Sermon Tone Analysis
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Text
Numbers 13:1-14:24
Introduction
Israel in Egypt
Israel had been delivered in miraculous fashion out of the hand of Pharaoh in Egypt.
God had allowed his people to go to Egypt under the favor of Joseph.
In Egypt Israel had swelled to become a mighty number of people and it was time for God to deliver them out.
God calls Moses and things begin to get worse before they get better
Then God tells Moses what He will do
The remaining chapters of Exodus give us an account of what the Lord did to prepare Israel
Aaron's rod swallows Pharaoh’s rod
10 plagues culminating in the death of the first born (Numbers 11)
God leads the nation and shortly after Pharoah follows
They cross the Red sea
God provides for them in the wilderness
He teaches them about the Tabernacle
He teaches them about how to use the Tabernacle
The Scene in Numbers 13
Kadesh- Barnea
The setting in Numbers 13 is the whole nation encamped in a place called Kadesh Barnea.
It was a piece of land on the Eastern boarder of Palestine about 165 miles from Horeb (Mt.
Sinai).
Kadesh was a place of oasis in the desert.
It had water and agricultural land that made the desert experience far more bearable.
But it was never meant to be a place of permanent establishment.
The Command of the Lord
Numbers 13:1-3
The Charge of Moses
Numbers 13:17-25
The Commentary of the Spies
Number 13:26-33
Transition:
God is calling us to follow him.
He always has a destination for us.
For the children of Israel it was Canaan Land and for Christians our destination is two-fold; present and future.
The present destination is victorious living through the Spirit, and in the future is a home in Heaven with Jesus for an eternity.
Declaration: God has a defined goal for your life and for mine (Canaan pictures that goal)
Transition Statement: Let’s notice 3 truths about following God
Define the destination
Deal with the discord
Determine to make a decision
The first truth we must notice about following God is:
I.
We must Define the Destination (Numbers 13:17-18)
A full understanding of what we are dealing with is important if we are going to have a successful Christian life.
A. The destination was full of opportunity - the fruit of the land
The land represented victory and a place that God desired Israel to dwell
B. The destination was full of obstacles - the foes in the land
Obstacles can be people (Giants)
Obstacles can be physical & material (Walled City)
Application: Someone has said that “if you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time” It is good to have goals in life, but it is better if those goals are God’s goals for you!
God had a physical place that he promised for Israel to dwell and he has a spiritual plane that he has called us to reside.
We must define the destination and then:
II.
We must Deal with Discord (Numbers 13:30-14:9)
It is important that we are fully aware of the destination that God desires for every Christian, but it is equally important that we are aware of the conflict that we will face in getting there.
If it seems like the flesh vs the Spirit battle is everywhere in Scripture it is because it is.
If we are going to move in the direction the Lord is calling than we must deal with this problem from a proper biblical perspective!
A. The discord on the inside (Caleb’s Countrymen)
Caleb’s countrymen wanted to stone him
Jesus taught us some very important truths in relation to this:
B. The discord on the outside (Canaan's Giants)
Canaan had foes that needed to be faced.
Throughout the Bible God’s people have had enemies!
We face enemies today.
The world is our enemy
The flesh is our enemy
The devil is our enemy
Application: Nothing worth doing in life is easy.
To obey the Lord and face the challenges that lie before us will not be easy, but it will be worth it!
We face challenges, but all of them have been defeated!
We must define the destination, we must deal with the discord and finally...
III.
We must Determine to Make a Decision (Numbers 14, 15, 16 )
Everything in the Christian life is about making decisions.
Where we are in life, is a direct result of the decisions we have made.
We can choose to make excuses - background, upbringing, environment, job, money problems, circumstances....but the truth remains - we are the sum of our decisions!
Israel’s decision was a resounding “No”!
They said God we see the land, it looks nice but no thanks!
A. Israel’s decision brought death (Nu 14, 15, 16)
Death in an answer to prayer
Death in an answer to presumption (Numbers 15 the careless man on the sabbath day)
Death in an answer to pride (Numbers 16:1-33 Korah, Dathan & Abiram - rebellion against Moses)
Death in an answer to persistence (Numbers 16:41-50 - Rebellion of the people & the plague)
B. Israel’s decision brought despair (Nu 17)
Here is the story of Aaron’s rod.
The authority that God had set up was being challenged and we are shown how God dealt with the situation.
Aaron’s rod had budded and brought forth almonds.
These extraordinary circumstances brought Israel face to face with their sin and they lamented:
Nu 17:12 “Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish….”
— Thoughts of despair!!!
Conclusion
We must remember that God is not calling us into a life of stagnation.
A stagnant pond is a foul pond that no one would want to drink from.
God is calling us forward!
Sad commentary on these events:
Following the Lord will probably leave you in the minority.
It will also put you in a position to experience things that others will not experience.
Caleb for example:
Illustration: In a seminary mission’s class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.
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