Through the Bible - Numbers

God, we do thank You that You have given us Your Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and to teach us all things. So, Lord, we bring our petition before You tonight, asking that You would teach us and instruct us from Your Word. Help us to understand the things we are going to look at and consider tonight. By Your Spirit, make application to our lives. We know, Lord, that Your Word was written for our instruction and for the admonition of Your people, so that we would know You, Your nature, and Your will. We want to get to know You through Your Word tonight. Reveal Yourself to us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.

We were singing that last song, "How Great Is Our God." We can't even begin to answer that question with words. I remember reading a message that Charles Spurgeon gave a long time ago, back in the 1800s. One of the things he said in that message is that whenever we try to declare the preciousness of God, it breaks the backs of words. His preciousness breaks the backs of words, which is a poetic way of saying that there is no way with words we can describe how great our God is.

As we get into the book of Numbers tonight, I think we will see that even more. How many of you took the time this week to read through the book of Numbers? It seems to be increasing every single week; I see more and more people reading through the book. How many of you found it a little bit easier to get through than Leviticus? Yes, it is a little bit easier to get through, but there are still many things we will consider in this book, including some tough topics.

We started several weeks ago with the book of Genesis. You may remember that in Genesis, we saw very clearly man's inadequacy—that man is completely inadequate and incapable of coming before God. The book of Genesis left us with the very last verse, which sums up the entire book: it left us with man dead in a coffin in Egypt. When you consider what we've been going through...

We have started our studies with the passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, where Paul tells us in verse 11 that all these things happened to the children of Israel as examples for us. They were written down for our admonition upon whom the end of the ages has come. We know for certain that we are living in the last days. In fact, from the time that Jesus ascended into heaven, we have been in the last days. This is what Hebrews chapter 1 tells us: Jesus is the one who speaks to us in these last days.

So here we are in the last days, at the end of the age, and God speaks to us. He instructs us through His word. As we look at the book of Genesis, which leaves us dead there in Egypt, we must ask how that relates to us in the New Testament. Very clearly, Romans chapter 3 contains a verse that many of you have probably read before, and some may have even memorized. Romans chapter 3, verse 23 states, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

In Romans, we see one of the themes of the book of Genesis: that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In fact, the book of Romans tells us that in Adam, because of the sin of Adam in Genesis chapter 3, all men have sinned. Therefore, we sit under the condemnation of sin and death. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Man is dead in Egypt; there is nothing he can do to get himself to God or to right the wrongs that have been done.

Then Exodus comes along, and there is the big "but God." God shows up on the scene and does what man cannot do. Man has an inability; he is incapable of saving himself or getting himself to God. But there, God reaches out to man. The book of Exodus reveals God's redemptive power, which we see again very clearly in the book of Romans.

Romans chapter 5 contains another verse you may have read before. Romans chapter 5, verse 6 states, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." Exodus can be summed up in that verse: in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. When man was without strength, when he was in Egypt, and there was no way for him to get out of that predicament, at the right time, the opportune time, Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for us who had no strength and who needed strength.

Then we came to the book of Leviticus last week, which is very clearly summed up, I believe, in Romans chapter 6, verse 1. Let me read it to you. And really, that's what the book of Leviticus showed us.

That God, in His grace, has taken us out of Egypt. By a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, God redeemed His people from Egypt. Now that He has brought them out of Egypt, what does the book of Leviticus tell us in Leviticus chapter 20, verse 26? God said, "You shall be holy, for the Lord your God is holy." God declared that He has separated us from among the people to be His people, to be holy and completely dedicated to Him, consecrated to Him.

When we read of God's grace in Exodus, where God brings the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, we come to Romans chapter 6, verse 1, which says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" Absolutely not. In fact, Paul even says, "God forbid that we would continue in sin." He asks, "How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" There is that call to be holy: "Come out from among them." Leviticus was that call, and it showed us, as we saw last week, the cost of holiness. The cost of maintaining fellowship with God, having God's presence in our midst, is not an easy thing; it is very costly.

As we come to the book of Numbers, we see the wilderness wanderings, which is the next progression. Man is lost in Genesis; he cannot save himself. Man is redeemed by God in Exodus and brought to Mount Sinai, where God tells him how to be holy in the book of Leviticus. But now we come to the very next step. Whenever God says to man, "Be holy," man tries to do it, and what does he find? He fails.

In Romans chapter 7, a passage you may have read before and can probably relate to, Paul writes in verse 14, "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin." Is that not the picture of Leviticus and entering into Numbers? The law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. Paul continues, "For that which I do not allow, for what I would, that I do not; but what I hate, that I do." If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.

Paul says, "Listen, the things that I want to do, I don't do. And the things I don't want to do, that I practice." In doing this, he proves that the law is good, that it is holy, just, and good, as he stated back in Romans chapter 7, verse 12. He goes on to say in verse 17...

Now then, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. Remember I mentioned last week that it took God just one day to get the children of Israel out of Egypt. However, it is going to take Him 40 years to begin to get Egypt out of the children of Israel.

In Romans chapter 7, Paul says there is this sin that dwells in him. Going on in verse 18 of Romans chapter 7, he writes, "For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing." How many of you have come to discover that very same thing? In me, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. The will is present with me, but how to perform what is good, I do not know.

I think every single one of us, as Christians, has experienced this. God has called us to be holy, for He is holy. We try to do it, and we find that we want to follow God. The will is present with us; the desire to do it is there, but the power is not there. The power to perform is lacking. So, the will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not.

For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do. Basically, I'm getting all mixed up here. What is he saying? He is saying that the good things he wants to do, he cannot do. The bad things he does not want to do, those are the things he always falls into.

Then he comes to that point in Romans chapter 7, which I believe God desires every single one of us to reach: "Oh, wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" Now, the answer to that question will not be addressed for another couple of weeks until we get to the book of Joshua.

But tonight, we are going to look very clearly at this question, or this sigh: "Oh, wretched man that I am! In my flesh dwells no good thing." The book of Numbers shows us this more clearly than probably any other book in the Bible. Here is a group of redeemed people, individuals that God had brought out of the land of Egypt. They desire to follow God.

Remember back in Exodus chapter 19, they said, "Everything that the Lord has said, we will do and be obedient." Then, twice more in Exodus chapter 25, they declared, "All that the Lord has commanded, we will do and be obedient." How long did that last? What, 40 days? Just about 40 days until they were dancing around a golden calf, and God had to go down through Moses and speak to them once again.

So, how many of you can identify with this experience of the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7? The things that I want to do...

Follow God, desiring to obey Him, but I can't seem to perform. It's one of the things we talk about in our school of discipleship, in courses one and two. When you become a believer, when you receive Christ Jesus as Lord and experience the new birth, the Spirit of God dwells in you. You immediately, in your new heart, desire to obey God. However, you find very quickly that that desire does not have power. Desire without power falls flat on its face, just like we see in Romans chapter 7, and just like we will see as we get into the book of Numbers.

Romans chapter 7 has always blessed me because we see that even this man of God, whom we all look up to—the Apostle Paul, who wrote so many books in the New Testament—had this struggle. Some Bible teachers and commentators try to say that Paul is just giving a hypothetical situation. No, he speaks of this experientially. The good that I want to do, I just cannot seem to do it. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? If you stop right there, it's a pretty sad experience.

If we finish the book of Numbers tonight and don't go on into Deuteronomy and Joshua, then it would be just part of the story. God has come to redeem man completely, and the redemption of man does not only involve taking him out of Egypt, but it also involves taking Egypt out of him, which is the place of sanctification. One of the major themes of the book of Numbers is that of sanctification. However, sanctification is not the finished product of salvation or redemption. Redemption goes on to glorification, and God wants to bring all of us to that point.

Remember, He is creating in us more and more. He is fashioning us into the image of Christ. There is coming a day when, as Peter says, when we see Him, we will be like Him. We will be transformed in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye. God is going to take this carnal body, this corruption, and change it to incorruption. The whole of creation groans for this. Romans chapter 8 tells us that all of creation groans for the manifestation of the sons of God. We are all looking forward to that day when we will be manifested, changed, and transformed in an instant.

But right now, we are in the process of sanctification. We are in the place of being made holy by God. Paul talks about those who are being saved, and that's where we are tonight.

We find ourselves right in the book of Numbers, and it's an important book because here the children of Israel are wandering in the wilderness. God is seeking to transform them, to cleanse them, and to make them into His people. Their name, Israel, means "governed by God." Yet, when they came out of the land of Egypt, they were anything but governed by God.

If you've been reading through this and following along, you see that this was a stiff-necked people. In fact, they continued to be a stiff-necked people throughout their history. The Jews today are still considered to be a stubborn people. Any of you who have a Jewish background may have experienced that, or if you have Jewish friends, you know that they can be quite stubborn. But you know what? It's not just the Jews; it's all of us. We are all stubborn to the core. We don't want to yield. We don't want to submit to God. However, it is the only way to holiness. It is the only way to be truly whole: to have God as the Lord of your life.

The book of Numbers shows us a people that did not want to follow and did not want to trust God's way or God's plan. God was seeking to show Himself powerful in leading them and taking care of them. They were to be followers of Him, but they were constantly struggling with His way versus their own reasoning. Have you ever experienced that before? Where God's way doesn't quite seem to measure up to your opinion of how it should be done? Where your reasoning seems to conflict with God's way? It's exactly what God spoke through Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 55: "My ways are above your ways."

God is constantly trying to reveal to us that His way is the best, but in our minds, our reasoning says, "I see Your way, but I don't think that's the best way." That's exactly what we see in Numbers. The interesting thing about it, though, is that Solomon, the wisest man besides Jesus who ever lived, stated this twice in the Proverbs. In Proverbs chapter 14, verse 12, we read, "There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Again, a couple of chapters later, in Proverbs chapter 16, verse 25, he repeats, "There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

Solomon emphasized this point because he knew that we need to hear it over and over again. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death. And you know what? Numbers shows us that so clearly.

There was a way that seemed right to the people, the children of Israel during that time, but the end thereof is death. It is the way of death. This most certainly is a book that has application to us. God wants to speak to us through this book because what is the focus of the Christian who is alive here on earth today? If they are a Christian, they've been justified, and the Bible promises that they're going to be glorified.

So, what is the focus of every Christian today? It's the area of sanctification. That's our focus: to follow the Lord and be transformed by the renewing of our minds, to be cleansed by God. God wants to separate us so that we would be His people, and we are in the process of being sanctified. God desires to work that work into us. This book has application to us, I think, like no other in the first five books of the Bible, in the Pentateuch.

Why? Well, turn with me, if you would, over to Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 3. There, the author, the writer of the book of Hebrews, speaks to a group of Jewish Christians. He says something very interesting to them in Hebrews chapter 3, verse 7. We are going to read several verses here, so follow along with me if you would.

Hebrews chapter 3, verse 7 states, "Wherefore, as the Holy Spirit says, today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the day of the provocation of temptation in the wilderness." The writer of Hebrews is talking about the wilderness wanderings of Israel in the book of Numbers. He continues, "Harden not your hearts, as in the day of provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted Me, and proved Me, and saw My works for 40 years. Wherefore, I was grieved with that generation, and I said, they do always err in their hearts, and they have not known My ways. So I swore in My wrath that they shall not enter into My rest."

"Take heed, brethren." Now he says to Christians, the writer of the book of Hebrews says to a group of Christians, "Listen up, beware, take heed. Lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end."

While it is said, "Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation." For some, when they had heard...

Did provoke, howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses, but with whom he was grieved for forty years. And was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, and to whom he swore that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Let us therefore, in chapter 4, verse 1, fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, "As I have sworn in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest," although the works were finished before the foundation of the world.

Notice what the writer of Hebrews says there. The work to get them into the promised land was finished before the foundation of the world. The work to take us into that glorified, victorious Christian life was also finished before the foundation of the world. Revelation chapter 13, verse 8 tells us that Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. The work is done. And yet, there are those who don't enter into that work because of unbelief.

That's the story of the book of Numbers. The writer to the Hebrews in the New Testament says we need to take note of this, lest any of you fall short of that promise that God has given to you. He has given a promise to every single one of us of rest. Jesus says in Matthew chapter 11, "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." God desires to bring his people into the place of rest.

It started all the way back in Egypt in the book of Exodus, where God brought his people out by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. It continued as he brought them in Leviticus to Mount Sinai and gave them his law so that they could abide with him, that they could have his presence and his power. It continues as God takes his people into the promised land, but between Mount Sinai and the promised land is the wilderness. This is the place of learning to trust and depend completely upon the Lord.

The sad thing is, as we see in Hebrews chapter 3 and also find in the book of Numbers, the children of Israel largely did not enter into God's rest. What was the reason for it?

Hebrews chapter 3 tells us it was their unbelief. The work to get them into the promised land was done; all it came down to was their lack of faith. This is very clearly seen in the book of Numbers.

Turn back to Numbers chapter 14. Numbers chapter 14 is the key event that the writer of Hebrews is speaking of. It is the time when the children of Israel provoked the Lord. That entire generation, the whole Exodus generation, the people who had seen the marvelous works of the Lord bringing them out of the land of Egypt and the plagues, had witnessed God provide for them in the wilderness. They had seen God open the Red Sea and perform many marvelous works. Yet, that entire generation would pass away because of this event found in Numbers chapters 13 and 14.

I want to read a few verses from here. In Numbers chapter 14, starting in verse 22, God tells this generation, "You will not see the land because you've provoked me by your unbelief." Then, down in verse 27, He says, "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation which murmurs against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel which they murmur against me. Say unto them, as truly as I live, says the Lord, as you have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you. Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness, and all that were numbered of you, according to the whole number, from twenty years on and upward, which have murmured against me, doubtless you shall not come into the land concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein, except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun."

God says to this entire generation, which was a large group of people, that because of their lack of faith and their unwillingness to listen to Him and follow Him by faith, none of them would enter into the life in the land of rest. None of them would experience the victorious life that God had for them. Yes, there would be battles when they came into the promised land.

God makes that very clear in the book of Numbers that they were going to experience enemies coming against them. They were going to experience war, but God would tell them through Joshua, "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, I have given it unto you. Your enemies are going to flee before you." The work was already accomplished. All they had to do was step in by faith, but they wouldn't.

This whole portion of Scripture, particularly in Numbers chapters 13 and 14, shows us that they had an opportunity to step right into the promised land very early on in their wilderness wanderings. This was only two years after they had come out of Egypt. Yet, they wouldn't come in because they had no faith. God says, "Because of this, because of the way that you've tempted me, every single one of you is going to die. Every single one of you is going to fall in the wilderness." These are powerful words that God speaks to this nation.

Remember, there were a lot of people. How many people? The book of Numbers is interesting because it starts out with the numbering of the nation. God counts all the men from 20 years old and upward, those who were ready for war, as He is separating for Himself an army from His people, from the twelve tribes. As you go through that, you find out how many people there were: 603,550 men. This number only counts the men from 20 years of age and upward, which means there were a whole bunch of kids. These families didn't just have one and a half kids in a nice little car in a nice house with a picket fence. No, these people had large families.

When they came out of Egypt and were numbered in the first chapters, that's where the book of Numbers gets its name—from the census taken in Numbers chapter 1 and then another census at the end of their wilderness wanderings in Numbers chapter 26. In the first census, God numbers the army: 603,550. Every single one of those men will die in the course of this book, but not just them; the generation of their wives as well.

If we assume that 90% of them took a wife, which seems like a modest estimate, then there are over 1 million people who are going to die in the space of 38 years. If you consider the book of Numbers, one of the things that this nation was probably really good at was funerals.

Think about it. If you average that out, that's about 85 people dying a day. However, as you go through the book, you find that there are some days when 24,000 were killed in one day because of their sin, because they were departing from the Lord. So, if ever there was a group of people who were very equipped at funerals, it was this generation as they were going through the land. They were very good at that.

The other thing they were probably the best at, as you find in the Book of Numbers, can anybody guess what it was? Complaining. Absolutely. Complaining and murmuring. Those of you who read the book know that this was a nation that all they did while they were in the wilderness was complain. I don't know if we should give Pastor Pat that because he's supposed to know that one, but they are the children of Israel as they were wandering. We can all identify, can't we? They got very good at funerals, and they were very good at complaining. Nobody really has to teach you how to be good at complaining; we're all pretty good at it.

It's interesting, though, to consider that this was a group of people who, just two years before this, were slaves in Egypt. They had severe taskmasters over them, and now they're complaining. What do you have to complain about? You have a God who is taking care of you, and as you follow through this book, you see that God did take care of His people in the way that He had promised to do. He was going to carry them through. In fact, throughout the entire 40 years that they were in the wilderness, did you know that their clothes and their shoes did not wear out? Wouldn't it be great to have a pair of shoes that would last you for 40 years without wearing out? The entire time they were in the wilderness, their clothes and their shoes didn't wear out. And God provided for them, right? He provided water from rocks and manna from heaven. And yet, these people complained the entire time.

Now, the book divides itself pretty well into three sections. The first division is about the first ten chapters, from chapter 1 through chapter 10, verse 10. Those first ten chapters deal with God's presence, God's provision, God's protection, and God's guidance. I'll give those to you again if you're taking notes: God's presence. In the first ten chapters, we see God's presence very clearly because He was with His people by a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. In fact, going through Numbers chapter 10, you find that not only did that cloud lead them, but that cloud covered them. This was a people that were in the desert, in the hot, arid, dry wilderness. And it's hot. God covered His people. He gave them not only His presence.

But His protection was evident. He protected them by putting His cloud over them by day and His pillar of fire by night. Now, could you imagine if you were one of the surrounding peoples? You hear about the children of Israel who have come out of Egypt and totally subdued the king of Egypt and all the armies of Egypt. You might not be too happy about them being around your land.

As you come around one of the hills, you see this enormous pillar of fire in the middle of their camp at night. I think you'd probably be ready to turn around and walk the other way. God protected them. He covered them with a cloud by day and gave them the pillar of fire for light by night. Not only that, but God provided for them. He was there in the midst of them; He was in their presence. He protected them and provided for them.

As I already mentioned, He gave them manna by day and water. He took care of their needs as they were with Him. We sang tonight, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you." When Jesus speaks about that in Matthew chapter 6, He is talking about these very things: what you are going to wear, what you are going to eat, and where you are going to sleep. These are the daily concerns that we worry about. In the Jungle Book, it's the bare necessities, right? The things that everybody is always concerned about—the bare necessities of life. God takes care of that as you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

The children of Israel saw that every single day. God was in their presence; He was the one who provided for them and protected them. Additionally, Numbers chapter 10 makes it very clear that He was the one who led them. This leads us into the next division. There are three divisions again. The first division deals with God's presence, provision, protection, and guidance.

The second division is the time when the children of Israel begin to follow the Lord away from Mount Sinai. Until chapter 10 of Numbers, the children of Israel are still where they were in the book of Exodus and in the book of Leviticus. The first ten chapters deal with them at Mount Sinai, where God teaches them His law and gives them His presence as they build the tabernacle there.

When you get to chapter 10 of Numbers, it marks the start of the next section. Numbers chapter 10, verse 11 states, "And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month in the second year..."

The cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony. The children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran. They first took their journey according to the commandment of the Lord and by the hand of Moses. God guided them in the wilderness, leading them with the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.

How did He do this? In the morning, they would wake up and suddenly see that the cloud was moving. If you're in the desert and it's hot and dry, you want to be under the protection of the cloud, right? Oh, the wisdom of God! How does He guide His people? Right in that place that kept them cool.

Do you want to know how to follow the Lord? You follow the Lord in that place, in that space that's cool. I think Paul knew this very well. He talks about it in Philippians chapter 4, a verse that maybe you remember. There in Philippians chapter 4, verse 6, Paul says that God desires to lead us by His peace. As we stay in that place where we have the peace and comfort of the Lord by His Holy Spirit, the children of Israel had that very same thing as they wandered in the wilderness.

They would wake up in the morning, and all of a sudden, the cloud that covered them would be moving in a different direction. The children of Israel would know that it was time to pack up camp. In the first ten chapters, we see how the children of Israel were to pack up camp. There was a very specific way that God wanted His people to be led.

You may notice that the way the children of Israel camped and moved always had the tabernacle in the middle of the nation. God was always in the midst of His people. When they would camp, they would have the tabernacle at the center, with the tribe of Judah and two other tribes camping to the east. Another tribe would camp to the north, another to the west, and another to the south. There, in the middle of the nation, was always the tabernacle and the presence of the Lord.

This is a picture for us of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, showing that God's presence is central in our lives, just as it was for the children of Israel. When the cloud would move, first, the tribe to the east would pack up camp. Then the tribe to the south would pack up camp, followed by the tabernacle.

The Levites would pack up, and then the tribe to the west and the tribe to the north would follow. The temple, the tabernacle, and the presence of God were always in the center of the nation. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is central to our lives as well. We are guided in the very same way by the peace of the Lord. Just as God guided the Israelites with the cloud by day, they stayed in the coolness of that cloud, and God led them to different places. Similarly, God desires to lead us in that way. He wants to be the one who is in our midst, who provides for us, protects us, and guides us.

That verse we just read back in Numbers chapter 10 describes the children of Israel taking their journey on the 20th day of the second month of the second year after they had gone out of Egypt. The cloud moved from Mount Sinai, from the midst of the children of Israel in their camp and the tabernacle they had set up. God said, "It's time to go." The cloud didn't move very far; it just moved away to the wilderness of Paran, which wasn't very far away. Then God instructed them on where to make camp. This marks the beginning of division number two in Numbers.

The second division of Numbers, from chapter 11 to about chapter 26, deals with the failure of the people. If you read it, you saw it clearly: the failure of the people and their slow growth to maturity. This is the same place where you and I, as Christians, typically find ourselves. We are in a position where, yes, we fall down; we still sin, do we not? I see most of you nodding. Yes, we sin; we fail. In fact, John tells us in 1 John that if anyone says they have no sin, then they are a liar. We all sin. We all still fall short of the glory of God.

However, the hope is that the longer we walk with the Lord, those falls become less frequent. We fall less, much like a little child learning to walk who falls down a lot. But as that child begins to grow and mature, they are able to walk without falling. This is how it should be in our lives as believers and Christians as well. The failure of the people is clearly seen in Numbers chapters 11 through 26. Yet, as you reach the end of that portion, you see that they begin to win wars. They fight against Sihon, the king of Bashan, and Og.

They fight against different men and kingdoms that come out against them at the end of their wilderness wanderings. What do they do? They find themselves victorious. They begin to have victory in their lives. They fell a whole bunch at the beginning, and you see their falls constantly in chapters 11, 12, and 13. In chapter 16, we see their fall again, and they fell in some very clear and specific ways. It had everything to do with complaining and not trusting the Lord.

It started with their complaint against the Lord because they didn't have some sort of provisions. Remember, they didn't have food. God had already taken care of that back in Exodus. In chapter 16 of Exodus, He was giving them manna every single day. However, after a while, after a short period of time—only a few months—they got tired of the manna. In fact, after a few years, they grew weary of it.

You know what? It was God's plan that they would get tired of manna. God did not want them to stay in the wilderness enjoying the manna. It was God's provision, and it was good provision. It took care of their daily needs. It tells us that it tasted like oil and honey mixed together. It was some sort of concoction that the Lord gave to them. It was God's daily provision for them and really is a picture of the Word of God given to us. This is the bread; man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word. We need to glean and gather it every single day, as we saw in Exodus chapter 16.

But you know what? The children of Israel got tired of that manna that God provided for them, and that was God's plan. He didn't want them in the wilderness. If God had given them double-doubles animal style from In-N-Out every day when they woke up, they might not have wanted to leave the wilderness. Some days, they could have woken up to hot cakes sitting there ready for them to eat or different kinds of really good food.

But remember, from the time they were in Egypt and Moses was sent down to them, what did Moses tell them? He said, "God wants to take you to a land that flows with milk and honey." So He gave them a small taste of it. While they were in the wilderness, they had this wafer, this manna that was on the ground and tasted like honey. Ultimately, God wanted to bring them into the fruitful land where they would partake of God's provision in the land—the fruit of the promised land.

God desires that you and I would partake of the fruit of the promised land as well. When we get into Joshua in a couple of weeks, we're going to see what that fruit is all about. Because, listen, the promised land...

The promised land is not about heaven. I know there have been different songs over the years that talk about going into the promised land and going into heaven, but that's not what the promised land is. In heaven, we are not going to have wars, while in the promised land, there is an abundance of war. The promised land represents the victorious Christian life, which relies upon the Holy Spirit. When you and I are living in that victorious Christian life, what do we have in our lives? The fruit of the Spirit, right? We partake of the fruit, the good of the land. God desires to take us out of the wilderness and into the fruitfulness, the good of the land.

Even while the Israelites were in the wilderness, God provided for them. He took care of their daily needs as they wandered with Him. However, the very first thing they began to complain about to the Lord, as noted in Numbers at the end of chapter 11, had to do with the provision of food. They complained about their circumstances. Have you ever found yourself complaining about the circumstances of life? I'll admit it. Paul in the New Testament talks about learning to be content, and God wants to bring us into that place of contentment. Godliness with contentment is great gain.

The children of Israel, early in their wilderness wanderings, did not have contentment. They complained about their circumstances, saying, "God, we are so tired of this manna. We have manna in the morning, manna in the evening, all the time—manna, manna, manna." They wanted something else, so they said, "Lord, we want meat. Give us meat to eat." They complained against the Lord, and it says that there was a lusting that arose in their hearts—a craving for something more than manna, something more than God's daily provision.

As soon as they started to think about wanting something good to eat, they reminisced about Egypt, saying, "Back in Egypt, we had leeks, onions, and garlic—foods that you eat, and after you eat it, everybody knows because they can smell it on you." If you're going to talk about food that was so good, would you really go back to leeks, onions, garlic, and cucumbers? I don't know if that would be the focus. God was trying to take them into a land that flows with milk and honey, abundant in fruit, yet they longed for Egypt and its leeks and onions.

So God said, "Fine, you want meat? I'll give you meat until it comes out of your nostrils. You're going to eat meat not just for a day, not just for five days," as He says in Numbers chapter 11, "not just for 20 days."

For a month, all they were going to eat was meat. God brought quail upon the people, and it was right there outside their door where they could hit it and eat it. This caused a problem among the people to the point where it came out of their nostrils. They were throwing it up. That's a nice way to say it; they were throwing this stuff up. God gave it to them until they were full, and then, at the end of the month, what were they saying? "Oh, take this away from us. We don't want it anymore." They complained against God's provision once again.

The next thing they complained about is found in Numbers chapter 13. It's kind of a sad thing because they complained against the blessing of the Lord. In Numbers chapter 13, not long after they had come out of the land of Egypt, they arrived at Mount Sinai. They spent two years and about two months at Mount Sinai. It took them a month to get from Egypt to Mount Sinai, and then they were there for two years and one month. After that, God said, "All right, let's go out into the wilderness." A short period of time later, they found themselves at a place called Kadesh Barnea.

In Numbers chapter 13, they were right at the door of the promised land. God told Moses to send spies into the land. The spies were to go in to see how good the land was and to bring back the fruit of the land. They brought back a bunch of grapes that was so large it had to be carried on a stick between two men. When the ten spies returned to the children of Israel, what did they say? "The land is good. It's fruitful. Look at the fruit right here. You can see it with your own eyes. It is a land that flows with milk and honey. It's a great land." The people were a little bit excited, and then they said, "But."

But what? "There are giants in the land. The descendants of Anak are in the land." Notice this; at the end of Numbers chapter 13, verse 33, speaking of the giants, eight of the spies said, "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come from the giants. And we, in our own eyes, were as grasshoppers." They felt that in their own sight, they were as grasshoppers, and so they were in the giants' sight as well. In their own eyes, the task was too big. The blessing that God had given to them was too big for them to take.

And yet we saw there in Hebrews chapter 3 that the works to take the land were accomplished before the foundation of the world. God said, "You're to go into the land and take it. I've given it unto you. It's your inheritance. These people are going to be as bread for you. You're going to drive them out so quickly. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, I've given it unto you."

There were only two of the ten spies who spoke up and said, "No, we can go in." Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun, said, "Let's go up into the land. These people are but bread for us." But the congregation of Israel did not listen. Moses and Aaron fell down on their faces and cried out to the Lord as the people said, "Let's go back to Egypt. Let's find ourselves a leader to take us back into Egypt." The people despised the blessing that God had given to them, as noted in Numbers chapter 13. In chapter 14, it says that they wept all night long. The people cried all night long and were ready to go back to Egypt. They preferred to return to bondage in the world instead of pressing into the promised land that was right in front of them, available for their taking.

Caleb and Joshua, these two men of faith, insisted, "No, we can go into the land. We can take it. It's ours. Let's go." The people got ready to stone them, to put them to death because they had the minority report. Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes as a sign of grief and cried out to the Lord. Ultimately, because Joshua and Caleb were men of faith, they were the only ones of those 603,550 men who would enter the promised land.

In Numbers chapter 14, as we have already read, God said, "You're going to stay in the wilderness for 40 years." For as many days as the spies went into the land, which was 40 days, each day would equal a year of their wilderness wanderings. They had already experienced two years, so it would be 38 more years in the wilderness. Every single day, more and more people from that generation would die and be buried.

In one sense, I don't know if Joshua and Caleb thought this way, but there had to be something in their minds that thought, "Okay, 243,000 down? Let's go." Nevertheless, they faithfully followed the Lord for the next 38 years. They did not get to enter the promised land because the people cried out against the Lord and refused to receive the blessing of the Lord. That was just the beginning of their complaining, as over the next 38 years unfolded.

They continue to complain. They complain against the leadership that God had given to them, against Moses and Aaron. In Numbers chapter 16, this group, the sons of Korah, came before the Lord and before Moses, saying that they did not agree with the leadership. They believed they should also be leaders.

Moses responded by suggesting they seek the Lord. The passage tells us that Moses was the most humble man around. He said, "All right, if that's the way you see it, let's go before the Lord and ask who should be the leader." God instructed that the next day, every single one of them should bring incense before the Lord. All 250 men of Korah were to bring their incense, and whoever the Lord wanted to be the leader would be revealed.

They brought their incense before the Lord, and then God told Moses to instruct everyone to move their tents away from the tents of the sons of Korah, telling them to back up a little. That day, they stood there, and Moses declared that the Lord would show them the answer. Remember what happened back in Leviticus when Nadab and Abihu brought strange fire before the Lord? The fire came from the altar and devoured them.

In Numbers, the scripture tells us that a fire came and devoured these 250 men of Korah as they offered strange fire before the Lord. God did a new thing, something nobody had ever seen before. It was probably quite a sight. I want to see the tapes of this when we get to heaven. God commanded them to move all their tents away from the tents of the sons of Korah, and the ground opened up and swallowed them. The earth sucked them down, taking their tents and everything, and God declared that this was the leadership He had ordained when the children of Israel complained against His chosen leader.

As you continue through those chapters, particularly chapter 26, you see that the complaining persists. However, as more and more of that generation passes away and their children begin to grow up as the leaders of the nation, God starts to set them apart to prepare them to enter the Promised Land. The nations around them begin to take notice and come against them, but God brings victory into their camp.

This is what happens in our lives as well. As we follow the Lord and He begins to cleanse and sanctify us, we start to see victory over our enemies. That victory was significant. They would go out to battle with 12,000 men and return having completely destroyed the army they faced.

With 12,000 men, nobody would be injured, and no one would die. At that point in time, the king of Moab stands up and says, "Alright, this is a problem. We've got to deal with this." He calls to himself a prophet by the name of Balaam. King Balak calls for this man, Balaam, to come and curse the children of Israel. He sees that these children of Israel are going to be a problem if they don't do something about them. So, he considers that the only way to address this issue is to try and get the help of the prophet Balaam. He sends messengers to Balaam in Numbers chapter 22.

It is very interesting to consider the words of Balaam when he finally does go. Remember, God uses him as a prophet even though, in many ways, he was going against what God had wanted him to do at the start. God speaks through this man, Balaam, and he speaks about His people. I want to look for a moment at some of the things that God says through Balaam.

Turn to Numbers chapter 23. On his way to speak against the children of Israel, Balaam is riding on his donkey. You remember the story. He is going along, and his donkey just stops. He kicks his donkey, trying to get it to go, but the donkey won't move. Then, at another point, while riding along, the donkey leans over and pushes Balaam's foot into a wall, crushing it. Balaam kicks the donkey again and says, "You're no good to me anymore."

Then, the donkey speaks to him. The funniest part about that story is that it doesn't even faze Balaam. He talks right back to the donkey. If I were riding along on a donkey and it started talking to me, I think I might pass out. But this guy, it doesn't even phase him. He starts saying to the donkey, "If you don't do this, I'd chop your head off. I'd kill you if you don't start moving forward."

What Balaam didn't see, but the donkey did, was that the angel of the Lord was standing ready to strike Balaam. The eyes of Balaam were opened, and he saw the angel of the Lord. The angel of the Lord tells him, "Listen, when you go to speak about these people, you better not curse them like Balak, the king of Moab, wants you to do. They're My people."

I want you to see what God speaks through Balaam to these people in Numbers chapter 23. Balaam speaks.

To King Balak in verse 8, Balaam says, "How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the Lord has not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him. Lo, the people shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob and number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like this."

Balaam looks at the children of Israel and declares, "Who can curse these people? There's no way that I can curse them. The Lord doesn't curse them." Moving on to verse 19, Balaam tells us something interesting about God. He says, "God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless the children of Israel, and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it."

God blessed the children of Israel even though they were a stubborn and rebellious people. This is an amazing revelation of God's heart towards His people, even in their failures. Through the prophet Balaam, we see that God is going to work among them because He has blessed them.

In verse 21, it states, "He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob." How is that possible? God has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, but then David tells us in the Psalms, "Blessed is he whose sin is forgiven, whose iniquity is not imputed unto him." So, He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither has He seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord, his God, is with him, and the shout of the king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt, and He has, as it were, the strength of a unicorn.

Surely, there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel. According to this time, it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, "What has God wrought?" Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion and lift up himself as a young lion, and he shall not lie down until he eats of the prey and drinks of the blood of the slain.

Balaam proclaims that these people are going to come in and possess their land. No one will stand in their way; they will come in like a strong lion, like a young lion. In verse 25, Balaam said to Balak, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all." Balaam answered and said unto Balak, "Did I not tell you, saying, all that the Lord speaks I must do?"

Balaam says, "I can't say anything but what the Lord has said." Down in chapter 24, verse 2, it states, "And Balaam lifted up his eyes and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to the tribes." The Spirit of God came upon Balaam. Here, the Spirit of God comes upon Balaam, and notice what he says: "And he took up his parable and he said, 'Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said. He hath said which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance but having his eyes open.'"

He continues, "How goodly are the tents of Jacob, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the riverside, as the trees of the Linelos which the Lord has planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pull water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt; he has, as it were, the strength of a unicorn. He shall eat up the nations; his enemies shall break their bones and pierce them through with his arrows."

Thanks, Pat. So God says through Balaam here, "I'm going to bless these people; no one’s going to be able to curse them. I'm going to bring them into the land, and they are going to be victorious." Balak, the king of Moab, calls this prophet Balaam and says, "I want you to curse these people." Yet, four times, all he can do is bless them. He stands up on a high mountain and looks down into the valley at the children of Israel camping there. He sees their tents, and it’s as if he sees them like trees planted by water.

What does that speak to us? Psalm chapter 1 says of the righteous man, "He shall be planted by rivers of water, living water." When Balaam looks down upon them, he sees them as righteous. This is God's view of His people, even though they were failures. God's view, spoken through Balaam, is that these are His righteous seed, and He is going to bless them. Whoever tries to curse them will be cursed.

So, four times Balaam stands up, and when he is getting ready to do what King Balak wanted him to do—to curse them—he speaks forth a blessing upon them. This brings us up to chapter 26. Now, the children of Israel in chapter 26 of Numbers are right there before the promised land.

Once again, 38 years have passed since the beginning of the Book of Numbers. In the very beginning, the children of Israel were numbered, and there were 603,550 of them. Now, God brings them to the very edge of the Promised Land again, 38 years later. God tells Moses in chapter 26, "I want you to number the people." He numbers the next generation and finds that the nation has decreased a little bit; they have decreased by about 1,200 people. It was still right about 600,000 men ready for war.

In the next chapters, from chapter 26 to 36, specifically chapters 27 to 36, we see the reorganization of this new generation. God reorganizes the next generation of His people. Not only does He reorganize them, but He also prepares them for blessing. When you read through those ten chapters, you see God speaking to them again about the feasts they are to keep and the laws they are to follow. God prepares them for how they are to come into the land. He tells them exactly what is going to happen when they enter the land and how they are to divide the land by lot among all the tribes. He explains how that inheritance is to be kept among the tribes.

Chapters 26 through 36 of Numbers depict God reorganizing His nation and preparing them for blessing. They are right there, looking across the Jordan River at the city of Jericho. It is very near the time of Moses' death. Moses is 120 years old at this point in time; he is very old and approaching the end of his life. The leadership of the nation is going to be handed over from Moses to Joshua, Moses' minister.

In Scripture, Moses is a picture of the law, and the law is holy, just, and good. Romans chapter 7, verse 12 tells us that there is nothing wrong with the law. The problem lies with us, which the law does a really good job of exposing. Sometimes we think the law is bad because it shows us our sinfulness. No, the law is holy, just, and good. Moses was a picture of the law, but the law cannot bring you into the life of blessing and victory; only Joshua can.

You may know that the name Joshua is the same name given to our Lord. His Hebrew name is Yehoshua, which means "the Lord is salvation." If you bring that over into the Greek language and ultimately into our language...

Then we get Jesus, but His name was Joshua. As we're going to see when we get into Deuteronomy and the book of Joshua, God brings His people into the land of victory, which the law could never take them into. However, it's going to be a step of faith.

When we get into Deuteronomy next week, we will see the second statement of the law. God speaks His law a second time to a new generation. The old generation has passed away because of their unbelief; every single one of them fell in the wilderness. The new generation is organized and ready to go into the promised land. Before they enter, God speaks to them once again about holiness. In the book of Deuteronomy, He instructs them on how they are to live and be His priests to this world.

The book of Numbers has great application for us because of the work of sanctification taking place in it, as well as the work of sanctification that occurs in my life and your life every single day. Ultimately, God wants to take us out of the wilderness and bring us into the land of life and rest—the land of victorious Christian living. We will be there in a couple of weeks, and hopefully, every single one of us is entering into that life in our Christian walk and experience right now.

Would you stand with me and pray? God, we do thank You for the truth of Your Word, and I pray that You would apply these things to our hearts. Lord, I thank You that You have brought us out of the world, out of Egypt—the work that we could never do in and of our own strength. If we find ourselves today in the wilderness, where it seems like it's a dry time, a hot time, going through trials, and we keep falling down and failing, I pray that You would help us to come into that life and walk in the Spirit.

As we see next week and the week after when we get into Joshua, and as we consider Romans chapter 8, Lord, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the things of the flesh but after the Spirit. Lord, teach us to walk after Your Spirit and have the fruitfulness of Your Spirit in our lives, to eat the good of the land. For we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen.

Can he have to come off or know that can? Or like, even you can?