Saturday, June 7, 2014

The Rebels, the Rock, and Qadash Numbers 20.1-13 140608PM@TBC


Numbers 20.1-13  c.f. Ex 17.2-7?; Num. 27.14; Psa. 106.32-33; Psa. 114.8

Context:
Third of three travel narratives in The Law:        1. Ex. 13:17-19:25; 35
                                                                                          2. Num. 10:11-12:13
                                                                                          3. Num. 20:1-22:1

I. Setting  v.1
·       Wilderness of Zin
·       First month                    40th year of the wondering, (c.f. Num. 20 20:22-29; 33:38 dates Aaron’s death which follows in this chapter.)
·       Kadesh              Normally an oasis or this might have been part of the area that was not watered
                            Numbers 13 first generation rejected the promised land
·       Miriam died     This is representive of the death of the older generation.  She was one of the last to die who rejected God in Numbers 13-14
·       No water         Considering the number of people and livestock, this was an impossible problem.
II. The Rebels
            A.  The Complaints  v.2-5
·       They gathered together against M & A
o   If only we had died                                                            This is the new generation, who has now followed the old in giving up in unbelief. ( A reminder for the young generation to no repeat the sins of their parents,etc.)
o   Why have you brought us…to die                    Disbelieved God’s good intentions
o   Why have you made us come…to this evil place      Doubting God’s goodness.  There is a difference between coming to God honestly with a desperate need and with an attitude of disbelieve and rebellion.
            B.  Lord’s directions v.6-8
·       Moses and Aaron fell on their faces                 That was a good place to be.
·       The glory of the Lord appeared…
·       The Lord said:
o   Take the rod                  (17:9-10) What did the rod remind them of?  
o             your brother Aaron        The two were acting together here.
o   Gather the congregation
o   Speak to the rock before their eyes   
1. the rock. (1 Cor. 10.4) What did the rock represent?   and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
2.  before the people  God wanted to demonstrate a lesson to the people.
·       So Moses…


III. The Rock  v.9-11
·       Took the rod
·       Gathered the assembly together before the rock
·       He saidYou rebels! … Must we?
·       Lifted his hand and struck the rock twice
·       Water came out abundantly                               God’s benevolence in spite of them.
·       Congregation and their animals drank          “Animals drank” indicates the abundance of water.
IV. “Qadash”  v. 12; 27.14
·       Why did Moses not enter the Promised Land? 
The typical answer is something like because he struck the rock when God told him to speak or he disobeyed God.
·       Both of those answers are factually correct, but miss the deeper issues.
·       Because…
o   Did not believe (trust in niv84, hcsb, nlt) Me                             20.12
H539 - 'aman: (Hiphil) to stand firm, to trust, to be certain, to believe in
o    rebelled against His Word     ;  What did Moses accuse Israel of being?
4784 - marah : to be contentious, be rebellious, be refractory, be disobedient towards, be rebellious against
Num. 27.14
For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes." (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
Psalm 106
32 They angered Him also at the waters of strife,
So that it went ill with Moses on account of them;
33 Because they rebelled against His Spirit,
So that he spoke rashly with his lips.
o   De 32.51  because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin…
·        ·       It was more than an just rejecting what they were told to do or not accurately following instructions.
 o   To qadash me in the eyes of the people

6942 - qadash  (Hithpael) to keep oneself apart or separate. 2 to cause Himself to be hallowed (of God). 3 to be observed as holy. 4 to consecrate oneself.[1]You shall not…

In what sense can we hallow or sanctify God?  We can’t make Him any more sinless and morally pure. 

Exodus 3.

3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." 4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."

V. Conclusion v.13 / Applications
·       Water of Meribah
·       Children of Israel contended with the Lord Who did the text say that lodged their complaint with?
·       God was hollowed                     The question is not whether God will be hallowed. Will it be by us?
Application:
·       God will hallow Himself.  Will you?
When we become self focused, we set ourselves up to not hallow God.The disrespect to treat God’s Word as a common thing to be ignored or changed on a whim or in a fit of frustration.
Application:
·       If we spent as much time praying as complaining…
Application:
        Have faith in God’s commands.
         Hallow God with respect for His Word.
Do I hallow God when I ignore His Word?
Do I hallow God when I treat his will like the Luby’s buffet where I take what interests me and leave the stuff that is hard or doesn’t suit me.
Your “horizontal” disrespect for your parents or your boss is an indicator of your vertical relationship with God.


[1] James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).

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