Num 17-21, Responsibilities and consequences

Num 17:1-5, 8, 10-13 (NIV) The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. 3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you. 5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites."
. . .
8 The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.
. . .
10 The Lord said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die." 11 Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.


12 The Israelites said to Moses, "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! 13 Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?"


• What is the purpose of the exercise?
• To resolve the grumbling (notice that this is mentioned twice)
• What is the miracle?
• It is the act of making a dead branch bud again
• Today, Israel is that dead branch, and someday it will be grafted back in and bud again
• Where were the dead branches place?
• In the tent of meeting
• APPLICATION: God can bring fruit out of even the spiritually dead, but the person must return to God
• How do the people to respond to this miracle and why?
• Fear
• Because they knew that they had harbored evil thoughts toward Aaron
• NOTE: it is not clear that the people believe in God's love for them yet


Num 18:5-10, 25-29 (NIV) "You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that wrath will not fall on the Israelites again. 6 I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the Tent of Meeting. 7 But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death."


8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, "I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion and regular share. 9 You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons. 10 Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy.
. . .
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 "Speak to the Levites and say to them: 'When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord's offering. 27 Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. 28 In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord's portion to Aaron the priest. 29 You must present as the Lord's portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.'


• What was the purpose of expressly giving certain responsibilities to Aaron and the Levites?
• Verse 5 says it is so wrath does not fall on Israelites
• In the OC, there was a division of responsibility, especially in regards to the temple
• What are the responsibilities of the spiritual leaders?
• To present the best parts to God
• To give a tenth of the tithes
• If the tithe is for the spiritual leaders, why should they give a tenth of it?
• First, the tithe is not for people, it is given to God; it is used by people
• Second, leaders are not above the law
• Third, leaders should set the example
• Who do the leaders give the additional tenth to?
• Verse 27, it is converted to grain and burned
• APPLICATION:  Read 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
• Do we give our best to God?
• Do we give our leftovers to God?


Num 20:1-8 (NIV) In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.


2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!"


6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."


• The Israelites are back at Kadesh, where the Israelites had rebelled 37 years earlier. Miriam dies, so too will Aaron soon.
• While the issue was water, what else do they complain about?
• See Num 13:23-25(NIV) When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
• The very things they complain about were the things that they brought back from the land (except grain, which grows in a single season)
• Why does scripture emphasize the other items? Ultimately their complaining is a result of their previous choices
• They complain that Moses brought them to this place -- this ignores God's hand in bringing them where they are
• They call their current situation a "terrible place" -- they did not believe that God knew what was best
• This is the second "water" incident. There was one early in the exodus (Ex 17:1-7)


Num 20:9-13 (NIV)  So Moses took the staff from the Lord's presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.


12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."


13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he showed himself holy among them.


• What does Moses do wrong?
• He is very harsh with the people (vs. 10)
• He takes credit for bringing the water (vs. 10)
• He shows resentment toward the Israelites (vs. 10)
• He loses his temper (vs. 11)
• He disobeys God (vs. 11)
• He doesn't trust God (vs. 12)
• He doesn't glorify God (vs. 12)
• He rebelled against God (20:24)
• This is one of those passages where the gaps are sufficient that we may not know all that is going on or has gone on for the last 37 years
• Here is a godly man who is esteemed in scripture, but …
• He didn't finish strong
• He made some irrevocable decisions. I think the biggest one is that he did not control his temper. Anger is usually an indication of something you want that you are not getting. What is it you want, that is frustrating you to the point of anger?


Num 20:14-29 (NIV) Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying:


"This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come upon us. 15 Our forefathers went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, 16 but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.
"Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory."


18 But Edom answered:


"You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword."


19 The Israelites replied:


"We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot — nothing else."


20 Again they answered:


"You may not pass through."


Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army. 21 Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them.


22 The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. 23 At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 "Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. 26 Remove Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there."


27 Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. 28 Moses removed Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, 29 and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.



see Moody Atlas Map 25
• While the cloud guided Israel, for some reason Moses thought they were going through Edom
• There is always a danger when we start out-thinking God and figure what he will and couldn't possible do
• The way around Edom was long and very dry
• Why doesn't Israel attack Edom? Because they were brothers


Num 21:4-13 (NIV) They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"


6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.


8 The Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.


10 The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth. 11 Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the desert that faces Moab toward the sunrise. 12 From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley. 13 They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon, which is in the desert extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.


• Obviously the people did not like the direction God was taking them either. What were there concerns?
• It was taking too long
• It did not provide for their needs (bread--obviously manna didn't count, water--will have to trust God again, …)
• It was boring (same miserable food)
• So because the people complained about God's direction for their life, what does God do?
• He gives them something else to focus on -- snakes
• The snakes are symbols of their sin and rebellion. The snakes are to discipline. The snakes are to get their attention. What does God use as snakes in your life?
• God also provides salvation from the bite of the snakes--a bronze snake lifted on a pole--a foreshadow of Christ and the forgiveness we receive from the savior
• APPLICATION: How do you feel about the direction of your life? Are you seeking God? Are you fighting off snakes because you don't want to do things God's way?


Num 21:16-26, 31 (NIV) From there they continued on to Beer, the well where the Lord said to Moses, "Gather the people together and I will give them water."


17 Then Israel sang this song:


"Spring up, O well!
Sing about it,
18 about the well that the princes dug,
that the nobles of the people sank —
the nobles with scepters and staffs."


Then they went from the desert to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.


21 Israel sent messengers to say to Sihon king of the Amorites:


22 "Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway until we have passed through your territory."


23 But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. He mustered his entire army and marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought with Israel. 24 Israel, however, put him to the sword and took over his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only as far as the Ammonites, because their border was fortified. 25 Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its surrounding settlements. 26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.


Num 21:31 (NIV) So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.


• First of all, believers are not the only ones who show stupidity in scripture. Sihon makes a a couple of errors, what are they?
• They did not believe the sincerity of Israel promises
• They stupidly attacked a much larger force (maybe they heard stories of Israel's defeat many years ago)
• All Sihon had to do was listen and obey. But Sihon fought God's people instead of helping them and not the Amorites, one of the Empires of the early world disappears completely. There is no longer any mention of the Amorites
• This brings us to a the Moabites and Balaam, and we will need a whole week to discuss what actually happens there