When You Enter the Land
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Intro:
Scripture Intro:
This is the last few chapters in the series on Numbers.
Quick Summary:
The first generation was brought to the edge of the Promised Land,
but b/c of fear,
they refused to go in.
As a result, they wandered around the wilderness for about 38 more years (40 in all).
Until every person 20 years old and upward had died.
The second generation grows up.
The 2nd census was taken,
and the comment in the text says it all.
But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.
For the Lord had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
So chapters 27-36 are getting this generation ready to go into the land.
Sacrifices, offerings, feasts and festivals
Before we read our passage this morning,
I want to show you a map of the land so that you can visually see the borders
that we are going to read about.
Scripture Reading (“Please stand…”)
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders),
your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east.
And your border shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon.
And the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.
“For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its coast. This shall be your western border.
“This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor. From Mount Hor you shall draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad.
Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.
“You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham. And the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east.
And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.”
Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, “This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe.
For the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers’ houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers’ houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh.
The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”
Pray...
Intro:
Intro:
“The Millionaire Next Door”
Most American millionaires are not flashy high‑spenders,
but ordinary, disciplined people who quietly build wealth
through frugality, hard work, and consistent saving.
The other book along these lines is “The Wealthy Barber”
Individuals often have moderate incomes, but they accumulate wealth because they:
spend far less than they earn
invest consistently
avoid status spending
stay in the same home for decades
run stable, long‑term businesses
You could say this is about discipline,
but I think it is a way of thinking.
If you live for today,
you will not have wealth in the future.
If you spend wildly now,
you will pay for in your retirement years.
The “way of thinking”...
Live today… in light of your future.
That a future benefit is more valuable that the short-term pleasure you gain now.
Finances...
but other realms as well.
Health...
Eat sugary foods and drinks constantly...
You will sacrifice your health in the future.
Eat fast food as your main food group...
Your entire system will suffer.
You have to believe that a blessing in the future...
is worth more than a short-term blessing now.
Also, that if you take the short-term hit now,
you will lose the future blessing entirely.
Think about dating...
if you live for the relationship right in front of you,
you will miss many blessings of a marriage as God intends.
So the future marriage that you desire...
must affect how you date now.
Are you willing to trust that God knows what he is talking about?
That viewing sex and intimacy as God’s design for marriage (in your future)...
ought to deeply impact how you date
and pursue aspects of a relationship that are not yours yet.
Faith - Taking God at his word and acting on it.
Restated: Live now… in light of what God has promised.
Because of God’s promised provision, we look ahead to what we do not yet have
Because of God’s promised provision, we look ahead to what we do not yet have
(Timer: ___ minutes left)
Borders of the land
South, west, north, east
But don’t miss the setup of those borders.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders),
“When”… not “if”
God is telling them what their future will be.
Here are the borders of your inheritance.
App. Look ahead to what we do not have YET.
“Yet” is the key word.
God holds your future.
God knows all that will come into your life.
God guarantees your eternity beyond this life.
Are you willing to live faithfully/confident now...
even though you cannot see your future?
Leaders to divide the land
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun.
You shall take one chief from every tribe to divide the land for inheritance.
Because of God’s justice and mercy, we pursue justice and mercy
Because of God’s justice and mercy, we pursue justice and mercy
(Timer: How much time left?)
Chapter 35...
Levites and Cities of Refuge
Levites
The cities which they will live in.
“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities.
How many cities?
All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be forty-eight, with their pasturelands.
Remember that the Levites didn’t receive any land as their inheritance.
And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
The inheritance for the Levites...
the Lord himself.
And the tithes and offerings of God’s people
For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.”
So the Levites...
wholly dependent on the giving of the rest of the tribes for their wellbeing.
They didn’t have land as their own,
but wow… did they eat good.
But the role of the Levites points to one of the main framing principles for life in the Promised Land...
atonement for the sin of the people...
the justice and mercy of God.
But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
“their iniquity” - the sin of the people of God.
The verse prior…
“so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die.”
The role of the Levites was to carry the people’s sin,
bring it before the Lord,
make atonement for it...
so that they can live.
“The wages of sin is death.”
Justice.
Getting what you deserve.
But it also points to mercy.
Six of the cities given to the Levites...
“The cities that you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities.
“refuge” - “gathering in" or "asylum” or “haven”
Similar to our phrase “safe haven”.
What is this pointing to?
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there.
The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
These cities were for those who committed unintentional manslaughter,
providing a safe haven from the avenger.
This is for unintentional killing (we call it manslaughter).
A death that results from someone’s actions that were not intended to kill a person.
For instance,...
“But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait or used a stone that could cause death,
and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm,
then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules.
This is not about murder.
Intent to kill someone
“But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
Same for a stone or a wooden tool.
Murder.
The object a person used doesn’t matter...
the issue is his intent.
And the avenger of blood shall issue justice.
The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.
The “city of refuge” is a place of safety for the one who commits manslaughter.
He can run to the city before the avenger of blood finds him.
And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
Live there is safety...
until the death of the high priest.
Then, he can return home to the land of inheritance.
The cities of refuge point directly to Christ, who is our ultimate refuge from the righteous judgment of God.
App. God is a God of Justice and Mercy
We ought to live in the same way.
Because of the certainty of God’s promise, we live now with a bold faith
Because of the certainty of God’s promise, we live now with a bold faith
(Timer: How much time left?)
Chapter 36
The Daughter of Zelophehad
The heads of the fathers’ houses of the clan of the people of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel.
They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.
Solution:
This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father.
The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers.
So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.’ ”
But why are they listed here again?
Why so prominent?
Numbers 27 and Number 36...
The bookends of the instructions to the 2nd generation.
The issue and their request:
“Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons.
Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.”
Solution:
“The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them.
Then, it’s revisited in Numbers 36...
And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the people of Joseph is right.
From General Assembly (Kevin DeYoung):
Why are the daughters of Zelophehad included?
B/c they were ones that lived a life of bold faith.
They believed God’s promise so deeply...
that they asked for their inheritance before the land was even conquered.
They acted as if God’s promise was already reality.
Why is this faith, and not simply greed?
B/c the entire book was about Israel NOT trusting God...
complaining about his provision, guidance, and care.
And here are 5 sisters...
so confident in God’s promise...
that they are living now in light of what God will do in the future.
They know that God’s word is sure and certain.
They asked for their inheritance before they ever saw it.
The concluding verse of Numbers:
These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Are you willing to trust?
ILL. Coming into the parking lot this morning.
Wow.
It stopped me.
Close in Prayer
Close in Prayer
Closing Song:
Closing Song:
“Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me”
He is my joy, my righteousness, and freedom
My steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace
I long to follow Jesus...
For He has said that He will bring me home
Benediction:
Benediction:
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you
and give you peace.
