Sunday March 19th, we continue our look into the events which will take place during the second coming of Jesus when He returns to rapture His church. This event will precede the great tribulation that will occur for seven years when the antichrist will rule the world. This Sunday the message title is a simple one called “Hope” the scripture is taken from Romans 8:22-25.
If you are in the area and do not have a church home we invite you to join us for worship at 9:00 AM. Come early for a cup of coffee and donut and meet us early.
Today we read about God’s commands, the replacement of the Tablets containing the Ten Commandments, and the repeating of the story of the golden calf.
Chapter 8 –
Moses was a great historian who knew what God’s people had been through, he also was a great teacher who wanted his students to learn about and be obedient to God.
God’s teaching for the Israelites humble dependence on and obedience to Him was something they needed. God is the ultimate parent who disciplines His children to become wise parents.
In contrast to the wilderness the promised land offered an abundance of water, crops, and minerals. But with prosperity comes temptation. The human heart can quickly turn from thanking God for His blessings to puffing up with pride. To often people say My power and my own ability have gained this wealth. To counter arrogance, Moses made one of the great statements of kingdom economics Remember the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth. The Israelites were told if the acted like the Canaanites they would fare the same as they did.
Chapter 9 –
Moses emphasized the challenges that lay ahead of them on the other side of the Jordan River. There was a need to drive out nations greater and stronger than Israel. Moses also warned them against spiritual pride: Do not say to yourself, The Lord brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness. He pulled no punches when he call them stiff necked people.
The last comment led Moses to offer an extended illustration of the Israel of the rebellious nature of the Israelites. He said, “Remember and do not forget.
God was angry about the calf incident that he threatened to destroy Israel and start over with Moses. Moses too, was furious and smashed the tablets, he burned the calf tot eh ground and put it in the water source. Then Moses fell down and interceded for the people.
He closes chapter nine by saying You have been rebelling against the Lord since I knew you.
Chapter 10 –
Moses continues his story on the vents from Sinai and beyond. He told the Israelites how God had replaced the stone tablets of the law that ad been broken and to build an ark to house them in.
He refers to the death of Aaron in verses six through nine and the succession to the priesthood by Eleazar. He resumes his narrative recounting his second stint of forty days and forty nights on Mt. Sinai. Then it was time for the nation to possess the promised land Canaan. Living there would require the people to fear the Lord.
God was worthy of Israel’s complete devotion because he is the Lord of creation to whom everything belongs. The God of Israel is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the god of justice, love, and mercy who calls on His people to show the same mercies and qualities.
Today in our reading the wanderings of Israel have ended and Moses shares the words of God to Israelites.
Chapter 3 –
Israel defeats both kings Sihon and Og takes their land which a vast region east of the Jordan. King Og bed is measured indicating he is no small man but God is no small god either. Moses then recounts the dividing of the Transjordan among the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh. They will stay on the east side of the Jordan after agreeing to battle with the other tribes to gain the promised land.
The transfer of leadership is next discussed and no doubt difficult for Moses who had led them this far. He reminds Joshua of what happened to Sihon and Og saying The Lord (would) do the same to all the kingdoms (they were) about to enter. Don’t be afraid of them for the Lord your God fights for you.
Moses had in his prayers begged God to allow him to enter the promised land God said “No” and His “No” remained. In fact the message was “That’s enough! Do not speak to me again about this matter.” He did allow Moses to go to Mt. Pisgah and view the promised land but that was a far as he could go.
Chapter 4 –
Chapter 4 is an important hinge in Deuteronomy pivoting from Moses retracing the forty-year journey in the wilderness to the lessons the nation needed to hear in the retelling of the story.
The new generation needed to hear two points: obey God and worship Him alone. In their short time as covenant people they had repeatedly failed God so Moses ws to remind them of their responsibility. All who had remained faithful were alive but those who were disobedient had been put to death.
To fulfill the role as God’s covenant people, Israel dare not forget the things they had seen and been taught. Since idolatry had posed such a problem in the past, the land they were entering was filled with it, Moses spent extensive time warning them of the consequences of idolatry. God has no shape they were reminded and when they put shape to a figured they are committing the worship of an idol.
Moses reminded the people he would not accompany the into the promised land. In his frustration with the people he sinned by striking the rock for water and this was his punishment for that action. He urges then to not forget the covenant God had made with them and them with God. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire.
