Scott Moore: Welcome to the "Building Faith and Family" podcast with Steve Demme.  I'm your host, Scott Moore. Thanks for joining us today. Good morning, Steve. How  are you today? 

Steve: Good morning. I'm fine. First day, I've walked the pups without their little coats  on in the morning for several weeks. 

Scott: It' nice to not have it be single digits outside. 

Steve: Amen. Now, if we listen back to this in the middle of July, we'll be going, "Oh, it  is hot. Let's go back to winter.” Today we're in the heart of Numbers chapters 7-16. Scott: You should really like this book named Numbers. 

Steve: Yes and a hymn to accompany it would be "Count your blessings. Name them  one by one." 

Scott: Nice. 

Steve: Father, here we are, again, and we are happy to be focusing and studying Your  word. Thank You for giving it to us. Thank You for teaching us how to read and listen.  Thank You for our senses, and thank You for Your inspired words. I pray that You will  

help us to glean nuggets of truth from this chapter. In Jesus' name, amen. Scott: Amen. 

Steve: Numbers 7, which I have to confess is not one of my favorite chapters in the  Bible, but I appreciate all of these 12 men bringing six wagons and 12 oxen and a  wagon for each two of the chiefs and an oxen. Each one of them gets their gift  described the same as the guy before him, and God help us to glean something from  that. 

I don't really have any observations that are edifying, but I read it. I have to confess  that once I read the first couple and I recognize that we're on a pattern here, I kind of  go pretty quickly through the next ones. 

Scott: I bet there's a Shelumiel out there somewhere who was named after this guy in  verse 36. 

Steve: That's what we should do. I thought about that. We should study the Hebrew  for each of the men's names and see what we come up with. The best insight I  received was in the 89th verse. This is a long chapter. 

"When Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Jehovah, he heard the voice  speaking to him from above the atoning cover or mercy that was on the ark of the  testimony from between the two cherubim, and it spoke to him." 

God spoke to Moses. I'll be happy to read 12 men's gifts if I can get that one verse out  of that chapter. God spoke to him in the holy of holies on top of the ark covered by  1

the atoning cover or mercy, and that's why we want to go into the holy of holies to  hear God's voice. 

Chapter 8. For those os us who have studied the tabernacle, this takes us back to  Exodus again, and to Leviticus, where we read about all these wonderful parts of the  furniture of the tabernacle and all that they mean. In the 14th verse, we have a verse  that I think is significant. "You shall separate the Levites from among the people of  Israel, and the Levites shall be mine." 

There's something special about this wonderful calling for God to call out this whole  tribe and say, "You are mine. You don't need lands and houses. I am your portion." I'm  getting ahead of myself because this language will come up later in the Bible. God's portion was this people. We know that His big heart was for all of God's people  to be His people, that everybody would be priests, but now "The Levites shall be  mine." The word "separate," comes from these roots, that this is what it means to be  holy, to be consecrated, to be set apart. The Levites were set apart to belong to God. Chapter 9, now we're talking about keeping the feasts, and it's right in the beginning.  This is not a suggestion. If you really want to be close to God, He says, "Let the  people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time." 

He tells them exactly what time. He tells them what to do. There were some people  that were not able to do it, so He told them, "If this happened to you and this  happened to you, this is what you do." They didn't know what to do, so they went to  Moses. Moses went to God, and God told them, "Eat the Passover in the second  month. Wait a month, but still do it." 

The point is, do it. In the 13th verse, it says, "If anyone who is clean and is not on a  journey fails to keep Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people because he  did not bring Jehovah's offering at its appointed time that man shall bear his sin." God means what He says, and when God tells them things, it's for their good, so don't  trifle with God. We're going to see a lot of that in this section today. Chapter 10, trumpets. "Make two silver trumpets." I used to play the trumpet when I  was in the junior high band. Although it was the same time as shop class, and I was  frequently cutting band so I could get down to shop, which is where I wanted to be.  These trumpets were used to call the people. 

One couldn't send texts, so you blew trumpets. There's something about blowing a  trumpet. If you've ever been in a place where all of a sudden, there's a trumpet blast  that piercing the air, it does something to you. It's not only for calling the chiefs, it's  also for war. 

It says in the eighth and ninth verses, "The trumpet shall be to you for a perpetual  statute throughout your generations, and when you go to war in your land against the  adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets." He says, "That you may be remembered before Jehovah your God, and you shall be  saved from your enemies." These trumpets enlisted the help of God. Boy, I'd blow the  trumpet if I needed help.  

Numbers 10:11, “In the second year, on the 20th day of the month, the cloud lifted  from over the tabernacle of the testimony.” They've been preparing for this, but it's  now time to go.  

The people set out in stages, and then the clouds settled down in Paran, and they set  out for the first time at the command of the Lord. It tells them exactly how they were  supposed to do it before. We’ve read that, and now they're doing it. We're finally  leaving the mount. We've been given the law. We've built this tabernacle. They prepared for almost two years, and now they're on their way. I really like this  phrase in Numbers 10:35-36. "Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, 'Arise, O  Jehovah, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before  You.' And when it rested, he said, 'Return, O Jehovah, to the 10,000 thousands of  Israel.'" That's like a verbal trumpet. 

This is Moses. Whenever the ark set out, I can see him standing there with his arms  spread wide and his staff in his hand, and he's bellowing. "Arise, O God." Then at the  end, he says, "Return, O Jehovah." That's powerful. I'm going to add that to my places  where I'd like to be. I'd like to see Moses do that. 

Numbers 11. This is deep. We have to remember, in 1 Corinthians 10, that these  things, this Old Testament, this journey of the Israelites was written for our  admonition upon whom the end of the ages have come. This is for our admonition.  We're supposed to be learning from this. 

These are real people, and God chose portions of this to be recorded so we could  learn from them. In the 11th chapter, people are complaining they didn't like the  menu. It was getting too much for Moses. He said, "Uh-uh. These people." God's  

getting mad, and Moses is upset and Moses finally says, "What did I do?" Did I give  birth to these people? 

"Can I carry them like a nurse carries a nursing child? Where am I supposed to get  meat for 600,000 men and their families?" God said to Moses, "I hear you. Get me 70  men, and I'm going to help them carry your burden." All I could think of was Psalm  55:22, "Cast your burden upon Jehovah, and He will sustain you. He will never permit  the righteous to be moved." 

God gave me that verse about a year and a half after Johnny was born. I was at my  wit's end, I didn't know which way to turn. I didn't even know I had an issue. When I  read that verse, I realized I was afraid that I couldn't carry this burden by myself, and  God says, "Let me carry it." God listened to Moses. 

Moses, "I can't do this. This is, it's too much." He says, "OK. Get these 70 other  people." It says in the 25th verse, "Jehovah came down in a cloud and spoke to him,  and He took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the 70 elders, and as  soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied." 

Awesome. Now Moses is not alone. Now he's got 70 brothers at his shoulder bearing  his burdens with him. I think there are two things we can learn from that. The first  one is when our burdens get too big, call out, blow our trumpet, so to speak. "God,  we need your help." The second thing is, we need each other. We can't do life by  ourselves. 

There's no such thing as lone-ranger Christians. Of course, people that are not older  don't know what that means, but there used to be this guy called the lone ranger,  even though he really wasn't alone. He had a faithful companion, Tonto, but the point  is we need each other, and we can't get help unless we ask for it, so he asked.  Something else happens. Two of the guys didn't go. There were only 68 there when  they were all together. Two of them didn't leave the camp. Of course, Joshua, who’s  got Moses' back, goes running up to him. He says, "Moses, stop them. These guys are  supposed to be with you, and now they're prophesying in the camp." Moses said, "Are you jealous for my sake? I would wish that all God's people were  prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit on them." This is beautiful. This is God's  heart. This is Moses' heart. "I wish that everybody was a priest. I wish that everybody  was a prophet," but thanks for having my back, Josh. 

Then in the 12th chapter, and this is a theme throughout today, Miriam and Aaron are  gossiping. They're speaking against Moses. "I can't believe he married a Cushite. Can  you believe this?" They also said, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?  Hasn't He spoken through us also?" 

Man, I read that, and I start to hunker down and cringe, and I'm thinking, "Do you  know what you're saying? This is God's anointed, and you're fussing against God's  anointed saying, ‘God's spoken to us too."' Yes, He has, but Moses is God's man. For  there to be order in this camp, we need to have some structure, and Moses is at the  top of the command chain. 

Even though we know, "The man Moses was very meek more than all people who were  on the face of the earth." Even if he heard them fussing about Cushites and everything  else, he wouldn't have said anything, but God takes up his case. 

Miriam found out what it felt like to be outside the camp as a leper. God help us to  have the right attitude towards people in authority and people that God has  significantly anointed and set apart.  

The 13th chapter is pretty familiar to most people. In fact, if you visit Israel, they sell  little hand-carved olive figurines out of olive wood where two men are carrying a  pole between their shoulders with a cluster of huge grapes, Grapes of Eshcol. This is  when the men were sent out to spy the land. 

These men, leaders, chosen, go out to spy out the land, and they come back and give  a very different report than Caleb or Joshua. By the way, this is where Joshua gets his  name changed. Hoshea means salvation, but when you add the JO at the beginning,  now you don't have Jo Hoshea, you have Joshua, which means Yah saves. This is not simply salvation. This tells us that Yah is the one that saves. Very  significant. We've already had Abram turned to Abraham and Sarai turned to Sarah,  and we're going to see other people have their name changed in the Bible, but it  means something. 

The spies return after 40 days and they come back and share an evil report. Yet, there  are two people that have a different attitude. These two people are, as I said, Joshua  and Caleb. Something that I have written in the margin of my Bible is based on what  Joshua reports.  

He rebukes the 11 men and then says, "No. The land which we pass through to spy it  out is an exceedingly good land. If Jehovah delights in us, He will bring us into this  land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey." Exactly like He said.  "Only do not rebel against Jehovah, and do not fear the people of the land, for they  are bread for us." 

If God's on our team, in my colloquial expression, this is a “piece of cake.” They are  bread. We'll eat them up. We need to not rebel and fear." I love Joshua's response, and  I love the fact that he tells them, "This is a piece of cake. Let’s move forward, this is  going to work." 

Later in this chapter Moses prays an incredible prayer, "Please pardon the iniquity of  this people according to the greatness of Your steadfast love, just as You have  forgiven this people from Egypt until now." 

Then Jehovah said, "I have pardoned according to your word, but truly as I live and as  all of the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah, none of the men who have  seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put  me to the test these 10 times, and have not obeyed my voice shall see the land that I  swore to give to their fathers. 

"And none of those who despise me shall see me, but my servant Caleb, because he  has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he  went, and his descendants shall possess it." I think that's pretty special when God  knows your name. 

God says, "Caleb." I thought of 2nd Chronicles 16:9. "The eyes of Jehovah run to and  fro throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is  completely His." God is looking for people like Caleb and Joshua to stand by Him. Sadly, they were 40 days in the land, and God says, "According to the number of days  in which you spied out the land, 40 days, a year for each day, you shall bear your  iniquity 40 years, and you shall know my displeasure." 

It was 40 days, now 40 years. Those men who spied out the land and brought the evil  report, died right away. They died by a plague before the Lord. Only Joshua and Caleb  were spared. Then, Moses told these words to the people of Israel. The people  mourned greatly, and they said, "Oh, OK. We’ll go." 

They got everybody together, and Moses says, "No, no. You're not listening. Don't go  up. They were going to smite you. There's Amalekites and Canaanites there, and God  is not on your team," but they went up, and they got smitten. Oh, it hurts you to read  some of these passages. 

Then when we come into the 15th chapter, God speaks to Moses, "When you come  into the land," I thought that was good because, boy, these people had no hope. After  the 11 men died, and their failed attempt to go into the land, God shifts gears and  says, "When you come into the land, these are the offerings that you offer." He tells  them about sin, intentional sin, unintentional sin, and what to offer.  While the people were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the  Sabbath and brought him to Moses. "What shall we do?" Moses goes to God, and God  says, "He needs to be stoned." I think there's a lot of people that were more careful  about keeping the Sabbath after that experience.  

In the 37th verse, he tells them about putting tassels on the corners of their garments  throughout their generations. This blue tassel is to remind them of keeping God's  commands, like not working on a Sabbath. I've often wondered if Jesus had a blue  tassel on his garment, and perhaps that's why the woman, from Matthew 9, who had  suffered from a discharge of blood for 12 years, came up behind Him and touched the  fringe of His garment. For she said to herself, "If I can only touch His garment, I'll be  made well." I'm not sure, but I think it could be. It's an interesting and edifying  thought.  

Chapter 16. This is deep. This cuts close to home. I think you're going to see. 

Now, not only do we have Miriam and Aaron saying, "Who does Moses think he is?  We've talked to God and God has talked to us," but now you have Korah, the son of  Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and the  sons of Peleth, sons of Reuben. These are the big cheeses, and they rose up with a  large crowd. 

This time it wasn't 11 guys that were spying out the land. Now they have got a  consensus. They gathered 250 chiefs of the congregation. The big cheeses, and they  set themselves up against Jehovah. Really, they said they set themselves against  Moses and against Aaron, but it's really against God because God's the one that  appointed Moses and Aaron. 

Their reasoning is, "Hey, we're all holy, every one of us. Jehovah's among us. Why do  you exalt yourselves before the assembly?" Moses knew in a second what was  happening here. This was not a gentle appeal to make a democracy. No. Moses fell on  his face, and said to Korah, "In the morning, Jehovah will show who is His and who  isn't." 

In verse 3, "You have gone too far. For all in the congregation are holy, every one of  them, Jehovah is among them." This is what Korah told Moses. "You've gone too far."  But Moses says, "You've gone too far. In the morning, we're going to see." It's so sad to me when I picture these men standing with their wives and children in  front of their tents, and the ground opens up and swallows them. I think, "OK. The  men, they messed up, but the wife and the kids," to me, I take this personally, and I  take it seriously. Men bear responsibility for our families, and our children, our wives  are following us. We've got to get it right. 

By the way, it's not the only time that the earth opens its mouth and swallows evil.  Read it yourself in Revelation 12:15-16. As I read about this, there are a couple things  that stand out. What an amazing picture of prayer. Aaron with his censer running  amongst the people to save them. He was standing between the living and the dead.  He was praying for his enemies. 

These people had arrayed themselves against Moses and Aaron. You never see Moses  and Aaron even bat an eye out at this. They didn't say, “Ok, we hope you guys do  perish.” No. They never hesitated. Moses said, "Pray for them. Aaron, grab your  censer. These people are going to perish unless you stand before them."  This is prayer. Standing between the living and the dead. If I can make a practical  application, this attitude of Korah is something that is within our own hearts. We may  be tempted to think, "Well, what makes this pastor so special? What makes this man  of God so special? How dare they tell us stuff? We're as good as they are. Hey, God  speaks to us too." 

I have four passages that speaks to this condition: 

”Pride goes before destruction." Proverbs 16:18. "Pride goes before destruction." It's  exactly what happened here. Korah had pride.  

Romans 12:3, ”I say through the grace that was given me to every man that is among  you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think as to  think soberly." 

Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Korah had this disease.  You and I have this disease. It's called pride, and it is deep in the hearts of each one  of us, and only God can root it out and change it.  

1 Thessalonians 5, "Brethren, know them that labor among you and are over you in  the Lord and admonish you and esteem them exceeding highly in love for their work's  sake." 

We're supposed to esteem them highly, not have roast pastor when we go out to eat  with our friends after Sunday service. "Oh, can you believe he said that? What a lousy  illustration." No. You're supposed to esteem them highly. 

It is wonderful to have a pastor that you can esteem highly. Maybe you have one that  has some issues. Still watch your own heart first. Have the right attitude.  Philippians 2, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit. In humility, count others  more significant than yourselves." 

This is what the attitude that Christ had. This is all about Christ in Philippians 2, Who  came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life. This is what God's called us  to do. 

C.S. Lewis wrote about pride, which he describes as something that we easily see in  others, and yet we don't see it in ourselves. It's called a blind spot, and we all have it. God save us from the spirit of Korah, the spirit of Aaron and Miriam, the spirit of  people that esteem ourselves more highly than we ought to think and don't esteem  those who we ought to esteem highly. Wow. I feel like I'm not only reading Numbers.  I'm preaching. Sorry, Scott. What do you think? 

Scott: I think I probably ought to keep my mouth shut. I'm seeing too much of myself  in a lot of these warnings you're sharing here. 

Steve: I see myself in them, but that's why the word of God is like a mirror. Scott: I'm pretty sure I would have been swallowed up. 

Steve: I think we have that capacity, but at the same time, I like to think that we  would have been on Joshua and Caleb's team. That's what I aspire to. Scott: Oh, that's what I aspire to, but I telling you, man, the more I read this stuff, the  more I'm humbled, and I feel like, yeah, I probably would have been right there shouting, "Crucify him," or "Moses, you don't know what you're talking about, blah,  blah, blah." 

Steve: They say that acknowledging is the first step, and we all do it. I have often  thought that the Old Testament is the New Testament illustrated. When Paul says, ” Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think.” He could have said,  "Remember Korah.”  

We haven't even come to the most convicting men to me, are Saul and Solomon. The  Old Testament is amazing because it's so rich in illustrative properties. It takes the  word of God and reveals it to us in a different way. 

Father, thank You for these illustrations, but they're not simply parables. These are  real men and women. This is real battles with the human condition. The enemies were  not Amalekites. The enemies were in their own heart. I pray that you will save us from  those enemies in our own heart. Reveal them to us. 

Help us to have these attitudes of humility. Help us to have this attitude of loyalty to  the truth like Joshua and Caleb did, and set us apart like the Levites to be Your people  and help us to be grateful that we're your people. In Jesus' name, amen. Scott: Amen. That's our show for this week, folks. Thanks for joining us for the  Building Faith and Family podcast with Steve Demme. If you have a question for the  show, email Steve at spdemme@Gmail.com. Thanks for joining us. Have a great week.