Bible: Beginning to End - Numbers 11-21: The Israelites Move from Sinai to the Plains of Moab Part 1

Episode Date: May 8, 2021

*For copyright reasons, I had to combine these episodes into one episode. Numbers 11-15  (Read) Numbers 16-22:1 (Read) Contact Us Visit our Website          On Instagram @biblebeginningtoend     On Twitter: @biblebeginning1      Via email: [e-mail] Discuss each episode on Reddit Click Here for our YouTube Channel Supporting the Show Financial contributions are never required, but if you'd like to support the show, here are a couple of ways: Be a listener and share the show with your friends! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to become a monthly supporter via Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠* ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to make a one-time contribution via Paypal⁠⁠⁠.* *Note that the Bible Beginning to End podcast is not a registered 501(c)3 or charitable organization. Therefore, any monetary support provided is not tax deductible. 10% of any profits made from this podcast via ad revenues or listener support will be donated to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Asha's Refuge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a Christ-centered nonprofit that "exists to assist the most disadvantaged refugees/asylees in achieving a successful resettlement in the Memphis, TN area.". Episode Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 1 2:12 - Ad Break 2:13 - Numbers 11 13:24 - Numbers 12 17:03 - NUmbers 13 24:28 - Numbers 14 39:10 - Numbers 15 47:56 - Outro 1 50:04 - Intro 2 52:25 - Numbers 16 1:06:57 - Numbers 17 1:09:13 - Numbers 18 1:18:33 - Numbers 19 1:24:25 - Numbers 20 1:32:53 - Numbers 21 1:40:43 - Numbers 22:1 1:41:09 - Outro 2 Bible Verse Copyright Statement Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. To purchase an NLT, please visit https://amzn.to/3wUpUef

Hello and welcome back to Bible beginning to end. I am so glad that you're here. Before we get started, I just want to let you guys know that the email address that I had listed in the show notes had a typo in it. So I apologize if anybody tried to email and they couldn't because of the way it was typed. In the show notes, that should be fixed. And you should be able to find the correct email. address in the show notes. If you ever want to reach out to the show,

all the other ways to contact and support the show are also in the show notes so you can check those out as well. Thank you for the listener who pointed that out to me. Very much appreciate it. Okay, so we're back with another episode where we are reading through the scriptures together with very little commentary,

but questions being asked along the way so that you can use this time as reflection, meditation on the scriptures, and allow God to speak through his word. We're in numbers, and we've made it through numbers 1 through 10, where we are seeing the Israelites plan to go on the move. So far we have been at Sinai as they prepare for their journey. And this week, we're going to pick up with the next section called the Israelites move from Sinai to the plains of Moab. We started the journey from Sinai last time. We saw how they were going to travel, how God led the way with the cloud and the ark of the covenant. And everything seemed to be

going well. The system seemed to be working. And the Israelites seemed to be following God's plan. But we remember that we are human, that the Israelites were human. And so it cannot be good the whole time. And that's where we're going to pick up today in Numbers 11, where we see the Israelites begin complaining. And this will be a pattern throughout their journey. But let's get started with Numbers 11. The people complain to Moses. Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord's anger blaze. against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp. Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed

to the Lord, the fire stopped. After that, the area was known as Tabara, which means the place of burning, because fire from the Lord had burned among them there. Then the foreign rabble, who were traveling with the Israelites, began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. Oh, for some meat, they exclaimed. We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted.

But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna. So pause there. I want you to kind of think back, if you are a Christian to the time before you knew God and compare it to now. Do you ever find yourself desiring your old, sinful ways? And when you do that, do you forget that you were a slave to those sins? See, right here, the Israelites are complaining and desiring what they don't have.

God is providing for them. He's giving them everything they need, but they want more. This meat, these fish, these cucumbers, melons, and our example could kind of represent our sin, our past sin before we knew God. The Israelites seemed to have forgotten that back in Egypt, yeah, they might have had fish to eat, but what were they? They were slaves to the Egyptians, beaten, worked. to death, poor wages. It's interesting how quickly they forget what God delivered them from. That's the same way sin can work. We can remember it as something we want, something that satisfied us instantaneously and forget the consequences of it, how it tore our lives apart, or how we were slaves to it. So that's something to think on. Verse 7. The manna looked like small coriander seeds,

and it was pale yellow like gum resin. The people would go out and gather it from the ground. They made flour by grinding it with hand mills or pounding it in mortars. Then they boiled it in a pot and made it into flat cakes. These cakes tasted like pastries, baked with olive oil. The manna came down on the camp with the dew during the night.

Moses heard all the families, standing in the doorway of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated, and Moses said to the Lord, why are you treating me your servant? So harshly, have mercy on me. What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world?

Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me saying, Give us meat to eat. I can't carry all these people by myself. The load is far too heavy. If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me.

Do me a favor and spare me this misery. Okay, so pause there. What do you think God's response is going to be to Moses? Did Moses also complain? How was Moses's complaint similar to the Israelites' complaints? and how was Moses' complaint different from the Israelites' complaints? Okay, let's see how God responds. The next section is Moses chooses 70 leaders.

Verse 16, Then the Lord said to Moses, gather before me 70 men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the tabernacle to stand there with you. I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the spirit that is a point. you and I will put the spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you,

so you will not have to carry it alone. And say to the people, purify yourselves, for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You are whining, and the Lord heard you when you cried, oh, for some meat, we were better off in Egypt. Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will have to eat it. And it won't be for just a day or two, or for five, or ten, or even twenty.

You will eat it for a whole month until you gag and are sick of it. For you have rejected the Lord who is here among you, and you have whined to him saying, why did we ever leave Egypt? So pause there and reflect on why you think God reacted this way. What does this teach us about gratefulness, about focusing on what we do have rather than what we don't have? verse 21 but moses responded to the lord there are 600,000 foot soldiers here with me and yet you say I will give them meat for a whole month even if we butchered all our flocks and herds would that satisfy them even if we caught all the fish in the sea would that be enough then the lord said to moses has my arm lost

its power now you will see whether or not my word comes true so moses went out and reported the Lord's words to the people. He gathered the 70 elders and stationed them around the tabernacle, and the Lord came down in a cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the 70 elders the same spirit that was upon Moses, and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again. Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the tabernacle. Yet the spirit rested upon them as so they prophesied there in the camp. A young man ran and reported to Moses.

Eldad and Meddad are prophesying in the camp. Joshua, son of Nun, who had been Moses's assistant since his youth, protested. Moses, my master, make them stop. But Moses replied, are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them all. Then Moses returned to the camp with the elders,

of Israel. So pause there. What an interesting story in the middle of this section. Moses is sitting here hoping for the day when God pours his spirit upon all believers. Has that happened? This is something that we can hold on to as hope thanks to Jesus' sacrifice because now if you do believe in God, you have the spirit living within you. You have that promise, that hope to cling on to. The next section is the Lord sends quail. Now the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp.

For miles in every direction, there were quail flying about three feet above the ground. So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night, and all the next day too. No one gathered less than 50 bushels. They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. But while they were gorging themselves on meat, while it was still in their mouths,

the anger of the Lord blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. So that place was called Kilbroth Huttava, which means graves of gluttony, because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt. From Kilbroth Hatava, the Israelites traveled to Hazaroth, where they stayed for some time. From Kilbroth Hattava, the Israelites traveled to Hazeroth where they stayed for some time.

Okay, so pause there at the end of chapter 11. What do you make of God's punishment over the Israelites for their gluttony? And how can we apply this story and these lessons to our lives? now what does their desire for food desire for everything except the one thing god has given them represent again think about your desires do your desires match god's desires or do you desire sinful activities sinful things are you jealous for the things that you don't have or are you able to be content and even grateful for what God has given you? I don't mean this to be a time of negativity,

but sometimes the Bible forces us to look inward and ask real questions. But the beauty is that once we bring those things to the light, God forgives and gives grace through Jesus Christ and pushes us in to the better he has a lot. store for us. Okay, numbers 12. The complaints of Miriam and Aaron. While they were at Hazaroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Kushite woman. They said, has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn't he spoken through us too? But the Lord heard them. Now Moses was very humble, more humble than any other person on earth. So immediately the Lord

called to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, and said, Go out to the tabernacle all three of you. So the three of them went to the tabernacle. Then the Lord descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tabernacle. Aaron and Miriam, he called, and they stepped forward. And the Lord said to them, Now listen to what I say.

If there were prophets among you, I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams. but not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust. I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles. He sees the Lord as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant, Moses?

The Lord was very angry with them, and he departed. So pause there. Why was God so angry at Aaron and Miriam? Were they really criticizing his wife and Moses? Or were they revealing their jealousies? And how did God respond? Why did God support Moses so strongly? How do you think Aaron and Miriam are going to react?

Verse 10, as the cloud moved from above the tabernacle, there stood Miriam, her skin as white as snow from leprosy. When Aaron saw what had happened to her, He cried out to Moses. Oh, my master, please don't punish us for the sin we have so foolishly committed. Don't let her be like a stillborn baby already decayed at birth. So pause there. How has Aaron already changed his attitude because of this punishment?

How does he address Moses? And what does that show about his attitude? Verse 13, So Moses cried out to the Lord, oh God, I beg you, please heal her. But the Lord said to Moses, if her father had done nothing more than spit in her face, wouldn't she be defiled for seven days?

So keep her outside the camp for seven days, and after that she may be accepted back. So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they traveled again. Then they left Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Peron. So pause there at the end of chapter 12.

Why do you think Miriam was the one who got the brunt of that punishment? That may be a question you don't know the answer to, but it's something to think about. And then why did God allow her to be healed but have to follow these rituals of waiting seven days? Okay, so now we're going to start Numbers 13, 12 scouts exploring. Canaan. The Lord now said to Moses, send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the 12 ancestral tribes. So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out 12 men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Peron. These were the tribes and the names of their leaders.

Tribe of Rubin, the leader Shemua, son of Zacher. Tribe of Simeon, the leader Shafat, son of Hori. The tribe of Judah, the leader Caleb, son of Zephanah. The tribe of Isakar, the leader Eigl, son of Joseph. The tribe of Ephraim, the leader Hoshia, son of Nun. The tribe of Benjamin, the leader Palti, son of Raffu, the tribe of Zebulun, the leader Gadiel, son of Sodi, the tribe of Manasa, son of Joseph, the leader Gadai, son of Sussi, the tribe of Dan, the leader Amiel, son of Gamali, the tribe of Asher,

the leader Sether, son of Michael, the tribe of Naftali, the leader Nabi, son of Vofsi, the tribe of Gad, the leader, Goul, son of Maki. These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. Moses called Hoshia, son of nun, by the name of Joshua. Moses gave them in these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land, go north through the Ngev into the hill country, see what the land is like,

and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees?

Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see. It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes. So pause there, why do you think it's so important that they send these men ahead? head to check out the land. Verse 21. So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zen as far as Rehab near Lebo-Hameth. Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahemun, Sheshai, and

Talmi, all descendants of Anak, lived. The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zohan. When they came to the valley of Eskul, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them. They also brought back samples of pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eskul, which means cluster. Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites men cut there. So pause there because remember just a couple chapters ago, The Israelites were complaining about their food.

They wanted meat. They didn't want the manna anymore. So how do you think they felt when they came upon a place with fresh grapes, pomegranates, juicy fruits, figs? How do you think they felt? The next section is the scouting report. After exploring the land for 40 days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Puran.

They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. This was their report to Moses. We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country, a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anakites. The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebysites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. Let's go at once to take the land, he said. We can certainly conquer it. But the other men who had explored the land with a lot. them disagreed. We can't go up against them. They are stronger than we are. So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites. The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there. The descendants of a knock. Next to them, we felt like grasshoppers. And that's what they thought too.

So pause there at the end of chapter 13. Why do you think the majority of the men who went to explore this land feared it? Who were they putting their trust and faith in? How do you think the people of Israel are going to react? Why do you think Caleb encouraged them to go to that land and conquer it? What does that tell us about Caleb and his faith? How do you think you would react? How do you normally react to tough situations?

Do you see them as insurmountable obstacles? Or do you work closely with God to find hope? And hey, by the way, let's remind ourselves what God said at the beginning of this chapter. He said, send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Guys, this is the promised land. If you know anything about the scriptures, you know how long of a journey it ends up being for the Israelites to make it to the promised land.

And here they are. They're tasting the fruit. They're in the land. It's flowing with milk and honey. They're clutching it. It's right there. But how do they respond? And what will be the?

the consequences of their lack of faith. And a devotional question you can ask is, where have you missed the promised land? Where have you overlooked it or walked right past it out of fear? Numbers 14. Let's see how the people respond. The people rebel.

Then the whole community began weeping aloud and they cried all night. Their voices rose in a great quarter, of protest against Moses and Aaron. If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness, they complained. Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt? Then they plotted among themselves. Let's choose a new leader and go back to Egypt. Okay, so pause there because we're tracking this back and forth that the Israelites have

where they are falling down on their knees and worship of God and faith. And then they're turning right around the next minute and saying, oh my gosh, I wish I was back in Egypt. I miss slavery because they can't see the forest for the trees to use the colloquialism. So what do you make of their response. Do you think that they're justified in their fear? Verse five, then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel. Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua's son of Nunn and Caleb's son of Zephena, tore their clothing. They said to all the people of Israel, the land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land. And if, If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us.

It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless pray to us. They have no protection, but the Lord is with us. Don't be afraid of them. So pause there. What do you make of Joshua and Caleb's passion? Will they be able to convince the Israelites? In your own life, do you think you might side with the Israelites and fear, or would you stand firm in the Lord? And this is not supposed to be a question to promote guilt or shame, but just to

kind of check in with yourself and ask yourself, where am I with God? Am I Joseph? Am I Caleb? Am I the Israelites, am I the other 10 spies who fear man and not God? It's a great question to ask yourself. It's a great question for me to ask myself. Verse 10, but the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tabernacle. And the Lord said to Moses, how long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me?

Even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them, I will disown them and destroy them with a plague, then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are. Pause there. Do you understand God's anger? Why does he respond this way? Let's see how Moses responds. section as Moses intercedes for the people.

Verse 13, but Moses objected, what will the Egyptians think when they hear about it? He asked the Lord. They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt. Now, if you destroy them, the Egyptians will send a report to the inhabitants of this land who have already heard that you live among your people. They know, Lord, that you have appeared to your people face to face.

and that your pillar of cloud hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Now, if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say, the Lord was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness. Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed,

for you said the Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion but he does not excuse the guilty he lays the sins of the parents upon their children the entire family is affected even children in the third and fourth generations in keeping with your magnificent unfailing love please pardon the sins of this people just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt. So pause there. Just remember, when God called Moses into leadership, Moses said, not me. I'm terrible with words.

But my goodness, does he know how to use his words to intercede? What I want you to ask yourself is, how does this show us the importance of prayer and bringing our needs to God and reminding God of his promises to us. Do our prayers and conversations with God because now we all get to be in conversation with God through Christ. Do our prayers and conversations with God impact our lives.

Let's see how Moses' conversation with God impacts the Israelites. Then the Lord said, I will pardon them as you have requested, but as surely as I live and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord's glory, not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed, both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again, they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice.

They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it. But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me. So I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land. Now turn around and don't go on toward the land where the Amalekites and Canaanites live. tomorrow you must set out for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.

So pause there. Do you think God was justified in his response? Do you think that his discipline of the Israelites is fair and just, knowing what you know of God? The next section is, the Lord punishes the Israelites. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, how long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me. Now tell them this, as surely as I live, declares the Lord,

I will do to you the very things I heard you say. You will all drop dead in this wilderness because you complained against me every one of you who is 20 years old or older and was included in the registration will die you will not enter and occupy the land i swore to give to you the only exceptions will be caleb son of zephena and joshua son of none so pause there why do you think god is sparing caleb and zephena verse 31 you You said your children would be carried off as plunder. Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised. But as for you, you will drop dead in this wilderness. And your children will be like shepherds wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.

In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness until they will be like shepherds. the last of you lies dead in the wilderness. Because your men explored the land for 40 days, you must wander in the wilderness for 40 years, a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy. I the Lord have spoken,

I will certainly do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will be destroyed here in this wilderness and here they will die. So pause there. How do you feel about God's reaction? Why is he punishing the Israelites? Really break down the punishment

and ask yourself, why did God choose these specific punishments? Did God give the Israelites opportunity? to be faithful to him before he decided to punish them. How could the Israelites have avoided this punishment and this wandering for 40 years? Verse 36, The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land, the ones who incited rebellion against the Lord with their bad report,

were struck dead with a plague before the Lord. Of the 12 who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive. When Moses reported the Lord's words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief. So pause there, that's an interesting emotion, grief. Why do you think they were filled with grief and not anger or frustration or fear?

Verse 40. Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. Let's go, they said. We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lord has promised us. Okay, so pause there.

What are they doing in this moment? It's kind of like that situation where they're like, oh no, we got caught doing a bad thing. We understand God, we're ready to go to the land that you promised us. But what did God just tell Moses? you don't get to go into the land, I promised you.

So let's see what Moses says. Verse 41. But Moses said, why are you now disobeying the Lord's orders to return to the wilderness? It won't work. Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the Lord is not with you.

When you face the Amalekites and the Canaanites in battle, You will be slaughtered. The Lord will abandon you because you have abandoned the Lord. So pause there because there's a lot of really good insight in this section from Moses that we can even apply now. What are you learning about God and about how important it is to be faithful to God? And beyond that, what are you learning about how important it is? is to do everything with God.

What happens when we abandon God and decide to do things on our own? And how do you think the people are going to respond? Verse 44. But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the Lord's covenant left the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills, came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Horma. So pause there at the end of Numbers 14.

And I want you to imagine, you know, we saw what happened when the people tried to enter the land of Canaan without God. They were attacked. Imagine the life they could have had if they had just followed. God's call and trusted in the Lord. Okay. So let's finish up today with numbers 15. So numbers 1 through 14 kind of took place in a relatively short period of time.

And now we've seen that the Israelites must go back into the wilderness and live there for 40 years as punishment. Chapter 15 is going to kind of cover a bulk of that 40 years. So that's kind of the context for where we're going right now. Numbers 15 starts with laws concerning offerings. Then the Lord told Moses, give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you finally settle in the land I am giving you, you will offer special gifts as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. These gifts may take the form of a burnt.

offering, a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, a voluntary offering, or an offering of any of your annual festivals, and they may be taken from your herds of cattle or your flocks of sheep and goats. When you present these offerings, you must also give the Lord a grain offering of two quarts, of choice flour, mixed with one quart of olive oil. For each lamb offered as a burnt offering or a special sacrifice, you must also present one quart of wine as a liquid offering. If the sacrifice is a ram, give a grain offering of four quarts of choice flour mixed with a third of a gallon of olive oil, and give a third of a gallon of wine as a liquid offering. This will be a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

When you present a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow or as a peace offering to the Lord, you must also give a grain offering of six quarts, of choice flour, mixed with two quarts of olive oil, and give two quarts of wine as a liquid offering. This will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Each sacrifice of a bull, ram, lamb, or young goat should be prepared in this way. Follow these instructions with each offering you present. All of you native-born Israelites must follow these instructions when you offer a special gift as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And if any foreigners visit you or live among you and want to present a special gift as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, they must follow these same procedures.

Native-born Israelites and foreigners are equal before the Lord and are subject to the same decrees. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation. The same instructions and regulations will apply. both to you and to the foreigners living among you. Then the Lord said to Moses, give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you arrive in the land where I am taking you, and you eat the crops that grow there,

you must set some aside as a sacred offering to the Lord. Present a cake from the first of the flower you grind and set it aside as a sacred offering, as you do with the first grain from the threshing floor. throughout the generations to come you are to present a sacred offering to the Lord each year from the first of your ground flower. But suppose you unintentionally fail to carry out all of these commands that the Lord has given you through Moses, and suppose your descendants in the future fail to do everything the Lord has commanded through Moses. If the mistake was made unintentionally and the community was unaware of it,

the whole community must present a young bull for a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It must be offered along with its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering and with one male goat for a sin offering. With it, the priest will purify the whole community of Israel making them right with the Lord, and they will be forgiven. For it was an unintentional sin, and they have corrected it with their offerings to the Lord. the special gift and the sin offering. The whole community of Israel will be forgiven, including the foreigners living among you, for all the people were involved in the sin.

If one individual commits an unintentional sin, the guilty person must bring a one-year-old female goat for a sin offering. The priest will sacrifice it to purify the guilty person before the Lord, and that person will be forgiven. These same instructions apply both to native, native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. But those who brazenly violate the Lord's will,

whether native-born Israelites or foreigners, have blasphemed the Lord, and they must be cut off from the community. Since they have treated the Lord with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his command, they must be completely cut off and suffer the punishment for their guilt. So pause there at the end of that section.

We see a lot of similar things that we've read before in Leviticus as God has created these laws and regulations, and he's always presenting them through Moses. What does this section of laws and regulations reveal to us about God? What does it reveal to us about God's character and how he handles sin and how he handles forgiveness and punishment and repentance from someone? sin. The next section is penalty for breaking the Sabbath. One day, while the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they discovered a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. The people who found him doing this took him before Moses, Aaron, and the rest of the community. They held him in custody because they did not know what to do with him. Then the Lord said to Moses, the man must be put to death. The whole community must stone him outside the camp. So the whole community took the

man outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Okay, so pause there. Why do you think this story is included? What is your first reaction to this punishment? Do you think it's harsh? Do you think it's justified? What are just your first reactions? I want to remind us that when God looks at us, he sees our heart. And he had just spent time in the previous section telling us about unintentional versus intentional sins. So what do you think about this man who is collecting wood on the Sabbath day? When you hear that, that might sound like, well, is that really that big of a deal? But when God looks at us, he sees our heart. So he knows the intention behind the man's act of defiance.

And remember that the punishment isn't coming from Moses. It's being spoken by Moses, but who is the punishment coming from? Okay, our final section for today is called tassels on clothing. Then the Lord said to Moses, give the following instructions to the people of Israel. Throughout the generations to come, you must make tassels for the hymns of your clothing and attach them with a blue cord. when you see the tassels you will remember and obey all the commands of the Lord

instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves as you are prone to do the tassels will help you remember that you must obey all my commands and be holy to your God I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt that I might be your God I am the Lord your God so pause there as we end with this section where God is giving the Israelites a way to remember him, to remember his promises to them and to align themselves with God. And the question I want to ask you guys is, what are some areas of your life where you could place a tassel, something to remind you of God's goodness, and remind you to follow us.

after God. So thank you so much for listening. Numbers to me has proven to become a very interesting book with a dramatic story and we see a lot of back and forth and the Israelites failing to see God's faithfulness and God trying to remind them and giving them chance after chance. I'm just curious where is the story going to go. what else are we going to learn about faithfulness and God's promises and God fulfilling the covenants he makes? So as we continue right now, we're left on this little bit of a cliffhanger because the Israelites, they were right there, they were in the promised land, they could taste the fruit. and then they chose not to receive. And God said,

you have to go back into the wilderness for 40 years, and that is where we are right now. And as we continue this story, we're going to keep going on this journey with them and see if they ever finally make it to the promised land. And we get to see who gets to make it the promised land. Because 40 years is a long time and God has already said, none of you will make it your children, but not you. So thank you all for listening. I hope this was a time of

thoughtfulness and prayer and meditation on the scriptures and a time to hear from God. I hope that you take what God is giving you and that God gives you the courage to go forward with it and do the good that he is calling you to do. And I will talk to you in the next one. Hello and welcome back to Bible beginning to end, where we are reading through the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. I am so glad that you're here and I hope that you are ready to use this time for a period of meditation and thinking on the scriptures.

answering questions and allowing God to reveal new things about the scripture to you through this time. I have to say how grateful I am for everyone who listens to this show. It really has been amazing to hear from you and to just hear how God is speaking into your life through just hearing his word read aloud. I truly pray that every time I record an episode that it would be God, you know, speaking through me through his word and I hope that that's coming across to you, the listeners. So thank you so much for supporting just by listening, just by being a part of this community. If you'd like to support the show or follow us on social media or reach out, all that information is in the description of this episode.

