Well, again, I want to say good morning. It's good to have you here.
And I want to just remind you, as Tom said earlier, if you are feeling hot and need to get up,
move to a different zone so you can feel a fan or go downstairs and continue to engage in our service
on the live stream in the air conditioning, please feel free to do that.
In great stories, there are always inflection points.
And if you are particularly a teen here and you want to read these books,
you may want to plug your ears because I'm about to give you spoilers, okay?
Obi-Wan falls to the lightsaber of Darth Vader in the Death Star at the end of the original New Hope.
Dumbledore, okay, have you plugged your ears?
All right, so Dumbledore meets his fate at the top of the Astronomy Tower in Hogwarts.
And in the minds of Moria, again, if you haven't read The Lord of the Rings, plug your ears,
Gandalf falls into the abyss at the bridge of Khazad-dûm.
And in each of these situations, the main characters, Luke, Skywalker, Harry Potter,
Frodo Baggins, and the company ask the question, how do we go on?
Where do we need to look for help, for leadership, for guidance?
During the…in these inflection points, in these turning points,
they feel fear, confusion, and uncertainty about how to go forward.
In the journey of our life, we may also come to inflection points along the way.
It might be starting a new job or having a promotion, a new company.
It might be heading off to junior high or high school coming up this fall.
Maybe that you're getting married or having a baby or having another baby.
All of these are inflection points in our lives.
Perhaps you've suffered great loss.
Maybe a loved one or even a pet or a job or a hope.
They cause the same feelings in us.
Confusion, fear, uncertainty.
How do we move forward?
What would God want us to know about Himself in these moments?
This is what brings us to our passage today.
We'll be looking at Numbers chapter 20.
This summer, we are preaching through the book of Numbers in the Old Testament.
If you're looking at the Pew Bible, that's page 119 in the Pew Bibles or around there.
We're looking.
And as we go through, you will see we're going to focus particularly on the narrative story
in verses 2 through 13 this morning.
So we're not going to teach through the whole chapter.
We're just going to focus on that story.
But if you haven't been here or just to remind us of where we are in the whole Bible, right?
Numbers is the book about God leading His people on a journey through the wilderness.
God had in the book of Exodus delivered His people from Egypt, brought them to Mount Sinai,
revealed Himself with great signs and wonders.
And they camped there as they received the law and began to learn what it meant to be God's people.
The book of Numbers begins as the people set out from the Mount of Sinai,
heading towards the promised land that God would promise to take them into.
But despite all of God's great signs of faithfulness to them,
the people struggled and failed to trust and believe God in this journey through the wilderness.
They complained about food and about water.
They rebelled against God's leaders.
In Numbers 13, they came to the brink of the promised land,
and they went in and spied it out.
And they came back and they said,
There's no way God can help us.
We're afraid.
We don't want to do this.
And so God in His judgment said,
If that's how you feel, fine.
My judgment is that this generation will not enter in to the promised land.
But your faithfulness, faithlessness, will not deter my faithfulness.
So the next generation I will take in.
So you are now going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
And in that time, He reaffirmed His appointment of the leadership of Moses and Aaron in the priesthood.
And He asked them again and again to trust Him.
To believe in His saving purposes.
That God will deliver us from our enemies.
To trust in His provision.
That God will give us the things that we need.
Manna and water.
That God, He calls us to live with hope in His promises.
That what God has said He will do.
He will bring it to completion.
When we come to Numbers 20 then, it's a turning point.
Because suddenly, we are 40 years ahead.
Right?
The generation that was condemned for not believing God and going into the promised land.
Had pretty much died out.
And the new generation had raised up.
And you see this in a number of different ways.
You see this new place coming up.
You see that there's an inflection point in the leadership.
Right?
Chapter 20 begins in verse 1 with the death of Miriam.
Remember, Miriam was the prophetess.
The sister of Aaron and Moses.
Who helped lead the people and praise the Lord.
Right?
And we see at the end of the chapter that Aaron too.
His death is recorded in this.
And the passing on of the high priesthood to a new generation.
To his son, Eleazar.
And it's even an inflection point in the travel plans.
Because they're still thinking they're going to go to the promised land.
And in verses 14 through 21, they try to go through Edom.
And Edom says, no thanks.
We don't want your people walking through our land.
And so God redirects them to go south and around the long way.
So that God can show his faithfulness to them.
So there's your outline for the whole chapter.
If you missed it, you can go back and watch it on the video.
So, but the central narrative in this is verses 2 through 13.
So we're going to look at that today.
We're going to read it.
And we're going to explore it.
So if you want to read with me, Numbers chapter 20, verses 2 through 13.
Numbers 20, verse 2.
Now there was no water for the congregation.
And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
And the people quarreled with Moses and said,
Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord.
Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness?
That we should die here, both we and our cattle.
And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place?
It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates.
And there is no water to drink.
Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting
and fell on their faces.
And the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
And the Lord spoke to Moses saying,
Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron, your brother,
and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water.
So you shall bring water out of the rock for them
and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.
And Moses took the staff from before the Lord as he commanded him.
Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock.
And he said to them,
Hear now, you rebels!
Shall we bring water for you out of this rock?
And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice.
And water came out abundantly.
And the congregation drank and their livestock.
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
Because you did not believe in me to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel,
therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.
These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord.
And through them he showed himself holy.
Let's pray and ask for God's help as we look at his word today.
Lord, thank you for this word.
Thank you for this morning that we can gather together.
And we pray for your help as we look at this.
Lord, help us to understand your word.
Lord, help us to not only understand it,
but Lord, make our hearts ready to receive it and to submit to it.
Search our hearts.
Lord, show us if there be any wicked way in us,
and lead us in the ways of everlasting.
Lord, be my help.
Help me to speak as I ought to this morning,
that your truth may be clear.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So we're going to recount the story
so that we can pull out some of the details
and see it for all that we can see in it.
And then we're going to ask three questions at the end.
So if you're making an outline,
that's what we're going to do.
So the story comes in four movements, right?
In verses 2 through 5,
the new people, the new generation, complain.
Now remember, they are thinking, potentially,
the old guard, they got judged,
but we're now expecting blessing.
And so here they go,
and the first thing that happens to them is,
there is no water.
And this is not merely them overlooking something that was untrue.
It's not that they misperceived the situation.
The narrator himself says,
there was no water.
The question was, how would they respond to that?
Well, they complained.
Just like the earlier generation did,
they complained.
They were faithless.
They were accusatory of Moses and Aaron.
Why did you lead us out here to die?
It's interesting.
They even say, we wish we were like our brothers,
the brothers who were the rebels
who were swallowed up by the earth.
We wish that we would die instantaneously like them
rather than dying by starvation in the wilderness.
It's a pretty ugly picture of the people of God.
The second movement in this story is God's response.
In verses 6 through 8,
Moses and Aaron receive this.
They take it to the Lord,
and the Lord gives them instructions.
And it's so interesting, is it not?
Though in some of the other places,
God would have said,
these people are worthless and faithless,
and I'm going to judge them
and wipe them off of the face of the earth.
And then Moses and Aaron step in and say,
no, God, you have to keep your people to,
because you want, you have to keep your promises.
And then God relents,
and it goes on from here.
Here, you don't see any word at all of condemnation.
Right?
Look with me again at verse 7.
What does he say?
Where'd it go?
The Lord spoke and said,
he just said,
take the staff and assemble the congregation.
His goal is to provide for the people.
Right?
He gives Moses and Aaron particularly three instructions.
He said, go get the staff.
And what is the staff?
It's particularly here,
the staff of Aaron that they had,
if you go back and you have to listen to the sermon
from a couple weeks ago on Aaron's staff,
signifying that the priesthood was meant to be
a life-giving blessing to the people of God.
It was a signal of God's authority to these leaders,
but it was a signal of God's desire
to bless his people through their leadership.
So go get the staff from the tent of meeting.
Get it from its special place in the Holy of Holies.
Second thing, assemble the people.
And it's really interesting.
If you look carefully,
there are two different words through this passage.
One is assembly and one is congregation.
And God uses the word congregation,
typically, in a neutral or positive sense
to talk about the unified people of God.
But he uses the word assembly often
with the connotation of,
these are the people who are rebelling against me.
So when in verse 7,
God says,
go assemble the congregation,
he's saying,
pull the people together before me.
Right?
And then the third thing is,
he says,
speak to the rock
so that it will yield the water.
And God's promise is,
when you do these things,
the water will give rock,
sorry,
the rock will give water
to all the people.
Not only to all the people,
but all the livestock.
It's not just a trickle.
It's a gush.
It's a torrent.
It's a waterfall
to feed all these hundreds of thousands of people
and their livestock.
So God promises.
He instructs his leaders to do things
with the promise that God is going to provide
for the people through them.
The third movement,
in verses 9 through 11,
Moses and Aaron's surprising leadership.
This is very interesting.
The ESV does not help us
by putting a paragraph break
between verses 9 and 10
and a new title.
Okay?
So I want you to try to erase that from your brain
if you're looking at your Bible.
And just because in verse 9,
right,
it says Moses heard God
and he went
and he took the staff
out of the tent of meeting
as the Lord commanded him.
Now,
as the Lord commanded him
feels a little early,
doesn't it?
God gave him three instructions
and Moses did one of them.
Right?
So there's partial obedience.
But then what do you see in the rest of it?
Is it further obedience?
Well,
he gathers the people,
but again,
verse 10 says,
he gathered the assembly,
which is an indication perhaps
in the narrative
of something slightly off,
and his tone.
I tried to get it
when I was reading it earlier.
He says,
you rebels.
Right?
which is the word used
in chapter 16
for Korah and his followers
when they rose up
against the leadership
and God brought great judgment
on them.
He treated them
as worthy of judgment.
And he didn't say,
God has promised
to provide for you.
He said,
should you?
Should I bring water
out of the rock for you?
The implication,
I think,
is that he,
Moses was thinking,
these people are not deserving.
These people don't deserve
God's grace.
They don't deserve
God's provision.
And then the third thing he does
is he strikes the rock.
He lifts up his hand.
He strikes the rock.
He strikes it twice.
He lifts up his hand.
And the water gushes forth.
And God is faithful
and God provides the water
for the people.
We're going to come back
and explore this a little bit
because it's the first question.
Right?
So,
the fourth movement
in the story is
because it feels like,
hey,
this is great.
God has
totally provided
and this is wonderful
and let's go on
into the promised land.
Verse 12,
God's judgment
and vindication.
Right?
Verses 12 and 13,
water does come
from the rock,
but Moses and Aaron
are condemned.
Why?
For two reasons.
The text is clear.
The first one is,
you did not believe in me.
That is,
you did not trust me.
You did not trust my words.
Secondly,
you did not,
what's the phrase
that he uses particularly?
Uphold me as holy
in the eyes
of the people of Israel.
You did not represent me
as I truly am
in my heart
for these people
accurately.
You showed that
through your disobedience
and you showed that
through your attitude.
And God gave
the people water,
but there's a word
of rebuke
and condemnation
and consequence
for Moses and Aaron.
They would not see
the promised land
that this generation would.
Okay.
So that's the story.
I've tried to pull out
some of the details.
Let's talk about
the implications of it.
Three questions.
The first one is,
why was Moses and Aaron's
sin so significant?
And I put Moses and Aaron together
because as you go
through the story,
it's actually a little bit confusing
because it moves
from singular to plural
and back and forth
between just talking
about Moses
and talking about
Moses and Aaron.
And when you look
at verse 12,
when you see the judgment
on them,
it's on both of them.
And so I'm going to use
plural broadly
even though the text
goes back and forth
between Moses did this
and it doesn't specify
that Aaron did this.
The idea is that
they were doing this together
is what we see, right?
But why was it
such a big deal?
It kind of seems harsh
on a first read.
Like, seriously God?
They just,
they kind of misstepped
on a few of the details
and you like,
nope,
you can't see
the promised land?
That's a terrible,
that seems really harsh,
doesn't it?
Well, it does
until you see this
in the context
of the book
and understand
a few details
that are really important.
The first thing is
Moses and Aaron
were given particular roles.
If you go back and read,
if you remember
what we've seen
in Numbers 11 through 20,
God keeps propping them up.
Moses is the prophet.
He is the anointed one
that I have set aside
to lead these people
into the promised land.
He is to represent me
and He is to represent
the people to me.
So Moses has this unique role
as a mediator
and Aaron is held up
in chapters 16 through 19,
particularly in chapters 16 and 17.
Aaron is held up
as the high priest,
the one who goes
into the Holy of Holies
to make the sacrifices,
to atone for the sins
of the people.
So these two people
had a unique role
in the people of God
at the time.
And God gave them staffs.
And I'm going to say
two of them
because this is kind of important,
right?
Each of them had a staff
that symbolized
their authority.
And I went back and looked
and I'll tell you,
I just want to be clear.
The writer isn't always clear
on which staff
is which staff,
okay?
But here we go,
right?
The staff of Moses,
the staff that he used
as he raised up
to part the Red Sea,
right?
The staff that he used
to strike the rock
in Exodus 17
to bring water
the first time
and when the first generation
complained,
right?
This is the staff of Moses.
But remember,
the staff of Aaron,
now the staff of Aaron
was also used
back in the judgments
on Egypt.
It was a time
when Aaron would raise up
his staff
to be a part
of what God would do.
So again,
there's a bit of intermingling,
but they are two distinct staffs.
And at this point
in Numbers 20,
as I said,
Aaron's staff
has been put away
in the innermost place
where God's presence
dwells among his people
to be a testimony
of his faithfulness
and his desire to provide.
So God tells them,
go get that staff
so that you can hold it up,
not to strike the rock,
but to hold it up
to remind the people
that your leadership
is meant to be a blessing.
And they do that.
But then in verse 11,
it says,
Moses took his staff
and struck the rock.
not Aaron's staff.
Now,
we could have
a really good row
about the Hebrew particles
and whether this is
really a distinction or not,
but this was helpful for me
that it specified
it's Moses' staff
that he takes
to strike the rock
because it shows
how far he had gone
in disregarding
God's command.
because the point
of getting Aaron's staff
was to hold up
this sign of authority.
But Moses said,
no, I'm going to do this.
I'm going to get
my own staff
and struck the rock.
Right?
And so,
and part of this
is because it subverted
God's plan for this.
Because in this inflection point,
Moses has been
with the people
leading them,
but he's not going to be
with this new generation forever.
At some point,
he's going to die.
And what is going to continue
to lead and instruct
the people of God?
Interestingly,
not another prophet
like Moses,
but the words of Moses
written down in the law.
And so,
God is using this.
The command to speak
is trying to signify
a transition
that God wants to happen
among his people,
that it will not be
the person of Moses,
but the words of Moses
that will be their instruction.
And so,
when Moses subverts this
by striking the rock
and putting himself back in,
again,
the implications of it
are much greater.
And in all of this,
they misrepresented
the heart of God.
God came to this
undeserving people
who were complaining
just like the old generation
complained,
and was clear
that his purpose
was to bless them,
not because they deserved it,
but because he was
a gracious God
who would provide
for his people.
And they subverted that.
And they didn't represent God
as he truly was,
but instead thought,
God,
these people are people
you should judge
just like you judge
those other people,
and treated them
as in that way.
And because of this,
then,
this is the reason
why there was
a great judgment
upon them,
why they would not
enter into the promised land
with this new generation,
because they failed
in this unique role
that God had given them
to represent him.
And that is a great loss,
because this whole story
in this inflection point
is for God
to show the new generation
more about who he is,
and they distorted that.
Now,
before we move on,
I want to just think briefly.
Application for us.
The church is called
the New Testament
people of God,
a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation,
that we are meant
to represent Christ
in the world.
That's why we're called Christians,
because we represent Christ.
If we claim
to be the people of God,
do we take it seriously
that all of our actions,
all of our words,
all of our stewardship
of life
are meant to represent
the character of God?
More specifically,
do we obey God
in the specifics
of what he has commanded us
in the New Testament,
not just do the ones
that we agree with
or like?
When we do obey,
do we believe
that God will show
his glory
through our obedience?
Or do we obey
with doubt
and fear
of consequences?
Do we believe
believe that God
will provide for us?
Or do we grumble
and complain?
Do we,
like Moses and Aaron,
take up a part of God
and represent that
to the people
without representing
the fullness
of who he is?
some reflections
for us
as God's people.
The story goes on
because the purpose
of this story
is not to focus
on their sin,
but it's so that
we can see God.
Did you notice
in verse 6,
Aaron and Moses
turned to the tent
of meeting
and went there
and the glory
of the Lord
appeared,
right?
Now,
this happens
because that's
where he dwells
and when he shows up
to speak,
his glory…
So,
at some point,
it's very…
But it's also
right in the central…
center part
of the story
that the glory
of the Lord
appears.
So,
the second question
I want to ask is,
what does this story
tell us about God?
And you've probably…
You've heard this already.
God wanted to show
himself faithful again
to this new generation,
right?
Just like to the old generation
who he gave manna
in the wilderness
and he gave water
from the rock.
He wants to say…
show the same thing
to this.
He wants to show himself
to be the Lord
who announced himself
on Mount Sinai
to Moses
when Moses said,
tell me who you are,
let me see your glory.
And the Lord
passed by him
and said,
the Lord,
a God merciful
and gracious,
slow to anger
and abounding
in steadfast love
and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love
for thousands,
forgiving iniquity
and transgression
and sin.
this is what the Lord
wants us to know
about him.
Yes, he is holy.
Yes, he will judge sin.
But at the end of the day,
he will do that
as a God
who is merciful
and gracious
and whose redemptive plan
is to rescue people
from that right judgment
by his own work.
He showed this
to the people
through providing them water
even though their leaders
sinned against him.
Right?
God didn't blink.
God didn't stop
Aaron and Moses
in the middle
and say,
whoa, whoa, whoa,
you guys got it wrong,
so sorry,
no water.
He said,
the water came out
and it was so abundant
it gushed out.
And this water
is a reminder
that he would provide
for them
in all things
along the way.
And we'll see this
as we go along.
He will provide
military victories
that they shouldn't be winning.
He will provide food
and allies
when they don't deserve it.
But all of this
is a down payment
of the promises
that he will ultimately fulfill,
meeting not just
our physical needs
but our spiritual needs.
Look at me at verse 13.
It's so striking here.
It says,
these are the waters
of Meribah
where the people of Israel
quarreled with the Lord.
Right?
This is the second Meribah.
The first one
is mentioned
in Exodus 17.
Right?
But in that context,
what did God do?
Through them,
through the very people
who quarreled
against him,
he showed himself holy.
He showed himself
as a God
like no other.
He showed himself
to be the Lord,
merciful and gracious,
slow to anger
and abounding
in steadfast love.
That's exactly
what he did
in this story.
He displayed his glory.
And this,
it's exactly
what he wanted
Moses and Aaron
to do
when they failed
to do it.
And God said,
I don't care
if you fail,
I'm going to do it anyway
so that this new generation
in this inflection point
will know
that this is the kind of God
that I am.
I am the God
who graciously provides.
I am the one
who brings water
out of rocks.
I am the one
who will provide
for you new leaders
in the new generation
when Aaron and Moses
and Miriam are gone.
I will take you
into the land
that I have given
to you.
I am your God.
Friends,
when we're facing
inflection points
in our lives,
we need to gaze
upon this God.
We need to remember
what He is like.
We need to recognize
how prone we are
to grumble
and complain,
to see difficult circumstances
and think that God
has abandoned us
in them
when in fact
He was always there
and He is ready
to show Himself
faithful in the midst of it.
and in transition,
how easily it is
for us to forget
what God has done
and look ahead
with fear and anxiety
rather than
with hopeful faith.
So that's the second question.
What do we see
about God in this?
And then the third one is,
what does this mean
for us today?
How are we to live
in light of this passage?
Remember what we read earlier,
what Carolyn read
from 1 Corinthians 10.
