Numbers 13, 14

Standing up for God
Date: Sunday, October 25, 2009
Study #8: Standing up for God means following him no matter what.
Bible Study: Moses Sends Spies Into the Promised Land
REVIEW:

Leviticus:
·    the Basis of Holiness - the Way to God (ch. 1-17)
·    the Behavior of Holiness - the Walk with God (ch. 18-27)
·    Christ as our Savior is shown
o    Feasts, offerings, atonements, Passover, tithes, sacrifice
·    Lessons from this Book:
o    there is a difference between clean and unclean.
o    God is Holy and demands that we approach Him in Holiness.
o    the only way sinners can approach God is through a substitutionary sacrifice.

Numbers:  (Chps. 1 - 12)
·    Census
·    Duties
·    Isolation of Unclean
·    Confessions of Sinners
·    Vows
·    Blessings
·    Offerings
·    Cleansing and Dedication of Levites
·    Second Passover … so, gone from Egypt for about 1-year now
·    The Cloud and Fire over the raised Tabernacle
·    The Lord commanded when they journeyed and when they camped .. (Down/Up Cloud)
·    Two Silver Trumpets for calling the congregation
·    The Israelites leave Sinai
·    The people complained .. it was so great in Egypt … food, drink .. give us meat
·    Moses intervenes and prays directly to God .. God responds:
o    70-elders to help Moses .. they get his Spirit and prophesize once
o    God sends quail
·    Aaron and Miriam murmur against Moses

AND NOW … they are on the brink of entering into the Promised Land:


1.    Spying out the promised land (13:1-33)
a.    Exploring Canaan 13 : 1 -26
i.    The spies went and brought back grapes .. nice .. some wine finally
b.    Report on the Exploration 13 : 26 -33
i.    Milk, honey . . oh yea, and some big strong people
ii.    Calab (and Joshua) want to go now and drive the people out and take their inheritance (with God)
iii.    The other ten spies instill fear into the people (without God)

Num 13:33 -- the sons of Anak: . . . From Noah’s time when followers of the Lord (sons of God = professors of religion) mixed with “strangers to God”.
Genesis 6:4 -- There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown
2.    Israel rebels (14:1-10)
a.    If only we had died in Egypt or in the Wilderness …
their wish will soon come true!
Moses always turns to prayer . . . Sin has crept, unresisted, into the Israelites
b.    Hey, let’s go back to Egypt!
Israel got out of Egypt, but Egypt did not get out of Israel . . they still consider Egypt as their home
easy to be saved .. harder to be changed
they were not born again
Nothing can ruin sinners but their own rebellion. If God leaves them, it is because they drive him from them, and they die
c.    Joshua and Calab: the Lord is with us .. do not fear
d.    the people:  stone them!
3.    Moses intercedes (14:11-19)
Moses argued (as before) that, consistent with God's character, in His abundant mercies, he could forgive them.
Moses interceded for the sinful nation .. Christ-like
4.    God condemns Israel to die in the wilderness (14:20-35)
The Lord granted the prayer of Moses so far as not at once to destroy the congregation.
But disbelief of the promise forbids the benefit
God never leaves any till they first leave him
5.  the sudden death of the ten evil spies (14:36-39)
They sinned in bringing a slander upon the land of promise
6.  Numbers 14:40-45
Some of the Israelites were now earnest to go forward toward Canaan. But it came too late.
If men would but be as earnest for heaven while their day of grace lasts, as they will be when it is over, how well would it be for them!