BBC Sermon Cast

The presence of God must never be taken for granted. It is always a precious privilege granted by the mercy and the grace of God. This is the reasoning behind the cleanliness laws recorded in the text before us. Everything about God’s people—thoughts, attitudes, and actions—were to be informed by the reality of God dwelling among them. The presence of God would literally impact them from the outside in.

When you bend your knees while searching for something you will find more than you were looking for. While this is true, we should realise that we can know some things truly, but we can’t know all things completely (Gibson). For even the wise cannot see all ends.

The book of Numbers reminds us that God saves his people for the purpose of having a growing relationship with them. He saves his people to sanctify them. He delivers them develop them. He rescues them to restore and to remake them—that is, to redeem them. He gathers them to grow them. A huge means towards this growth is God’s assignment of duties and our fulfilling these duties.

It is no secret that bad things happen to good people. Being a Christian is in no way a guarantee of health, wealth, and prosperity in this life. Solomon helps us to face our God-ordained future wisely, whether it be one of prosperity or one of adversity.

God’s nearness to his people is something we should never take for granted. God is holy; we are not. It by his mercy that we can draw near at all. But this nearness can be dangerous, for God is dangerous. In Numbers we learn to be reverent in our relationship with God. Numbers reveals that the presence of God can be dangerous.

Our culture is very good at getting us to put off thinking about death. We’re so continuously bombarded with flashy new things and exciting headlines that we often don’t take a moment to gain perspective. Ecclesiastes gives us a moment to consider the perspective that death brings. Death brings with it the perspective to live wisely. It forces us to think long and hard about the inevitability and consequences of the way we have lived our lives.

The opening chapters of Numbers record how Moses organised Israel for the march from Sinai to the Promised Land. The text makes it clear that this was a militant march. In the opening chapter, we consider the initial preparation for the march. Each Israelite was to stand and be counted. We, likewise, must stand to be counted, and remain committed, if we will be prepared for the war before us.

In the pursuit of contentment, people have unsuccessfully chased many different avenues as a means to find fulfilment. Our problem is that we “can’t get no satisfaction” through any earthly means. Only in God’s economy is there a means of finding true and lasting contentment.

In Ecclesiastes 5:8–20, Solomon tackles the issue of wealth and its ability—or inability—to provide satisfaction. He highlights three basic realities we must consider: money’s inability; money’s ability; and money’s purpose.

The opening chapters of Numbers record how Moses organised Israel for the march from Sinai to the Promised Land. The text makes it clear that this was a militant march. In the opening chapter, we consider the initial preparation for the march. Each Israelite was to stand and be counted. We, likewise, must stand to be counted, and remain committed, if we will be prepared for the war before us.