Tag Archives: preaching through Numbers

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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

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You’ll Probably Want to Slow Down When You Get to Numbers 14: Preaching Through Numbers

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How Many of our Parishioners Would Head in That Direction?!

I suggest you slow down when you get to Numbers 14 because so much of God’s people’s reaction to the report of the spies coming back from Canaan mirrors our own faith-journey in vv. 11-19.

First, notice that the grumbling is labeled despising God. In v. 11 the Lord says, “How long will this people despise me?” I wonder how many of us equate complaining about our circumstances as despising God? Right. Probably none. That reaction is labeled unbelief in v. 11 (“how long will they not believe in me?”).

What’s frightening is the Lord’s gut reaction in v. 12: He’s had it with His people and ready to start over. Almost as frightening is the thought of trying to preach this. Have fun trying to explain how our God can be like this. It’s a great time to flex your exegetical/theological muscles and help your listeners see why God is portrayed like this in this narrative.

Thank the Lord Moses doesn’t like His idea. Moses’s reasoning is credited with moving the Lord to pardon His people (vv. 19-20 “Please pardon…I have pardoned according to your word.”). It’s a great time for everyone to hear that the Lord’s reputation is at stake in His world with respect to how His people fare (vv. 13-16).

As Moses pleads with the Lord our listeners are reminded about the promises the Lord made to them. Verse 18 may be one of the most important verses in Scripture about the character of God,

“The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

This is why the Lord does not give up on His people. According to v. 17 this is the Lord letting his power “be great as [He] promised.”

Anyone interested in a Christ-centered reading of the narrative can focus on God’s ability and method of pardoning sin (vv. 18, 19, 20).

And remember, our task is not to preach to them about the Bible, but to preach to them about them from the Bible. Or, if your prefer God-centered wording, we’re preaching to them about God and their relationship with Him from the Bible. This is not ancient history but a Word from God to us.

Anyway, I think you can see how God will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) from such a preaching event.

Randal

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When Fear Displaces Faith: Preaching Through the Book of Numbers

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Numbers 14 shows how difficult it is to believe in God’s ability to deliver us.

Some of the best preaching in Numbers comes in chapters 13 and 14. That’s because they focus on faith and how fear can eclipse it if not kept in check.

Do you remember what happened to God’s people after the spies gave a report of the Promised Land? They wished they had died in Egypt or in the wilderness and wanted to go back (14:2-4).

If that wasn’t bad enough, verse 10a records that the people wanted to stone their leaders! So, verses 1-4, 10a describe the terrible effects of fear gone unchecked.

What do we do when God’s people entrusted to our care express their unbelief? Verses 5-9 describe how godly leadership responds to such unbelief. It’s certainly a “go and do likewise” section for us. They feel the agony of the situation (“tore their clothes” in v. 6), speak the truth (“If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land…” in v. 8; this verse became my unifying theme for the study through Numbers), and urge obedience to the Lord (“Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people…” in v. 9).

And if anyone listening wondered if the people’s reaction was such a big deal, verses 10b-12 show how the Lord feels about such fear and unbelief. God’s glory appears and He expresses His own exasperation.

Those opening 12 verses in Numbers 14 provide a great opportunity for us to build up the faith of our congregants.

And just suppose a listener asked, “How can I be sure that the Lord delights in me?” (cf. v. 8) How would you answer? We know the Lord delights in us because the great exchange has taken place. Isaiah 42:1 teaches that our God delights in His Servant, our Savior. And by faith He now delights in us. That means we can be assured that God will bring us safely through this wilderness to the new creation. Providing that all who believe will heed the instruction in v. 9. It’s a wonderful example of a living faith that works.

I hope you’ll consider Numbers 13-14 as prime preaching material. If so I know our Lord will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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How God Provides Spirit-Filled Leadership: Preaching Through Numbers

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“I will take some of the Spirit that is on you [Moses] and put it on them” (Numbers 11:17)

I just did a Google Image search for godly leadership and also spirit-filled leadership. There were lots of images dealing with Nehemiah (Okay, I am committed to staying sanctified during this post, so I will not comment about what that says about how we read the OT).

I saw just one image from Numbers.

But, if you happen to preach through Numbers you’ll enjoy arriving at chapter 11, a great place to see how God provides Spirit-filled leadership for His people.

You could consider preaching Numbers 11:11-17 and 21-30 with this in mind:

“He will bring us into this land”: And He Will Provide Spirit-Filled Leadership.

Remember, the first part of that title is taken from Numbers 14:8 and serves as a summary of the book’s theology. The second part comes from the Lord’s instruction to Moses concerning getting him much needed help in leading God’s people through the wilderness to the Promised Land.

The heavy burden of leadership is in vv. 11-15. It’s too much for Moses to carry alone.

The Lord’s solution is in vv. 16-17 and 24-25. The Lord already has in place the right amount of leadership for spiritual success. The key is the Lord’s statement about taking some of Moses’s Spirit and putting it on others.

Finally, there are two crises of leadership in vv. 21-23 (the work seems too great and our faith in the Lord is too small) and in vv. 26-30 (the Spirit rests on two seemingly “unauthorized” men).

In v. 29 Moses announces: “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

And, if you know the rest of the Story, and believe in interpreting Numbers in the context of the whole Canon of Scripture, then you know Moses’s wish came true at Pentecost. And this provides a wonderful opportunity to talk about how the Spirit has gifted all your listeners so they can do their part and God can receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal