Grumbling Against God

Transcript

GRS 2-29
03/12/2006
Grumbling Against God
Numbers 9-12
Gil Rugh

We are in the Book of Numbers together; Numbers in the 9th Chapter. God has delivered miraculously his people from bondage in Egypt. They have traveled to Mount Sinai, and they have spent about a year; a little over ten months actually at Mount Sinai. We are preparing for the march from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea and the exploration by the scout team if you will of the promise land, which will turn out disastrously.

We are in a section from Chapter 7 verse 1 really to Chapter 9 verse 15 that details events that took place before the First Chapter of the Book of Numbers; before the census was taken. So really what’s happening from Exodus Chapter 19, really till we get to the middle of Chapter 10; our events at Mount Sinai, and what he does in Chapter 7, 8, and 9 basically is review some matters and cover some things that took place before they actually took the census to mark out the number of the army in Israel.

Chapter 9 verse 1 opens up. Thus the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai; in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt. So if you compare Exodus Chapter 40 verse 17, you find that these instructions are given just after the completion of the Tabernacle, and just before the census that’s taken in Numbers Chapter 1. We’re wrapping up that digression that started in Chapter 7, with reviewing some of these matters.

We are going to have is a Passover. Remember Passover was celebrated in Egypt in anticipation of the Exodus, the angel of the Lord will come and slay the first-born and he passed over the houses of the Israelites, because they had slain the Passover lamb and put the blood on the doorway. And so God said, when I see the blood I will Passover you; and there is a feast associated with that.

Now in Chapter 9, we are going to have the celebration of the feast of Passover again, before they leave Mount Sinai. So verse 2 says; now, let the sons of Israel observe the Passover at its appointed time. So Moses verses 4, told the sons of Israel to observe the Passover. They observe the Passover in the first month on the 14th day of the month at twilight in the wilderness of Sinai. According to all the Lord had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did. Let me stop and think this is a momentous event. One commentator estimated that it would have taken at least 50,000 sacrificial lambs.

Remember we have estimated the population somewhere around 2 million from the population of Israel. That would have required somewhere around 50,000 lambs at his estimate or more for the celebration of a Passover rather a massive event. So thinking about this working in Numbers again this week; that it seems there is so much detail given and we have skipped over the last part of Exodus in the Book of Leviticus, because they don’t move the history along. But you realize when you have a nation now of 2 million people. And their life has to be ordered it could be generated the kiosk, and here you have Passover being observed and thousands of sacrificial animals being offered.

What verses 6 to 14 do is deal with the problem of those who may not have been able to observe Passover at its appointed time. That’s really what the main thrust of this section is on the Passover, to give added provision for those who may not be able to observe Passover, because they are unclean. Here the question comes up, because of some who had cuts to body, perhaps in the context of a funeral. But that rendered them unclean and unfit to observe Passover, where they’re going to have to wait another year, and then now with those who might be out of the area and not able to get back in time for Passover. So verses 6 to 14 tell you the provision; and basically the Passover could be observed one month later for those who were not able to observe it at its appointed time.

Now this is only a provision for those who had a legitimate reason, they were unclean or they were so far removed, which will become an issue obviously in coming years and down to its history. If you were so far out of hold and you couldn’t get back; there was that provision, it wasn’t just an optional time it wasn’t convenient for me, so I will do it next month. You have to have one of these valid reasons, then you were qualified for the special observance of Passover one month later than its normal time.

Verse 14 makes provision if an alien sojourns among you and observes the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so shall he shall do; you shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native. Now then alien was a non-Israelite who had settled among the Israelites; and he’s distinguished from a temporary visitor in Exodus Chapter 12 verse 45; the temporary visitors short term visitors were not eligible for Passover.

But here you have non Israelites who have really become part of the Israelite community; perhaps even going so far is observe circumcision and so on. So they are resident aliens if you will. So there is a difference made and you compare this with Exodus 12; those visitors short term visitors if you will, were not eligible for Passover. But non Israelites would become part if you will of the Israelite family and nation, they were eligible to part take of all the privileges of Passover.

