King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: March 01, 2023
Chapters: NUMBERS 13-15
Study: Don’t Stop Believing
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
I was talking with my fiance (I still cannot believe I have a fiance), and he asked me if I wondered why God had to bring us together this late in life instead of sooner. I just said that it was not our time back then, and had we met before we may not be together today. God, always has a reason delaying us with the things that He promises. I am pretty much guessing that since God pointed this out to me right now that the main reason for delays is that we learn to trust Him completely, and He may also throw in some tests to prove our faith as well,
[2 Corinthians 13:4-7 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. 5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. 7 Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.]
When God led the Israelites to the promised land once they left Egypt, He could have led them down a path that was quick, instead He took them down a path that took two years to get there. As we continue in the reading of Numbers we will see just how merciful God is and also how serious He is about our faith in Him. Now, the Israelites and everyone else with them, were just a short distance from the promised land, God, commands Moses to send twelve men, one from each tribe, over into the land to search it out.
[Numbers 13:3-8,16 And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. 4 And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. 5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. 6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. 8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. 16 These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.]
[called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.] It is interesting to note that Oshea, means salvation, while Jehoshua (Joshua) means, whose help is Jehovah. Joshua, became the next helper or intercessor of God for the people. Incidentally, Jesus, gives us all new names the second we receive Him as our Saviour, [Romans 9:26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.]
Joshua, would become Moses’ successor, appointed by God Himself, and he eventually lead the Israelites into the promised land. However, that was not going to be for quite some time as we learn of what the twelve spies saw when they spent forty days in what was Canaan at the time.
[Numbers 13:21-24 So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. 22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. 24 The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.]
[and they bare it between two upon a staff;] Imagine grapes the size of a grapefruit. Years ago, I read how climate change caused produce to expand over the centuries, claiming a banana was only about the size of a lemon when they were first created. They concluded that the obesity rate is high today because the portions have gotten bigger due to climate change. I tell you what, there are two things that destroy that theory, one; they do not know my God, who can make a grape the size of a watermelon if He wanted to. And two; they are the ones shooting hormones into animals and genetically modifying everything to make them produce faster and larger. Fools, deny the fact that God is the one who cursed the ground to where we need to physically sow and reap the foods we eat by the way,
[Genesis 3:17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.]
When we let God handle things we do receive larger provisions, and do not let the world fool you, God, will always make our portions according our to faithfulness to Him. If we as a nation turn on God, the portions will get smaller and smaller, which is why we now have grapes the size of marbles. Now, the spies were just sent over there to see what they were up against, not give their opinion on whether or not they could defeat them. When they returned with these huge grapes and all the other fruit they brought over with them, the people naturally got really excited only to be shot down when they brought an evil report, well, ten of the twelve of them did.
[Numbers 13:27-28,30-32 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.]
[and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.] All the ten who gave their evil report could see was how big the men were, they could not see just how big our God is, and incidentally, He was not their God otherwise, if He were, then they would have had the faith of Caleb and Joshua. And here come the, “Woe is me” crowd who follow the fools rather the faithful. The people did not take too kindly to the evil report that these fools had brought.
[Numbers 14:1-2,4-8 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: 7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. 8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.]
[If the LORD delight in us,] There is nothing that God will not do for us when we trust Him, not fearing the giants around us. God actually delights in blessing us with the things we have need of, but He will not bless one soul who does not believe in Him. God was actually ready to consume them all, but Moses intervened.
[Numbers 14:11-13,17-18 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? 12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. 13 And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) 17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, 18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.]
[let the power of my Lord be great,] Moses, was not asking God to make light of those who are guilty of sinning against Him, he was asking God to show His mercy and forgive them. Well, God did forgive them, but judgment did come to those who believed the evil report.
[Numbers 14:20-24 And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word: 21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. 22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; 23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: 24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.]
[because he had another spirit with him,] The spirit that Caleb and Joshua had in them was none other than the Holy Spirit, the others had the devils spirit in them. We need to always try the spirits as not all lead to Christ, [1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.]
God, had had enough of their constant complaining and lack of faith, even though they seen Him part the Red Sea, pour water out of a rock, and manna come down from heaven. He was done trying to prove to them that He is God, and sentenced all the adults, except Caleb and Joshua to death in the wilderness.
[Numbers 14:29-31,34-35 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, 30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. 34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. 35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.]
[which ye said should be a prey,] God, did not kill them right away, they would die of their own causes, and not one person would step foot onto the promised land for forty years. We cannot expect the blessings of God to be constant if we are going to rebel against everything He stands for. While God’s mercies really do endure on all mankind, He truly is long suffering in that He will not destroy the entire earth until the very last soul to receive His Son is saved, [2 Peter 3:9-10 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.]
You can whine, cry, beg for forgiveness, and plead with God all you want, if you never accepted Christ as your Saviour before you took your last breath on earth, nothing can pardon you from the death and hell. Now, after Moses told them that they had to spent forty years in the wilderness, and anyone over twenty would die, they decided that they would go on their own.
[Numbers 14:40-43 And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned. 41 And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper. 42 Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you.]
[therefore the LORD will not be with you.] They had their chance to get into the promised land, they rejected God, tried to kill all who went against them, and once they realized that they lost their chance to get into the promised land, that is when they wanted to repent. Well, God knew their heart, they really had no faith in Him, they just did not want to die in what was actually the desert. Now, after the uproar, God had Moses gather everyone together and tell them again, what the Law was concerning sin and atonement.
[Numbers 15:2-5 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you, 3 And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the herd, or of the flock: 4 Then shall he that offereth his offering unto the LORD bring a meat offering of a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil. 5 And the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt offering or sacrifice, for one lamb.]
[And the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering] Without the bread or the blood, there is no remission, no reconciliation, or redemption. This is one law, for all, and is a picture of Christ, without the giving of His own body and without the shedding of His own blood, there is no permanent atonement. We must never forget that Jesus gave both His body and blood to save us, [John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.]
Yes, while salvation is by grace through our faith in Christ, we must believe all of His Word to be true, anytime someone goes against one word, they are going against God by tempting Him, and He will not stand for it. To prove how serious He was about their not being serious, God commands the death of someone gathering sticks.
[Numbers 15:29-30,32-35 Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. 30 But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. 35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.]
[But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously,] This is why he was stoned for picking up sticks. Let me tell you, the world will always see God as evil, but if they truly believed, then they would see that God did this because this many was tempting God and no one tempts God and lived to tell about it, [Acts 15:8-11 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.]
Today’s Prayer: God, It is Your desire that we stay faithful to Your teachings, and just keep things simple. Scripture gives many examples of those who knew to do right, but chose to do wrong. The consequences of their wrong actions brought upon death, loss, and emotional pain, not only for themselves, but those around them. Lord, lead us and guide us, teach us to trust You in everything that You allow in our lives, help us to avoid the traps that catch us off guard, and to stand firm in our faith, even when we have set backs. Let us keep a fringe upon our heart so that we are always reminded that it is better to trust in Your understanding an not our own. Keep our eyes on You so that we do not fall nor bring anyone else down by not following You in the first place. I ask these in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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