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All right, Numbers chapter 10. 
We're picking up here because we introduced the book last week, 
and because much of what happens in chapters 1, 1 to 10 basically recapitulates what 
we had already seen in the book of Leviticus, and we'll have 
cause to sort of reflect on some of that previous material tonight. 
So basically, the Book of Numbers is broken down into three main 
parts. It's their journey. We have their preparation for 
departure in chapter 1, verse 1, to chapter 10, verse 10. And then their journey from Sinai 
to Kadesh Barnea in chapter 10, verse 11, to chapter 12, verse 
16. and then the journey to the plains 
of Moab. And that's when the book of Deuteronomy 
happens, and we see the natural flow from Numbers to Deuteronomy. As well, the two main sections, 
at least in terms of an outline, would be the numbering, or the 
censuses that are engaged at. You see that in chapter 1 and 
then you see it again repeated later on in the book, chapter 
26 or 7. And basically what that second 
census is, is the numbering of the second generation. Remember 
that in this Wilderness Wandering the Children of Israel Invoke 
the Wrath and Judgment of God. He cuts off that first generation 
and then that next generation becomes the one in the spotlight. So those two censuses and basically 
the censuses were for the purpose of numbering abled bodied men 
for war. It wasn't an invasive census 
on the part of the federal government to know everything there was 
to know about every individual that made up the body politic, 
but with the specific intention to number the able-bodied men. 
Because as they move through the wilderness, there will be 
a few skirmishes along the way. But when they get to the land 
of promise, Canaan, there's going to be many skirmishes. There's 
going to be many battles. And they are going to need to 
be armed for war. And so that's basically an overview, 
so we'll pick up the reading tonight in chapter 10 at verse 
11 when Israel departs from Sinai. Now it came to pass on the 20th 
day of the second month in the second year that the cloud was 
taken up from above the tabernacle of the testimony. And the children 
of Israel set out from the wilderness of Sinai on their journeys. Then 
the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. So they 
started out for the first time according to the command of the 
Lord by the hand of Moses. The standard of the camp of the 
children of Judah set out first according to their armies. Over 
their army was Nashon, the son of Amminadab. Over the army of 
the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nathaniel, the son 
of Zuar. And over the army of the tribe 
of the children of Zebulon was Eliab the son of Helan. Then 
the tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershom and the 
sons of Merari set out, carrying the tabernacle. And the standard 
of the camp of Reuben set out according to their armies. Over 
their army was Elijer, the son of Shedir. Over the army of the 
tribe of the children of Simeon was Shalemel, the son of Zereshaddai. And over the army of the tribe 
of the children of Gad was Eliasath, the son of Duel. Then the Kohathites 
set out carrying the holy things. The tabernacle would be prepared 
for their arrival. And the standard of the camp 
of the children of Ephraim set out according to their armies. 
Over their army was Elishamah, the son of Amahad. Over the army 
of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel, the 
son of Padazur. And over the army of the tribe 
of the children of Benjamin was Abidin, the son of Gideoni. Then 
the standard of the camp of the children of Dan, the rear guard 
of all the camps, set out according to their armies. Over their army 
was Ahasuer, the son of Amashadai. Over the army of the tribe of 
the children of Asher was Pajial, the son of Achran. And over the 
army of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira, the son 
of Enon. Thus was the order of march of 
the children of Israel, according to their armies, when they began 
their journey. Now Moses said to Hobab, the 
son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, we are 
setting out for the place of which the Lord said, I will give 
it to you. Come with us and we will treat 
you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel. And he 
said to him, I will not go out, but I will depart to my own land 
and to my relatives. So Moses said, please do not 
leave. In as much as you know how we 
are to camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes. And 
it shall be, if you go with us, indeed it shall be, that whatever 
good the Lord will do to us, the same we will do to you. So 
they departed from the mountain of the Lord on a journey of three 
days. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them 
for the three days journey to search out a resting place for 
them. And the cloud of the Lord was 
above them by day when they went out from the camp. So it was 
whenever the ark set out that Moses said, rise up, O Lord, 
let your enemies be scattered and let those who hate you flee 
before you. And when it rested, he said, 
return, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel. Amen. Well, there 
would obviously be, or at least I would suspect, there would 
obviously be a great excitement among the people. They had been 
gathered at the at the base of Mount Sinai for going on just 
about 14 months, having been delivered from the nation of 
Egypt, the bondage that they had found themselves in, and 
God does that in accordance with the promise that he had made 
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he was giving them a great 
land, a very great land that flowed with milk and honey. So 
all of the preparations have been put in place, the legislation 
has been given, the obedience has been rendered, and so now 
they're ready finally to set out on their wilderness wanderings. It really is an exciting time 
