43. Beginner Bible Course: The book of Numbers, Pt.2

EPISODE 43  The simple Bible overview of…WANDERING IN THE DESERT – THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL’S 40 YEAR TIME-OUT

Before we continue  in Numbers I'd like to briefly review a few Bible study basics, basic rules for getting it right. In episode six, we learned that the writer is the one who determines the meaning of a text, not the reader. In episode 11, we learned how important it is for meaning to understand the literary style it's written in. And in episode 12, I talked about how important it is to ask the question, is this description describing what was or prescription describing what should be, or maybe a description with the should be principle underneath it today? I'd like to give you one more. This rule is especially important for those who aren't brand new to the Bible.

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00:00:45

This is more for people whose pages are well-worn the rule. Is this be careful how you read the old Testament in light of the new? Let me explain. Clearly the old, the new Testament are intricately connected together. Specifically, there are 300 direct quotes of the old Testament in the new Testament and about 500 clear illusions. That's a lot of connection. Furthermore, Jesus, the main character, the new Testament, site's the entire old Testament, the law, the poetry and the prophets as pointing to him. You don't have to accept that, but that was Jesus' statement. Another new Testament writer carried along by the Holy spirit, said the old Testament was an example to those and the new Testament.

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00:01:33

So clearly there's a connection, a deep connection. I also mentioned that the main hero of the old Testament, the thread on which the story hangs is this character, the Stomper, the descendant of Eve who would one day come and destroy Satan and sin and bring his people back to God. Clearly God decided to leave us a trail of crumbs through the old Testament, pointing out who that person would be. Here comes the difficulty. When you go by people, places and events, are they a clue or an illusion to the Stomper, either the person or what he would do. If the new Testament quotes the passage or directly refers to it as a clear illustration of the Stomper who he was or what he would do, you're pretty safe.

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The problem is it's very easy to see in old Testament event, place or person and read more into it than perhaps God intended a Sunday school teacher asked her Children Hey kids, what's Brown and furry and has a tail, a little boy's hand shot up. And he said, well, I'm going to say Jesus, but I think it's a squirrel. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm sorry to spoil it. But Christians believe Jesus is the Stomper. Jesus makes a clear connection to an event. We're about to talk about it in the book of numbers. So stay tuned. When we ended our last episode, God was sending the children of Israel to the desert for a 40 year timeout.

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Some of those Children didn't comply. They flounced. They said, okay, we'll go in and take the land, said bad idea. You're going to get wiped out. They went and got wiped out with their tail between their legs The Children of Israel head back out into the woods furnace for 40 years, sitting there waiting to die sometime out there in the wilderness. God gave them my little project, a little home-ec project, sowing, sewing, tassels on the hymns of their garments. God wanted those little things swinging down there, hopefully to remind them, keep my laws. Sometime during this 40 year, time out Cora Levi, it has too much time on his hands.

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He must've been quite an influential guy because he collects 250 more Levi guys around him who have a problem with Moses leadership. They approach Moses with this question, Hey, who died and left you in charge? This was the test of leadership. If I were Moses out of hand at him in the room brains and said, have a nice time Cora and is to maintain men and their families in tents and possessions are literally swallowed up by the earth. When God opens a Fisher, they drop in and God closes it behind them. I imagine a small burp coming out of the earth when God was fixed. <inaudible> the other 250 men got incinerated with lightning the next day.

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Guess what the people did. They complained about Moses. Aaron took his censor and step between God's tent and the spreading plague. Apparently praying that God would have mercy. God did, but okay. Only after nearly 15,000 Israelites were dead, then God decided to answer permanently the question who died and left Moses in the Levi. That's in charge. He summoned Moses to the tent of meeting and said, I want to stay in it from each tribe. Set it next to the chest, the Ark of the covenant and my tent. I'll make it clear who I expect the people to listen to the next morning Aaron's rod had budded leaves and blossoms and had fully ripe almonds hanging from it.

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God told Moses, keep this rod near the Ark permanently backing up a bit. There were now three things in or near the Ark, a jar of manna, the two family rule tablets, Moses carved and errands, butted almond filled rod. The manna, how God provided in the wilderness, the two stone tablets, the family rules got expected and now errands rod, how God would lead them. And through whom again, The Children of Israel flouts. Instead of <inaudible> doing the right things and having good hearts, they want to move away from God's too. Can't God replies.

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Well, that's good timing. I was just thinking about that. And from now on, I want only the Levi's surrounding my tent, a perimeter that were God sending a visual aid message to The Children of Israel. If you own approach me my way, if you won't obey after saving you, maybe you should be back Awaiz there in the desert during their 40 year time out, we come to chapter 19 and God ordains another yes, kind of odd rule the red car. Wow. He said once a year, find a red cow, take it outside the camp and cremate it. Then a ceremonially clean leaf, right? She'll collect every Ash and put it in a container throughout the year.

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00:06:32

Water will be mixed with the scoop of that Ash into cleansing water. This is to be used for special circumstances. What are those special circumstances? Anytime anyone touches anything dead and perhaps with 6 million people in Generation, one who have to die in the wilderness in this 40 year, timeout death would be everywhere. And then of course there were all of those offerings and sacrifices of animals. Anytime anyone touched anything dead, they were to call for the red heifer cleansing water. God wanted to remind The Children of Israel Hey, this death thing was not my idea. I'm the God of the living death as a you problem.

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00:07:15

Occasionally they would move camp from one desolate Oasis to another. In Numbers 20, they come to Kadish. Kadish was unpleasant for Moses. First. He buries Miriam and Kadish his big sister on the heels of losing his sibling The Children of Israel. Again, starts to whine about the water. Humble Moses. Now almost 120 years old makes a really, really bad call gets furious and acts very unwisely decades earlier in a very similar instance with Generation one, God had told Moses to go strike a rock and a river came out this time.

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God tells Moses and Aaron speak, go to that rock and water will flow from it. Moses goes to the rock. Aaron. He raises his staff, looks at the congregation yells, shall we bring water from this rock? You little rats. That's my addition. He's hot. Then he strikes it nothing. So he strikes it again. And this time water gushes out while the people are filling their canteens, God takes Moses and Aaron aside and says, guys, that was a really bad call. You've dishonored me in front of the children of Israel. And because of your actions, you own enter the promised land.

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00:08:35

I asked my students, what was it that Moses and Aaron did so wrong that they couldn't go into a little land. God had promised some of my students side with Moses. Hey, it was an honest mistake. Moses was just doing what God had commanded before. You know, he was having a senior moment. He is over a century old after all others, point to his anger and say he was sinfully angry. Still others say he was disobedient to God. Well, so is every person in Generation to watching him strike the rock and they get to enter the land. I think what bothered God was what Moses said, shall we bring water from this rock in anger, humble Moses, for whatever reason goes rogue.

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00:09:22

He tries to take partial credit for power that only God provided later in scripture, God says, I will not share my glory with another. God's not being selfish. He knows we, as creatures are not built for the glory of the creator with only a few geezers of Generation one left, God starts to move them toward the promised land. We learn from Deuteronomy there to keep hands-off Edam, Ammon, and Moab Edam was Esau's people, Ammon and Moab where the two sons of lot distant relatives that God wanted them to protect. They were to ask permission to go through their lands on the way to the land.

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00:10:03

God had promised. God also says errands days are numbered. He is the hand off his roll to his son Elizar he does. And shortly after dies, Moses has now lost his Bubbie and his right-hand man Israel then has its first interaction with the enemy, a battle. And they completely decimate the enemy. It's unmistakable that God had gone before them. This is getting exciting. Generation to moving toward the promised land victorious in battle. You'd think they'd be stoked, but what does Generation to do? They whine? They say we're also going to die in this godforsaken wilderness.

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00:10:46

Imagine Moses hearing that imagine God hearing that God begins to punish them like the plagues of Egypt. He releases Vipers in the camp. It's bad it's as if God's thinking, will these children ever believe me? Will these children ever listen to my word? God instructs, Moses to take a long pole to fashion a bronze serpent and to attach it to the pole. This pole could be seen throughout the entire camp. They sent messengers out to the camp saying, God says, if you're a bit and turn, look at the snake on the pole and you'll be saved. Those who listened to God were saved, which brings us back to our discussion about reading the new Testament back in to the old.

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00:11:32

At the beginning of this podcast, I asked my students, if any of them know John three 16 hands shoot up all over. It's arguably the most memorized verse in the new Testament. Hey, you see the reference. John three 16 held up on signs at sporting events. My students will rattle it off for so loved the world that he gave. His only begotten son that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. I then asked them who knows John three, 14 and 15. Remember our rule, every text should be interpreted in context. I don't think I've ever had a hand shoot up, but here's what Jesus said right before that verse, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, that's our story in Numbers 20, even.

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So the son of man must be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life for God. So loud. According to Jesus, the snake incident in the wilderness is not a squirrel. It's about Jesus. The 40 year timeout for the children of Israel in the desert is over. They're moving toward God's promised land. Generation two is about to inherit the promise of Abraham, a special land. God said, I'll give it to you. Now go take it. We'll examine how God gave it and how Generation to took it in our next wordpicture.