Faith

Words that Never Fail

Hannah’s Vow:

1 Samuel 1:11-17 (ESV)

“And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore, Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to Him.”

1 Samuel 2:12 (ESV)

“Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.”

Samuel Hears the Voice of the Lord:

1 Samuel 2:26 (ESV)

“Now the young man, Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with Man.”

1 Samuel 3:1-21 (ESV)

“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.”

Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So, he went and lay down. And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore, Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if He calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” 

So, Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 

Therefore, I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” 

And he said, “Here I am.” And Eli said, “What was it that He told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that He told you.” So, Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.” And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.”

Divine Revelation

“Hearing God’s Voice”

How Does God Speak Today?

Logos 

·      His written, revealed, and abiding word. Greek for “word.”

Rhēma

·      Spoken, revealed word.

1 Peter 1:23-25 (NASB)

“For you have been born again … through the living and abiding word [logos] of God. For, all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flowers fall off, but the word of the Lord abides forever. And this is the word [rhēma] which was preached to you.” 

Who Does He Speak To?

Everyone 

Five Reasons for Silence 

1.      You don’t Recognize his voice, yet

1 Samuel 3:7 (ESV)

“Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.”

2.    Ignoring His Voice

3.    Hard Heartedness

Hebrews 3:7-8 (ESV)

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness.”

Disobedience produces hardness. 

Obedience produces sensitivity.

4. Fear

5. Tested by the Word 

Psalms 105:16-21 (ESV)

“When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free; he made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions.”

James 1:2-4 (ESV)

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

1 Peter 1:7 (NIV)

“…Your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Obey the Last Word!

Isaiah 55:10-11 (ESV)

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

A Romance of Grace

Judges 21:25 (ESV)
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Ruth 1:1-5 (NIV)

“In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So, a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.”

“Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

Ruth 1:16-18 (NIV)
“…Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.” 

Ruth 2:3 (ESV)
“…she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.”

Ruth 3:3 (NIV)
"Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.”

Ruth 3:4 (NIV)
"When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”

Matthew 1:1 (NIV)
“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Matthew 1:5-6 (NIV)
“Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of King David.”

Matthew 1:16 (NIV)
“…Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.”

John 1:17 (ESV)
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

The Mighty Worrier

1 Corinthians 10:6-14 (ESV)

“Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”

The Book of Judges Contains a Pattern

•    Lured Away by the neighboring people 

•    Oppressed by an enemy

•    Cry Out to the Lord 

•    Rescue by a deliverer

This Pattern Repeats Seven times

Gideon - The Mighty Worrier

Judges 6:1 (ESV)

“The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.”

Anarchy

•    A state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority.

Judges 6:6 (ESV)

“And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.”

Judges 6:10 (ESV)

“And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed My voice.”

Judges 6:11-27 (ESV)

“Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to Him, “Please, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to Him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” And he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. Please do not depart from here until I come to You and bring out my present and set it before You.” And He said, “I will stay till you return.” So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to Him under the terebinth and presented them. And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.”

Judges 6:12-13 (ESV)

“And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to Him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Judges 6:14-15 (ESV)

“And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to Him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

“No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it obliterates God and puts self-interest upon the throne." Oswald Chambers

Judges 6:16 (ESV) 

“And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

Worrier to Warrior! 

Judges 6:34 (ESV)

“…The Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon…” 

The Question: What did God Say?

Numbers 23:19 (ESV)

“God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?”

Signs of Unity

John 17:20-26 (ESV)

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as you loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that you have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know You, I know You, and these know that you have sent Me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Psalm 133:1,3 (NIV) 

“How good and pleasant it is

    when God’s people live together in unity!

…For there the Lord bestows his blessing,

    even life forevermore.”

Joshua 1:16-18 (ESV)
“And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses! Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command Him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

The Signs of Unity:

1.      You face the future with courage, trust, loyalty, confidence, and cooperation.

Joshua 6:1-5 (ESV)

“Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.”

2. There is a willingness to try something you have never tried before. 

Joshua 8:3-8 (ESV)
 “So Joshua and all the fighting men arose to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out by night. And he commanded them, “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you remain ready. And I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out against us just as before, we shall flee before them. And they will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city. For they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us, just as before.’ So we will flee before them. Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will give it into your hand. And as soon as you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire.”

3. There is a willingness to do what is needed. 

Philippians 2:2-8 (ESV)

“Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

The Godly Man

Deuteronomy 6:1-2,4-7 (ESV)
“Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long”…“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

1 Corinthians. 11:3 (ESV)
“I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.”

Ephesians 5:23-26, 28, 29, 30, 33 (ESV)

“23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church… 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word...28 husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of His body… 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

Ephesians 6:1-3 (ESV)
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Hebrews 12:8-11 (NLT)
“If God doesn’t discipline you as He does all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”

Ephesians 6:4 ESV)
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

Ephesians 6:3 (ESV)
“that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 

The Christian Home

James 3:1 (ESV)

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”  

Deuteronomy 6:1-3 (ESV)
“Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Deuteronomy 6:4 (ESV)
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” 

1. Listen

2. Love 

Deuteronomy 6:5-6 (ESV)
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”

John 14:23 (ESV)
“…If anyone loves me, He will keep my word, and my Father will love Him, and we will come to Him and make our home with Him.”

3. Teach

Deuteronomy 6:7(ESV)

“You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

Things That Will Hinder You from Possessing God’s Best

Numbers 13:1-3 (ESV)

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel.”

Numbers 13:17-20 (ESV)

“Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

Numbers 13:25-27 (ESV)

“At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.” 

So, remember, they have been living on warm water and manna and don’t ever want to eat quail again… the lushes land of fruit, milk, honey…this sounds really good…. it’s everything God told them it was going to be…But then in the next verse…everything shifts…

Numbers 13:28 (ESV)

“However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.” 

Numbers 13:31 (ESV)

“Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 

Things that will hinder you from possessing God’s best.

1. Elevating problems above God’s promises.

Verse 30

“Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

Numbers 14:7-8(ESV)
“…The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.”

2.      Making decisions based off of how we feel. 

Numbers 13:32-33 (ESV)

“So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

3.      Not guarding the words that come out of your mouth. 

Numbers14:1-4(ESV)
“Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

James 3:3-6(NIV)
“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire…”

Psalm 141:3 (NIV)

“Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

4.      Not guarding your heart from negative outside influence. 

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

“Above all else, guard your heart,

 for everything you do flows from it.”

Numbers 14:10 (ESV)
Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.”

Numbers 14:28-31 (ESV)
“Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in My hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected.”

Contending for Contentment

Numbers 10:11-13 (ESV)

“In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. They set out for the first time at the command of the Lord by Moses.”

Numbers 10:33,34 (ESV)

“So they set out from the mount of the Lord three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them…And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp.”

Numbers 11:1-3 (ESV)

“And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.”

Numbers 11: 4-6 (NLT)
“Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”

Exodus 15:24 (NIV)
“…the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”

Numbers 11:11-12 (NLT)
“And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby?”

Numbers 11:12-15 (NLT)
“…Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”

Numbers 11:16-17 (NLT)
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you. I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.”

Numbers 11:18-20 (NLT)
“And say to the people, ‘Purify yourselves, for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were whining, and the Lord heard you when you cried, “Oh, for some meat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will have to eat it. And it won’t be for just a day or two, or for five or ten or even twenty. You will eat it for a whole month until you gag and are sick of it. For you have rejected the Lord, who is here among you, and you have whined to him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”

Numbers 11:21-22 (NLT)
“But Moses responded to the Lord, “There are 600,000 foot soldiers here with me, and yet you say, ‘I will give them meat for a whole month!’ Even if we butchered all our flocks and herds, would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all the fish in the sea, would that be enough?”

Numbers 11:23 (NLT)
“…Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!”

Numbers 11:31-34 (NLT)
“Now the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground. So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. But while they were gorging themselves on the meat—while it was still in their mouths—the anger of the Lord blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of gluttony”) because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt.”

What does complaining reveal?

• The lack of trust that God is actually in control leading you to His best for you. 

Matthew 12:34 (NLT)
"…For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.”

Matthew 12:34 (ESV)
“…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

What does complaining effect?

• Complaining poisons the wells that are in your life to bless you. 

Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Who does complaining impact the most?

• Servant leaders God has placed in your life to serve you. 

Hebrews 13:17 (ESV)
“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

To Make Us One

Leviticus 4:1-7 (ESV)
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord's commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them, if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord for a sin offering. He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the Lord. And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary. And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the Lord that is in the tent of meeting, and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.”

Leviticus 17:11 (ESV)
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”

at-one-ment

Love and Justice

Hebrews 10:1-4 (NLT)
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.”

Romans 3:25-26 (NIV)
“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

Hebrews 10:8-12 (NLT)
“First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then He said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time.” 

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)
“For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

1 Peter 2:21-25 (ESV)
“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth.  When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

The Tabernacle of Moses Fulfilled in Jesus

You can come in now. 

Romans 15:4 (ESV)

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Exodus 25:8 (ESV)

“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”

Exodus 3:5 (ESV)

“…Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

The Tabernacle in the Old covenant. 

1. The Ark of the Covenant

- Gold pot with manna 

- Aarons staff that had budded

- The 10 commandments stone tablets

2. The table for the bread.

3. The Golden Lamp stand

4. The bronze altar

5. The court of the tabernacle

The fulfillment of the tabernacle by Christ in the New covenant.

1. The Ark of the Covenant

- The Manna 

John 6:31-33 (ESV)
“Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

- Aarons staff/rod

Hebrews 9:24 (ESV)

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”

 - The ten Commandments 

Hebrews 10:1 (NIV)

“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.”

Hebrews 9:24 (NIV)

“For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.”

Hebrews 9:10 (NIV)

“…external regulations applying until the time of the new order.”

2. The table for the bread

John 6:35 (ESV)

“…I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.”

3. The golden Lamp stand

John 8:12 (ESV)

“…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

4. The bronze altar

Hebrews 10:10-12 (NIV)

“…we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.”

5. The court of the tabernacle

Matthew 27:50-51 (NIV)

“when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."

John 1:14 (ESV)
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”