The Holy Worship You Need for Your Wilderness Journey
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The people of Israel had been at Sinai 1 year and a month. God had organized them into a knation, a spiritual kingdom, the camp set for travel but also war. End of with all the laws orgnaizing God’s people providing for purity, come to a crescendo - with that blessing. But then before the real action begins and they move we hit a real strange section. Moses goes back a month, to when the tabernacle was erreted, and he is going to give three flash backs. Going back intime he describes the sacrfices that dedicated the tabernacle - which underlines the worship needed for their wilderness journey. He flashes back to the cleansing of the Levites show the holy people need ed for the jorney, and lastlsy he shows the re-celebration of the Passover - shows the holy time needed for this wilderness joyurney of God’s people. Three things we all need holy worship, holy people, and holy time if we are goihng to survive and thrive in our wilderness journey. And most surrpiseing is this desscritioni of holy worship that we need. Its surpriseing because of its repettitveness. Chapter 7 exact same lists of a tribe, tirbes leader, and wites out in full the exact same 5 or 6 offerings. And we are to se that biblical holy worship that God ordains and that he pirveleges us to have so we can survive the wilderness, is goign to require two actions on our part and two actions on God’s part. Before you get into your wilderness testing, invest in the place where God speaks and meets with His people!
Before you get into your wilderness testing, invest in the place where God speaks and meets with His people!
Key Truth: Before your wilderness journey, be invested in holy worship.
Key Truth: Before you get into your wilderness testing, invest in the place where God speaks and meets with His people!
The first action we see fromn our text is dedication. Dedictation of Every Tribe with Every Indivdiual is God’s Vison for Worship =
The first action we see fromn our text is dedication. Dedictation of Every Tribe with Every Indivdiual is God’s Vison for Worship =
A. Worship Requires Showing Up Before God and Dedicating Yourself to Him
The first action we see fromn our text is dedication.
Dedictation of Every Tribe with Every Indivdiual is God’s Vison for Worship = A. Worship Requires SHowing UP Before God and Dedicating Yourself to HIm
In our day and age, it is harder to imagine a group of people actually donating and giving and organizing. We just expect that great big state to provide everything and then individuals can access it if they want or not. Hard for us to imagine establishment of a pioneer community, and we all have to cooperate agree, contribute to build a school house, twon hall. Well that’s the remarkable thing about this list, it represents that every single person in every single tribe, - recognized and owned the need for worship.
This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day when it was anointed, from the chiefs of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve golden dishes,
This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day when it was anointed, from the chiefs of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve golden dishes,
They all showed up. They all have an equal share in providing for but also an equal need to be part of the happenings of the tabernacle. Its a 12 day ceremony and all those tribes equidistant from the tabernacle, now exact same support to the Tabernacle and ministry. . Like Ezra and Nehemiah, list of each tribe contributing, underlining the unity of all God’s people Twelve silver plates, 12 silver basins, 12 golden bowls or dishes for incense. - immense amount of gold and silver donated. And those 3lbs plates and 2lbs bowls full of cereal offering., full with grain and oil. And the whole of the offering is an initiation of this tabernacle which Moses received as a copy of the heavenly place of worship. Now portable for their journey. And Each tribe with their offering through their leader, is symbolically waved, presented like a grain offering ot the LORD. We are devoted and dedidated to you Lord. That's WHAT THEIR worship here will be a reminder t-that they are waved before the LORD dedicated to hIm.
They all showed up. They all have an equal share in providing for but also an equal need to be part of the happenings of the tabernacle. Twelve silver plantes, 12 silver basins, 12 godlen bowls or dishes for incense. - immense amount of gold and silver donated. And those 3lbs paltes and 2blbs bowls full of cereal offering., full with grain and oil. And the whole of the offering is an intiatioin of this tabernacle which Moses receivedas a copy of the heavenly place of worship. Now portable for their journey. And Each tribe with their offering through their leader, is sybmoblically waved, presented liek a grain foffering ot the LORD. We are devoted and ddidated to you Lord. tHAT’S WHAT THEIR worship here will be a remihnder t-that they are waved before the LORD dedicated to hIm.
