A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 5 (Part 3)

 Numbers 5:5-10—5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 "Speak to the children of Israel: 'When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the LORD, and that person is guilty, 7 then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. 8 But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 Every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. 10 And every man's holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his.'" 

I kinda like how the NASB translates it a little better, it says “‘When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the LORD’”. Not a big difference, but it does make it a bit clearer. A sin against our fellow man is a sin against God. When we sin, should we confess that sin? Yes. Do those sins need to be paid for? Yes. Today, when someone does something to another, they go to court, they set some arbitrary amount that the person who committed the wrong should pay, and a judge or jury awards the plaintiff some arbitrary settlement that may differ from one day to the next. But if you notice here, the amount to be paid is not arbitrary. It is settled. If you sin against your neighbor, you make restitution of what you wronged that person of. And you add one-fifth of the value as a penalty for your sin.

Now, you may ask what kind of sin could you commit that would require restitution? Well, we have one example, in Leviticus 6:2-5— 2 “When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD, and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion, 3 or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do; 4 then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him or the lost thing which he found, 5 or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his Guilt Offering.” When a man committed such a trespass against his neighbor, he not only committed such a trespass against his neighbor, he violated the Law of God, thus sinned against God. And he had to set things right with his neighbor, but he also had to make atonement to God for his sin. Under the Law, this was a monetary settlement to his neighbor, and he had to sacrifice a ram to God.

We have examples of this teaching from the Book of Luke. First, we have John the Baptist in the moments leading up to the Son of Man coming to him, Luke 3:12-14—12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" 13 And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you." 14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." To take more than what was required of the people would be theft, it would be wrong. So John, being a prophet of God, tells them to not do that. To not steal from the people. Tax collectors at the time could make the IRS look like a charitable organization. They would shake people down, use force to get even more money from them. And they would collect far more than was required of the people, sometimes up to 10 times more. And these were usually Jews that were doing it to other Jews. Even the Apostle Matthew was a tax collector until Jesus called him. And really, that is about as much as we know about him. Jesus calls him in Matthew 9:9, Matthew—or Levi, as he is called in Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:29—and he gets up from his desk and follows Christ. He left his profession to follow our Lord.

Now, we see an example of the restitution talked about in Numbers in the story of Zacchaeus. You know, the wee little man who climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see. We find this story in Luke 19:5-8—5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." Jesus was just walking along, and He just happened to look up into the tree. Happens a lot in Scripture, no? Things just happen to go the way God wants them to go. Zacchaeus knew something was different about Jesus. So he scrambles down from the tree and invites Jesus into his home. And the people said “Hey, Jesus is going in to a tax collector’s house to dine with him! That is just wrong!”

But just as Zacchaeus knew there was something different about Jesus, so Jesus had plans for Zacchaeus. And Jesus is not disappointed. As Zacchaeus goes far above the 20% restitution that the Law required, he restored 400%! And listen to the next two verses, Luke 19:9-10—9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus was seeking, He looked and He found. Do you think this was a coincidence? This is the chapter after Christ tells us of the rich man and the tax collector, Luke 18:13-14—13 “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Gospels address all that we see in our passage in Numbers 5:5-10. Do not take from people; if you do, then confess and see yourself as less than what you even think; Christ calls, follow Him, and restore what you have wronged another of. Alexander MacLaren says this—

The experience of Christ’s love convinces of sin far more thoroughly than threats. The frowns of society only make the wrong-doer more hard and merciless; but the touch of love melts him as a warm hand laid on snow. The sight of Jesus reveals our unlikeness and makes us long after some faint resemblance to Him. So Zacchaeus did not need Christ to bid him to make restitution, nor show him the blackness of his life; but he sees all the past in a new light, and is aware that there is something sweeter than ill-gotten gains. If we love Jesus Christ as He deserves, we shall not need to be told to give Him our all.

These days, do we do that? If we sin against our neighbor, we may have to make restitution to him, but do we also have to sacrifice a ram to God? No. 1st John 1:9—If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Notice he says all unrighteousness. If we commit a sin against our neighbor, we must first confess our sin to God, and then make it right with our neighbor. But as for atonement, Christ has already made that atonement, and on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice, if we ask for forgiveness for our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins. Notice two words in this verse. Faithful and just. God is faithful. The Greek word translated “faithful” is πιστός (pistos). The same word is used in 2^nd Thessalonians 3:3—But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. Your friend may or may not forgive when you sin against them. That is on them. But if you ask God to forgive your sin, he is faithful. According to Bill Mounce, “true, trusty, credible, sure, certain, indubitable.” He is a God who is always true and credible and cannot lie (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18); He is a God who is trustworthy, (Hebrews 13:5); He is a God who is sure, certain and indubitable (1st Corinthians 1:9). He is a God we can trust with all of our heart! If He wasn’t, He would not be a God worth worshipping.

And it is good that He is all those things, but beyond that He is just (Greek δίκαιος [dikaios, “equitable (in character or act); by implication, innocent, holy (absolutely or relatively):—just, meet, right(-eous).” Translated “righteous” in the KJV]) in forgiving your sins. How many times do we see someone commit a crime, they have all the evidence stacked against them they are on video committing this crime, but because of a technicality, they are acquitted or their case is dismissed? Is that truly justice? No! And what about the justice of God? Would we be able to say He is just if He merely said, “Well, I’m in as good mood today, I’ll just let your adultery slide. No harm, no foul, eh?” No! God would not be just if He just let slide when someone sinned against Him with no penalty being paid. But that’s just it—the penalty HAS been paid! Christ has paid the penalty for your sins if you believe in Him and accept His payment. Galatians 3:13— Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"). John 1:29—The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! We no longer have to bring a ram to sacrifice to God, since He has already given us a Lamb.

We will finish Chapter 5 next week

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 5 (Part 2)

Finally, the third group, those who had become defiled because of a corpse. (Numbers 5:2). In Mark 5:35-41 (also Matthew 9:23-36 and Luke 8:49-55) we read about a young girl who was dead that Jesus brought back to like. Mark 5:35-41—35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe." 37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping." 40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.

She was dead and Jesus touched her. He touched a corpse, which should have made Him unclean, right? Think back to 1^st Kings 17 when Elijah takes a dead boy in his arms and brings him back to life. 1st Kings 17:18-22—18 So she said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?" 19 And he said to her, "Give me your son." So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?" 21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him." 22 Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. Elijah touched a corpse, making him unclean, no? Then we have 2^nd Kings 4, when Elisha revives a boy who had died. What did he do? 2nd Kings 4:32-35—32 When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. 34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. 35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. Here we see prophets touching a dead body and not becoming defiled. But why? The Law says that anyone touching a dead body becomes defiled. So according to the Law, these must have remained isolated until sundown. But they didn’t. And here is why:

Elijah, Elisha and Jesus were prophets. They had the Spirit of God upon them to do the work of God. They were not touching these bodies to bury them, which would have been the natural thing to do. They were bringing these bodies back to life to show the power of God and to prove themselves to be prophets. This is why when Paul raised Eutychus in Acts 20:9 he does not become unclean, first because the Law had been done away with, second because he was doing the work of God, showing signs and wonders that God was working in the Gentiles and that they too would be among the people of God.

Another person we need to consider from the Gospels is Joseph of Arimathea. Matthew 27:57-60—57 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. 59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. Of all the commentaries I have read about this passage, none of them talks about How Joseph of Arimathea would have been defiled by handling a corpse. Numbers 19:11—He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. He had to have known this. Mark 15:43 calls him a prominent member of the Council. The Sanhedrin. So he would have known that touching Jesus’ dead body would have caused him to be unclean for seven days.

So why would he do it? Very simple, really. Because he knew that Jesus was setting him free from the Law he had so devoutly followed all his life. It says in Luke 23:51 that he was waiting for the Kingdom of God. He knew that this was no ordinary man, that this was the Son of God, that, as Jesus said, He would rise again the third day, that it was not the Law that brought life, but faith in Jesus. And He had to be buried, as His last act of obedience, before sundown, so He would not defile the Passover.

Deuteronomy 21:23—His body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. Do we ever think about Jesus being accursed by God? But He was. The ever obedient Son of God was cursed by God. There are so many Scriptures that tell us this. So many texts in the Bible tell us that He became a curse for us. Isaiah 53:4-5, 10—4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed…Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him. Galatians 3:13—Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"). Then of course 2nd Corinthians 5:21—For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Now Joseph of Arimathaea did not have these last two verses in his Bible, having only what we call the Old Testament. Yet he took this curse down from the tree, wrapped it up and laid it in his tomb. And was therefore defiled, having touched a corpse.

