STEVE WEBB - 0:00  
Waah. Waah. Waah!

INTRO S12E257 - 0:09  
This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California podcasting since 2004. I am your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. Welcome. I'm glad you're here. This is the daily show where we're reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today is Lawful Monday and we're reading from Numbers, one of the books of the Law. Today we'll read chapters 17 through 20. After the reading, I've got some comments for you. And we'll have an On This Date in Church History segment for you as well. The show notes page for today is lifespringmedia.com/s12e257. My inbox is waiting for you, steve@lifespringmedia.com. Let's begin.

NUMBERS 17 - 0:50  
Numbers, Chapter 17. (1)The Lord said to Moses, (2) “Tell the people of Israel to give you twelve walking sticks, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man's name on his stick (3) and then write Aaron's name on the stick representing Levi. There will be one stick for each tribal leader. (4) Take them to the Tent of my presence and put them in front of the Covenant Box, where I meet you. (5) Then the stick of the man I have chosen will sprout. In this way I will put a stop to the constant complaining of these Israelites against you.”

(6) So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a stick, one for each tribe, twelve in all, and Aaron's stick was put with them. (7) Moses then put all the sticks in the Tent in front of the Lord's Covenant Box.

(8) The next day, when Moses went into the Tent, he saw that Aaron's stick, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted. It had budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds! (9) Moses took all the sticks and showed them to the Israelites. They saw what had happened, and each leader put his own stick back. (10) The Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron's stick back in front of the Covenant Box. It is to be kept as a warning to the rebel Israelites that they will die unless their complaining stops.” (11) Moses did as the Lord commanded.

(12) The people of Israel said to Moses, “Then that's the end of us! (13) If anyone who even comes near the Tent must die, then we are all as good as dead!”

NUMBERS 18 - 2:16  
Numbers, Chapter 18. (1) The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your family are now responsible for any wrongs done against the Holy Place; you and your sons are responsible for any wrongs done against the priests. (2) Bring with you your fellow Levites from your tribe, and they will help you and your sons serve in the Tent of the Agreement. (3) They are under your control, to do all the work that needs to be done in the Tent. But they must not go near the things in the Holy Place or near the altar. If they do, both you and they will die. (4) They will join you in taking care of the Meeting Tent. They must do the work at the Tent, and no one else may come near you.

(5) “You must take care of the Holy Place and the altar so that I won’t become angry with the Israelites again. (6) I myself chose your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift given for you to the Lord, to work at the Meeting Tent. (7) But only you and your sons may serve as priests. Only you may serve at the altar or go behind the curtain. I am giving you this gift of serving as a priest, and anyone else who comes near the Holy Place will be put to death.”

(8) Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself make you responsible for the offerings given to me. All the holy offerings that the Israelites give to me, I give to you and your sons as your share, your continual portion. (9) Your share of the holy offerings is that part which is not burned. When the people bring me gifts as most holy offerings, whether they are grain or sin or penalty offerings, they will be set apart for you and your sons. (10) You must eat the offering in a most holy place. Any male may eat it, but you must respect it as holy.

(11) “I also give you the offerings the Israelites present to me. I give these to you and your sons and daughters as your continual share. Anyone in your family who is clean may eat it.

(12) “And I give you all the best olive oil and all the best new wine and grain. This is what the Israelites give to me, the Lord, from the first crops they harvest. (13) When they bring to the Lord all the first things they harvest, they will be yours. Anyone in your family who is clean may eat these things.

(14) “Everything in Israel that is given to the Lord is yours. (15) The first one born to any family, whether people or animals, will be offered to the Lord. And that will be yours. But you must make a payment for every firstborn child and every firstborn animal that is unclean. (16) When they are one month old, you must make a payment for them of two ounces of silver, as set by the Holy Place measure.

(17) “But you must not make a payment for the firstborn ox or sheep or goat. Those animals are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire. The smell is pleasing to the Lord. (18) But the meat will be yours, just as the breast that is presented and the right thigh will be yours. (19) Anything the Israelites present as holy gifts I, the Lord, give to you, your sons and daughters as your continual portion. This is a lasting agreement of salt before the Lord for you and your children forever.”

(20) The Lord also said to Aaron, “You will not inherit any of the land, and you will not own any land among the other people. I will be yours. Out of all the Israelites, only you will inherit me.

(21) “When the people of Israel give me a tenth of what they make, I will give that tenth to the Levites. This is their payment for the work they do serving at the Meeting Tent. (22) But the other Israelites must never go near the Meeting Tent, or they will die for their sin. (23) Only the Levites should work in the Meeting Tent and be responsible for any sins against it. This is a rule from now on. The Levites will not inherit any land among the other Israelites, (24) but when the Israelites give a tenth of everything they make to me, I will give that tenth to the Levites as a reward. That is why I said about the Levites: ‘They will not inherit any land among the Israelites.’”