Let's get started. We're in numbers. Last time we finished up numbers 15, and as we read through 10 to 15, we saw actually the Israelites reach the promised land, but they were too afraid to accept that gift. And they were punished. Now they are destined to spend 40 years, wandering in the wilderness, and this is kind of the period we find them in,

as we continue on in numbers. We're still in the section where the Israelites move from Sinai to the plains of Moab. And as we start today, we're going to see another rebellion. We've seen many of the Israelites become frustrated with Moses, with God, and this is no exception.

So let's go ahead and get started with Numbers 16, Korah's Rebellion. One day, Korah, son of Izer, a descendant of Kohoth, son of Levi, conspired with Dothen and Abiram, the sons of Elieab, and On, son of Peleth, from the tribe of Rubin. They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250, other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly. They united against Moses and Aaron and said, You have gone too far. The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the Lord, and he is with all of us.

What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the Lord's people? So pause there. What is their accusation against Moses and Aaron? Why do you think they feel this way? And what truth do we know about Moses and Aaron to refute their accusation? Verse 4. When Moses heard what they were saying,

he fell face down on the ground. Then he said to Cora and his followers, tomorrow morning, the Lord will show us who belongs to him and who is holy. The Lord will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence.

Cora, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners. Light fires in them tomorrow and burn incense for the Lord. Then we will see whom the Lord chooses as his holy one.

You Levites are the ones who have gone too far. Then Moses spoke again to Cora. Now listen, you Levites. Does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the community of Israel to be near him? So you can serve in the Lord's tabernacle and stand before the people to minister to them? Cora, he is already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well? The Lord is the one you and your followers are really revolting against? For who is Aaron? That you are complaining

about him. Then Moses summoned Dothan and Ebiram, the sons of Elieab. But they replied, we refused to come before you. Isn't it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness? And that you now treat us like your subjects? What's more, you haven't brought us into another land flowing with milk and honey. You haven't given us a new homeland with fields and vineyards. Are you trying to fool these men? We will not come. So pause there.

What do you think of this argument back and forth? What do you think of the people's anger? Is it justified? Or are they missing some key realities? And then what do you think of Moses's responses to them? It's interesting that they say you took us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, when the promised land is often called the land flowing with milk and honey. And then they say you haven't found a new homeland for us, but is that entirely true?

Are Dothan and Abiram here being honest about their situation, or are they exaggerating their suffering? in pain to get what they want. Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, do not accept their grain offerings. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them. And Moses said to Cora, you and all your followers must come here tomorrow and present yourselves before the Lord. Aaron will also be here. You and each of your 250 followers must prepare an incense burner and put incense on it so you can all present them before the Lord. Aaron will also bring his incense burner. So each of these men prepared an incense burner. Let the fire and place

incense on it. Then they all stood at the entrance of the tabernacle with Moses and Aaron. Meanwhile, Cora had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and they all gathered at the tabernacle entrance. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to the whole community. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them. So pause there. Are you surprised by God's reaction? And what does God's reaction tell us about the Israelites? Verse 22, but Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.

Oh God, they pleaded. You are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Must you be angry with all the people when only one man sins? And the Lord said to Moses, then tell all the people to get away. from the tents of Cora, Dothan, and Iberum. So Moses got up and rushed over to the tents of Dothan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel.

Quick, he told the people, get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don't touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, you will be destroyed for their sins. So all the people stood back from the tents of Cora, Dothan, and Abiram. Then Dothan and Abiram came out and stood. at the entrance of their tents, together with their wives and children and little ones. And Moses said,

This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things that I have done, for I have not done them on my own. If these men die a natural death, or if nothing unusual happens, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord does something entirely new and the ground of it, opens its mouth and swallows them in all their belongings and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the Lord. So pause there. What is Moses teaching us about giving credit to God and remembering where, our strength, our power,

everything that we do, where it comes from? Verse 31, he had hardly finished speaking the words, when the ground suddenly split open beneath them. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households, and all their followers who were standing with them and everything they owned. So they went down alive into the grave. Along with all their belongings, the earth closed over them, and they all vanished from a month. the people of Israel. All the people around them fled when they heard their screams. The earth will swallow us too, they cried. Then fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense. And the Lord said to Moses, tell Eleazar, son of Aaron, the priest,

to pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell them to scatter the burning coals. Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives and hammer the metal into thin sheets to overlay the altar. Since these burners were used in the Lord's presence, they have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel. So pause there. How do you feel about God's reality?

action, process that. Was it justified? Has God told the Israelites many, many times to remain faithful to him that he is the Lord their God? How do you think the Israelites might react to this situation? Verse 39, so Eliezer the priest collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and the bronze was hammered into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person, no one who was not a descendant of Aaron, should ever enter the Lord's presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him, as happened to Cora and his followers. So the Lord's instructions to Moses were carried out, but the very next morning, the whole community of Israel began muttering against Moses. and Aaron saying, you have killed the Lord's people.

As the community gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the Lord appeared. Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the tabernacle, and the Lord said to Moses, get away from all these people so that I can instantly destroy them. But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground, and Moses said to Aaron, quick, take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar, lay incense on it, and carry it out among the people to purify them and make them right with the Lord. The Lord's anger is blazing against them. The plague has already begun. Aaron did as Moses told him and ran out among the people. The plague had already begun to strike down the people, but Aaron burned the incense and purified the people.

He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped. But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Cora. Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tabernacle. So pause there at the end of Chapter 16. Very interesting turn of events at the end. Just one day after Cora and his men were swallowed up by the ground for grumbling and complaining against God and Moses and Aaron. What did the Israelites do? They grumbled and complained against God and Moses and Aaron.

I think this is a good time for some self-reflection. What does this teach us about human nature? because I'll tell you there are many times where I see the effects of sin and then it's almost like I immediately forget what I just seen and do the same thing. It's really a picture of how we are slaves to sin. And God's wrath in this section, I mean, you can think about that and really consider what that teaches us about God. And also how refreshing and beautiful it is that we have Christ in our lives now as the mediator between us and God. Who do we see as a mediator for the people here? And then now, I mean, does God's heart break when we sin?

Does God's heart break when we blame him for, everything that's going on in our lives. But does God still love us despite that? That's the beauty of the gospel. It's a freedom from sin in Christ. And we're able to, although many times our lives may look like the Israelites where we just can't get it right because we're trying to do things on our own, where we're getting caught up in life in the world. But we have God who is always there, and we have his son, Jesus, who is mediating on our behalf, the spirit three and one living together to show us that love and remind us that we are safe. All right. Let's see where the story goes in Numbers 17, the budding of Aaron's staff.

Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the people of Israel to bring you 12 wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel's ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader's name on his staff. Inscribe Aaron's name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe. place these staffs in the tabernacle in front of the ark containing the tablets of the covenant where I meet with you. Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose.

Then I will finally put an end to the people's murmuring and complaining against you. So Moses gave the instructions to the people of Israel, and each of the twelve tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff. Moses placed the staffs in the Lord's presence in the tabernacle, of the Covenant. When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron's staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds. When Moses brought all the staffs out from the Lord's presence, he showed them to the people. Each man claimed his own staff. And the Lord said to Moses,

place Aaron's staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant to serve as a warning to the rebels. This should put an end to their complaining against me and prevent any further deaths. So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. Then the people of Israel said to Moses, look, we are doomed. We are dead.

We're ruined. Everyone who even comes close to the tabernacle of the Lord dies. Are we all doomed to die? Okay, so pause there at the end of number 17. That was a very short chapter, so you can really just think about that story, why it was included, and maybe what God's purpose was in performing this ritual. Now we can start numbers 18, and this chapter is called duties of priests and Levites. Then the Lord said to Aaron, you, your sons and your relatives from the

the tribe of Levi will be held responsible for any offenses related to the sanctuary. But you and your sons alone will be held responsible for violations connected with the priesthood. Bring your relatives of the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, to assist you and your sons as you perform the sacred duties in front of the tabernacle of the covenant. But as the Levites go about all their assigned duties at the tabernacle, they must be careful not to go near any of the sacred objects or the altar. If they do, both you and they will die. The Levites must join you in fulfilling their responsibilities

for the care and maintenance of the tabernacle, but no unauthorized person may assist you. You yourselves must perform the sacred duties inside, the sanctuary and at the altar. If you follow these instructions, the Lord's anger will never again blaze against the people of Israel. I myself have chosen your fellow Levites

from among the Israelites to be your special assistants. They are a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord for service in the tabernacle. But you and your sons, the priests, must personally handle all the priestly rituals associated with the altar and with everything behind the inner curtain. I am giving you the priesthood as your special privilege of service.

Any unauthorized person who comes too near the sanctuary will be put to death. So pause there and think about all of the duties and responsibilities God has outlined for the priests and the Levites. How do the responsibilities between the priests and the Levites differ? To whom has God given more authority? And why do you think he set it up that way? Okay, the next section is support for the priests and Levites. The Lord gave these further instructions to Aaron.

I myself have put you in charge of all the holy offerings that are brought to me by the people of Israel. I have given all these consecrated offerings to you and your sons as your permanent share. You are allotted the portion of the most holy offerings that is not burned on the fire. This portion of all the most holy offerings, including the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings will be most holy, and it belongs to you and your sons. You must eat it as a most holy offering. All the males may eat of it, and you must treat it as most holy. All the sacred offerings and special offerings presented to me when the Israelites lift them up before the altar also belong to you.

I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters as your permanent share. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat of these offerings. I also give you the harvest gifts brought by the people as offerings, to the Lord, the best of the olive oil, new wine and grain, all the first crops of their land that the people present to the Lord belong to you. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat this food. Everything in Israel that is specially set apart for the Lord also belongs to you. The firstborn of every mother, whether human or animal, that is offered to the Lord, will be yours. but you must always redeem your firstborn sons and the firstborn of the ceremonially unclean animals.

Redeem them when they are one month old. The redemption price is five pieces of silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel, which equals 20 garaz. However, you may not redeem the firstborn of cattle, sheep, or goats. They are holy and have been set apart for the Lord. sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a special gift. A pleasing aroma to the Lord. The meat of these animals will be yours just like the breast and right thigh that are presented

by lifting them up as a special offering before the altar. Yes, I am giving you all these holy offerings that the people of Israel bring to the Lord. They are for you and your sons and daughters to be eaten. as your permanent share. This is an eternal and unbreakable covenant between the Lord and you. And it also applies to your descendants. So let's pause there. Why do you think God is setting apart all of these sacrifices and offerings to Aaron and his sons? And then I also want you to think on that word covenant that was just spoken, what do we know of covenants

thinking back to Abraham? And the promise God made to Abraham, how serious and important are covenants? Okay, verse 20. And the Lord said to Aaron, you priests will receive no allotment of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your share.

and your allotment. As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will compensate them for their service in the tabernacle. Instead of an allotment of land, I will give them the tides from the entire land of Israel. From now on, no Israelites except priests or Levites may approach the tabernacle. If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and will die.

Only the Levites may serve at the tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law for you to be observed from generation to generation. The Levites will receive no allotment of land among the Israelites because I have given them the Israelites tides, which have been presented as sacred offerings to the Lord. This will be the Levites' share. That is why I said they would receive no allotment of land among the Israelites.

Then the Lord also told Moses, give these instructions to the Levites. When you receive from the people of Israel the tithes I have assigned as your allotment, give a tenth of the tides you receive, a tithe of the tithe to the Lord as a sacred offering. The Lord will consider this offering to be your harvest offering, as though it were the first grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own wine press. You must present one-tenth of the tide the received from the Israelites as a sacred offering to the Lord. This is the Lord's sacred portion, and you must present it to Aaron the priest. Be sure to give to the Lord the best portions of the gifts given to you.

Also, give these instructions to the Levites. When you present the best part as your offering, it will be considered as though it came from your own threshing floor or wine press. You Levites and your families may eat this food anywhere you wish, for it is your compensation for serving in the tabernacle. You will not be considered guilty for accepting the Lord's tides if you give the best portion to the priests. But be careful not to treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common.

If you do, you will die. So pause there at the end of Chapter 18, and you can reflect on this system God has created. Why do you think he has put this in place? And what can we learn from it? I want you to think about these gifts and what God said about being careful not to treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel

as though they were common. How does that remind us to remember where everything we have comes from? Does it come from us or does it come from God? Okay, so now we're going to start numbers 19. This chapter is called the Water of Purification. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Here is another legal requirement commanded by the Lord. Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer,

a perfect animal that has no defects and has never been. been yoked to a plow. Give it to Elyazar, the priest, and it will be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. Eliezer will take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tabernacle. As Elyazar watches, the heifer must be burned, its hide, meat, blood, and dung. Eliezer, the priest, must then take a stick of cedar, a heifer must hyssop branch and some scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire where the heifer is burning. Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Afterward, he may return to the camp, though he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. The man who burns the animal must also

wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he too will remain unclean until evening. then someone who is ceremonially clean will gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them in a purified place outside the camp. They will be kept there for the community of Israel to use in the water for the purification ceremony. This ceremony is performed for the removal of sin. The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes and he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel and any foreigners who live among them. So pause there and just reflect on the process all the priests had to go through to collect these ashes that would be used to purify people from sin.

And compare that to the process we go through now to be purified from our sin. Remember who our one ultimate sacrifice is. verse 11 All those who touch a dead human body will be ceremonially unclean for seven days They must purify themselves on the third and seventh days With the water of purification Then they will be purified

But if they do not do this on the third and seventh days They will continue to be unclean Even after the seventh day All those who touch a dead body And do not purify themselves in the prime proper way, defile the Lord's tabernacle, and they will be cut off from the community of Israel. Since the water of purification was not sprinkled on them, their defilement continues. This is the ritual law that applies when someone dies inside a tent.

All those who enter that tent and those who were inside when the death occurred will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. Any open container in the tent that was not covered with a lid is also defiled. And if someone in an open field touches the corpse of someone who was killed with a sword, or who died a natural death, or if someone touches a human bone or a grave, that person will be defiled for seven days. To remove the defilement, but some of the ashes from the burnt purification offering in a jar and pour fresh water over them.

Then someone who is ceremonially clean must take a hyssop branch and dip it into the water. That person must sprinkle the water on the tent on all the furnishings in the tent and on the people who were in the tent. Also, on the person who touched a human bone or touched someone who was killed or who died naturally or touched a grave. On the third and seventh days, the person who is ceremonially clean must sprinkle the water on those who are defiled. Then on the seven, day, the people being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe themselves, and that evening they will be cleansed of their defilement. But those who become defiled and do not purify themselves will be cut off from the community, for they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. Since the water

of purification has not been sprinkled on them, they remain defiled. This is a permanent law for the people. Those who sprinkle the water of purification must afterward wash their clothes, and anyone who then touches the water used for purification will remain defiled until evening. Anything and anyone that a defiled person touches will be ceremonially unclean until evening. So pause there at the end of Numbers 19. And think about why coming in contact with a dead body. has such specific rituals associated with it to cleanse oneself. What is it about death that God takes so seriously? Really think about this ritual and why these specific pieces are put into place

and why God wants to make sure that everyone is cleansed from coming in contact with death. Okay, so as we start Numbers 20, I do want to give a little background from my study Bible, where it says that it had been 37 years since Israel's first scouting mission into the promised land, and 40 years since the exodus from Egypt. The Bible is virtually silent about those 37 years of aimless wandering. The generation of those who had lived in Egypt had almost died off, and the new generation would soon be ready to enter the land. Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb were among the few who remained from those who had left Egypt. Once again, they camped at Kadesh, the site of the first scouting mission that had ended in disaster.

Moses hoped the people were ready for a fresh start. So I just wanted to give that background so that we knew kind of what time had passed and what context we are in as we go into chapter 20, Moses strikes the rock. In the first month of the year, the whole community of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zen and camped at Kadesh. While they were there, Miriam died and was buried. There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron. The people blamed Moses and said, if only we had died in the Lord's presence with our brothers. Why have have you brought the congregation of the Lord's people into the wilderness to die, along with all our livestock? Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place? This land has

no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates, and no water to drink? So pause there. Have we heard these words from the Israelites before. What is it telling us about them? Verse 6. Moses and Aaron turned away from the people and went to the entrance of the tabernacle where they fell face down

on the ground. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to them. And the Lord said to Moses, you and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there.

and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock. So pause there. What does God's response to the Israelites tell us about God? Verse 9. So Moses did what he was told. He took the staff from the place

where it was kept before the Lord. Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. Listen, you rebels, he shouted. Must we bring? you water from this rock, then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out, so the entire community and their livestock drank their fill. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my

holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them. This place was known as the waters of Maraba, which means arguing, because there, the people of Israel argued with the Lord. And there, he demonstrated his holiness among them. Okay, so pause there. What did Moses do wrong? How did Moses disobey God? And what do you think about God's response? the punishment for Moses's disobedience.

And a little bit of a spoiler here. I mean, it's said right here in verse 12. Moses is not going to enter the promised land. And this is where we first hear that he's not going to enter the promised land. So what do you think of that? Do you think God is acting justly? Because remember, God has a grander picture.

of the world. And so the way that he enacts justice is broader and more complicated than we might ever understand here on this earth. The next section is Edom refuses Israel passage. While Moses was at Kadesh, he sent ambassadors to the king of Edom with this message. This is what your relatives, the people of Israel, say, You know all the hardships we have been through. Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived there a long time. And we and our ancestors were brutally mistreated by the Egyptians. But when we cried out to the Lord, he heard us,

and sent an angel who brought us out of Egypt. Now we are camped at Kadesh, a town on the board, order of your land. Please let us travel through your land. We will be careful not to go through your fields and vineyards. We won't even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king's road and never leave it until we have passed through your territory. But the king of Edom said, stay out of my land or I will meet you with an army. The Israelites answered, we will stay on the main road. If our livestock, drink your water, we will pay for it. Just let us pass through your country. That's all we ask. But the king of Edom replied, stay out. You may not pass through our land.