With verses 15 to 23, you have how Israel is going to be led. So now we are on track if you will, for the removal from Sinai to continue the journey to the promise land. And how will Israel, nowhere to go; what it will be their directions and very simply God is going to lead them by a cloud. Verse 15; now on the day that the Tabernacle was erected, the cloud covered the Tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the Tabernacle, until morning. So it was continuously; the cloud would cover it by day, the appearance of fire by night. This was a visible indication of the presence of God in the midst of his people; the cloud by day, the fire by night. So the Israelites had this constant reminder that God is present among us as his people.

This kingdom he known as the Shekinah and we talk about the Shekinah Glory comes from Hebrew word that means to dwell. So this is the dwelling glory and it's the dwelling presence if you will, manifest presence of God among his people. So verse 17, when the cloud was lifted from over the tent afterwards the sons of Israel would set out in the place where the cloud settled down there the sons of Israel would camp.

And verse 19 even when the cloud lingered over the Tabernacle for many days the sons of Israel would keep the Lord’s charge and not set out; if sometimes the cloud remained a few days over the Tabernacle according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp. Verse 21 if sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning, when the cloud was lifted in the morning that moves out. Verse 22, whether it was two days among three years, you moved when the cloud moved, you stay camped when the cloud stayed residence in one place over the Tabernacle.

Both these pictures here the cloud and the Passover are anticipatory of Jesus Christ will be the ultimate fulfillment. And remember when the John the Baptist introduced Jesus Christ to the nation in John Chapter 1 verse 29; he said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And if you remember in First Corinthians Chapter 5 verse 7, Paul says Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. So the Passover lamb, God’s provision not only for the sins of Israel now, but for the sins of the world has been sacrificed; that’s Jesus Christ. So we are spared the penalty for our sin; he is God’s Passover lamb.

In Numbers Chapter 9 verse 12, concerning the Passover lamb; they shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break a bone of it; according to all the statute of the Passover they shall observe and you remember when Jesus Christ was on the cross in John 19 and they came to break the legs of those being crucified to hasten their death, because remember when they were crucified ultimately death came by supplication over a period of time, when with the passing of the hours and the days; the men could no longer raise themselves up to take another breath, they would break the legs and that would hasten their death.

When they came to Christ they didn’t break his legs because he had already died, and the soldier ran the spirit into the side to be sure of the death. But the picture is very crucial seems like a passing reference while they didn’t break his legs, because he was already dead but as crucial is fulfilling the exact detail of the type of the Passover lamb, they could not break any bones. And when Jesus Christ the Passover lamb was slain, no bones were broken.

Remember when John wrote in his Gospel in Chapter 1, we started out in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. And you come to verse 14, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And that word dwelt is literally Tabernacle. The word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we be held his glory, glory as of with only begun of the father. Fulfillment here the Old Testament, visible indication of the glorious presence of God; Jesus Christ was God become flesh. And so his glory tabernacled among us; and ties very clearly to the glory manifest in the presence of God in the midst of Israel. Now he is personally present on earth as the Gospel of John opens.

We come to Chapter 10 of Numbers, and we are finally ready to depart from Sinai, and that’s the key event, won’t start in Chapter until verse 11 of Chapter 10; the first 10 verses give instructions regarding the making of two silver trumpets. And these trumpets will be used to sound the instruction if you will, the call to move out from Sinai. So naturally you have to have the instructions regarding the making of these trumpets and they will be used to summon the congregation and to break camp and move out. They will also be used to call Israel to announce to the various festivals, announcing the arrivals of the different festivals; down in verse 10.

So we have the instructions in first 10 verses for the making of these trumpets and told what they will be used for, and key to what is going to take in verse 11 and following is they will be used to sound throughout the camp of Israel that it's time for Israel, now to break camp and move out. And this has to be an exciting time for Israel. They have spent verse 11, now in the second year in the second month on the 12th of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the Tabernacle of the testimony, and the sons of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai.

It's been almost a year. You compare this with Exodus Chapter 19 verse 1, and it was 10 months 19 days after the arrival at Sinai; that they break camp and move out. And if you compare this with the first verse of Numbers, you find out its 19 days after they took the census to determine the size of Israel’s army. So now after 10 months and 19 days camped at Mount Sinai and they are ready to move toward the promise land; and it has to be an exciting time. Think of the things that have happened here in those 10 months, the giving of the law and the manifesting of the presence of God. And you think about this supernatural manifestation of God’s presence; and now the cloud is moving; indication that God is moving his people out and he’s present with them if you will in their move.

Verse 12 gives a summary; it says then the clouds settled down in the wilderness of Paran. We are not going to trace their journey now. Well we get over to Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 we will find out there were a couple of stops before they got to Paran. So we just have a highlight here, the clouds moved out and settled down the wilderness of Paran. Now it had indicated to them and settled down in two previous places. So we are just giving a highlight. Like you might do on a trip; you say where did you go, well we went here and then we’re here for the day, but you didn’t you stop two places; yeah we did, but you know I didn’t bother mentioning them right now.

So we do get summaries like this. The cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran and the wilderness of Paran is a rather barren stretch. And if you look on a map they will mark it out, it's you know on the Sinai Peninsula that comes down and one of the future studies will put a map up and locate Israel. The wilderness of Paran is that northern part of the Sinai Peninsula; now the Israel camps.

So they moved out for the first time according to the commandment of the Lord through Moses. And their instructions for how they are to move had been given in Chapter 2, and so you have that laid out here. Beginning in verse 14, the order and you realize the importance, you know you were through all that earlier in Numbers and you will say, well I mean it sort of uninteresting to me, but you realize you are going to move 2 million plus people with some kind of order and you have got all ages here from young babies to the elderly and then live stocking everything. You will appreciate the fact that God gave a prescribed order. So and everyone would know where they were to be in the march, who went first, who went second, who went third and so on. So that is they move out there can be orderly precession.

Down to verse 29; then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses father-in-law. So Moses now is speaking to his brother-in-law Hobab or Hobab. We are setting out to the place which the Lord said, I will give it to you. Come with us and we will do you good for the Lord has promised good concerning Israel. Moses wants his brother-in-law to go along. His brother-in-law is reluctant to do that says; I think I am going to stay here in my home land. Moses tells him we need you. You are well familiar with the area we have to go through and you will be a great help. And Hobab is going to go with him and make the journey to the promise land with them.

You should turn over to Judges Chapter 4. You know some times the details of the Old Testament we don’t think about them until you or even perhaps doing the study on it. Then you say and these things don’t match up. In Numbers Chapter 10, Hobab is called the son of Moses father-in-law; in other word Moses wife’s brother, his brother-in-law. But when you get to Judges Chapter 4 verse 11; we will talk about Heber the Kenite had separate themselves from the Kenites from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses.

So wait a minute, Hobab was the brother-in-law of Moses, not the father-in-law and that’s just a poor translation; the word translated father-in-law in judges 4:11 just means an in-law and should be translated brother-in-law in light of Numbers not father-in-law, a minor thing, but sometimes if you read this and say, no this is confusing and the names get confused; sometimes we can sort that out; sometimes we are not sure what the answer is, but that’s the answer. There the word translated father-in-law in Judges just as the word Hebrew word that means in-law and the context after determine what kind of in-law, you are talking about brother-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law and that we know from Numbers, it's a brother-in-law.

Alright look at verse 32, back in Numbers Chapter 10. And we could have checked Judges Chapter 1 verse 16 and that tells you that Hobab was with them even in Judges Chapter 1, and his descendants that they had gone with Moses according to his request. Down to verse 35, then he came about when the ark set out that Moses said, rise up O Lord; let your enemies be scattered, let those who hate you flee before you, when it came to rest, he said return, O Lord, to the myriad thousands of Israel. So the picture here is God with his people. He leads them out and the enemies of Israel will have no chance, because those who hate God will flee before him, because remember these are God’s people; so the enemies of Israel are the enemies of God, and when Israel stops to camp, God camps with them and thus is their security as well.

Great resounding end to Chapter 10 as we have it; sadly, the coming chapters do not go well. Chapter 11 there is trouble, chapter 12 there is trouble, chapter 13 there is real trouble, because we are at the events of Kadesh-barnea, and then chapter 14 sad accounts of what happens in Israel. Chapter 11 we are going to have the people grumbling and complaining. Chapter 12 there is going to be a challenge from within the family to Moses leadership, from his brother and sister. Chapter 13 and 14 the count of the spies and the rebellion of Israel, because of the report of the spies; so sad section here that’s going to read result in the forty years’ wilderness wandering; another 39 years of wandering, Israel is not going to make it into the promise land for many years into generation. Here twenty years old an upward and not going to make it, because of repeated sin.

Chapter 11 verse 1; now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord, which was some of the things we have related to our studies in Corinthians. The people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord; serious matter complained of adversity, and there is real adversity. You think about you have got a family, you have got young children, babies to take care of, you have got grandparents and great grandparents to take care of, you have got to get them all together and travel, you have got to get all the livestock to travel, you are in a wilderness regions that’s not the kind of place that’s supports people things just don’t go well. People get sick, people are whatever; and they are complaining about the trials, and God takes it personally.

Though when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled in the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumes some of the outskirts of the camp. The people therefore cried out to Moses and Moses pray to the Lord and the fire died out. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them; serious matter. You know what’s to complain about; Lord the Lord is present with us, if you have any doubt look there is the cloud; at night look there is the fire His presence is with us, there are difficulties, there are trials, but it's enough to know He is with us; no it's not enough.

I mean think about it. Have you ever complained Christian? I mean the Spirit of God dwells in you. I mean that’s even closer than the Israelite had in. What’s to complain about, He said I will never leave you or forsake you; what’s to complain about. You know I look at Israel and get disgusted with them. You know I look at myself and get disgusted with me I guess.

You know Moses is a giant of the man spiritually that’s God’s testimony concerning him, and that’s the manifestation of his character. I have to say like still find myself thinking of, but me I did just stood back and let a few of them get burned up, because they deserve it; deal was grumbling complaining people, but Moses cried out to the Lord on their behalf and the Lord is gracious and response and the fire burns out.

And verse 4, they learn their lesson. You know the rabbles who were among them had greedy desires and also the sons of Israel wept. So verses 4 to 9, they are not going to complain now about the adversity; they are going to complain about the food. The food and water had been an issue before back in Number; Exodus Chapter 15, 16, 17 into the first part of 17, they complained about lack of water, lack of food. The rabble here would be the non-Israelites. Remember there were non Israelites who joined Israel in their Exodus from Egypt.

Chapter 12 of Exodus verse 38, talks about a mix multitude, non-Israelites that joined Israelites. So here you have the rabble the non-Israelites, Egyptians thinking about how good it was back home and the Israelites joined them also the sons of Israel wept again and said in verse 4, who will give us meat to eat. We remember the fish we used to eat free in Egypt; not the way that first Chapters of Exodus read is it, they were slaves. I mean their lives were hard, but now it's free food I remember the cucumbers, the melons, the leaks, the onions, the garlic; I mean all this good stuffy.

I know Merlyn’s mouth is watering. I mean it just, you know what I think you remember how good it was and now our appetites gone. There is nothing at all to look at, but this manna, manna, manna, manna, manna for breakfast, manna for lunch, manna for dinner manna, manna, manna, all for a good Egyptian melon. The manna was first given in Exodus Chapter 16 in the context of people grumbling about food, complaining about needing food on God’s gracious provision. But now we are tired of what God has provided, don’t we quickly grow tired of God’s blessings; and you know the passing of time somehow there is blessings aren’t good enough blessings anymore; and what I would thank them before; now I complain about grumble, grumble, grumble. So we described the manna now and it was described before when manna was given.

Verse 7 what it was like and how it's prepared; and when it came in verses 7, 8, and 9. Verse 10, now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their family, each man at the doorway of his tent. You know this content spreads don’t it, some things don’t change; grumblers draw more people to grumble. You know so here where did they do their grumbling on their pillow at night, husband and wife and now they stand in the doorway of the tent, oh more manna. I don’t think I can take another mouthful of manna. Well, your tent door next door # got two manna, oh man you are right. I am sort of sick of it to, oh what you got, oh your manna, you know we don’t have manna, pretty soon you got to go in all over grumble, grumble and grumble about manna.

You know the first time they saw manna were remarkable, marvelous, supernatural provision of God. Now it's land manna; and when you think about what you had in Egypt in verse 5 and compare that with just manna. I haven’t been feeling good the last couple of days, my stomach is upset. So I had oat bran for breakfast yesterday. I had oat bran for lunch yesterday. I had oat bran for dinner; and I got up today and I had oat bran for breakfast; and I had oat bran for lunch and I am going to have oat bran for my snack tonight. I don’t know how many days I can do oat bran. You know if I think well if you did this now, you know for months and months and months you say you know I remember how good the food was we had; remember when we had fish and chicken, stake and vegetables and that’s what they are going through.

Bad thing when God’s people complain God takes it personally, because every complain is ultimately a complaint against God. I am dissatisfied with what he is doing in my life. So the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; and Moses was displeased. I mean Moses is frustrated. Here we are, we are not even a year into the trip; and he has got a handful 2 million plus grumblers on his hands.

So he says; Moses said to the Lord, why have you been so hard on your servant referring to himself; why have I not found favor in your sight that you have laid the burden of all this people on me; was that I who conceived all this people; was that I who brought them forth that you should say to me carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which you swore to their fathers where am I to get meat to give to all this people, for they weep before me, saying, give us meat that we may eat. I am alone and not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me. So if you are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in your sight, do not let me see my wretchedness, I am overwhelmed.

Here you have the godly man Moses just saying Lord, I can't take it; in that good to Lord doesn’t show us the future; Moses doesn’t know; he’s got 40 years of this. We just about one year into the trip, Lord I can't take it. I just; it's going to be like this, just take my life now and let me get it over with. God’s response to Moses is very gracious and understanding. Psalm 103 verse 13 and 14 says the Lord is kind in gracious and he remembers our frame that we are but dust.

So he is not just waiting to you know punish his people anytime they get exhausted or frustrated or warned out; and he deals graciously with Moses, because God if you will is frustrated with Israel. He is greatly angered by them; and so God can understand something of Moses to spare in dealing with such a people. So first thing he is going to do is tell Moses the provision he has for him. God said to Moses; gather for me seventy men from the elders of Israel whom you know to be the elders of the people and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there.

Now in Exodus 24 verse 9 Moses father-in-law Reuel had told him to gather seventy people; whether these are the same seventy; that we don’t know. But here God does tell him that he will enable these seventy men to share the responsibility. Verse 17; then I will come down and speak with you there. Now note this important; I will take of the spirit who is upon you and will put him upon them and but I want you to know Moses had everything he needed to take care of these people, because what God is going to do is take that portion of the spirit that he had placed on Moses and divide it out among the seventy.

You don’t need more of the spirit that God had provided, but God will provide seventy human instruments. They shall bear the burden of the people with you. So that you will not bear it alone; they are going to share that spirit that had been upon Moses alone, but there were official resources for Moses or God’s is going to do is take the spirit that’s upon Moses and divide that among the seventy; you don’t need more spirit. And he is going to graciously give human leaders to share the burden with Moses. But the resources Moses had, had been sufficient. God says, I am going to take the spirit that is upon you and divide it up among the seventy. So they will share it with you. So it's a gracious response to Moses frustration and despair if you will.

Then say to the people and here is the response to their desire for food, consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, oh that someone would give us meat to eat, for we were well-off in Egypt. Therefore, the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. And I am telling you are going to eat it until it comes out of your nose. You shall eat not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month until it comes out your nostrils. That wasn’t exaggerating and becomes loathsome to you.

You are going to be sick of meat. Note the reason; you should have it underlined or highlighted, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you. That’s a serious matter. These complain is really a rejection of the Lord and his plan, his glorious deliverance. Remember it was they’re weeping and crying out for deliverance that brought his intervention. And Exodus out of the slavery in Egypt, now they are saying, we hate this manna that he is provided; we wish we had stayed in Egypt and God says it is a personal rejection of him.

Moses can't believe it. Now there is a problem; we have 2 million people here and you are telling me you are going to give them so much food over, so much meat over the next month; and this is going to be coming out their noses, would say; you know we use the expression until it comes out your ears. Moses said in verse 21; the people among whom I am are 600,000 on foot and remember those are the men twenty years old and upward who are able to go to war doesn’t include women, children and so on Levites, so where we get to 2 million plus figure.

You have said I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month, should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them, should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them. I mean the Lord is not denying, maybe he is trying to make you know like we do; let the Lord know that he may be in a tight spot, don’t get yourself out on limb; here we are in the wilderness of Sinai, wilderness not productive, all we have it our hearts, they are not enough meat in our hearts to feed everybody every day for a month here; what are we going to do, this is not a realistic threat if you will, the lone promise.

Verse 23, a general rebuke the Lord said to Moses, is the Lord’s power limited. Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not. Beautiful passage; I mean just in a position; I just do not see how the Lord could work it out; is my power limited. I mean my word has to be as I say it will be. So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He gathered seventy men of the elders of Israel, station them around the tent, the Lord came down in the cloud spoke to him, he took of the spirit who was upon him, place them upon on the seventy elders, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, they did not do it again.

They are not going to be elevated to the level of Moses. The spirit is upon Moses going to be divided among them so they can aid Moses in his assistance. They will prophesy here as a manifestation in an evidence that they have been empowered by God for their service. But after that they don’t prophesy. Moses will still be being God’s spokesman to the elders and to the people.

Alright, two men remained in the camp and the spirit rested on them and you have some instructions here. They prophecy and Joshua who becomes key in taking the leadership at of Moses wants to know he should restrain them; Moses said no. And it's just an evidence of the Lords working in this particular occasion. Now we are going to get the meat verse 31, they went forth a wind from the Lord and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp about two cubits deep.

So that’s about a yard; cubit being about 18 inches and your margin probably notes that they measure it from the elbow down hand. So you have got meat everywhere; and you just go out and help yourself. Look at that they don’t have to do anything, just go out and pick it up. They don’t have to go hunting, the wind blows it up and it just drop there; and so the people can go get the meat.

Verse 32, the people spent all day and all night and all the next day, and they gathered quail; he who gathered least gathered ten or eleven homers. That would be somewhere of 60 plus bushels depends on some of these numbers measurements are hard for us to determine the amount, by the margin in my bible says, one homer list equals about 11 bushels; that will be about a 110 bushels, each gathered another one resource I checked 10 homers is about 60 bushels; whatever we have got a lot of meat available.

While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people. The Lord struck the people with a very severe plague, great catastrophe here. You know Philippians Chapter 3 verse 19; talks about the enemies of Christ, whose God is their appetite, whose God is their belly. Here you see the crassness of Israel, consumed by their own selfish appetite and it brings the judgment of God; and a plague comes through the people; and we think well lesson learned.

Now we come to Chapter 12, and you know what; two people so close to Moses now turn against him; his own brother and sister, and question his qualifications they were leaders to be leader. I mean you just go from one problem to another that dealt anybody ever learn. Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman.

This is a serious challenge. I mean he realized now how will this impact the nation. I mean if his own brother and sister, his brother Aaron is the high priest and his sister Miriam; according to Exodus 15 verses 20 following is a prophetess, and they have lost confidence in Moses; and he married a Cushite woman and he shouldn’t have done that; and that indicates his lack of the spiritual qualification. You realize you have got a potential here for disaster.

And so their challenge is verse 2, has the Lord spoken only through Moses I think not spoken through us as well, then here is the complain about Moses, but you get these statements we saw them in the previous Chapter well and the Lord heard it. You know I have to remind that the Lord listened into everything I say. The Lord heard it that’s an indication it's not good here for them.

Then this is an attack on the leader that God has appointed. We don’t know anything about this Cushite woman, is this Zipporah his wife. If you read the # we are not going to try to trace it down, because then you got to you know which group of Cushites people noted Cushites could just be and could just be another reference that would refer to a Midianite is this is the second marriage, has Zipporah died, don’t know the details. In fact is she is a non-Israelite and that would have been true if his first of Zipporah as well. So whoever this is they are challenging Moses for who he married.

God evidently doesn’t have a problem with it. Miriam does and Aaron does; when they challenge Moses leadership they challenge God. And so God intervenes; he leave the word suddenly, suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam. Now here are two people, who have committed a serious offense before God; and they are people that God speaks to. I mean we need to be very careful. You know we might think why, we can be used of the Lord and blessed of the Lord and we are not careful. We can be guilty of serious offense against the Lord.

The Lord suddenly speaks to all three, not just to Moses, but the Moses Aaron and Miriam. You three come out to the tent of meeting. So the three of them came out, rather striking scene here; and I wonder what Miriam and Aaron are thinking. Maybe now that God is going to set Moses straight; we don’t know, because God doesn’t ask them what they think. He tells them verse 5, the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; and stood at the doorway of the tent, he called Aaron and Miriam. When they came forward he said, hear now my words; if there is a prophet among you, I the Lord shall make myself known to him in visions, and I shall speak with him in dream. Not so with my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my household. With him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly and not in dark sayings. He beholds the form of the Lord; why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant against Moses.

So the anger of the Lord burned against them and he departed. This is a serious matter; I’d selected Moses and Moses is unique. I want to give a message to a prophet or a prophetess I do it in his dream or vision. I want to talk to Moses; I just sit down with him and have a face to face if you will conversation. This brings us into matters that we can go off to talk about as well. But God had a personal face to face conversation with Moses. He didn’t do that with anyone else and with that, why weren’t you afraid to speak against him? I mean who are you; it's a question my judgment on this matter to rebel against Moses that I have appointed.

When the cloud had withdrawn over the tent, Miriam was leprous as white as snow. Now there is no judgment on Aaron; we are not told why and I don’t know why. Now perhaps it's because he is high priest, and that would have disqualified him. Perhaps Miriam led the way and as we don’t know; seems like Aaron gets away with things. Now back in Exodus the golden calf, you know I don’t know the people you know what these people are like and they gave me their gold and I threw it in the fire; now came at calf, what a story. But you know he doesn’t get # in the plague; I don’t know.

You know so, but here he comes out again, but Miriam is leprous; and that is a great tragedy, because she will be young clean in Israel now, she is walking death; and she has to be excluded from the camp and outcast, excluded in every way. Aaron said to Moses; O my Lord I beg you do not account this sin to us in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb.

I mean Aaron now intercedes with to Moses on behalf of Miriam with Moses; realizing the Moses is the one who can go before the Lord and perhaps have this judgment lifted, otherwise there is no future for Miriam. And God’s judgment here brings an immediate recognition of the seriousness of their sin both to Miriam obviously and to Aaron.

Moses is a gracious men. There is one thing to pray for people that you love that care about you, it's another thing to pray for people that have caused you great pain and difficulty. And you know you don’t find Moses being that way although he can be very stern. So Moses cries to the Lord and say; oh God heal her I pray. The Lord said to Moses; if her father had but spit in her face, she would not, would she not bear a shame for seven days, I mean you have been unclean for seven days. Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again. Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, the people did not move on until Miriam was received but the lesson to Israel; we are part why, Miriam shut up; she been judged of God, we have to wait until she is clean again afterwards the people moved out.

You know how gracious God is; and you would think that would prepare the way for the events of Chapters 13 and 14. That their learning from the events that happened in the Book of Exodus and they are grumbling and complaining; and now in Numbers and they see the manifest presence in his response to their complaining and their grumbling. They just need to submit to him. But they are going to step over the line, when we get to Chapters 13 and 14 and will cost an entire generation their lives, cost an entire generation the privilege of going into the promise land.

And you know it's like Aaron I can't tell you why he didn’t get judged the same way for his action as someone else did. We need to be very careful about thinking we can do some things and all it will be alright we get away. Here the people grumbled. Here they rebelled. Here they reject the Lord and judgment comes, but they move on. But their action in Chapters 13 and 14; they can't move on, they have to die for it, they forfeit the privilege of the promise land; the discipline of the Lord is severe.

And the New Testament tells us we have these things to learn. We are going to get to in Corinthians someday. But these things are written and that we should learn not to be grumblers, not to be complainers; isn’t that amazing that one of the major problems in the church of Jesus Christ today is grumbling and complaining. You think of one thing you would not find among God’s people after all the history lessons we have is, there will be no grumblers and complainers about among God’s people grumble, grumble, grumble, complain, complain, complain.

We said we haven’t learned anything. We are worse than Israel, because we got all this to learn from and yet we find it quick to complain, I wouldn’t complain against the Lord, but I am not complaining against the Lord I am complaining about this, I am complaining about that; and I find myself I have to be careful.

Lord you are at work and I need to appreciate what you are doing and accept what you do even it's not what I would like, and I don’t want to live in the past; appreciate on mother one day I have learned lessons from you and my parents as you do from yours; and my mother says you know we don’t want to live in the past, she came to house one day and she says you know all the pictures we have are laid out in the table in there, you can go pick up whatever you want, because we are throwing away the rest, because we are not going to live in the past. So I went and picked up the pictures of it; what’s the pictures for they live in the past, I don’t want to live in the past it doesn’t mean you can’t have pictures of your kids.

You know I don’t want to remember how it was; I don’t want to live in the glory days of what it was like when. I want to appreciate what God did in my past, but I am living today. I want to appreciate what God is doing today and I don’t want to compare what he is doing today and say, O I wish he did what he did then. I realize the older I get the more danger that can be for me to remember how glorious it was when; and these are the days that now I am walking with the Lord.

Lord what I want to do is remember your goodness and your grace and your greatness; as manifest to me in my past days, and to realize you are the same God today. And I want to appreciate the greatness of your grace and your goodness and to realize; and again today that your purpose for me is perfect and right, and I am not less in your will today even if it is less pleasant than I was yesterday; and that will be true from I tomorrow.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for great grace. Thank you for the lessons you have recorded in the lives of your people Israel. And Lord it's easy for us to sit and look at these accounts and shake our head and be amazed that how people could be so stubborn, so hardhearted; should be confronted with the reality of the presence of the living God and have the nerve to complain to chafe against your perfect will, which is only for good for them.

Lord, yet we have received such great blessings; pray that above all we would not be a complaining people; that we would not reject you and your perfect will for us. That we would not slide into the trap of living in yesterday and trying to make yesterday glorious and today something unbearable. You are the same God today as you were yesterday and you will be tomorrow, and your grace is great today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow. And we are privileged as your people to walk in your care today as you prepare for tomorrow; and we take these lessons to heart that we might be more the people that honor you as you deserve to be honored. We pray in Christ’s name, amen.