(25) The Lord said to Moses, (26) “Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘You will receive a tenth of everything the Israelites make, which I will give to you. But you must give a tenth of that back to the Lord. (27) I will accept your offering just as much as I accept the offerings from others, who give new grain or new wine. (28) In this way you will present an offering to the Lord as the other Israelites do. When you receive a tenth from the Israelites, you will give a tenth of that to Aaron, the priest, as the Lord’s share. (29) Choose the best and holiest part from what you are given as the portion you must give to the Lord.’

(30) “Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best, it will be accepted as much as the grain and wine from the other people. (31) You and your families may eat all that is left anywhere, because it is your pay for your work in the Meeting Tent. (32) And if you always give the best part to the Lord, you will never be guilty. If you do not sin against the holy offerings of the Israelites, you will not die.’” 

NUMBERS 19 - 7:16  
Numbers, Chapter 19. (1) The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: (2) This is the regulation in the Instruction that the Lord commanded. Tell the Israelites that they must bring you a red cow without defect, which is flawless and on which no yoke has been laid. (3) You will give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will take it outside the camp and slaughter it in front of him. (4) Eleazar the priest will take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times in front of the meeting tent. (5) Then he will burn the cow in front of him, its skin, flesh, and blood, with its dung. (6) The priest will take cedarwood, hyssop, and crimson cloth and throw them into the fire where the cow is burning. (7) Then the priest will wash his clothes and bathe his body in water. Afterward the priest will enter the camp, but he will be unclean until evening. (8) The one who burned the cow will wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, but he will be unclean until evening. (9) A person who is clean will gather the ashes of the cow and place them outside the camp in a clean place. They will be kept for the water of purification for the Israelite community as a purification offering. (10) The one who gathers the ashes of the cow will wash his clothes but will be unclean until evening. This will be a permanent regulation for the Israelites and for the immigrant who lives among them.

(11) The person who touches the dead body of any human will be unclean for seven days. (12) That person must be cleansed with water on the third and seventh days to be clean. If he fails to be cleansed with water on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. (13) Anyone who touches the body of a human who has died and doesn’t cleanse himself defiles the Lord’s dwelling. Such persons must be cut off from Israel because the water of purification wasn’t sprinkled on them. They remain unclean.

(14) This is the instruction: When anyone dies in a tent, all who go into the tent and all who are in the tent are unclean for seven days. (15) Any open jar without a sealed cover on it is unclean. (16) Anyone in the open field who touches a person slain by the sword, or who died naturally, or a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. (17) For the unclean person, they will take some of the ashes of the purification offering and place fresh water with it in a jar. (18) Then a clean person will take hyssop, dip it into the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the jars, on the people who were there, and on anyone who touched bone, the slain, the dead, or the grave. (19) On the third day and the seventh day the clean person will sprinkle it on the unclean, so that he will have purified him on the seventh day. He will then wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be clean at evening. (20) Any person who is unclean and didn’t cleanse himself will be cut off from the assembly, because he has defiled the Lord’s sanctuary. He didn’t have the water of purification sprinkled on him. He is unclean. (21) This will be a permanent regulation for them. The one who sprinkles the water of purification will wash his own clothes. Anyone who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening. (22) Whoever the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the one who touches the unclean will be unclean until evening. 

NUMBERS 20 - 10:38  
Numbers, Chapter 20. (1) In the first month the whole community of Israel arrived at the Desert of Zin. They stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there. Her body was also buried there.

(2) The people didn’t have any water. So they gathered together to oppose Moses and Aaron. (3) They argued with Moses. They said, “We wish we had died when our people fell dead in front of the Lord. (4) Why did you bring the Lord’s people into this desert? We and our livestock will die here. (5) Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? Why did you bring us to this terrible place? It doesn’t have any grain or figs. It doesn’t have any grapes or pomegranates. There isn’t even any water for us to drink!”

(6) Moses and Aaron left the people. They went to the entrance to the tent of meeting. There they fell with their faces to the ground. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them. (7) The Lord spoke to Moses, (8) “Get your wooden staff. You and your brother Aaron gather the people together. Then speak to that rock while everyone is watching. It will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community. Then they and their livestock can drink it.”

(9) So Moses took the wooden staff from the tent. He did just as the Lord had commanded him. (10) He and Aaron gathered the people together in front of the rock. Moses said to them, “Listen, you who refuse to obey! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?” (11) Then Moses raised his arm. He hit the rock twice with his staff. Water poured out. And the people and their livestock drank it.

