Month: January 2023

Numbers 21:4-5 And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edomite: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses. Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

Complaining and blaming became a way of life for Israel in the wilderness as their response to the problems of living in a sinful world. Life is hard and the way is difficult. The threat of death always looms, and there is never enough money and we are bored with, and loathe, the manna gifts we have received.

Because of Sin, our sin, death reigns, the world tempts, and the devil prowls all around us on our wilderness journey on earth on the way to the Land. This makes life difficult with the threat of death and loss ever present. Therefore, we get discouraged (translated impatient) because of the way. Impatience with the problems of the way cause us the speak against God and ask Why (wherefore). The “Why?” is not a sincere question, but it is really an accusation of God, an argument that He is not right. We are saying that God, not our sin, is the cause. This is sin, rebellion, and unbelief.

Then God sent poisonous serpents among the people, and many died. It is a serious matter to speak against God and question Him. A better response is to repent and believe the gospel, and to trust the Lord to fulfill His promise and to take care of us.

Numbers 20:12 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

Moses was commanded to speak to the rock to bring forth water, but instead he hit the rock twice with his staff. This was regarded by God as unbelief and disobedience. Perhaps Moses was angry, or perhaps he thought this way had worked before so he would do it again. Whatever the reason, it was still Moses doing what he thought best, not what God said. The means is not a magic technique, but power is in the Word.

The Lord said that Moses dis not sanctify Him, which He defined as not believing. Believing God is setting Him apart and making Him Holy in our life. This is why we need to pray, “Hallowed be Thy name.” The Spirit helps us not to do “what seems right in our own eyes,” for “There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

How does one sanctify the Lord, or hallow the Name? God answers: believe! Faith leads to obedience. How does one believe? Hearing the Gospel, the word of Christ! The Gospel is the power the Holy Spirit uses to create and grow faith. Then we ask the Lord to make His name holy among us, by believing His Word and living according to it. Blessing results.

Moses suffered the consequences of disbelief: he was not permitted to enter the Promised Land, because he did not sanctify the Lord, that is, believe Him.

Numbers 20:2-3 And there was no water for the congregation; and they gathered themselves against Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode (contended) with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord.

When Israel came to Kadesh in the desert of Zin there was no water for the people once again. And now once again Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, which amounts to blaming God. They complained against the human instrument God used to deliver them. Someone must be at fault for the predicament (no water) they were in, and ultimately that would be God. The rebellious sinners could not believe God when things go bad, but they can blame Him.

Someone said: “God probably gets more blame than credit.” The natural human response to trouble and bad things is to blame God, for we think He should do for me what we want. Humans think God could do something, but if He doesn’t then He is at fault. Why do bad things happen?

Israel’s reaction was almost a death wish: “Would God that we had died.” Things must be bad when the sufferer would rather be dead. Thirst can do that. But in our lives little troubles can seem like big deals: “My life is over. Where is God?”

In this instance, Moses and Aaron responded differently: they fell on their faces. God heard their repentance and intercession. He brought water out of the rock. We have the same choice of responses: we may complain and blame, or we may pray and believe. God is gracious. He responded to Moses’ prayer. Next time when I want to complain I will pray. “Do not be anxious, but by prayer with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God [Philippians 4:6].”

Numbers 19:13 Whosoever touches the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifies not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.

Touching a dead body defiles a person so that he may not come into the presence (tabernacle) of the Lord or live among the holy community. Of course, dead bodies had to be taken care of, so God made a provision for such people to be cleansed: they must be sprinkled with the water of separation. The water of separation, which is a purification from sin, comes from the ashes of a red heifer without blemish. The red heifer was burned with hyssop, cedar wood, and scarlet. This water was then used to purify, to make clean, the one who had been defiled.

To the NT believer, the significance of the ashes of a red heifer ritual is obvious: the Crucified Christ is the sacrifice that purifies from defilement and cleanses from sin. The emphasis on red points to the Gospel Truth: “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Jesus is the sacrificed red heifer who by his shed blood makes the water of separation that separates us from the horrible defilement of sin and from its consequence, death. Death is so terrible, it must be fought against at all costs; Jesus wins the victory.

The whole picture of the ritual makes graphically clear for us what Jesus really did for us: He cleansed us from defilement as sinners deserving death, purified us with His blood to make us holy, gave life in place of death, and took away our sin to make us holy. The whole Mosaic Law makes us aware of how awful is our sin and how horrific is our death, so that we might the more appreciate the Gospel of Christ. Faith in Jesus deeply loves God.

Numbers 18:1, 23 And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood….But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity.

The Lord set aside the tribe of Levi to do the service of the tabernacle. They were to have no land of their own, but dwell in certain cities. And out of the tribe of Levi the Lord called only Aaron and his descendants to serve as priests. The Levites and the priests were called to respond to the Lord by serving Him and the worship of God. They served God (who needs no service) by serving people (who need service). The function of the Priest is to bring the people to God. The function of the Levite was to do all the support work so that the priest could function. The function of the people is to support the priestly service with their tithes.

The phrase, bear the iniquity, means to be responsible for the guilt. The priest takes the guilt of the sinner upon himself, makes the sacrifice, and brings it before God on behalf of the worshipper. In this way the priest acts as intermediary between the sinner and a holy God, bringing the two together. Jesus Christ is the great, definitive, and final High Priest, who bears our guilt on Himself and takes it away.

