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Numbers 1-2 | Welcome to the Wilderness

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Listen to this week’s sermon, Welcome to the Wilderness, preached by Rev. Benjamin Kandt from Numbers 1-2.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Hello everyone. This is Pastor Benjamin. You're listening to the sermon audio from New City, Orlando. At New City, we long to see our Father answer the Lord's prayer. For more resources, visit our website at newcityorlandocom.

Evan Pederson:

Pray with me, heavenly Father. May your word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. Today's scripture is taken from sections of numbers one and two. Please remain standing, if you are able.

Evan Pederson:

The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting on the first day of the second month in the second year, after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by father's houses, according to the number of names. Every male, head by head, from 20 years old and upward, names every male, head by head, from 20 years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war. You and Aaron shall list them company by company, and there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from 20 years old and upward, head by head, as the Lord commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.

Evan Pederson:

But the Levites were not listed among them by their ancestral tribe. For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying when the tabernacle is set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up, and if any outsider comes near he shall be put to death. But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel, and the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying the people of Israel shall camp, each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers' houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. This is God's word. You may be seated.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Well, good morning and welcome to Worship with New City. My name is Benjamin, I'm a pastor here with New City and today we're jumping into the book of Numbers. Since 2019, new City has been journeying through the Torah book by book, the first five books of the Bible. We started with three years in the book of Genesis, two years in Exodus, one year in Leviticus and now Numbers. Some of you are looking around. You're like, hey, we need to make some more space in here and I'm saying, listen, I'm preaching Leviticus and Numbers Like I'm trying to do my best but it's not working. Okay, obviously, I'm saying, listen, I'm preaching Leviticus and Numbers Like I'm trying to do my best, but it's not working. Okay, obviously, I'm kidding. You see the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

One of the primary purposes of what are called the books of Moses is to teach us that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, every word which means a healthy church is going to have a substantive diet of Old Testament and New Testament poetry and prophecies, gospels and epistles. We need it all because every word is breathed out by God, and so let's start the book of Numbers together. We jump into the book where Bible reading plans go to die. I understand, but in Numbers 1.1, very first verse of this entire book, it says this the Lord spoke, the Lord spoke. Now this the Lord didn't speak to us in this book, but he spoke for us in this book. He spoke to Moses and Israel in a specific time and place. But the Lord knew thousands of years later that we would be gathering in a place like this to take up the book of Numbers, so that we, in our time and place, could follow him in the wilderness. That's why the book of numbers exists, and so it's really important to be clear here Our God is a speaking God. God is loquacious, he is there and he is not silent, and so let's lean in, open our ears and listen to the book of numbers together.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

I have a main point, which is also my three points, which is this In the wilderness, god assembles his camp and dwells at the center. That's it. In the wilderness, god assembles his camp and dwells at the center. If you have a Bible or a device or the worship guide, go ahead and get Numbers, chapter one, verse one, in front of you so we can look at it together. This is what it says of you, so we can look at it together. This is what it says Numbers 1.1. The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Now, many of us are familiar with the Greek name for this book, which is Numbers, and that comes from the fact that in the first two chapters, god commands a census to number the people of Israel. So that's where the book of Numbers comes from. But the Hebrew name for this book is Ba Midbar, which means in the wilderness. It comes from that first, the first word in Hebrew, which is in the wilderness of Sinai, and I actually think, if I think that's way better PR for this book. To be honest, like I think, if this book was called in the wilderness, more of us would probably take it up, because it actually does have an incredible assortment of incidences traveling through the wilderness together as the people of God. But the first few chapters are this census and it gets distracting for us, for many of us. So they're in the wilderness of Sinai. What's going on there? Well, there's an image of what Mount Sinai probably looked like, something like this, to give you a picture of where the people of Israel have been camped for about an entire year. Now that was. Some of y'all are like yeah, dude, I know that, but I didn't realize that until really digging into the book of Numbers that Israel has been posted up in the same place since Exodus 19. It up in the same place since Exodus 19.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Exodus 19,. The rest of Exodus, all of Leviticus and the first 10 chapters of Numbers. They've been posted up for about 11 months at the foot of Mount Sinai. Israel has not moved. So what have they been doing that whole time? Well, this is a recap of the last few years here at New City. This is what they've been doing God descends in fire on Sinai, gives the Ten Commandments, enters into covenant, eats with the elders, gives blueprints for the tabernacle. Israel cheats on the Lord with a golden calf. Moses intercedes. They build the tabernacle, they get a user manual called Leviticus and finally they count up the tribes and assemble them into a camp. That's where we've been for the last few years here at New City.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Now, with all that being said, that summarizes 51 chapters of scripture, over 11 months of Israel being stationed at the wilderness of Sinai. But all of that was to accomplish one single cosmic changing goal. Look with me at verse one again, it says this the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the tent of meeting. That word in it's a little word but it's a big deal. If you have a Bible you can flip back if you want to, but at the end of Exodus 40, can flip back if you want to, but at the end of Exodus 40, verse 35, it says this Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting. Why? Because the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. So if God is in the room, moses couldn't be. That's a problem. And in fact at the beginning of Leviticus, leviticus 1.1 says this the Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Now, what does that mean? It means that if the Lord is inside the tent, moses cannot be. And so much for a tent of meeting. Right, if that's the name of this place, a meeting place for God and man. But Moses can't go in there. And if he can't go in there, what hope is there for you and me or the average Israelite?

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

But then we get to Numbers 1.1 and it says this the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the tent of meeting. Do you see what that means. It means that Leviticus was a smashing success. What that means? It means that Leviticus was a smashing success. It means that Moses can enter in where before he could not. So that word in, like I said, it's a little word, it's a big deal.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

But what's going on here? Well, listen, you could summarize the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, by saying the Lord wants to dwell with his people. That's what God's after, that's his grand aim in the world. The Lord wants to dwell with his people. The divine declaration we heard it in our words of assurance goes like this I will be your God, you will be my people, I will dwell in your midst. That's what God's been about since the Garden of Eden is that he would be able to dwell with his people.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Now, the most amazing thing is that this Emmanuel formula with these three parts I will be a God, you will be my people, I will dwell in your midst. It's repeated on the regular throughout the story of Scripture, because this is the heart of God, like maybe the most amazing thing I know about the heart of God is that God wants to be with people like you and me. That's what you get when you read the whole storyline of Scripture, and so God's great aim, from Genesis to Revelation, is what Exodus 25, 8 says, which is that God rescued his people from slavery in Egypt. Quote that I may dwell in their midst. But to do this, in Exodus they had to build the dwelling place for God. In Leviticus they had to consecrate that place as a tent of meeting, and now in Numbers they set up camp around it. That's where we find ourselves in the book of Numbers. You see, it's not since Eden that God has made his dwelling place with man. Say that differently. Not until Numbers could God say I will dwell in your midst. Numbers is a big deal in the story of scripture. This is a significant moment because in the wilderness God assembles his camp and dwells at the center. That's my second point.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Look with me at verse two. It says this take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head, from 20 years old and upward. All in Israel who are able to go to war. That's a significant phrase. All in Israel who are able to go to war. You and Aaron shall list them, company by company. Now again, I made the joke that this census is where Bible reading plans go to die.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

We often read this and we think how is this relevant to my life? What does this actually mean for me? And in fact it's a good question. Like, if you were the Holy Spirit, would you waste space on your papyri to list a bunch of random people's names who, most of whom, don't show up anymore in the Bible after this? Would you waste the space? And yet a core conviction of a disciple of Jesus is that the Holy Spirit doesn't waste his breath. And so why? What is going on here? Well, verse three says that the census is of all in Israel who are able to go to war.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

You see, in Genesis 12, god made a promise to Abram. He says I will make you a great nation. The census proves that. As they number all of these people, the census is proving God has kept his promise to Abram. But it doesn't just say that. It also says and I will give you a land. That hasn't happened yet. So as Israel is reading through these first chapters of Numbers, they're growing in faith as they see the faithfulness of God to Abram in Genesis 12 to make them a great nation, the very faith they need in order to go and conquer the promised land in Canaan.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

That's the significance of this text here, and the apostle Paul goes as far as to say in 1 Corinthians 10, these things were written down for our instruction. He says that about the book of Numbers in particular written down for our instruction. So you got to ask the question how is this instructive for us? Well, because Israel, like us, lives in the in-between. Numbers calls that place the wilderness. They live between the already and the not yet, between Egypt and Canaan, between what has been promised and what has been realized. That's the very place we find ourselves.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

To be more clear about that, israel was delivered from slavery, but they've not yet been set free in their own land yet. In a similar way, if you belong to Jesus, you've been delivered from the penalty of sin, but you've not been set free from the presence of sin yet. And all who know their own flesh say oh, lord, have mercy. And so we live in this in-between, like Israel, in the wilderness, and we long to be delivered. Jesus, in Luke 9, he actually spoke of his cross as his exodus. You see, the cross of Jesus sets us free, just like the exodus from Egypt, set them free, and your redemption costs you nothing. But conquest of the promised land often costs us everything. Often costs us everything. Salvation is, by grace alone, zero earning, but our ultimate fulfillment and culmination requires a good bit of effort on our part.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Israel was set free from slavery in Egypt and in Exodus it says you don't have to fight for yourself, just be still, the Lord will fight for you. That's true for us too, because of Christ and his cross. But then the Lord is assembling his camp, he's mustering the soldiers. Why? Because they need to make war. They need to make war and so, like Israel, we need to make war. Now. We don't make war. Our enemies are not the Amalekites, the Canaanites, the Moabites. Our enemy, our enemies are the world, the flesh and the devil.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Historically, christians have taught that that Christians are living embroiled in a spiritual battle, or you're not a Christian, full stop. Jc Ryle says it like this the mark of a true Christian is inner peace and inner war. Inner war because we know what it's like to war against that part of us that still rebels against God, that we long to put to death by the power of the Holy Spirit. Inner war, inner peace, because we know what it's like to have our consciences set free from the guilt that our sin deserves and to live before the face of God with a sense of freedom and joy. Inner peace.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

The true Christian lives with this conundrum of inner war and inner peace. But it's not just war against our flesh. It's also war, a wrestling, a struggling against what the scriptures called the world. Now it's important to name the world here is. It's essentially a social construct made by people who are trying to define for themselves what good and evil looks like. That's the world. To say it differently, david Wells' famous definition of worldliness is that worldliness is whatever makes righteousness look strange and sin look normal. That's the world.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

It's a culture of rebellion against God and it transcends any nation or culture or people group. It is this reality that every Christian, in all times and places, has to contend with. But it's not just the flesh, it's not just the world, it's also the devil. I wish I could spend more time on spiritual warfare, but there's really just two tactics of the evil, one Simple, on spiritual warfare. But there's really just two tactics of the evil, one Simple, really effective. The two tactics are this temptation and accusation. He's working that move in your life all the time, tempting you to draw away from God and then accusing you for being drawn away from God. And some of us in this room have just we've come out of a week of temptation and even in this very moment you're in this room and you're hearing something to the effect of this. Isn't? Real for you.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

This isn't true. You don't have any stake in this. Brother, sister, listen, that's got a forked tongue taste to it. It smells like hell. That voice is the voice of the one who comes to kill and steal and destroy. Say no to it in Jesus's name. Claim the cross of Christ that sets you free from Egypt You're not a slave anymore and claim the power of Jesus to conquer the world, the flesh and the devil. That's the invitation of numbers for those of us who follow Jesus.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

And so in our world I get it the military metaphor doesn't go well. That's because of the crusades in the past and the culture wars in the present. But it's a biblical motif, so we will not jettison it. Instead, we're not going to discard it because of our culture. We're going to define it based on Scripture. And in Scripture, in Ephesians 6, paul makes it really clear we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. What does that mean? That means that your neighbor, regardless of beliefs, race, sexual orientation or political party, is not your enemy. What it means is your enemy is far more personal than that. It's you. It's your very own flesh. Your enemy is far more powerful than that. It's the devil, a potent personal evil. Your enemy is far more pervasive than that. It's the world, a culture of rebellion. And so listen, if you belong to Christ, he is your captain. The battle is the Lord's, and we see that actually in the very organization of the military camp.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Look at verse 17 here it says this Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named, and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together. What would that have looked like? Well, here's another image that gives you some sort of a picture of what we're talking about. This is what this assembly of the whole nation together, this whole congregation, would have looked like. Now, notice this. Some people point out the structure, that there's a foreshadowing of its cross shape. But there's something significant about this this way in which the camp would have been organized, with the Levites at the center, with the tabernacle as the epicenter, because all of our warfare flows from our worship of the true and living God, and so if the presence of God is in the church, the church will draw the world in. If the presence of God is not in the church, the world will draw the church out. It's why we need to be a presence-centered people, like the camp of Israel. Because in the wilderness, god assembles his camp and dwells at the center. So what does that look like? What does it look like for us to resist the world, the flesh and the devil by re-centering our lives around God? This is my third and final point that God dwells at the center. Look at verse 47. But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. When the tabernacle is to set out this is verse 51, when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down. And when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up, and if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Again, I said you could summarize the whole Bible by saying the Lord wants to dwell with his people. So when the Lord assembles his camp, he dwells at the center. That was his. But why God's ordering and organizing and patterning his people in a certain way so that Israel can host the presence of God? What is he up to here?

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Well, the commentary that I'm going to be reading through this whole series is by a guy named L Michael Morales, and he puts it really simple. He says Israel's new role is the entourage of the Shekinah. I just want to be clear first time we're announcing this. But we're changing our name from New City to the Entourage of the Shekinah, because no, not really, but that term is fire, like literally, it's fire. Okay, when the Shekinah glory of God comes down, there's fire in the center of the people of God. That's super important. It's important because look with me at verse 53.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Verse 53 says but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony so that there may be no wrath. When God comes, he comes as a consuming fire, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel, and the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony. You see, here, when we draw near before the Lord, there's a danger. There's a real danger, because the appearance of the glory of the Lord, also known as the Shekinah, is a devouring fire. It's a devouring fire, and so, in order to move forward, I got to clear up some false notions about God.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

There's a saying that goes something like this God can't stand to be in the presence of sin, and it sounds biblical, but it's backwards. In fact, it's not God that can't stand to be in the presence of sin, but sin that can't stand to be in the presence of God. One theologian put it like this to say that God can't stand in the presence of sin makes him out to be like the person who can't stand the presence of a spider and demands that someone else deal with it. You see, if you say that God can't stand to be in the presence of sin, you're giving sin leverage over God. So what's the danger here?

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Well, every human, every human, except for one notable exception, is a sinner, and so to waltz into the presence of God has an inherent danger. For us, what bleaches to bacteria, or light is to darkness, god's holiness, is to human sinfulness. It's not a fire's fault that it incinerates dry leaves, it's the deadness of the leaves. You see, there's a conundrum here, though, for us, because, like a sunflower chasing the sun, our gaze is drawn to the presence of God. We want to draw near to God, and at the same time, coming close results in destruction. A moth is drawn to the light of a flame, but the closer it gets, the greater the risk of being consumed by the fire. So God's holiness exposes sin, and his wrath opposes sin. Sin cannot approach God and God cannot tolerate sin. Do you feel the double bind. Do you feel the double bind that sin separates. So you should draw near, but drawing near obliterates.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