If they were to forsake their covenant God for an idol in the form of anything His judgement on them would be severe. Yet God would not completely abandon His people. Moses said, You will search for the Lord your God, and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart.
In closing chapter four Moses reiterates the cities of refuge that have been established.
So we have read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and portions of Job and Psalms in our 2023 quest to read through the Bible.
After the Lord delivered the Israelites out of Egypt slavery He led them to the Sinai wilderness, entered into covenant with them, and gave them His law. One year later they departed Sinai, and God led them to the entry of the promised land. However, because the people feared the Canaanites, they refused to take the land. Therefore, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years.
The fifth and final book of the Pentateuch is Moses farewell address to the second generation of the Israelites. Moses’ message to the Israelites is a simple one to obey or disobey God’s law. Deuteronomy is a convenantal book. Through it, God tells His people that He will bond with them based on their adherence to the covenant of His kingdom.
Chapter 1 –
Moses is peaking to Israel on behalf of the Lord who is Israel’s lawgiver and leader. He is the man who God has chosen to speak through. When the Israelites sinned Moses interceded for them, he had led them for forty years never shrinking back a bit.
Moses was a faithful leader but he could not do it all by himself. So leaders from every tribe were appointed to help Moses – wise, understanding, ad respected men. When they reached the edge of the promised land Moses sent out twelve spies who came back with this report. See, the Lord your God has set this land before you. Go up and take possession of it…do not be afraid.
But things rapidly went downhill from there. The people rebelled against the Lord and grumbled when ten cowards claims the inhabitants were like giants. Moses tried to rally the people to move on but their fear made them deaf and blind to his words although he assured them the Lord would go before them.
On their first opportunity to enter they refused claiming their children would be plunder for the nations living there. Ironically, God turned their excuse against them. In reality they would be excluded from the promised land and die in the wilderness, while their children would inherit the promised land.
Chapter 2 –
Following the failure at Kadesh, God told the Israelites to turn back and head into the wilderness where they wandered for the next few decades.
Moses recounted how they encountered three groups of relatives along the way, whom the Lord had told them not to pick a fight they were the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites. The first group the Edomites refused to allow them to pass through but God still provided for them. They lacked nothing while in the wilderness for forty-two years.
From Edom they traveled to Moab and received the same command from God not to provoke the nation of Moab. When God’s judgement on the older generation had been carried out Israel was ready to move on in preparation for entering the promised land. Once again, they were to cross the border of Moab thus bringing the close to the Ammonites again, they were not to provoke these people.
The next move was to take the Transjordan the land east of the Jordan River beginning with the defeat of King Sihon. Through this victory God would begin to make people fear the Israelites and their mighty God. God knew in advance the king would reject their peace offering. Notice what God told the Israelites I have begun to give Sihon and his lane to you.Begin to take possession of it which raises a question. Did God give it to them, or did they have to take possession of it? The answer is both. Even if god promises us something we must be obedient to possess it.
God handed the army of Sihon over to the people when they came out to battle, the Ammonites were destroyed and Israel took all their possessions. There was no city inaccessible to Israel.
I saw this article written by Thom Rainer of Church Answers and I wanted to share it with you concerning church attendance. We must ask ourselves where do we fit it?
The New Testament, from Acts 2 to Revelation 3, is about the local church. That is a big portion of the Bible!
The local church is God’s plan A to carry out his mission on earth, and He did not give us a plan B.
Sure, the local church can be messy. It’s made of imperfect members like you and me. We are all sinners. No local church is close to being perfect.
But God made it clear that Christians are to be connected to a local church. Anything less than our commitment and devotion to our church is nothing less than disobedience to God.
And the base level of our commitment should be gathering. Our most common form of gathering is the worship service. But I stand amazed at how many Christians view the gathering of church members as just another optional activity. It competes with sleeping in, busyness, sports, and just plain apathy.
The watching world sees our lukewarm commitment and rightly concludes we are not committed to the Savior who gave us our churches. If we don’t take Jesus seriously, why should they?
At Church Answers, we have been engaged with church leaders for years. We asked them to discern the base level of commitment of their church members. Though these numbers are not precise, they do represent the essence of what we’ve learned. We classified church members into four categories according to their frequency of attendance. We did not include church members who never attend. They should not be on church rolls anyway.
Category
Frequency of Attendance
Estimated % of Church Members
Core
3 to 4 times a month
30%
Marginal
1 to 2 times a month
25%
Fading
4 to 10 times a year
25%
Cultural
1 to 3 times a year
20%
Core
For the core, the local church is a priority. They demonstrate commitment more than offering excuses. This group likely provides 80% to 90% of the church’s financial giving. They are the first to volunteer and the last to complain. They are the core of the church. They are not perfect, but they are mostly a joy to many. We estimate they account for about 30% of the membership in a typical church.
Marginal
Some churchgoers might be uncomfortable with our categorization of someone who attends once or twice a month as marginal. Frankly, many churches have elders and deacons in this category. But these members are, at best, every-other-week attenders. Their commitment to Christ’s church is lukewarm. We estimate that the marginals account for 25% of the membership in a typical church.
Fading
A church member who only attends four to ten times a year is likely on the way out of the church. They will soon be in the last category, cultural, or they will drop out altogether. They are “fading” away. We estimate that the fading account for 25% of the membership in a typical church.
Cultural
In the past, this category of church members was much larger. The cultural church members attend church sporadically, one to three times a year, just so they can say they are a part of a church. They think it is necessary to identify as a Christian or a church member to be accepted in the community for business, political, or relational reasons. Though we estimate that the cultural account for 20% of the membership of a typical number, this number is declining. Most people today do not think there is any cultural benefit to identifying with a church.
The Church’s Response
One of the major reasons for the lessening commitment of church members is, simply put, many are not Christians. They are Christians in name only. They have minimal commitment to Christ’s church because they have no commitment to Christ.
We need to be cautious about estimating if groups of church members are Christians. We cannot ultimately know their hearts. Still, based on ongoing anecdotal evidence, we estimated the percentage of Christians for each category of church members:
Core: 90% are Christians
Marginal: 60% are Christians
Fading: 30% are Christians
Cultural: 10% are Christians
I recently wrote a book, I Am a Christian, to address this reality. While this book can certainly be used in a new members’ class, my primary purpose was to speak to those who are already church members but are not likely Christians. The book asks straightforward but biblical questions that get to the heart of an individual’s belief.
My prayer is that I Am a Christian will open the eyes of church members who are not Christians, and that it will be a great resource of assurance to those who are Christians. Even now, church leaders have begun using this book as a next step of discipleship in their churches.
The Essence of It All
To be absolutely clear, my theology does not suggest that church membership is a condition of salvation. Salvation is by grace alone when we put our faith in Christ.
But the evidence is strong, if not overwhelming, that many church members have not truly become followers of Christ. A commitment to Christ without a commitment to His church is contrary to the teachings of the New Testament.
An inactive church member, in many ways, is an oxymoron. It is time to address the problem of marginal, fading, and cultural church members.
From Numbers 35 and 36 we learn three things: towns of refuge, the cities of the Levites, and the limitations of female property owners.
Chapter 35 –
The tribe of Levi did not receive any inheritance because the Lord was their portion- that is, they had been chosen from among all tribes to serve the Lord at the tabernacle. However, they still needed a place to live and pastures for their herds. God gave instructions to Moses to give property to the Levites. Being placed where they were they were accessible to all people.
Among the cities of the Levites six were designated as cities of refuge. As the name implies, there were places where a person who had (killed) someone unintentionally (might) flee…until he (stood) trial.
There was no refuge for the person who intentionally committed murder. This required the death penalty oftentimes a family member would carry out the punishment. Cities of refuge provided that safe haven for those committing manslaughter without hostility and without malicious intent. The process is outlined as to protection from the assembly, the court would rule if the court ruled for the defendant he would be taken back to his city of refuge to live until the priests died then he could return home. If he violated these conditions his accuser could kill him.
Another provision to prevent miscarriages of justice was the necessity of having a multitude of witnesses one witness could not generate a sentence of death.
At the end of the chapter, we learn the bottom-line reason for these ordinances: Bloodshed defiles the land. There can be atonement to cleanse the land…except the blood of the person who shed it.
Chapter 36 –
Concluding the book of Numbers, we come in contact with a family we have met before in our reading. The five daughters of Zelophehad. The first time they met Moses they were concerned their father had no sons therefore they had no inheritance. This time the ones raising the question was the heads of the clan of the families.
Again Moses recognized that what they said was right. So he sought the Lord once again and returned with a ruling on how to proceed. The daughters were free to marry anyone…provided they marry within a clan of their ancestral tribe. Also, no inheritance belonging to the Israelites (was) was to transfer from tribe to tribe.
We have come from Mt. Sinai in the book of Numbers to where the Lord made a covenant with Israel, to the edge of the land He had promised them. Though the people, including Moses would be unfaithful God remained faithful, He would preserve His people.
But in the days to come He would also be faithful to His greatest promise of all: “A star will come from Jacob; a scepter will arise form Israel.” (24:17). And sure enough the messianic King, Jesus Christ, came to atone for sin, defeat His enemies, and give the riches of His grace to His people.
In reading today from chapters 33 and 34 of Numbers two things are prominent: Israel’s journey is laid out and the borders of Canaan are laid out.
Chapter 33 –
Moses maintained a very detailed travel plan of the Israelites on their journey from Egypt to the promised land. Remember they left Egypt quite defiantly while the Egyptians were burying their firstborn. Moses noted the Israelites camped in the wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh) which is the name where the nation rebelled and wandered for forty years.
At Mount HorAaron the brother of Moses dies. Then we see the Canaanite king opposed the people’s passing and was soundly defeated, then he records their encampment in Abarim range so Moses could see the promised land.
The remainder of the chapter includes Moses’ instructions and exhortations to God’s people about entering the promised land. He emphasizes the total spiritual depravity of the people they would encounter as well as the Lord’s command concerning them.
Once God’s people possessed the land it was to be divided among them. Moses’ message from the Lord then ended with a stern warning: But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants…those you allow to remain will become …thorns in your sides: they will harass you in the land where you will live. And what I have planned to do to them, I will do to you. If you are disobedient then these people will be a snare to you.
Tragically the Israelites would fail to follow the directions given them and they would suffer both military and spiritual defeats in the centuries ahead. Eventually after years of covenant unfaithfulness – and years of the Lord being abundantly patient they would be cast form the land in stages.
Chapter 34 –
Before transitioning from Moses to Joshua the Lord gave specific instructions to Moses about the details of dividing up the land so there would be no confusion. He provided precise boundaries for the land and identified leaders of the tribe who would oversee the distribution.
All borders were identified of the promised land. Each tribe was to receive their land by lot but the process only involved distribution to nine and one half tribes because Rueben and one half Manasseh remained east of the Jordan.
Numbers 31 & 32 reveals to us Moses carrying out revenge on the Midianites and teaching about the Reubenites and Gadites.
Chapter 31 –
Moses’ last act as leader of the Israelites was to exact judgement on the Midianites. When this was completed Moses’ life would end. Since God was leading the engagement Israel would only need a small contingent to defeat them so He had Moses gather one thousand menfrom each Israelite tribe to go against the Midianites. War was waged against Midian and every male was killed – that is every soldier. In addition too all that were killed included the kings and Balaam whom we recently met.
When they returned Moses and Eleazar and all the leaders of the community were furious with the leaders who brought with them some of the same women who had incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness. They had lured the men into sexual immorality in worshipping Baal the same reason twenty-four thousand died previously. The decision was to Kill every male among the dependents and kill every woman who had gone to bed with a man. The execution was necessary to purge any influence of the Midianite culture.
Ceremonial cleansing was necessary for the soldiers who were unclean in carrying out their duties. Everything had to be purified by water or fire. Next, they divided what they had taken in the victory. God required a tribute and the remainder was shared. When was said and done one last thing remained – The leaders of the soldiers informed Moses not one of their men had been lost in battle. Another offering was made to the Lord.
Chapter 32 –
While they were still camped on the east side of the Jordan opposite Canaan the tribes of Reuben and Gad looked around and saw that the region was good for livestock which they had many. They asked for that land, maybe not giving any thought to the fact that every other tribe had to battle the Canaanites for the land. Moses’ wise answer was a swift one Should your brothers got o war while you stay here. Did they really prefer this land, were they afraid of battle? Moses then asks another pointed question Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land the Lord has given? He wanted them to recognize their decision would affect the rest of the nation.
That same principle applies today to the church. Some people who claim to follow Christ insist that their similar actions – whether they are choosing to worship at home each Sunday when just as easily could be in church and serve there. Sinful choices do affect those around us.
They change their tactics and agree to lead the battle. It appears they had not thought through all the implications when they initially spoke. They received permission to build pens for their livestock with a warning from Moses if they did not follow through, they would be sinning against God. They did, they received their inheritance and they remained there.
As we begin in chapter twenty-eight, we see included are examples of what the new generation needed to know as they prepared to conquer Canaan and settle down in the land. What we will see in these chapters are various offerings and festivals that had been described before, but needed to be reviewed and established to ensure that Joshua’s generation knew what God expected.
One important element of these offerings was that they needed to be made at its appointed time as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The first of these sacrifices were the daily burnt offerings, requiring one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight. Next came regulations for the weekly Sabbath offerings which required and entirely new set of animals, grain, and drink offerings. The offerings required the first of every month took Israels requirements to a whole new level with the presentation of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, in addition to enhanced grain and drink offerings.
The Passover was the holy festival that came in the first monthon the fourteenth day to commemorate Israel’s freedom from Egyptian bondage. The final instructions of this chapter concerned the feast of firstfruits or Festival of Weeks which occurred fifty days after Passover: this is also called Pentecost. People were to bring firstfruits to celebrate.
Chapter 29
Next the Lord gave Moses instructions for offerings associated with three more holy observances: the Festival of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Festival of Shelters. The first day of the seventh month was a special day that later became known as Rosh Hashanah (the head of the year). No daily work and the blowing of the trumpets were key features of this observance.
The Feast of Trumpets was followed by the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur in Hebrew); it is still the most sacred day o the Jewish calendar. It was to be a day of confession and mourning for sin. It was also the day the high priest entered the most holy place to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant to make atonement for the people.
The remainder of the chapter deals with the week-long celebrations. The chapter concludes with the people making all the sacrifices and keeping the festivals at their appointed times. The many offerings and sacrifices were costly to the Israelites. But that in no way compares to God’s grace.
Chapter 30 –
Vows to do something or to abstain were completely voluntary. So God ws within His right to demand faithfulness from an Israelite who made one. Such a person must not break his word.
At this point in the text there is a great example of God’s kingdom agenda for the home operation here. What we see here is divine protection for the underage woman who spoke rashly, her dad got the last word. This is a loving provision. It is also a reminder that women needed the protection of the covenant. Marriage vows for both man and the woman are laid out and the conditions on which they can be broken and cannot be broken.
Numbers 26 and 27 give us some revelation on entering the promised land. In fact these preparations run through chapter 30:16.
By the time of Moses generation had died according to the decree of God Israel prepared to enter the promised land. In was time to take another census of a new generation counting males twenty years and more who could serve in Israel’s army. Soldiers would be needed to take the land and the census was taken on the east side of the Jordan across from Jericho the first city they would take.
The remainder of the chapter is primarily written to show the census was recorded tribe by tribe. But it also contains several interesting side notes. The first concerning Dathan and Abiram. They were two that joined with Korah’s followers in their rebellion against the Lord. The earth opened up its mouth and swallowed them.
The census continued until 601,730 fighting men had been counted this is close to the number taken four generations ago of 603,550 even with the death of the generations God had restored His people. After the census each tribe’s inheritance was determined by casting of lot.
Since the Levites had no land inheritance they were not counted because of their service to the Lord. Chapter 26 is a passage where names are important. The chapter ends with two more significant names. Moses had registered in the new census, there was not one…who had been registered by Moses and the priest Aaron when they registered the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai four decades earlier because the Lord said to them, they would die.
Chapter 27 –
As the lots were cast to determine where the tribal lands would be located, a problem came up. A man named Zelophehad from the tribe of Manasseh died without a son and left behind five daughters. Under Israel’s laws of inheritance the future did not look good for the girls so the approached Moses and the whole community.
They were careful to mention he did not ide under the influence of Korah but most likely died as a result of the discipline God placed on them. Their question was a legitimate one brought to Moses. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan? Since he had no son, give us property among our father’s brothers. God agreed with their dilemma He established a new rule for inheritance.
Now Israel was on the verge of crossing the Jordan to enter Canaan it was time for God to appoint a new leader to replace Moses who had been told he would not enter the promised land. God took Moses to Mount Nebo so he could look over the land that God had given the Israelites, this was the best Moses could hope for because he had struck the rock to bring forth water.
Moses did not complain for a minute he accepted the word from the Lord. In fact his plea was for God to give the Israelites a godly, qualified leader. Joshua was chosen as the one who had the Spirit in him. Moses commanded Moses to have Joshua stand before the community for commissioning. From this point on Joshua would lead them and work hand -in-hand with Eleazar the priest who would consult with the Lord for him.
Asbury Chapel 