The other thing that we learn is that the worship they present is not something they innovated, like some group prlject at school, ,let’s see what each comes up with, all didferent ways to worship. NO they have a dedication to worship as God revealed. Living worship, pleasing worship, worship that leads to godliness, life, and blessing, ulitamtelyy peace and whoelness, is worship God reveals the how to from heaven, not man coming up with something on his own.
In the NT we find the same thing, everyone according ability - give for the support of the gospel minsitry. All believers understand and experience that gospel minsitry, particularly in worship - essential to their lives. So they happily give the grain that wouldn’t have been used all aonce but would have been the priests allotment and good stock for the journey. But not only give and when they not only give but attend and participate in worship. They show up have a stake in what God will do even daily at this tabernacle.
This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day when it was anointed, from the chiefs of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve golden dishes,
The flow of the book shows that God blesses his people, and now ch7 Moeses flashes back to show that its our responsibilyt and it is fiftiting and good and will be greater blessing if we responde by deidicatin g ourselves back to God in worship. And perhaps an even more symbolic picture of this is how ch 7 begins: how wil they bring all these offerings?
and brought their offerings before the Lord, six wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two of the chiefs, and for each one an ox. They brought them before the tabernacle.
These wagons so like the ones Pharoah, like Srian royalty - imagine being a subject of Pharoah and coming before great prince of the land. But now all the princes of tribes of Israel, come befor ethe invisible, ,iving God and say you are our LORD and Master - we are devoted to you, and attend to you. We come into Your tent, under your protection, seeking to do your mission, lvoing to be in pyour presence.
Have you shown up with your gift before the LORD today to dedicate yourself to your king?
B. Holy Worship requires what the sacrifices represented!
But the next part of this flash back one month back to the completion of the erection nf the tabernacle, highlights an other activity of the people in worship. Hugely central one to both OT and NT worship. Sacrifice. And you need to understand that the sacrifice that remember, believe and celebrate and take to ourselves - the great and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross - the way the NT expalins that is through the meaning of the OT sacrifices. 5 different types all point to Christ, four of them here.
There is
What does a sacrifice mean? It should be apparent that sacrifice is essential to the life of Israel, which is a picture of how the ulitamte sacrifice would become central to the life of all God’s people.
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
i. Here you can probably quickly connect the dots between the sin offering and the Cross of Christ. The sin offering given less for individuals but the whole people for transgressions, and like with God shedding animals blood with Adama an Eve to provide them covering - Kippur - atonement - there is a sense in which the male goat, substitutes for the people - people placing a hand on the forehead of the animal - transfer guilt - imputed to the animal which is slaughtered in that persons place, but sinless.
You need to understand that all of these offerings slaughtered in the main court of the people understsood by forgiveeness alone,m subsitution, can we draw near to holy God. And that happened in the main court by the big bronze alter = focal point of daily worship, mornign and evening sacrafice. But after the slaughter the blood of th sin offering wasbrought either into the holy place or spinrinkled on the altar of incense and borughtintot he holy of holies on the Day of Atonement, and Sprinkled on the Covering, the Mercy Seat ITself. And so instead of the people sin defling themselves, miraculously and marvellously purified and cleansed.m, as on the mercy seat, our sin is covered, so that atonement means we can see God face to face. We can stan din his presence without shame!
and says not Lord’s Supper that has replaced this, but Calvary is the NT bronze altar - Lords’ Supper is how we remember and take to our selves the benefits of this atonement. A picture of us drawing near with justification. Just as if I never sinned now that I have this perfect sacrifice.
ii. But then there were not only sin offering, but the sacrafice of Christ is expecially representeed in the burnt offering, also called the whole offering, It was different because - unlike other offerings which part of the fat or the meat given to the priest, a burnt offering had to be completely consumed. And while that is part of the total sacrafice of Christ giving his entire life body and soul to be consumed by the wrath of God against sin, the other big picture of the burnt offering was that this lamb without a blemish - perfect year old, - even more than atonement which was the sin offerings emphasis , most scholar s agree the burnt offerings special emphasis is that it is a picture of total dedication to God. The lamb represents an obedient and faithful life being offered up to God! Because God’s wrath is expiated, there can be a propitiation where God is pleased with us, we’ve died with Christ to sinful desire, and now have his obdient life as our life! This is a picture of the blessing of my life now sanctified, it is set apart , this offering by Jesus His life offered up - snactified - picture God’s forgiven my sins, totatlly covered, now I am aodopted by HIm and give my life in thaksgiving back to Him. A pcturre of our sanctification and adoption.The smoke rising form the fire is pleasing, not just because sin has been desroed, but our livfe is tranfered into the presnce of God
There is a deeper solution to your sin and mine than covering of the guilt and shame. In a sense the OT solution with symbolic animal sacrfice, didn’t get the full picture yet. . shows this. But Christ’s sacrafice acocmplsihes what a burnt offering pictured The human is healed and purified so that God can dwell in humanity without a cover. The temple veil is rent, and Christ is teh temple where God fully dwells and no sacrfice for sin is needed.
iii. But then there were the grain offerings, also called loyalty offerings. Sign of the covenant often choice flour mixed with oil, incense and teh salt of the covneant. Not allowed to have honey of promised land in. Because for wilderness jorueny. And now wafers are burnt and offered up to God, but Aaron and his sons eat some too as asymobl of cvoenant relationships. And eatin the fruit of the grain and offering it up shows they are rededicating their lives to the Lord.
But the last sacrifice given here for us to understand the Lord’s sacrifice, is the SHALOM, the PEACE OFFERING, the Well-being Offereing. As you come to the table, do you think of this. L Listen to the description:
And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.
and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.
Now all the other portions are eaten by the priests, the offerer, and other invited guests! The peace offering not usually corporate except for Pentecost, and temple dedication, uusally indivudal giving a thankgigiving to God, or in reposne to vow - and the meaning is pcitured ina sacred meal eaten iwtht he Lord where he makes u His honoured guest. Can you imagine ocmiong into the taberbancle for that!!! it would be a foretaste of where the whole world and uhiverse iand heven is heading the Wedding Feast ogf the Lmamb, In the OT they had this sacrifical meal - peace offering with the last feast of the year, the Shavuot the harvest fesitval ceelbrating the blessing of the pormised land. And this is why it is the final sacrfice, one listed last - although we have foretaste of it and fulliflmen in Christ, also reminded of Christ’s wrds’s, that Lord’s Supper also a picture of the future.
I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
And so I have to ask you - do you see the sacrfice you are drawing near to God with this morning? Is it central to your worship. Not just so you united to Christ can be justified in God’s presence, but so in an onoing way, united to Christ - abiding in Christ, you are sanctified more and more by walking nin the joy of fellowship with Him? Do you see fulfillment in Christ
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Do you see not just your forgiveness and covering of guilt and shame, absorbing of the punishment of your sin on the Corss, but do you see the perfect life, active rightouesness of Christ, offered to you, imputed to you- life dedicated to the Lord and he sasy Chrtist was a fragrant offering to God, and in him you are purified too. In Him, with HIs new life, now
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
And with this perefect and complet sacrfice, now we come to this table with Christ as our peace offering, that sacricial meal with the unleavened bread and we celebrate the blessings and goodness of the Lord, walking in the new coveant celebrateing the new covenant meal with our living Saviour. The only sacrafice that remains is our life as a living sacrafice back to the LORD, in our thankfulness!
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Well congregation you and I need to have that kind of worship in Christ for our wilderness journey and we come dedicating ourselves and relying on the sacrfice for us. But look at God’s action to us represented in the tabernacle. Moses walks into the tent of meeting, what the temporary tent was called before tabernacle set up for worship- where God spoke to Moses and we read that Moses was going to speak with the LORD. But look what happens. Understand the movements of this passage, we’re outside the tabernacle, in we approach God from the main court, but now God through his our Mediator symbolized as Moses, is in the Holy of Hollies, and look what happens. Moses is n’t goign to speak… This is the climax of the whole first third of this book of preparation at Mt Sinai.
And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him.
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And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him.
Moses walks into the tent of meeting, what it was called before tabernalce set up - where God spoke to Moses and we readd that Moses was going to with the LORD. But look what happens.
C. We Must Hear God Speaking from the Holy Place into our Lives
We move from the extreme of the outside of the people's court, to the extreme of God’s side the holy of holies. And Moses came in to speak, but hat’s not the big deal of the worship you and I need. Not our speaking. But he gets in and the activity is all God’s. The point of the tabernacle is it for all the rituals and even for the sacrafice, the point of the tagbernacle is for God to draw near to su and to speak. The highlight of the section isn’t on the Levites, the people's representative, not even Moses, but on the LROD speaking. The Lod speaks to Moses, the Levites are outsdie serving the peole, and the preists are serving the sacrfice. , and it si not just being reconciled that’s the big deal, but this summons by God for the people that really defines Israel.
The worship that Israel needed certainly had sacrifce at the cetnre but the goal was that they reconciled to God would offer themselves to Him and walk in His ways, fulfioll His mission, enjoy HIs presence. And for that they would have to hear their mediator speaking what the Lord spoke from the centre of His presence on earth. And Jesus says, now one great than Moses has a risen, One who speak the very Word of God in to our lives, for our wilderness journey. And so trusting inthe sacrfices as we worship, as your rpeseetned here, do you come to hear the LORD voice. The tabernacle in the OT was not just a place for ritual worship and maintainig the status quo, it was the cetnre for the voice of God carry a diaolgeu with MOeses and God’s people. And so too how God speaks to us today - gathered in worship really among us, oracles of God come to us - God’s ambassdor making appeal and pleas and teacing His way. - God said back in the OT I’m not going to make a massive stone temple, no elabaorate idol of me, empty space hold my spresnce in a tent carried through your wilderness. And in the NT he says, Jesus is the new tabernacle, and his people indwlet but gatehered for worsip, the Church of Jesus Christ is the tabernacle for our wilderness journey. God's presence localized and moving with you.
Moses and God’s people were just about to encounter all sorts of problems, trials, new situations scratch their head, and this place of atonement, worship and dedication, to be the place Moses got into the Most Holy Place and heard from God: We come to the table not only to recall Christ’s sacrifice and the forgiveness of sins. Certainly his sacrifice opened the way into the holy place () by covering our sins. But even more, by offering us “his flesh” (10:10), at the Lord’s Supper we intimately come into contact with God through Christ by the Holy Spirit. We also are to be formed into the patterns of his life through receiving his body and taking into us the blood of the new covenant
Moses got into the Most Holy Place and heard from God: We come to the table not only to recall Christ’s sacrifice and the forgiveness of sins. Certainly his sacrifice opened the way into the holy place () by covering our sins. But even more, by offering us “his flesh” (10:10), at the Lord’s Supper we intimately come into contact with God through Christ by the Holy Spirit. We also are to be formed into the patterns of his life through receiving his body and taking into us the blood of the new covenant
… In this way we hear the words of the covenant and take those words and patterns of being into us, so that the covenant will be heard by us and also received and written on our hearts and minds (10:16). We are thus enabled through Christ and the Spirit to live lives that follow in the ways of Jesus (12:1–2).
David L. Stubbs, Numbers, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2009), 95.
But there is one final movement described in our text that we need to understand how worship is to function in our lives. And that is the beginning of chapter 8‘s description of the seven lamps. And again you need to know the movement represented here of God and of us his people.
Numbers Listening to YHWH in the Holy of Holies (7:89)
Gregory of Nyssa’s The Life of Moses, which speaks of the goal of the Christian life: “We regard … becoming God’s friend the only thing worthy of honor and desire.” Such a friendship involves intimacy, which results in our reflecting God’s character: “He who has truly come to be in the image of God and who has in no way turned aside from the divine character bears in himself its distinguishing marks.”33 This then is the longed-for result of the entry into the holy of holies—a personal intimacy and encounter with God that results in us bearing forth God’s law and word and character not only on our lips, but in our being. Such at least we find in Christ, the fulfillment of this figure of Moses.
But there is one final movemnt dscribed in our text that we need to understand how worship is to function in our lives. And that is the beginngin of chpater ‘s descritpion of the seven lamps. And again you need to know th novmeant represented here of God and of us his people.
D. We must be illuminated by God’s Presence
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Here is the most wonderful pciture of worship for the wilderness. Sometimes you really rfeel it don’t you , someone’s presence counts more than words. You have God’s people moving in with sacrfice reconciled, and you have Moeses moving out with God’s voice. But where is the plae we see them meeting. You might miss it with the littele direction for which way the lamps have to face, but put itgether with Ex and Leviticsus, and remeber as repeated here this is a pattern of heavenly temple.
“Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.”
“Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.”
Just like there were morning and evening sacrfices in the court of the people. There were also 2 and only two, things that the priest did twice a day in the holy place in the middle. As part of the daily worship of the people, twice a day morning and evening Araon had to go into the holy place.
And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations.
ALl the other princes had contributed, now this is the head of the tribe of Levi’s contribution. He for God’s people woud attend to the lamp stand, and just like that altar of sacrfice in the court kept burnign day and night, Aaron would keep the fire not of sacrfice a consuming fire vburining, but a fire of illumination. That’s the sgingifance of of the lamps facing the tabel of the show bread. On that table Leviticus 24:59 says that 12 loaves from the poepole heaped up, And the light of the fire was a symbol, once God’s reconciled to us, his presence and light upon us contiually, the 7 branched flowering tree a symbol of life giving power of God, and the candle sticks on which the light emenates is a person like you and me - illuminated by God day by day. Isn’t that how Jesus describes his churches in Revelation - and he walks among the candlesticks. Is he today here, now?
But why must the light fall on the table with the bread. That bread is a symbol of all the blessing mediated by God’s priest - So now God had put His name on the poepole through the prists blessing, , but now a fuller blessing as Christ interceeds for us , and mediates blessing to us . A reminder that God’s voice will guide us form the Most HOly place even as it did Moses and ISrael because of Christ sacrfice, and God’s light shine uopon uos, and illuminate the rich blessings need each day for life in the wilderness.
Numbers Lighting the Menorah in the Holy Place (8:1–4)
connected with the menorah, light rests on or shines through the people of Israel. Like the burning bush that Moses saw, Israel is aflame with God’s spirit yet not consumed.
The most direct references to the menorah in the prophets are in prophesies by Isaiah and Zechariah. In Zech. 4:2–10 the seven lamps are “the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth” and represent God’s “spirit” (4:6). In Isa. 11:2 God’s sevenfold spirit is said to rest on a remnant of Israel that will grow out of the stump of Jesse. And in 42:6 the servant of the Lord is called to be “a covenant to the people, a light to the nations.” These prophecies connect the menorah to Israel, God’s presence in it, and God’s intentions for it to be a light to the nations. In
Numbers Lighting the Menorah in the Holy Place (8:1–4)
Table and menorah are primary symbols of the end or goal of Israel’s worship and life lived in the presence of God. This life of prosperity and light is also the goal of Israel’s journey from the mountain of God into the land of Canaan. Just as the Sinai experience is not the end of the story for Israel, so too the ordering of these chapters is suggestive: it is a movement from outer court to holy of holies and then to holy place. This vision of the end is quite unlike parts of Christianity that have an almost Gnostic view of the goal of the Christian journey, namely a goal of the “escape” of the human soul from the destruction of the world, “saved” for a disembodied existence of the individual soul with God. Rather, this vision of the goal or end of God’s work with his people is quite embodied. Arguably it corresponds better to visions of renewal of all creation, of heaven coming down to earth: “See, the home [tabernacle] of God is among mortals. He will dwell [tabernacle] with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them” (Rev. 21:3).
The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.