With that, he mobilized his army and marched out against them with an imposing force. Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel was forced to turn around. So pause there, what do you think about this exchange with Edom and the Israelites? How did the Israelites handle it? Why do you think Edom refused them passage? Do you think this was part of God's grander plan for the Israelites? The next section is the death of Aaron. The whole community of Israel left Kadesh and arrived at Mount Hore.

There on the border of the land of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, The time has come for Aaron to join his ancestors in death. He will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel Because the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Marabaa. Now take Aaron and his son, Eliezer, up Mount Hoare. There you will remove Aaron's priestly garments and put them on Eliezer, his son. Aaron will die there and join his ancestors. So Moses did as the Lord commanded.

The three of them went up Mount Hore together, as the whole community watched. At the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar, Aaron's son. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar went back down. When the people realized that Aaron had died, all Israel mourned for him, 30. days. So pause there at the end of chapter 20. Aaron was a very important character in these stories of the Israelites. What do you think about his death and how it was handled and what it means when it says that the Israelites mourned him for 30 days? And how do you feel about the fact that he was not allowed to enter the promised land? Okay, numbers,

Victory over the Canaanites. The Canaanite king of Arid, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were approaching on the road through Atharum. So he attacked the Israelites and took some of them as prisoners. Then the people of Israel made this vow to the Lord. If you will hand these people over to us, we will completely destroy all their towns. The Lord heard the Israelites request and gave them victory over the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed them and their towns, and the place has been called Horma ever since. The next section is the Bronze Snake.

Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hore taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, and they began to speak against the Red Sea. God and Moses. Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness? They complained. There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna. So pause there. Again, we hear the Israelites complaining and questioning why God brought them out of Egypt in the first place. And we've heard this many times and sometimes God reacts in different ways. How do you think he might react this time? And when we see the Israelites going back and forth, praising God, cursing God,

thanking God for delivering them from Egypt, wishing they never had to leave, what does that teach us about humanity, about our nature, and how important it is to remember God's goodness? Verse 6, so the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and cried out, We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.

So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord told him, make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it. So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. that anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed. So pause there. What do you think of God's reaction to the Israelites' lack of faith?

The next section is Israel's journey to Moab. The Israelites traveled next to Abath and camped there. Then they went on to Lai Barham in the wilderness on the eastern border of Moab. From there they traveled to the valley. of Zared Brook and set up camp. Then they moved out and camped on the far side of the Arnon River in the wilderness adjacent to the territory

of the Amorites. The Arnon is the boundary line between the Moabites and the Amorites. For this reason, the Book of the Wars of the Lord speaks of the town of Waheb in the area of Sufa, and the ravine of the Arnon River and the ravines that extend as far as the settlement of Arr on the border of Moab.

From there, the Israelites traveled to Beer, which is the well where the Lord said to Moses, assemble the people, and I will give them water. There the Israelites sang this song, Spring up O well. Yes, sing its praises. sing of this well which princes dug, which great leaders hollowed out with their sceptors and staffs. Then the Israelites left the wilderness and proceeded on through Matana, Nahaliel, and Barmuth.

After that, they went to the valley in Moab, where Pisgapik overlooks the wasteland. So pause there. What do you think of them coming back to that, well and what do you make of the song that they sang when they were there? What do you think they were feeling? What do you think caused them to sing out in praise? The last section of this chapter is called Victory over Sihon and Og. The Israelites sent ambassadors to King Sihon of the Amorites. With this message, let us travel through your land. We will be careful not

to go through your fields and vineyards. We won't even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king's road until we have passed through your territory. But King Sihon refused to let them cross his territory. Instead, he mobilized his entire army and attacked Israel in the wilderness, engaging them in battle at Jihad. But the Israelites slaughtered them with their swords and occupied their land from the Arnon River to the Jabuk River. They went only as far as the Ammonite border because the boundary of the Ammonites was fortified. So Israel captured all the towns of the Amorites and settled in them, including the city of Hesbun and its surrounding villages. Heshben had been the capital of King Sihon of the Amorites. He had defeated a former Moabite king and seized all his land

as far as the Arnon River. Therefore, the ancient poets wrote this about him. Come to Hesbun and let it be rebuilt. Let the city of Sihon be restored. A fire flamed forth from Heshbin. A blaze from the city of Sihon. It burned the city of R in Moab. It destroyed the rulers of the Arnon Heights.

What sorrow awaits you, oh, people of Moab. You are finished, O worshippers of Kimish. Kimish has left his sons as refugees, his daughters as captives of Saigon, the Amarite king. We have utterly destroyed them from Hesbun to Daibin. We have completely wiped them out as far away as Nafa and Mediba. So the people of Israel occupied the territory of the Amarites. After Moses sent men to explore the Jazeer area, they captured all the towns in the region and drove out the Amorites who lived there.

Then they turned and marched up the road to Boshan, but King Ag of Boshan and all his people attacked them at Edriai. The Lord said to Moses, Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, along with all his people and his land. Do the same to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amarides, who ruled in Hesham. And Israel killed King Og, his sons, and all his subjects. Not a single survivor remained.

Then Israel occupied their land. Okay. So that was the end of Numbers 21, but I am going to read the first, verse of Numbers 22 because it kind of ends this section where we see the Israelites move from Sinai to the plains of Moab. So Numbers 22 verse 1 says, then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River across from Jericho. So as we finish up this section in numbers, just continue thinking on the journey of the Israelites into the promised land. Those we've lost, the punishments that have come, the joys, the sadness.

We are seeing a full spectrum of emotions as the Israelites seek this promised land and learn about trust and faith in God. And when we pick up next time, we're going to start a new section called the Israelites camp in the plains of Moab and prepare to invade Canaan as we're kind of entering into this last section before they reach the promised land. So I'm so thankful for all of you who are listening. I apologize for the long pause in between these episodes. I've just had a lot going on with my full-time job and so hopefully there's a little room for grace as I continue working through this project. As always, I hope that you are gaining wisdom and insight from the

Holy Spirit as you read through these scriptures. If you've never read through them before, if you're just curious and listening, I hope that you are learning and seeking and gaining more understanding. And as always, I will talk to you in the next one.