King James Bible Study – [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. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Chapters: Numbers Chapters 10-11
Message: Take Jesus With You
Hello My Friend,
As I am reading these chapters about Israel heading to the promise land, I keep thinking about my own life since receiving Christ as my Saviour and how many times I have moved since then. I am about to move again, although I am not quite certain where the exact location is yet, but I am quite certain that God knows. In is interesting to realize that when we make plans for our future we seek things like careers, houses, vehicles, and even churches that teach like we have been taught, but rarely do we expect our future to change continuously. Let me tell you, when God’s hand is in it, things will continuously change, and do you know why? This little thing called, complacency. Complacency, is what gets us into trouble,
[Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.]
While God wants us to be content with where we are, He does not want us just sitting around waiting for Him to come and get us. As we continue in the reading of Numbers, it had been two years and two months since the children of Israel, and their companions, left Egypt, and it was now time to move forward. God, commanded Moses to make two trumpets, these would be sounded to let them know when it was time to come together, pack up and move, or if they were headed for war.
[Numbers 10:2-6 Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. 3 And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 4 And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. 5 When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. 6 When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.]
[they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.] The trumpets were actually the horns of rams, the sound of these trumpets had to reach the entire camp so you can imagine the noise it made to alert the people to head to the Tabernacle for an announcement. And it was the priests job to blow the trumpets.
[Numbers 10:8-10 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. 9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. 10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.]
[and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God,] God, in all His glory and power, could force all mankind to worship Him or die, but He does not nor ever has forced Himself upon anyone, He gives each person a choice. It is only when we call out to Him through our faith in Christ that He will remember the covenant He made with us, and lead us to the promise land, [Romans 10:12-13 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.]
Remember, God, gave the command that once He removed His cloud from over the tabernacle it was time for the people to move forward? Now, the time had come for them to move from Mount Sinai, but they could not just pick up and head out, they had to wait their turn, each of the tribes would head out one by one.
[Numbers 10:12-14,17,21,28 And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran. 13 And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 14 In the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of Judah according to their armies: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 17 And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle. 21 And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary: and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came.28 Thus were the journeyings of the children of Israel according to their armies, when they set forward.]
[And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD] This was the first time that they packed up and moved since the Tabernacle was set up and the Law was given. Since the camp was so large, as soon as the cloud lifted up off the Tabernacle, the trumpets were blown and that let the people know that it was time to go. As they were headed out, Moses reaches out to his brother-in-law who had been with them since Jethro brought his wife and kids and encourages him to continue on with them.
[Numbers 10:29-32 And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. 30 And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. 31 And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. 32 And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.]
[and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes.] Hobab, was Moses’ brother-in-law, as his father-in-law was Jethro and probably returned to Midian. Although they did not need a map as God was their map, Moses, knew how valuable Hobab would be as he was familiar with the area they were headed and would obviously know where the most suitable places would be to find shade and water. It is no coincidence that God will place certain people in our lives who will be valuable assets on our own journey to the spiritual promise land. Incidentally, those who are invited to come with us are more likely to follow, [Romans 10:14-15 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!]
How necessary is the Word of God and the Spirit of God for the direction, comfort, and defense of every genuine follower of Christ. Now, it was finally time to leave, with the cloud guiding them, the Levites led the way, with the Kohathites who carried all the items that went into the sanctuary, including the Ark of the Covenant, [Numbers 10:33-36 And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. 35 And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. 36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.]
[Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.] While the cloud guided them they could not see God, but when it stopped the cloud returned. This is a reminder that when God rests, His people rest, and likewise, when God moves, His people move. Even when they do not see Him He is moving, in fact, our greatest journey is when God leads us as we cannot see Him, [Job 23:8-10 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: 9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: 10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.]
There were six hundred thousand men, besides the women and children just of the children of Israel headed to the promise land. This number did not include the others who were with them, so there were about a two million people taking this journey. Now, while we all complain from time to time when we have no idea where we are going, it is important that those complaints do not get where we are murmuring about what God is giving us. Murmuring leads to discontent and discord among one another. We learned that there were some people toward the front of the line complaining about only having manna to eat and it started spreading to the back of the line. Needless to say, God, was more than angry.
[Numbers 11:1-6 And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. 2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. 3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them. 4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? 5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: 6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.]
[and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.] This is how we know the murmuring started at the front of the line, but before it even had a chance to get to the back, God, put an end to it. It is not uncommon for us to start thinking about the things that we left behind when we decided to follow Jesus, especially when it seems that what we are receiving not enough. When we get that way, we need to start counting those blessings that God is giving us right now, [Philippians 2:13-15 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;]
The world is so dark that it truly needs our light of Jesus shining on it and quite frankly we need to be giving off that same light to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ more than ever. What good does fighting each other do? What good does complaining about one another do? All it does is bring discord and more trouble and it gets to God and makes Him quite angry. Well, God, may have put a stop to the murmuring at the front of the line, but since the line was so long, not everyone saw what happened. Moses was not even aware of any of it, and by the time word got to him, they were at it again. Not only was Moses upset, he did not even want to deal with them.
[Numbers 11:10-12,14-15 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. 11 And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? 12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? 14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. 15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.]
[that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?] There are times when burdens start to come, not just one, but several, you lose a job, get a cut in pay, get sick, get falsely accused, get deceived, all at the same time while you are trying to take care of family, church, and yourself. Burdens are not punishments from God, they are windows of opportunity that God uses to get His faithful to give their burdens to Him alone, [Matthew 11:28-29 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.]
[And if thou deal thus with me, kill me…and let me not see my wretchedness.] Moses, felt overwhelmed and like nothing he did was doing anyone any good. He wanted to know why he had to deal with all these people by himself as though he was the one being punished. Well, God, responded, and not only said that He would give Moses some help, He told him He was going to be fed them.
[Numbers 11:16-18 And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. 17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. 18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.]
[I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them;] God, takes the same spirit and places it upon every saved, born again, Christian, and that is His Spirit. Did you notice that God used seventy people? Jesus did the same thing when He appointed seventy more people besides the disciples to preach the Gospel before His passion, [Luke 10:1-2 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. 2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.]
[therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.] It is interesting how you can read the sarcasm from God when He responds sometimes, He was not going to send meat for one day, He was going to send it for a month. Of course, when Moses heard this the first thing he wondered was how they were all going to be fed.
[Numbers 11:19-23 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; 20 But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt? 21 And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. 22 Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them? 23 And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD’S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.]
[Is the LORD’S hand waxed short?] In a sense, God, was saying, “Is anything too hard for me!” Do you see the doubt of God’s most trusted servant? The only man besides Jesus, to actually be able to have a conversation with God as though He were standing right there? It was not as though he had no faith, it was that at that time he had little faith because all he could see was his burden. I feel his pain as I get the same way, and we all do at times, but the most important thing to remember is that we have Jesus. God, many not remove the burden, but He does help us to endure it as we trust Him,[James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.]
Divers temptations are not the same as temptations for the flesh, these are the burdens that we face as Christians. This is how faithful Christians become weary, they try to carry the burden of everyone and every thing going on by themselves. While God will never give us more that we are able to carry, He does not want us to be weary in our well doing either. He will give us help if we just ask for it. And God did give Moses help.
[Numbers 11:25-29 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. 26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp. 27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. 29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!]
[but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.] And just like that, as soon as God had given these seventy men His Spirit, they began prophesying to the people. Two of those men did not want to stay within the confinements of the Tabernacle and went out to the people. Joshua, thought that this was a bad idea and went to Moses only to get rebuked by him. You see, Joshua, was like the disciples with Jesus, they only believed that the Gospel was to be given to the Jews at first, but later on learned that it was to be preached to all. Jesus said this when John told Him that they rebuked someone who was not one of them, [Mark 9:39-41 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is on our part. 41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.]
When all our efforts to love, teach, and reach the ones who God entrusts us with fail we feel as though we have failed God. However, we must realize that we are not the ones who failed God, they are through their disbelief. Those who constantly complain about God not taking care of their needs need to stop right there, because God will answer their complaint. If the people despised the manna and wanted meat, then God would give it to them, meat, and He indeed gave them meat.
[Numbers 11:31-33 And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. 32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. 33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.]
[ere it was chewed…and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.] Lust never satisfies, in fact, it brings us to despise those things when we do get them even more than the desire that we had for them. God, has a never ending supply to help us with whatever it is that we need, and we never starve with Him, even if all we get is bread and water for a while. If we are not thankful for what He does give us, we cannot expect Him to bless us beyond that. It is not what we ask for that God turns His ears away from, it is how we ask for it, [James 4:1-3 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Numbers 11:25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.]
Today’s Prayer: God, I know You have great plans for me, much greater than anything I envision in myself, but in order for me to see them unfold I need to put my complete trust and faith in You alone. Although I cannot always see Your hand, I know You are guiding me, just like You promise that no one can pluck me out of Your hands You promise that I will reach the promised land, even when I question You. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your power, mercy, and grace, to get through these burdens, help me to remain faithful to You, and send the people I need in my life to help me with situations that I cannot handle on my own. Let me be the help others need, and keep me from making friendships with those who would sway me away from You. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/ready-to-follow-jesus/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Read Previous Devotions: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Read The Bible: http://kingjamesbible.imfollowingjesus.com/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2024 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.