May 27, 2026 - Numbers 9 & Psalm 115

We read Numbers 9 and Psalm 115, then slow down to notice how often Scripture repeats the same quiet phrase: God commands, and His people obey. We talk about daily faithfulness, the temptation to take control, and why trusting the God who “does all that he pleases” is meant to steady us, not scare us. 

For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compassbiblesv.org. Keep reading. Keep growing. God’s Word is a lamp to your feet, and a light to your path. 

Transcript

Welcome And Today’s Reading

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to the Lamp and Light by Wording Plan, where we are seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength with God's word lighting the way. I'm Josiah Smith, joined by Tyler Sanborn. Today is Wednesday, May 27th, 2026.

Numbers 9 Passover Instructions

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Listen intently to God's written word. Numbers 9. And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year, after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time, according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it. So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover, and they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai, according to all that the Lord commandeth Moses, so the people of Israel did. And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. And those men said to him, We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the Lord's offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel? And Moses said to them, Wait, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall keep the Passover to the Lord. In the second month, on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones, according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people, because he did not bring the Lord's offering at its appointed time. That man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its rule, so shall he do, you shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.

The Cloud That Guides Israel

SPEAKER_01 2:19

On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was always, the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp. Then according to the command of the Lord they set out. And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning, and when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out. Or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether it was two days or a month or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted, they set out. At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord at the command of the Lord by Moses.

Psalm 115 Glory To God Alone

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Psalm one fifteen. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. Why should the nations say, Where is their God? Our God is in the heavens, he does all that he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but do not speak, eyes but do not see, they have ears but do not hear, noses but do not smell, they have hands, but do not feel, feet but do not walk, and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them. So do all who trust in them. O Israel, trust in the Lord, He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord, He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord, He is their help and their shield. The Lord has remembered us, He will bless us, He will bless the house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron, He will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great. May the Lord give you increase, you and your children, may you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord.

The Refrain Of Obedience In Numbers

SPEAKER_01 5:30

Now, Tyler, we should notice the pattern in Numbers nine, really numbers up until this point, and Leviticus, by and large, is the repeated refrain that they listened and they did what the Lord commanded. Even verse 23, as the chapter winds down, at the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord at the command of the Lord by Moses. In every chapter, really, so far in the book of Exodus, there is this repeated refrain of they did what God said. Um even that they they put the lamps in front of the lampstand in ver in chapter 8 as the Lord commanded Moses. So there's this part of the theme of Numbers is tracing the obedience of Israel to do what God commanded through Moses and Aaron. Uh, and then the shift that takes place specifically in Numbers 13 and 14. That's what we talked about on Sunday. But even as we get into chapter 11, the people start complaining. You begin to see some cracks in the foundation. Of course, chapter 13 is where the spies are sent into Canaan to come back with the report that makes all the congregation of Israel raise a loud cry and weep that night, it says in chapter 14. And then ultimately, this leads them to rebel, to disobey, to want to uh pick up stones and and really kill Moses and Aaron and select leaders for themselves and sort of disqualify themselves because of their unbelief and their hardness of heart. So up until this point, we have seen uh really the opposite of the complaining, the grumbling, the disobedience. We've seen obedience. We've seen God commands and they do. God gives instructions and they follow them. And that's a repeated refrain even here in Numbers chapter nine, of course. Uh they do what God commands. Uh it says that even in verse 20. It says, according to the command of the Lord, they remained in camp. Then according to the command of the Lord, this they set out. So this is not just uh a random detail. This is actually one of the the things that the author of Numbers, Moses, uh, is using to build this story arc, if you will, to lead us to kind of the juxtaposition and the contrast between between their obedience and their dis disobedience and their rebellion, and even kind of showcase how egregious their rebellion truly was and the seriousness of it, which God, of course, uh enacted judgment, and they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and did not make it into Canaan. So we have these instructions, the Passover is to be celebrated, and it says that they did that just as God commanded. Uh, even Moses is waiting on the Lord in verse 8. Moses said to them, Wait that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you. There was a great concern for doing exactly what God wanted. And so he waited, and they uh listened to the commands of the Lord, and even the whole idea of the cloud resting over the tabernacle by day and by night, and whatever the the cloud the cloud rested, of course, the presence of the Lord, that's where they camped. And when the cloud moved, uh they picked up camp and they left and they did exactly as the Lord commanded. So, again, this is a repeated refrain. This is a narrative tool that Moses is using to show us uh really, again, the juxtaposition and the pivot that Israel is going to make in just a few chapters with their hardened hearts, their rebellion against God, their rejection of his commands, and their refusal to listen to his instructions through his appointed people, his appointed mouthpieces, Moses and Aaron, because they again want a leader that they choose for themselves. They want to reject God's leaders, and in so doing, they reject God Himself in this context. And so just to point that out, a narrative feature that we're seeing here in Numbers 9 is the repeated refrain that they did exactly what God commanded. And that's really to set up, again, the contrast to their disobedience that will come soon after.

Building A Legacy One Day

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Well, that's an encouragement to me, Pastor Josiah. And as I think about um a legacy of faithfulness, we talk about this from time to time uh in conversations and in this podcast. Um we want to be a people that at the end of our lives can look back and say, like they were faithful, they remained steadfast and they followed God for the duration of their days. And sometimes that can seem like such an impossible task of like, how do I finish this well? It just boils down to um small bite-sized chunks day after day, uh, little by little. Um today is a new day, and uh I'm gonna choose to pursue the Lord. I'm gonna choose to adhere to his commandments. I'm going to uh obey um the the direction and the commands of the Lord for for myself and for my family. And there is um there's an encouragement there, though the days sometimes go by slow, but the weeks go by fast, it seems, in in ministry, but also in life, if you're uh if you have little ones in your home, but just a daily uh approach to faithfulness, a daily um commitment to the Lord to say, today I'm gonna choose to honor you. I'm gonna hold your commandments and your testimonies before me, and I'm gonna say yes to them. Uh, and I know that it's going to please and honor the Lord. It's gonna give glory to the Lord by the way that I choose to use um my words by the by the way I choose to uh let my mind be fixed on whatever it is that I'm going to do, and also uh the meditations of my heart. And as we look over to Psalm uh 115, uh we see the opening verse saying, Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. And that is a uh that's a good thing to say to yourself in the morning. Lord, it's not about me today. It's not about what I want, it's not about what I prefer, it's what you prefer, God. It's what you tell me to do. It's for your glory that I'm gonna choose um to obey you today. And um, and the the nations, uh, the people in our community, the people on your street, um that there's a watching world. There are people that are um that are looking about to find a meaning and a sense of reason in this world. And uh, if they don't have uh the Lord to direct them and to guide them, they're going to make their own path. And what an encouragement it is for us, for our lives uh day by day to give glory to uh the name of Yahweh, glory to the Lord, and and point people to to Jesus Christ, who is uh the great lover of our soul and who alone is faithful.

Relinquishing Control And Trusting God

SPEAKER_01 12:23

Now, one of the things that I think about with Psalm 115 is the temptation that Israel must have felt. I mean, they're they're being mocked by their enemies. There's some sense in which um their enemies have exercised victory, perhaps in military conquest of some sort, and they are again, God is being accused, right? That's why it says in verse 2 why should the nation say, Where is their God? So I think about the temptation for them to want to kind of take control of the situation, to force the issue, if you will, about um steering their life in a particular direction that they thought would be beneficial, or uh certainly to free themselves, release themselves from the current condition that they find themselves in. And I just think about that in terms of our life, of I guess wanting to have control over the details of our life uh with our kids, with our money, with our jobs. Uh, we want to determine the end of whatever our life is aimed at. We we want to make sure that what we want to happen is what happens. But as I look to uh verses one through three of this text specifically, I I think there's this this even call specifically in this context. Again, that there's a military, they've been defeated, they're being mocked, the surrounding nations are saying, Where is your God? Right? Why should the nation say this? Well, in verses one through three, there's I think this appeal subtly uh to give up control, right? To resist the temptation ultimately to try to quote unquote take control of your life. Um, and so they're praying, they're asking God to do something on their behalf. Uh, and they've got the right mentality here, verse one, not to us, oh Lord, not to us, but to your name, give glory for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. So they're appealing uh to God's faithfulness, they're appealing uh to his glory for the sake of his steadfast love. That's their sort of motivation for asking uh for God to really intervene on their behalf. Uh and I love this sort of confident declaration in verse three our God is in the heavens, he does all that he pleases, right? So in their circumstance, they they did a good job of recognizing it's God who does what he pleases, it's God who determines the ends, it's God who's in control, it's God who exercises his control, it's not us, and it's certainly not the nation surrounding them that were mocking them. And yeah, in our life, again, there can be this temptation uh to not believe that, to not believe that our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases. Or at the very least, we we can sort of think functionally that the way that God is in the heavens and the things that he pleases to do are not the best things for us. They they don't benefit us in the ways that we would want. So there can be this sort of in our hearts, if we're not careful, a subtle accusation against God that our plans are better. That even though God is in the heavens and it says that he does whatever he pleases, uh, we can sometimes functionally in our heart, again, in unbelief, think that our plans are better. That the way that we would want our life to look, the situations that we would want to find ourselves in are better than what God has chosen and pleased to do. And I think uh we we need to have that mentality here. Uh no, our our God is in the heavens, he does all that he pleases. And even this appeal, God, if you're gonna move, if you're gonna work, if you're gonna change our circumstances, not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name, give glory for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. Now, I love also how this psalm ends uh with this repeated kind of refrain of praising the Lord. Oh Israel, trust in the Lord. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. Even verse 18, we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord. And even verse 17, the dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who goes down into silence. They want to praise the Lord now. This is the opportunity that they've been given. And so there's this sense of how do we relinquish control? How do we trust that God truly is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases? Well, you do that through consistent daily praise. And that's what the psalmist here is doing. He's just recounting the wonderful things of the Lord. May the Lord give you increase, you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth. We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord. So I think a lot of times in our life, again, we we want to have control, we want to navigate things in a way where we're we're comfortable with the destination, uh, but God is the one that's in the heavens, he's the one that does whatever he pleases. And again, what does he please to do? He pleases to help us, he pleases to be our help and our shield. He is their help and their shield, it says. Oh house of Aaron, trust in the Lord, he is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord, he is their help and their shield. The the God who's in the heavens, what does he please to do? He pleases to be your help, and he pleases to be your shield. And so we can relinquish recruit control uh as if we had it, anyways, Tyler. Right, right. And we can trust him that he really is in the heavens and he does everything that he pleases.

Discomfort, Submission, And Becoming Like Christ

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Yeah, and that that reminds me of the the scripture reading from this past Sunday, the opening verse. Um, praise the Lord, blesses the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments, who, who, who is going to be um someone who is looking to scripture, who is going to be seeing the the commands of God for his people to to live a life set apart. And a lot of the uh the things that he would have us follow him in are not comfortable for us at times or not easy for us at times because our our own desires, our own, our own understanding can get in the way. Uh, we want to have it our way. We want to avoid the discomfort, avoid the hard conversations, uh, avoid the submission, uh, depending on on your role, whether you're um uh a child or a father or or a mother or um a son or a daughter. We we'd like to call the shots. We'd like to make the the decisions for ourselves. And uh it's hard for for mankind to submit. Um, it's hard for mankind to to say, uh, you're right. I'm gonna do it your way and not my way. Uh, and that can be a great comfort to us when we know the the maker of heaven and earth is the one who loves us, the one who cares for us, and is the one who is leading us. And as a Christian, everything that goes on in our life is for our good and is is continually forming us into the image of Christ. And that's in the in the tough stuff when we're feeling uncomfortable. It's a great reminder. God help us help us to trust you in this. I want to be more like Christ. I know that this is uncomfortable for me right now, uh, whatever season you're in, but trust that the Lord God is is forming you more and more into the image of the Savior. That's a great encouragement to me.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

Amen. So, verse three really should just be the encouragement today. Overall, our God is in the heavens, he does all that he pleases, and he pleases to be your help, he pleases to be your shield. What a God that that is.

Final Encouragement And Closing

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Well, thank you so much for joining us today on the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Podcast. For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compass Bible SV.org. Keep reading, keep growing. God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.