,

he continues

sustaining the

Israelite nation

by raising up

another generation

that would enter

Canaan by faith.

It's probably,

it is worth noting here

that there's some

scholarly debate

around the actual

numbers that are

reported here.

I won't get into

all the details.

There are logical,

archaeological,

mathematical concerns

that some people

raise

and the solutions

to these problems

are many.

I cannot claim

to know enough

to come to a firm

conclusion on the matter

but I think

the message

we're intended

to receive here

is the same

in any case,

specifically that

God is faithful

to grow and bless

the line of Abraham.

So it doesn't matter

if it's 20,000 people

that he's sustaining

in the wilderness

or 2 million people

that he's sustaining

in the wilderness,

he's sustaining them

and he's doing it

faithfully and miraculously.

All right,

so lastly,

the promise

to bless,

we can look

to the New Testament

to understand

how the book

of Numbers

fits into

the historical picture

of God's

redemptive plan

for his people.

The failings

we see here

in the Israelite nation

are kind of

clearly contrasted

against the perfect

life of service,

obedience,

and sacrifice

of Jesus Christ

when we look

to other places

in the Old Testament

and in the New Testament.

So we see

Jesus portrayed

as our great high priest

and being greater

than Moses.

Moses was the man

with such a unique

standing with God

that he was able

to behold the form

and figure

of God himself.

And yet,

his standing

before God

cannot compare

to that of Jesus.

Hebrews 3.5

says,

Now Moses

was faithful

in all God's

house as a servant

to testify

to the things

that were to be

spoken later,

but Christ

is faithful

over God's house

as a son.

So we see

over and over

in Numbers

how Moses

is interceding

with God

on behalf

of the Israelites

and where the

faithful servant

Moses

intercedes

on behalf

of the Israelites,

God's own son

and our perfect

Savior,

Jesus,

intercedes

on behalf

of us

with God

and he does this

based on his own

righteousness

and his own

merit.

But Moses'

responsibility

didn't end

at a simple

verbal intercession

but rather

required detailed

attention

to ritual sacrifices

intended to

cleanse

and purify

the nation

before a holy God.

We see another

parallel and contrast

here

because where

Moses and the

priests

offered continual

sacrifices

to atone

for sin,

Jesus

fulfills

God's plan

by suffering

the agony

of the crucifixion

as the perfect

and sufficient

and final

sacrifice

to atone

for the sin

of all

who by faith

place their

trust in him.

So God

delivered the

Israelites

from the

bondage of

slavery

in Egypt

but in

numbers

we see

clearly

that they

were still

in bondage

to sin

and to

death

and that

no mere

ritual sacrifice

could free

them from

that.

And Jesus

willingly offered

himself up

as the once

and for all

sacrifice

so that we

could be

permanently

cleansed

of our sin

and saved

from death

and restored

to life

with our

creator.

So in

this Jesus

was the

ultimate

fulfillment

of God's

promise

of blessing

to all

the nations.

So

lastly

we see

God

keeping

and fulfilling

his promises

through the

book of

Numbers

and I

think it

also serves

as an

important

exhortation

against

sin

that's

picked up

in the

rest of

scripture.

Throughout

the book

what we

see is a

God who

of his

own

volition

commits

himself

to his

people

and desires

to fulfill

his promises

to them

but he's

continuously

sort of

confronted

with the

lack of

faithfulness

of his

covenant

community.

So Psalm

95 says

do not

harden

your hearts

as at

Meribah

as on

the day

at Massa

in the

wilderness

when your

fathers put

me to

the test

and put

me to

the proof

though they

had seen

my work.

For 40

years I

loathed that

generation

and said

they are

a people

who go

astray in

their heart

and they

have not

known

my ways

therefore I

swore in

my wrath

they shall

not enter

my rest.

This

passage is

quoted and

discussed

extensively in

chapters 3

and 4

of Hebrews

which clearly

illustrates the

relevance of

the passage

for us

today I

think.

Hebrews 3

12 says

take care

brothers

lest there

be in

any of

you an

evil

unbelieving

heart

leading you

to fall

away from

the living

God.

And the

implication here

is that we

just like

the Israelites

are bent

towards sin

and need

constant

reminding

that God

is where

we find

our rest.

there are

many things

that we

could say

about this

but there's

one particular

exhortation

from the

book of

Hebrews

that I

think is

relevant

as we

sort of

pull

everything

together

here.

It says

let us

hold fast

the confession

of our

hope

without

wavering

for he

who promised

is faithful

and let us

consider how

to stir up

one another

to love

and good

works

not

neglecting

to meet

together

as is

the habit

of some

but encouraging

one another

and all

the more

as you

see the

day

drawing

near.

So

Numbers

tells us

that God

is faithful

to forgive

the repentant

heart

like those

who looked

upon the

bronze serpent

and now

those

who fixed

their eyes

upon Jesus

and it

also points

to the fact

that he's

sovereign

over his

creation

and faithful

to complete

the good

work

that he

has begun

in us.

This is a

promise that

we can only

claim because

of the

faithfulness

and obedience

of Jesus

and in

this God

has committed

himself to

us and

he's made

us his

people

and he

sustains us

in our

spiritual life

by his

spirit

and in

part also

through his

people

hence the

encouragement

to continue

meeting

together.

So

John

Hinkson

shared with

me a

really

wonderful

illustration

of what

it means

to wander

in the

wilderness

together.

A Puritan

writer named

William Bridge

you know

John is

always good

for a

quote from

a Puritan

writer.

He describes

a concept

of digging

pits in

an arid

climate

such that

in the

rare moments

that it

rained

the pits

would be

filled with

water

and provide

the nourishment

and refreshment

that the

wanderers so

desperately

needed.

So if

indeed we

continue in

faithfulness

digging these

pits together

in our

modern day

wilderness

through prayer

and reading

through service

and through

meeting

together

we may

not feel

the refreshment

right away

but when

the rains

of God's

grace

inevitably

come

we'll be

all the

more

refreshed.

So as

Hebrews says

let's not

neglect

meeting

together

but continue

encouraging

one another

and spurring

each other

on.

In our

walks with

Christ.

Alright so

to summarize

numbers is

good.

It's

sometimes

funny.

There are

lots of

other

themes that

we could

have drawn

out from

numbers but

hopefully

this helps

us

appreciate

numbers a

little bit

more, a

little bit

differently and

so I'd

encourage you

if you

have time

read through

the whole

book.

I hope

that you'll

find great

joy in

God's

faithfulness

to his

people and

his sovereignty

over his

creation.

so that's

all I have.

We're good

on time if

there are

questions or

comments.

things.

So when God

talks about this

new generation

that is going

to enter the

promised land,

so are these

kids born in

the desert or

people who

thought they

were born in

Egypt?

Yeah, that's

a good question.

So the new

generation that's

entering the

promised land,

the original

census in the

beginning of the

book is taking

the census of

men aged 20

to 60 and

they've been at

Mount Sinai for

about a year,

so in theory

there's lots of

kids who were

probably, I

don't know

this, this is

my guess, but

probably some

kids who were

born in

Egypt and

made their

way along

the journey

to Sinai and

those that

are below 20

I think are

part of the

next generation

that's raised

up to enter

into Canaan.

Hey.

Maybe you

guys all know

this already.

I always

wondered why

it was a

bronze serpent?

Hmm.

Why a bronze

serpent?

Because I'm

like, bronze,

why bronze?

Why serpent?

Cool.

But why

serpent?

Because that

would remind me

of the serpent

in the body

of the

movement.

So those

are great

questions.

I'll preface

with I don't

know the

answer.

I could,

you know,

venture some

guesses, at

least with the

serpent, because

in that

narrative it's

serpents that

are coming

to bite the

Israelites.

It's kind

of a,

makes sense

that you

would choose,

it's just the

focus of the

story.

You might

choose a

serpent to

be lifted

up in the

midst of

this event

where there

are serpents

crawling around

and biting

everybody.

There's probably

lots of

significance there

that I don't

understand or

know how to

tap into.

Certainly,

I would expect

that there's some

significance to it

being bronze as

well, and I

just don't know

it.

Somebody else

might know.

I've got an

idea.

Okay.

So, if this

is pointing

forward to

Christ, and

our sins are

nailed on the

cross, therefore

the serpents

would be that

piece, could

be that piece

of symbolism.

Bronze is a,

like, why bronze,

why not gold?

They had a bunch

of gold there.

However, bronze

is a combination

of copper and

tin.

And thinking

maybe would

that possibly

refer to Christ's

dual nature of

humanity and

deity?

I don't know.

That's a maybe.

I just

worked up

bronze to

see what it

was made

of.

That's what

impressed me.

I couldn't

tell you, you

know, where

there's good

reason for

believing that

that makes

sense to me.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It makes

sense to me,

too.

That's really

interesting to

know.

I wouldn't have

thought of that.

So, what were

the, it was

tin and

copper?

It's bronze.

Okay.

Yeah.

Interesting.

Yeah.

Something to

go look up.

I'm sure

somebody somewhere

has written a

thesis on that.

I think

having reason

to do that.

Yeah.

Any other

questions or

comments?

things like

in Exodus

prior to that

sets up a

pattern of

overly,

orderly

tyrannies that

require

liberation into

a kind of

chaotic

wilderness.

wilderness.

And then

later on,

they, you

that Israel

has kind of

established

imperfect

settlements and

cities.

There seems to

be a pattern

of kind of

overly,

orderly,

tyrannical

cities and

wildernesses

and exiles.

there needs

to be some

kind of

resolution to

that,

kind of a

third option

to the

order of

tyranny and

the chaos of

the wilderness.

That's a

comment.

Yeah.

No, that's

really interesting.

So this, this

idea, I think if

I'm understanding

you correctly, so

Egypt would be

the example of

this, what you're

calling an overly

orderly, tyrannical

system under which

the Israelites

were enslaved

and then

they're released

into the

wilderness that

you're saying is

chaotic.

And I think

what that makes

me think of

is that the

chaos is

there when

there's

demonstrated

lack of faith

in God,

right?

Like God,

God is a

king who,

he is the

king who

has a

perfect and

righteous

kingdom in

stark contrast

to the kingdoms

like Egypt

that are

enslaving its

people.

And we

are called

to be

slaves to

Christ, but

in being a

slave to

Christ and a

slave to

God's kingdom,

there is much

greater freedom

in the order

that God

has ordained

for our

lives rather

than, as

you say,

the chaos

of the

wilderness

and sort

of doing

things our

own way,

which certainly

is chaotic.

So that's a

great thought.

Yeah, thank

you.

I've been

thinking a lot

recently about

the nature of

faithfulness and

human flourishing

that was just

like completely

designed and

built in from

the beginning,

that like even

as a person in

their 40,

just like

consistency,

which is in

my mind,

I'm like starting

to see the

relationship between

consistency and

faithfulness that

like I physically

flourished, I

spiritually flourished

through like

consistency towards

God and towards

his way and how

he made me,

even in the

like exercising

and eating

vegetables sort

of consistency,

like there is

just a showing

up and being

future leaning,

like that verse

you picked up,

it was a

Hebrew verse,

it just really

speaks to that,

I think,

for us to live

our life in a

forward God

consistency.

Yeah, that's

a great word,

I think,

I totally agree,

you know,

the spiritual

disciplines,

it makes me

think too of

John's example

that a lot of

those rhythms

and those

patterns and

investing in the

future,

feel like

digging those

pits in the

wilderness

sometimes,

right,

like I don't

want to eat

my vegetables

every day,

I'd rather have

the mac and

cheese or

whatever,

I don't want

to exercise,

sometimes I

don't feel like

reading my

Bible or

praying or

doing all of

those things,

but God is

faithful in

those moments

where we

engage in

those spiritual

disciplines and

when we have

that, as

Beth is saying,

kind of forward

facing or

future facing

perspective,

where we're

looking toward

God and

toward his

ultimate

fulfillment of

redeeming and

restoring creation,

there's blessing

in that,

even in those

exact moments,

sometimes he's

gracious and

doesn't make us

wait for the

joy that comes

with those

spiritual disciplines,

so that's a

great word,

thanks Beth.

all right,

well we're at

about 10 till,

so why don't I

close us in

prayer so we

have a little

time to get

down to the

service,

thanks everybody

for joining

today,

let's pray,

Father we

thank you again

for your word

today and the

truth that it

brings to our

lives,

we thank you

Lord that you

are pure and

holy,

God that you're

faithful,

that you're

merciful and

gracious and

abounding in

steadfast love,

God we thank

you for

everything that

you've revealed

to us in the

book of

numbers,

God we pray

that you would

bring a fresh

joy to our

hearts in your

word,

Lord that