The Bookof Numbers

If you will turn with me to Numbers 21 this morning we will be reading just the five verses starting in verse four. However, I will explain in just a moment that we’re going to be all over the book this morning - and that’s intended. Let’s read to gether

-read text “This is God’s Word” pray. I know you know to do this but you’re putting this here for yourself. Work hard, have fun-

One of the privileges I have of being your intern is that I get to see and do things I wouldn’t normally do. We had a great presbytery meeting on Tuesday and getting to know a lot of those men and their families has been a huge blessing to me. Some times I get asked to preach in different churches and I get to see different parts of the state that I wouldn’t just drive to. And sometimes I get a text from Kevin about the preaching calendar like I did last month. This year Kevin decided for me to preach through a whole book of the Bible in one sermon, which is a challenge. Especially when we come to a bigger book like this that has a lot of moving parts.

And if you’re like me Numbers isn’t a book that you would typically choose to do a study on. It’s often where my Bible in a Year reading plan died because the early chapters are descriptive of the census and the way in which Israel was to camp. We’re tempted to get too these parts of the Bible and think that they’re throwaways. We’re tempted to come to a book like Numbers and say “eh let’s just skip it. There’s nothing for us here.”

But remember the Bible is one story. It goes all the way back to the basic narrative of Scripture- God is establishing His Kingdom, through His Christ, according to His Covenants. It all points to Jesus. Which means there are’t throw away books. There aren’t passages that we can treat like the heels of bread and bypass.

But notice what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Paul says in specific that these accounts of a people going through desert in the Ancient Near East are for us. This book is a Christian book, it’s for the Church. The people here who are recorded really lived and their lives serve as an example to us. And our text in Numbers 21 is just a small story in the whole drama of Numbers. It’s a short snippet of what’s really going on in the whole book. So what I want to do this morning is highlight four actors we see in this narrative and see what it means for us.

The first actor we should see is God Himself. The story begins still at Sinai after the Lord has given His Law. And God is here among His people. He has brought them from Egypt with great and mighty works, brought them over the Red Sea and demonstrated His glory on the mountain. And the story of Numbers is God walking and dwelling with His people. He does not get them from Egypt and bring them to the mountain and then promise to meet them in the Promised Land. He does not deliver them from bondage and give them His law, and set His name on them and then abandon them. Rather He dwells with them and guides them. Early in the book, God lays out how the people should set up their camp- and it is intentional that the Tabernacle is in the middle of the camp. He does not say, put the tent a quarter mile or an hours walk away. No God’s desire and design is to be in the middle of the camp. He dwells with them and over them in the cloud and the fire. When He moves, they follow and it is He who guides them where to go.

Not only does He dwell with them, but He blesses and keeps them. That Aaronic Blessing is found in Numbers 6, and it is a great summary of the Lord’s delight of His people. Throughout the narrative, the Lord blesses the people by giving them victory of those who would oppose them. In fact Chapter 21 is mainly about three kings who in one way or another come against the young nation, and God gives them victory time and time again. Even when a fourth king pays Balaam the prophet to come and curse them. God doesn’t allow Balaam to do it, and rather blesses them over and over.

But He also provides for them. Every day the Lord provided manna for them to make into bread. The writer notes that it is a savory sweet cake that they had to sustain themselves. Even when they complain about the manna, the Lord brings quail. When they are thirsty in the wilderness He brings water from rocks. This is the Lord’s care for His people. He keeps them and preserves them.

And so often I think we forget that He does we too are His people. We forget because of all chaotic busyness that we live in that He guides. We forget with all the weariness that life brings that He cares for us. He meets our needs, day by day. We can lose sight because of all the things that frustrate us in the normal course of the day, that God walks with us. And in the wilderness of heartache or grief or pain or hardship, we can forget that he has not abandoned us. That that is not in His nature. Yes, we may look around and find ourselves walking or wandering in what feels like a constant wasteland and hoping for a better day when everything is as it should be. But even as we walk the Christian life, the Lord does not wait in that day for us to arrive. He does not leave us. We are His people, and He blesses and keeps us.

What we also see in Numbers is the constant mention of sacrifice and worship laws that are given. Here in the early narrative He continues to give laws and guidelines for His people. He lays out how the people should camp, how they should take down the Tabernacle, and how He should be worshipped. He sets apart the priests for their work. Later in the book, He goes into detail about sacrifices and that they should wear tassels on their garments.

The whole point of this is pushing us to see that the Lord is Holy. And if I’m honest this is something that in my study I struggled with trying to get across. Because I am struck with the impossibility of the task of trying to describe it. It is the way in which He is most not like us. It is the righteousness that He has or rather that He is. He is perfect. He is without mark or blemish in His nature or His being. He is self-sufficient. As Sproul says, “It refers to His transcendent, divine nature, the sense in which He is “other” from us.” He is the very definition of holiness, the perfection of righteousness, that the angels surround Him and declare he is as Isaiah records, “holy holy holy.” When we see God declaring His law and saying, “No, I will be worshipped this way” or “these are the people who will lead my people” this is to show that He is perfect and righteous. And it is not something that we can bear- for Isiah himself saw it and was crushed by the weight of it. He says himself “I am destroyed”.

