Exodus Teaching - 18 - Wilderness of Sin

Exodus Teaching Series #18

TITLE: Wilderness of Sin

TEXT: Numbers 18

[Editor's Note: This study of the Exodus includes passages from books other than the Book of Exodus, as this study reveals.]

Introduction

DEDICATION

While working on this teaching sermon, I received a message I assumed was from my very good friend, General Dutch Shoffner (3 star, retire). I discovered that it had been written by his son, General Al Shoffner, who had written to tell me his mother had died. Dutch and I had visited in person a number of times and we communicated several times a week, occasionally by phone, but mostly by e-mail. In my younger days I had served as pastor to Dutch’s brother John, one of my hunting and fishing buddies. John talked with me about his “little brother, but never mentioned his name.” Years later, I received a phone call from John in which he informed me that his wife Barbara (Bobbie) had died, and he asked me if I would preach the funeral message. My wife and I had spent a considerable amount of time with John and Barbara and with our mutual friends Perry and Helen Talley, both at church and in our homes. I was honored to be asked to preach the sermon. It was at the funeral service that I met Dutch and Beverly Shoffner. From the moment I stood to deliver the sermon I was impressed by a man and woman who seemed especially interested in the message. General Shoffner was particularly interested in what I was saying, and in time I learned that a lot of chaplains has served under him, as well as a lot of doctors and lawyers. Because of John’s serious health issues Dutch and I communicated often after that day.

Mrs. Beverly Shoffner seemed from the first to be a very gracious, personable, and dignified lady. My father was drafted to fight in World War II, but as he was preparing to board a ship that would take him to Europe he heard the announcement that the war was over. He served in Berlin during the Reconstruction. I had always had a sincere appreciation for those who served our country in any branch of the military, but during the first decade of the Twenty First Century I developed a deep appreciation for the family members of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dutch had fought through Viet Nam and General Al Shoffner and Colonel Andy Shoffner laid their lives on the line for America, for my friends, for my family. For you and me! I treasure the flag Andy sent me along with a letter, picture, and certification for the flag which “flew in the face of the enemy in Iraq” on a certain date. I have prayed for Dutch and Beverly Shoffner, for their sons and their families since the war broke out in Afghanistan and Iraq. In time, I made a point of praying daily for Al’s daughter and for Andy’s son and daughter, and for their wives. Dutch told me that when Austin was eight years old he had been separated from his father for five years! That same separation was experienced by both Andy’s daughter and Al’s daughter. They paid a price for me and for my family. Beverly Shoffner paid the price any wife or mother pays when one she loved goes to war. Thank you, Beverly Shoffner. And thank you, Dutch.

INTRODUCTION

The Book of Exodus tell us that “The entire Israelite community departed from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Sinai, “on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt.” (Ex 16:1, HCSB). Again, we are told that, “The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord’s command. The Holman Bible Dictionary opens the description of he article on the wilderness with this paragraph:

“...The words for wilderness in the Old Testament come close to our word desert, because they usually mean a rocky, dry wasteland. Desert in the lands of the Bible is usually rocks instead of sand dunes. These have been called “tame” deserts, because they have infrequent rainfall and wells or oases enough to accommodate some nomadic or seminomadic human occupancy. It was the land that neighbored inhabited land to which shepherds could drive their sheep and goats for pasture. David’s older brother Eliab taunted him: “With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?” (1 Sam. 17:28 NRSV). The wilderness could also have the forboding sense of uninhabitable land, as Jeremiah described it: “a land of deserts and pits… a land of drought and deep darkness… a land that no one passes through, where no one dwells” (Jer. 2:6 NRSV). It was a fearful place in which to get lost (Ps. 107:4-9).” [Holman Bible Dictionary]

They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.” (Ex 17:1, HCSB) The title I have chosen for the message today is The Wilderness of Sin, but I am not talking about spot on the map. I am not talking about a place called sin, but behavior the Lord calls sin. I have no idea where the Wilderness of Sin in the Exodus narrative got its name, but the name seems appropriate for the wilderness experience of the Israelites as plans were being made to leave Sinai, travel through the wilderness to Canaan. The Lord had delivered the Israelites, possibly two million strong, from Egypt, through he wilderness, to Canaan. It also seems in order to refer to the wilderness as a wilderness of sin, for that is exactly what Israel did over and over. They rebelled against the Lord Whom they promised to obey. As we read of the events in Numbers and consider the times we must be aware of the fact that we are reading history in as we read this account. We are reading about real people at a real place at a real time. After the Israelites left Sinai they would come to the Wilderness of Zin, which journey afforded another opportunity for them to sin!

According to Genesis, chapter 12, the Lord called a man named Abram and told him to leave Ur of the Chaldees and go to a distant land, a land we know as Canaan, and as the Promised Land. According to my good friend in Middlesex, England, when a man as wealthy and prominent as Abram left that area it caused quite a stir among the people he left behind. It is amazing how ancient records have been preserved down through the centuries, and I have, in this series from Exodus, mentioned some of the discoveries Dr. Cooper has made in his forty years of research. He has used his access to materials that would cause most American scholars to drool in writing his last six volumes, beginning with The Authenticity of the Book of Genesis and continuing through volumes on Daniel, Jonah, Esther, the New Testament, Volumes I and II. Dr. Cooper has been a leader in the Creation Science movement in his country for many years and is well known to those in the Creation Science movement in America. The Lord changed Abraham’s name from Abram (Exalted Father) to Abraham, which means Father of a Multitude.

When he arrived in Canaan the Lord promised the land to his descendants, but only after they had lived in a foreign country for 400 years. He blessed Abraham and his wife Sarah with the son of promise, Isaac, just as he blessed Isaac with a special son named Jacob, whose name He changed to Israel (Prince with God). Jacob had 12 sons and he showed such partiality to Joseph that his ten older brothers debated killing him before seeing a caravan of Midianites, to whom they sold their brother. The Midianites took him to Egypt where they sold him to a man named Potiphar. His brothers sold him but the Lord was the One who placed him in Egypt so that he could save his family when a famine spread across the entire region. Joseph secured the fertile Land of Goshen for his family and the entered Goshen seventy in number and left 430 years later a nation of some two million people.

I. THE LORD DELIVERED ISRAEL FROM BONDAGE.

A. They Had Been Delivered from Egypt By Yahweh.

1. Yahweh showed mercy to Israel.

“Therefore tell the Israelites: I am Yahweh, and I will deliver you from the forced labor of the Egyptians and free you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. (7) I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Yahweh your God, who delivered you from the forced labor of the Egyptians. (8) I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am Yahweh.” (9) Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.” (Ex 6:6-9, HCSB)

2. By His mighty hand He forced Egypt to let His people go.

“But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you are going to see what I will do to Pharaoh: he will let them go because of My strong hand; he will drive them out of his land because of My strong hand.” (Ex 6:1, HCSB)

When the Lord speaks of His “strong hand” He is emphasizing His omnipotence, His unlimited power. Those who reject Him or rebel against Him in any age will discover what power He has in His hand. The powers of this world can attack people while they are in this world, but once they die they are beyond the reach of earthly - and satanic powers. Physical death is no escape from the power of God, or His judgment.

3. The Lord attacked the false gods of the Egyptians. The first nine plagues were directed against the false gods of Egypt, the gods in whom they placed their trust (gods who did not exist!). If those false gods had existed in any sense of the word, we might say in our time that God slapped them flat of their back. He demolished them. Only Satan could cause people to worship false gods again. Without the influence of Satan the worship of sticks and stones would be the most illogical thing in the world. Satan, however can serve it up so that even highly intelligent people in the eyes of the world will bow before those sticks and stones, before the sun and the moon, and even before earthly priests.

4. Yahweh confronted Pharaoh personally. At the beginning, Pharaoh hardened his heart against the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. Before long the Lord was cooperating with him in the hardening of his heart. Let us remind ourselves that there were ten plagues against Egypt. The number ten is the number for human completion. There were ten plagues and centuries beyond the time of the Exodus the Israelites would know that the number ten was the number for human completion. According to a system called Gamatria, the number 1 stands for unity, the number 2 for added strength, the number three for the Trinity, the number 4 was the universal number (north, south, east, and west). The number 7 is the perfect number (the number for the Trinity plus the universal number). The number 10 is the number for human completion (we have ten fingers and ten toes). With the tenth plague the Lord killed all the first born in the land of Egypt, humans and animals.

After the tenth plague one would think Pharaoh would have been glad to have let the Israelites go, but no! When he saw what he was losing the devil prompted him to try to recapture the Israelites and take back all the spoils they had taken with them and return them all to Egypt. Remember that when they were leaving they were told to ask the Egyptians for gold, silver, wood, jewelry, fabric, and precious stones. They left there with wagons loaded down with materials the Lord would tell them to use in the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness.

When Pharaoh and his army overtook the Israelites, the Lord parted the water of the Red Sea and permitted the Israelites to cross on dry land. Then when Pharaoh ordered his chariots and calvary to over take them and return them the Lord caused the waters to collapse upon the might of Pharaoh’s army. The Israelites were free!

B. The Lord Entered a Covenant with Them at Sinai.

1. Yahweh revealed His glory to the people of Israel. He had revealed His glory both to Israel and to the Egyptians through the ten plagues. He specifically demonstrated His glory to Pharaoh at the Red Sea: “ The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” (Ex 14:18, HCSB)

2. The Lord revealed Himself and His purpose to them. He would lead the Israelites to Sinai where He would reveal His glory: “The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the cloud. (17) The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop.” (Ex 24:16-17)
For over a year the Lord instructed the people of Israel through His servant Moses so that when they left the isolation and security of Mt. Sinai and began their march through the wilderness toward the Promised Land they would know much more about Yahweh, His commandments, His power, His glory, and His purpose for them.

3. They promised to do whatever the Lord said. At Sinai, Moses read the Lord’s covenant before the people: “He then took the covenant scroll and read ⌊it⌋ aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey everything that the Lord has commanded.” (Ex 24:7) We are talking about some two million people. They had 600,000 men who could serve in the army, which explains why all the nations of the region were watching them. They all promised to obey the Lord.
How seriously did they take that promise? Did they mean it? While Moses was with them they seemed to mean it, but we shall see.

4. While Moses was on Sinai, they demanded that Aaron make a golden calf. Moses went back on top of Mt. Sinai where the Lord revealed His Law, plus His will and purpose for the Israelites for forty days. The people panicked and demanded that Aaron make them a golden calf like they worshiped in Egypt. When he (and those who actually made the image) finished it, “He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." (Ex 32:4, (NASB) Many of the people had seen Aaron and his helpers mold and engrave the molten calf, and yet they would bow before it and then get up and engage in a drunken orgies. That does not mean that every person committed adultery, but that a significant number of the Chosen People celebrated as the pagans from whom they had been delivered.

These people demanded that Aaron mold them a golden calf to worship and they “offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to play.” (Ex 32:6, HCSB) The term used was the term that described drunken orgies when associated with pagan worship, and here their behavior was pagan. That does not mean that every person participated in adulterous behavior, but a significant enough number did that the statement could be made in a general sense. These, however, were the people who had promised to obey the Lord.

5. They continually tested the Lord. Jesus told Satan (Matt. 4) that one must not put the Lord to the test. The KJV has “tempt the Lord”, but since God cannot be tempted with evil the meaning is that one should not put the Lord to the test. He can test us but we are never to test Him. Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy in answer to Satan.

“Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you, (15) for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise, the Lord your God will become angry with you and wipe you off the face of the earth. (16) Do not test the Lord your God as you tested ⌊Him⌋ at Massah. (17) Carefully observe the commands of the Lord your God, the decrees and statutes He has commanded you.” (Deut 6:14-17)

When we read what happened at Massah, we may wonder why Yahweh did not condemn them when they complained about the lack of water. Instead, “He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Ex 17:7, HCSB) Why did He not condemn them at Massah, but later commanded that they never test Him again as they did at Massah? The answer is simple enough: they had not entered a covenant relationship with the Lord at Massah, but they did enter such a relationship with Him at Sinai, after which they were commanded never to do that again.

C. Now It Is Time to Leave Mt. Sinai.

1. The Sinai Seminary Experience is now over. They may not have received a graduation certificate but the Israelites by this time had been through both the school of hard knocks and intense training in the law, moral principles, the sacrificial system, and various offerings , and from what we read in Exodus they didn’t have many honor graduates. I had been dating my wife almost one year. I was in seminary in New Orleans and we lived at Sledge in the northwest corner of Mississippi, about 360 miles away. I drove up as often as possible and we spent enough time together to get to know each other, or so I thought. Then one day her mother brought a copy of the Memphis Commercial Appeal into the living room and showed me an article. Her daughter had been named the outstanding student in the department of education at Northwest Community College. I had no idea. I was invited to the commencement exercises and drove from New Orleans to be there. What I saw and heard that day should have been a course in any seminary. When Becky’s name was called by the president he stopped the procession to announce that Rebecca Ann Turner had just set the second highest score in the history of the school, and the current year she had scored higher than the young man who had the record. She would have had the highest record in the history of the school except for the fact that a Home Economics professor gave her a “C” on one project because she worked too slowly for that teacher’s opinion. In Home Economics!

That was impressive, but far from the most impressive thing I was learning about the young lady who would one day stand beside me to receive certificates and letters from Governor Bobby Jindal and the Louisiana State Senate which were read and hand delivered by Senator Mike Walsworth, congratulating us at the celebration of our Golden Wedding Anniversary. The most amazing thing I was to discover when we began dating was the humility I was to gradually discover in this young lady. In the eleven or twelve months between the time we met and her graduation I had never heard her mention anything about school or her accomplishments; not one word about a test, paper, or project; not one word about here GPA; and not one word of concern about any assignment; not one word about a grade.

When she transferred to Mississippi College she would stand in her dorm and listen to other girls talk about their GPA and various accomplishments and smile and nod. She never mentioned that her scores were higher. I don’t have any idea where that combination of confidence and humility came from, but I knew I could never match either. She went on to earn her Masters degree, and then did other graduate work that would improve her qualification as a teacher, and qualify her for a higher. When she had completed those programs I asked her if she was going to work on her doctorate. She asked, “Why?” I mentioned teaching in the university and she said, “I don’t want to teach in college, I am doing what I want to do right now.” Israel, at Sinai, was more like Johnny Sanders than Rebecca Sanders! They had been through a very challenging school, and even though they promised to work hard, apply what they had learned, and follow the rules, they never stayed with it too long. Every time they were tested they flunked the course. The Lord, however, never failed to meet their needs or to provide training and discipline as they moved forward toward the land flowing with milk and honey. Yahweh had prepared them for the long journey to Canaan.

1. They had the Law.

The Lord had led the Children of Israel out of Egypt to take them into Canaan by way of “Mount Sinai in Arabia” (Gal 4:25), not in Egypt! The route taken by the Israelites must have seemed strange to the nations of the region. The Amalakites attacked them and the Lord gave His Chosen People a victory that testified to His power to deliver His people. Edom, Moab, and others watched the Israelites from the time they left Egypt to see which way they would go. There were connections between Israel and some of those nations going back several hundred years and you can be sure the Amalakites knew Who delivered them and why. Forty years later, when the two spies were sent out to Jericho by Joshua, Rahab told them the people of the area knew the Lord had delivered Israel from Egypt and that He had given them their land. Mt. Sinai was a place where they could stop for a year or more to behold the glory of the Lord and to receive His laws and His sacrificial system. Following His instructions, they built the tabernacle and all the furnishings.

2. They had seen the glory of the Lord at Sinai.

“The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the cloud. (17) The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop.” (Ex 24:16-17)

They had already seen the glory of the Lord, in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and on the way to the wilderness (Ex. 16:10). It is tempting to judge those ancient Israelites rather harshly, but when we stop to consider how we see the glory of the Lord at the time we are born again by the grace of God, but fail to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jess Christ from that time forward. Some soon drift away. Others sit in church every Sunday but never mature in the Lord. Some may attend services regularly without growing in the Lord. Still others embrace singing, praising, and talk about the individual’s faithfulness to the Lord, while glorying in the sensational, but never knowing what it means to really mature in a faith that is bases upon sound doctrine, and years of serious personal Bible study and sitting under a pastor who understands that the Lord called him, not to entertain His sheep, not to traumatize them, but to feed them.

3. They had the Tabernacle.

The Lord gave instructions for the building of the Tabernacle, and to certain artisans He had given the skill to build the Tabernacle and all the furnishings associated with it. The work was placed under the supervision of men gifted by the Lord to follow the instructions handed down by Yahweh, men who had been trained in the school of artisans in the Valley of Kings in Egypt. Women were also given certain responsibilities and used their skills taught and developed in Egypt to complete the work on the Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle was divided into two parts, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, each with furnishings that served the Lord’s purpose for Israel. Every detail in the construction, taking down of the tabernacle, transportation, moving, and set up of the Tabernacle in a new location was taught the people in the presence of the Lord. The Tabernacle was a holy place where the high priest, and other priests offered sacrifices for the People, and offered special offerings to the Lord for various purposes. The entire sacrificial system was replace by Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. He made the once-for-all sacrifice at Calvary. His death canceled the need for all those sacrifices and offerings performed by an earthly priest.

When I was a young pastor we had a pulpit guest one Sunday who spoke at our morning service and then accepted our invitation to eat Sunday diner with us. His name was Geoli Settimbrini and he had a strong Italian accent. He told our church that he had been helping with a service in a church in Italy when he stopped and commented to another priest, “Jesus has already done this!” After he was defrocked and kicked out of the Roman Catholic Church he came to America and found a job with a Christian organization.

4. They had the priesthood. Yahweh determined that Israel should be a nation of priests:

“Moses went up ⌊the mountain⌋ to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain: “This is what you must say to the house of Jacob, and explain to the Israelites: (4) ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me. (5) Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, (6) and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”

(7) “After Moses came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. (8) Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.” (Ex 19:3-8)

Next, the Lord gave instruction for the appointment of a high priest and for a priesthood that would serve Him by offering various sacrifices and offerings for the Israelites. The ministry of an earthly priesthood would continue until the coming of the Messiah, Who would offer Himself for the sins of the world. All who believe in Him receive everlasting life and those who reject Him will be cast into everlasting punishment in a place called hell. As the high priest offered sacrifices and offering they pointed with promise to the Lord Jesus Christ who would offer Himself as the once for all sacrifice for the sins of the world.

The earthly priests of the Old Testament era offered daily offerings and once a year the earthly high priest entered the Most Holy Place to offer an atonement for himself and for the people. However, we read of Jesus:

“For it has been testified: You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb. 7:17) “The Lord has sworn, and He will not change His mind, You are a priest forever.” (21 ) “So Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.” (22)

“Now many have become [Levitical] priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. (7:24) But because He remains forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. (25) Therefore He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.”

(26) “For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. (27) He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself. (28) For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, [appoints] a Son, who has been perfected forever.” (Heb 7:17-28)

Jesus made the once for all sacrifice when He, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, gave his life as the once for all sacrifice for the sins of the world. All who simply believe in Him receive everlasting life.

5. They had the sacrificial system.

The Lord gave Moses instructions for all offerings and sacrifices the Children of Israel would offer until the coming of the Messiah. They were told what to sacrifice, when to sacrifice it, why it was to be sacrificed, and who was to offer up the sacrifice.
Detailed information is given concerning every piece of furniture in the tabernacle and its purpose.
We have a progressive revelation of the Person and ministry of the Messiah in the Old Testament, which is why we understand more about the coming Messiah in Isaiah than when we read only as far as Exodus or Psalms. The greatest sacrifice ever made was made by Jesus at Calvary. The entire sacrificial system which the Lord handed down to the Israelites through Moses pointed to the perfect, once for all sacrifice Jesus made for us at Calvary.

There is something else we should consider here. The Lord was preparing Israel to live in the Promised Land and serve Him there. He said nothing about military strategy, nothing about miliary tactics, and nothing about the make up of the army of The Conquest. Not one word! Does that not see a little strange? No mention is made of the role the army would play in the Conquest, or in the life of the people after the nation was established. Nothing is said of a constitution, preamble, laws and by-laws. Nothing is said of the three divisions within the government that should control the balance of powers. What Yahweh gave them was a worship system they were to honor when they conquest was over. The primary emphasis was upon the worship of Yahweh. I am indebted to those who have fought for our freedom, but I am even more burdened by those who were a part of the Greatest Generation” who sat back and let those who honor Satan more than Jesus, drive Jesus out of the public arena - with assurance, of course, that it is better for all of us to do so. They will pay a price for sin and deception, and sadly, so will those deceived by them. That was the first generation to begin to accept evolution and teach it in public schools and universities.

6. They had the organization.

They were organized according to tribes and according to their responsibilities. The twelve tribes were assigned their locations surrounding the Tabernacle. The tribe of Levi, including the priests and Levites, were given special assignments regarding the sacrifices and offerings, as well as the set up of the Tabernacle and all its furnishings, and preparations for moving from one place to another as long as they were in the wilderness.

The tribe of Judah always led the way with they marched from one place to another. Judah was the chosen tribe, the tribe from which the Messiah would come. He tribe of Levi did not receive an inheritance like the tribes of Judah, Dan, and Simeon. They received cities, with a significant amount of land around them for the people to grow produce and feed their sheep. It is interesting that Joseph, of all the sons of Jacob, did not receive an inheritance, nor was there a tribe named for him. His was a double blessing. His two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were each heads of tribes and received an inheritance. Each tribe was given land in the Promised Land.

7. They had the offerings.

They had the BURNT OFFERING, and offering burned completely to ashes. It was an offering associated with repentance, worship, seeking God’s will, and averting judgment. They had the FESTIVAL OFFERING (associated with the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which was associated with Passover (Ex 23:15ff). Among other offerings of which we read in Exodus are the SIN OFFERING, the BURNT OFFERING, and FIRE OFFERING. There were others but this give us an idea of the importance of their offerings to the Lord.

8. They had 600,000 foot soldiers (Num. 11:21).

When the Israelites were getting ready to begin their journey to Sinai the Lord to Moses to number the men who were able to use the sword, meaning of course to go to war in defense of their families and nation. This number suggests that there may well have been two million Israelites at Sinai. This was a formidable force, so we can understand why the Amalakites, Canaanites, Edomites, Moabites, and others were watching them so closely, or why Rahab told the spies sent out by Joshua that the people of Jericho knew the Lord of the Israelites had given them the city of Jericho, and the surrounding land.

There is another lesson we should learn as we follow the path of the Israelites. They may have had a formidable army, but the key to their victorious campaign against the Amalakites, Canaanites, and other nations was that Yahweh was the Author of the strategy and the tactics employed by Joshua. When we read of the battles in which David defeated all foes we discover that the Lord was giving him victory after victory. What better strategy could any army have than to have the assurance that Yahweh would give them the victory.

9. They were ready to go.

In fact, they could not have been more ready. They had spent a year or more at Sinai preparing for the next step, which was to move out toward their possessions. They were to march to a point on the east side of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho and wait for the Lord to tell Joshua what steps to take in the conquest of Canaan. The strategy they followed was the one the Lord gave them. This was a crucial point. If they obeyed Him He would give them the victory.

II. IT WAS NOW TIME TO MOVE ON TO CANAAN.

A. God Determined that it Was Time to Move.

Only God is omniscient: only God knows everything. Only God is omnipresent: Only God is everywhere present at the same time. Only God is omnipotent: only God is all powerful. Man is not. Nations are not. Leaders of nations are not. Only God knew without a doubt when it was time for the Children of Israel to break camp and move on to Canaan, the Land of Promise, the land flowing with milk and honey. He knew completely and absolutely what was happening at Sinai and He knew just as well what was happening in Canaan and everywhere in between. That means that only He could foresee and foreknow the conquest . Moses did not have that knowledge, nor did Joshua, but they both knew He did, so they trusted Him.

There is no way Japan knew when she bombed Pearl Harbor what the end results would be. Had she known they would be soundly defeated - had they known about the two A-bombs that would be dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima it is doubtful that they would have attacked. They did know after those two attacks they could not stand anything like that in Tokyo, so they surrendered.

Do you think Italy would have entered World War II on the side of Germany if they had known they would be soundly defeated? Let me share just a few points I have learned from reading the book, A Very Present Help, by Lieut-General Sir William Dobbie, published in 1945. General Dobbie had reached the end of his military career by the beginning of the war but wanted to make a contribution to the war effort. He was asked to meet with some government official an when he went to that official’s office the man wanted to know if he would like to go to Malta. He asked in what capacity we would serve and the official said, “As Governor.” Gen. Dobbie had seen the hand of God on Great Britain and her allies in WW I and had no doubt about what God could, and would do. Two points stand out in the book. First, there is no way Malta could stand up to major invasion by the Italian, let alone the Germans who soon joined them. No way whatsoever. There is no way Malta should have been able to stand up under German bombing. But it did!

In the second place, Malta was critical to the war effort, but could not survive on its own. First, they could not produce enough food, clothing, ammunition, or medical supplies on the island and by the time other islands fell to the Germans and Italians all their food and other supplies had to be shipped in from one thousand miles away, with planes trying to hit them with bombs. Second, Malta was in a strategic location to aid in communication with British troops in north Africa.

General Dobbie was well aware of the fact that Malta should not have been able to stand up against a major attack by the Germans and Italians. He opens Chapter XII as follows:

“So the siege of Malta began. Some things were very evident - our weakness, the enemy’s strength, the impossibility of outside human help for the time being, and, not least, the vital importance to our country’s cause of our holding on to Malta. These somber facts were not pleasant to contemplate, and by themselves would have given case for despondency. But fortunately, they did not constitute the whole picture. Behind all the human factors was God, with whom human strength and human weakness matter but little. The horizon did indeed look black, but behind he clouds was the light of God’s power.” [Dobbie, General Sir William, p. 87].

General Dobbie gave a number of examples of God’s providential care for the people of Malta. The Bible was a source of strength and encouragement.

“We did not in Malta, as Elisha did in Dothan, see with our physical eyes the ‘horses and chariots of fire”, yet we were very conscious of God’s protecting hand, constantly evident in many ways. We saw it when He restrained the enemy from invading us at a time when we were ill-prepared to resist. We saw it in the results achieved by our pitiably weak air defenses. We saw it in the achievements of te Royal Navy and Merchant Navy in bringing supplies to Malta, sometimes in seemingly impossible conditions. We saw it in many, some big and some small, throughout he long-drawn-out period of siege, and as we now look back from the vantage point of a little distance, and see things, perhaps, in truer perspective - the very fact that, in spite of all her disadvantages, Malta has remained in British hands, and, by the offensive action based on Malta she made a definite contribution toward our ultimate sweeping success in the Mediterranean - that, surely, is a miracle which cannot be gainsaid. It is God Who works miracles.” [Dobbie, p. 88]

Israel did not know when to leave Sinai. They did not know which way to go. They did not know how far it was to Canaan. They did not know what resources they would need. They did know how to get those resources. They did not know whether or not they could defeat the nations between Sinai and Canaan. They only God knew. The problem was that in order to take advantage of what God knew and what He could do they would have to do what they had promised when they first arrived at Sinai. The would have to obey Him.

B. The Israelites Moved from Sinai to Paran

“During the second year, in the second month on the twentieth ⌊day⌋ of the month, the cloud was lifted up above the tabernacle of the testimony. (12) The Israelites traveled on from the Wilderness of Sinai, moving from one place to the next until the cloud stopped in the Wilderness of Paran. (13) They set out for the first time according to the Lord’s command through Moses.” (Num 10:11-13)

The wilderness of Paran was in a northwesterly direction from Sinai, which means that they were finally moving in the direction of Canaan. Observe that carful records are being kept, even under these circumstances. This is not fiction. It is not drama. It is history. This really happened and when anything is found in the Bible it is there because the Lord determined that it would be there and if He so determined it, there had to be a reason for it. There was.

While this is more than a practice march, it did give Moses, the leaders of the Israelites, and the people an opportunity to move out upon Yahweh’s command in an orderly manner. The tabernacle, with all its accessories and furnishings had to be moved in an orderly fashion. There was nothing haphazard about this march. The people did not choose how they would march, the Lord did. Those responsible for preparing the Tabernacle to move and then to set it up again were following clear and specific orders from the Lord. Each time they arrived at Paran or some new site they set up the Tabernacle according to the orders of Yahweh.

