Numbers 13-14 - The Life of Moses

(My BSF Notes)

 

Last week we saw how the Israelites complained about the manna and wanted meat to eat.  God gave them exactly what they wanted.  He sent quail for a month and they ate the quail until they were sick of it.  Then we saw Miriam criticize Moses and how God came to his defense.

Numbers 13-14:1-4 – The Spies

                                   

The Lord told Moses to send 1 leader from each tribe to go explore the land of Canaan that He was giving them.  Men from twelve tribes were selected including Caleb from the tribe of Judah and Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim.  They were to find out what the land was like and if the people there strong or weak, few or many.  Was the land good or bad? What were the towns like, unwalled or fortified?  How was the soil?  Was it fertile or poor?  They were also to try to bring back fruit from the land.  They did just what they were told and explored the land.  They cut a single cluster of grapes.  It was so large that two men had to carry it on a pole between them. 

At the end of 40 days they returned and reported to Moses and the Israelite community.  They reported that it does flow with milk and honey, but the cities were fortified and very large.  The people that lived there were powerful.  They reported they saw descendants of Anak there who were like giants.  “Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said we should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” – Num. 13:30.

Ten of the spies disagreed with Caleb and didn’t want to attack.  They said the people there were stronger so the men spread a bad report about the land.  The people had gone through so much to get to the Promise Land and now it was time to claim it.  They failed to trust that God would do what He said He would do.  They simply did not believe His Word.  They carried the evidence on their shoulders, but had unbelief in their hearts.

Many of us are like the Israelites.  We see the evidence all around us, but we just don’t believe God will do what He says.  This keeps us from achieving what we could as witnesses for Jesus.

Do you believe God will do what He says?

What are you doing to help others believe?

By Caleb standing up against the people he probably lost his friends, his followers, and his credibility.  There was one other who was with him.  That was Joshua.  Caleb was a faithful servant and trusted God and was not afraid to speak against the others.

When have you stood up for when you believe something was God’s will?

What should you do before beginning a new work for God?

What important job has God asked you to do? 

The people were fearful and raised their voices, wept, and grumbled against Moses.  “If only we had died in Egypt!  Or in this desert!  Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?......Wouldn’t it be better to go back to Egypt?  … We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” – Num. 14:1-4.  What were they thinking?  How quickly they forgot the hardships and slavery in Egypt and all that God had done for them.  They blamed Moses and Aaron by wanting to choose another leader, but were really blaming God.

How do you do the same thing when you think you are facing the impossible?

Do you blame others?

Or do you trust God will be with you and do what He says?

Numbers 14:5-45 – The Unbelief

Moses and Aaron fell face down before the people, probably in fear of what would happen to them and maybe in prayer and worship of God.  Caleb and Joshua had their eyes on God and not themselves.  They told the people, “Do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up.  Their protection is gone, but the lord is with us.  Do not be afraid of them.” – Num. 14:9.  The people were afraid of the giants in the land, but Caleb and Joshua knew they had a giant God.

What are the giants in your life?

Do you trust God will help you face them?

When have you stood on God’s promises when others did not?

The people talked of stoning Caleb and Joshua.  Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent.  “How long will these people treat me with contempt?  How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?  I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger that they.” – Num 14:11-12.

Moses reminded God if He destroyed the people the Egyptians would hear about it and tell the inhabitants of this land and they would think He doesn’t keep His promises.  This would question God’s power and that He is not the true God.  (Num. 14:13-16)  Moses reminded God, “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.  Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’  In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.” - Num. 14:17-19. 

Some think in the Old Testament that God is always strict and angry and judgmental.  They think in the New Testament He is different.  God does not change!  He is always the same.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Heb. 13:8.  He always loves us.  He loves us so much that He sent His son Jesus to take the punishment we deserve.  If we are sorry for our sins, He will forgive us, because of the work of Jesus on the cross.

God listened to Moses and forgave and spared the people.  He forgave them, but condemned them to wander in the desert for the next 40 years.  They would not enter the Promise Land.  Only Caleb and Joshua would enter.  Then the 10 men who gave the bad report were struck dead.

God listened to Moses which encourages us when we pray.  Our prayers do affect God.  The words we use are not important, because He already knows our hearts and what we need.  We need to be humble and honest and God will hear us and answer our prayers.

Moses told the Israelites what God said that they would not enter the land and they mourned bitterly.  “We have sinned.  We will go up to the place the Lord promised.” – Num 14:40.  Moses told the people not to go to the land because God would not be with them, because they had not obeyed Him (Num. 14:41-43).  They went anyway even though the cloud of the Lord did not move.  When they arrived in the land, the Amalekites and Canaanites attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.  The people faced the same armies they would have faced, but without the Lord and they were defeated.  Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5.

They realized and confessed their sin, but there was no true repentance.  They tried to correct their wrong doing by their own strength and attempted to go without Moses and without God’s presence.

                                                                                                                                    

When have you gone along with the crowd instead of trusting God?

When have you blamed God for your circumstances?

How have you disobeyed God and what was the result?

Principles:

Follow God and trust that He will do what He says.

If we trust and obey God, He will bless us.

When you go against God, you will suffer consequences.

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Numbers 11-12 - The Life of Moses

 (My BSF Notes)

Last time we learned that Moses was told by God to take a census of the people listing every name one by one; then to count men 20 years old and over to serve in the army.  We saw God’s placement of the tribes around the tabernacle placing the tabernacle in the center showing that God is to be the center of their lives.  We saw purifying of the camps and each tribe giving offerings at the dedication of the tabernacle.  They were told to celebrate Passover in accordance with all its regulations.  The cloud of God continued to guide the Israelites as they journeyed toward the Promise Land.

Numbers 11 – The People Begin to Complain

The people began to complain about all their hardships, which angered God.  “Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.” – Num. 11:1.  The people cried out to Moses for God to stop the fire.  They continued to complain.  They complained about the manna God had continued to provide for them.  They wanted meat and fish and vegetables like they had in Egypt.  They had forgotten about all the hard work and hard lives they had to do as slaves.  The Lord became very angry and this troubled Moses.  Moses asked God why had He brought this trouble on him and that he couldn’t carry the burdens of all these people by himself.  If God was going to treat him this way, he said just put him to death. (Num. 11:11-15). 

What do you do when times are hard?

Do you take your concerns to God?

How do your complaints affect others?

God came to Moses’ rescue.  He told Moses to bring the leaders and officials of the people to the Tent of Meeting and God would come down and speak with him.  He would put the same Spirit on them that was on Moses.  Then Moses would not have to carry the burden of the people alone. (Num. 11:16-19). 

Moses poured out his heart to God.  We can be real with God.  He knows it anyway.  Take your problems and concerns to Him.  God listened to Moses and gave him comfort and provided for him as He does for us, when we take our concerns to Him.  We don’t have to face them alone.  God wants to hear from us.  He listens and will help us through anything.  All we have to do is go to Him.

When has God provided comfort for you when you were overwhelmed?

Moses was to tell the people to consecrate themselves in preparation for tomorrow when they would eat meat.  If they wanted meat, God would give them meat, but not for just one day, but for a month until they were sick of it. (Num. 11:20-22).  Moses didn’t understand how they would have enough herds and flocks for meat for all the people for a month.  God told him, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?  You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” – Num. 11:23. 

So Moses did as the Lord commanded and brought the leaders of the people to the Tent of Meeting and the Spirit was put on them and they prophesied.  There were 2 men, Eldad and Meadad, who did not come, but remained in the camp, but the Spirit still rested on them and they prophesied.  Joshua told Moses about them and wanted him to stop them.  Moses asked if he was jealous for his sake.  Moses wished all the people had the Spirit on them.

God sent quail from out of the sea.  It was all around the camp and 3 feet high.  They ate and ate.  God’s anger burned against them and so He struck them with a severe plague.

The people’s complaint about the manna was a complaint against God.  We should always be thankful for our food.  That is why we give thanks before a meal.  Asking and thanking God should be our response to God’s abundance.

How do you express your thanks to God?

God knows when we complain and it angers Him.  He expects us to learn from our experience.  We who know God should be the least of the complainers.  We can think about all that goes wrong, but it does no good.  God is the only one who can do something about it.  What is helpful is to focus on what is right.  The Israelites got in the habit of complaining.  They focused on what they didn’t have instead of what they had.  Being negative or positive can be contagious.  We need to be thankful for all our blessings given to us and make that our habit.  We have a choice - complain or pray.  Prayer provides exactly what we need.

Principles: 

God wants us to be thankful to Him for His provision.

Complaints focus on circumstances while prayer focuses on the sovereign power of God.

Numbers 12 – God Defends Moses

Miriam and Aaron started speaking against Moses because of Moses Cushite wife.   “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?  Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” – Num. 12:2.  Miriam is mentioned first in this passage indicating she was probably the instigator.  Moses was a very humble man than anyone on the earth. (Num. 12:3)  He did not lash back or try to defend himself as we probably would have done.  So God came to Moses’ rescue again.  He said to bring Miriam and Aaron of out the Tent.  God defended Moses saying, “When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.  But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house, with him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.  Why then were you not to afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” – Num. 12:6-8.  The Lord’s anger burned against them. 

“Faithful in all my house” means in all of Israel.  The Israelites were God’s family.  Moses did everything God commanded according to God’s will.  He was a faithful servant to God and to the people.

When the cloud of God lifted, Miriam was stuck with leprosy.  Aaron pleaded with Moses to not hold their sin against them.  So Moses asked God to heal her.  God listened.  Miriam’s punishment was confinement to outside the camp.  She was to stay there for 7 days.  I am sure when she reentered the camp, she was a humble woman.  While she was outside the camp, the presence of God was removed from the people.  It is a sin to speak against a true servant of God and His removal indicated the seriousness of the sin.

Do you criticize people God has placed in positions of authority?

How do you respond, when you are criticized for the work you do?

Moses was a lot like Jesus.  Moses had a humble heart, forgave Miriam, and interceded for her before God.  Jesus was humble and intercedes for us before God.  We can learn to be more like Jesus through the examples of Moses.

Principles: 

God listens when we intercede on behalf of others.

Faith in God’s sovereign eliminates jealousy and inspires humility.

When we complain, it shows our lack of faith.  Faith is being content in believing that Jesus is the Son of God, we must believe for ourselves, and then we must have a commitment to repent and follow Jesus.  Surrendering to Him is the hardest to do.  Complaints grieve God.  When we complain, we always grieve someone.  Will you ask God to change your complaining attitude?

In this study we learn that God is a just God.  He is a merciful God by not burning up the whole Israelite camp.  He shows us that He is the great Physician, when He healed Miriam.  He is a provider providing all the Israelites needed.  He listened to Moses’ prayer and helped him by giving him what he needed. 

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