Sermon for 3/14/21 ?? Minutes

Numbers 21:4-9

This morning I'll be reading Numbers chapter 21 verses 4 through 9.

And I'll be reading from the King James Version Bible.

Numbers 21:4-9

This is a passage of scripture that Jesus makes reference to during the time that He was talking to Nicodemus,,, that scene is recorded in John 3:1-21. This morning we will look at both of these together,,, even though I'll just read the verses in Numbers.

Numbers 21:4–9 (KJV 1900) —

4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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The verses that we will look at this morning are showing the way that the Israelites complained to Moses about the conditions that they find themselves in because of his actions,,, and God.

And while we aren't in the same situations as the Israelites today,,, how many times do we complain about our present situations,,, and we are in much better shape,,, especially in our material comforts,,, and the food available to us.

Yet we can still seem to be dissatisfied and want better.

Hopefully these verses will help us in our walk with God this week

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Verse 4 says: 4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

My Wesleyan Commentary says,,, The Israelites had taken a circular route around the southern end of Edom and now find themselves in a desolate desert area on the eastern border of Edom in what is today known as the Maan community.

If you visited there today,,, you would see that the place will be infested with flies and other insects and unbearable heat,,, especially in the summer months.

There is little or no natural vegetation in this area.

Only the burning desert sun and sand would be there to welcome you.

This type of country was what they were dealing with and probably added to their frustration as they traveled.

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Verse 5 says: 5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

This isn't the first time that the Israelites have complained about food and water.

My Faithlife Study Bible says that there were earlier complaints found in Exodus 15:22–17:7,,, Numbers chapter 11,,, chapter 14,,, and chapter 20:1–13.

It says that the people weren't starving,,, they had the manna and the quail to eat.

Their complaint was against Moses and,,, included God.

That's why the punishment was so severe.

And when I read any of these types of passages,,, any time that they are doubting God,,, I wonder,,, were they not paying attention earlier?

It just doesn't seem like it has been any length of time since God performed all of the miracles to get Pharaoh to let them go,,, parted the Red Sea,,, delivered manna,,, water,,, quail,,, on and on,,, whatever they needed to keep them safe and fed.

They should have been happy!

But,,, at the same time,,, are we any better today?

We,,, in the United States of America,,, have it so much better than any country in the world,,, and definitely a lot better than the Israelites,,, but we continue to question God today!

Today it's probably questions about the pandemic,,, which is natural of course,,, but when we doubt God's ability,,, or timing,,, we are just as bad,,, or maybe even worse than,,, the Israelites.

I say that,,, because we know from times in our own life that God has been faithful and helped us,,, and we know from scripture that there have been numerous times that God has helped,,, and it has happened over and over again.

So we are no better than the Israelites,,, and we see from the next verse what happens to them because of this.

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Verse 6 says: 6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

I hope that you catch the part that says,,, the LORD sent fiery serpents,,, because this is why that so many people want to look at the New Testament without looking at the Old Testament.

If they only look at the New Testament,,, they can over look these places where God punishes the people for doing wrong.

They can say that God is love,,, and "He is",,, don't get me wrong,,, but God will not let you continue to live in sin!

Just as He punishes the Israelites here,,, for sinning against Him,,, He will punish you today!

Unless you have gone so far that God just turns you loose to do as you please.

But,,, to get back to what that I was saying,,, if they never have to admit that God will punish them for their sins,,, they can just go on living the way that they want to,,, without any change at all.

Unlike the Israelites in the next verse,,, where they realize their mistake.

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Verse 7 say: 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

In anger the LORD had sent poisonous snakes among them and many of the people … died.

Once the Israelites realized their mistake,,, they urged Moses to pray to God for them,,, which he did.

At least they did own up to their sin and asked Moses to intercede for them.

How many times do we continue to try to fix the problems ourselves,,, when we should ask for help.

And the wonderful thing today,,, we have access to God immediately,,, without asking someone to pray for us,,, because Jesus has solved that problem for us through His sacrifice on the cross,,, and since that time,,, He is sitting at the right hand of God,,, interceding for us!

But as I said,,, Moses did pray to God for them and we have His answer in the next two verses.

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Verses 8 and 9 say: 8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

This is the part of scripture that Jesus talked about in the temple.

When the Israelites were bitten by the fiery snakes, they could look up at the cross with the image of the snake and they would be saved.

Jesus said that this was fulfilled by His coming to earth.

When we have trouble,,, we usually have a tendency to put our head down,,, but we need to look up!

We need to look up because that's where our help comes from.

Just as the Israelites had to make an effort to look up,,, we must look up as well!

We look up,,, because "our help comes from the Lord",,, and He is seated in heaven,,, just waiting for us,,, to look up!

The redemptive significance of this event is brought out in Jesus' reference.

In John 3:14-15 it says: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life”.

We are told that our Lord was made sin for us—our sins were actually placed upon Him,,, and in this sense He became our Sin-bearer.

In my Wesleyan Commentary,,, it gave a quote from Clarke that says:

From our Lord’s words we may learn,

1 That as the serpent was lifted up on the pole or ensign,,, so Jesus Christ was lifted up on the cross.

2 That as the Israelites were to look at the brazen serpent,,, so sinners must look to Christ for salvation.

3 That as God provided no other remedy than this looking,,, for the wounded Israelites,,, so he has provided no other way of salvation than faith in the blood of his Son.

4 That as he who looked at the brazen serpent was cured and did live,,, so he that believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish,,, but have eternal life.

5 That as neither the serpent,,, nor looking at it,,, but the invisible power of God healed the people,,, so neither the cross of Christ,,, nor his merely being crucified,,, but the pardon he has bought by his blood,,, communicated by the powerful energy of his Spirit,,, saves the souls of men.