Yet he was not defiled after Christ rose on the third day. In talking about one who had been defiled by a corpse, listen to what it says in Numbers 19:12—He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. When did Christ rise from that tomb? The third day. So Joseph would not have had to purify himself anymore, as Christ cleansed him on that third day. By His stripes we are healed.

So the leper, the one with a discharge, the one who is defiled by a corpse is made clean by faith in Christ. But what if one is not willing to be made clean? What if there is one in the church that wants to keep sinning? Those are the ones we put outside the church. Numbers 5:3— “you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell”. What do we do with one whom we find out is committing some sin? Do we just say “Oh, you’re committing this sin, we’re going to kick you out!” Do we berate them for being so weak and fleshly? God forbid! We do not simply cast them out; we plead with them and exhort them to repent of their sin, that they may repent of their sin and ask Christ for forgiveness. Matthew 18:15-17—15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.” Do we forget to do this sometimes? We hear of a brother or sister who is sinning, and instead of going to them and pleading with them to repent, we simply shun them, or berate them, or speak to them snidely. We may gossip about them, we may ignore their phone calls or texts or emails. What good does that do? For us, the person, or the church? What does it do for God’s name? What does it show the world who does not know Christ? All it does is lend credence to the old saying, that “the church is the only army that shoots its wounded”. So we could actually say more accurately, do we neglect to do this? Because it is a hard thing to do, and can be quite messy. But it is something that needs to be done to keep the church as pure as can be.

On the contrary, we must forgive the one who sins. Because, guess what? You’re no better! Ephesians 4:32—And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Let those last five words sink in, God in Christ forgave you. Forgave you of what? Of your sins. And yes, however how highly you think of yourself, it is far, far too high. Christ calls Himself the Son of Man. And what does He say in the Psalms? Psalm 22:6—But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. If the Son of Man thought Himself a worm, how dare we think we are any better? How about it, are you better than your Savior? How dare we not forgive others?  What has someone done to you that is worse than what they did to our Lord? Charles Spurgeon said this when preaching on Ephesians 4:32—

…it should make our eyes fill with tears to think how we have grieved our God, and vexed his Spirit. Some of us have had so much manifest forgiveness, so much outward sin forgiven, that for us to forgive ought to be as natural as to open our hands. After such forgiveness as the Lord has bestowed on some of us, we should be wicked servants indeed if we were to take our brother by the throat and say, “Pay me what thou owest.” We should deserve to be given over to the tormentors by our angry Master if we did not count it joy to pass by a brother’s fault.

You may say “well, what if one does not repent of the sin they are in?” We’re getting there. We don’t put someone outside because of any physical abnormalities. Being a leper or having an issue of blood does not make someone unclean. Even now, a sin does not put us outside the love of Christ. Constant, habitual sin is a different story. That must be dealt with. Why? Simple. Numbers 5:3—that they may not defile their camps, in the midst of which I dwell. It’s why Paul wrote his first letter to the Church at Corinth. Because there was so much sin going on there that he had to correct it. Why did he have to correct them? God is love, right? He doesn’t care about our sins, He just wants us to be happy. Wrong. God is love, yes, but God is also a God of Justice and a God of Wrath. He does not want—first of all—ANY sin in His church, and He will not abide having constant, habitual sin running rampant through His church. He has told us what to do with such people. 1st Corinthians 5:11-13— 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner --- not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person." You can have friends who are not Christian. You can go over to their house for dinner. You can have them at your house. But one who is called a brother in Christ—do not eat with them. Why? To show that this person is not walking in a way that is worthy of them being called a brother in Christ. It has to do with church discipline, something that seems to be lacking in today’s churches.

And it is for that reason that many outsiders look at the church with disdain, and even mockery. Think about Christ’s example. Yes, He ate with sinners and tax collectors and harlots. That was the knock against Him from the Pharisees. However, did He say that it was okay for them to remain that way? No. He preached repentance from sin. Those sinners and tax collectors came to Him, ate with Him, and repented of their sins. But the Corinthians, they didn’t see anything wrong with having dinner with a known sinner. And they did not beg for him to repent. That was the problem. That was what Paul was addressing here. Their acceptance of sin in the church. David Guzik says this of this passage in 1^st Corinthians—

In the culture of that day (and in many cultures today), eating with someone is an expression of friendship and partnership. In some cultures, if a man eats at your table, you are bound to regard him as a friend and a partner. Paul warns the Corinthian Christians they cannot continue in Christian fellowship with a notorious sinner who calls himself a Christian.

A local body of believers is where sheep go to get fed. It is not to entertain goats. Because, like they say, “what you win them with is what you win them to.” If you win them with lasers and smoke machines and man-centered preaching, you will have to keep them by using bigger and better lasers and smoke machines and man-centered preaching. But here’s the thing: if they come back because of the lasers and smoke machines or man-centered preaching—and not because of Christ and His work of forgiveness—did they really even change? Or were they just entertained? See John 6:26. There aren’t a lot of songs out there about church discipline, because it’s not a pleasant subject. But in order to keep God’s name from becoming defiled, it must happen.

Part 3 next week

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 5 (Part 1)

 So now that the people of Israel are camped at Sinai, the Tabernacle of Meeting has been erected, the people are counted, the Levites are set apart, their duties outlined, now God is going to continue giving them commands about how they are to act as His people. Things they are to do and things they are to avoid. The giving of the Law continues. It did not stop at Exodus 20:17. It did not stop at Leviticus 27:34. It will in fact continue through the last verse of Deuteronomy. That is why the Law is said to be the first five books of the Bible.

This is why we should be so thankful that Jesus came for us as He did. Not only were we Gentiles not considered to be God’s people, but if a Gentile were circumcised and made a covenant member of Israel, then after that they had 613 commandments he had to observe in order to be in right standing with God. A thought struck me, “why did Christ have to come to save people from their sins? Didn’t they have all these sacrifices which put away their sins?” Well, the answer is this: while all those sacrifices covered up their sins, it did not take them away. And that distinction is important. In order to be in right standing before God, we must be perfect. Without a single spot or blemish. So we did not need for our sins to be simply covered up, we needed them to be completely taken away. We needed more than to put our hands, or have a priest put his hands, on the head of a bull or goat and have those sins pronounced forgiven by him. We needed our sins put on a perfect, sinless sacrifice, and have those sins forgiven by God Himself.

Many times in the Gospels, we see Jesus, our High Priest, tell someone, “Your sins are forgiven”. The episode of the man brought to Jesus on a stretcher and let down through the roof, Jesus tells him “your sins are forgiven you” (Matthew 9:2, Mark 2:5, Luke 5:20). Of course, this got the Jewish fathers in an uproar, since they had to go through all kinds of rituals just to have their sins covered over, but here was this man—for they thought Him only a man—who pronounced sins forgiven! FORGIVEN! No sprinkling of ashes of bulls or goats. No blood thrown against the Altar of Burnt Offerings, no incense sprinkled on the fire on the Altar of Incense. Just a few words.  αφεωνται σοι αι αμαρτιαι σου (apheontai soi ai hamartiai sou). “Your sins are forgiven you”. Do we need any further proof that Jesus was God in the flesh? For the Pharisees rightly claimed, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). Jesus IS God! And being God, Jesus had all the right and authority to forgive our sins. Jesus took our sins upon us NS TOOK His blood into the Holy of Holies in Heaven, into the very presence of God the Father—not the blood of imperfect bulls and goats, but His own perfect blood, as of the blood of a lamb without spot or blemish (1st Peter 1:19), as an offering to God for Him to remember our sins no more (Isaiah 43:25).

And in that verse in Isaiah, why does God forgive sins? So we can be happy and go on sinning even more? No. So that we can be better people? No, not even that. “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins”. Why would blotting out your transgressions be of benefit to God? For this reason: He has chosen for Himself a people, a people comprised of both Jew and Gentile. And in order for those people to be God’s people, they must be perfect. Absolutely perfect. And in order for them to be perfect, God must make them perfect. And guess what? He did. How? In the death of Christ. 2nd Corinthians 5:21—He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we may become the righteousness of God in Him.

Numbers 5:1-4—1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:  2 "Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. 3 You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell." 4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did. The three groups of people they were to put out is interesting. Lepers, everyone with a discharge, and those who have touched a corpse. Because all three of these groups are represented quite prominently in the Gospels. This is one of those times I’m sad there aren’t more teachings on the Old Testament, because this would be a great place to have one. This is one of those places that shows the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In the OId Covenant, these three conditions were shown to be either the result of judgment or a reason to be considered unclean. But in the Gospels, they are shown as a way for God to show forth His grace and forgiveness.

First, lepers. We have seen previously in our studies in Leviticus the proscriptions concerning lepers, their houses, isolation, etc. Well, after the Books of the Law, the next place we see leprosy mentioned is in 2nd Kings 5:1-14. We know the story about Naaman, that he was told to wash in the Jordan River 7 times, that he thought the rivers of Syria were cleaner than the muddy old Jordan. Eventually Naaman relented, washed in the Jordan 7 times, and came up cleaner than a child. Now, I’d like to note something in this passage that kinda relates to our last lesson in Numbers 4. Look in 2nd Kings 5:13—And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, "My father, indthe prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" We talked last time about the gifts and calling of God, and how that whatever God calls us to, we should do it, not for fame or prestige, but for the glory of God. Are you called to work with the children in the nursery? Then don’t aspire to be a preacher. Are you called to clean the bathrooms at your church? Then don’t think yourself a prophet.

But we see that many times, where someone will not be satisfied with what God has called them to do, and they want to be someone with more recognition that being a janitor. Matthew Henry says of the passage in 1st Corinthians 12—

God has so fitted and tempered them together that they are all necessary to one another, and to the whole body; there is no part redundant and unnecessary. Every member serves some good purpose or other: it is useful to its fellow-members, and necessary to the good state of the whole body. Nor is there a member of the body of Christ but may and ought to be useful to his fellow-members, and at some times, and in some cases, is needful to them. None should despise and envy another, seeing God has made the distinction between them as he pleased, yet so as to keep them all in some degree of mutual dependence, and make them valuable to each other, and concerned for each other, because of their mutual usefulness. Those who excel in any gift cannot say that they have no need of those who in that gift are their inferiors, while perhaps, in other gifts, they exceed them. Nay, the lowest members of all have their use, and the highest cannot do well without them. The eye has need of the hand, and the head of the feet.

Naaman did not realize the mercy shown to him by God. First, he was a Gentile, and received instruction from a prophet of Israel. Second, being a leper, he would have been put outside the camp as commanded by God.

Next we read of King Uzziah in 2nd Chronicles 26, that he became a leper, then we don’t see another until Matthew 8:2 (also Mark 1:40)—And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him [Christ], saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." How does Jesus respond? Does He command the leper to go to the priest, be examined to determine if it truly is leprosy, be isolated for 7-14 days, etc etc? No. Matthew 8:3 (and Mark 1:41)—Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. If you remember, back when we talked about Leviticus 13, there were all kinds of tests to determine if a person indeed had leprosy. And the person would have to be isolated and declared unclean, then bring a specific offering. And this poor fellow, we don’t know how long he had been living with this condition, but we do know that however long it had been, he could not have gone into the temple to make offerings. He would more than likely not have been employable, so he would have been begging for alms all this time. He would have been declaring himself unclean, untouched by anyone. But here, Christ touches him. The One they call Rabbi, the One who taught with authority, not as the Scribes (Matthew 7:29). He had just finished delivering the Sermon on the Mount, He has all these people following Him, and He touches a leper! How curious. Can you imagine being in that multitude and seeing this Man touch a leper? You’ve been living all your life under the Law of Moses, knowing what it says in Leviticus and Numbers about commands concerning lepers, and not only does He touch this leper, He pronounces him clean! And rightly so, because immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Then you’re watching to see what Jesus will command this now cleansed leper to do. And you hear Him tell this man, Matthew 8:4 (and Mark 1:44)—And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." Why the rush? Wouldn’t it be great for this man to tell folks so that they may believe on the One who made him clean?

Many think it was so that the priest would not hear that it was Christ who made him whole and, out of spite, refuse to declare him clean. We are guilty of that at times, are we not? A person with a sinful past comes to know Christ, is forgiven of their sins, but we don’t want to accept that. We want to keep them outside the camp, we want them to always be unclean, we want them to be punished for their past. That is why many are atheistic, because God can forgive even the greatest sinner. “This person did all these horrendous things, and God is just gonna let them off the hook? I don’t want to worship a God like that!” As if we are any better. C. S. Lewis rightly said, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”

The next group we see in Numbers 5:2 is those who have a discharge. I think you know where I’m going with this. The woman we see in Matthew 9:20-22 (as well as Mark 5:25-34 and Luke 8:43-48)—20 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well." 22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour.

The woman with the bleeding that had been going on for 12 years, and the physicians she went to only made it worse. I include all these passages so we get a clearer picture of her struggle compared to the healing that Jesus brings. She has this issue of blood, probably from her vaginal area. She had spent every penny she had in an attempt to be healed, but that healing never came. In fact, it had only gotten worse. Then one day, she sees Christ walking through the city. The One who had cleansed a leper with a touch and a word. The One who had forgiven the sins of the paralytic, against the wishes of the Pharisees. The One who had cleansed Legion of his many demons. The One who was at this moment on His way to a man’s house to raise his daughter from the dead. She sees Jesus walking with the multitudes and she thinks, not only if she touches Christ Himself—this One who had healed many—but even if she touches the hem of His garment, that she will be made well. She, like the leper, like Legion, like the Centurion, was considered unclean and was thus unable to enter the Temple. Notice here, Jesus does not touch her—she touches Him. She reaches out and touches the Sun of Righteousness...with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2).

He asks “Who touched Me?” Did He know who touched Him? Of course He did. The reason He asked was not because He didn’t know, but because He wanted to hear from her, and He wanted the crowd to know, that she was the one. He wanted her to acknowledge that she was the one who needed healing. He wants the same from us. He wants us to confess that we are sinners and we need forgiveness. 1st John 1:8-9—8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we believe on the Sun of Righteousness, He will come to us with healing in His wings.

One more thing about this passage. How many people are done more harm than good by these so-called “prosperity preachers”? They preach a “Jesus”, but not the Jesus of the Bible. They preach a “Jesus” that wants nothing more than to give them stuff, a “Jesus” of their own design. They think of Him as an ATM, that they can just say His name and make demands of Him and He will shower material wealth upon them. They never hear the true gospel, that they can have their sins forgiven. So they don’t call upon Him to forgive their sins, only to give them things. And rare is the one who will have their sins forgiven.

Part 2 next week

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amsn.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 4 (Part 2)

Let’s finish up with Numbers 4:19-20—19 “But do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his task. 20 But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.” Again, God has an order He wants things done in. He has a way things are to fit together, especially when it comes to His people. It is no different with His church. We no longer have priests and Levites, but there is still an order in which things must be done. Ephesians 4:7-16— 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." 9 (Now this, "He ascended"—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Each one of us has a gift, a spiritual gift, for doing our part in making the gospel known, and for building up the body of Christ—the church. And even as the sons of Kohath were given a task, so each of us is given a task. And each of us is given a particular task, a particular gift. Some are prophets, who study the word of God and declares it to men and instructs them on what it means in their lives. Some are evangelists who go out into the world and announce the good news that Jesus has come and forgiveness of sins is available. Some are elders and teachers, those who lead the local body and those who teach what the Scriptures say and who teach those under their care to rightly divide it.

And why are these offices given? They're given, Ephesians 4:12-13—12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So that each member of each body may grow into the fullness of Christ. They are given to them that they may edify us and that we may edify others, and by so doing, edify—build up—the church. And these gifts are not given out haphazardly, and they are gifts that are given—they are not offices to which a person may say, “Hmmm, I think I’ll be a prophet” if they are not called to that position. If you are called as an evangelist, go evangelize. If you are called as a teacher, then teach. And do all that you do in your calling for the building up of the body of Christ. Do not take on your gift for money or prestige. There are enough who do that, and they will receive their reward.

But if you are called to teach, don’t be jealous of the one who is called to evangelize. If you are called to evangelize, do not be jealous of the one who is called to teach. 1st Corinthians 12:15-22—15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.

Which part of the human body do we think to be more important, the heart or the kidneys? We automatically think the heart is more important, and rightly so. You can live without one kidney—you can even live without both kidneys, if you go on dialysis—can you live without a heart? But guess what? Your heart needs your kidneys to work. Your heart needs your kidneys to get rid of fluid so your heart doesn’t have to work harder. And time doesn’t permit me to cover the renin-angiotensin system, you can read about it here.

So needless to say, your kidneys are just as vital to your survival as your heart. Likewise, elders and teachers are just as vital to the body of Christ as prophets and evangelists. We need people to proclaim the good news to the nations. We need men to speak forth the word of God. We need men at a local level to teach and to feed the flock. None of us is more important than another. You should never hear a pastor or elder of a church say he is more important than one who has been given the gift of teaching, or of mercy. That would be arrogance. First of all, since none of us received whatever gift we may have on our own, it was given to us by God. And you did not receive it because you were better or smarter or more holy or more righteous or more spiritually mature than another. But because that is the way God wanted to do it. Besides, each one of us is needed in the body of Christ, just as the heart or lungs or kidneys or pancreas or, I don’t know, the hypothalamus gland, are needed in the functioning of the human body. And believe you me, you truly do need your hypothalamus gland!

But we do that sometimes, don’t we? Someone in the body has to be the 4^th toe on the left foot. But we don’t want to be the 4^th toe on the left foot, we want to be at least the pancreas. Because the pancreas does something, it is recognized as being important. Who ever talks about the 4^th toe of their left foot? “What good is being the 4^th toe of the left foot? There’s no glory in that!” But there is! The body is not complete without the 4^th toe of the left foot. And, quite frankly, your desires are not more important than the health and well-being of the whole body of Christ. Who puts the body together? Only God. By telling Him you’re not happy with your calling you are telling Him that your will is more important than His will and that, by default, is telling God that you are more important than Him. May we never think like that. May our thinking always be like the old hymn—

 

Take my life and let it be/consecrated, Lord, to thee.

Take my moments and my days;/let them flow in endless praise,

Take my hands and let them move/at the impulse of thy love.

Take my feet and let them be/swift and beautiful for thee—How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace. And those feet include the 4^th toe, by the way

Take my voice and let me sing/always, only, for my King.

Take my lips and let them be/filled with messages from thee

 

If you’re a toe, be happy with being a toe. Because that is what God wants you to be, and He knows what is best. You are not here for your own purposes, but for His!

 Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 4 (Part 1)

Numbers 4:1-20—1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 "Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' house, 3 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting. 4 "This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to the most holy things: 5 When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue; and they shall insert its poles. 7 On the table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring; and the showbread shall be on it. 8 They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. 9 And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. 10 Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam. 11 "Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. 12 Then they shall take all the utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam. 13 Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there--the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the basins, and all the utensils of the altar--and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. "These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 "The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the daily grain offering, the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings." 17 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 18 "Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; 19 but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his task. 20 But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die."

As I have said before, God is a God of order. He doesn’t do things willy-nilly, He doesn’t say “well, I didn’t see that not working out. Let’s try it differently”. He has a certain way He wants things done, and He does them that particular way. If we go back to Exodus, we see this. He hardens Pharaoh’s heart so he will not let the Israelites go, so that God can bring the 10 plagues on Egypt. The last plague is the death of the firstborn, after which Pharaoh relents and tells the people to leave, and God puts it in the hearts of the people of Egypt to give the Israelites their gold and silver—the things which will go into making the tools used in the tabernacle. He brings the people to Sinai, where He gives them the Ten Commandments and other commandments of His law. Then in Leviticus He gives them the rules by which they are to offer their offerings to Him. Then in Numbers 1, He tells Moses to take a census of the people, in Numbers 2 He tells Moses to have all the tribes camp by their standard, in Numbers 3 He addresses the Levites and how they shall be His, then this chapter, Numbers 4, outlines the duties of each division of the Levites. We will focus only on this section of the chapter, verses 1-20.

The Tabernacle was where God would put His name. It was where He would come to meet the people one day out of the year, Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16), and only the High Priest was to go into the Holy of Holies on that one day. The Tabernacle was 30’ long and 10’ wide, the Holy of Holies was the smallest part of it, at 10’X10’. And the High Priest had to prepare himself to go in, lest he die. And at no other time was ANYONE to go into the Holy Of Holies. Only the High Priest, and only on that day and in that particular way.

So the things that were in the Holy of Holies were very special, to say the least. It wasn’t like a tent where you would hold a Revival. Everything in it had to be taken care of in the most special of ways. You could not look upon the Ark of the Covenant or you would die. How many of y’all are thinking of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” right now? The makers of that film don’t quite get it right, but they come kinda close. The Nazis looked at the Ark. Fire went out from it and consumed them, melted some of their faces. Right? That is kinda what would happen if any of the Israelites looked upon the Ark. Numbers 4:4-6—4 “This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to the most holy things: 5 When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue; and they shall insert its poles” The first thing to be done was this: the sons of Aaron were to take the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, and they were to use it to cover the Ark of the Covenant. That way no one could look on it and die. Then they were to cover that with badger skins, and then a blue cloth.

The Ark is the only piece of the Tabernacle that is to be covered with 3 coverings. Every other piece only requires 2 coverings, but the Ark is to be covered with 3 layers. First there is the Veil, which closes off the Holy of Holies. That is to go next to the Ark. Then the badger skin, which was thick and dense to keep any possible rain from staining that veil. Keil and Delitzsch post that this could be from a sea cow, John Gill comments that it was a seal skin. Either of these would be waterproof, and would allow any water to slide right off. Then the covering of blue, to denote that this was where the presence of YHVH would sit that one day out of the year.

Then it says in Numbers 4:6—“they shall insert its poles”. The phrase here is probably more likely “adjust its poles”, since they were never to be taken out (Exodus 25:15). You could not look on the Ark, let alone touch it. And we see no clearer indication of that then when the Ark was returned to Jerusalem in 2nd Samuel 6:1-7— 1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the LORD of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. 4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals. 6 And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. There were so many mistakes made with the Ark, starting way back in 1^st Samuel, when they rushed it out into the battle against the Philistines, treating it like some kind of good luck charm. Then a couple chapters later some men dare to look inside it, and God struck down 50,000 men of Beth Shemesh because of it. Then it sat in Kirjath Jearim for 20 years in the house of a man named Abinadab. Then David had it moved into the house of Obed-Edom, a Gittite, for 3 months. It was on this leg of the journey that Uzzah made his fatal mistake.

So why was it that Uzzah died? I mean, after all, he was just making sure the Ark didn’t fall on the ground. Pretty harmless, no? It was not harmless. The Ark was where God met the High Priest and atonement was made for the people’s sins. NO ONE was to touch it. That is why it was carried on poles. Uzzah was not struck down only for placing his hand on the Ark, They all should have been struck down for the flippant way they were handling it. They sat it on an ox cart. By all rights, the sons of Kohath should have been carrying it. By its poles. That’s the way God commanded it. Chuck Smith says this:

It is interesting though that as David sought to bring the Ark of the Covenant back, rather than going back to the book of the law to see how God had ordered the Ark of the Covenant to be transported, David was following the Philistine example. When they sent the Ark of the Covenant back, they had built a cart, and they took oxen and had it pulled back with the cart pulled by oxen. Now that was the Philistines’ method of transporting the ark. However, the law of God said that when they bore the ark, they were to put these staves through the rings, and it was to be borne by four priests. So David really wasn’t following the law of God in building this new cart, and having it pulled by oxen. He was not following God’s pattern, but the Philistine pattern. It had, of course, disastrous results.

So what application does this have for us 21^st Century Gentile Christians? This—we should not have a low view of the things of God. When we are handling His Word, we should do it with all reverence and respect. The one thing that came immediately to my mind was in how we take the Lord’s Supper. The Apostle Paul gives us a stern warning in 1st Corinthians 11:23-31—23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30   For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. It’s just a little piece of bread and some wine, what can be the harm? It’s not the elements that you need to be afraid of. It’s not the bread and the wine. It’s your attitude toward the One they represent. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself. In an unworthy manner. Basically you are saying, if you are not following Christ, if you have not submitted yourself to His Lordship, if He has not forgiven your sins—you're saying that He has. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. And if you are not in Christ, you are proclaiming that as a jest, as a mockery. You're saying “Yes, He’s dead. And I’m glad He’s dead. He can stay that way, what do I care?” You’re no different than Uzzah putting out his hand and touching the Ark.

Part 2 next week

 Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen