Numbers (Part 9)
Bible Study Time 3-9-08
(From James Roberts 3-28-99)
Bible Study Time 3-9-08
(From James Roberts 3-28-99)
Last week in our journey through the scripture, we saw in the book of Numbers the rebellion of Korah and his followers. God had chosen Moses and Aaron to lead the children of Israel, but these men stubbornly refused to submit to their leadership.
As it turns out, Korah was a grandson of Levi, and the Levites were called by God to serve the Lord in the tabernacle. However, God had singled out Moses and Aaron, as members of the tribe of Levi, to lead the children of Israel. While Aaron and His sons were called as the priests of Israel, it was Moses who communicated directly with God.
Korah was of the tribe of Levi, but he was jealous of Aaron’s position as the High Priest. He was not content to serve the Lord in the mundane duties pertaining to the tabernacle. So Korah joined forces with two other Levites named Dathan and Abiram, and they went out and recruited 250 men from the various tribes of Israel to join them in their rebellion against Moses and Aaron.
God told Moses to have these men take censers which were lit with fire from the altar, and they were all to burn incense upon their censer. This was something that only the priests were allowed to do according to the Law, but this was God’s way of demonstrating exactly who had the authority to burn incense before the Lord.
Moses told the entire congregation to separate themselves from Korah, Dathan and Abiram. He said, if these men die a natural death then God has not chosen me as your leader; but if the earth opens up and swallows these men and their families and their possessions, then you will know that they have rebelled against the Lord; they have not just rebelled against me, but they have rebelled against the Lord. As the people watched, the earth opened up and swallowed these men with their families and the possessions. They all went down into the pit alive, and afterwards, the earth closed up behind them.
But that is not the end of the story. God was still going to deal with the 250 men who joined with Korah in this rebellion and who were burning incense on their censers. Since only the priests of the Lord were permitted to burn incense, fire came out from the Lord and consumed these men who were burning incense.
Then Moses instructed Eleazar, the son of Aaron, to pick up the censors of these 250 men. These censers were holy because they had been used to burn incense before the Lord, and they were not to be discarded as a common thing. God instructed the people to take those censers and hammer them out into bronze plates, and then He told them to place those bronze plates upon the altar in the tabernacle. He said that the bronze plates would stand as:
Numbers 16:40 NKJV
40 . . . a memorial to the children of Israel that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the LORD, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the LORD had said to him through Moses.
By judging and slaying those who had rebelled against Moses and Aaron, God had clearly shown that Moses was His appointed leader over Israel. However, in verse 41, we read the response of the people.
Numbers 16:41 NKJV
41 On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the LORD."
Now, who was it that had judged the rebels? It wasn’t Moses, and it wasn’t Aaron. It was the Lord, Himself, who had judged them. The earth had opened up to swallow some and the fire came out from the Lord to consume the others. Moses could not have caused the earth to open up and swallow those who were swallowed. Only the Lord could have done that. But the people accused Moses and Aaron of killing the children of the Lord. Then verse 42 says:
Numbers 16:42 NKJV
42 Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
This must have been a frightening sight because they knew that when the glory of the Lord appeared in this manner, judgment was near. Then verse 43 says:
Numbers 16:43-45 NKJV
43 Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting.
44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
45 "Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces.
Obviously, the Lord was ready to consume all of the children of Israel, but I Corinthians, Chapter 10, says that the children of Israel were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. Well, what does that mean? It means that these people had become identified with Moses; they had become his people. Moses was responsible before the Lord for these people, and so what did Moses do every time God was ready to destroy the people? Moses would stand as an intercessor before the Lord on behalf of the people.
When Moses prayed, God would listen. And even though there were consequences for their sin, God would spare the children of Israel. So in verse 45, God said, get away from the congregation that I may consume them, but Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the Lord. Then:
Numbers 16:46-48 NKJV
46 . . . Moses said to Aaron, "Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the LORD. The plague has begun."
47 Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped.
Here we see Aaron standing between the living and the dead with the censer in his hand offering up incense before the Lord. Then we read:
Numbers 16:49-50 NKJV
49 Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident.
50 So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.
This is so interesting because this is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here was the High Priest standing between the living and the dead burning incense before the Lord.
The Book of the Revelation tells us that the incense is a picture of the prayers of the righteous. So here in the book of Numbers, the burning incense pictures the prayers of Moses and Aaron on behalf of the children of Israel. Aaron, the High Priest, was standing between the living and the dead, between the wrath of God and God’s people, making intercession for them.
In God’s long term plan for the nation of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ will stand as Israel’s great High Priest. He will stand between Israel and the wrath of God. He will make intercession for Israel, and God will forgive their sin. But today, we also have a great intercessor before the Lord. We too look to the Lord Jesus Christ as our intercessor. The Bible says that there is one mediator between God and man, and that’s the man, Christ Jesus. Today, Jesus Christ makes intercession for us. When we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one.
God tells us today through the Apostle Paul that there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Thank God, the plague has stopped because of the work of the Lord Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection. He is ever ready to make intercession for us as He sits at the right hand of the Father.
Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior today? Have you come into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the very Son of God? He is the one who died for you and was buried and rose again.
Now, in Numbers, Chapter 17, we see another demonstration of the mercy and the longsuffering of God. After all of these amazing events, God still gave the children of Israel another demonstration to prove that only Aaron and his sons were to serve as the priests of Israel.
God told Moses to collect a rod, or a stick, from each of the leaders of the tribes of Israel. Then Moses was told to write Aaron’s name on the stick that came from the tribe of Levi. At that point, Moses was told to put all twelve rods in the tabernacle. In verse 8 of Numbers 17, we read:
Numbers 17:8 NKJV
8 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.
Miraculously, over one night, the stick from the tribe of Levi came to life and budded with blossoms. Not only had it budded and blossomed, but it had produced ripe almonds. So Moses took all of the rods out of the tabernacle and placed them before the people so that they could see what God had done. When the people saw it that only Aaron’s rod had had come to life, they were terrified before the Lord. In verse 10, we read that God told Moses to:
Numbers 17:10-13 NKJV
10 . . . "Bring Aaron's rod back before the Testimony (in the Ark of the Covenant), to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die."
11 Thus did Moses; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.
12 So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, "Surely we die, we perish, we all perish!
13 Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD must die. Shall we all utterly die?"
But in Chapter 18, God revealed the means by which the people could enjoy the service of the tabernacle and not die. He said that they could come to the tabernacle to present their offerings to the priests, but only Aaron and his sons were to come near to God in the service of the tabernacle. Furthermore, God said that only the Levites were to come near to assist Aaron and his sons in the service of the tabernacle; the rest of the congregation was excluded from these duties. Then God said that the priests and the Levites were to be supported by the tithes and offerings of the people.
Well, I see that our time it gone for this morning. Thank you for listening to Bible Study Time this morning.
Church links:
As it turns out, Korah was a grandson of Levi, and the Levites were called by God to serve the Lord in the tabernacle. However, God had singled out Moses and Aaron, as members of the tribe of Levi, to lead the children of Israel. While Aaron and His sons were called as the priests of Israel, it was Moses who communicated directly with God.
Korah was of the tribe of Levi, but he was jealous of Aaron’s position as the High Priest. He was not content to serve the Lord in the mundane duties pertaining to the tabernacle. So Korah joined forces with two other Levites named Dathan and Abiram, and they went out and recruited 250 men from the various tribes of Israel to join them in their rebellion against Moses and Aaron.
God told Moses to have these men take censers which were lit with fire from the altar, and they were all to burn incense upon their censer. This was something that only the priests were allowed to do according to the Law, but this was God’s way of demonstrating exactly who had the authority to burn incense before the Lord.
Moses told the entire congregation to separate themselves from Korah, Dathan and Abiram. He said, if these men die a natural death then God has not chosen me as your leader; but if the earth opens up and swallows these men and their families and their possessions, then you will know that they have rebelled against the Lord; they have not just rebelled against me, but they have rebelled against the Lord. As the people watched, the earth opened up and swallowed these men with their families and the possessions. They all went down into the pit alive, and afterwards, the earth closed up behind them.
But that is not the end of the story. God was still going to deal with the 250 men who joined with Korah in this rebellion and who were burning incense on their censers. Since only the priests of the Lord were permitted to burn incense, fire came out from the Lord and consumed these men who were burning incense.
Then Moses instructed Eleazar, the son of Aaron, to pick up the censors of these 250 men. These censers were holy because they had been used to burn incense before the Lord, and they were not to be discarded as a common thing. God instructed the people to take those censers and hammer them out into bronze plates, and then He told them to place those bronze plates upon the altar in the tabernacle. He said that the bronze plates would stand as:
Numbers 16:40 NKJV
40 . . . a memorial to the children of Israel that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the LORD, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the LORD had said to him through Moses.
By judging and slaying those who had rebelled against Moses and Aaron, God had clearly shown that Moses was His appointed leader over Israel. However, in verse 41, we read the response of the people.
Numbers 16:41 NKJV
41 On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the LORD."
Now, who was it that had judged the rebels? It wasn’t Moses, and it wasn’t Aaron. It was the Lord, Himself, who had judged them. The earth had opened up to swallow some and the fire came out from the Lord to consume the others. Moses could not have caused the earth to open up and swallow those who were swallowed. Only the Lord could have done that. But the people accused Moses and Aaron of killing the children of the Lord. Then verse 42 says:
Numbers 16:42 NKJV
42 Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
This must have been a frightening sight because they knew that when the glory of the Lord appeared in this manner, judgment was near. Then verse 43 says:
Numbers 16:43-45 NKJV
43 Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting.
44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
45 "Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces.
Obviously, the Lord was ready to consume all of the children of Israel, but I Corinthians, Chapter 10, says that the children of Israel were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. Well, what does that mean? It means that these people had become identified with Moses; they had become his people. Moses was responsible before the Lord for these people, and so what did Moses do every time God was ready to destroy the people? Moses would stand as an intercessor before the Lord on behalf of the people.
When Moses prayed, God would listen. And even though there were consequences for their sin, God would spare the children of Israel. So in verse 45, God said, get away from the congregation that I may consume them, but Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the Lord. Then:
Numbers 16:46-48 NKJV
46 . . . Moses said to Aaron, "Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the LORD. The plague has begun."
47 Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped.
Here we see Aaron standing between the living and the dead with the censer in his hand offering up incense before the Lord. Then we read:
Numbers 16:49-50 NKJV
49 Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident.
50 So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.
This is so interesting because this is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here was the High Priest standing between the living and the dead burning incense before the Lord.
The Book of the Revelation tells us that the incense is a picture of the prayers of the righteous. So here in the book of Numbers, the burning incense pictures the prayers of Moses and Aaron on behalf of the children of Israel. Aaron, the High Priest, was standing between the living and the dead, between the wrath of God and God’s people, making intercession for them.
In God’s long term plan for the nation of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ will stand as Israel’s great High Priest. He will stand between Israel and the wrath of God. He will make intercession for Israel, and God will forgive their sin. But today, we also have a great intercessor before the Lord. We too look to the Lord Jesus Christ as our intercessor. The Bible says that there is one mediator between God and man, and that’s the man, Christ Jesus. Today, Jesus Christ makes intercession for us. When we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one.
God tells us today through the Apostle Paul that there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Thank God, the plague has stopped because of the work of the Lord Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection. He is ever ready to make intercession for us as He sits at the right hand of the Father.
Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior today? Have you come into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the very Son of God? He is the one who died for you and was buried and rose again.
Now, in Numbers, Chapter 17, we see another demonstration of the mercy and the longsuffering of God. After all of these amazing events, God still gave the children of Israel another demonstration to prove that only Aaron and his sons were to serve as the priests of Israel.
God told Moses to collect a rod, or a stick, from each of the leaders of the tribes of Israel. Then Moses was told to write Aaron’s name on the stick that came from the tribe of Levi. At that point, Moses was told to put all twelve rods in the tabernacle. In verse 8 of Numbers 17, we read:
Numbers 17:8 NKJV
8 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.
Miraculously, over one night, the stick from the tribe of Levi came to life and budded with blossoms. Not only had it budded and blossomed, but it had produced ripe almonds. So Moses took all of the rods out of the tabernacle and placed them before the people so that they could see what God had done. When the people saw it that only Aaron’s rod had had come to life, they were terrified before the Lord. In verse 10, we read that God told Moses to:
Numbers 17:10-13 NKJV
10 . . . "Bring Aaron's rod back before the Testimony (in the Ark of the Covenant), to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die."
11 Thus did Moses; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.
12 So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, "Surely we die, we perish, we all perish!
13 Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD must die. Shall we all utterly die?"
But in Chapter 18, God revealed the means by which the people could enjoy the service of the tabernacle and not die. He said that they could come to the tabernacle to present their offerings to the priests, but only Aaron and his sons were to come near to God in the service of the tabernacle. Furthermore, God said that only the Levites were to come near to assist Aaron and his sons in the service of the tabernacle; the rest of the congregation was excluded from these duties. Then God said that the priests and the Levites were to be supported by the tithes and offerings of the people.
Well, I see that our time it gone for this morning. Thank you for listening to Bible Study Time this morning.
Church links:
No comments:
Post a Comment