At this point, we may remind ourselves that there was nothing hap-hazzard about this move, either in the timing, method, or order. It was an ordered move and it was an orderly move. In other words, they were not wandering in the wilderness. They left Sinai and moved on to Paran. There was a plan behind the move. They obeyed the Lord in moving the Ark of the Covenant out ahead of the march and the people followed it. Military divisions set out as the Lord had commanded. Every tribe knew where it was to march, and when everything was ready the Lord sent the cloud to lead them.

C. Spies Were Sent to Spy out the Land.

Recognizance is essential in a war between nations. Marshal Patrick Murphy was a Confederate spy during the Civil War, which was not really that civil. Murphy once got the drop on a Union captain and three privates who were crossing the Stone River in Tennessee, not too far from Nashville. He ordered them to surrender, but he captain, willing to sacrifice one of his soldiers to save himself, ordered his men to “shoot him!” Actually, he cursed my great, great grandfather. Murphy shot the captain, drew his side arm and captured the three privates. For this he was decorated. On one occasion, some where near Oxford, Mississippi, he was slipping through the woods when he saw a little patch of blue through the rails in a fence. He slipped up and captured a lost and frightened young Union private, who surrendered without any resistence. Sitting down opposite his prisoner, Murphy asked his name and then, looking down he asked his prisoner what size boots he was wearing. They wore the same size, so, Murphy ordered him to trade boots with him, adding, “Where you are going you won’t need them and I will.” On the way to the area where the young eighteen year old soldier would be turned over to those responsible for prisoners the two young men talked freely.

At one point, the Union soldier asked Marshall Murphy if he knew a certain young lady. He went on to tell him that when he was a very small child his mother died, leaving him and a sister in the care of neighbors until they could find family members. They discovered that one relative lived in Illinois and one in Mississippi, so they sent the boy to Illinois and the girl to Mississippi, somewhere near Oxford. Murphy had captured his wife’s younger brother, but he never told him. He said that if was hard enough to turn him in as it was, but if he had told him he was his brother-in-law he didn’t know whether he could do it or not.

Joshua, the commander of the Israelite forces, would need all the information he could get, whether he knew it or not, so the Lord ordered Moses to send twelve spies, one from each tribe into Canaan to spy out the land. The information the brought back would be critical for Joshua and his officers as they adopted a strategy for the conquest of Canaan. The mission would serve another important purpose. They were to bring back both reports and fruit to prove Canaan was indeed a land flowing with milk and honey.

C. When The Spies Gave Their Report the People rebelled.

We may ask how those people could rebel against the Lord Who had delivered them from Egypt by His mighty hand, and given they the law and the sacrificial system, fed them miraculously, and provided water for them when there was no water. How could they rebel against the Lord who had demonstrated His power, love, and presence so miraculously? They did it the same way modern day Christians so often refuse to follow the Lord in all the ways he directs us in His Word. One wonders if we may not be guilty of a greater sin, since the Lord has demonstrated the magnitude of His great love by sending His only begotten Son so that all who believe in Him receive eternal life. It is just that simple, and is just has clearly documented, so those who sin against the Lord today sin agains a much greater light.

D. Tragically, They Brought God’s Judgment on Themselves (Num. 11:1ff) .

“Now the people began complaining openly before the Lord about hardship. When the Lord heard, His anger burned, and fire from the Lord blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. (2) Then the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. (3) So that place was named Taberah, because the Lord’s fire had blazed among them.” (Num 11:1-3)

1. These were the same people who had promised to obey Yahweh (Ex. 19:8). These people had promised to obey the Lord in whatever matter He commanded them. Now, after only a short leg of the journey they were complaining against Him. Years ago, a faithful member of a church I had heard quite a bit about told me that every time they had a revival one member would go off to visit a relative and come back and assert himself in such a was as to create tension and stress among the people. It was almost like he discovered that the people might start thinking for themselves if he didn’t assert his leadership immediately. The members were often stirred up over some insignificant issue.

2. The people complained about hardship.

“Now the people began complaining openly before the Lord about hardship. When the Lord heard, His anger burned, and fire from the Lord blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. (2) Then the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. (3) So that place was named Taberah, because the Lord’s fire had blazed among them.” (Num 11:1-3)

Here in the wilderness, after only the first leg of their journey, the people began complaining about their hardships. Had they forgotten the hardships they were subjected to in Egypt? Apparently so, but we ask, “How could they do such a thing? How could they have forgotten the pain, suffering, and death that was such a part of their experience in Egypt?” Yet, before we follow that line too far, how long did it take for Americans to stop praising God, celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas, and His resurrection at Easter and begin the all out war against Jesus Christ in the media as we are seeing today?

America was once the center for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world but now Phil Robertson of the Duck Dynasty can quote what the Bible has to say about homosexuality and pray in Jesus’ name and his network, A & E, has suspended him - and then lifted the suspension when they saw they had mistaken the response of the people. America, a country God has blessed like no other country in the history of the world, has declared war against God, against any reminder of the birth of Jesus in any public place, against any reference to Jesus at military facilities like Camp Shelby in Mississippi. Yet, if we should go on a tour with Don Wildman and others from American Family Radio, they can point out verses from the Bible that were engraved in special places all over town. The media is afraid to offend Muslims but decided years ago to stop using the names Jesus and Christ together, because they feel that to use Christ with Jesus would be offering a commentary on who Jesus is. We could go on and on, but we will save that for another day.

The Lord responded quickly and decisively against the criticism by the Israelites. He could have wiped out the whole nation and started over with Moses to fulfill His purpose, but once again He showed mercy in the midst of judgment.

3. They complained about the food (Num. 11:4-15).

(4) “Contemptible people among them had a strong craving ⌊for other food⌋. The Israelites cried again and said, “Who will feed us meat? (5) We remember the free fish we ate in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. (6) But now our appetite is gone; there’s nothing to look at but this manna!” (Num. 11:4-6)

It is interesting that the leaders among those who were complaining are called “contemptible people.” The author of the material in the New Commentary on the Whole Bible suggests that these
“Contemptible people” may have been the “mixed multitude” of whom we read in Exodus 12:35: “These consisted of Egyptians and other Semites who joined in the exodus from Egypt. This rabble began the complaining, which then spread to the Israelites. All too often a negative, bitter spirit among a few in any group tends to infect the whole” [NCWB]. Did you hear that? How many times have we seen one or two people begin complaining against the pastor, deacons, or other leaders and either one of two things happens. First, many people love to hear gossip and when they listen to the gossip or criticism they encourage those spreading the negative stories to continue them. Second, a mature person who really loves the Lord and His church may kill the gossip or negative charge with a simple word. My mother was a master at this. She would listen courteously, and when the person spreading the negative news finished she might say, ‘Let me tell you something I learned a few days about this person.” Then she would highlight some good qualities, often qualities lacking in those who were spreading the gossip. She did not attack the trouble maker, she simply told him or her about some positive things that individual did for others that had never been broadcast. It was amazing to see the effects that had on the person who was trying to spread some bad news about another church member.

These contemptible in the wilderness were in rebellion against the Lord and they were leading others in complaining about the food. God was sustaining life for these people while they marched to the land flowing with milk and honey! What was wrong with those people?

11:7 “The manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of bdellium. (8) The people walked around and gathered ⌊it⌋. They ground ⌊it⌋ on a pair of grinding stones or crushed ⌊it⌋ in a mortar, then boiled ⌊it⌋ in a cooking pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a pastry cooked with the finest oil. (9) When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.” (Num 11:7-9)

To be perfectly honest, I would get tired of pizza if I had to eat it every day for 40 years - but wait a minute! They had not eaten manna for forty years. They only had to eat it until they reached the Land of Canaan, the “land flowing with milk and honey.” As soon as the next generation arrived in Canaan God cut off the manna and the people began eating the fruit and vegetables, and the meat and the milk products of Canaan.

CONCLUSION

As we read the account of the first move of the Israelites from Sinai through the wilderness to Paran there are many lessons we may discern from the brief accounty, and we may wonder why those Israelites who had promised the Lord to follow Him faithfully, began complaining so quickly. Is it not interesting that the only Person who could deliver them was the One against whom they were complaining? If He had withdrawn His hand they would have perished there in the wilderness and they would have died a horrible death. If He had withdrawn His mighty right hand they would have been slaughtered at the Red Sea by Pharaoh’s army. On the long journey to the Twelve Springs of Elim they would have died of hunger or thirst.

For that matter, why not bring this thought up to date? What happened to the brave veterans who fought for this country in the First World War, and came home to help launch the “roaring twenties”, the lawlessness of the Prohibition era, and embrace evolution within a generation after the famous Scopes Trial to the point that colleges were rejecting God and His record of Creation in favor of some of the most absurd explanations I can imagine. If such arguments had been used to explain anything else those so-called scholars would have made jokes about those who professed a belief in anything that sounded so absurd.

What was wrong with the so-called “greatest generation” who saw the country through the Great Depression and fought so courageously through World War II, but came home to bring up a generation of children they did not want to see work as they had worked, and didn’t want to see go to war as they had. What they ended up with was a post World War II generation that gave us the hippies and yippies with their “new morality.” Former Drug Czar William Bennett wrote about America’s moral index in a powerful volume. He showed that after the Bible and Prayer were taken out of public schools there was a radical climb in the rate of all sorts of sins.

I am convinced that if America does not repent and seek God’s forgiveness and restoration we are facing His judgment. He can make that judgment just as severe as He chooses. We do indeed have a lot of “contemptible people” in America who are in rebellion against Jesus Christ. We must repent before it is too late, or face the consequences.