Numbers - Chapters 10-19

In chapters 10-19 of Numbers, the book begins with a census and the setting up of the camp with the tabernacle in the center. The Levites are responsible for protecting the tabernacle. The people celebrate the Passover and are guided by the Lord's presence in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Moses is commanded to make two trumpets for calling the camp. The Israelites travel to their next destination as directed by the Lord. The people complain and are punished, but the Lord provides for them. Miriam and Aaron grumble against Moses and Miriam is struck with leprosy. The people send spies to Canaan, but most of them doubt they can conquer it. Only Caleb and Joshua believe they can. The people rebel and face consequences. Various offerings and the importance of obedience are discussed. Korah and his followers oppose Moses and Aaron, but judgment comes upon them. The people continue to oppose Moses and Aaron, but they are Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at bab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we're covering chapters 10-19 of Numbers. The book started with the Lord asking for a census to be taken of the people by their clans and families. Their camp was set up with the tabernacle, the place where God dwelt with them, in the center. The tribe of Levi, which was Moses and Aaron's tribe, were on all four sides of the tabernacle because they were responsible for and to protect it. Then surrounding the Levites were three tribes on each side. The Levites were given instructions on how to take care of the tabernacle, but only the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were allowed to touch the holy items in the holy places. The Levites were set apart for their special service to the Lord. Then the people celebrated the Passover, and the Lord's presence appeared in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And that was how the people knew when to go and when to stay. This leads to chapter 10, because the Lord commanded Moses to make two trumpets of hammered silver, and these were used to call the camp for various reasons, such as assemblies, war, or for celebration. It was the priest's job to blow the trumpets. Then verses 11 through 13 say, On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the testimony. Then the Israelites set out from the desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the desert of Paran. They set out this first time at the Lord's command through Moses. It even explained the order of how the people were to travel to their next destination. Verses 33 through 36 read, So they set out from the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest. The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set up out from the camp. Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, Rise up, O Lord, may your enemies be scattered, may your foes flee before you. Whenever it came to rest, he said, Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel. This reminds me of the promise God gave to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15 verse 5, Look up at the heavens and count the stars. If indeed you can count them, so shall your offspring be. They are now countless thousands. God does keep his promises. Now in chapters 1 through 10, the people obeyed the words of the Lord through Moses. But things are changing now. Chapter 11, the people complained about their hardships and fire from the Lord came and consumed some of them. The people cried out to Moses who cried out to the Lord and it subsided. Then a group of people, the NIV version calls them the rabble, began to crave the foods from Egypt. They were sick of manna. Verse 10 says, Moses heard it and he became exceedingly troubled because the Lord became exceedingly angry. Here Moses asked the Lord why did he put him in charge of these people? He cried out, where can I get meat for all these people? Verse 13, Moses declared, this is too much for me. So the Lord put some of Moses' spirit on 70 of the Israeli elders to help him. And the Lord promised to bring meat for them to eat. Moses said, how can this be? There is not enough if they slaughter their flocks and if they caught all the fish in the sea. Verse 23, the Lord answered Moses, is the Lord's arm too short? You will see whether or not what I say will come true for you. A wind from the Lord came out and brought quail. But those who started the grumbling, the rabble, were struck with a severe plague. This makes me think of the feeding of the multitudes with Jesus and the disciples. In Matthew 14, verses 13-21. And then in Matthew 15, verses 29-39. Mark 6, verses 31-44. Luke 9, verses 12-17. And John 6, verses 1-14. The disciples knew they could never feed the multitudes. They only had a little fish and bread. Yet Jesus prayed and he fed them all with baskets full of leftovers. Jesus' arm was not too short either. In chapter 12, Miriam and Aaron, Moses' sister and brother, began to grumble against Moses because he had a Cushite wife who was probably dark skinned. They began to say, has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn't he also spoken through us? The problem was the Lord heard them and called them out on it. Verse 3 says, Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. God called all three of them to the entrance of the tabernacle. Then the Lord had Aaron and Miriam step forward. The Lord affirmed his calling upon Moses by stating that he allowed Moses to speak clearly to him. So why aren't you afraid to speak against my servant Moses? The Lord asked. The anger of the Lord burned against them and then his presence left. When the cloud arose, Miriam was covered with leprosy, white as snow. It's interesting that Miriam was complaining because Moses' wife was dark skinned. And now hers has turned white as snow. Aaron cried out to Moses and said, My Lord, please do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Now Miriam might have been the instigator. So that could be why only she was diseased. Or it could be that since Aaron was high priest, he was spared. Moses cried out for healing. And the Lord said in verse 14, if her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days. After that, she can be brought back. The people waited those seven days before moving on to the next place. In chapter 13, the people get close to the land of Canaan. Moses sent out 12 men, one from each tribe to spy out the land. They checked it out for 40 days. And when they came back, they said it was flowing with milk and honey. They brought samples of the fruit, especially the grapes. But 10 of the men said the people are too powerful and the cities are fortified and we can't do it. Two of the men, Caleb from the tribe of Judah and Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim said we can take the land. With that word in chapter 14, we find that the people rebel and grumble against Moses and Aaron who fell face down in front of the whole assembly. Joshua and Caleb cried out for them to believe that the Lord was with them and that they could do it. But the people thought of stoning them. The glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to wipe the people out. But Moses interceded and asked for forgiveness. Verse 20, the Lord replied, I have forgiven them as you have asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert, but who disobeyed me and tested me 10 times, not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. Since Caleb and Joshua did not treat the Lord with contempt, but believed they were allowed to enter the land. But it would be 40 years later, one year for the 40 days they surveyed the land. When the people heard their punishment, they decided the next morning to take the land. But because they were disobeying the Lord again, they lost. Chapter 15 covers various offerings unto the Lord, such as a drink offering. And one thing that is mentioned throughout is that these offerings could be given by the native Jew and by the alien living among them. In verses 32 through 36, a man was found working on the Sabbath day and they didn't know what to do. So they held him until the Lord said, the man must die. And therefore they stoned him. The last few verses in chapter 15 explained that the Israelites were to wear tassels on their clothing as a reminder of the Lord's commands. When they saw the tassel, they were reminded to obey the Lord. Verses 40 and 41, then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord, your God. In chapter 16, one of the Levites, Korah and some Reubenites opposed Moses and Aaron's leadership. They said to Moses in verse 3b, you have gone too far. The whole community is holy. Every one of them and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly? As you can guess, this did not go well for these men. Ladies, keep in mind that Moses nor Aaron were looking for their position. They don't see it as power and glory, but responsibility and struggles. Korah and his followers gathered at the tabernacle to oppose Moses and Aaron. And the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire assembly, verse 19. The Lord was going to put an end to them. But as usual, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the Lord and pleaded for the assembly. Judgment again came to the instigators. The earth swallowed the men, everything they owned and all who stood by them. With the 250 followers, fire came out from the Lord and consumed them. It's interesting that Korah had said that the community was holy. Yet when the fire came out and consumed these men who were not holy, they each had a censer, something that held incense, and they were holy. So Aaron took the censers and hammered them flat as an overlay to the altar, as a sign for the people to remember that no one except the descendants of Aaron were to be priests. If that was not proof enough of Moses and Aaron's leadership and calling of God on their lives, the people again assembled in opposition to Moses and Aaron. The Lord wanted to wipe them all out again. But Moses and Aaron again interceded for them. A plague started, but Aaron offered incense and made atonement for them. Verse 48 says, He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. In chapter 17, the Lord calls for 12 staffs, each from the ancestral 12 tribes of Israel, to be brought forth as a test to show whom the Lord has called as high priest. Each engraved their name on the staff. Moses took the staffs into the tent of testimony, and the next day, only Aaron's was budded and blossomed and even produced almonds in one night. Moses was to put the staff in front of the testimony to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. The people cried out, We're all going to die! Which leads to chapter 18, the duties of the priest and the Levites. It's through the sacrificial system that atonement is made for the people, and they are forgiven. The Lord told Aaron that the priests do not get a share of the land, because I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites. Chapter 18, verse 20. The Levites were allowed a portion of offerings given for themselves, but they also were to tithe or give 10% of what they received to the Lord. Then in chapter 19, the water of cleansing is mentioned, and how they are to keep themselves, the people, and the places ceremonially clean. So ladies, some takeaways from this lesson are, number one, is there something in your life that you think the Lord's arm is too short to handle? Give it to him and see what he can do. Number two, do we grumble against the leadership that the Lord has placed over us? There is a difference between grumbling and praying to the Lord about the issues. Also keep in mind that we are to pray for our leaders. That's found in the New Testament, 1 Timothy chapter 2, verses 1 through 4, and Romans chapter 13, verses 1 and 2. Number three, do you regard the Lord with contempt, or do you acknowledge him as holy? It seems to me that we live in an era, even in Christianity, that we consider very little holy. Keep in mind that the New Testament is clear that the only way we are considered holy is when we confess our sin and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. And it is his blood on the cross that he shed for us. That makes us holy. His spirit indwells us and changes us to make us like he is, holy. Number four, is there someone you need to stand in the gap before the Lord in prayer? Believers in Jesus are all called royal priests, a holy nation in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 9. We are to show others the goodness of God and be their mediators in hopes to bring them before the Lord. Today, if you have heard his voice, please don't harden your heart like the Israelites did. Instead, let's be women of faith as we hear from the Lord and obey. Until next time, and thanks so much for listening.