Wandering in the Wilderness: Introduction
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Numbers 14:20-38
Introduction
Today we begin a new sermon series that deals with the peculiar times we are living through as individuals, families, communities, and as the Church. Solomon said, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) While his words were given as an example of human folly, he reminds us that, without divine purpose, humanity will do the same things over and over again, but each time with newer knowledge (i.e. technology) than the last. Therefore, we can be sure that our times and circumstances are not unlike similar events of the past. The only difference is the lens through which we view them.
In this series, we will look at our current events through the lens of Israel’s wilderness wanderings. We will see how the people of God routinely gave up their liberty within God’s grace and exchanged it for slavery to popular culture. We will see that God uses calamities to awaken those who can be stirred and to dispose of those who will not. It will be clear that God is sovereign, even using powerful, evil world leaders to accomplish God’s purposes. In Jewish tradition the story of the Exodus, the forty-year wilderness journey, and the entry into the Promised Land represent the struggle between devotion to the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of man.
The Exodus
God’s chosen people ended up in Egypt because of a seven-year famine. The people flourished under the leadership of their kinsmen, Joseph. He had become the second in charge of the country after the Pharaoh. However, Scripture informs us, “Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt” (Exodus 1:8), and soon, “the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites” (Exodus 1:12). Consequently, the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites for several centuries. The Egyptians “worked them ruthlessly” (Exodus 1:13). Eventually, God responded to their cries (Exodus 2:23-25) and sent Moses and Aaron to lead them out of Egypt. After suffering God’s wrath through the ten plagues that ended with the death of the firstborn males, Pharaoh agreed to release the Israelites.
After a dramatic departure that included the parting of the Red Sea and unprecedented annihilation of Pharaoh’s army, the people traveled toward the Promised Land where God would be their ruler and they were to live as God’s chosen. Along the way, God met with them on Mount Sanai and gave them the Law. God instructed the people in the ways of their new lives after deliverance and under God’s leadership. Upon their arrival at Kadesh Barnea, which bordered the Promised Land twelve spies were sent to survey the land and its people (Numbers 13:18-25). After forty days of exploration, the spies returned. Ten of them reported that, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are. . . All the people we saw were of great size. . . We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes” (Numbers 13:31-33). Two spies, Joshua and Caleb gave a different report, saying that the God who already proved His power would bring those people down too. (Numbers 14:6-7) Nevertheless, the people lost heart believing the fearful reports of the ten. They rebelled and “raised their voices and wept aloud,” grumbling against Moses and Aaron, saying, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?” (Numbers 14:1-2
The Wandering
Read Numbers 14:20-38
There are some significant points to observe when Moses pleaded with God saying, “Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” First, consider the word, “iniquity,” which is defined as immoral or grossly unfair behavior. The word occurs 262 times in the King James Version of the Bible and it always means the same thing[1]. Iniquity is sometimes used to describe the behavior of Israel’s enemies and sometimes the people of God.
Second, Moses’ plea subtly suggests that the people had been struggling with their Egyptian ways from the time they left. Certainly, the golden calf incident in Exodus 32 revealed it. But, why was God’s reaction different this time? It appears that God had no intention of populating the theocratic land of promise with faithless, worldly people. Egypt is mentioned frequently throughout the Bible as an expression of vain, flesh-indulging, worldly culture. It should be understood that the nine plagues visited exclusively upon Egypt were witnessed by the Israelites. Each plague proved God’s power and authority over pagan gods, worldly systems, and human vanity. The final plague afflicted all of the people, but the Israelites were saved by the sacrifice and blood of the unblemished lamb. God’s purpose was to establish God’s proper place in the lives of God’s people. The destruction of Egypt’s army represented God’s sovereignty over worldly vanity and power.
The elders of Israel had become so steeped in the culture of Egypt, albeit as Egypt’s slaves, that they could not surrender their will to God. No matter what they saw, they could not give themselves entirely to the Lord. Even after forty years of waiting, Joshua was compelled to remind their descendants, “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15)
Conclusion
It has been said that it took three days for Israel to get out of Egypt, but it took forty years to Egypt out of Israel. It is true for us today too. It does not take long to realize God’s love and accept God’s grace, but it takes years to give up control and let God be your Lord. God is so adamant that God’s people would have new life under God’s rule that God assures destruction for those who return to Egypt. “Woe to those who run to Egypt for help, trusting their mighty cavalry and chariots instead of looking to the Holy One of Israel and consulting him. In his wisdom, he will send great evil on his people and will not change his mind. He will rise against them for the evil they have done and crush their allies too.” (Isaiah 31:1-2)
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