These stories are given
to us for our good.
Specifically,
did you hear
how it was mentioned?
I'm just going to re-read
the first beginning,
the first few verses again.
Paul writes this,
1 Corinthians 10,
1 through 4.
I do not want you
to be unaware,
brothers and sisters,
that our fathers
were all buried,
were all under the cloud
and all passed through the sea
and all were baptized
into Moses,
into the cloud
and in the sea
and all ate
the same spiritual food
and all drank
the same spiritual drink.
For they drank
from the spiritual rock
that followed them
and the rock
was Christ.
Do you see how
the New Testament,
I'm not just making it up
that this story
about some water
in the desert,
is pointing to
our salvation.
The New Testament
tells us that.
It tells us that
this rock is a picture.
It is an image
to help us understand
what God has done
in Jesus Christ.
That in Jesus,
in His life
and His death
and His resurrection,
He has achieved
victory over sin and death
so that He might be
the one
who comes to be
the bringer of life.
We who are in our sins
spiritually a wasteland
and a desert
without hope
and without any ability
to bring spiritual life
to ourselves,
God comes
and brings it to us
from the outside
making us born again,
having a new spiritual life
that wells up
like the water from a rock
wells up in us
when we place our faith
in Jesus.
Christ is the rock for us
and this is what
this passage tells us.
And if we wonder
if God is going to be faithful
in the circumstances
of our lives
and the inflection points
of our lives,
the New Testament reminds us
to look at the cross,
look at the empty tomb,
remember who Jesus is
and know this is where
we find life
and this is where
we find hope
and this is where
we know that God
will be faithful to us.
And even in the most
difficult circumstances,
He is ready to show Himself
faithful when we despair
and when we feel like
we're in the wilderness
and when we're tempted
to complain or give up.
Jesus invites us
in this passage
to come to Him
and find a spiritual life
in Him.
And for those of us
who have known Him,
we are reminded again
in Hebrews 12
of how to follow Him.
Hebrews 12, 1-3 says this,
since we are surrounded
by so great a cloud
of witnesses,
let us also lay aside
every weight and sin
which clings so closely
and let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus,
the founder and perfecter
of our faith,
who for the joy
that was set before Him
endured the cross,
despising the shame,
and is seated
at the right hand
of the throne of God.
Consider Him
who endured from sinners
such hostility
against Himself
so that you may not
grow weary
or faint-hearted.
Friends, as God's people,
we are to lay aside
our sin.
We are to lay aside
the things
that so easily distract us
from seeing Christ alone
as the place
where we find
real, true life,
eternal life with God.
And the writer of the Hebrews
exhorts us,
fix our eyes on Him.
People often ask me,
how do I live
the Christian life?
How do I do this?
How do I grow
in godliness?
How do I…
And I…
And there are lots
of techniques,
there are lots of things
for us to learn,
but friends,
at some level,
it's this hard
and this simple.
Fix your eyes
on Jesus.
That means reading
God's Word.
That means attending church.
That means finding
fellow brothers and sisters
who you can have fellowship with
to talk about Christ together,
to remember His goodness
and His faithfulness
and His character
as He's shown it to you
in your life
and as He's shown it
revealed in His Word
so that we can look to Jesus
because He is both the founder,
the beginning of our faith
and the one who will bring us
through this journey
in the wilderness
to the promised land.
He is the one
who ultimately
will take us home
and one day
we will be resurrected
with Him
and we will be taken
to the new heavens
and the new earth
which will be
the best promised land
that we could ever imagine.
And now He says,
it will be hard.
There will be a race to run.
It is through a wilderness.
But fix your eyes on Him
and let Him be the author
and perfecter of your faith.
So consider Him
and don't grow weary
as you face inflection points
or even if you're not
in the middle of inflection point,
maybe you're in a point
of the most stability
you've ever had in your life.
Fix your eyes on Him.
Let's pray together.
Lord, thank You for this Word.
Thank You for the way
that it points us to Christ,
the rock from which
we drink spiritual life.
Lord, be with us
as we continue to worship You
through the celebration of baptism.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.