in the history of Israel. And as I said, this marks the 
departure from Sinai. So I want to look first at the 
departure of the Israelites. We'll see that in verses 11 to 
28. Secondly, the invitation to Hobab in verses 29 to 32. 
And then finally, the presence of God in verses 33 to 36. Now, in terms of the departure 
of the Israelites, just by way of reminder from last week, we 
need to establish a bit of background. The previous books in the Pentateuch, 
the promise of the land is given in the book of Genesis. God delivers 
the children of Israel, in the book of Exodus. God commands 
the children of Israel in Exodus and as well in Leviticus with 
specific emphasis at the end of Exodus and in Leviticus on 
building a sanctuary for God, that tabernacle, that sort of 
mobile temple that would accompany them into the wilderness during 
their wanderings to represent and manifest the presence of 
God amongst them, and they would use that until such time as Solomon 
would build that permanent place for God called the temple. Now tabernacle and temple were 
prefiguring or typical or foreshadowing of what we would find ultimately 
coming in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if you turn back for just 
a moment to the book of Exodus, to see in chapter 40 how the 
books of Exodus and Leviticus, I'm sorry, Leviticus and Numbers 
connect specifically to Exodus, it's important to look at chapter 
40, specifically at verse 34. The tabernacle had been constructed. And we find then it becomes a 
dwelling place of God. Notice in chapter 40 at verse 
34. And by the way, this kind of 
this motif or theme of God's dwelling place is rampant throughout 
the Bible. In fact, I would argue that the 
Garden of Eden itself was a sanctuary. It was a temple. It was a tabernacle. 
It was a place where God would commune with his people. Adam's 
primary orientation was not agrarian. Adam's primary orientation was 
not as a farmer. Adam's primary orientation was 
as a priest to mediate the blessings of God to the created order and 
to extend that garden sanctuary to encompass the entirety of 
the earth. He was to be fruitful and multiply 
and fill the earth with image bearers of the living God, and 
to shine and demonstrate that glory of God. Now obviously Adam 
forfeit that in the rebellion or transgression of our God, 
so the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, makes good on that reality. That's why in the book of Revelation, 
when we get to the latter chapters, in chapters 21 and 22, when John 
looks up and he sees New Jerusalem descending out of heaven, it 
comes in the form of temple. So this idea or theme of temple 
is very, very important throughout scripture. In fact, the land 
itself is somewhat suggestive of that. Israel has a land so 
that they will have a temple so that God will dwell in the 
midst of them. So back to Exodus 40 at verse 
34, "...then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and 
the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was 
not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud 
rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." 
So Moses, who was the godliest man in all of Israel, was not 
able to go in and enjoy a meeting place with God. So the tabernacle 
had become a dwelling place, but it had not yet become a meeting 
place because of the sinfulness of man. And that's representative 
here by Moses being unable to enter the tabernacle of meeting 
because the cloud rested above it. So the tension upon which 
the book of Exodus ends is resolved for us in the book of Leviticus. 
When you get to the book of Leviticus, the people are told through legislation 
how they are able to meet with God in his dwelling place. It 
comes through sacrifice, and it comes through priesthood. 
It comes through a bloody knife and a smoking altar. That's the 
way sinful man approaches into the presence of a holy God. So 
verse 35, the tension there is resolved in the book of Leviticus. And then verses 36 and following, 
we find fulfilled in the book of Numbers. Whenever the cloud 
was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would 
go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken 
up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken 
up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, 
and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house 
of Israel throughout all their journeys." So we've got the tension 
resolved in Leviticus. How does the dwelling place become 
the meeting place? It's through sacrifice and priesthood. And how does Israel navigate 
their way through this wilderness into the promised land in order 
to conquer the land for the glory of God in fulfillment of His 
promise? Well, that's what the book of 
Numbers is all about. God's guidance through this glory cloud, through 
His divine leading, is what gives them the ability to navigate 
between the various foes and enemies to deal with the internal 
skirmishes that they will face. It is God's presence among them 
that gets them from point A to point Z. As Morales says, the 
wilderness sojourn was the context for Israel to learn to live as 
a covenant community. as the multitudes redeemed out 
of Egypt were organized into a four-square encampment embodying 
the polity, embodying the polity, structure, and nature of the 
Sinai covenant. Well, a community where Yahweh 
dwelled among his people is sovereign. And that's what the early chapters 
of Numbers picks up. It places the tribes in various 
places, north, south, east, and west, around the tabernacle itself. And we'll consider that in a 
bit more detail in a moment. Morales also says, while the 
covenant is ratified in Exodus, and the sacrificial system is 
legislated in Leviticus, it is not until Numbers where the covenant 
community is realized in its archetypal form. that the story 
of Israel's learning how to submit to Yahweh's leadership through 
his newly appointed offices and institutions is narrated. So 
basically, numbers furthers the story. It furthers the ball down 
the field. We've got to get from the promise 
made to Abraham that he's going to inherit a great land, And 
this is the story of how they got from Egypt into, or at the 
base of Sinai, now to the plains of Moab at the end of the book 
of Numbers, into the book of Deuteronomy, and then the conquest 
under Joshua, and then negatively reported in the book of Judges. 
