The Promise of God’s Provision

In this session, we will see that the next generation of Israelites, the children of the people who had rejected God’s provision of a land flowing with milk and honey, grumbled and complained about God’s provision for them in the wilderness. We will see once again that God is gracious and merciful, but He also takes rebellion against Him seriously. We will also see that just as God made a way for the Israelites to be saved through the judgment He poured out on them, He has made a way for us to be saved from the ultimate consequence of our rebellion, which is eternal separation from Him.

Session Outline

++1. God punishes sin and desires repentance from His people (Num. 21:4-7a).

++2. God provides an intercessor to appeal on behalf of His people (Num. 21:7b-8).

++3. God provides a way of salvation through faith for His people (Num. 21:9; John 3:14-15).

Session in a Sentence

God is just and will punish sin, but He is also gracious and will provide a way of salvation.

Christ Connection

Just as the Israelites looked upon the bronze serpent lifted high on the pole in faith believing and were healed, so also we look with faith upon Jesus Christ lifted high on the cross and are saved from the punishment of our sin.

Group Time

Introduction

Interact: Ask group members the following question.

What are some things people put their faith in hoping that everything turns out well for them in the end?

(in themselves; in money and stuff; in the pursuit of happiness; in good deeds; in a god who overlooks our sin)

God has provided only one way for things to go well for us in the end. He has given us Jesus to save us from our sin. He alone must be the object of saving faith for our destiny and for life’s journey. Trusting in anything else only leads to death, or at least produces the works of death; it does not matter how sincere or strong that faith is.

Faith is effective only when it is placed in the right object—in Jesus Christ

God’s only provision for sinners to be saved.

God’s people failed to trust in His faithfulness to bring them into the land of Canaan. The next generation of Israelites grumbled and complained about God’s provision for them in the wilderness, and both God’s judgment and grace in response, point us to Jesus Christ lifted high on the cross for our salvation.

Point 1: God punishes sin and desires repentance from His people (Num. 21:4-7a).

This event in the life of the Israelites took place almost forty years after their rebellion and refusal to go into the promised land. Most of the previous generation died in the wilderness, as God had said, and the next generation came of age seeing God lead them and provide for them every step of the way.

Read Numbers 21:4-7a (DDG p. 21).

4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7a And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you.

DDG (p. 21), Because all sin offends a holy, righteous, just, and eternal God, all sin demands a holy, righteous, just, and eternal response, a punishment.

The Israelites sinned against God once again as they complained about the food God was providing. If we focus on the Israelites’ offense, we might not understand what follows. But when we recognize that the Israelites sinned against a holy God, we find it easier to see that God’s judgment was just. God showed the Israelites the magnitude of their offense against Him by sending killer snakes into the camp.

Ask the following question on p. DDG (p. 21)

How do you tend to see your sins?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Innocent Damnable

Psalm 51:4 NASB

Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done what is evil in Thy sight, So that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, And blameless when Thou dost judge.

Isaiah 59:2 NASB

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.

Romans 6:23 NASB

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 John 1:8–9 NASB

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Hebrews 10:29 NASB

How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Because we often focus on our sins to the exclusion of the One we have sinned against (Ps. 113:4-6), we fail to remember that all of our sins—even the “small” ones that don’t seem to harm anyone—are acts of rebellion against our Creator. We fail to understand that what is deemed culturally appropriate changes from generation to generation, but God’s Word remains unchanged.

Fill in the blanks: DDG (p. 21).

Sin and Death: The ultimate consequence for sin is death—physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death. Spiritual death, the separation of a person from God, continues in a permanent state when someone dies apart from the reconciling work of Christ.

Essential Doctrine “Sin and Death”: The ultimate consequence for sin is death—physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death (Rom. 6:23). God was clear to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden that if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die (Gen. 2:17). The type of death that would result from the fall in the garden of Eden wasn’t only physical death but spiritual death as well, the separation of a person from God. Spiritual death continues in a permanent state when someone dies apart from the reconciling work of Christ, who defeated death through His own death on the cross and subsequent resurrection.

DDG (p. 21) We must repent of sin immediately because sin disrupts our fellowship with God.

The snakes that God sent brought about His desired result—repentance. Like the Israelites, the first thing we should do to repent of sin is confess that we have sinned against God. We don’t try to hide anything, but we lay bare before Him what we have done and why, acknowledging our damaged hearts behind our sinful conduct.

Interact: Ask group members the following question.

What are some responses (positive or negative) that people have when they realize they have sinned against God?

(deny it; feel sorry; try to fix it; confess it and repent)

Say: True repentance begins by agreeing with God that we’ve sinned and that it is serious. We have to own our sin, to take responsibility for it, and we have to agree with God that what we have done deserves death.

Point 1: God punishes sin and desires repentance from His people, so that they might enjoy restored relationship with Him.

Point 2: God provides an intercessor to appeal on behalf of His people (Num. 21:7b-8).

Read Numbers 21:7b-8 (DDG p. 22).

7b Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

DDG (p. 22)

Remembering His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God had raised up a deliverer, Moses, to lead His people. From the start, Moses was to be His intermediary and His people’s intercessor. Whether it was a promise of salvation, laws to follow, or a message of condemnation, God spoke to His people through Moses. But Moses also spoke to God on behalf of the people, asking for provision and the forgiveness of sin. That was the role of an intercessor between God and man.

· In Numbers 21, Moses had yet another opportunity to intercede on behalf of God’s people like he did with the golden calf incident and the rebellion with the spies. At times, Moses had done this apparently on his own, but here the people asked him to intercede for them. They knew they had sinned. They recognized God’s judgment. They understood that Moses was able to plead for grace and mercy on their behalf.

· In a similar and even greater way, God has revealed Himself and His plan of salvation through the perfect intermediary of His Son, Jesus. Through faith in Him, we have been delivered from the oppressive slavery of sin and death.

However, we still sin on a daily basis. So Jesus, similar to Moses with the Israelites, continues to intercede for us with the Father (Rom. 8:34 “who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”; Heb. 7:23-28 “And the former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers, because they were prevented by death from continuing, but He, on the other hand, because He abides forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.”). As our intercessor, every time we sin, Jesus declares that sin that is forgiven by His sacrifice, points to His righteousness that covers us, and reminds the Father of His promise of eternal life.

DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING

Instruct: Ask groups of 3-4 to use the table in their DDG (p. 22) to record ways Jesus has shown Himself to be the greater Moses. After a couple of moments, call for some responses, and offer the following as needed.

MOSES

JESUS

An Intermediary for God

An Intercessor for the People

A Prophet of God

A Mediator

A Deliverer from Slavery

Communicated God’s Law

The Intermediary for God (Heb. 1:2-3)

The Intercessor for God’s People

The Prophet of God (Deut. 18:15-19)

The One Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5-6)

The Deliverer from Sin and Death

Brings Grace and Truth (John 1:17)

RESTART HERE

As we’ve already seen, all sin deserves death—physical and spiritual separation from God. Most often, physical death is not an immediate consequence of sin, but sometimes it is, as it was in Numbers 21. Though God was still present with His people, their faithlessness had brought the painful consequence of death upon them.

DDG (p. 22

At their request, Moses interceded on behalf of the people, and God responded, but in an unexpected way. God did not remove the snakes from the camp, as they had asked. Instead, God provided a way for the Israelites to be saved from the sure death that followed being bitten—a bronze snake lifted up on a pole. The very object of their punishment would be the object of their deliverance. Like the Israelites, our sin deserves death. But God, in His unending grace and mercy, raised up for us the intercessor who would also be the object of our deliverance.

Voices from the Church

“It is uncomfortable to see ourselves as needy and weak, but we are, and that is exactly why Christ is the only answer.” 1 –Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp

(DDG p. 22) and ask group members the following question.

What are some ways that people typically deal with their weaknesses and failures?

(Lear more, work harder, do more, seek help, or sometimes stop trying, feel defeated and a failure)

Point 3: God provides a way of salvation through faith for His people (Num. 21:9; John 3:14-15).

Read: Numbers 21:9 and John 3:14-15 (DDG p. 23).

9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

.................................................

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Imagine you are in the Israelite camp. You have complained about your long travels and your daily portion of manna with the rest of the community. And then, a snake slinks up and sinks its venom-filled fangs into your leg. In that instant, you recognize that you have moved from life to death; it is just a matter of time until that transition is complete. But then you hear Moses cry out, “Look up at the bronze snake and be healed!” You wonder, “How will looking up at a bronze snake heal me?” And as little sense as that makes, it makes even less sense to look at an object of a snake, the very thing that is causing your death, as the remedy for your snakebite. That is what Christ became on the cross. The very thing that causes death (sin), Christ became (sin), so that all one has to do is look to Him “lifted up” in faith believing.

In this moment, you have a choice: You can listen to your own reason, stubbornly try to find another way, and die or you can put your faith in God, heed the word of God through His prophet, look up at the bronze snake (Jesus Christ), and live.

DDG (p. 23)

With His response to Moses’ intercession on behalf of the people, God wanted the Israelites to wrestle with faith, something they had struggled with and lost so many times before this.

He wanted them to see that following His lead might not make sense at times, but He always proves faithful in the end because His lead is based on His infinite knowledge rather than man’s limited finite understanding.

God is just and will not allow sin to go unpunished, but He desires to show mercy and grace to all those who believe Him.

The one true God is always worthy of our faith.

Interact: Ask group members the following question.

What are some reasons people refuse to put their faith in God?

(they want to walk their own path through life; they are stubborn in their unbelief; they struggle to trust in Someone they can’t see; they have been hurt by God’s people; an all-powerful, all-good God doesn’t seem to make sense with the evil, pain, and death in the world, or they simply want to do what they want to do…they don’t like to be told what to do)

DDG (p. 23) Jesus, like the bronze snake, was lifted up on the cross for our salvation—if we believe in Him.

Salvation from death was available for the Israelites, but it was not effective until they looked up in faith at the snake on the pole. Similarly, Jesus was lifted up on a cross to pay the punishment deserved because of our sin (Isa. 53:5-6 “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”), but until we look upon Him in faith, we remain dead and condemned in our trespasses and sins (John 3:18 ““He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”). Yet we look to Jesus not only to be spared death but also to experience life as God intends and life in growing fellowship with Him. We show we trust in Jesus’ salvation by living the way He has called us to live.

Fill in the blanks: DDG (p. 23).

Faith: Biblical faith is the resting, or trusting in Christ alone for salvation. More than being simply a mental agreement of historical facts, genuine faith begins with a recognition and confession of the truth of the gospel, followed by a receiving of Christ as Lord and Savior of one’s life.

Essential Doctrine “Faith”: Biblical faith is the resting, or trusting, in Christ alone for salvation (John 3:16-21 ““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.“And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.“For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.“But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.””). More than being simply a mental agreement of historical facts, genuine faith begins with a recognition and confession of the truth of the gospel(1 John 4:13-16 “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”), followed by a receiving of Christ as Lord and Savior of one’s life (John 1:10-13 “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”).

Biblical faith is not blind faith, for it rests on the historical life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

My Mission

When we place our faith in the finished work of Jesus, who was lifted up on the cross for us, we not only believe in our need for salvation but we trust that the need has been fulfilled by Him.

In light of all that Jesus has done, we need to take sin seriously, repent of sin immediately, and trust in the faithfulness of God completely.

If we believe that sin is as serious as God says it is and that Jesus has done everything that the Bible says He has done, then the most loving thing we can do is intercede on behalf of and plead with people who do not yet believe in Jesus for eternal life.

DDG (p. 24),

Because we have been spared from punishment of sin through the intercession of Jesus, are we willing to plead with others to look upon the cross and receive salvation through Jesus Christ?

· What does your response/attitude toward your sin say about your faith in Jesus? How will you respond in faith?

· How can we intercede for one another, and for others, as we imitate Christ?

· How should we proclaim the gospel of Jesus this week and call on others to look to the cross and live?

Close in prayer:

“The reference to the Son of Man being lifted up is the first of three ‘lifted up’ sayings in John 8:28 “Jesus therefore said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.” ; John 12:32 ““And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.””). All three speak of the future ‘lifting up’ of the Son of Man in double meaning (possibly inspired by the language of Isaiah 52:13 “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up, and greatly exalted.”). The reference in this verse invokes Moses’s lifting up of a serpent in the wilderness so that everyone who had been bitten by a poisonous snake and looked at the serpent in faith was healed (Num. 21:8-9). The third and final ‘lifted up’ saying (John 12:32 ““And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.””) emphasizes that the lifting up of the Son of Man refers to Jesus’s crucifixion (cp. 12:33 and the similar reference to Peter’s martyrdom in 21:19).” 7

References

1. Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp, How People Change (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2008), 12.

2. R. Dennis Cole, Numbers, vol. 3b in The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2003) [Wordsearch].

3. “Numbers,” in Africa Study Bible (Oasis International, 2016), 223.

4. Roy Gane, Leviticus, Numbers, in The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015) [Wordsearch].

5. R. Dennis Cole, “Numbers,” in CSB Study Bible (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2017), 237, n. 21:8-9.

6. Gordon J. Wenham, “Numbers,” in ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), 299, n. 21:9.

7. Andreas J. Köstenberger, “John,” in CSB Study Bible (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2017), 1670, n. 3:14-15.

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