What we see very quickly is that while God is holy, we are not. While God is perfect and blameless we are not. While He is all that is good, we are wicked. He is pure, but we are defiled. Sometimes, this Law meets us in a way that we don’t like. In Chapter 5, God directs Moses that those who are unclean because of leprosy, or a discharge, or had touched something dead be put outside the camp. Now some of this is common sense, disease is quick to spread. We all i think at this point understand quarantine. We may think “that’s harsh. That’s unfair.” But shows that because God dwells in the camp, He cannot abide what is unclean.

Nor can He abide sin He cannot merely just ignore it. Our catechism teaches that it is any transgression of or lack of conformity to God’s holy law. God does is not slack or hold those who transgress His law. He is holy, and because He is holy he must judge sin.

This brings us to the second actor in our narrative, the people. It does not take us very long to see that these very people who have been delivered from their slavery in Egypt and been the benefactors of God’s blessing are fickle. At the end of Chapter 10, they leave Sinai and begin their way to the Promised Land.

Chapter 11 starts with “And the people complained in the hearing the Lord”. And this is what they do the whole book. Numbers 11:4-5 “Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.” They decide very quickly that slavery is better than God. In Numbers 2, Miriam and Aaron oppose Moses and try to usurp his place. We saw in our main text that we red earlier this very same complaint as they wandered, have you brought us out of Egypt to kill us? We hate this food.”

But it isn’t just that they complain constantly, but the just outright rebellion. Korah is a Levite who attempts to turn everyone against Moses, and God punishes Him and his supporters.

Even when they get to the land, they send spies and when the people hear the report the complain. They rebel against God and so He says, “Fine, then you won’t enter it.” It is just astounding to me as I studied. It’s almost comical if it wasn’t so sad. That these people were brought out of bondage, led across the sea, and saw and kept seeing daily the care and providence of God, but also His cloud and fire of glory above them and time after time they rebelled. This wasn’t just sinning in a way that one doesn’t intend to. Rather it is active, willful, decisive rebellion. And eventually I got to a point when reading that I just got mad and said, “Will you please get it together. We’ve done this time and time and time again. And every time it doesn’t work out. Stop complaining, stop griping, quit being a heathen, and get your act together. Just stop it.” 1Cor 10:6 “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.”

It’s us. This is where we find ourselves in the story. Because we too complain against God’s good providence. We grumble against our leaders be that political or in the church or in our homes. We sin so often. Thabiti Anyabwile writes that sin is a moral evil, a negation of what is right, it is rebellion against God and therefore he calls it cosmic treason. This is the warning of the book of numbers that Paul writes about. Later on in the Book, the people tie themselves to the Moabites and worship their gods. It wasn’t with a frown that they were tempted. No sin often is enticing. It looks appealing to us. We may mask it or shroud it in terms of acceptability, but it is treason. We may justify it or downplay it, but it is still rebellion. We may appeal to the times and culture that we live in- it’s different now. We’re smarter than they were. But sin threatens to undo us. It threatens to break us. So then we must be diligent to flee from it.

Because what we see in Numbers is that sin has it’s just consequences. In our main reading, the people complain and the Lord sends fiery serpents to punish them. This is always the result of their rebellion. They sin and God justly punishes their sin. They doubt God before entering the land and they are forced to wander. Wrath and destruction is the only result of sin. It is the only fruit that it bears.

But when faced with their sin, they turn to our third actor, Moses. He is the one whom God has sued to bring them out. He is the one leading them listening directly to God. He is the one that they often rebel against directly. He shoulders their complaints and their treason. He stands before the people on behalf of God.

But He is also the one who they come to when they have sinned. Note Num 21:7 “And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.”

Moses stands before God on behalf of the people. Moses mediates for them. He goes between them. He intercedes on their behalf and seeks mercy. We are tempted to think that wandering in the wilderness is a bad punishment. But we should see this Numbers 14:11-19

Numbers 14:11–19 ESV

And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

Moses seeks mercy from the people and He grounds it in God’s covenant promises. “According to your covenant love, your hesed, pardon them, as you’ve always done.

What we need is a mediator. But before we begin to think that all we need is just one person to mediate, we must see that Moses is also a sinner. He in this Book alone, also doubts God. When the people rebel He says , “Look just take me out. I can’t do it.” He get’s so angry with the people later that he disobey’s God and strike’s the rock. And for that God doesn’t let Him go in to the land. So it’s not just any mediator. We need one both like us and holy.

Which brings us to our final actor, hidden in this scene- but still there. We see Jesus. Throughout the whole book He is hinted at. He is God and so therefore is in and of Himself holy. When we are the unclean and must live outside the camp, He is our priest who, by His death makes us clean. We’ve already read that He, like the snake is lifted up so that we may be healed. He is the rock from which they drank. He is the Living Bread which they ate. He mediates between us and God. He is what Moses pointed to, a sinless mediator. He is our sacrifice for our sins so that we are accepted. He’s everywhere. This book is full of Jesus who is both priest and sacrifice.

So then, hear the good news of the Gospel for you this morning. the Lord Jesus Christ is our true and better mediator. He has been lifted up on a cross and died for your sins. And if you look to Him by faith alone your sins are forgiven.

So then, what should you do this morning? It’s very simple. First, look to Him. See him. Find forgiveness in His work on your behalf. Today, if you hear His voice- Do not harden your heart as the people did in their rebellion. But find His rest. Saving faith is seeing and resting on Christ by faith. Second, follow Him. See his gracious provision as we travel this wilderness. And take heart because Christ will bring us all the way home. That is how the story ends. We make it to the Promised Land.

Let’s pray