Numbers 20

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Numbers 20:1-29

“Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried. 2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! 4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? 5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. 6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them. 7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. 9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. 12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. 13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them. 14 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: 15 how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers: 16 and when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border: 17 let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. 18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. 19 And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. 20 And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him. 22 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor. 23 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, 24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor: 26 and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there. 27 And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of the congregation. 28 And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.”

Introduction

[Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED587]

“Numbers chapter 20, Miriam is 127 years old, Aaron is 123 years old, Moses 120 years old. In the first verse of chapter 20 it says that Miriam dies here, Aaron will die in the end of the chapter. Moses, Aaron and Miriam all die in the same year. In chapter 33 of Numbers, you don’t have to turn I’ll read it, in verse 38 and 39 it says, “And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there,” this is important, “in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor.” So it tells us this, in chapter 33, it was the 40^th year after they’ve come out of Egypt. So remarkably, we have gone through the wilderness wandering as it were, without a lot of detail. God has given us specific pictures that are very applicable to our lives, but he brings us to the border of the Promised Land, 38 years after Kadesh-barnea, it’s the long way around the barn, but they’re going to be back there again. And they’re on the border of entering into the Promises of God again, and at that point in time it is remarkable to see the series of things that take place, which are a picture of warfare, struggle. I am convinced, when I see warfare, and I don’t always see it that clearly, but when I sense it mounting, I always realize ‘The enemy must know there’s some blessing right around the corner,’ because here they are, and we’re going to go through this whole process now of Moses speaking unadvisedly, loosing his temper, we’re going to see Aaron passing off the scene, we’re going to see the children of Israel, the next generation complaining and the venomous serpents that come into the camp, we go through the whole process of Balaam and Balak, and then the challenge to those who want to stay on the other side of Jordan, ‘Be sure your sin will find you out.’ All of these things, very interestingly back up right on the edge of the Promised Land again, and there’s just turmoil there, there’s all of these incidents lined up for us, right before they step into the Promises of God, right before Joshua takes them into he land. And I think sometimes, right before we enter into tremendous blessings from the Lord, right before we’re ready in one way or another to enter into upon his promises, we shouldn’t be surprised that right there, there’s resistance quite often. There’s never spiritual progress without warfare, without resistance. And it’s very interesting to watch the rest of this Book outlined, considering that it’s at this point they’re at the end of really the wilderness wandering, they’re 40 years out of Egypt here again. Miriam’s 127, Aaron’s 123, Moses is 120. If you got kids at home that argue all the time, imagine these guys. They’ve been arguing for over 100 years, we saw them back in chapter 12 at each other, this is a long walk. Ah, Caleb is 77, Joshua is 100 years old at this point in time. And now they are to the edge of the Promised Land.

Miriam Dies, And The Congregation Complains Because They Have No Water

It says “Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh;” that’s where they had turned away, 38 years before this, “and Miriam died there, and was buried.” (verse 1) And I’m sure to Moses and Aaron, a difficult day. Miriam, after all had been there when she watched Moses floating as an infant in the bullrushes, the ark in the bullrushes in the river. Miriam had been the one who retrieved him and brought him back to his mother at the behest of Pharaoh’s daughter [who was Hatshepsut]. Miriam had been there as they came through the Red Sea, with the women of Israel in song and in worship, Miriam a Prophetess, Miriam, you know if you have a sister for 120 years, she tends to be important to you. And certainly at one point she turned on Moses, that seems to be the only blemish really in the record we have of Miriam. But she dies here at this point in time, and is buried there at Kadesh somewhere. “And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!” (verses 2-3) Now I don’t know, are they talking about the 14,700 that died in regards to Korah and the rebellion, or those who had perished in the wilderness over this past 40 years? “Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?” (verses 3-4) Now, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, these are all little chips off the old blocks, and most of these people complaining ‘Why did you bring us out of the land of Egypt?’ were infants or toddlers when that took place, many of them weren’t even born yet. But they’ve learned the courses and verses of whining and complaining from their parents. You know, some people, that’s their favourite indoor sport is to whine and complain, and many of them hadn’t even been in Egypt, they hadn’t seen the Passover and the power of God, the plagues that came on Egypt, they hadn’t seen the Red Sea part, they hadn’t seen God, what he had done at Rephidim, the victory over Amalek, many of them had not seen those things. And yet here they are, they’re complaining about Aaron, about Moses, and about the position that they were in, and I think Moses and Aaron at this point in time were probably completely exacerbated. We’re going to find out Moses looses his temper here, he just goes off the deep end, and says what he shouldn’t say. We’re told this in Psalm 106, it says “They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes, because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.” We’re going to see Moses doing that here in this chapter. Deuteronomy 8 tells us this, it says “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or not.” Now it wasn’t so God could find out what was in their hearts, it was so they could find out what was in their own hearts. They wouldn’t be humbled, you know, by God finding out, they were humbled because they found out what they were made of, when they were under pressure they crumbled and the buckled. So he said ‘I did this to prove, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep the commandments or not,’ “and he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, he allowed you to become hungry, and he fed you with Manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” Of course, the Book that Jesus quoted from more often than any others, the Book of Deuteronomy, and we hear him quoting from some of these portions. Ah, God allowed you to hunger, God takes you into some circumstances, to show you how deep your trust is, your confidence in him is, how well you really know the texts of the Scripture that would apply to that particular place. How many times when we come through a very, very difficult set of circumstances, on the other side of it, we know some verses a little better than we thought we knew on the front end of it. We take hold of his promises a little more desperately than we did when things were going fine. And here he says the LORD led them that way, he actually let them hunger, that they might learn. Man doesn’t just live by bread alone, the sustenance of man isn’t just by what you stuff into your mouth, the sustenance of man is also a heart issue, a spiritual issue, an emotional issue, that man lives by the Word of God. He says “Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell these forty years.” I love that verse. Imagine getting a shirt and a pair of jeans that last for 40 years, what kind of budget I could have at home, if my kids would have had sneakers that lasted for 40 years, they’d had to have grown with their feet, which would have been ok with me, if they would have had great big little white baby shoes when they were adults. When I was a kid sneakers were 8 bucks, I don’t want them to tell me how much sneakers are now. You get an allowance, you spend that much money. Somebody gonna shoot you to get your sneakers, because they can hock them and get money to pay the rent for a month. Imagine this, their shoes didn’t wear out for 40 years, their clothes didn’t wear out for 40 years, I’m looking for those things, that’s a pair of jeans man. “thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell these forty years…thou shalt also consider in thine heart” please listen, “that as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.” Now the word there is not whup, a father will do that to his son too, whup him. This word chasten is everything that is necessary and proper for education and instruction. It is discipline, it is nurturing, it is instruction, and he’s saying that as a father raises up his own children, that God was raising them, by taking them into difficult circumstances, teaching them that their confidence might really be in him. So here they are, they’re complaining against Moses and Aaron, they’re chiding with them saying ‘You brought us out here to die,’ none of that was true. But behind the scenes God was superintending, and there was a much greater truth that was sitting behind the scenes than what we see right on the surface here. And of course we don’t know the chapters of our own life, those things are true there. And verse 5, they said, “And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place?” It’s a wonder they didn’t get struck with lightning right there. “it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.” Please listen, they’re following a pillar of Fire by night and a pillar of Cloud by day, there are 4,500 tons of Manna falling out of the sky every day. There is a Rock that is following them, Paul tells us, which is Christ, water had been provided. They’re not dying, this has been 40 years, 2 to 3 million people in the desert, the provisions statistically, if you’re a statistician or you have to arrange some kind of thing like this for the military or something, trying to feed and care for between 2 and 3 million people for 40 years, in the desert where there’s no natural resources, is a statistical nightmare. And God did it without breaking a sweat, had taken care of them all of these years, led them with the Pillar. They’re saying ‘Why have you brought us to this evil place?’ Now let me tell you, because what happens is, we take the Pillar for granted. We take God’s presence with us at night, for granted, we take his presence that he’s with us every day, that he’ll never leave us or forsake us, we take it for granted. His provision, we can take it for granted. And here’s a whole other generation. There is a generation that came out of Egypt, and they forgot and complained. Now here’s a whole new generation, and their complaints are unsubstantiated, because they’re using the same complaints that their parents used. Notice verse 6, “And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.” this is a smart move. They’ll be the two guys in heaven with flat noses, Moses and Aaron. Listen, that’s a smart move, because they’re thinking ‘I can’t do this another 40 years, we’re back at Kadesh, back after 38 years, I can’t start over, I’m never going to make it, Miriam just died, I’m not going to outlive her by 40 years.’ You can see these two guys, one’s 123, and one’s 120 years old, they fall on their faces. They must be saying ‘Are you alright?’ ‘ya, I’m ok.’ ‘Can you get up?’ ‘I don’t think I can get up. Maybe Joshua will help us up.’ Imagine these two old cojjers, they fall before the LORD, they fall on their faces, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod,” “the rod,” we read about that one last week, “and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock” “the rock,” a specific rock “before their eyes; and it shall give forth” notice, in the masculine, “his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.” (verses 7-8)

Moses & Aaron Will Not Be Allowed To Enter The Promised Land

“And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them,” remember, it’s got buds and flowers and almonds on it, “Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” God didn’t tell him to say that. They weren’t going to fetch them any water, it was going to come out of the rock, “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice:” you know, he’s beating the rock, you can see the almonds and the flowers flying off of it. “and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.” (verse 9-11) So we have this remarkable scene, ‘Go and speak to the rock,’ this is the rock, back in Exodus chapter 17, where the LORD, it says, went before Moses and stood upon the rock, it uses a different word for rock, it speaks of a large boulder on the ground. And evidently the LORD actually stood there, and Moses struck right through him, and when he struck that rock, water came forward and they drank. Now, this is a different word for rock, and it’s a high and lofty crag, it’s lifted up. Because Christ is only smitten once. We’re told this rock was Christ. When the children of Israel celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests for seven days are going down to the pool of Siloam bringing up water and dumping it out, are doing it in remembrance of the Rock that was smitten in the wilderness. Paul says the Rock was Christ, and Christ doesn’t have to be smitten a second time. He only needs to be spoken to, he died once and for all, Romans chapter 6, 1^st Peter chapter 3, Hebrews chapter 9, he died once, and for all. He’s not sacrificed every week, he died once and for all. And the beautiful type is that’s completed, it’s finished, he said Tutelisti, paid in full. And in our failings, and in our mistakes, we need only speak to him, confess our sins, he’s faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But Moses is saying ‘That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more,’ he’s gone off the deep end, the meekest man that ever lived. Remember we find him, he’s failing in his strength. You can imagine, back in chapter 12 it says Moses was the meekest man that ever lived, well Moses wrote that. God must have said he was inspiring, ‘Moses write that,’ ‘I can’t write that, I’m too meek to write that,’ ‘Write that!’ ‘I can’t write I’m the meekest man that ever lived and be the meekest man.’ But on the other hand, Moses in chapter 2 of Exodus gets angry there, and slays an Egyptian. In chapter 11 he storms out of Pharaoh’s presence, it says in great wrath. We find him in chapter 32 when he comes down from receiving the Ten Commandments and he sees the partying in the camp, it says he’s very wroth, and he throws the Commandments down. We’re told in, we just read in Psalm 106 that he lost his temper, at the temptation of Korah it says he was “very wroth” there, extremely angry. And again in the end of Numbers, with the sin of the Moabites and their sexual sin, he is angry there. You know we have about 6 different times. Now, considering he’s spent over 120 years, I don’t know if that’s an anger problem or not, my wife would be happy if I only got angry six times in every 120 years, so would yours. But he fails in his strength, he’s the meekest man that ever lived, but he’s just had enough. Cut him some slack, he’s 120 years old, and he’s been putting up with this for a long time. And God says, ‘Moses, speak to this rock,’ notice, ‘before their eyes,’ verse 8, ‘and it shall give forth his water, thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock, so shalt thou give the congregation and their beasts to drink.’ God doesn’t say ‘Go yell at those rebels, go do this, go do that.’ “And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.” (verse 9) ok, he’s got the commandment right so far, “And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” (verse 10) I wonder if the people are going, ‘Because if Moses and Aaron are angry, God must be angry, he’s got this rod in his hand,’ he’s screaming at ‘em. “Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice:” Wham! the first time, nothing happens, Wham! he hits it again, and notice this, “and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.” (verses 10b-11) God will deal with Moses and Aaron. But he’s not going to punish his people because of the wrong method of his servant. I remember watching certain televangelists that were, it became obvious, as time went on they were exposed, they had been in sin. But you watched sometimes the altar call, you watched sometimes the outreaches, and you see thousands of people respond, and you realize ‘God all along was being patient,’ as this person didn’t repent, and they were slowly running out of room, but God wasn’t punishing the people because of the misguidedness of this servant that he had. He still brought forth water abundantly, and they drank and their herds, but God is going to deal with Moses, God’s going to deal with him. “and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.” (verses 11c-12) Isn’t that interesting, that’s what God considers disobedience, not believing him, “because you believed me not.” You think, ‘Wait a minute, that seems unfair, this poor guy’s been leading them for 40 years while they’ve been griping and grumbling and complaining,’ they yelled at him in Egypt before they ever came out of the land, and we have this one major mistake on the part of Moses, and God said ‘That’s it, you’re not going to take them into the Promised Land.’ ‘Well wait a minute, that’s unfair.’ Well what Moses did is he tampered with one of the greatest types of the entire Old Testament, and ruined it. And what he says is, ‘What’s happened here Moses, is you didn’t sanctify me in the eyes and the hearts of my people.’ To sanctify means “to set aside,” it means something should be completely separate. And God wasn’t angry at the people, it was a new generation, he loved them, they were his people. They had come out of Egypt through the blood of the lamb, and when the people saw Moses’ behavior, God was no longer set aside, completely distinct from any other kind of love, any other kind of holiness that human beings might know. And he is, that’s what he is, he’s Holy, he’s separate. You know I think, ‘What do people think when we’re supposed to represent God and there’s immorality in our lives? When there’s misbehavior in our lives?’ How do people that maybe don’t know the Lord, walk away from you and I, what impressions do we leave them with of who the Lord is? Is he separate, is he Holy? Is he loving? Is he tender? What impressions do they get from us? And it’s a great challenge I think for leaders, not to be worn out, it’s just the way it’s going to be, it’s just another generation. There was a generation before you got here, and there will be a generation after you’re gone. Any church leader needs to realize that a church leader goes, but the ministry continues, and you just got here and you ain’t staying long. And it’s been this way for thousands of years leading God’s people, it’s a chore, it’s a worthy labour, and a privilege. Moses spoke unadvisedly it says, yes, his spirit was provoked, it tells us in Psalm 106, but he spoke unadvisedly. God did not advise him to say that, and he says ‘you have not sanctified me, Moses, you have marred who they perceived me to be now, because of your actions you are not going to enter into the Land.’ Now look, it’s also God’s perfect picture for Moses not to lead them into the Land, because Joshua, Jesus, Yeshua, the first book in the Bible named after a person, Yeshua, Joshua will be the one who leads them into the Promises of God. Moses the Law can never do it. The priesthood, Aaron, can never do it. It has to be God’s grace that leads us into the things he’s promised to us. Never performance, never the Law, never the keeping of the Law, so there’s another side. Now Moses will sneak in, on the mount of Transfiguration, he’ll get in. But he doesn’t lead the children of Israel into the Land. “This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.” (verse 13) this is the second time we hear about the water of Meribah.

The Edomites Won’t Let Israel Pass Through Their Land

“And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:” (verse 14) It just moves right on. Here’s Moses, he’s heard this news, he doesn’t throw in the towel and say ‘I’m going to take my ball and go home, I’m not playing anymore.’ He will still serve the LORD out the rest of his days, and he will do it with all of his heart, even though he knows maybe the thing he longed for the most is not going to be his. “And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:” (verse 14) Now Israel, remember Jacob had his name changed to Israel. Jacob’s brother was Esau, the descendants of Esau are Edom. So now Moses sends this note saying ‘We are your brother Israel,’ he’s speaking to the Edomites, Esau’s descendants, ‘you know all the travail that has befallen us,’ “how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers: and when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border: let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.” (verses 15-17) Now look, you study and you know Esau is type of the flesh, it tells us in Hebrews chapter 12 he was a profane person, “profanum,” he was unclean, you know “profane” is outside the threshold of the Temple, he made the things of God common, he was profane, and he sold off the birthright for a bowl of pottage to satisfy his flesh, that’s what he thought of the promises of God. He’s a picture of the flesh, and of our carnal nature. Here, on the border of the Land and of all of the promises, if you determine ‘Lord, I want to enter into your promises, I want a fresh filling of your Holy Spirit, I want to be up every morning, Lord, in your Word. I want my life, Lord, to be pure, I want to bring every thought into captivity to you, I want a fresh filling of your Spirit, I want my life to matter, Lord, I want to serve you with all of my heart, and I want to find, Lord, you filling me afresh, I want to find you Lord, open your Word to me, I want that fire to be burning inside.’ Well you can be sure that Edom, and you can say to the flesh ‘You know what, I just want to pass on the King’s Highway, I’m not gonna turn to the right, I’m not gonna turn to the left, I’m gonna walk on the path that he sets before me,’ and Edom’s going to say to you ‘No way.’ And you can say to the flesh ‘I don’t want to have anything to do with you, your vineyards,’ and that’s what Moses is saying, 2 to 3 million could ruin a few vineyards, he said ‘We’re not going to go through and ruin your vineyards and your fields, we just want to pass through, we’re not going to turn to the right hand, or turn to the left hand,’ “And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.” (verses 18-21) And God will bring this back to them centuries later, God is a good book-keeper and in Amos chapter 1, verse 11, and Obediah, verse 10 you read that God holds them responsible for ill-treating a brother as it were. But the other picture here is certainly of that of the flesh, wanting to just go on the King’s Highway, I don’t want anything the flesh is after, I’m just not going to turn to the right or to the left, you can be sure you’re going to get resistance, it’s just the way it’s going to go.

Aaron Dies On Mount Hor, Eleazar Becomes High Priest

“And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.” now we’re not sure where mount Hor is. “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye” plural “rebelled against my word at Meribah.” (verses 22-24) [“ye” in 1611 King James English is the word for “you” plural.] So evidently Aaron was part of this whole process of loosing his temper, and going with Moses and the rock, Aaron was part of not sanctifying the LORD in the eyes of the people, and the LORD brings it to bear here. He says “Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor: and strip Aaron of his garments,” now the way this is phrased, it seems to indicate he had his high priestly garments when it uses the phrase “on,” the headpiece, the breastplate with the jewels and so forth, “and put them upon Eleazar his son:” “Eleazar” means “God is my help,” and ends up to be quite a man, a godly young man, “and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there. And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of the congregation.” (verses 25-27) Now imagine, we’re not sure if God speaks out loud, he normally speaks to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to a friend. And Moses has to go to Aaron and say ‘Aaron, I got good news and bad news, God said you can retire, but his retirement plan is out of this world.’ You know he has to say to his brother, ‘You’re going to come with me, we hadn’t sanctified, I’m going to find the same dealing in my own life, but God has told us to come.’ You can imagine the congregation, it says they do it in the eyes of the congregation, they go up onto the mountain, so there’s some visibility, here’s Moses, 120, Aaron’s 123, now Eleazar is his 3^rd son, Nadab and Abihu are gone, how old’s Eleazar? 80? Bring your boy? ‘Wait up, Pop,’ and the whole congregation is watching, it says. “And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments,” the priestly garments, “and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.” (verses 27-28) You know, it’s hard for me to imagine the emotion of that scene, Moses had lost his sister Miriam right before this, now Aaron’s going to go. Did they put their arms around each other and say ‘It’s been a journey, hasn’t it? It’s been a journey, hasn’t it. From the time you put your staff in that river and it turned to blood, it has been a journey, the plagues, the Passover, the Red Sea, Moses, the Red Sea, who’d have ever thought. The Pillar, fire by night, a cloud by day, Manna, the miracles, the Rock, what a journey, Moses.’ What a conversation they must have had, these two old guys that got their arms around each other. And then the priest’s garments put upon Eleazar, I can’t imagine what it was like for Aaron, to put his vesture on his son, I can’t imagine anything more rewarding, seeing your sons and your daughters with your garments as it were. You know, look, here’s a whole generation that turns away and gripes and complains, but here’s a man Eleazar whose going to walk with God. So in any generation, parents that are diligent, who tell the Truth to their children, who set an example, fathers who exercise their headship in the home, being a high priest. And that’s not just ‘OK, DEVOTIONS ARE EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT!’ no, that’s not what it is. It’s so much more than that, it’s ‘There’s not going to be any secular music in our home. Alright, it’s time to change the channel, the sexual stuff, it’s not gonna happen.’ There’s a standard that’s set, unspoken most of the time, but clearly understood. ‘Don’t talk to her that way, she may be your mother, but she is My Wife, and if a guy on the street talked to her that way, I might knock him down. Do we understand?’ To be the head, to set the spiritual standard, to have them in place and unquestioned. It can happen, we can see the next generation walk with the Lord, we can see them endowed with the blessings that we had, and the truths that we had, the garments of praise that God had placed on us we can place on them. This is just such a remarkable scene to me here as Aaron, you know, before he breathes his last and gives up the ghost, what a wonderful thing for him to see Eleazar there standing before him. And I wonder if he said to Moses ‘Moses, you were there, you were there, in the presence of God, you came down, your face was glowing. What is it like? Do I have anything to be afraid of?’ Moses probably said ‘No, now just go.’ He probably said ‘Moses, one more thing, I didn’t really just throw the gold in and the Golden Calf just jumped out, like I always kind of told you, but that’s really not the way it happened.’ Just imagine what’s between these guys. He puts the garments on Eleazar his son, and then Aaron died, he gives up the ghost there in the top of the mountain. “and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.” (verse 28b) and here comes Moses, he came down, and the whole congregation is watching, and here comes Moses, here comes the visible priestly garments, but as they get closer people realize ‘Wait, there’s only two of them, Aaron’s not there, this is Eleazar.’ “And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.” (verse 29) saying ‘Good-bye,’ what a remarkable, remarkable scene.”

Numbers 21:1-9

“And when Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. 2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 3 And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah. 4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was very much discouraged because of the way. 5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”

Arad The Canaanite Attacks Israel, Israel Wipes Out Arad & His City

“And when Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.” (verse 1) Now Arad the city is about 20 miles south of Hebron. That’s how you can tell he lived in the South, he says he “heard tell,” that Israel came by the way of the spies. “And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.” (verses 2-3) “Horman” which means “destruction.” Now look, this is a far cry from 38 years before this, when the children of Israel came to the border of the land and didn’t want anything to do with facing the Canaanites. Then God said ‘ok, your carcases are going to fall in the wilderness, I’ve had it, and the next generation is going to go it,’ and they said ‘No, no,’ and the next day they decided to do it by themselves, and they went out, and they were slaughtered in the battle, they had no success. This time, at least, 38 years later, they come back to the edge of the land, they’re confronted with some of the Canaanites, and instead of doing it in self-confidence or backing off in fear, they get on their knees and say ‘LORD, if you’ll give us the deliverance here, we promise, we utterly, we’ll be devoted to you, we’ll utterly destroy them.’ And remember, in Genesis chapter 15 God had said in regards to the Amorite, the Canaanite, that their iniquity had not yet come to a full, and he told Abraham in 400 years, then, I’m going to use the children of Israel to judge them. God was longsuffering. Again, you go to the University of Pennsylvania, go somewhere where there’s a good bookstore, and you get a book on the Canaanites, and you look at their sexual practices, you look at them sacrificing their children to gods, you look at the filthiness and the uncleanness of them, God had waited 400 years, and sent word to them that they might turn, and they refused to turn. And God is gracious, because when they’re going to come into the land, they’re going to meet a prostitute who lives on the wall named Rahab, and Rahab says ‘The whole land knows about you, we know what your God did to the Egyptians, we know who he is, we know what he’s done,’ and she asked them to be merciful to her if she’ll help them, and God will save that Canaanite woman. Not only will he save her, he makes her the great grandmother of David the king, and writes her into the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1. That’s how much grace God was willing to show to any Canaanite who would turn. But God measures time morally, and he understands when time has run out and there’s no more redemption. And he’s going to use the children of Israel to judge those that are in this land, that had become a cancer to this land. [Comment: What happens to these Canaanites after they die? What is the purpose for all of “unsaved” humanity throughout the long history of this world who die in their sins, unsaved? Do they go to some “everburning hellfire” to spend eternity there? That doesn’t seem fair. Don’t forget, only those with God’s Holy Spirit are offered salvation, eternal life. God is a great teacher, and he’s teaching mankind a great big lesson. Mankind is taking the long way around the barn, including all that died in the wilderness, and including all of unsaved Israel, which was all of them except for Moses, Aaron, and maybe Eleazar, Joshua and Caleb. Most all of mankind is learning what Satan’s way is like first, in their normal lifetimes. And then what? Ezekiel 37:1-14 is the only Bible promise given to the Jews in Babylon of a hope that they would be resurrected back to life at some unspecified time in the future, and verses 13-14 of Ezekiel 37 actually shows God giving his Holy Spirit to those resurrected in this resurrection. Now connecting the dots with the New Testament, we find that Revelation 20:11-13 shows this is the time of the Great White Throne Judgment, the 2^nd resurrection, when all of unsaved mankind will be resurrected back to life. In Ezekiel 37:13-14, it shows that at this time, God will give everyone resurrected in this resurrection his Holy Spirit, offering them salvation, which for most coming up in this resurrection, will be the first time that has been offered to them. See https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/Ezekiel%20pt3-2.htm and scroll to Ezekiel 37:1-14 and read that section about what those verses mean. So is God being unfair to the Canaanites, or mankind in general? No way, man. That’s not the God I worship. He is both just and merciful at the same time, all in due time.]

Because They Have To Take The Long Way Around, The People Complain Against God & Moses--God Sends Fiery Serpents Into Their Midst

“And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was very much discouraged because of the way.” (verse 4) They’re taking the long way around, because Edom threatened to go to war with them, Edom was their brother. “and the soul of the people was very much discouraged because of the way.” (verse 4b) Your translation might say something different, it’s they were grieved, yes, but it was shortened, “they were impatient,” the idea is ‘Wait a minute, we just got by the borderland, now we’re taking the long way, I can’t stand this.’ it’s like sitting in traffic, it’s like being in the checkout stand and somebody pulls out a check and they think that’s what “checkout” means. ‘No, no, use cash here, checkout stand here doesn’t mean get your check out! I want to get outa here before I pass away.’ [I love Pastor Joe, he hates getting stuck in traffic, or drivers that go 1 mph under the speed limit, or checkout counters when somebody pulls out their checkbook. I hate those things too, and I’m learning patience, just like he is 😊] They’re grumbling, they’re discouraged, they don’t want to take the long way, the length of the journey again is getting to them. And I can understand some of that, you know. “And the people spake against God, and against Moses,” breaking the 1^st and 2^nd Tables of the Law they’re carrying around with them, “Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water;” that was a lie, there was 4,500 tons of bread every day that fell out of the sky, Moses had just struck the rock, when he shouldn’t have, yelling at them, and water came, they were all watered, and there was bread. Look what it says in the end of the verse, they said “and our soul loatheth this light bread.” (verse 5) So the problem is, it wasn’t that there wasn’t any provision, the problem is there was no menu, they were just tired of eating the same thing every night. They wanted their own choice. It tells us that Manna was angel’s food, if you can imagine. And the generation when they came out of Egypt, when it first started falling out of the sky, they gathered, they sinned, they gathered more than they should have, and it bred worms. The first people who started eating it, they didn’t have any trouble getting it down, it was sweet, tasted like oil, was like the colour of coriander and it tasted like fresh oil, was sweet like honey, they had no problem eating it. But this next generation is tired of it, the Bread from Heaven, the Word of God, they’re weary of it. They want something else, they want to pick their own menu, tired of Manna, Manna, ‘our soul doth loathe this light bread.’ And when the next generation comes, and that’s their attitude, it’s time for God to be gracious, I pray, and grant a Revival. “And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” (verse 6) Again, I’m not sure what “fiery” is, and I’m sure that it’s worse than regular serpents. It doesn’t mean they’re on fire, evidently the venom. There are two particular kinds of vipers that live, not vindow vipers, these are snakes, that live in this area. One’s about 15 to 18 inches long when it’s full-grown, it’s very toxic, very deadly, the other one gets around 30 inches long, same, very poisonous. They can bury themselves in the sand, lay in the sand with just their nose and tops of their eyeballs out, and they have a special filter so if sand gets in, they’re very remarkably designed. But they’re very toxic, very venomous. And the LORD sends them into the camp, they’re biting the people. We don’t know how long it takes for them to die. I love to watch some of these discovery channels on TV, I love the Discovery Channel, I just wish they’d get their chronology right of the age of the earth and so forth. But I love to watch, and you see some of these folks get bit, and some they die so slowly, sometimes they don’t die, your whole hand just swells up and turns black, about this big, and rots for awhile. But they’re all different. Some of them very, very deadly, and evidently these particular type of vipers are very deadly, and they begin to bite the people. Now, they’re going to sing a completely different song now, “Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.” (verse 7) You know, you see Simon Cowl say ‘Why didn’t you sing that song the first time, you picked a terrible song the first time.’ Now look, this is a historical event. There’s a lesson in it. But this is a historical event. The emblem of the American Medical Association is a serpent on a pole [it’s also used for other medical associations around the world now also, even in Arabic nations, it’s more or less an international symbol]. We’re going to find out this is where it comes from, it comes from this chapter. God is going to tell Moses to make a brass serpent and put it upon a pole, and hold it up, and when the people look at it, they’ll be healed. By the time the Greek culture arrives, it is perverted into the worship of Aesculapius, the healing god, and it’s a serpent on a pole there also. This is an historical event. In fact, in 2^nd Kings chapter 8, remember there, that the people pulled out this brass serpent and they’re worshipping it, they’re venerating it. And Hezekiah breaks it into pieces and says “Nehushtan” a thing of brass, he’s just infuriated by it. Now the interesting thing about that is, today in Milan, Italy, in Saint Ambrose Cathedral, on the wall they have a glass case with broken pieces of brass in it, and they say that they are the remnants of the brass serpent, I don’t know where they would have gotten them, people are going there kneeing down there again, still venerating the same serpent, and Hezekiah’s not around to take care of that. But this is a historical event, all to say all of that. And we need to remember that, and the Lord will give meaning to that in John chapter 3, we were there Sunday, last Sunday, this Sunday also. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it,” the brass serpent, “shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” (verses 8-9) Now how long did that take? Were the people dying, ‘ahh, ahh, hurry up,’ how long did it take him to make a brass serpent? he needed to start from scratch there. Now just imagine this, ‘What are you doing Moses? we’re all dying.’ ‘I’m making a serpent of brass,’ ‘For what?’ ‘I’m going to put it on a pole, and we’re going to hold it up, not in the Tabernacle, in the middle of the camp somewhere, and anybody who looks at it, they’re going to be healed.’ And you think ‘Can I tell my wife this? She’s going to say again, I can’t believe we followed this guy out of Egypt, into the desert, and we got these little serpents, kids are laying dying,’ this remarkable scene.

The Spiritual Lesson Behind The Serpents & The Brass Serpent On The Pole

Some people say ‘Why a serpent?’ Jesus said in John 3:14 to Nicodemus, when Nicodemus is asking ‘How can these things be, how can a man be born again? how can he be born of the Spirit?’ he says ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ That’s how the new birth takes place. That’s how the poison of sin is drained from our bodies. This is a picture of a greater fulfillment, and Jesus takes it to himself. But look, same situation. You’re telling me, again, how do you feel if you’re bitten by a viper, you’re bitten by a black Mamba, you’re bitten by one of those poisonous snakes in the world that live in Australia or whatever? ‘You have an antivenom kit?’ ‘No we don’t, but see that wooden snake on a pole, the Aboriginies say if you just look at that for awhile, you’ll live.’ Now that’s ludicrous to the natural mind. ‘Are you kidding me, I’m dying. Don’t you understand what I’m saying? You’re telling me to look at something carved on a pole and I’ll be fine, I have toxins coursing through my veins, breaking down my nervous system, dissolving the linings of my arteries, and you want me to look?’ think of how ludicrous that is. What assurance did they have that that would take place? The Word of God. You know, the LORD says in Isaiah, ‘Look unto me all ye ends of the earth and be saved.’ it’s a verse that took hold of Spurgeon’s heart. Look, you’re in sin tonight? You’re struggling, you’re in compromise? Look to the Lord, not to him walking around, not to him rebuking the wind and the sea, look to him hanging on the cross. Look at what he’s done for you. Don’t just glance, look at it. It says “looketh here, whoever looketh at it,” that is a continuous action, ‘when he looketh upon it, he shall live.’ Does that seem ludicrous? It’s by faith. Why does it work? It doesn’t work because of any natural law, it works because that’s the way God decided to do it. And I’m glad, I needed something this simple. It’s so simple it’s hard to believe, for some people. They looked up at the serpent. Now look, we get the impression that as many times as they were bitten, they looked up. The husband couldn’t be laying in the tent dying, saying ‘Honey, look up at that brass serpent for me, will ya, I feel terrible.’ ‘No, Honey, you gotta get up and come to church with us, I can’t believe for you.’ Kids, ‘Hey mom, I’m kind of in trouble, look out there for us,’ no, you got to look for yourself, it’s individual responsibility, you can’t do it on behalf of anyone else, you have to do it for yourself. Your assurance is the Word of God, and the testimony of those who had been bitten and are alive and healthy, who give testimony to the God they trusted. What an interesting picture. Moses made a serpent, of brass. He put it on a pole, “and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” (verse 9b) Now isn’t it interesting, God didn’t stop the serpents from biting. ‘What’s with the brass thing?’ He could have just gave them all lockjaw, all those little vipers, I mean he could have just stopped them from biting. He didn’t do that, because there was something else that was more important. He allowed the serpents to continue to bite the people, because then looking to the brass serpent and being preserved, was more important than him just stopping the serpents from being what he had designed them to be in the first place, like Wildersmith said, “Wretched little creatures,” that’s what they were. But the LORD wanted them to be bitten, to experience death, as it were, and then to realize, in simple obedience and trust, that death had no power over them, because Jesus was going to take that centuries later and apply it to himself. When the greatest theologian in Israel says ‘How, how could a man born of flesh be born of the Spirit?’ ‘Like this, Nicodemus, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up,’ in fact he uses the specific phrase there that speaks of crucifixion, Jesus, ‘that whosoever believeth in him,’ wait, that’s ludicrous. God said it, ‘that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Looking to Jesus immunizes us from the death that is working in us. You know, it’s not like dying from a poisonous serpent in 20 minutes, it takes 70 years to kill you, but it’s still a terminal illness, sin, that has infected the whole race. And God has lifted up his Son, and said as many as look to him, shall live. Aren’t you glad? Are you glad it’s that simple? I am. I’m glad it’s that simple. Because if it was any more complicated than that, I’d have messed it up by now, I’m sure. I’m glad it is that simple. I just wish the vipers would quit biting. I keep learning the lesson over and over again, it’s wonderful. If we sin, and we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us, and to cleanse us, to catharize us, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, to drain the poison out of our system, what a wonderful thing. Let’s stand, let’s pray. Let’s sing a last song. Now read ahead, if the Lord tarries, there’s some great stuff, we’re coming to Balaam and Balak, some remarkable things, there’s only one place in the Bible where you find a talking donkey. There’s one here every Sunday in the pulpit, but in the Old Testament, it’s the only place you’ll find it. What are you laughing at, there’s one that sings here every Sunday too. Let’s pray…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Numbers 20:1-29, and Numbers 21:1-9, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]