(12) But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, “You did not trust in me enough to honor me. You did not honor me as the holy God in front of the people of Israel. So you will not bring this community into the land I am giving them.”

(13) Those were the waters of Meribah. That’s where the people of Israel argued with the Lord. And that’s where he showed them he is holy.

(14) Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. The messengers said,

“The nation of Israel is your brother. They say, ‘You know about all the hard times we’ve had. (15) Long ago our people went down into Egypt. We lived there for many years. The Egyptians treated us and our people badly. (16) But we cried out to the Lord. He heard our cry. He sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.

“‘Now here we are at the town of Kadesh. It’s on the edge of your territory. (17) Please let us pass through your country. We won’t go through any field or vineyard. We won’t drink water from any well. We’ll travel along the King’s Highway. We won’t turn to the right or the left. We’ll just go straight through your territory.’”

(18) But the people of Edom answered,

“You can't pass through here. If you try to, we’ll march out against you. We’ll attack you with our swords.”

(19) The people of Israel replied,

“We’ll go along the main road. We and our livestock won’t drink any of your water. If we do, we’ll pay for it. We only want to walk through your country. That’s all we ask.”

(20) Again the people of Edom answered,

“You can't pass through here.”

Then the people of Edom came out against them. They came with a large and powerful army. (21) Edom refused to let Israel go through their territory. So Israel turned away from them.

(22) The whole community of Israel started out from Kadesh. They arrived at Mount Hor. (23) It was near the border of Edom. There the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, (24) “Aaron will join the members of his family who have already died. He will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel. Both of you refused to obey my command. You did it at the waters of Meribah. (25) So get Aaron and his son Eleazar. Take them up Mount Hor. (26) Take Aaron’s official robes off of him. Put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will die on Mount Hor. He will join the members of his family who have already died.”

(27) Moses did just as the Lord had commanded. The three men went up Mount Hor while the whole community was watching. (28) Moses took Aaron’s official robes off of him. He put them on Aaron’s son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. (29) The whole community found out that Aaron had died. So the entire nation of Israel sobbed over him for 30 days.

COMMENTS - 14:58  
Let's talk a little bit about Numbers 20. Once again the people were complaining. Now the older generation that had been forbidden from entering the promised land because of their lack of faith was beginning to die off. But now this newer generation was acting much like their parents did. Yes, they needed water. But instead of merely asking Moses what they were going to do, they sounded just like their parents. "We wish we had died when our people fell dead in front of the Lord. Why did you bring the Lord's people into this desert? We and our livestock will die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? Why did you bring us to this terrible place? It doesn't have any grain or figs, it doesn't have any grapes or pomegranates. There isn't even any water for us to drink. Waah. Waah. Waah!"

So when Moses and Aaron went to the Lord, to find out what to do, God told Moses, "Get your walking stick. You and your brother Aaron, gather the people together, then speak to that rock while everyone is watching. It will pour out its water, you will bring water out of the rock for the community, then they and their livestock can drink it."

All right, so let's look carefully at what God said. Number one, he said, Get your walking stick. Moses did that. By the way, do you remember what the walking stick (or rod as the other translations have it) was for? It was the symbol of the authority that God had given Moses. And do you remember another time that water came from a rock? Yeah, in Exodus 17:6, God told Moses to strike the rock with the rod, and water came out. But here in Numbers 20, God told him only to speak to the rock. And the second thing God said was, you and Aaron gather the people together. They did that. So far, so good. Number three of the things God told Moses to do. He said, speak to the rock while everyone is watching. That's a fail. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses got snarky with the people. Right? He said, "Listen, you who refuse to obey? Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?" Now, God did not tell Moses to chastise the people. Actually, God had a very specific plan for what was supposed to happen. And it most certainly did not involve scolding them. So what did Moses say? "Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?" Excuse me? Did Moses really say "we", as if he could bring water out of the rock? As if God couldn't do it by himself? So now he's made two blunders. He's lectured the people, and he's gotten prideful. How could things possibly get worse? Well, what did Moses do? He struck the rock with a rod. Not once, but twice. As is so often the case with many of us, anger and frustration made Moses do something really stupid, and in his case, sinful.

But still out of love and compassion for the needs of the people. God did cause water to pour out of the rock, enough for the people and their livestock. So everything's good, right? Well, not so much. This only shows that God will use imperfect people to accomplish His will. But that doesn't mean that he condones their sin. After the people and livestock got their water, God took Moses and Aaron to the proverbial woodshed, he said, "You did not trust in me enough to honor me. You did not honor Me as the Holy God in front of the Israelites. So you will not bring this community into the land I am giving them."

So picture again in your mind the scene that happened with Moses having an angry, emotional outburst, and then hitting the rock twice with this rod that represents God's authority. Picture that. It's not pretty is it? But now think of how it could have been? What if Moses and Aaron had gathered the people together, all the while with smiles on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes because they knew what God was going to do. God told Moses and Aaron what he was going to do. They knew what was coming. It should have been like Christmas morning. "Hey, guys, you're going to be blown away by what is about to happen. God has something so special for you. Look at the rock and watch." Instead of directing their attention to the God who loves them, and is their provider, Moses made God look like one of the angry false gods.

So God told Moses that he would not be the one to take the people into the promised land. Since he was a child when he was in the palace of the Pharaoh, Moses had felt called to deliver God's people. And now because of this fit of pique, this lifelong calling would be denied him.

So why do you suppose God was so hard on Moses? Does this seem like an overreaction on God's part? Why would one weak moment have such a severe consequence? Well, there's probably at least three reasons. Number one, leaders and teachers are held to a higher standard. James 3:1 says, "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment." Okay. Number two, Moses had a uniquely close relationship with God, he was the voice of God to the people. And he badly misrepresented God in this instance. And number three, God intended this episode in the life of the people to be a picture of Jesus' saving work. Listen to what I Corinthians 10:4 says. Paul wrote, "I don't want you to forget, dear brothers, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago, all of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea, on dry ground. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses, all of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ." Now think about this, the first rock in Exodus was to be struck once for the life-giving water to come forth. Jesus was, figuratively, and in reality, struck once, and anyone who will drink from him will never thirst again, as he told the woman at the well. Jesus did not have to be struck twice. As a matter of fact, Hebrews 10:12 says, "But this man"--speaking of Jesus--"after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God". What Moses was supposed to do this time was to speak words of faith, to bring forth a life-saving water, just as with Jesus, words of faith bring salvation. Listen to Romans 10:9.

ADAM CURRY - 22:08
Romans 10:9, "If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

COMMENTS (CONTINUED) - 22:15
I am still rejoicing in the fact that that came out of the mouth of Adam Curry. But it's true if you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. That is something that is said, out of a heart of faith. And that's what God expected Moses to do that day.

So Moses really blew it. And he paid a dear price by being denied entrance to the promised land. But the account of this scene has one last verse, and this is what it says. "Those were the waters of Meribah. That's where the Israelites argued with God. And that's where he was proven to be holy among them." Moses had a chance by his actions to show God to be holy, but he failed. But God showed himself to be holy in his correction of Moses. So no matter our actions, God will be honored, he will be shown to be holy. I'd much rather be a part of showing him to be holy by my obedience than by my disobedience. How about you? Do you have a comment? Let me know: lifespringmedia.com/s12e257.

Tomorrow is History Tuesday, and we're completing First Chronicles with the reading of chapters 25 through 29.

Boost!

ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY - 23:44  
On this date in church history, May 16, 1540, German reformer Martin Luther remarked, "In the worst temptations, nothing can help us but faith that God's son has put on flesh, is bone, sits at the right hand of the Father and prays for us there is no mightier comfort." Amen to that.

And on this date in church history, May 16, 1805, Anglican missionary Henry Martin stepped ashore in Calcutta, India, where he was met by William Carey. Carey influenced Martin to do translation work. And Martin translated the Bible into three languages, including Hindustani, before his premature death in 1812. For the Lifespring family members in India, are you aware of Henry Martin and what he did in the early 1800s?

CLOSING PRAYER - 24:41  
Let's pray. Our heavenly Father, Lord, we thank You for Your word and for the water of life Jesus. We are so undeserving of the gift of salvation because we often complain like the people did in the wilderness, but you're merciful. How thankful we are for that, Lord. Forgive us, Lord when we complain. I pray that You would bless the Lifespring family and help us all to rejoice in you for the great things you've done for us. We thank you and pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you've got a prayer request or praise, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com.

OUTRO S12E257 - 25:23  
Share the show to everybody you know and comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e257. Email me at steve@lifespringmedia.com. And thanks to the team: Kirsty for handling the newsletter. You can sign up for that at news.lifespringmedia.com. Thanks to Sean of San Pedro for doing the chapters that you can see in a modern podcast app that you can find at newpodcastapps.com. And now also thanks to Denise for doing a bang up job correcting the AI generated transcripts. You can see her outstanding work starting on yesterday's show notes page. It does take time for the chapters and the transcripts to get done. So if you don't see them right away, be patient. Thanks to the Lifespring team and may God bless you richly.

And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb.

Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai