176
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
MARCH SO, 1924 CHRIST IN NUMBERS
The people, needed water.. Why did they not ask God>for it? Ex. 17:4; Num. 14:5). - , (b) Falling Upon Their Faces. Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces before Jehovah. They brought the bur den to the Lord. What a contrast from the: cry rôf the crowd! When will we lëàrn the lesson? The glory, of the Lord appeared to them. Were we in the right relation with the Lord, we, too, might have some visions of His glory.' ■■ ;'-; (c) Faithful Jehovah. God graciously gave the an swer to their unuttered prayer.. Note the seven-fold in struction: “Take the rod”;i;“gather the assémbly” ; “take Aaron with you” ; “speak' to the rock”; “it shall bring forth water”; “thou shalt bring forth water”;: “thou shalt give to the people.” God leaves nothing for Moses to do, but to obey, There was no rebuke to the people, much as it was deserved. It was all of grace. (d) Failing in Faith. The sin of Moses was not a trifling one. It looks like a single act of disobedience; blit God looks at thé heart—at the motive. Here, Moses was told to “speak to the rock.”,. At Horeb, God told him to “smite the rock.” As the rock was a type of Christ, the teaching is-pimple (1 Cor. 10:4); Christ Could be smitten but once (Heb. 9:26-28 and 1 Pet. 3:18). Smiting is a type of judgment, and Christ was stricken, smitten, of ,God. (Isa.: 53:4.) 'v‘ : u Thé lesson hère is significant. God is jealous of His Son. There is no more sacrifice, for sin. At Horeb, the unworthy people were supplied by ¡grace. In John! 4:10 Jesus Supplies the living water by grace (Rom. 6:23; 5:20; 10:8). *' Moses exalted, himself, “Hear ye rebels, must WE fetch you water?” He forgot that he was simply a servant—â mouth-piece. He -failed to sanctify God in the eyes of ,IS- raël. He robbed God. Hé was given a public and well- deserved punishment. .. Abraham, too, failed God, (Rom. 4:11; Gen. 12:12). Elijah failed ( 1 Kings, 19)-. Peter cowered before :a dam^ sel (Luke 22:55-60). ( 2 ) THE BRAZEN SERPENT, 21;5-9, “When he beheld the serpent of brass, he! lived,” v. 9. When the Israelites broke camp at Kadesh, King Arad,: of the Canaanites, supposing they would enter his land, made war against them, taking some prisoners. Israel, appealed to God for help, promising to carry out God’s command—M:he utter destruction of the Canaanites. Either at this time, or later, Israel kept their promise and de- stoyed all the cities of the Canaanites; The name given to the region was in commemoration of the event—“Hor- mah,”.meaning “utter destruction.’’ ... Aaron had died upon Mount Hor and was buried there. For his unbelief and rebellion against God, he was de prived of the privilege of entering the land. The path of Israel lay through the.territory which skirted Edom. It was a dreary march, over loose, sandy roads and limestone cliffs, subject to intense heat, sand storms and, perhaps,' annoying raids from Edom. They became discouraged. There was no joy in their souls; no spring in their feet. They began tp do the most natural thing—murmur against God and against, Mosês. Judgment came quickly upon the fault-finders. God sent fiery serpents among them whose bite was death. In their deepened distress they came to Moses and besought him to pray for them, which he did, This seems to be the only instance where Israel requested prayer in their own be-
Emphasizing “The Brazen Serpent” ; “The Riven Rock” ; “The Cities of Refuge.” Chapters 15-36 Golden Text: “When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years” (Heb. 3:9). “There remalneth, therefore,- a rest, to the people of The Book of Numbers takes, its title:from (he numberings of Israel at the commencement and close, of their "wilderness experience. The suggested theme of'¡the book is “Service and Walk.” The key of the book is “Sojourn” (33:1). It covers a period of 38 years and 18 months. LESSON DIVISIONS OF THE HOOK EXPOSITION; (T) From , Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea, T. C. Horton ' Chs. 1-12. > : (2) Unbelief and Rebellion, (Wilder ness Wandering ) Chs. 13-19. (3) Second Arrival at Kadesh-Barnea, Chs. 20-36. PRINCIPAL EVENTS Census of the people, according to pedigree and stan dards,.—all able-bodied men from 20 years old apd upward —total, 603,550 men. Estimated total of Israel, two to three millions. Tribe of Levi omitted. The organization.—God thé Leader. A place of worship —appointed ministers, times and seasons and a complete ritual. Army divided into four sections, with three tribes in each. Marching orders <10:35, 36) ' IMPORTANT TRUTHS The presence of God as Leader (9:16, 17): God’s, peo ple,, a heavenly people (15; 38). A ribbon of blue—the heavenly color. Aaron’s rod settling disputes as tp the priesthood. (17:8). The sin of Moses and Aaron—anger and disobedience (20:1-13). Owing to limited space and time, we are compelled to condense these important lessons into one. . : God.” (Heb. 4:9) INTRODUCTION: (2) The Brazen Serpent,, 21:5-9. (3) The Cities of Refuge, 35:9-34. (1) THE RIVEN ROCK, 20:1-13, “And Moses * * * smote the rock twice,” v. 1 1 . (a) The Fault-finders. Forty years has not sufficed to break the stubborn, wilful, fault-finding, murmuring habits of Israel. As their fathers did, so did they. God’s great grace and God’s just judgments have failed to bring the' people into fellowship with His holy will. Unbeiief and ingratitude characterize them. Listen to their lament: “Would God we had died as our fathers did.” Their fa thers died of unbelief! How human, yet how humiliating! Why? Wherefore? Always asking a reason outside of ourselves. “Why have you” rather than “Why have I?” It is always,easy to find fault and lay the blame on someone else. We are quick to recognize our own need and quick to find fault with God’s providence. Why not turn the tables? Why not ask, “Why had God been so good to them? Why had He not blotted them out?” What poor memories men have! The disciples were with Christ when He fed the 5000 (Matt. 15:33) and yet they doubted His ability to feed 4000 (Matt, 16:5*10). OUTLINE OF LESSON (1) The Riven Rock— (Sin of Moses and Aaron), 20:1-13.
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker