1 Numbers Chapter 20 daveaholt@msn.com holts4him.com If you want to catch up on past lessons You can email me @ daveaholt@msn.com and I will send you a link to a web page or, you could go directly to holts4him.com and follow the links to Dave, and then Dave s bible study pages and you will find pages with past lessons and you can download the audio, the PPT, and my notes if you wish Also usually by Tuesday afternoon there is a link up on the KCC Facebook page And if you don t have access to the web, I can get you past lessons 2 So last time, we looked at Numbers chapter 20, verses 1-13 And we saw that Miriam died there in the wilderness And we thought about all of those who died there in the wilderness And then we thought about all who have died from the creation, until now And that was not God s plan! How sad! But God didn't leave us in that state He sent His Son to die in our place, and now we have the hope of life eternal in heaven! 1
3 And then we read that section where Moses was told to SPEAK to the rock and bring forth water, but he got angry with the people And he STRUCK the rock! And because of that 4 Numbers 20:12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, " Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." Because of this event, Moses and Aaron will not get to enter the Promised Land! It seems like a small thing But not to God! God calls those who are leaders to higher standard! 5 James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. And I told you This verse haunts me! But, if I am going to teach from God s Word I had better be looking at myself! I had better let my words sink into my own ears! 2
6 James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. And let me say This may seem like we shouldn t aspire to teach But that s not the point The point is We shouldn t be seeking to teach, just to be up front...we should do it in a very humble way And, we should make sure we are being true to the Word of God! And we all are teaching in some way or another We all are ambassadors! }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue 7 James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. So, we must be very careful to treat God as Holy in the sight of ALL people! That s the point here And if WE don t treat God as Holy 3
8 Numbers 20:13 Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the LORD, and He proved Himself holy among them. If Moses and Aaron won t show that God is Holy God will! And if I don t show that God is Holy God will! And so with that in mind, let s move on 9 Let s go ahead and read chapter 20, verses 14-29 S 4
10 Numbers 20:17 & 18 17'Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king's highway, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.'" 18 Edom, however, said to him, "You shall not pass through us, or I will come out with the sword against you." S Remember, Edom is another name for Esau So the nation of Edom was somewhat related to the nation of Israel, they all came from Jacob So since they are their relatives, they should be willing to help them out, but they won t So, the Israelites have to go another route And then they came to mount Hor and God has Moses take Aaron and his son Eleazar up the mountain, because Aaron is going to die on the mountain 11 Numbers 20:25-28 25 "Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be gathered to his people, and will die there." ***** So here s God s instructions S }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue reading... 5
12 27 So Moses did just as the LORD had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. Can you imagine how solemn this must have been?... Moses takes his brother up on the mountain, knowing he is going to die up there! AND Eleazar has to go too, so that they can take the priestly garments off of Aaron and put them on him! They are going to strip the priestly garments off of his father, and his father is going to die, and he is going to put them on and wear them down the mountain! And it says that Moses did just as the LORD commanded! That s exactly what happened! 13 27 So Moses did just as the LORD had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. And can you imagine what it would have been like for Moses and Eleazar coming down from the mountain?!!! TELL STORY of driving Vaun and Katelyn home from the beach after their dad had died This must have been a very solemn time! And Moses has just been given a glimpse of his own upcoming death! Remember, this was the consequences for not treating God as Holy there at the rock 6
14 27 So Moses did just as the LORD had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. Do you remember back in Leviticus when Moses had given all the instructions to Aaron and his sons concerning the priestly duties, and regulations?... And right away, Aarons two oldest sons disobeyed God and went in and offered up fire that God had NOT prescribed?... Well, God put them to death for their disobedience, and here s what God said afterward 15 Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the LORD spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'" God made sure that the priests and Moses treated Him as Holy in the sight of the people One way or another! And when they didn t He stepped in, and made sure the people KNEW He was Holy, and was to be treated as Holy! 16 Numbers 20:29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days. **** And so. So, the congregation stayed in that place and mourned the death of Aaron for 30 days >>>>>>>>> Click for next... 7
17 **** So, let s turn to Chapter 21, and we will start by reading verses 1-20 S 18 19 Numbers 21:1-3 1 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 So Israel made a vow to the LORD and said, "If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities." 3 The LORD heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. S }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue reading... Now, this sounds harsh Some will say, that the God of the Old Testament was a very hard and angry God And they say that when they look at verses like this one But in all reality, God is VERY patient! And we can especially see that in His dealings with the Canaanites So let s go back and look at Genesis 15, when God was speaking to Abraham and prophesied about the Canaanites 8
