Numbers 10:28-32—28 Thus was the order of march of the children of Israel, according to their armies, when they began their journey. 29 Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the LORD has promised good things to Israel." 30 And he said to him, "I will not go, but I will depart to my own land and to my relatives." 31 So Moses said, "Please do not leave, inasmuch as you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes. 32 And it shall be, if you go with us—indeed it shall be—that whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same we will do to you." We read in the Book of Judges (Judges 4:11) that Hobab did indeed travel with the Israelites from Sinai. This gives us a good example of why we need to learn from those who have studied Scripture well. Yes, God is our guide, He directs on where we should go and what things we should do. But in our day-to-day walk and learning, we need someone to guide us in what that means. As the cloud guided the general direction the Israelites should travel, they needed someone to point out where they could find food, find water; which way to travel to avoid anyone who would try to harass or plunder them; which way would not involve the most physical expenditure, considering there were women and children in their camp.
Likewise, we know Christ, we know our Bibles tell us to live lives of holiness to God. But so many times we ask “What does that mean? What things should I do or not do? Should I do this-or-that? Or should I avoid it?” Jesus said as He washed the Apostles’ feet in John 13:15—“For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” In Ephesians 5:1 Paul says Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. “But what does that mean?” As this question abounds today, so it did even as Paul was writing his epistles. He told Timothy in 1st Timothy 4:12—Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. When someone has 100 pianos they have to tune, how do they do it? They find one piano that is in tune, and use it to tune the first piano. Then they use it to tune the second piano, and the third, etc. We can apply that same principle to imitating God—when we find a person who is imitating God, we let their lives be an example to us, and we follow them as Timothy followed Paul who followed Christ who followed the Father. But we need to make sure their lives are aligned with Scripture. In our daily walk with Christ, we need someone to guide us. As we read the Scriptures, as a guide to show us how to live for Him, there is not a step-by-step guide to show us that this is right our this is wrong—there is not a list of do’s and don’t’s to show us whether every little thing is right or wrong. We need someone to show us, from the Scriptures, that things are right and wrong, using the principles in the Scriptures to show us why they are right and wrong. So that, not only may we abstain from the things that are wrong, but we may also do the things that are right and proper.
This is why it is important to find a preacher who is preaching the Word of God in truth, and not a motivational speaker/life coach who only wants to make people feel good while they speak on Sunday morning, rather than show forth the glory of God and lead them away from sin. Which is why someone like Joel Osteen is so problematic. He has admitted, from his mouth, that he does not consider himself a pastor and he does not use the word “sinners” in his sermons: “I don’t use it. I never thought about it. But I probably don’t. But most people already know what [when] they’re doing wrong. When I get them to church, I want to tell them that you can change.” (https://savenewengland.org/2023/07/14/preaching-against-sin/) No! If a man is sinning, he is, at the very least, grieving the heart of God and, at worst, taking one more step towards the fires of Hell. But how can a man know he is sinning if he is never told? Romans 7:7—I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." We hear many times that we need preachers who will preach Law and Gospel. Some will say “Why do we need to preach the Law? The Gospel is all that matters”. Are we saved by faith alone apart from works of the Law? Of course! (Galatians 2:16). But how will we live a life of holiness apart from doing things that please God and putting away from ourselves those things which displease Him (Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9). As John Owen said “Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin, or sin will be killing you” (from “Of The Mortification of Sin In Believers”).
This may seem hard to many. There are those who think that ceasing from sin means their lives will be filled with mundaneness and drudgery. What could be farther from the truth! To follow God is peace and joy and contentment! Will we always be happy? No. But look at any saint mentioned in Scripture and decide if their life was full of happiness. Will we never sin again if we are in Christ? Oh, I wish! Did you have a stray thought? Did you get cut off in traffic and curse the person under your breath? Did you notice that man’s or woman’s attractiveness for just a bit too long? Then you have sinned. Just after he said the preceding, Mr. Owen said again: “Indwelling sin always abides whilst we are in this world; therefore it is always to be mortified. The vain, foolish, and ignorant disputes of men about perfect keeping the commands of God, of perfection in this life, of being wholly and perfectly dead to sin, I meddle not now with.”
