Category Archives: narrative

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Preaching “the Lord’s vengeance”: Preaching Through Numbers

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God says, “Trust Me. Leave the vengeance to Me!”

When you decide to preach through Numbers, your listeners will learn a great deal of theology.

For instance, when you arrive at Numbers 31:1-54 you encounter a huge narrative that I titled:

“He will bring us into this land”: And That Includes One Day Avenging His People

God’s final assignment for Moses is in v. 2 “Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”) In v. 3 Moses says to the people that they are “to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian (emphasis added).”

Verses 1-6 help us come to grips with “the Lord’s vengeance.” As I’ve reminded our faith-family several times over the years, non-Christians will not tolerate a God of judgment. These narratives, like many in the Old Testament, force God’s people to consider the ramifications of God’s holiness–His judgment on all who oppose Him.

Verses 13-20 describe what’s at stake and provides a reason for such commands of God. Verse 16 says, “Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Poor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.”

If there is any way we can understand these actions, we must at least attempt to explain how devastating it is to the Lord for His people to act treacherously against Him. All of this is the stuff of robust theologian/pastors.

Finally, verses 7-12 and 21-54 provide an opportunity to place ourselves in the camp of God’s people and relish in our resounding victory. Over and over again God defeats His enemies, including the final battle.

If someone were to ask about the relevance of all this I might talk about things like:

  1. Even though God’s people don’t carry out this instruction to Moses, God will one day, once again, judge all those who oppose Him.
  2. That should encourage us since God’s people have always faced the same thing our Lord faced when He was on earth. The world hated Him, remember (think John 17 stuff).
  3. This kind of God–our God–should scare us to death. We’ve seen throughout Numbers how God judged His own people. It’s no wonder a NT writer talked about judgment beginning in God’s house. I continue to define the fear of the Lord in the OT as our glad submission to the God who is not safe.

May you continue to mine the theological depths of Numbers and He will continue to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching the Bazillion Offerings in Numbers: Preaching Through Numbers

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What’s a preacher to do with all those offerings in Numbers 28:1–29:40?!?

If there is a section in Numbers that might discourage you from preaching/teaching through the entire book, it’s 28:1–29:40 with its bazillion offerings.

My attempt to interpret it so it functions for the church was:

Title: “He will bring us into this land”: And We Will Gladly Give Him Our Entire Life

First, the narrative is a “go and do likewise” narrative. In some way, shape, or form, we are to follow through with what the Lord commands His people to do.

Second, how might you go about identifying theology in this exhaustive and exhausting list of offerings? I decided to present what God is saying to us in these two chapters. Each quote hopefully faithfully represents the accompanying verses:

  1. “It belongs to Me!” (says the Lord, in the repetition of “my” in v. 2)
  2. “I like it very much!” (28:2, 6, 8, 13, 24, 27; 29:2, 6, 8, 13, 36 and all the references to “pleasing aroma”)
  3. “But it has to be just right!” (28:2b, 3, 9, 11, 19, 31; 29:2, 8, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32, 33 covering all the regulations of when, what kind, and how much)
  4. “And don’t forget to stop working!” (28:18, 25, 26; 29:1, 7, 12, 35 all dealing with the Sabbath rest: “You shall not do any ordinary work”)

I am a huge fan of grouping ideas for pedagogical reasons, in contrast to moving verse by verse, especially in a section like this.

Throughout this sermon we’re not talking about OT offerings, but what the Lord requires of us and how that fits into our relationship with Him.

Some will want to sprinkle in allusions to NT offerings such as the sacrifice of praise, or giving thanks, or offering our whole selves.

And some will want to make sure that all this talk about sacrifices to God takes place in the context of His ultimate Sacrifice of His Son. Everything we offer Him is in response to His best Gift.

I hope you will make an attempt to preach or teach this some day, if you haven’t already. And I know our Lord will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Teaching for a New Generation: Preaching Through Numbers

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“I will learn from the past generation.”

When you arrive at Numbers 26 in your series, you encounter 65 verses devoted to listing all the new generation of Israelites. Very exciting, I know.

Verse 64 says, “But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron in the wilderness of Sinai.”

You can help your listeners make sense of the second set of numbers in Numbers–the first census was in chapter 1–by pointing out both warning and blessing.

The warnings are in vv. 9-10 (“…and they became a warning”), v. 61 (“But Nadab and Abihu died when…”) and v. 65 (“They shall die in the wilderness”). Hebrews 3:12–4:13 teaches us to hear their story; heed the warning.