Our response, as Levites, is to do everything we can to support this vital ministry in our church. Our response, as priests, is to pray for others, to be forgiven, and to forgive: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive…” We respond to Grace by becoming a priesthood of all believers, praying and forgiving.

Numbers 16:46-47 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them; for their is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and the plague was begun among the people:: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.

After the judgment upon Koran’s rebellion the people once again murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “Ye have killed the people of the Lord.” Then the glory of the Lord appeared on the tabernacle as His wrath was about to consume the rebellious people with a plague. Moses’ response was to intercede and plead for forgiveness, thereby appeasing the Wrath and staying the plague.

Moses commanded Aaron to take fire from the altar with incense, take it among the congregation, and make atonement for the people. This he did. Wrath was appeased and the plague was stayed. Moses’ and Aaron’s response was not to try to change behavior to appease God, but instead they prayed (used incense) for forgiveness and reconciliation, pleading with the Blood of Jesus (the sacrificial altar).

This same kind of intercessory prayer is used by NT Christian believers: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The prayer is in Jesus’ name, that is, we bring the plea from off the altar, which is the blood of Christ on the cross. God sees the sacrifice of His Son, forgives the sin for Jesus’ sake, and stays the plague.

We respond like Moses and exercise the ministry of reconciliation. I Corinthians 5:19: “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself…and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” Atonement is reconciling, or bringing humans back together with God again after sin separated us. Making atonement, reconciling, praying forgiveness, and pleading the blood is our response to broken relationships with God and others. We make At One (at-one-ment).

Numbers 16:30 But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.

Moses is convincing the people that the Lord sent him to do these works; he did not make it up out of his own mind. “If these men die a common death, then God has not sent me. But if the Lord does a new thing, opens the earth, and it swallows them alive, then ye shall understand that God did send me and they provoked the Lord.” Sin is a serious matter. It causes death. Judgment is certain.

Catastrophe, Disaster, and Tragedy happen all the time. But we don’t and we can’t make the connection between sin and judgment. However, the Word of God connects our own sin to tragic events, and the Word makes us understand. The Word convicts us of our sin, whether we see terrible things happen or not. The Word and the Spirit brings understanding (conviction) of Sin and Grace, which leads to repentance, faith, and salvation.

Jesus referred to this truth in regard to tragedies like Pilate’s murdering and the tower falling when He said: “Repent, or you will likewise perish.” Let the Word help you make sense of Bad Things: I, too, am a sinner deserving judgment, but Jesus died for me, deserving for me grace and salvation!

Numbers 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly….And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

The rebellion of Koran, Dathan, and Abiram called forth a severe lesson for Israel, and for us. Because they rose up against God and His servants, the Lord sent an earthquake to a certain place and time to open up the earth and swallow just them and their families and followers. It surely seems overly severe, but the event would certainly leave an impression on Israel: rebellion is the opposite of submissive obedience. This is serious. Obedience arises out of faith in a good and faithful God; rebellion arises out of unbelief in a good God, and from pride, sin, and self-centeredness.

A holy, jealous God cannot tolerate any devotion, worship, love, or trust in anyone (or Self) other than God alone. Jesus is exclusive. A life lived out of love for self in place of love for God is rebellion. And it demands punishment: the earth should swallow us up. However, what we do not want to face up to is the truth that every little sin in thought, word, or deed is a rebellion that deserves death and eternal separation from God.

Therefore, we take every sin seriously, and we repent daily and confess weekly. If the Lord regards my little sins so severely, so should I. Then the joy of forgiveness really means something.

Numbers 15:39-40 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a-whoring: that ye may remember to do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.

The people were to respond to the Lord’s Covenant of Salvation by making fringes of blue ribbons on the borders of their clothes. The purpose was that they would see it and be reminded of whom they belonged to, and remember all the Commandments of the Lord and do them.

The fringe itself had no inherent value or power, like a charm, but God gave it meaning: wear it as a reminder of Me. The distractions of the world are so prevalent and powerful that we will surely, not just likely, go whoring after the world’s gods. We should not be so pridefully arrogant that we don’t think we need reminders. We don’t need special clothing or cross jewelry, but we do need a regular dose of Word and Sacrament to remember our God, His grace, His salvation, and His presence. These constant gospel reminders effectively move us to do the Law and live a godly life.

In actual practice, a Christian may employ any physical object as a reminder of the Gospel Promise, who God is, and what He has done for us. And we go to church to keep on the path and not be led astray.

Numbers 15:25 And the priest make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance; and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their ignorance.

Provision was made by God for His people to remain in a holy and right relationship with the Lord. The priest would make atonement for sins done in ignorance, and all sin, and forgive them. We commit many sins that we are not even aware of, but we still bear the guilt for them. Jesus died for all sins, whether we can confess them or not. The people’s response to sin and guilt is to bring an offering, a sin offering before the Lord. God responds to the offering by accepting it; and so He accepts us, forgives us, and restores a right relationship.

The offering we bring is the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Actually, Jesus is both the Victim (the Lamb who was slain) and the Priest (the Sacrificer who slays the offering). It is He, Jesus Himself, who is the offering we bring before God every day and every week at the appointed times. It is Christ crucified who lives with us always and is constantly bringing His shed blood before the throne of God granting us 24/7 access to Grace. We bring Jesus as our sin offering before God in daily repentance and in weekly confession. We pray in Jesus’ name. We bring Jesus before God by faith while He brings us before God by grace. Thank God, His offering on our behalf avails for us every minute of every day.