Lesson 12 - Numbers 11

[Music] we have just concluded some chapters with roses they gave us a lot of detailed information that's been a bit hard to slog through but it was needed just as learning multiplication tables is needed for money people use math numbers chapter 11 however begins a section of torah and for me I think is the most fascinating interval it tells the story of the 38 years of Israel wandering in the wilderness the next several chapters have as their theme complaining like a faith about right rebuilding even more than record the severe punishments that God responded with from these outrages against it the section of the Torah also seemed to fascinate the Apostle Paul he referred extensively to the part numbers in his writings particularly when he was writing and speaking to the Corinthians apparently he saw a great parallels between the behavior and condition of these Corinthians Jew and Gentile we come to believe in Christ and those Israelites who trekked around the wilderness of the desert beatriz's of at least mostly south of Beersheba 13 centuries before his day so let's prepare from this section of numbers by reading a bit of what st. all had to say when he compared the Christians of Corinth to the Israelites of exodus turn to first Corinthians 10 earth Corinthians 10 deep Jewish Bible is page 14 31 and we're going to read the first four verses first Corinthians 10 starting at verse 4 brothers I don't want you to miss the significance of what happened to work father's all of them were guided by the pillar of cloud they all pass through the see and a connection with the cloud and move the sea they all immerse themselves into Moses also they all eat the same food from the spirit they all drink the same drink from the spirit for they drank from the spirit scent rock which followed them and that rock was the Messiah yet with the majority of them God wasn't pleased so their bodies were strewn across the desert now these things took place as prefigurative historical events warning us not to set our hearts on evil things as they did don't be idolaters as some of them were as the top was it the people sat down to eat and drink and got to indulge and revelry let us not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did with the consequence that twenty-three thousand died in the single day let us not put the Messiah to the test as some of them did and they were destroyed by snikt and don't run the Sullivan did and they were destroyed by the destroying angel the Torah issues many syllables to those who would follow the cottage pall of well-educated Jewish rabbi completely understood this you realize that the advent of Christ doesn't change that situation disappea Diaz towards God even with Redemption accomplished does not somehow immunize a believer against the possibility of divine punishment Paul writes in Romans 15 was perhaps the foundation of all his teachings whatever was written in the former days was written for our instruction what was written in the former days is referring to the Hebrew Bible but tonight what we call the Old Testament or a more general sense to whatever was written before the advent of Yeshua Paul's pulled what we just read in 1st Corinthians tenseness if God tells severely with his set apart and chosen people Israel why would you think that he wouldn't deal severely with his set apart and chosen people who are in union with Messiah t issue are those they are those whom we call commonly in the church are they no longer subject being no longer subject to God's righteous anger the first few verses the first Corinthians 10 sets up a parallel situation those who traversed the wilderness were all immersed in Moses which is shorthand for the cut and impulses in other words they were all redeemed they were all under God's covenant they all received knowledge from the same spirit they were all filled up with the living water of the rock then Paul throws in this shocking reminder despite their redemption in their personal relationship with God many of them did not survive as God's true there with billions bodies across the desert is conclusion as to what this means to followers of Jesus Christ as in verse 11 2nd 1st corinthians these things happen to them is prefigured to historical offense and they were written down as a warning to us who are living in the honor in the latter days now frankly the majority of Christian denominations how it arises away by explaining that it's learning about things that in reality can't happen to only a common thing Phebe among christians today is that the god of the old testament is no more or more accurately he has fundamentally changed such that there is no more divinely wrought severity even though Paul says there is there is no more punishment of sins there is no more rebellion for a believer even though your Shula says there is and he says in Matthew twenty-one famous saying not everyone who says to me Lord Lord all those who do on that day and he will say to me Lord Lord didn't we prophesy in your name did we experiment demons in your name didn't we perform miracles in your name and I'll tell them to their faces I never knew you get away from me you workers of lawlessness no this is Paula Joshua this is not a hollow learning this is not some toothless tread kind of rhetorical statement that is it real and can't happen we don't want you to hear me this is another one of those Christian doctrine instance doctors it really pleases to hear it because it removes all repercussions from our decisions and our behavior it doesn't have any scriptural basis rather what Messiah she would does protect us from is what the Bible alternatively calls the wages of sin which is spiritual death and the curse of the law which is also spiritual death these are two phrases that mean the same thing do you still believe that God will long perhaps the severe side or that being in Christ somehow pardons us from being disciplined or punished in a sense of receiving divine or natural consequences for our city for sure we are hardened from the eternal death for sure provided we do not I reckon that renounce our allegiance to issuer by our only free will but to be immune from God's morning justice during our lives on this present earth there is no known concept of that in the New Testament or the Old us listen to a little bit more what Paul had to say about this issue and Rowan's left the section of the New Testament that's frequently jumped over complaints turn to Romans 11 which is we're going to start a verse 13 so that will be page 14 15 14 15 chemicals into each bottle Romans 11 we're going to read from verses 13 to 22 immigrants should be familiar to a lot of you however to those of you who are Gentiles I say this since I myself am an emissary sent to the Gentiles I make known the informs of my work in the hope somehow I mean provoke some of my own people to jealousy to save some of them for if they're casting a suicide means reconciliation for the world whole they're accepting him mean it'll be life from the dead so now if the holla offered as first fruits is holding so is the whole law and if the root is only then some of the branches but if some of the branches will grow it often you Gentiles grafted in among them and it become equal shares of the rich mood of the olive tree talk boast as if you're better than the branches however if you do both remember if you're not supporting the root roots supporting you so he'll say branches were broken off but I might be grafted in but so what they were broken off because of their lack of trust so you only keep your place because of your trust don't be arrogant on the contrary be terrified because if God didn't spare his natural branches he's not going to spare you take a good look at God's kindness and his severity on one hand severely towards those who fell off on the other hand God's kindness towards you provide humane yourself in that kindness otherwise to be cut off Paul teaches as it has always been that God is both severe and he is confident he is kind to those who trust him obey Him he has severe dough's who follow away and repel against God's essential nature hasn't changed remember Paul is talking to me Gentile believers he's talking to you and me we can't pretend this isn't for us in the 21st century when we tend to pretend that the Old Testament isn't for us so what we're going to study in numbers over the next several weeks sets down some fundamental principles that guided Paul in his life and they are reflected in his epistles that are the basis for what the church ought to be but often unfortunately we're not in numbers we see that virtually the first thing that Israel does upon leading outside light is to repel first thing can't wait even Moses becomes a grumbler and over the next 15 chapters we're gonna have six identify over billions detail for us and every one of them was real but they also represent a type of rebellion against you only some of the rebellions were by people in general the lay people's those be some by the tribal leaders some by the Levites even some by Moses in essence just as the seven churches of Revelation are both real and they are types so the rebellions of the people in Israel in numbers presented us with a pattern that we can expect to occur within the church of course it happens from the very beginning and when I say church don't start thinking in terms of Baptists and Methodists and Catholics whatever that is don't picture denominations don't picture institutions don't picture buildings think of individual believers and then various groups and congregations ecclesia from a larger view we are about to spend several weeks learning in matters of human relationships human leadership the limitations of humans the expectations and demands of God upon we human followers and the divine consequences for our affairs let's read numbers chapter numbers chapter on the left you know complete Jewish Bible is page one system but the people in complain about their hardships that night when Anna and I heard it is anger flared up so it's fire from an eye-roll got against them and assumed the outskirts of the camp then the people crying to Moses and Moses prayed to add an eye on the fire painted the place was called top broth burning because that a nice fire broke out against them next the mixed crowd was with them greedy for an easier life and while the people of Israel over their part also renew their wheat being said if we only add meat we remember the fish we used to eat Egypt it cost us nothing and the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions of the garlic now we're withering away they have nothing to look at this manna manna by the way was like coriander seed fight like gum resin the people would go around gathering and they grind it up in Mills or pounded to paste with mortar and pestle they cook it and plots make it into loaves that tastes like cakes pink with all of us and when they do seven all the camp at night the mankini Moses heard the people my family after family each person at the entrance to his tent and the anger bad and I flirted violently and Moses was too displeased and Moses asked at night why are you treating your servant so badly why haven't I found favor in your sight that you put the burden of this entire people on me that I could see these people was I their father so that you tell me carry them in your arms like a nurse carrying a baby to the land you swore to their ancestors where am I going to get need to give to this entire people because they keep bothering me with their crimes and it was me to eat I can't carry this entire people on my soul alone it's too much for me if you're gonna treat me this way then just kill me outright please you have any mercy towards don't let me go on being this miserable and then and I said to Moses bring me 70 of the leaders of Israel people who recognize leaders of the people and officers of theirs and bring them to the tent of meeting in heaven stand there with you I would come down and speak with you there I wouldn't take some of the spirit which rests on you and put it on them then they will carry the burden of the people along with you so that you won't carry it yourself alone tell the people cost create yourselves for tomorrow and you will because you cried in the years of Adonai if all we get meat to eat all we have the good life in Egypt all right and it is going to and you leave and you won't be a just one day or two days or five or ten or twenty but the whole month tell it comes out your nose till you hate it because you've rejected a tonight who was here with you distressed him with your crying and asked him all why'd we ever leave Egypt but Moses said Here I am with six hundred thousand men on foot and yet you say I'm gonna give the meat the meat to eat for a whole month in whole flocks and herds were slaughtered for them would that be enough all the fish and the speed were played for one even that be enough net and I answered Moses has an anodized army running short now you'll see whether what I said will happen or not Moses went out and told the people without and I had said that he collected seventy of the leaders of the people and place them all around the tent and then I came down in the clouds both of them took some of the spirit that was on him and put him on foot in all the 70 leaders when the spirit came to rest on them they prophesied then afterwards and there were two men who stayed in the camp one named el God and the other made God and the Spirit came to rest on him they were among those listed to go up to the temple do so and they prophesied in the camp a human being ran and told Moses Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp Joshua the son of noon from his youth up and then Moses assistant answered my lord Moses stopped them but Moses replied are you so Seles to protect me I wish all of a tonight's people were prophets I was head and I would put a spirit on all of them Moses in the leaders of his room went back into the camp dad and I sent out a wind it brought quails for the process to see and let them fall near the camp about a day's trip away on the side of the camp Hall around it covering the ground to a depth of three feet the people stayed up all that day all night all the next day just gathering the quails the perfect person gathering at least collected any heaps then they spread them out for themselves all around the camp a lot of meat was still in their mouths before they even shooted up the anger bad and I flared up against the people and that and I struck the people with a terrible plague there forth that place was called he wrote hot - Allah gives graves of greed because there they buried the people who were Sophie from Heathrow hot about the people traveling - hot smoked and they stayed at hot syrup chapter 10 ended with a optimistic prayerful joyful poll it expressed the mental and emotional state of the people of Israel's didn't begin to strength their camp for their journey to the promised land numbers 10 25 35 then it came about when the ark sent out the mostess said rise up Oh Lord and let thy enemies be scattered let those who hate the flee before thee and when it came to rest he said return that Lord to the myriad of the talents and the very next sentence of the Torah after this verse number says now people became like those who complained of a diversity of the hearing of the Lord and when the Lord heard his anger was tinkle and at the fire of the Lord burned up I'm going to consume some of them on the outskirts of the camp Barry next how much time in the past between numbers 10 36 and numbers level 1 how long did it take for their attitude and their behavior to completely flip flop three days 72 hours how often we fall on our knees we've raised our hands up to the Lord praise and adoration and in a matter of hours we find ourselves flat on our faces in defeat should we be depressed about that injustice give up now as opposed to some way as we I expected not under the sense of expecting to be defeated before we ever start our journey but in the sense that while we do have if you're a believer God's Spirit within you we still carry around these flesh be tenants in this evil inclination it's inherent to our human nature so some amount of failure is inevitable that said the amount of failure is going to be largely connected to our will just how much are we willing to believe God how much will we put our time and energy how will determined our lead to resist the devil and our desires so that instead be going to be obedient to the Lord see there's a direct quid pro quo set up in both the Old Testament in the New Testament in that regard walk with the Lord and fail less away from the Lord take our own path and fail more very basically of all the myriad of reasons we must have it's because human list and failure before God going into him there's no sleeping when we study bluefin because we saw just how multifaceted how inescapable sin is how insidious uncleanness is how hopeless is our condition without Savior we will sit we will fail but we can also minimize the depth of our sin and our failure did we commit ourselves to the commandments of God to the power of the Spirit to the salvation of our Messiah first one says that the people became a group of complainers actually we're not told exactly what they were complaining about but we can infer that it had to do with the difficult marching of the oil currently enduring because the verse is just preceding numbers 11 one last verses of chapter letter are all about they were marching and they're following this fire cloud and in all fairness the degree of difficulty that they were facing was pretty formidable can you imagine the amount of choking dust teeth into the air by 2 to 3 million people and hundreds and thousands of animals who have had about in a while I mean there they were not so nice prude highway although they would have been following some type of known trail but where I believe they were north of Midian and the hilly and rocky desert rain was very challenging to walk across almost every family had small children almost every family had elderly and infirm in the winter the nighttime temperatures often dropped below freezing every three dangering these two that summer it was 12 degrees this was not under the best of circumstances a pleasant journey worse they took their complaints directly to God the text says it was a bitter complaining that they did actually the word for bitter complained as in Hebrew all robbed and all means complained and robbed means evil so while bitter is correct we need to understand the essence of the word bitter is actually rooted in evil yeah if you have this phrase is that the Israelites responded to God's 12 as kindness is good with Rob evil bitterness the result of this unbelievably brazen erred was that God punished in the fire what was this fire well first and foremost it was divine it was supernatural they had been like me it may been similar to what God rained down on Sodom or whatever it was did not come in wilderness Tabernacle I was in their midst weakened knows it it says the fire broke out we're on the outskirts of the camp center of where the tabernacle illness so Moses interceded it that was his job it was a mediator and he stopped and asked God and God stopped the punishment and the place where they were when this happened was named Tom Roth and Hebrew table ravines Ernie it was usual long the ancients especially so long the Hebrews to name places after incidents occurred there so we have a rebellion number one now along with his consequences first war tells us about the next ability which could serve food and in the outset let me point out that there is some minor disagreement over the location of the secondary billion some scholars say they broke camp at Table Rock and moved on and then the second per billion occurred another say they stated topper off for a while there was that Todd Roth would the second per million occurred I think they were still in top row due to the plain reading of the text that they would add another name you both about to the same places very usual anyway what we see shaping up is there's going to be a parallel between the traveling from Egypt to Sinai and then the travel from Sinai to Kadesh and here we have an example there is a cry for meat and we saw this back at x2 this and the Lord responded by had by sending the whale to eat and the first words of verse 4 indicate that it was a certain group of people began this complaint for meat and then this complaining started to spread throughout the camp and that group of complainers is called in Hebrew ah soft soothe us off sue and it means rabble riffraff not a nice name and this term was constructed very similarly to another unique he who word that was used back in Exodus era of Roth which means mixed multitude and scholars are unanimous that us of sooth is referring to that mixed multitude that same mixed multitude and the thousands of non-israelites that follow the law and from Egypt were required to camp on the outskirts of the Israelite in Kent in other words their original complainers the ones that started it were resident aliens they were the folks who were not used they were foreigners who wished to remain four and no doubt the reference to the fire appraised me out and the outskirts of the camp in the first rebellion is connected with the use of the word Asaf suited to describe just who started it at all these first two rebellions began due to the pagan people would attach themselves to Israel but also did not share their faith they didn't share their mission they just wanted whatever benefit they could glean from being near this favorite people and they wanted to avoid difficulties now the next birth adds an interesting twist look or wide rather were they complaining about me they had herds and flocks were told and being herds and flocks that were travelling with them the reason is that the meat they wanted was fish why fish that was their mean diet for protein for hundreds eaters well these are scores of years that was their main diet fish a fascinating series of finds around of ours and at the foot of the pyramids at giza and near the fabulous underground teams of the Valley of the Kings Egypt all confirmed that the staple food for the laborers the construction workers where the Hebrew Egyptian was fishing enormous quantities of fish bones were found everywhere everywhere they were scattered in and and they were obviously there were these well-equipped eating areas that can feed hundreds and hundreds at one time and that makes a lot of sense the Nile was a terrific source of fish it was a very long way that stretched the length of Egypt so pretty much anywhere one was an Egypt fish was abundant plentiful and fish to be easily dry and preserved and transported an animal can only be raised in certain areas in Egypt where there was sufficient pasture land and beef spoiled and ours so beef was more expensive less of a long descent to the wealthier society and of course out the wilderness they also couldn't have a garden except if they stopped for extended periods of time which they sometimes did so in verse 5 they also complain they're not getting any fresh vegetables or fruits well there's staple since leaving Egypt with manna they're sick of it sick to death of it fried man boiled in a roasted manna beat and I robbed and a mana mana mana it's apparently tasted pretty good his verses 7 and 8 explained this is not the diet they were used to it didn't provide a whole spectrum of tastes like what they were used to and as sick as the people were manner most was equally sick of the people he was exhausted and disgusted he was beaten down you know be funny even was so sad because verse says the Lord was angry and Moses was distressed all this is a swell situation but completely demoralized Moses goes to angry God and basically says in our very dead people anymore Moses goes up to say what what did I ever do to deserve this I didn't create these people I didn't think of your grand plan this wasn't my covenant that was made for your people to have their own land why are they my burden Moses says where am I supposed to get this variety food that they're all complaining about how am I supposed to please everybody who has different ones that needs all at the same time one once this the other ones that on second thoughts to shoot me to shoot me I mean Moses was really in a mood and interestingly after Moses blows up a God God doesn't chastising for it that's really interesting rather he goes about addressing most of those requests infantry call my dear departed father telling me so many years ago it's okay to get mad at God and tell him just how you feel he can take it and you know in reality the closer who relationship we have with someone the world were freedom community share our tears share of disappointments or concerns and that's almost Moses had an honest relationship with God and he told God about just how frustrated he was he told God was going on inside of it and God didn't punish it in a lot I didn't say that you ever talked to me like that see God has hidden security knows he is more important he knows who you are even if you don't we're told God pray and do it in spirit and truth well offices approach to God in truth even if it wasn't particularly identifying spirit every time you gotta follow that example so here is God solution for this long list of gripes take 70 elders lay leaders of Israel and bring them to the front of the temple in other words presented them to God so they can be authorized to share the leadership fund now recall the guy called for seventy elders to come part way up the site of Mount Sinai with Moses this was way back Genesis in Genesis Exodus and understanding this was not a council designed to give Moses more advice he already had plenty of advice he didn't need more advice he needed men that were willing to take on part of the thirty they were there to do not to suggest and criticize and fill up the suggestion box in the next several verses speak of something we ought to pay close attention it talks about God's rule of the Spirit I'm not sure that within the body of believers that there's any more controversial aspect of the Godhead than the work of the Holy Spirit but it seems to me that here is an opportunity at least teams with some understanding of the Spirit in verse 17 God says he's going to anoint these seventy elders as leader assistance for Moses but in order for these seventy to not just be ordinary run-of-the-mill supervisors foremen accountants judges God was going to put upon these men the same spirit than he had put upon Moses this was the only way he's been to properly carry the authority of God who's going to be necessary to carry out their duties actually what it says is that God is going to share he's going to draw upon the spirit that was upon Moses and then put some of that out of the 70 the Hebrew has vey assaulting mean and it literally means to reserve or to withdraw so is what we have here is sort of Holy Spirit transplanted from Moses to be seventy elders means is the thought of a spirit transplant sound a little odd or maybe even irreverent you well this sort of thing was going to happen again thirteen ersal centuries into the future on Pentecost during the feast of Shavuot Pentecost in Greek immediately after Christ's death the same spirit that empowered the shul was now to be shared who bestowed his father's it's interesting the yushua says the spirit can't come until I go why not well this is a matter who requires a little speculation that meant was it possible that since his apt ISM and the Spirit of God descending upon him that at that moment Yeshua was the sole container of the Holy Spirit on earth time was this perhaps all patterned after Moses whereby for a time Moses seemed to be the only human upon whom God had down his spirit therefore when it came time for Moses Authority and duties to be shared it had to be drawn for Moses the soul earth the container of it and then placed onto the 70-minute of course I do think that is exactly what's happening in some way that's almost impossible to fertilize it our Messiah instructed us that it was his job every spirit filled believer to feed the flock to care from the body of disciples to take his message to the world and to make new disciples dream it is the job certain spirit filled believers to lead other believers to teach other believers or not to do with their own power although we probably could succeed to some level if we try to do it or at least be good and we were to start doing this after issue ascended to heaven and then the same power he says same Authority then he had the ruach ha kodesh the Holy Spirit when Jesus was with us in person he bore that burden himself now weird to share this is what I meant by weirder to pick up our own cross and follow him this is all about burden Jerry frankly this old teaching makes our general Christian and Jewish passivity look kind of lame I want to be clear it's not that the Holy Spirit has some finite amount of tools but there is only one spirit of god it's not several I don't believe that I can explain as much better I don't think there's a better word picture available of how the Holy Spirit works then right here in numbers with Moses and 70 I think it's explained as well as standing right here and how it was after this pattern that it's New Testament version first in Christ and then it from Christ to the believing community of Pentecost was going to be manifested and by the way notice that the seventy had to be brought before the Lord they had to be brought to the waters tabernacle why because it was God that was doing the spiritual transplant Moses it wasn't and by doing it into the sanctuary of God it was clear to all that it was not by the power of Moses it was by the power of God that the miracle of the Spirit cheering would be attributed it's the same with us we didn't witness to folks oh we can say we brought people to the Lord in a sense that's true enough but like Moses led those sentence of the Taradale the dwelling places God right up to the doorway that's as far as we can take in a certain sense we can persuade we can get them to agree to come before the Lord but from that point forward it is strictly a miracle it's a word of God but the Holy Spirit be transplanted should he choose it in now next week we're going to continue and behold as God gives the Israelites and the foreigners meat well fact very similarly to what he did before but there is going to be a major difference it is the first time he did it in His grace to provide a real and tangible need this time he's going to provide an anger to make the point and there's gonna be a big price to pay holding God in this pan these guys [Music] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Torah Class

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Length: 45min 28sec (2728 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 28 2018