304
T H E » K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
A NiW TRACT!!! By D r. Herbert Lockyer “GOD’S AUTOGRAPH BOOK0 Handy 4 page size.. A rt color •cover. 40 cents per 100; $3.00. per 1000. FUNDAMENTAL PRESS, 161 W. Harrison St. Dept. B-83, Chicago 5* Illinois 8 Take the rod, and gather thou the as sembly 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 watér out of the rock: so thou shalt give the con gregation 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. iz And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ,ye believed, me not, to. sanc tify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congréga tion 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. 20:27 And Moses did as the Lord com manded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 And Mosés stripped Aaron of his gar ments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and M.oses and Eleazar came down from the mount. LESSON TEX T: Num. 20:1-13, 27, 28. GOLDEN TEX T: “ Be ye angry, and sin npt”! (Eph. 4:26). DEVOTIONAL READING: Psa. 66:1-4, 18-20. /Outline and Exposition I. T he O ccasion of t h e S in (1-6) M IRIAM, sister of Moses and and there she died. Whether her death at -this time was part of the punish ment for aspiring to the prophet’s of fice nòne can say (cf. Num. 12:1-13). At Kadesh there was no water for the people, and they i m m e d i a t e l y murmured against Moses and Aaron, as though these two were responsible for the lack of water (vs. 2-5). But their murmuring was really against the providence of God, thus indicating their distrust of Him, that is, their u n b e l i e f . The murmuring was also against the grace of God, revealing their ingratitude, as shown by their lack of praise for all His goodness in bringing them out of Egypt, and His provision for them during the days of wandering. Moreover, this complaining was against the justice of God, show ing their inconsistency, because it was their own fault that they were in this place; had they obeyed His voice, they would a l r e a d y have been in their promised land. Furthermore, it was against the purpose of God, revealing their sinful insanity, for they accused God of not keeping His promise to
, bring them to a land of figs and vines, when they had deliberately refused to enter the land (cf. Num. 13,14). Moses and Aaron could do nothing to still the mu / m u r i n g , and they sought direction from God as to what they should do (v. 6). The Lord im mediately manifested Himself as these two were upon their faces before Him- His presence was always there arid the people should have recognized that fact, but they were so- blinded by their muririuring that even “the glory of the Lord” failed to move them. II. T he C haracter of the S in (7-13) Moses and Aaron had very clear di rections from the Lord as to what they must do, (vs. 7, 8). Moses had merely to take the rod and speak to the rock. The honor God put upon him is indi cated by the words, “Thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt” give the water. It should be noted that it was the rod—the rod that budded, the rod that was a type of resurrection and life. On the other hand, Moses’ rod was one of judgment, and as such had been used once in smiting the rock. The rod of Moses typified the One who was smitten on Calvary, smitten only once which was sufficient (cf. Heb. 9:25-28). The action of Moses in again smiting the rock would typify the necessity for Christ’s dying once again. Then, too, the pride of Moses seems apparent as he said, “Must we fetch you water out of this rock?” (v. 10), Seemingly, the Lord was thrust aside, and it was Moses, and the people ar rayed against each other, and Moses “ smote the rock twice.” He did what the Lord told him to do, but not as the Lord said. A good thing, done in a wrong way, brings judgment. But grace also was present. God would not allow a human error to issue in the hurt of the people; He overrode the error to the blessing of the people. Then the Lord indicated His de cision- that Moses could not lead the people into the promised land (vs# 12, 13). Had Moses not been a leader, the punishment might have been less—a solemn truth that still holds good to day. Honor given by the Lord entails responsibility that cannot be evaded. However, Moses was not told that he could not enter the land. He afterward B LA C K B O A R D LESSON
did enter it and was seen on the Mount of Transfiguration. III. M oses A lone ^ w i t h G od (27, 28) In obedience to the Lord’s command, Moses and Aaron went up into Mount Hor, where Aaron was stripped of the garments indicating his office, and there he died. The- help Moses had asked long before had been given him in Aaron, but he had gained nothing but distress by having his brother as an assistant all through the wander-,, ings. Now Moses is left just as he was at the beginning, having no helper ex cept the living God. And now, in the closing days of, his life, he learned that the Lord was wholly sufficient; he did not need any mouthpiece to speak the words of God (cf. Ex. 4:14-16). Points and Problems 1. "And the p e o p l e chode with Moses, and spake, saying. Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!" (v. 3). This is one of the many instances recorded in the Book of Numbers of the complain ing of the children of Israel. -Numbers has been called a book of murmurings. Israel murmured (1) because of the way they had to travel (10:33 to 11:2), (2) because of the food God gave them (11:4-6), (3) against the leader God had set over them (12:1, 2), (4) because of giants in the way (14:1, 2), and (5) because of lack of water (20:2, 3)- God was always displeased with such lack of trust. The children of God today need to take’ heed. Murmuring, com plaining, grumbling, and worrying, are sins from which Christians should ask God to- liberate them. “ Do all things without murmurings and disputings” (Phil. 2:14). Is there some thirst in your soul today? Don’t murfnur about it. Trust God and be satisfied. The Rock, Christ Jesus, is near by. 2. "Because ye believed me not... therefore ye shall not bring this con gregation info the' land" (v. 12). It must have been a most serious offense on the part of Moses and Aaron to have merited such punishment as was meted out. It was a sin of disobedience. God told Moses and Aaron to speak to the- rock. Instead they spoke to the people, and smote the rock twice. The smiting of the rock had already taken place at Rephidim. It was not to be repeated because of its typical sig nificance (1 Pet. 3;18; Heb. 9:26, 28). Christ, the antitype, suffered for sins once. (2) It was a sin of anger and passion. Moses said to the people, “Hear now, ye rebels” (v. 10). Psalm 106:33 says concerning, this action, “They provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.” Probably this provoked spirit was re sponsible for the striking of the rock twice. (3) It was a sin of self-glory. “Must we fetch you water out of this
Aaron, was with them'In the wilderness and u n t i l they came to Kadesh in the desert of Zin,
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs