In the Wilderness (Part 4)

Greeting:

Good morning everyone.

It is good to see you all out with us this morning

I hope everyone has made plans on staying with us for lunch following serivces

Come back tonight as well for our song service

And Wednesday night for our Bible class.

Lesson Text:

Numbers 15-16

Opening:

We are continuing on again in our study this morning of the book of Numbers.

We have made it into our fourth lesson of the series.

I hope that as we have studied we all have maybe learned something from God’s word.

As we have studied through we have been keeping our main idea at the forfront of our minds.

We are remembering the lesson and importance of always keeping our lives pointed in the direction of God.

We have touched on this in a way during each lesson.

We have saw Israel and their ability at times to achieve this.

We also have seen the opposite of this play out as we have read about Israel’s story and their disobedience.

We have looked at some other big lessons along the way as well.

We have seen the importance of when God speaks and how man should listen.

We have saw how good we have it with God, even though sometimes we may not see it.

All of these lessons and more are things we can implement in our life.

Last week we left off in Chapter 14 where yet again we saw Israel’s disobedience and this time the severe consequences that followed.

We left off with God making the promise to Israel that none of their generation would see the Promised Land due to their disobedience.

Instead they would wonder for 40 years “In the Wilderness” until that generation died off.

Lesson:

So this morning…

This morning we are going to cover a couple of chapters.

Again try to read this all and study in your own time.

As we have been, we will pause and look at some lessons for us along the way…

As we get into chapter 15 its easy for us to look at Numbers and maybe be confused by how its put together.

Again, sometimes maybe this is why we view it as one of those hard to read books.

In Chapter 15 we find another set of laws that were given by the Lord to Moses.

This may seem out of place as they come following the story we looked at last week...

But the people must be taught these laws as they begin to wonder for 40 years in the wilderness.

Chapter 15 is composed of various laws that they would be told to obey upon entering the Promised land.

Chapter 16 speaks primarily about Korah’s rebellion.

So again we keep seeing this continual rebellion from Israel.

This is where the 250 leaders of the tribes rebelled against Moses and Aaron.

They were complaining again against the leadership of Moses who “supposedly” had brought the people out into the Wilderness just to die.

They complain about Moses and his leadership abilities.

Numbers 16:1–7 ESV

Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!”

These leaders were mad about Moses’s leadership.

Keep in mind these are men already given a leadership role of their own

But in their minds they are seeing Moses exalt himself rather than the fact that Moses was exalted by God.

They hear the words Moses speak to them but they don’t listen.

They think well we are holy too, we are from the tribe of Levi, we are special too.

What makes Moses so good?

Why does Moses and Aaron get all the power, why are he and Aaron the favorites?

Do we see how that thinking could be detrimental to a group of people?

A negative attitude can spread…

Moses goes on to basically preach a mini sermon to them and his response is found there in verses 8-11

Numbers 16:8–11 ESV

And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?”

Moses basically asked why are you not satisfied with the work that God has given you to do?

The people had rejected God given roles and they were complaining.

A couple big things that should stand out there to us is one we should be perfectly content spiritually, and two who are we to question or disregard or not appreciate the roles given by God.

We may look at this and think how does this fit today?

Well it fits perfectly today…

Don’t we have almost the exact same teachings from Paul?

In 1 Corinthians 12-14 Paul spends all three chapters basically focusing on this idea.

He teaches the church at Corinth, who was arguing over what spiritual gift was the best, that they shouldn’t be fighting over it.

They should be focused on love and understand that everyone has a different role and a different purpose within the church.

We can see this especially in chapter 12 where Paul uses the example of the human body to connect to the idea of the spiritual body, the church.

1 Corinthians 12:12–30 ESV

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

Do we think this is ever a problem today?

We are living in a world right now that doesn’t see and understand the roles that God has laid out for us both inside the home and the church.

We have women who are preachers, elders, deacons, holding leadership positions.

We have men who don't understand what it means to be a man and to lead in a Godly manner.

We have Christian’s who think since they aren’t the preacher or a teacher they aren’t important.

We have people who think since they are good enough to do or hold “any position” in the church then why come? Am I even valuable?

A lesson we can see that is so vitally important, is the fact that God deems every single person valuable and every single role is given by God.

When we take it upon ourselves to question God given role we are just like those people of Korah.

And we will see what happens to them later…

Who are we to question God?

We need to understand that just as Paul told the Corinthians we too have a role to play in the body of Christ.

We need to be happy that we are able to serve God. We need to be happy that we can glorify him.

Whether that’s preaching a sermon, or simply opening the door or shaking someone’s hand.

We all can glorify God.

We can continue on back in Numbers 16 to see this rebellion play out.

Moses, as we noted spoke or preached to them telling them what to do.

Yet again the people didn’t listen.

Numbers 16:12–14 ESV

And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.”

They basically tell Moses “No.”

They say, Hey you brought us out of the land flowing with milk and honeys (this is Egypt) and brought us here to the wilderness to die.

You only did this so that you could boss us around and be the price over us.

We ain’t gonna do it.

You can continue on to read in verses 15-19 Moses then goes to the Lord telling him not to accept any of the offering they are going to make.

But he tells the people that tomorrow they will stand before the Lord.

You can continue on to read ho God again is angry and wants to destroy them all, but Moses goes and intercedes.

However, God ends up having Moses separate Israel from the tents of Korah, Datha, Abiram and he consumes those who were wicked along with the 250 men who made the offering.

Again it never ceases to amaze me how these people didn’t learn their lesson.

Just as we don’t today, but we already beat that dead horse enough…

But here we have people who go to bed that night after seeing the ground open up and swallow he disobedient, they vanish, and the ground settles back like nothing ever happened.

Yet, what do they decide to do the next morning?

Numbers 16:41–50 ESV

But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

They wake up the next morning, again after seeing hat just happened, and decide “You know what, lets go complain some more…”

They again go to Moses and accuse him of killing them, even though it wasn’t Moses’s fault. It was their own disobedience.

I think that’s a small lesson in and of itself….

We wouldn’t ever blame someone else for our sin today would we?

Then again we see God show up, the cloud is over the tent and another plague begins.

Moses and Aaron go to try to intercede for the people and stand between “the living and the dead” as it said.

Another small lesson I think we can see there is the similarity between Aaron standing between life and death for the people just as Christ intercedes and does for us…

Thats a beautiful idea to me.

But it was too later for a bunch of them. 14,700 people had already died for the grumbling and complaints against God.

We may read this and think that sounds really harsh.

We may read this and think how can a God that is so loving also do things like this?

I think today in the world we live in we need reminded of this fact.

This is the same god we serve today.

I think everyone today only wants to preach on love and how God loves everyone and he never will punish anyone and he’s just too loving to send anyone to hell.

First off, that’s partly true.

God is loving, he loves us with a love like no other. A love we will never understand

1 John 4:8 ESV

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Secondly, God isn’t going to send anyone to Hell. We are gonna send ourselves.

Just as those of Korah and the other family’s disobeyed God and received punishment for it, so shall we.

We must understand that our actins have consequences, and while God is love, he also s a God that means what he says.

Matthew 10:28 ESV

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

I’m afraid today we have lost that reverent fear of God.

I’m afraid today we have allowed the culture we live in to distort our minds spiritually into thinking God will never punish us.

Brothers and sisters, just as heaven is very real, so is hell.

I am not saying this morning the correct approach is going around yelling and telling everyone they are going to hell.

There is an extreme to each approach that’s wrong.

Just as we can go overboard by saying God is so loving that he will never punish anyone we can also go overboard in this way.

But what I am saying this morning is we need to remember that having a reverent fear of God is something we must do.

The God we read bout destroying Israel is the same God that will cast judgment upon us one day as well.

Conclusion:

I hope this morning we have learned something from God’s word.

It never ceases to amaze me the knowledge that is here in this book just ready for the taking.

I hope this series is beneficial to you.

We will pick up here next week Lord willing.

We will probably have a couple more of these and begin to wrap the series up.

But this morning I hope that maybe there was something said or something we read that made you think.

If you’re not a Christian here this morning I hope we can see the importance to become one.

I hope we can see the necessity of obeying the gospel, being free from sin.

If you’re not a Christian the Bible tells u we must hear believe repent confess and be baptized for remission of our sins.

If we know we have sin in our life and we know we need to do something about it make the decision to obey the gospel message today.

This morning if you are a Christian but maybe we have allowed sin back in our life.

Maybe we are just like Israel and no matter what we sin again and again and again.

Let’s go to God in prayer asking forgiveness and for help.

Let’s truly repent this morning and turn away from sin and point our lives back to him.

If you ave any need this morning please come.