20 3 The LORD heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. In Genesis 15, God is giving a promise to Abraham and his descendants, and it is really a prophecy about them But He mentions the Canaanites in that prophecy 21 Genesis 15:13-16 13 God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14 "But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. S }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue reading... 22 15 "As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." Then in verses 19-21 God lists all the nations in the area of Canaan that He will give their land to Abram and His descendants And in that list is the Amorites So in this verse, His mention of the Amorites is used to designate all the nations of Canaan And notice how long God is going to wait Maybe as much as 4 generations or more! God will give them a very long time to repent, but He knows that they never will But notice His patience! He is not going to destroy them until they have had way more than enough time to repent! 9
23 3 The LORD heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. And keep in mind how sinful these nations were They offered up their own children as burnt offerings to their gods!... among other violent things! And so, here now hundreds of years later God is bringing about judgement on them! 24 Numbers 21:5 5 The people spoke against God and Moses, " Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food." ***** And then AGAIN!!!. The people grumble against God and Moses! And notice what they say >>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<< They say that they are going to die, because there is NO food And in the same sentence, they say they hate the FOOD, that God has provided! Are they really going to starve to death?... NO! They re just picky! 10
25 Numbers 21:6 The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died ***** Well, God is not pleased with them!... And then 26 Numbers 21:7 So the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us." And Moses interceded for the people. How many times have we seen this?... The people sin, and then they say they are sorry! This has happened multiple times! And yet God is merciful! And He relents! And you know what?... 11
27 Numbers 21:7 So the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us." And Moses interceded for the people. I often think What were they thinking?!!! But Then I look at my own life And how many times have I done basically the same thing?... I sin against Him, and then go and ask forgiveness, and then I do it again! And God is so merciful! And He is SO patient! 28 Numbers 21:8 & 9 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." 9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. ***** And notice what the remedy was To be saved, the people had to look at a symbol of the very thing that they wanted to be saved from! They had to look at a bronze image of the very snakes that bit them! And by doing that in faith, they would be saved! 12
29 John 3:14 & 15 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. ***** In John, Jesus made reference to the serpent Listen to what He said referring to His upcoming crucifixion >>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<< Interesting that Jesus chose to use the serpent as an illustration of His crucifixion Now, on the surface it does make sense Jesus will be lifted up on the cross, and people will look on Him But, I think there may be more here 30 John 3:14 & 15 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. Just as the people in the wilderness had to look at their problem to be saved from it We too, must look to Jesus dying on the cross, to be saved from death! We must look on Him in faith that He will save us from our sins And we must believe that the only way for Him to save us was His death on the cross! He had to be the substitute for us! We have the death sentence, but if we put our faith in Him and His substitutionary death. We will be saved! 13
31 Numbers 21:8 & 9 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." 9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. And so, in the wilderness here, there was a picture of what Jesus would do about 1,500 years later! <Pause> And then one more thing I want to look at before we move on 32 Numbers 21:8 & 9 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." 9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. So Moses set up the bronze serpent, and the people are rescued from the plague And then at some point it was time to move on from there, and apparently, they kept the bronze serpent, because Later in the book of 2 Kings it is mentioned again 14
33 2 Kings 18:4 He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. ***** After they had lived in the Promised land for more than 650 years They had moved away from God, and during that time, a good king would come along and stop the people from worshiping idols and direct them back to the LORD And after he was gone, the people would return to idol worship King Hezekiah came along and brought great reform to the kingdom of Judah He eradicated idol worship And here is what it says in 2 Kings 18:4 >>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<< 34 2 Kings 18:4 He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. They had taken what the LORD did to save them, and turned it into an idol! Think again about Jesus dying on the cross It was HIS death, burial and resurrection that saves us But, today people take an image of a cross with an image of Him hanging on it Either in the form of a picture, or an actual thing that they hang up And they worship it! They haven t put their faith in Jesus. They just hold this symbol and pray! Very interesting the similarity! >>>>>>>>>>> END 15