So when we look at this particular book, we see God's presence amongst 
them in the midst of affliction and trial and hardship. God is 
with them in the good, and God is with them in the bad. Now 
in terms of the preparation of the people, so notice again in 
chapter 10 at verse 11, Now it came to pass on the twentieth 
day of the second month in the second year, that the cloud was 
taken up from above the tabernacle of the testimony, and the children 
of Israel set out. Now prior to this we have the 
ordering and the organization of the tribes in chapters 1 to 
4. We have cleansing and purification 
rites repeated in chapter 5. We see that Aaronic blessing 
in chapter 6 upon the people of Israel. We have the priesthood 
of God for the people in chapters 3 and chapters 7 and 8. Again, 
duplicating material that we'd already seen in Leviticus, but 
now given once again with this body politic in a formal and 
religious way. Also, the celebration of Passover 
is observed in chapter 9. Of course, that Passover celebration 
reminds them of the power of God in the exodus from Egypt. It shows his delivering power 
in their redemption. And then chapters 9 and 10, especially 
the latter half of chapter 9, and here into chapter 10, put 
the focus on the presence of God in their journey. So verse 
11 gives us the time frame. So it's the second year. So it's 
11 months after the arrival at Sinai, nearly 14 months after 
the departure from Egypt, and it's 19 days after the census 
in Numbers 1 and verse 1. So the people are numbered, the 
men are identified, leaders of those various tribes are set 
apart as well, and so they're mustering and preparing to go. 
In terms of the agenda, notice, and the children of Israel, verse 
12, set out from the wilderness of Sinai on their journeys. Then 
the clouds settled down in the wilderness of Pera. So before 
they get to their destination specifically, there's going to 
be a few stops along the way in this journey. They'll stop 
at Tibera in 11, 1 to 3. and Kibroth Hadavah in chapter 
11, verses 4 to 35, and then Hazeroth in chapter 12, verse 
16a, and then they're at Kadesh Barnea in the wilderness of Paran, 
and it's from thence that they then go to the plains of Moab. So that's sort of the agenda. 
Now notice as well in verse 13, they are not operating in an 
autonomous fashion. They didn't just get around together 
and say, hey, it might be nice to go to the wilderness of Perun. 
It might be nice to go to the plains of Moab. It might be nice 
to amble our way over into the land of Canaan and try to dispossess 
the land of the Canaanites. This is the command of God. Notice 
again in verse 13, so they started out for the first time according 
to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses. So that has 
punctuated the entirety of the Pentateuch. They are not operating 
on their own. They are operating in accordance 
with the command of God, and that mediated by Moses, or the 
instrumentality of Moses. In fact, in Psalm 77, verse 20, 
the psalmist reflects, you led your people like a flock by the 
hand of Moses and Aaron. And I think one of the things 
that we need to appreciate as we move our way through this 
book of Numbers concerning God's providence, concerning God's 
government, concerning His sovereignty, is that it doesn't mitigate secondary 
means or secondary causes. The fact that God is absolutely 
universally and comprehensively sovereign does not mean that 
everything happens by the direct contact of God upon that effect. Rather, there is instrumentality. 
It's not just Moses and Aaron, but as we read through this chapter, 
you'll notice that there are tribal leaders. You will notice 
that there is a Sanhedrin later on that reflects what we've already 
seen in the book of Exodus. You'll see that God uses means 
to orchestrate his plan, or rather to execute his plan. So God's 
comprehensive sovereignty does not mean that there is no use 
for means. God's comprehensive sovereignty 
is indicated by the Apostle Paul and the emphasis on the means 
when he says in 1 Corinthians, for since, in the wisdom of God, 
the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God 
through the foolishness of the message preached to save those 
who believe. So the God who is comprehensively 
sovereign over all things has purposed and planned to save 
a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe, 
tongue, people, and nation. But He doesn't just zap them. 
He uses the means. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing 
by the Word of God. I think at times when you tell 
people you believe in a sovereign God, they think that you think 
that God is something like a genie. He's just there to grant you 
your wishes. You don't have to work. There'll be food in your 
refrigerator. There'll be money in your bank 
account. Well, we know that's not the way sovereignty and providence 
works. God uses means, and you see those 
means emphasized through the book of Numbers. As well, you 
see those means challenged, because you'll see that Moses' authority 
and leadership is going to be challenged throughout the book 
of Numbers. And so, when it comes to God's sovereignty, means are 
a part of it. Now, in terms of the order of 
the tribes in verses 14 to 28, we will not go through all of 
that again, but simply I want to say that this reflects what 
was commanded in Numbers chapter 2 in verses 3 to 31. You have the organization and 
the ordering of the tribes, so each four sets of three tribes, 
each took up positions around the tabernacle. On the east you 
had Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. In the south you had Reuben, 
Simeon, and Gad. In the west you had Ephraim, 
Manasseh, and Benjamin. And then in the west, or north 
rather, you had Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. This was commanded 
by God in Numbers chapter 2. In Numbers chapter 7, the tribal 
leaders make offerings to God through the priesthood. Well, 
the same order is reflected. So that when they take up the 
tabernacle and all the other holy articles, which we see, 
notice in verse 17, then the tabernacle was taken down and 
the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set out carrying the 
tabernacle. These Gershonites and Merarites 
are mentioned in Numbers 3 and Numbers 4. They had specific 
responsibilities relative to the tabernacle itself. Drop down 
to verse 21. Then the Kohathites set out carrying 
the holy things. They had specific responsibility 
with reference to the utensils and the implements and the other 
articles that were used in the tabernacle. So if you were to 
look at it, you'd have the Eastern tribes, and then Gershonites 
and Mararites, the Southern tribes, then the Kohathites, the Western 
tribes, and the Northern tribes. So you have this orderly procession 
as they march through the wilderness to the promised land. Now, if 
you've ever been in the military or you've ever witnessed any 
military dealings, you will notice that there is order, organization, 
and structure that characterizes those things. In other words, 
you can't lead people effectively if people are wandering all over 
the place. This is a big project. This is 
a massive undertaking. This isn't this number of people 
walking down to downtown Chilliwack. This is a multitude of people 
under the leadership of Moses and Aaron, and then the tribal 
leaders, obviously following the Ark of the Covenant, which 
signifies or represents God's presence among them. But in order 
to keep it all together, there needed to be this order and this 
organization. You can't just let people wander 
around wherever it is they think they ought to go and think that 
you're going to accomplish the mission. I remember when I was 
in the military, it didn't work that way. You got yelled at, 
and even before my time, you'd get hit if you fell out of line. 
Now they praise you if you're the moron that wanders off into 
the woods. But at least discipline and orderliness, 
when you appreciate what the undertaking is involved in this 
particular journey, all of this order and organization should 
make crystal clear sense. This was a military operation. They were going into the land 
of Cainan. They were going to have to kill 
people and break things and take things. They were going to have 
to get their hands bloody and they were going to have to do 
all that God had commanded them. And if they weren't tightly organized, 
it wasn't going to happen. And so that's the rationale for 
these tribal leaders for the positions around the tabernacle 
and for the orderly way that they proceed out of the camp 
and then follow the presence of God into their next resting 
place. It took that kind of discipline. Now secondly, having seen the 
departure proper, well actually the departure proper doesn't 
happen until verse 28, I mean this is the summary statement, 
thus was the order of march of the children of Israel according 
to their armies when they began their journey. So that's a summary 
description of what had preceded. And again, it ties together all 
of the preceding chapters with its emphasis upon that order 
and organization, upon cleansing and purification, God's blessing 
upon them, the priesthood and the sacrifice, the tabernacle 
and the persons responsible for taking it down and putting it 
up. So everything is in place. They 
are now marching from Sinai on their particular journey. So 
note then the invitation to Hobab in verses 29 to 32. And again, 
this underscores instrumentality. It underscores the use of means 
by our God. Notice in verse 29, Now Moses 
said to Hobab, the son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, 
We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, I will 
give it to you. That's important that we remember 
that God had promised. So every time along the way, 
and there will be some, that the children of Israel doubt 
that, they doubt the very promise of God. That's what exacerbates 
the problem in Numbers chapters 13 and 14. When Moses sends the spies to 
recon the land, and the ten spies whine and grumble and complain, 
and say, oh, it's not a good land, and it's filled with bad 
people, and there's no way that we can ever receive it. They 
are absolutely positively not living in light of God's promise. God promised to Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob. God had promised through the 
means of Moses. Moses had reiterated that promise 
on several occasions. He does so here as well to Hoban. We are setting out for the place 
of which the Lord said, I will give it to you. Come with us 
and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things 
to Israel. Now, one could look at that and 
say, what's up with Moses? He's got the command of God. 
He's got the promise of God. All the things that you just 
said to us, Jim, it sounds like he's operating contrary to that. 
I mean, if he's got the visible presence of God in terms of the 
Ark of the Covenant, they've got that glory cloud that they 
are following. Why in the world would he need 
Hobab? Because again, God does not mitigate, or God's providence 
doesn't mitigate against means, but rather it uses means. This 
is an act of wisdom on the part of Moses. Think about the history 
of Israel up until this point. You don't learn a lot of skills 
when you're slaves in Egypt. You don't learn wilderness life. 
You don't learn how to pitch tents. You don't learn how to 
rub sticks together and make fire. You don't learn which flowers 
or plants you can eat for medicinal or nutritional purposes. You 
don't learn how you can kill animals and gut them and roast 
them and eat them. You don't have that skill set 
coming out of bondage. And then at the base of Sinai, 
they had received a lot of legislation to be sure, but I doubt that 
Moses and Aaron and the other leaders had workshops on how 
to build a fire, or had workshops on how to snare a rabbit. So 
these persons needed help. A hobab would be quite helpful 
in a situation like they faced, And so on the one hand, you could 
look at Moses and say, you unbelieving wretch, you know that God has 
given this promise. If God has given this promise, 
he's going to get you to point Z. Yeah, he's going to get you 
to point Z by you using your noggin, by you understanding 
that Hobab has a lot more skills in this particular region of 
the world and knows how to deal with the various issues that 
challenge persons trying to live in that part of the world. And 
so Moses makes him a good offer. Come with us. God's promised. He's going to give us this wonderful 
land. Now the following passages seem obscure. Hobab says, nah, 
I'm going to go back to my house. This seems like something I don't 
necessarily want a part of. And then Moses iterates and seeks 
to put pressure upon him. The text is a bit ambiguous. The they in verse 33 could just 
mean the tribes and the tribal leaders and Moses and Aaron, 
but it could as well include Hobab. But the reason why I think 
that Hobab did go is the Book of Judges. In Judges 1-16 and 
in Judges 4-16 we see that Hobab's presence had been known among 
the children of Israel. So Moses prevails upon Hobab 
and then Moses specifies particularly what that reason is as to why 
he wants him to join them. Verse 31. So Moses said, please 
do not leave, inasmuch as you know how we are to camp in the 
wilderness, and you can be our eyes, you can be our guide. Brethren, 
providence should not cause you to think that you can shimmy 
down a rock face without using some sort of tool. And so Moses 
demonstrates wisdom. Moses understood this lesson 
from his father-in-law. He's now dealing with his brother-in-law. But remember back in the book 
of Exodus, when Moses is basically killing himself, adjudicating 
the various issues troubling the children of Israel. What 
does Moses' father-in-law say? He says, you're going to kill 
yourself. Basically, he says you need to appoint heads, you 
need to appoint leaders, you need to be the Supreme Court 
only after all of these lesser courts hear their particular 
cases, and if they can't render a verdict, then that handful 
of cases makes it unto you, to Moses. God endorsed that. Some read that and they think 
that, again, Moses was compromised, he had God, he had the legislation, 
he had all that. I don't think that at all. And 
I actually think that Jethro entered in to the blessed covenant 
community of God's people. But that's another story. So 
here he asks Hobab to go, and then in verse 32, it shall be 
if you go with us, indeed it shall be, that whatever good 
the Lord will do to us, the same we will do to you. Some see there 
a reminiscence of Abraham and his call by God out of Ur of 
the Chaldeans. Some hear as well something of 
what we hear in Ruth, when Ruth commends herself to Naomi and 
says that your God will be my God, your people will be my people. Moses couches it in this language 
that perhaps is suggestive of the call of Abram out of Ur of 
the Chaldeans. Morales says, in rehearsing the 
call of Abraham, that's how he reads verse 32, Israel's journeying 
out from Sinai to Canaan is brought full circle to the patriarchal 
promises, so that the wilderness trek is set within the context 
of Abraham's journey to the promised land, and of God's faithfulness 
to his promise. Throughout their journeys, Israel 
will need to demonstrate Abraham's own trust in God. So they are 
leaving at least the place of safety they'd known for 11 months 
and the comfort that they knew in bondage in Egypt. They're 
going to actually cry out for that. not going to enjoy free 
man status, they're going to want to go back to Egypt where 
everything was handed to them. And I think there's certainly 
a parallel to that in mankind throughout the ages. Some men 
would prefer slavery if they get three hots and a cot versus 
independents trying to go out and provide their own hots and 
their own cot. So we see something of that that 
necessary trust in God on the part of these free men and women. And then that brings us finally 
to the presence of God, underscored in verses 33 to 36. And I think 
this is reminiscent, if not textually or specifically thematically, 
to what Moses cried out in Exodus 33. Remember, Moses said to God, 
if you don't go with us, if your presence isn't with us, then 
we don't want to go. And so the Lord God, in His mercy 
and in His grace and in His kindness, commended Himself to His people 
for these wilderness wanderings and for their foray into the 
Promised Land. And with reference to their combat, 
He fought for them, as we saw a couple of weeks ago, or as 
we're seeing in our scripture reading through the book of Joshua, 
and we see that God wins for them. The psalmist said, through 
God we shall do valiantly, for He it is that shall tread down 
our enemies. Psalm 60 verse 12. The children 
of Israel had this consciousness, the believing ones, the remnant, 
the faithful, had this consciousness of the presence of God. And brethren, 
with the new covenant privileges that you and I possess, we should 
far surpass them in terms of that recognition. We have the 
Lord Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness. We have the forgiveness 
of sins by Him. We have the promised Spirit, 
the Pericle, the one that He gives to us to aid us. to advocate 
for us, to assist us. We should surpass Old Covenant 
Israel in that understanding of what we possess in our Lord 
Jesus Christ in terms of the nearness of God as our good. So the departure proper happens 
there in verse 33. We've got the tribes of Israel 
and I would say Hobab is included in that they and then the visible 
manifestation of God notice in 33. So they departed from the 
mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days and the Ark of 
the Covenant of the Lord went before that for the three days 
journey to search out a resting place for them. Now the Ark of 
the Covenant again I mentioned this last week. The tabernacle, 
the temple, and the ark did not contain God. When Solomon in 
fact turned to 1 Kings 8, I think it's important that we get this, 
the heathen thought that their temples contained their God. 
That's why when they put the Ark of the Covenant in the temple 
of Dagon in 1 Samuel chapters 4 and 5, it's funny. It's hilarious that when they 
go to see Dagon, he had fallen over. And they have to pick up 
Dagon, and they have to set him upright again. So the next day, 
when they go back to check on Dagon and the Ark of the Covenant, 
Dagon had fallen over again. And I think it was his hand that 
broke off. So they had to glue him back 
together. Gorilla glue, super glue, whatever 
they were using, circa whatever the date. And it just shows the 
folly and the futility of the gods of the heathen, the nothingness 
of the gods of the heathen. So the heathen thought that their 
god was in that temple. But with Solomon, as he comes 
to dedicate the temple, He understands. He's a better theologian than 
that. He had a great theologian for his father, even David. Notice 
in chapter 8 verse 27, But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven of heavens 
cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have 
built. So Solomon prays that or mentions 
that as something that God obviously knows. I think it's a statement 
designated or calculated to humble the people, but it's also a statement 
from Solomon in prayer to educate the people. if some of the hangers-on 
in Israel that weren't really paying a lot of attention as 
they're passing through various places in the wilderness and 
in the conquest thought that maybe this place did actually 
contain Yahweh. They would need to hear that, 
that the temple itself, the tabernacle before it, and the Ark of the 
Covenant do not contain God. They are a place where there 
is a visible representation or manifestation of God. So the 
Ark of the Covenant of the Lord represents several things. His 
presence among the people, as well as His rule, His dominion, 
His glory, His power. It also represents reconciliation. That Ark of the Covenant is that 
which the high priest poured the blood on in terms of the 
Day of Atonement. And as well, it was his revelation. The Ten Commandments were stored 
in the Ark of the Covenant. And so the Ark of the Covenant 
was not a box that contained God, but it was in fact a box 
that represented the presence of God with his covenant people. So it was the visible manifestation 
of God. So notice what we see the purpose 
is, to find a resting place for that. I don't think that's haphazard, 
and I don't think verse 36 is haphazard, and when it rested. Rest is an important theme in 
scripture as well. Now, not in the sense of, well, 
I'm not going to go to work today because the scripture says I 
should rest even though it's a Thursday. No, no, that's not 
what I mean. But rest is very important. You see it in Genesis chapter 
2 at the end of the creation week in verses 1 to 3. What does 
God do? When God looks approvingly upon 
all that He had created, what does He do? He rests. Some see 
that as enthronement, some see that as Him taking that position 
of glory and authority over the created order, and He engages 
in rest. Such that when He makes man, 
man is to imitate that rest. You see it with Cain and Abel 
at the end of days. You see it in Exodus 16. You 
see it codified in Exodus 20 and then repeated in Deuteronomy 
5. You see it all throughout the Psalms and the Prophets and 
into the New Covenant. In fact, in Hebrews 4.9, it tells 
us there is therefore a Sabbath rest that remains for the people 
of God. That ultimate or eternal Sabbath 
rest is typified or foreshadowed by the weekly Sabbath rest. So 
rest is very important. God, through the last Adam, is 
bringing his people into eternal rest. And so the Ark of the Covenant 
is finding a place of rest for, or God is finding a place of 
rest for them. And then verse 34 underscores 
that providential guidance by God. And the cloud of the Lord 
was above them by day when they went out from the camp. So God's 
nearness and presence, according to Exodus 40, verses 36 to 38. And then Numbers 9 summarizes, 
recapitulates, and tells us about that glory in verses 15 to 23. So it's somewhat programmatic. of what's going to happen when 
you start to gather around the ark and it's time to then pack 
up the camp, pack up the tabernacle, pack up the holy utensils, orderly 
and organized, go out and work your way through the wilderness 
into the promised land. And then notice, the chapter 
ends with petition. Petition by Moses, the man of 
God. Notice the prayer at departure 
when they tear down the camp and when they go from the camp 
and they enter into their journey. Notice in verse 35, So it was, 
whenever the ark set out, that Moses said, Rise up, O Lord, 
let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee 
before you. So Moses prays specifically understanding 
God's presence among them, that God's presence among them certainly 
should translate into victory over their enemies. This is a 
good prayer. This isn't simply an old covenant 
prayer. New covenant believers can pray 
this as well. Rise up, O Lord, let your enemies 
be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you. Matthew 
Henry comments, the scattering and defeating of God's enemies 
is a thing to be earnestly desired and believingly expected by all 
the Lord's people. This prayer is a prophecy. Those 
that persist in rebellion against God are hasting towards their 
own ruin. Now, I know a lot of New Covenant 
believers would say, well, no, we can't pray such prayers. Well, 
turn to the book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians. And we're bypassing here what 
have been rightly called the prayers and songs of Jesus, namely 
the Psalter. And if you go through the Psalter, 
you'll find a lot of these kinds of prayers. We call them imprecatory 
prayers. where the prayer calls upon God 
to render judgment against the enemies of God. As I've qualified 
this before, this doesn't mean that somebody who cuts you off 
on Wellington, you invoke God's wrath and fury and hellfire down 
upon that Toyota. That's not what it means. But 
abortionists and mutilators of children, the godless, the wretched, 
the enemies of the Lord Most High and of His people, you can 
pray these prayers. Notice in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 
22. If anyone does not love the Lord 
Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come. Now arguably, and 
the Psalms of David, the Psalms of Jesus, have some pretty significant 
imprecations. Smashing teeth, the righteous 
dancing in the blood of the enemies that have been slain, I mean, 
that's hardcore. In fact, when we sing the Psalms 
at times, I wonder if people are going, is it OK if we sing 
this? Jesus sang them. Jesus prayed them. But in some 
sense, what Paul is saying here ups the ante. The word accursed 
is the word anathema. You've probably heard that word 
before. The ecumenical creeds of Christianity have had anathemas. usually they set out the doctrine, 
you must believe this, in the essential unity of God most high, 
in the tri-unity, the three persons in that essence. So it goes through, 
you know, it indicates all the things, and then it says, if 
anyone does not believe this, let him be anathema. Now, anathema 
doesn't simply mean your teeth are broken or that your blood 
is shed such that the righteous can dance in it. Anathema, or 
accursed, means damned to hell, everlasting condemnation, the 
eternal judgment of God Most High upon those who do not love 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Galatians chapter 1. 
Same use of the word anathema here. This is what Paul thinks 
of a work's righteousness. This is what Paul thinks of a 
distorted doctrine of justification. This is what Paul thinks when 
you mingle your works with faith such that you can be accepted 
by God. Again, this is hardcore. Notice 
in Galatians 1.6, I marvel that you are turning away so soon 
from him who called you. And before I even get to that, 
notice how brief the greeting is. Now, if I asked you, I think 
I might have mentioned this a couple of weeks ago in a sermon, if 
you had to pick the worst church in the New Testament, who would 
it be? Who would it be? Corinthians. I mean, they were 
just messed up, right? They had all kinds of issues 
and all kinds of challenges and things that, you know, we kind 
of, what? That happened in the early church? 
But the greeting and the love poured out upon the Corinthians 
in chapter one is, it's effusive. The apostle is just, you know, 
pouring out his love and affection upon them. I'm not suggesting 
he doesn't here, but it's brief. And then he gets right to the 
point. And I think that should underscore for us, sanctification 
problems, which 1 Corinthians definitely demonstrates, are 
bad. And they need to be addressed. 
They need to be dealt with. They need that pastoral or apostolic 
wisdom applied very surgically to the various issues, so that 
the people of God don't end up sinning against each other. But 
when the gospel is at stake, when justification by faith is 
about to be compromised, Paul's right out of the chute. As Machen 
says, the book of Galatians, the epistle to Galatians, is 
a fighting letter. It is polemic. From first to 
last, Paul is taking no prisoners. So notice in verse 6, I marvel 
that you are turning away so soon from him who called you 
in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another, 
but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel 
of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from 
heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached 
to you, let him be accursed, or anathema." Paul includes himself 
in that lot. Paul says, if it's possible that 
I start to come back to the churches of southern Galatia, and I tell 
you to add works to faith in order that you may be accepted 
by God, then I put myself under that anathema. If an angel, if 
it could be the case that a holy angel could float down and come 
to the church and say, you know, it's good to believe on Jesus, 
but you've got to get circumcised in order to really be saved. 
Paul says, if that were to actually happen, let it be anathema. Again, 
eternally condemned to the fires of hell under the judgment, wrath, 
and fury of God. And in case you didn't get that, 
verse 9, as we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone 
preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, 
let him be accursed. Paul was not broad-minded when 
it came to justification by faith. Paul was not open to Neonomianism. Paul was not open to Romanism. Paul was not open to any other 
way but Christ alone, by God's grace alone, through faith alone, 
to the glory of God alone, and that grounded upon the scripture 
alone. And then notice in 2 Timothy chapter 4, Again, just a bit 
of a New Covenant rationale for why it's not always wrong to 
pray that God smashes the teeth of His enemies. Second Timothy 
chapter four, specifically at verse 14. Alexander the coppersmith 
did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according 
to his works. You also must beware of him for 
he has greatly resisted our words. May the Lord repay him according 
to his works. And then turn to the book of 
Revelation. Revelation chapter six. Revelation chapter six. Certainly, if the concept of 
imprecation in and of itself is so abhorrent that we have 
to discount the Psalms of David that are imprecatory and say, 
oh, that is not consistent with New Covenant Christianity. We're 
far more holy and righteous than David. Could you imagine advancing that 
argument? We're far more holy and righteous 
than David. But at any rate, if it's simply 
inconsistent with the concept of New Covenant Christianity, 
why is it in the eternal state? Why is it in heaven? Notice in 
Revelation 6-9, when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the 
altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of 
God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with 
a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until 
you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? 
Then a white robe was given to each of them, and it was said 
to them that they should rest a little while longer, until 
both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, 
who would be killed as they were, was completed." And then turn 
to Revelation 19. Revelation 19. What happens in 
Revelation 18? The judgment of Babylon. The fall of the harlot. the destruction 
of this one. So what's the response in heaven 
after that? According to chapter 19 verse 
1, after these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude 
in heaven saying, Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor and power 
belong to the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His 
judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted 
the earth with her fornication, and He has avenged on her the 
blood of His servants shed by her. Again they said, Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and 
ever. And the twenty-four elders and 
the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who 
sat on the throne, saying, Amen, Alleluia! Then a voice came from 
the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants, and 
those who fear Him, both small and great. And I heard, as it 
were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters, 
and as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord 
God Omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad, and rejoice, 
and give Him glory. For the marriage of the Lamb 
has come, and His wife has made herself ready. So when we go 
back to this scene with Moses, and we hear him say, Rise up, 
O Lord, let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee 
before you, that's consistent in Old Covenant religion. As 
the Psalms teach us, it's consistent with Jesus Christ. And as the 
New Covenant teaches, it's consistent with the New Covenant Church. 
Again, not your personal enemy. I really hate this guy at work, 
God, so, you know, cause the earth to open up and swallow 
him up because he's just a blight on society, or a blot on society. No, no, no, it's not like that. 
These would be the enemies of God, the enemies of the people 
of God, those who target for destruction, the church and image-bearer 
as image-bearer. That is consistent. So while 
the church may think, well that's not consistent with what we are 
in Christ. again brethren the Psalms reveal 
to us who Christ is and Christ called out for the judgment of 
God upon the enemies now certainly Christ called out for the forgiveness 
of God upon enemies as well I'm not saying this is easy I'm not 
suggesting that you know one size fits all just pray for the 
destruction of everybody no pray for salvation pray that God in 
his mercy and grace converts sinners pray that God restrains 
them if they're not going to be converted but it's perfectly 
legitimate to pray for their removal if they're going to continue 
to target the people of God, the church of God, and, you know, 
God himself in terms of their hatred and enmity. This is the 
prayer that the people of God should pray. Rise up, O Lord, 
let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee 
before you. But that's not it. The prayer 
at rest And when it rested, this is when the tabernacle is assembled, 
the people take their places in terms of order and organization. 
What does Moses want? Return, O Lord, to the many thousands 
of Israel. In other words, commune with 
us, dwell with us, meet with us, walk with us, keep us, protect 
us, and be our portion and our lot. Now the only thought I have 
in terms of conclusion or practical observation is that there is 
a tension in this book as well. You've got the idealized and 
you've got the realistic. The idealized is the Exodus 40, 
36 to 38, and the numbers 9, 15 to 23. Ideally, you've got tabernacle, 
tribes, orderly, organized departure, Kohathites, Gershonites, Merarites, 
everybody just doing what they're supposed to be doing, enjoying 
the glory cloud of the Lord from place to place to place. That's 
the idealistic version. But what's the realistic version? 
We no sooner depart than we sin. We no sooner depart than in chapter 
11 we whine. We no sooner depart than in chapter 
12 we challenge. So the tension is that there 
is this ideal in the Christian life. I think John speaks to 
this. I'm going to make a parallel here. It's not strict. It's not 
absolutely the same. But I think it shows the tension. 
John says, my little children, I write these things so that 
you may not sin. That's the ideal. That's what we ought to be pursuing, 
not sinning. But if anyone does sin, we have 
an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. 
So that's the realized or realistic view of things. Well, the same 
thing in the book of Numbers. You've got this reality that 
even though God is present among his people, even though God is 
guiding his people, even though God directly intervenes in the 
affairs of his people, he fights for Israel. He scatters the foes 
and enemies. Israel nevertheless continues 
to sin. Israel nevertheless continues 
to need and depend on that priesthood and that sacrifice. Israel constantly 
stands in dependence upon the very grace of God for every jot 
and tittle of their lives. And the Book of Numbers in the 
wilderness illustrates that in a real world kind of a situation, 
again, not exactly parallel to what we find in the New Covenant, 
but a lot of similarities. You've got fickle people in the 
book of Numbers, and you've got a faithful God. In the church 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, we've got fickle people, but we've 
got a faithful God. We've got the ideal. My little 
children, I write these things so that you may not sin, but 
we have the faithfulness of God. But if anyone does sin, we have 
an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. 
So if we're paying attention as we wander through the wilderness 
with our brethren in Old Covenant Israel, hopefully we'll learn 
a few things along the way about what New Covenant Israel looks 
like and how we should function accordingly. Well, let us close 
in a word of prayer. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for both the Old 
and the New Testaments. We know that it's given by inspiration 
of God. It's profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. 
I pray that you'd give us ears to hear and the Spirit always 
to lead us and to teach us and to guide us, and may we truly 
ponder what we have in this new covenant. We have access to the 
Father through the Son in the Spirit, and in this we greatly 
rejoice. We ask that you would go with 
us now, watch over us in the remainder of the week, bring 
us together on the Lord's Day, and again I pray for this young 
man. We just commend him to you and to the word of your grace. 
We pray that you would see him through this. We pray that you 
would increase his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for 
his dear wife and his child, that you would bless and protect 
them. God, watch over this situation and may your will be done. And 
we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Notice I didn't ask any questions 
or comments. Any questions or comments? Comments 
would be better than questions. As I said, not every jot and 
tittle through numbers. There's a lot of material there. Not enough material here. I just 
wanted to mention that Bob works through names and stuff. It's 
just regular everyday. and other denominations, but 
there's this sort of tendency to over-spiritualize things. 
Like, what should I do in my life? Want to make it this esoteric 
thing? Oh, yeah. If you can complicate 
it, you do. And I find that, yeah, when they 
sell the promised land, the manna stops. And then they plant seeds, 
and the food grows. God is as present in the planting 
of seed, in the growing of food, in the ordinary ebb and flow 
of harvest and seed time as he is in raining manna out of heaven. I agree 100%. This esoteric, 
super-spiritual, Gnostic-like approach to God is pretty obnoxious. God is the God of the ordinary, 
and ordinary people Yes, sir. Just another comment 
on relations. I think if people are not preaching the gospel 
properly and they've got hell to pay, essentially, is what 
it says. I just think churches who don't do that, that's very 
scary to me. Yeah, it is a very scary thing, 
for sure. I agree 100%.