But in this is true freedom: If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1st John 2:1). We no longer need to bring the blood of bulls and goats to a priest to be killed, cut up and burned. We don’t need to go into a closed booth and tell the guy in the funny collar everything that we have done. We simply tell the Father that we know we did wrong, ask for forgiveness through our Savior, and guess what—we are forgiven! Show me one place in all of Scripture where prayer is even suggested to be made to someone other than God. Why? Because God alone has the authority to forgive sins. Even the Pharisees knew that (Mark 2:7; Luke 5:24). But here’s what they didn’t know—that God was standing right in front of them and was teaching them about forgiveness. But they were zealous for every jot and tittle of the Law, and forgot one very important thing: mercy. Hosea 6:6—For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. They thought they were doing well in that every time they sinned they brought a sacrifice. But they had it backwards. God wanted for them to not have to bring a sacrifice at all (Isaiah 1:11-17; Psalm 51:17). And in Matthew 9:6, Mark 2:7; and Luke 5:24 Jesus shows them the better way—to show mercy toward your neighbor.
Numbers 10:33-36—33 So they departed from the mountain of the LORD on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them for the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was above them by day when they went out from the camp. 35 So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: "Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You." 36 And when it rested, he said: "Return, O LORD, to the many thousands of Israel." So, after all this time and after all these words the people finally left Sinai, with the cloud of God marking the way they should go. And whenever the cloud was taken up and they were thus commanded to leave, that Moses lifted up his voice and pleaded to God, "Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You". He so begged, that those who would oppose the people of God might be taken away from them, that they may have a clear passage to where God was leading them. For how could the people fight when they had the Ark in the midst of them? “But if they had the Ark, wouldn’t God be there and fight for them?” You would think so. And so did the people of Israel when they fought against the Philistines and the battle was not going in their favor. 1st Samuel 4:3-5—3 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies." 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. “Hooray!” the people said. “God is in the midst of us; surely He will defeat our enemies!” But, alas, it was not so. For not only did the Philistines defeat them in battle, but they also took with them the Ark of the Covenant. 1st Samuel 4:10-11—10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. Note, this chapter is almost a continuation of the Book of Judges (as Eli was named a Judge in 1st Samuel 4:18), when the nation was still young, and was still trying to find their way out from that most sad and dreadful period, when they were still smitten with the worship of other gods, and still sought after a visual representation of God. And they thought that the Ark was God, and their superstition drove them to believe that if only this thing they could see and feel was in their midst, they would win. But it was not so. And, as Phineas’ wife said in 1st Samuel 4:18—"The glory has departed from Israel!" All this happened for one reason: Eli, being a wicked judge, had not restrained his sons from besmirching the Law of God and taking to themselves what belonged to God (1st Samuel 2:12-17).
Yet many who don’t know Christ think the same way. When they do what is not right in the sight of God; when they slander His name, when they despise His Son; when they think themselves smarter than to believe in “some Sky Daddy”; when mischief befalls them, who do they turn to? Who can they turn to? They have insulted the only One who can deliver them out of their predicament. Or if that person thinks there may be a God, they may offer up some feeble prayer to Him, that He may deliver them. Or what about the person who knows that God is real, so they may wear a cross on a necklace; they may put up pictures of Christ knocking at a door, they may have in their midst some token to God, and think that will protect their life and their eternal soul. But God does not look for these things when that person stands before Him. He does not ask if they wore a crucifix, or if they had some trinket in their home. They will ask if they knew Christ. If they believed in Him for everlasting salvation from their sins. If they cried out, as Moses did, for Christ to scatter the minions of Satan, to make them flee before Him, to forgive their sins and impart to them His Spirit, that they may live lives that bring honor to Him. May God be gracious to us; may God fight for us and give us His great salvation. Let us not think trinkets and necklaces will make us acceptable to God, but only faith in Christ, the author and finisher of faith (Hebrews 12:2). Of those who would not rebuke the evil, Alexander MacLaren said: “Good, weak men, especially when they let foolish tenderness hinder righteous severity, bring terrible evils on themselves, their families, and their nation. It was Eli who, at bottom, was the cause of the defeat and the disasters which slew his sons and broke his own heart. Nothing is more cruel than the weak indulgence which, when men are bringing a curse on themselves by their sin, ‘restrains them not.’”
But of those who will stand strong for God and His Christ, He will scatter their enemies, and make them flee. James 4:7—Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Adam Clarke: “He cannot conquer you if you continue to resist. Strong as he is, God never permits him to conquer the man who continues to resist him; he cannot force the human will. He who, in the terrible name of Jesus, opposes even the devil himself, is sure to have a speedy and glorious conquest. He flees from that name, and from his conquering blood.”
"Return, O LORD, to the many thousands of Israel." When the cloud rested, Moses would pray that God would visit His people, that He would be their God, and that they would follow His ways. And they did. Then they didn’t. Then they did. Then they didn’t. The story of the people of Israel is one of constant worshipping of God until one of their kings turned the people away from God (e.g. Ahab, Jeroboam), then they came back to Him under the rule of a wise king (e.g. Josiah, Jehoshaphat). But then their true King came, and they had Him put to death. So that spelled the end of Israel, right? Wrong. Romans 11:1-5—1 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 3 "LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life"? 4 But what does the divine response say to him? "I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." 5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. God is not through with Israel. Although many in the physical nation of Israel do not believe that Jesus is their King, there are also many outside that physical nation who do believe. Rabbi James Scott Glazier says “The essential difference between Jews and Christians is that Christians accept Jesus as messiah and personal savior. Jesus is not part of Jewish theology. Amongst Jews, Jesus is not considered a divine being” (https://reformjudaism.org/learning/answers-jewish-questions/what-are-main-differences-between-jew-and-christian). But when he says “Jesus is not part of Jewish theology”, he is sadly mistaken. Jesus is spoken of in the Law and the Prophets; He is spoken of in all of their Tanakh. John 5:39—“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” He came to reconcile the people of Israel to God (Matthew 15:24). But they would not have Him as their King, for they were quite content having Caesar as their King (John 19:15). And even today, many Jews reject Him. But there are also many Jews who acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. At this present time there is a remnant. A fellow named Ty Perry, at “The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry”, says it nicely. “Gentiles should never assume God has divorced His Chosen People. Jewish people should not cast Jesus off as a traitor to His people. He never denied the Jewish people, and His message of salvation by grace through faith is for all people, the Jew first and also the Gentile (Rom. 1:16)” (https://www.foi.org/2020/01/10/when-did-jesus-stop-being-jewish/). There are many groups, both Jewish and Gentile, who are longing for Israel to come to know that Jesus is King of the Jews, and that He longs for them to be saved (Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34).
But why? Why is it that so many in Israel do not see Christ as their Sovereign? Why do they reject having Him as their Lord? Why does it seem that God has cast off His people, who to this day and forevermore are His people? Well, God has blinded their eyes, has caused a spirit of unbelief to come upon them that the number of Gentiles He has ordained should come into His kingdom. Romans 11:25-29—25 Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins." 28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. God made a covenant with Abraham, with David, and He promised them through the prophet Jeremiah that the people of Israel would be He people forevermore (Jeremiah 31:37). And who did He swear that by? He swore by Himself (Hebrews 6:13). When an oath is undertaken, can that oath be broken? No. Joshua learned that the hard way in Joshua 9. He had sworn by God that no harm would come to the Gibeonites, even though they had purloined that oath through untruths. Did that nullify that oath? No. So then, does the faithlessness of Israel negate the covenant God made with Abraham? Of course not! Even though Jesus said of Jerusalem that it “kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her”, Paul said at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace and that one day all Israel will be saved. Adam Clarke again: “[Israel] Shall be brought into the way of salvation, by acknowledging the Messiah…The term saved, as applied to the Israelites in different parts of the Scripture, signifies no more than their being gathered out of the nations of the world, separated to God, and possessed of the high privilege of being his peculiar people. And we know that this is the meaning of the term, by finding it applied to the body of the Israelites when this alone was the sum of their state.”
And one day, as the cloud returned to the people, our King and Sovereign Lord will return to us, giving us eternal rest. He will cause our enemy to flee, will bind him in chains for 1000 years, let him loose for a bit, then cast him into the lake burning with fire and brimstone for all eternity. He will return to His own, both Jew and Gentile, shall give us eternal peace, and we shall be in the presence of our Lord forever (1st Thessalonians 2:19).
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.
