Numbers (Session 4) Chapters 10-14

well we're in the book of numbers one of the books of the Torah in the group in the Greek they call it the Pentateuch but in the Hebrew it's called the Torah the five books of Moses clearly one of the most venerated segments of the Bible throughout the world and the Book of Numbers covers a very crucial period of history it's called the Book of Numbers because it was called new Moriah in Latin and then in the Greek they use the word numbers because there it has several census censuses of the name of the people of Israel that's not really the most relevant part of the book it just happens to be the label that is now attached to it in the Hebrew it's the mid bar which is in the wilderness and this is a far more descriptive title because it really covers 38 unnecessary years 38 years that were would have been unnecessary but for their unbelief and the Book of Numbers is going to focus is on focus on that you say gee what's that got to do with us because we have the same challenges as we go through the Book of Numbers we should understand that we are faced with the same issues in many respects we may not be they may not be packaged in exactly the same way but we need to understand that the 38 years from the giving of the law at Sinai to the Eve that Joshua takes over and launches the seven year conquest of Canaan we say 40 years in the wilderness that's a roundoff in the scripture you'll discover precisely it's 38 years and that to me is extremely provocative because Jesus in Luke 21 tells the believers there that when they see Jerusalem surrounded by armies to get out of town head for the hills and don't let anyone come back into town and they said this generation will not pass away to lawless be fulfilled and within 38 years the Roman Romans let us siege that brought down Jerusalem the famous fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD now we know from the writings of Eusebius that the Christians honoring what Christ told him as recorded in Luke 21 fled to Pella in pert Perea which is east of the Jordan and according to Eusebius not one Christian perished even though over a million and a half men women and children perished in Jerusalem the Christians got out because Christ warned them to don't confuse Luke's rendering with Matthews which is a similar but different presentations looked at it during the day the temple Matthews is a private briefing confidential briefing which is Matthew 24 many people think of the same there's distinctively different let's move on this Chronicle in the Book of Numbers we'll talk about the successes and failures of this 38 years though so-called wilderness wanderings and they have many lessons for us Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 10 all these things happen unto them for examples and they're written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are coming in other words each one of these stories that we're going to encounter the Book of Numbers applies to us to in some way the word examples therein in the Greek text is to pose from which we get the term type we use the term prototype in engineering a type or a model the more common vernacular in our language is a model these things are models or foreshadowings in effect and the literary term is types and you'll hear us talk a lot about types well just a quick snapshot of review we talked about in the chapter 2 in all these numberings what on earth can come from these numberings and it's just an example that if you take the details that are there by the Holy Spirit and presume that they're there deliberately by design that will lead you to discovery and that discoveries are sometimes quite surprising they were told to be to camp in in the four camps of three tribes each in on the four points of the compass and if you do that with a putt with the numbers that are there and build a scale model of what's described in numbers 2 you get a model of the camp of Israel from the air and of course it's across the longest one being the camp of Judah the shortest being the camp of Ephraim the other two nominally at the same length very interesting model surprised perhaps too many you won't find it most common too we also talk about the tabernacle and I won't go through that here but just by way of review we didn't talk about how every particular item of that tabernacle speaks of course of Jesus Christ and these seven elements are of course are of the tabernacle proper where the custodianship we talked about the coverings also and again I won't recover all that here but I do want to point out that of the truck of the Levites we have three families the gershonites which took the cloth linens and the fence and that stuff we had the KOA fights which took the holy object the seven appliances that are in the building and the Mara rites took the actual framework these way they divided up the tasks when they moved we had a portable sanctuary and these are the guys that set it up took it down and so forth Moses and the priests ensconced on the east side the rest of the Levites on the three sides and we're talking more about those as we get into a nice lesson and we talked about the preparation of the camp in Chapter five we talked about the Nazarite vow that the glimpse of the Trinity in Chapter six and these are the lessons of the previous time all preparing us for the walk the work the warfare as well as the worship in the Book of Numbers we did encounter and I as I tried to as I picked highlights of the previous sessions I couldn't leave this one alone even though it's just a short verse the end of chapter six but if you remember nothing else if the early part of numbers I do hope you remember what's called the Old Testament benediction you'll see many churches use it to close their services the Lord bless them keeping the Lord make his face to shine upon me and be gracious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon me and give thee peace and what's interesting about this thing is that many pastors don't recognize that we have the Trinity implied here and the whole the Trinity is all through the Old Testament in the the Jewish people emphasize that the Shema says hero is the Lord our God is one Lord the word is a God in the Hebrew which is which can meet which means unity it doesn't you and I have a tough time visualizing plurality contained within that unity but that's exactly what the term is intended to convey just like Adam and Eve are said to be one flesh the same word echad and they're distinct Adam and Eve but they are one flesh before the Lord and so we have plurality here Elohim every place the word Elohim occurs in the scripture there's a grammatical error because it's a plural noun treated as a singular by the verbs we have of course it's R in the Old Testament the Father Son and Holy Spirit in the language itself another example of this was to take a look well you even see this plurality by the way show up in the English translation in Genesis 1 let us make man in our own image who is he talking to in Genesis chapter 3 behold man has become as one of what us plural see the Trinity is hinted at all through here let us go down and so forth who shall I say who will go for us God is asking the other thing that really is the most convincing argument for me was to take make a list of the major events in the Bible and find out who they're ascribed to the creation of the universe is ascribed to the father and some hundred and two in Colossians 1 in John 1 it's clear to the son and in Genesis 1 and job 26 it's the Holy Spirit same thing with the creation of man Genesis 2:7 it's the father Colossians 1:16 it's the Sun and job 33 it's the spirit each one of the major events in the Bible are ascribed to each of the three persons the Incarnation is to the Father Son and Holy Spirit and Hebrews Philippians and Luke the death of Christ is ascribed to the Father in Psalm 22 in Romans 8 in John 3:16 the most famous verse in the Bible it's ascribed to the son John 10 Galatians 2 I lay it down myself he says and so forth in the spirit and then Hebrews 9 the atonement same thing as a Ephesians Hebrews all ascribed the atonement to the Father Son Holy Spirit individually the resurrection and we could go on and on there's actually 30 or 40 of these but I just picked a I picked it I figured sevens a nice round number but it gives us a new beginning right so the inspiration of the scriptures - okay we're now in this group of chapters we take on tonight we'll call it the journey to Kadesh Barnea Kadesh Barnea and as we do this you need to understand that Kadesh Barnea was a watershed event in the history of israel their entire history would have been different had it not had not had it not been for their disbelief in this critical confrontation and reason we want to pay attention to it is because each one of us has a Kadesh Barnea emerson is often quoted the saddest words of tongue or pen are these so we're going to take chapters 10 through 14 don't panic several these aren't that long the first chapter 10 oh they'll depart from Sinai then there's a couple of rebellions and murmurings eleven and twelve but the critical part of this will be chapters 13 and 14 the departure from cyanide the Lord speaking to Moses saying make the two trumpets of silver of a whole piece shalt I'll make them that thou mayest use them for the calling of the Assembly and for the journey of the camp Josephus describes this and the arch of Titus has models of this they were about a cubit or more in length they were the thickness of a like of a flute made of solid silver therefore they had a very shrill sound and the purity of the metal being a part of it and the silver of course being the metal of redemption so that all has implications here and when they shall blow with them all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation now you have to understand there's a couple of million people so where they're assembling there's there's some order to their assembly and if they bow but with one trumpet then the princes which are the heads of the thousands of Israel shall gather themselves under thee when you blow an alarm then the camps that lie on the east part shall go forward each one of the camps remember the camps are groups of three tribes we covered that before so there's four camps okay and they march there's a marching order that's going to be laid out here when you bow an alarm the second time then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey they shall blow an alarm for their journeys and when the congregation is to be gathered together you shall blow but you shall not sound there's different styles of blowing and the Hebrew texts and the Septuagint and other rabbinical writings don't quite agree as to what constituted an alarm and a call you know whether a series of short blasts so long there's there are traditions today but you should know if you peel that onion you discover there's rabbinical arguments back in there we just exactly which was which so we won't try to sort that out here and the sons of Aaron the priest shall blow with the trumpets and they shall be to you for an ordinance throughout your generations and if you go to war in your land against the enemy the press with you then you shall blow an alarm with the trumpets and you shall be remembered before the Lord your God and ye shall be saved from your enemies do you believe it they didn't sounds good sounds great Sunday morning the not an agreement to minister what he's preaching during the week that may have a very hollow sound and that's exactly what we're gonna find here and then day of your gladness and in your solemn days and the beginnings of your months he shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifice your peace offerings and they that they may be to you for a memorial before your God I am the Lord your God okay so that trip now begins numbers 10 starting verse 11 that came to pass on the 20th day of the second month in the second year that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of testimony what did that mean it's time to move guys right they've been there one year okay and it's only 20 days after the beginning of their instruction if you may recall the children took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran and they first took their journey according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses now one of the things that I have not done in this series is try to show you the maps I usually show you because most of the maps I discovered in most of the commentaries have a certain degree of uncertainty because they all presume that they're coming up the Sinai Peninsula that doesn't make sense if you read know the geography and one of the things that for which there's a lot of evidence accumulating to confirm is that the real Mount Sinai is not in the Sinai Peninsula the traditional location it's Jabal al lawz in Arabia and there's all kinds of discoveries that support that which means the place the wilderness they're wandering in is in Midian the very place that God had Moses spend forty years before all of this and so as they wandered through that area the geography gives you a different perspective the only thing we really need here is to understand that Kadesh Barnea is in the southern part of what we think of as Israel it's even south of bear Sheva which is weighed out in the desert so it's a very suddenly location apparently but there are some scholastic debates not critical to our purpose that's one reason I didn't bother broadly you with maps that have doubts about them in the first place but we'll do that later when we can and they first took the journey according the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses and in the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of who Judah the camp of Judah the tribe of Judah and the other two according to their armies and over his host was Nash on the set of abinadab and over the hosts of the tribe of the children mr. Carr was Nathaniel the son of zoo and over the hosts of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Illya abbs a son of he'll on in other words these the Issachar and Zebulun being part of the camp of Judah okay for camp twelve tribes four camps the tabernacle then was taken down by the time they're on their way the tabernacle is taken down and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward bearing the tabernacle so remember of the three families the the gershonites and the mara rites are next in the marching order they follow the camp of Judah okay colon is not yet the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to the armies in other words we now have the the the trumpet sound twice from the south we have the camp of Judah hi Reuben excuse me we have the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies and over there his whole was le Eliezer the son of the shittier and over the host of the tribe the children of Simeon was shelled Emil which is the son of Zurich shut-eye and over the hosts of the tribe of children GAD was Elias F the son of dwell so again we have a camp of three tribes but the camp of Reuben after that cam the trumpet sounds and we have the KOA fight set forward burying the sanctuary and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came so it gives those guys time and then they're preceded them by camp the two families and then the Reuben and then the Co offense and we'll take a summary of this before we're through here then the co Knights but they're carrying are the holy objects the Ark of the Covenant and all the seven wrapped implements they have been wrapped by Aaron and the priests but they're then carried but the core thoughts there is a point of confusion most commentaries presume that the Ark of the Covenant is up front there's some scripture to indicate the are the Ark of the Covenant was wrapped not visible and carried by the co Knights so I'm not gonna get into that debate but you should understand that the presumption that the Ark leads the whole thing there's some there's some there's some passages that allude to its significance that doesn't mean necessarily was in front but that's where many scholars presume it was but it's it's it's a point of dispute but we'll move on the standard of the camp of the children Ephraim set forward according to their armies and over his host was Elijah shamah the son of my hood and over the host of the camp of the children Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of a pedda sir and over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abaddon the Sun again tyranny and so then we have the final camp left to the camp of Dan the standard the camp of the children Dan set forward which was the rearward of all the camps throughout their hosts and over his host was a he's ER the son of a machete now this is a he's ER by the way was the guy that didn't like the idea that their tribal ensign was a serpent from Jenna from Jess's 49 so he changed it to a serpent in the mouth of an eagle that's a little more palatable and over time the eagle then becomes the symbol of the tribe of Dan okay you may wonder about that because it's it's an inference but and over the host of the tribe of children of Asher was Peggy oh the son of Akron and over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was a hire of the son of a nun obviously Asher and Naphtali being the other two tribes that make up the camp of dan and now we have the whole bunch so we have Moses and Aaron in front from chapter 10 verse 33 we'll encounter the camp of Judah then Gershon and the MER are a families of the Levites then the camp of Reuben then the co-efficient the Levites then the camp of Ephraim and the camp of Dan now out of all this comes an insight that you won't find in most commentaries how many trumpets are blown anyone guess seven seven trumpets and do you put that as a footnote when you study Revelation chapter 8 with the seven trumpets calling and assembly and so forth alright just thought I'd share that we yeah each one of these is a trumpet blowing and they did that to organize the March at first you know anyway if you go through it there's seven trumpets it's kind of fun okay that's where the journeyings of the children of Israel according to their armies when they set forward and Moses said to ho Bab the son of Raghu will the Midianite Moses father-in-law we are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said I will give it to you come out with us and we will do the good for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel now a big debate here some people feel as are alternative names for Jethro but there are others that believe that this is a second wife and we're going to have that view confirmed I think shortly because that's what Miriam is sisters all upset about that he's got a second wife is this not we're not Zipporah here we're talking about another wife so for what it's worth but in any case he encourages his father-in-law to come with him because he knows the turf by the way they don't need him to know the turf who is their leader God is so let's be sensitive to that that there's a issue lurking behind this send him and he said on him I will not go but I will depart to my own land and to my kindred they said leave us not I pray thee for as much as thou knowest how we are to can camp in the wilderness and thou mayst be you to us instead of eyes and shall be if thou go with us yea it shall be that what goodness the Lord shall do unto us the same will they do unto thee I supposedly smarting and say thanks but for the glory and honour I'd rather pass because it's gonna be a tough time but anyway it leaves a little unclear what he saw finally decided to do in any case verse 33 of the parted from the Mount of Lord three days journey and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord went before them in the three days journey to search out a resting place for them and it's on this basis that most scholars presume that the Ark is the Lea in the lead of the of the camp and this is in contradiction the fact that it's wrapped and only to be seen by the priests so there's a rabbinical dispute behind all that will move on and the cloud of the Lord was upon them by day when they went out of the camp they came to pass when the ark set forward that the Moses said rise up Lord and let thine enemies be scattered and let them that hate thee flee before thee and when it rested he said return O Lord unto the many thousands of Israel and this of course is the basic dynamic that is intended all through their wilderness wanderings but now we're getting to chapter 11 which I'm going to call quelling the rebellion and there's a deliberate pun involved here okay when the people complained it displeased the Lord you know we've had some friends of ours I remember many years ago and when the ten commandments first came out as a movie we had some of our relatives that were stunned by the movie they couldn't understand how the people after seeing all those miracles could still this believe God that was their primary and you know it's interesting that even from just the secular observer they're stunned with the fact that here these people who were delivered by such drama from Egypt in fact so dramatically that God throughout the rest of history points back to that as evidence of how powerful he is it wasn't just a few little parlor tricks it was a it was a heavy-handed deal and yet despite that they people continually rebelled complain murmur unhappy and we're gonna see that as a pattern and we've got to be careful because there but for the grace of God go you and I when the people complained it displeased the Lord and the Lord heard it and his anger was kindled and the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp he didn't mess around and the people cried unto Moses and when Moses praying on the Lord the fire was a quenched that's also a pattern all the way through when Moses goes up for the Lord thanks Jay and he called the name of the place Tamara which because of the fire of the Lord a burnt among them the word Tamara means burning and did not become a normal place name by the way because this doesn't get this it's submitted from later lists of their itinerary but at least it was the label of the of the moment and the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting now that notice that phrase you see we have up in front the four camps camp of Judah Reuben Ephraim and Dan and of course the Levites and they're in their families but behind that whole March were the mixed multitude people who may have had a mother that was Jewish to the Father that was pagan all kinds of people of a mixed background they weren't really part of the covenant people the mixed multitude and that's always where the trouble starts that's always where the trouble starts and I know many of you you have families and you have a son or daughter the start to get serious with another with a would-be spouse that isn't saved and it's always a source of anguish it's always a source of anguish and for good reason that it's called being unequally yoked it's a very serious issue anyway the mixed multitude that was among them felt a lusting and the child of israel also wept again and said who shall give us flesh to eat see complaining is contagious I remember when I was in the regimen one of the things you learn in the regimen is when there's sudden you getting together and there's some news comes out that it's just a disaster Liberty's canceled or or some big thing you were looking forward to has been diverted whatever the naive regiments will groan and mumble and whatever the real professionals don't because they know that's contagious that makes it worse it's interesting lesson you learn that there's nothing as contagious as complaining and that just amplifies the negative the smart guys you know new day new deal kind of thing who shall give us flesh to eat verse five we remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely and indeed they did it was that was a very very staple of food item in Egypt we did eaten Egypt freely and the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions of the garlic and the commentaries are full of examples how these particular items were unusually fruitful in the unusual soil of the Nile the cucumbers are a very distinctive the melons the leeks the onions the garlic are all a very distinctive in that region but so they're complaining we remember all that but now our soul is dried away there is nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes now the manna was it says like a coriander seed and the color thereof is the color of bdellium which is just sort of yellowish and the people went about and gathered it and ground it in Mills and in a mortar and baked it in pans and made cakes of it and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil and when the dew fell upon the camp and night the manna fell upon it so this is manna most of you know what it means is what is it when it when it first came what is it what is this stuff that's what it that's what it means and it was in thin flakes from the script we like the coriander seed which is was an herb it looked like rosin tasted like honey wafers and like something made with olive oil they had they were instructed to take an Omer that's about 2 quarts worth in the jar to put it either in or near the Ark of the Covenant the Holy of Holies most people presume it was in there's some dispute that it was next to it it disappears later on but initially that's what they did do as a memorial for the nation and the manna and obviously the problem is is that they're making cakes with it they're making muffins with it they're baking bread with it they're making manna pancakes and making you know manicotti Manischewitz whatever okay so it was supplied to them by the way until they began to eat the produce of the land in the days of Joshua in the end of the land the manna stops so during the entire 38 years of wandering wilderness this was God's provision and it's very instructive to understand that this is introduced in Exodus chapter 16 there's manna and they're instructed to gather it for six days only as much as they can use it will not keep it'll spoil so the only every person had to get their own and collect further for their needs but not more than that until Friday on Friday there'd be twice as much and they were allowed to take enough for Shabbat because none would fall on Shabbat and for some strange reason that didn't spoil overnight get the picture now what's fascinating about to the 16 is its four chapters before Exodus 20 Exodus 20 is when the law is given understand what's going on here they are observing Shabbat before the law was given when the law is given they're instructed to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy but it didn't Institute then because of their their diligence in that regard it becomes an emblem of the nation Israel but it wasn't ordained as a result of the law it was being practiced before the law was given where was it introduced Genesis chapter 2 that's one reason we take Shabbat seriously not under the law we don't tally 613 commandments whatever but that doesn't mean we don't respect and honor the appointment God has ordained but so that's the man that's the quick snapshot of manna Moses heard the people weep throughout their families every man in the door of his tent and the anger the Lord was kindled greatly and Moses also was displeased Moda center of the Lord wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant and wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight the thumb layest the burden of all this people upon me so just saying I didn't ask for this job okay you gave me these people these stiff necked honoring people every time I read something about Jewish politics I just glad I'm not trying to be prime minister of that that crowd of people you know we have two Jews you have three political parties you know Moses couldn't have I conceived these faces this is my I want you to notice how he's talking here and I always feel hindered that I don't have a good New York accent to deliver this you know but I want you to contrast later when he goes to bat for these people it'll astonish you but right now he is really upset Moses have I conceived me all these people and I can see if all these people have I begotten them that should have say unto me carry them in thy bosom as a nursing father bear the sucking child to the land which thou swearest out of their fathers when should I have flesh to give all these people for they weep unto me saying give us flesh that we may eat in other words how can he possibly hear the wilderness comply with this requirement well first of all no one asks them to this is God's responsibility someone you find worry as assuming a responsibility God didn't intend you to have I like that Moses contains I am NOT able to bear all these people alone because it's too heavy for me and if thou deal dust with me kill me I prayed the out of hand if I have found favor in thy sight let me not see my righteousness so Moses is subject to depression here yes sir the Lord said unto Moses gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel whom thou knowest to be leaders of the people and officers over them and bring them unto the tabernacle congregation that they may stand there with thee and I will come down and talk with me there and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee and will put it upon them and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee that thou Barrett not thyself alone so God is yielding to the fact that this is a big job there are traditions that this was the origin of the Sanhedrin that may be true it might not it's colorful tradition clearly the Sanhedrin does emerge later Council of 70 and but whether it really starts or not is is is another one of these rabbinical debates verse 18 eval and say that one of the people sanctify yourselves against tomorrow that would separate yourself so to speak against tomorrow and ye shall eat flesh for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord saying who shall give us flesh to eat for it was well with us in Egypt therefore the Lord will give you flesh and ye shall eat but watch out he shall not eat one day nor two days nor five days neither 10 days or 20 days but even a whole month until it come out at your nostrils and it'd be loathsome unto you because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you and have wept before I'm saying one cream.we forth out of Egypt Moses said the people among whom I am are 600,000 footmen and thou has said I will give them flesh that they may eat of a whole month shall the flocks and herds be slain for them and said to do suffice them and show all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to suffice them Moses wondering where is that coming from Lord said unto Moses is the Lord's hand wax short thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not so this is a this is a call to faith for Moses - okay Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and set them round about the tabernacle want to remind you what God tells us the New Testament Philippians 4:6 be careful or anxious be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus for in Christ Jesus be anxious for nothing that's the command well the Lord came down on the cloud verse 25 and spake unto them and took of the spirit that was upon him and gave it unto the seventy elders in came to pass that when they when the spirit rested upon them they prophesied and did not cease so they entered into a mode of communication that was clear the Holy Spirit had descended upon them but there remained two of the men in the camp the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other was me dead and the spirit rested upon them and they were of them that were written but went not out unto the tabernacle and they prophesied in the camp in the RAM a young man told Moses said Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp and Joshua the son of noon the servant of Moses one of his young men answered and said my lord Moses forbid them and Moses said I am envious thou for my sake what God that all the Lord's people were prophets and the Lord would put his spirit upon them and Moses got him into the camp he and the others Israel it's a very revealing attitude part of Moses he was glad when he saw people anointed by the Lord you know it's interesting there are some pastors that I know very very well here in this region who rejoice when someone leaves a church to join on the church because it makes room for a new new member there all they care about is people getting saved not just their turf that's refreshing that's refreshing it's unfortunately not the typical case but it is refreshing when you find it verse 31 and they went forth a win from the Lord and brought quails from the sea and let them fall by the camp as it were a day's journey on this side and as it were a day's journey on the other side round about the camp and as it were two cubits high on the face of the earth that's three feet roughly now there's different views of what this three feet were they three feet thick twenty miles around I don't think so what it may simply mean there are piles that deep and or they were flying so low they could swat them down and they're good scholars that try to analyze this because it's referred to several places in the Bible it gets quite resolved but you don't there are alternative understandings without doing violence to the text you're not talking about three feet and 400 square miles you know it you can get carried away that's a that's a lot of quail but they clearly they did have more quail than they wanted and the people stood up all that day and all that night and all the next day and they gathered the quails and he that gathered least gathered 10 homers that's about 86 gallons that was the smallest gathering yeah Wow that's exactly right and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp and while the flesh was yet between their teeth err it was chewed the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague he called the name of that place he brought hot lava which means the graves of craving because they were buried there there they buried the people that lusted and all the people journeyed from key broth lava to hezron hezron so yeah the the first label just means the graves of craving well we're not through with murmuring we got to chapter 12 Miriam that's you know Moses sister and Aaron Aaron's involved here Miriam is mentioned first she's the instigator of this and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married for he had married an Ethiopian woman that's why most scholars feel that this was a second marriage not Zipporah but but that's of Midian that's all another issue and they said half the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses hath he not spoken also by us and the Lord heard it now we have an insert here that may not have been Moses own penmanship it might have been added by Ezra who's compiling this later this is now the man Moses was very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth and there are scholars that suspect that was a scribal addition when this was codified by Ezra which is what really became the the the Tanakh later and the Lord spake suddenly or unto Moses and on to Aaron and unto Miriam come out III under the tabernacle of the congregation and the three came out the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam and they both came forth and incidentally this is the Lord's voice they're hearing God's actual voices recorded in Exodus 19 Exodus 24 and X's 34 this is a base maybe surprising they were all being addressed here and he said here now my words imagine God talking that way to this little committee meeting if there would be a prophet among you I the Lord will make himself known unto Him in a vision and will speak unto him in a dream my servant Moses is not so who is faithful in all my house with him will I speak mouth to mouth even apparently not in the dark speeches and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses God say you guys have a lot of hutzpah and the anger of the Lord was kindled against him you know whenever I read that I the anger of the Lord you know man the anger of the Lord was kindled against them and he departed and the cloud departed from off the tabernacle Wow and behold Miriam became leprous white as snow and Aaron looked upon Miriam and behold she was leprous Aaron gets off on this thing because if he got leprosy would interrupt the services he couldn't minister so by virtue of his office the the primary focus here is on Miriam and she apparently was instigated in the first place anyway and Aaron said unto Moses alas my lord I beseech thee lay not the sin upon us wherein we have done foolishly and wherein we have sinned let her not be as one dead of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's room and Moses cried to the lord saying heal her now O God I beseech thee so Aaron goes to bat for and of course Moses does the Lord said unto Moses if her father had but spit in her face should she not be ashamed seven days let her be shut out from the camp seven days and after that let her be received again the Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again and afterward the people removed from hazarat and pitched in the wilderness of Perron so you know Aaron does slip through this one but Aaron has always been sort of a reed in the wind remember the Golden Calf episode at Sinai and so forth and so Aaron Aaron is his I'm reading the wind to some extent so that's this is just another case okay I've got a little quiz that I'm sure you'll pass I'm going to list some people on that here here's a group of guys you recognize them of course if I tell you that each one is from one of the tribes you begin to clue who they are ten of these guys are losers and two are winners there are the two winners and they change their life because they did a very simple thing they just stood up for the Lord and the other ten probably meant well they certainly were very sincere but they caused their entire nation to wander for 38 years numbers 13 verse 60 and these are the names of the men which Moses sent out to spy out the land and Moses called O'Shay the son of nun yahushua and OSHA or hosho shia is the name Joshua and we're going to hear more of these two guys Caleb and Joshua and and and by the way yahushua is the hebrew for what you put in the greek you'd call it jesus did you know that there's a book in the Old Testament that's named Jesus in effect book of Joshua and you know if you study the book of Joshua you'll discover it's a model an outline of the book of Revelation where another Yehoshua this dispossesses the land of the whole planet Earth of the usurpers and sends in two witnesses to begin with you doesn't need the other ten and so forth seven trumpets and on it goes it's astonishing to make a list of the parallels between to look at Josh to the book of Revelation but let's keep moving here so we now have the preparation for an intelligence mission chapter 13 the Lord spake unto Moses saying send out men that they may search the land of Canaan which I give unto the children of Israel and of every tribe of their fathers shall you send a man everyone a ruler among them this verse is very misleading you get the impression that this idea was the Lord's it turns out you'll discover it wasn't he's just giving in to their requests he didn't require 12 to go in there he knew what he was doing he didn't need their intelligence report they asked and I'll show you why in a minute verse 3 Moses by the command of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran all these men were heads of the children of Israel these were their names of the truck and we go through the same list that I just gave you I don't have to read them again you get the picture these are the twelve tribes the leader of the twelve tribes and this is the list that we looked at just a minute ago the two that we want to keep an eye on are Caleb and Hosea who is renamed Joshua simply putting the name of God in front of his name Yehoshua these are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy the land and Moses called Hosea the son of noon Yehoshua and Moses sent them out to spy out the land of Canaan and said unto them get you up this way southward and go up into the mountain and see the land what it is the people that dwell therein whether they be strong or a weak or a few or many so they're sent out to explore both regions the south and the gap and the north all the way up to the galan even literally where we today would call Lebanon and so understand the sequence you'll discover it a few minutes I'll show you why the people wanted this so God agreed and God tells Moses to go ahead and do it so Moses is doing what God told him to do but God is responding to the people's request they'll turn out to be important what the land is that they dwell in whether it be good or bad what the cities may be that dwell in whether in tents or in strongholds and what the land is whether it be fat or lean whether it be wood therein or not and be of good courage and bring up the fruit of the land now the time was time of the first right ripe grapes these guys are going to travel about 250 miles they'll spend 40 days doing this they're going to go to have run we'll talk a little bit about hub run that's where the patriarchs are buried it's a very important city for lots of reasons so they went up and searched the land from the wildernesses into rail hub as men came to Hamas and the assented by the South came to Hebron and where a Haman sheesh I and tell my the children of anak were the Hebron was built seven years before as Owen in Egypt a couple of things we're going to talk about the Anakim the sons of anak are more than meets the eye in verse 33 of this chapter the text will use the term Nephilim there were Nephilim in the land that's gonna be a very important part most people who read this will not understand it unless they've done their homework in Genesis chapter 6 but it's interesting that the text includes the strange remark about Hebron because zone is one of the ancient ancient places in Egypt that the Hyksos made their capital when they overran Egypt and this seems to imply that Israel had first-hand experience with that so that it's a it's a fascinating area do some research in but heparin itself the city should be a reminder of God's promises this is where the patriarchs were buried in Genesis 23 and so on the text says built seven years before is Owen the other names for zone or Tanis and a virus which are legendary cities in Egypt for lots of reasons it was the Hyksos capital built about 1700 BC that's a long time ago but here Hebron is at the heart of Israel's goal but right at the heart of Israel's goal are the Anakim back in Genesis 15 and Genesis 17 God told Abraham that his descendants would be gone for four centuries but after four centuries they'd come back to inherit the land when God reveals that to Abraham Satan was listening Satan knew he had for centuries to lay down a minefield and that's that's where he lays down the Nephilim these strange hybrids that were apparently very similar to the reason the flood came in Genesis 6 in Genesis chapter 6 it mentions that there were Nephilim in the land it says and this this the sons of God came down to the daughters of men and took them wives and gave birth to the hog Abram the the they were the Nephilim were the fallen ones the Nephilim comes from the Hebrew word to fall in the greek it's Gigantes which means the Earthborn they happen to be giants and that's the way it's translated your English but it misses the key implication here these were hybrids that's why God sent the flood to wipe them out but in verse 4 of Genesis 6 also after that and all through the Old Testament you'll run into the Anakim you'll we're going to encounter them very heavily God tells Joshua to wipe out a remand woman child of certain tribes whereas the New Testament reader we can't relate to that unless we understand that there's a gene pool problem that God is dealing with there just as he did in Genesis 6 and the Anakim are the sons of anak and derivative of that was Goliath as an example these by the way are mentioned in the Egyptian text of that century back then Caleb who inherits the area of Hebron does eventually defeat the Anakim there he quits himself very honorably and of course Hebron becomes David's capital when he's the king of Judah not the king of the nation that place that becomes Jerusalem but why is the key header over Judah that suit he sets his capital in Hebron and they came to the Brooke s call and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes get this it's one cluster of grapes and they bear it between two on a staff and they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs and the place is called the brook of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from mints and you will see little figurines all through Israel's little gifts of two guys will post between them and this huge bunch of grapes hanging in fact the so called grapes of s call are the official insignia of the Ministry of Tourism I forgot I meant to do a slide of that so you can see it that it's actually used as their emblem for the Ministry of Tourism very understandably and they returned from searching of the land after 40 days and they went and came to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation the children Israel and into the wilderness of paran to Kadesh and they brought back word unto them and then to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land and they told him it said we came into the land where thou send us us and surely it floweth with milk and honey and this is the fruit of it good so far right then we get to that horrible word of disbelief called nevertheless nevertheless you know the feeling you've been called into the boss's office he says boy you've done a really good job and this you did that right you did that right and then he gets the word nevertheless it sounds like pink slips coming doesn't it nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land and the cities are walled and very great and moreover we saw the children of anak there and you know the very words of these spies give them away the land to which you sent us really there's no mention that the Lord sent them there's no mention that God had given them a promise there's no acknowledgement of God have you sent them or God's commitment to protect them you see these are speaking in the framework of unbelief the Amalekites through all the land of the south and the Hittites the Jebusites and the amorite stroll in the mountains and the key Knights draw by the sea and by the coast of Jordan that's that that's the majority report ten of the twelve that's what they're that's the theme of what they're singing and Caleb still the people before Moses and said let us go up at once and possess it for we are well able to overcome it that's Caleb's attitude but the men went up with him and said we be not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we and they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel saying the land through which we have gone through search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature and here's a key verse verse 33 and there we saw the Nephilim translated Giants to the English but it misses the tone of that word the Nephilim the sons of anak which come of the Giants northern if alone and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers so we were in their sight now you and I would read that and say boy they must be exaggerating until we find out later in the Old Testament about the king of aughh whose bed was 13 feet long okay and you start reading about Goliath you begin to realize these creatures were giants the fact that were giants isn't the problem they were giants these guys you know they're maybe maybe using a figure of speech here but clearly they were terrified you and I would be too if we didn't have the confidence of God behind us and both Joshua and Caleb had that confidence and they'll be rewarded for it the word Giants Nephilim translated Giants but it really comes from the fall the fallen ones in the Greek it's called giganta's which is not Giants there it's called the it's the sons of Gaia or earth born as what it means let's stop from numbers for a minute and let's read a parallel passage from Deuteronomy because it'll give you a whole nother insight here this is Moses book of Deuteronomy are three sermons that Moses gives at the end of his life as he wraps up his ministry in Deuteronomy 1 starting in verse 21 behold the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee go up and possess it as the Lord God of thy father's had said unto thee fear not neither be discouraged and he came near unto me every one of you and said we will send men before us and they shall search out the land and bring us word again by what way we must go up and into what cities we shall come see I thought the Lord was gonna lead them no the people wanted to check it out so they know where they're going this is Deuteronomy you notice I'm not in numbers here I'm new tirana me and the Saint pleased me well and I took 12 men of you one of its one of a tribe and they turned and went up into the mountain and came to the valley of Eshcol and searched it out they took in the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down into us and brought us word again and said it is good land which was Lord a they God has given us notwithstanding he would not go up but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God and he murmured in your tents and said because the Lord hated us he has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the head of the Amorite to destroy us see again they've got this negative attitude whether shall we go up our brethren have discouraged our heart saying the people is greater and taller than we the cities are great and walled up to heaven and moreover we have seen the sons of Anakin's there that's too bad you know you notice the English translations got a Antechinus plural you don't need an S on it okay anyway then I said are you dread not neither be afraid of him the Lord your God which goeth before you he shall fight for you according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes and in the wilderness where thou has seen how that the LORD thy God bear thee as a man that bear his son and all the way that she went until you came unto this place yet and this thing he did not believe the Lord your God who went in the way before you to search you out a place to pitch your tents in in fire by night and the show you by what way II shall go and in the cloud by day remember what it says in the Psalms commit thy way into the Lord Trust also in him and guess what what's his commitment he shall bring it to pass your job is to trust him not trust you no trust him that he will do what he says he's gonna do if the Lord guides he'll provide the Lord heard the voice of your words and was Roth and swear saying surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land which I swear to give unto your father's saves Caleb the son of Jephunneh he shall see it to him will I give the land which he hath trod upon and to his children because he hath wholly followed the Lord and Joshua also has included that well that let's brings to our last chapter chapter 14 this is the sentence they came to Kadesh Barnea and they failed to believe God so what did God do numbers 14 all the children lifted up their voice and cried the people wept that night and all the children Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron and the whole congregation said to them what God that we had died in the land of Egypt or would God that we had died in this wilderness huh you're going to get what you're hoping for guys be be careful what you wish for wherefore the Lord hath brought us under this land to fall by this sword that our wives and our children should be a prey were it not better for us to return unto Egypt they said one to another let us make a captain and let us return unto Egypt there are passages in the kit the actually had one in mine actually elected some guy there ready to turn back can you imagine then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the Assembly of the congregation of the children Israel and Joshua the son of nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh which were of them that searched the land rent their clothes and they spake unto all the company the children are saying the land which we passed through to search it is an exceeding good land if the Lord delight in us then he will bring us into this land and give it us a land which floor through milk and honey only rebelled not ye against the Lord neither fear you the people the land for the bread for us their defences imparted from them and the Lord is with us fear them not their bread for us the expression we might use a piece of cake or it's duck soup that's the that's this is the equivalent kind of expression here that he's using here using our vernacular Hebrews chapters 3 & 4 are your commentary on this whole area book of Hebrews but with whom he was grieved 40 years was it not with them that had sinned whose carcasses found the wilderness to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest but to them that believed not so we see that they could not enter in why because of unbelief and as we look at them in amazement let's use that same look when we look in the mirror how are we not also at our Kadesh Barnea every day do we believe more don't we I really believe the secret in life is to recognize that every day God finds another way to ask you the question do you trust me let's read what it's all about whether it's in your marriage whether it's in your finances whether it's in your family your like whatever it is God's interest is do you trust him he's the issue he's the issue continue verse 10 but all the congregation's made stone them with stones that's what Josh when Caleb got for their commitment they're going to take up stones to stone him and the glory of the Lord appeared the tabernacle congregation before all the children of Israel that should get their attention the Lord said unto Moses how long will this people provoke me and how long will it be ere they believe me for all the signs which I have showed among them can you make the list there's ten plagues have got him out of Egypt there's been one miracle after another already and we're just getting started God convenes I will smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them and I will make of these speaking to Moses I will make a V a greater name mightier than they God is gonna erase the blackboard and start over he'd get it in Genesis six the Moses remember this is the guy that said what did you give me this job for watch this performance Moses sent of the Lord then the Egyptians will hear of it for thou broughtest up these people and I might from among them and they will tell it to the inhabitants display him for they have heard that thou Lord art among these people that thou Lord art seen face-to-face and that thy cloud standeth over them and that thou goest before them by daytime in a pillar of cloud and the most Moses is trying to use psychology on God you know he's pointing out that hey it's your reputation it's at stake here it's interesting isn't it interesting line of thinking the thought goes before them by day time in a pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire by night now if thou shalt kill all these people as one man then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak saying because the Lord was not able to bring those people who the land which he sware unto them therefore he has slain them in the wilderness I hear Moses talking to God look like and now I beseech thee let the power of my Lord be great according as thou has spoken saying the Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy forgiving iniquity and transgression by no means clearing the guilty visiting the iniquity of the father's upon the children of the third and fourth generation pardon I beseech the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy mercy and as thou has forgiven this people from Egypt even until now quite a quite a speech the Lord said I have pardoned according to thy word but as truly as I live all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord because all these men which have seen my glory and my miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and have tempted me now the ten times and have not hearkened to my voice surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers neither shall any of them that provoked me to see it it broke me see it surely they shall not see the land which I swear unto their fathers neither shall any of them that provoked me sinned but my servant Caleb because he had another spirit with him and that followed be fully him will I bring unto the land where into he went and his seed shall possess it now verse 25 the translators put in parentheses but if you understand the context here there shouldn't be parentheses it's a very central element in the picture now the Amalekites and key Knights dwelt in the valley that's what they're going to be facing first there we've got you tomorrow turn you and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea what God's saying turn around don't go in the land now into the wilderness that's what he's telling him the Lord speaking to Moses and Aaron saying how long shall I bear with this evil congregation which murmur against me I've heard the memories of the children of Israel which they murmur against me saying to them as truly as I live saith the Lord as you have spoken in mine ears so will I do to you your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness and all that were numbered of you according to your whole number from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I swear to you to make you dwell therein save Caleb the son of Jephunneh and also Joshua the son of nun those are the two exceptions but your little ones which he said should be a prey then will I bring in and they shall know the land which he have despised but as for you your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness and your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years and bear your whoredoms until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness and the number of the days in which he searched the land even forty days each day for a year shall you bear your iniquities even 40 years and he shall know my breach of promise a day for a year the same formula is used in Ezekiel chapter 4 for the 430 days that he deals with the only place in the scripture that fits but it does fit there I the LORD have said I will surely do it unto all this evil generation that they are gathered together against me in this wilderness they shall be consumed and there they shall die now get this and the men which Moses sent to search the land who returned and made all the congressmen to murmur against him by bringing up a slander upon the land in other words what they said was a lie even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land die by the plague before the Lord this is something you can easily miss in in going through this the congregation 20 and older would die before their forty years are up the ten that were actually part of the search party died on the spot apparently before the Lord so I think the Lord made his point but Joshua the son of nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh which were of the men that went to search the land live still and Moses told these sayings unto all the children Israel and the people mourned greatly and they rose up early the morning and got them up to the top of the mountain saying lo we be here and we would go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised for we have sinned see they were paying attention now that they are sorry for that they're gonna go up against the the enemies and they're gonna get clobbered Moses said wherefore now do you transgress the command of the Lord but it shall not prosper going on up for the Lord is not among you that you be not smitten before your enemies for the Amalekites the Canaanites are there before you and you shall fall by the sword because you have turned away from the Lord therefore the Lord will not be with you but they presume to go up to the hilltop nevertheless the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and Moses departed not out of the camp then the Amalekites came down and the canines which dwelt in that hill and they smoked them and discomfort them even to hormone so that wraps up our lesson for tonight now we're going to go from here to the plains of Moab and there's many lessons that they're going to learn along the way but the main lesson tonight is are we you and I in our Kadesh Barnea are we in danger of the same kind of compromise or disbelief or whatever you want to call it that condemn them to their 38 years let's stand for closing word of Prayer

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Length: 69min 4sec (4144 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 12 2020