The Book of Numbers

0:29 Like literally, I'll take you into my presence, give you a glimpse of me on my throne, just so you can see the power, just so you can see the holiness, just so you can see the seriousness of who I am. You'll see all of the angels, everything. You'll understand the security of being with me. But literally, you'll be in my presence in heaven for five minutes to start your day every day. I mean, can you imagine how that would change everything? Because you would see your future. You would see what matters. You would see things from God's perspective. Man, how different would our lives be if we knew every morning God would literally take us there into his presence? And we saw it. We felt it. We just got a taste of God, of our future, of his glory, and our future glory. imagine that that would change everything see that's the closest thing we can get i think are these times when we come before god alone every morning this is why this podcast exists this is all i want to do is encourage people to come into the presence of god Just clear your mind of everything else.

1:54 Just open up his word. Read his word. Get along with him. Get a taste of him. So that you can just erase everything else in this world and you would see things in their proper perspective. I think the best thing I can do during my time on earth is just encourage, push, draw, whatever. Just get people alone with God. and as you're enjoying his presence, I hope you're doing that with other people, just going, gosh, there is nothing like knowing him. There's nothing like being with him. The answer to all your problems isn't a better job, or fixing this relationship, or being healed of this sickness, or whatever it may be. The answer to everything is knowing him, and understanding the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, and being in his presence, and enjoying him above all things. Man, I have loved this reading of Scripture, as I say every week.

2:55 You know what I love about reading all of Scripture, how we're going verse by verse through every verse of the Bible this year? What I love about that totality is that it causes us to read those passages that are not popular. see if all we listened to were sermons and we didn't read the bible ourselves we would not read very many passages we would not hear from many chapters of the bible because there are certain passages that are just uncomfortable they're not the ones we like to dwell on or think about that's what was so beautiful about reading through leviticus you don't hear a lot of sermons about this. You don't hear a lot of people talking about it. Yet when you read it, when you're alone with God and you're reading it and you understand his holiness through it, man, it's such an impact. And this week, as we're reading through the book of Numbers, there were just certain passages that made me so uncomfortable. I just didn't, in the flesh, I just didn't like them. They're not the ones I would choose to dwell on. But all scripture is God-breathed. All scripture is useful. All scripture is necessary. And it all points us to this God. It's there for a reason. And this week, as we're reading through the book of Numbers, like I said, some of it is so uncomfortable because God sets himself apart. I mean, but so apart from us where we understand, okay, this is what holy means. He's different from us. He's set apart from us so he doesn't think like us. And so his commands, the seriousness of those, the promises, whatever he says is different than when other people speak. So it doesn't matter, even though I read these passages and I feel uncomfortable, and I read these passages and I go, wow, I think very differently from God. And in fact, I think all of my friends and the people

5:06 in the world certainly would look at some of the actions of God and almost, well, they would just say that's inappropriate. That's not right. But that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what I think, what I feel, what others say, because God is holy. His word has to be way beyond our thoughts and our feelings. And that's Romans 3 when he says, you know what, let God be true though every man a liar. Isaiah 55, he says, my thoughts aren't your thoughts. The way I do things is not the same way you do things. Okay, this is clear. He goes, as high as the heavens are above the earth, that's how high my thoughts are compared to yours. That's the way my ways are compared to your ways. I'm just way beyond you. And so there are things you're going to read that are completely opposite of how you would do it. You know why? Because my thoughts are that much higher than yours. And the way I do things is just different from you. That's why we read the Word of God. Otherwise, you just wake up in the morning and just go, let me just look within and see what I feel, see what I think.

6:18 There's no point in that. We read the Word of God because we know God is different from us. That's what it means that he is holy. He's different. He's not ordinary. He is holy. He is set apart and his word needs to be set apart.

6:38 In Numbers chapter 15, when he tells the people in their garments to put these tassels on their garments. And the reason he says in verse 39, he says, it shall be used. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do my commandments and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord, your God.

7:24 See, he says, don't follow after your heart. Don't follow after your eyes. And he says, and I know you're inclined to do that. He goes, every time you look at this tassel, may it be a reminder. Oh, forget what I think. Forget what I feel. What did God say? What do his commands say? Because I'm supposed to be holy to my God. And God reminds him, look, I am the Lord your God. You are not your own God. I am the Lord your God. And so when you're reading through the book of Numbers, like I said, here are the passages that were so uncomfortable as God is just explaining, look, you don't mess with my commands. I am very serious about my commands. And I hate it when people take my commands lightly. and in these passages you just see judgment after judgment after judgment why because God wants to show himself as holy God wants us to see that his commands are serious and don't think well this is Old Testament and God has changed we all know what God says about himself I'm the same I'm the same yesterday, today, forever. He hates sin just as much as he always has. That's why the cross was so devastating. That's why the cross was so intense. Why? Because his wrath was so intense and his hatred for sin and rebellion was so intense. But we get glimpses of this in Numbers, like in Numbers chapter 12 remember when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses you know God looks at them and he speaks to them in verse 7 of chapter 12 he goes he explains look I have all these prophets but with Moses man he's faithful in all my house with him I speak mouth to mouth clearly not in riddles

9:33 and he beholds the form of the Lord why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses and the anger of the Lord was kindled against them and he departed. And when the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous like snow. God was so angry. It says his anger was kindled against them. Why? Because they dared speak against Moses.

10:06 Look, we live in a time when it's like, man, I can say whatever I want to say about anyone. I don't care if he's a leader. I don't care if he's this or that. I'm just saying, just look at scripture. Gosh, God was so angry at these people who started gossiping behind Moses' back. And he says, how dare you? And God's anger was kindled and strikes her with leprosy. You know, we talked about this last week, the report of the spies and how God was saying, how long will these people despise me? They don't believe in my promises? In chapter 14, verse 27, how long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I've heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, as I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and all of your number listed in the census from 20 years old upward who have grumbled against me.

11:09 No one shall come to the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb and Joshua. Everyone else is going to die. because you didn't believe my promises and you guys are complaining about the way that I'm doing things. In chapter 15, this made me feel uncomfortable. Verse 32, the people of Israel were in the wilderness. They found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day and those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to the congregation and they put him in custody because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the Lord said to Moses, the man shall be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp. And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones as the Lord commanded Moses.

12:04 these passages that talk about God's anger and how his threats are not empty and how sacred he wanted the Sabbath to be, it makes us uncomfortable because we live in a time where we just have so much empathy for those who sin. and I'm not saying that's a bad thing I'm just saying we also have to couple that with understanding God's hatred towards sin and God has not been afraid to pour out his wrath in history you have in the next chapter Korah and his rebellion and how in verse three it says they assembled themselves together against Moses and Aaron and said to them you've gone too far for all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? I hear words like this all the time, where they go, hey, we're all Christians. We're all followers of God. That's what these people are saying. They're like, look, we're all holy. We're all saints of God. So Aaron, Moses, why are you guys lifted up as leaders we should just all be equals what's this whole thing about authority and leadership and you putting yourself above us and god got so angry about you know with this that this is that passage and in verse uh 35 where it says you know fire came out from the lord consumed no let's go back to 31 where as soon as he finished speaking all these words the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.

13:59 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol and the earth closed over them and they perished from the midst of the assembly. And all Israel who around them fled at their cry for they said, lest the earth swallow us up. And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense. Okay, here is the God that we pray to, opening up the ground and swallowing up these people that questioned the authority of Moses and Aaron. He said, how long are you guys going to keep this up? I put these people in leadership and this is the way you speak. When I read these passages, I look at my own life and go, God, are there men of God? Are there leaders that I've dared to slander? and I'm checking my heart going God I want to respect if you put these people in position like the New Testament tells me you did I want to be careful of this I don't want to be afraid if there's false teachers that have clearly violated scripture or taught something that is unbiblical and it's clear it's obvious but Lord I don't want to dare speak against any of your servants because he hates this type of rebellion just like he always has.

15:22 Chapter 21. Again, here are the people. Verse 4. From Mount Hor, they sent out by the way of the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient along the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses. Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There's no food, no water, and we loathe this worthless food. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people so that many of the people of Israel died.

15:55 This is about leprosy. This is about fire coming down and just burning people. This is about the ground opening up and swallowing people alive. This book is about God, God himself sending these fiery serpents to just bite at these people and destroy them. to kill them. And then here's one that made me really uncomfortable is chapter 25, when the people began to sleep around with the daughters of Moab and they began to sacrifice to other gods. And they started yoking themselves to Baal. And in verse 4, it says, And so, we just don't... we don't know what to do with some of these passages because they're so far from our thinking.

17:13 And we're living in a time when people are questioning whether or not God can be a loving God and also a God of wrath. Whether God is really serious about sin. And we skip books of the Bible like this, full passages that clearly outline, no, God is very serious about his word. and uh you know then you have a right in that next section the next verse verse six behold one of the people of israel came and brought a midianite woman to his family in the sight of moses in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of israel while they're weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting when phineas the son of eliazer son of aaron the priest saw it he rose left the congregation took a spear in his hand went after the man of israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped.

18:10 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were 24,000. and the Lord just starts talking about Phinehas. The Lord said to Moses, Phinehas, the son of Eliezer, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy.

18:40 Okay, what do you do with passages like this? What do you learn from passages like this? So God commanded the killing of these people. God praised what Phineas did. Why? Because he hated sin like God hated sin. And he took God's command seriously, even when it went against everything he probably felt and thought. you know i just want to close with uh one verse this is this is what balaam says um remember uh the story in in chapters 22 and 23 where uh they're trying to get balaam to curse the people of israel and balaam over and over says look i can't i can't do anything that god doesn't tell me to do. You can't go against what God calls for. I don't just get to curse whoever I want to curse.

19:40 I want to do what God tells me to do. But in chapter 23 verse 19 it says, God is not man that he should lie or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it or has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I'm going to read it again. God is not man that he should lie or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Or has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? most of us have such a hard time believing what anyone says because we've been lied to we have promises made to us and those promises aren't kept and so every time someone says something we take it with a grain of salt and what God is saying is I am not a man don't treat me like one. When I say something, I follow through. When I threaten something, I follow through. When I promise something, I follow through. You don't have to worry. If I promised you something, I'm not going to change my mind and I'm not going to not fulfill my promise to you.

21:14 Because that is a beautiful, beautiful word and something we have to remember. God wants to set himself apart and he warned Israel he told them look you you follow after this there will be consequences you follow my promises and there will be these rewards and I don't change my mind I'm serious about this and so when we read the New Testament and we see his promises. You know, something I caught about myself this last week is I'm good at being serious about his commands and not so good about being serious about his promises. Now, there's other people who are the other way around that are really good at believing his promises but not really good at seeing the seriousness of his commands. And neither one is good.

22:10 like we have to trust his commands and we have to trust his promises and i've just had a really great week of repenting and just just going god no i i trust your promise that's right i can do all things that you're right there's this immeasurable greatness of power toward me for my belief and and and your forgiveness is real i don't want to doubt your forgiveness i i really am a child of god i really am loved by you i really have this eternity set for me. I really can't come into your presence because the blood of Jesus and really be there with you and dwell with you. And you really hear my words as your son. Let me treat your words as different, as holy. And then when I look at the rebellion and everything else that I see here, it's like, okay, God, you really do hate this. And you really do set up authorities on the earth. and I really do need to respect those.

23:08 Let's remember this week, God's not a man. Don't treat him like one. When he says something, you take it seriously. When he threatens something, you take it seriously. And when he promises something, you trust it and you rejoice in it because it was said.