So beware, what are we going to do if the desire of God is to dwell at the center of his people, his sinful people? Well, god in his mercy, puts verse 53 here but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that here's the purpose clause, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation. You see, to be the entourage of the Shekinah. God's people always need a mediator. To be the entourage of the Shekinah. God's people always need a mediator there. And then Israel had Moses, aaron and the Levites. Here and now we have Jesus Christ.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

The reality is, verse 51 says and if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. If you were an Israelite, if you were any Israelite but a Levite, except for Levites, you could not draw near. And in fact, even if you were a Levite but not a priest, you could not get too close. But we long for proximity to the presence of God, and God wants that too. And so if that's the case, if God made us to walk with him in the presence of God, in the cool of the garden, what is God going to do? Well, god sends his son, the ultimate insider, to tabernacle to dwell among us. And Jesus Christ, although he is the ultimate insider, was crucified. And Hebrews 13 says he was crucified, quote outside the camp. You see the significance of that language now, because God, in the wilderness, he assembles his camp and dwells at the center, and Jesus Christ is crucified outside the camp.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Not welcome, jesus was sent out so you could be welcomed in. You see, what we see here is that to draw near to God. You will not encounter a Levite with an Uzi. You'll encounter a lover with welcome saying enter, come on in. And so all men, women and children everywhere are called to draw near to God through the mediator, jesus Christ. He has come to give us his access to God.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

I said this a moment ago. There's few things I know that are more amazing about who God is than the fact that he wants to dwell with you. He wants to be with you just as you are, right here right now. How is that possible in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness? Well, only if a true insider, jesus Christ, comes outside in order to tell us you're welcome, you're welcome to come near, draw near through me, I will give you my access to the Father.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

And so this is the primary thing that makes Israel Israel. You see, israel was not primarily distinguished by their law, their cultural customs, their food or dress codes, their moral obedience or their social identity markers, although those things are important, it's not the primary thing. What set them apart was God's presence dwelling among them. The presence of God in the life of his people is not an optional add-on, it's the vital center of our very existence for eternity. And so, in light of that, new City wants to be a Christ-centered church. I got one last slide for you that you've seen for the last three weeks. This is why Jesus is centered, because we want to be a Christ-centered church. And if we are, I think numbers two, one and two will be true of us.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Look the last part of the text here as we close. It says the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying the people of Israel shall camp, each by his own standard, with the banners of their father's houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. You see, at New City we wanna center ourselves not on programs or personality or place, or even a people, but on the person of jesus christ dwelling in our midst. We want his nearness to be the central reality of our existence and if we have that, notice both the diversity and unity in numbers two. Two, it says the diversity is that each one is flying the flag of their own family. It's great because they're all unified. It says in verse 2b each flag is facing the center the presence of the living God.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

One of the hallmarks of New City in the time I've been here, for over a decade now, has been our unity. I think it's actually maybe one of the defining marks of the presence of the Spirit of God in our midst. I thank God for it regularly. And that unity, if it's going to be sustained, must come from a constant recentering of our preferences and priorities on the living Christ dwelling with us. It will come. It will happen in no other way Because New City listen in the wilderness, god is assembling us, his people, as his camp so that he might dwell at the center.

Rev. Benjamin Kandt:

Let's pray. Thank you, father. Thank you that you, that your aim, your desire is actually to be with us, that you've removed all obstacles between a sinful person and the presence of the living god, jesus christ. You yourself are our very mediator. It's because we are united to you by faith that we have access into the very life of God. Thank you, jesus. Holy Spirit, would you come be pleased to dwell in our midst, a sinful people but a sanctified people nonetheless, because we want to be an entourage of the Shekinah glory in our city, we pray for your beautiful namesake, jesus, amen.