Journey Through the Wilderness

All right – onward through Numbers as the Nation moves through the wilderness. We left off at chapter 7.

Purification of the Levites

In chapter 8, Yahavah gives instructions on how to purify the Levites, which included shaving their bodies, washing, and offering sacrifice. Then the duration of Aaronic services is set forth, starting at 25 years of age and ending at 50.

The First Passover in the Wilderness

Observing the Passover

Chapter nine describes the first Passover to be kept by the Nation in the wilderness, which is celebrated on the 14th of the first month of the second year after their departure from Egypt. Some men defiled from touching dead people come to Moses and ask about their ability to participate in the Passover, and Moses goes to Yahavah who instructs Him on how they can participate.

The Cloud by Day and the Pillar of Fire by Night

But the interesting thing about chapter nine is how we read about the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. This is what it says:

Numbers 9:15-23

15 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.
16 So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
17 And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.
18 At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.
19 And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not.
20 And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the LORD they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed.
21 And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.
22 Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.
23 At the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed: they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

What an important principle on how to follow Yahavah – when He moves, we move; when He rests, we rest – important and one of the hardest principles believers have to learn to accept and operate by.

Waiting on Yahavah

Believers and Unbelievers

Of course, unbelievers give zero thought to waiting on God – they live their lives, and yes, they will try to discern when is the best moment to act, but those choices are without seeking His will or insights at all. Some people even rely on other sources to instruct them on such things and have for millennia consulted soothsayers, palm readers, star-gazers, and other forms of divination. Do they work? Sometimes they do – in some cases. But are they doing what is best for the individual or the will of God? I would say not at all.

Trusting God's Timing

This was a major redirect God was introducing to the Nation – waiting on Him and not consulting their own will and ways, nor the will and ways of the stars, spirits, or other directors in life so popular in the place that they came out of.

Balancing Freewill and Faith

But what is the balance? We have freewill lives to live, and we have the idea of walking in faith. We have obvious desires and wishes, but we also have phrases like, “I don’t want to get ahead of the Lord, nor behind Him – and so what to do?

The Internal Indicators of the Holy Spirit

It would be really, really great to have a physical manifestation of Him abiding and leading us through a cloud hanging over us and to move when it moves – but we have no such manifestations today – at least not physically. So, what do we have? Something a little more difficult to read – the internal indicators of the Holy Spirit.

God's Timing

Borrowing from this type of Him leading the Nation, we can first see that the Living God was aware and was leading but that He has timing. We call it, God's timing. In my estimation, trusting in His timing is trusting that He knows better than we know, and that He is operating in and around things – trillions of factors – we are not even aware of.

A Story of Trust

I remember hearing a story about a group of POW’s in the Vietnam war who were believers that gathered secretly and through the walls to pray that they would be moved to another camp that was known to be less severe. Every day they would ask God to move them and nothing was happening. But this was their hope and prayer because this camp was so horribly bad. One day their prayer was literally answered when all of them were moved to the less severe location – only to discover that the camp they were moved from was liberated a week later.

Praying for God's Will

I can’t say that the story is true, in fact, it sounds contrived, but it does teach us something about what we should pray for, and that perhaps our prayers should reflect what Yeshua said when He taught His disciples to say, “thy will be done.” Over the years I have learned to make this my prayer and to ask for the strength to accept whatever that will is and the willingness to follow it. Life in the human realm is a precarious balance for believers because we have been given life and the freedom to live and choose and act, but at the same time we are faced with looking to and learning to rely and trust in Him.

Seeking God's Guidance

When I was really struggling on how to do ministry I had a particular insight, what some people call, “a word of knowledge,” where the spirit seemed to say to me, after lots of pleading on how to live, “You ride, I’ll build.” Which has become my personal creed for doing ministry. I do what I am inclined to do within the realm of my righteous desires, make-up, and interests, but I wait on Him to make something of them, to use them or to even bring them to others.

Waiting for God to Act

So our prayer is to patiently wait for Yahavah to reach the thirsty. This is what I believe means walking by faith and it’s why we try not to try and take our labors and use overtly modern tactics to get an audience. We create (ride) and we try very hard to let Him do all of the actual building, which in the age of views, likes, and a driving desire for subscriptions makes the wait hard at times.

Trusting in His Wisdom

Looking back over 27 years of this approach I can readily see how and when I got in the way, when my will was at work, and the ultimate value of looking only to Him to build. Why? In every case where I have been tempted to grow the ministry myself, I have seen what such growth would have done in tying my hands and forcing me to serve it, the growth, and not Him and His will.

Examples of Following God's Timing

When we were offered a place on TBN I can now see that had we taken it we would have gotten off the road to seeking Him and would have simply been forced to maintain a growing audience who have endless needs and wants relative to religion. When I embarked on actually buying a television station, something I was really interested in doing, God was like, “not gonna happen,” even though I worked hard to make it happen and while the concept was novel and interesting, it too would have removed me from seeking and caused me to pull off that road and become a manager trying to build than a seeker trying to find.

Lessons Learned

His way takes time, failures, disappointments, tremendous frustration, and moments of humiliation which He uses as a means to teach His children who are chomping at the bit to do something. But note, in my heart when I heard Him say, “you ride,” which was in reference to my bike which meant, pedal I learned that this meant, you labor as you are led, you tend to the garden given you, you dig and sweat and I will do all the building when the time is right. So, what I tell people (who ask) is to use their life’s time while waiting on Him to study, to gain knowledge, to compose and create, to forge all the while you learn to submit to Him alone- then wait on Him to validate your work when the time is right. Trust that He will.

While the Nation of Israel waited on the cloud to move, they lived their lives, had children, raised families, sought Him, and developed their inclinations and skills. Waiting on Him might be likened simply to a time of preparation so when He acts, we are ready – not before by our own accord, but by His invitation. All by faith. All trusting in His wisdom and will over our own.

Note in particular the verses:

Numbers 9:21-22

21 And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed. 22 Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.

Trusting in His Instructions

It seems that it takes time for God to act. Perhaps by trusting Him we are tacitly admitting that He knows the best course of action and that in faith we will submit ourselves to Him by only moving when He gives the signal. The same is true for His instructions – to accept them and follow them is a way to say, “you know best.” To break them and do our own will is a way to say, “I know best.”

Red Light, Green Light

This hearkens all the way back to the Garden, right? Do His will or do our own or the will of another we elect as God.” Here with the Nation of Israel and the cloud by day and pillar by night we have what might be seen as that “old game” I, at least, played as a kid called red-light green light where we only move when given the Green Light.

Psalm 27:14

14 Wait on Yahavah: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on Yahavah.

Or

Psalm 62:5-8

5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. 7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. 8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before

Examples of Waiting on God's Timing

The Bible is filled with examples of people who had to wait for God’s timing. God promised Abraham and Sarah a son but they had to wait 25 years in their old age for Isaac to be born. We’ve seen the results of them imposing their will in the situation and bringing forth Hagara, right? Moses had to wait 40 years before leading the nation of Israel out of Egyptian captivity. David had to wait about 15 years between being anointed by Samuel as Israel’s next king and taking his rightful place on the throne. Even Yeshua had to wait 30 years before God’s appointed time to start His ministry – and He was going about His “Father's business” when He was twelve! Yeshua’s disciples were constantly asking Him when His kingdom was coming and Paul was put in prison at the height of what looked like the prime of His effectiveness. Prison!

We think that our timing is better, that we know better, and impatience has quite the ability to move us to step in and take over. I would suggest that, if we REALLY REALLY think about it, Yahavah perfectly knows when it is best for us to do anything and we only muck things up when we try and expedite the process. So we pray, exercise patience, and wait on Him.

Chapter 10: The Silver Trumpets

The Command to Make Trumpets

In the first ten verses of chapter ten, Moses is commanded to make two silver trumpets and then the way they were to use those trumpets to call the people forward either to move, or go to war, or other things, is described.

The Significance of Trumpets in Scripture

Where are trumpets mentioned in scripture? Over sixty times, if you can believe it. The most mentioned musical instrument. And the Nation of Israel was very familiar with the imagery surrounding the call of the trumpets. In the Book of Revelation, trumpet sounds are directly tied to His return and produce a whole study about them.

The Journey Begins

At this point in Chapter 10 we read:

Numbers 10:11-13

11 And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony.
12 And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.
13 And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

So, the Nation is underway – headed to the land promised to their forefather Abraham. How long will they be underway – forty years.

Our Journey

How long are we underway? We might suggest the length of our lives, and if we are determined to believe that at some point we have arrived, we will definitely do one of several things:

• We will choose to follow our will and ways and not His.
• We will pull off the journey He has laid out for us for our overall benefit and we stop growing in our knowledge and understanding of Him, and/or, we might
• At that point, seek after all that is in this world, the lust of our flesh, the lust of our eyes, and the pride that can be had in this life and we settle in to enjoy it.

The Temptation to Make Something of Ourselves

Believe me, I understand the draw and the temptation to make something of ourselves in the Name or cause of Christ. The trouble with this is, He has already done it, and left it all in the hands of His Spirit, and we, led of this Spirit, are here to learn to walk in faith, share His love, and grow in wisdom and in deeper and deeper

The Journey of Knowing Him

I have an illustration I’d like to share with you. Imagine that the ultimate destination God has for you, His child (Son or Daughter), is to know Him so well in spirit and truth that upon entering His presence after this life there will be very little by way of surprise. Is this possible? I don’t know. But let’s suppose that in this life it is and this is truly the meaning of walking by faith here. Along the way, we evidence our faith in Him by and through the love we try to selflessly share with others along the way. Now imagine that this objective I have just created is represented by the top of a towering mountain with this singular destination being the very top – and the path or road or trail along the way are items, people, destinations that represent stopping short of the goal.

Are we given the right to pull off the highway and to build? Of course, it is our gift called life. But for those who are seeking to truly seek and know Him, with all their heart, might, and mind, there is the PRIORITY of keeping Him and knowing Him first and never camping or allowing ANYTHING to EVER get between you and HIM. We do things along the way – for sure. We get educations, get married, have children, all of it – but in our hearts and minds we are aiming at the top of the Mountain and never settling on any other DESTINATION.

Chapter 10: Asking for Guidance

Moses Asks Hobab for Help

At the end of chapter 10, Moses asks a guy named Hobab to travel with them as a guide in the wilderness. Because of the way it is written, it sounds like Hobab is Jethro or Reuel and long story short – the whole thing gets really convoluted. To make it simple, I think Hobab is Moses' brother-in-law and not his father-in-law. There, I said it. But the real question becomes, why would Moses ask this person to stay with them and help guide them when they had a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day? I would suggest that Hobab was asked to help them with day-to-day wilderness survival methods while God would guide them in their general directions – which serves as a great PICTURE for how we walk in faith with God but take care of ourselves here on earth.

Chapter 11: Complaints and Consequences

The People's Complaints

In chapter 11, we start to get into the narrative of principles and lessons. And no matter what, whether there are three people involved or 300,000, there are going to be problems. Why? First, it is really hard to please everybody and then because people are easily swayed when it comes to joining the crowd and they will complain readily.

Numbers 11:1-35
1 And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched.
3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.
4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
5 We remember the fish, which we

did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic:

6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
7 And

The Story of Manna and Moses' Leadership Challenge

The manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.

Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.

God's Instruction to Moses

And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?

And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them? And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD'S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.

The Spirit Upon the Seventy Elders

And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.

And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them! And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

The Quail Incident

A wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.

32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.

Consequences of Greed

33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.

34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. {Kibrothhattaavah: that is, The graves of lust}

35 And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.

The Principle of Gratitude

I think that we will pause here and return to the principles of learning to be grateful next week!