How do you survive in the wilderness? You need food and water, you need to stay warm at night and cool in the day.
• God provided all that! Daily manna from the sky, water from the rock, pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.
• God is the reason why they survived the wilderness. God will be the reason why we can survive in the wilderness journey of life.
I received this in my email yesterday. How timely. It’s like God affirming me what I was thinking about.
• “The man who walks with God ALWAYS reaches his destination!” by John Hagee.
• Don’t live life without God. Don’t walk this journey alone and independent of Him. You can only survive because of Him!
The passage in Num 9 tells us GOD DIRECTS. They survive because God directs.
• God wants to direct. He is interested, not just to SHOW us the way but to WALK us through it.
• God does not just tell us WHERE to go. He ENABLES us to reach the destination.
We see that in the books of Moses, from Exodus to Numbers. God directs His people. He gives them clear instructions and provided the means.
• The Lord wants to direct your life. He is concerned about where you are going.
• Can we expect less from the God who is the Author of life, who is all-knowing and all-wise?
If we are driving to a place and I see you take a wrong turn, what do you think I will do? Call you up and tell you.
• If this comes naturally to us, then expect it from an all-knowing and all-wise God. He will not leave us direction-less. He will speak!
• The books have been showing us a SPEAKING God who is constantly DIRECTING His people, to the what, when, how, where and why of their journey to the Promised Land.
• Don’t blame Him for giving so many instructions. He knows life perfectly.
God directs them to the WHEN and WHERE they are to move, across the desert.
• He appears as a pillar of cloud over the tabernacle by day and a pillar of fire by night, in the sight of all Israel.
• They people sees and knows. It is a visual statement of God’s presence with them. They would not set out unless the cloud is lifted.
• The people were trained to see God’s presence and His leading.
Today we see with eyes of faith. This is the way to surviving in life’s journey:
KEEP THE LORD BEFORE YOU CONTINUALLY
He is present. We don’t need any tangible signs because the Holy Spirit is given to us. He dwells in your heart and mine today.
Keep the Lord before you and expect Him to guide you every day.
• Psalm 16:11 “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
The next chapter Numbers 10 records their first journey out from Sinai.
• You know who is right in front? Who leads?
• Num 10:33-34 “So they set out from the mountain of the LORD and travelled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest. 34The cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp.”
• King David was spot on when he writes in Psalm 23:1-3 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
• Seek Him and enjoy His presence every day. Expect Him to lead you.
[Show layout of the tabernacle and the various tribes when they are in camp.]
SEE HOW GOD ORGANISES THEM
The Judah camp (E) moves first, followed by Reuben’s, the 2nd camp (S).
• And then the Levites will move with the tabernacle’s holy things, which will be in the middle of the camps (Num 2:17).
• Right behind will be the Third (W) and Fourth (N) camps.
The Levites are the priests and they are the tribe dedicated to the ministry of the tabernacle.
• Num 3:11-13 “The LORD also said to Moses, 12"I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine. I am the LORD."
• Num 18:21 “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting.”
• As such they are not given a land as their possession because their full-time job is to take care of the Tent of Meeting.
• The people brings in their tithes and offerings to God and a tenth of these offerings are given to the Levites. This is how God provides for them.
HOW ABOUT THE SETTING UP AND TAKING DOWN OF THE TABERNACLE?
This is the responsibilities of the Levites. Levi has 3 sons – Gershon, Kohath and Merari – the 3 Levite clans.
The responsibilities of the Kohathites – the holy things
• Num 4:4-5 “This is the work of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting: the care of the most holy things. 5When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.”
• Num 4:15 “After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites are to come to do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the Tent of Meeting.”
The responsibilities of the Gershonites – the curtains
• Num 4:24-26 “This is the service of the Gershonite clans as they work and carry burdens: 25They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, its covering and the outer covering of hides of sea cows, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting…” Basically all the curtains and ropes.
The responsibilities of the Merarites – the poles, bars, pegs
• Num 4:29-32 “Count the Merarites by their clans and families. 30Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. 31This is their duty as they perform service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases, 32as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry.”
When they move, the Gershonites and Merarites will move first, carrying the curtains, poles, crossbars, bases, ropes, etc.
• Num 10:21 “Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things. The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived.”
How are they going to carry the curtains and heavy stuff?
• Num 7:7-9 “He [Moses] gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, as their work required, 8and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites, as their work required. They were all under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest. 9But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were to carry on their shoulders the holy things, for which they were responsible.”
[King David made the mistake of carrying the Ark of the Covenant with a cart.]
God has a plan. He is a God of order, design and purpose. Everything is well-thought out, right down to the details.
• We may not understand every instruction, but one thing we can be sure – for God, nothing is haphazard or random. God has a purpose and a plan.
TRUST THAT GOD KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING, even when you don’t.
• In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)
• Our first calling is to TRUST God, not to understand His ways. “My ways [are] higher than your ways,” the Lord says in Isaiah 55:9.
On the 1st day, God created the dog and said: “Sit by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of 20 years.”
The dog said: “That’s a long time to be barking. Just give me 10 years and I’ll give you back the other 10?” God agreed.
On the 2nd day, God created the monkey and said: “Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. I’ll give you a 20-year life span.”
The monkey said: “That’s too long a time to perform. How about I give you back 10 like the dog did?” And God agreed.
On the 3rd day, God created the cow and said: “You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and labour under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will give you a life span of 60 years.”
The cow said: “That’s kind of a tough life for 60 years. How about 20 and I’ll give back the other 40?” And God agreed again.
On the 4th day, God created man and said: “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I’ll give you 20 years.”
But man said: “Only 20 years? Can I have more? I can take the 40 the cow gave back, the 10 the monkey gave back, and the 10 the dog gave back; that makes 80 years.”
“Okay,” said God, “Since you asked for it; you got it.”
So man got his first 20 years to eat, sleep, play and enjoy himself. Followed by 40 years of labour in the sun to support his family, and the next 10 years of doing monkey tricks to entertain his grandchildren.
For his last 10 years he sits on the front porch and bark at everyone that comes by. That’s life the way man wants it.
Moral of the story: It’s best to let God decides. He knows what He is doing. When we interject our own ideas into the process, we only mess things up.
When the Israelites finally step into the Promised Land, you know what they would say on hindsight? They would say, and we could too at the end of our journey: We enjoyed God’s presence, experienced God’s power, and realised His promises.