The blessing of God is seen in the number of people. Compare the numbers in v. 1:46 and 26:51 to see that God has raised up almost an identical number of Israelites. God has not forgotten His promises He made to Abraham in Genesis 12:2!

So, early in the book we encouraged our listeners to align with Caleb and Joshua; now we urge them to see their walk with God pictured in this new generation’s fight for faith. Will they?/will we learn from the previous generation’s failures, fight for faith, and worship the Lord?

The daughters of Zelophehad provide an example for us to follow in 27:1-11 as they boldly ask for an inheritance. Those of you who are reading Hebrew regularly will note that v. 5 contains larger, bold letters to signify that women were bringing the request! Their request creates new legislation that makes sure everyone has an opportunity for an inheritance in the land. Every listener needs to have that same faith that fellowship with God in His kingdom is that important. Everyone needs to be encouraged to enjoy their spiritual inheritance (cf. Ephesians 1).

So far we are in the same fight for faith, with the same opportunities for enjoying our spiritual inheritance, and…

27:12-23 revealed the same opportunity to be shepherded along the journey. Our Lord was concerned “that the congregation…may not be as sheep that have no shepherd” (v. 17). God gives them Joshua and, to cut this sermon short, He continues to give His people our Great Shepherd and all those gifted under-shepherds to guide the faith of His people.

And He will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you help your listeners/learners learn from the unbelief of that infamous first generation who died in the wilderness.

Randal

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We Will Not Worship the Gods of our Culture: Preaching Through Numbers

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Preaching the Never-Ending Battle Against Idolatry

For those who choose to preach or teach the book of Numbers, opportunities abound for warning listeners against idolatry.

Two resources may help you define/describe idolatry:

Keller’s, Counterfeit Gods

Hafemann’s, The God of Promise and the Life of Faith

Numbers 25:1-18 describes the idolatry of God’s people. I titled this section:

“He will bring us into this land”: And We Will Not Worship the Gods of Our Culture.

The narrative is one of those, “Go and do otherwise,” stories in which Israel sets another bad example.

Following the storyline you might consider this structure:

  1. The lure into idolatry (vv. 1-3a, 6)
  2. The inevitable judgment (vv. 3b-5, 7-9, 14-18)
  3. God’s provision of our wholeness (vv. 10-13)

It’s good for us to move from ancient idolatry to more modern versions. I have often used this slide:

Not exhaustive, but a good place to begin.

Ask folks to locate the idol(s) they’re most tempted to worship.

Congregations/classes will struggle with the brutality of the judgment scene. Once again we come face to face with God’s holiness and the inevitability of judgment that stops “the plague on the people of Israel” (v. 8). The fallout is still enormous (24,000 in v. 9).

Finally, in vv. 10-13 God wants everyone to know what–better who–stopped the plague. It was a priest. And the reason:

“he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy.” (v. 11)

As a result there is renewed wholeness:

“Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace…the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.”

Some who are fond of Christo-centric readings will see how Christ, the greater Phinehas, turned back God’s wrath when the spear entered His side on the cross (cf. vv. 7-8).

Our God will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you preach and teach about His jealousy which warns us away from our American idols (or the idols of your location).

Randal

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Nothing Can Reverse the Blessing of God! (Preaching Through Numbers)

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Part 2 because Balaam’s still at it in Numbers 23-24!

Several weeks ago I wrote about angles that might help you preach Numbers 22 and the Balaam narrative. This is part 2. For this sermon I decided to take 23:1–24:45 as the preaching portion. Huge, I know, but as I’ll show in a moment, the section forms a unit centered on curses and blessings.

First, remember the value of anchoring a sermon series around a theological theme. I selected for the Numbers’s series a clause from 14:8

“…he will bring us into this land and give it to us…”

He will bring us safely to the new creation and one reason is because nothing can reverse His blessing on us who believe. All these scenes with Balaam teaches this.

You might try unifying and providing movement for the message as follows:

  1. The plan to curse us (23:1-6, 11-17, 25-30; 24:1, 10-14). These verse represent all the places where Balak urges Balaam to curse Israel.
  2. God’s decision to bless us (23:7-10, 18-24; 24:2-9). These verses record Balaam’s discourses centering around the impossibility of cursing God’s people. For instance, 23:8 “How can I curse whom God has not cursed?” Exactly.
  3. What that means for God’s enemies (24:15-24). Here we read Balaam’s final discourse which include the well-known words in v. 17,

“a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel…”

What an encouragement in a badly broken world for our listeners to hear the good news:

“I called you to curse my enemies [God’s people], and behold, you have blessed them these three times” (24:10)

All because our “Star” and “Scepter” crushed not only the OT enemies of Israel, such as Moab, but the head of the archenemy of our souls when He dies for sin/sinners.

As you preach and teach your way through Numbers your listeners will bless God as they learn how He endued them with special powers to succeed in all He has given them to do in this world (that’s my favorite definition of the Hebrew for “bless”).

And as they experience God’s blessing He will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Preaching OT Curses And Blessings: Preaching Through Numbers

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Numbers 22 makes our blessed status very clear!

If you’ve been kind enough to read some of my posts over the past year or so, you’re familiar with our trek through the book of Numbers. It was a very challenging series for me, but very rewardable.

The reason is because so much of the wilderness wanderings teach us about our own faith-journey.

My angle was: “He will bring us into this land” coming from Numbers 14:8.

It is a sure thing for our in-Christ congregants. But the journey is not easy.

For instance, in chapter 22 God’s people face the challenge of a real curse.

We allow the narrative to convey the theology: the threat of being cursed occurs in vv. 1-6 (Balak commissions Balaam: “curse this people for me…”).

How much power does the dark side over God’s children?

Verses 7-14 provide the answer and contain God’s confirmation of our being blessed. God states, “You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” And later, “…for the Lord has refused to let me go with you” (vv. 12-13). It’s a great time to follow up any OT curse theology with OT blessing theology and what that means for the Christian experience in this world.

You’ll have your work cut out for you in the last section (vv. 15-41), partly due to the volume of narrative. You’re reading how serious both sides are about their agenda. You’ll love the famous donkey scene.

Thankfully, Balaam doesn’t have the ability to curse God’s people: “Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak” (v. 39).

The Believer’s blessed status is that secure. You might want to explain that, not only from the OT, but from the NT notion of Christ becoming a curse for us (somewhere Paul stated that!).

Enjoy preaching Numbers and watch the Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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“everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live”: Preaching Through Numbers

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When you preach through Numbers you’ll get a chance to preach about the fiery serpents!
Scary stuff, I know, right?!

Numbers 21 is famous for the fiery serpent scenes, culminating in the odd instruction from the Lord: “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” (21:8)

The instruction from the Lord to Moses is the result of God’s people becoming impatient during their journey (v. 4). One of the most rewarding things about preaching through Numbers is the opportunities to address our common emotional reactions during our faith-journey in a badly broken world. Verses 4-5 describe our tendency to be short on patience.

This functions as one of those, “Go and do otherwise,” examples.

The Lord’s reaction to impatience seems excessive, don’t you think? I mean, the sin is only impatience. But, we’ve already seen in Numbers how the Lord feels about our grumbling and complaining. We shouldn’t be surprised by v. 6,

“Then the Lord sent fiery serpents…and they bit the people, so that many…died.”

You and I know the sequence all too well: we sin, God chastises us, and…

we confess our sin to the Lord (v. 7).

You’ll want to continue to allow your listeners the opportunity to think through the OT concept of a mediator–in this case Moses. They know God will listen to Moses. We know God hears our prayers.

Finally, the Lord’s answer and our hope is in vv. 8-9. As I said above, the Lord’s instruction is odd. Your favorite commentators will help you with the details and significance of the “bronze serpent.”

John 3:14-15 will show you how John reads those scenes and your parishioners will hear the call to faith once again as the key to their own daily spiritual healing and victory. Take a quick look at the immediate context before and after the famous scene and you’ll see victory for God’s people. God gives victory over sin and grace when we sin.

Our Christian experience, like that of our forefathers, is like that. May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you encourage your listeners every day to look and live.

Randal

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Preaching the Ugly Pictures of Human Nature in Judges

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Studio portrait of mid adult woman looking into broken mirror --- Image by © Harry Vorsteher/Corbis

The picture of God’s people in the book of Judges is not pretty. For instance, in Judges 8:1, 4-6, and 8 there are three examples of insubordination. One commentator, Block, says “Even in victory Israel remains her own worst enemy.”

And often, even Israel’s best leaders, like Gideon, paint an ugly picture of our spiritual condition. Friction abounds in these stories and Gideon often flies of the handle, as they say (whoever “they” are?).

So, if and when you preach on Judges, be prepared to show your flock how difficult it is for God’s people to experience peace among themselves. Both leaders and laity have to work hard at being Spirit-controlled so the work of God can flourish among them.

In the case of the latter part of chapter 7 and into chapter 8 self-centeredness and rage are on display. It’s not a pretty sight. And just when you think it can’t get any worse, Gideon pulls the stunt recorded in 8:27 “And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city….And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare…”

Well, you’d think God would fiercely judge them all for this. But instead, we read of His grace in 8:28 “…And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.”

I don’t understand this, but I’m sure glad God is patient with us. I am so thankful He gives us victories in the midst of our spiritual ineptness.

Anyway, be prepared to get some pretty nasty-looking looks of our condition in the Judges, but also of God’s grace. And preach it all so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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One of the Best “Go and do otherwise” Examples: Preaching Through Numbers

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A good example of setting a bad example!

When you arrive at Numbers 14 God rewards you with some really good, bad examples.

Let’s begin with a bad example of worldly grief versus godly grief. Verses 39-40 describe the reaction of God’s people upon hearing the news of judgment: “the people mourned greatly.” They are ready to follow the Lord’s earlier instruction (“We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised…”). They even confessed, “for we have sinned.” What could be more genuine than that, right?

The second major move or thought-block in this sermon could be in vv. 42-45. This contains the significant theological statements: “the Lord is not among you” (v. 42) and “the Lord will not be with you” (v. 43) and “neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp” (v. 44).

You might think that confession is enough–they confessed their sin. But it wasn’t enough to renew their relationship with their God. He’s not there.

Verse 41 explains the problem and I decided to keep this until the final move in the sermon. It’s the reason for labeling their grief, worldly, instead of godly.

“But Moses said, ‘Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed?”

What an important question to ask any spiritual protégé/disciplee.

Israel and your flocks too are only defeated in spiritual battles when they fight without the Lord’s powerful presence. And He only withholds His powerful presence when we are not willing to give up our rebellious ways.

In Israel’s case, they confessed their sin of not going up to Canaan. However, after hearing the judgment, they are determined to go up even though they were told not to. The result was complete defeat.

Thank our Lord we have an opportunity every Sunday to express our loyalty to Him. God help us and those we teach to stay focused on faith-driven obedience and fight hard against any stubborn spiritual streaks so we don’t follow their bad example.

And may He receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through your efforts (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Caleb’s “different spirit” and the Christian: Preaching Through Numbers

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Photo by Joseph Gonzalez on Unsplash
Preaching Numbers Serves Up A Rich Meal Every Sunday!

When I decided to preach through Numbers, I selected a clause from 14:8 as the theme for the series: “He will bring us into this land.” And in the pericope, 14:20-38, that is followed by: “That is, All of Us Who Have a ‘different spirit'”

That means I decided that God meant Caleb to be our spiritual role model. You can find that in verses 24, 30b-31, 38. That was my final thought block or main idea for the sermon. You’ll want to explain how this description of Caleb, “because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully…” fits every genuine Believer.

But additional richness permeates this meal in the form of our need to make sense of both pardon and judgment. This is where I began in vv. 20-22a, 23a, 25, 28-30a, 32-37. God clearly states that he has pardoned (v. 20) but in vv. 21-23 He continues by saying “none of those who despised me shall see [the land].” God pardoned, but judged?!?

If nothing else, preaching through Numbers forces us to be better theologians!

My second section was devoted to making sure we’re not part of “this wicked congregation” (vv. 22b, 23b, 26-27, 35). Those verses describe what the congregation did. They clearly function as a “go and do otherwise” characters.

And this is what separates Caleb from the others. His “different spirit” is the result of God’s transformation in him heart. He doesn’t test God or despise God or grumble against God. He’s today’s Christ-follower and we urge our congregants to go and do likewise.

And if you’re interested in reading Numbers through the lens of the Christ-event, look no further than the graphic statements of judgment and the prophecy that God’s people would bear their iniquities and know the displeasure of God for 40 years (cf. v. 34). Only those who receive pardon through faith in Christ, our Sin-bearer, are transformed into the Caleb’s of our congregations.

May God grant you the joy of serving up rich food from everyone’s favorite book of Numbers so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal