Trust God, Hold Tight

The title of my sermon is, Trust God, Hold Tight. Trust God, hold tight. And I'm going to hold tight this water bottle because I think the pollen is getting to me today. Maybe it's that cold wind. Well, today I'd like to begin the sermon by reading several scriptures that always set my mind to thinking about how to be more like God. We refer to these scriptures during the blessing of little children, a tradition we observed shortly after the Feast of Tabernacles and the Church.

But today I'd like for us to consider these scriptures and how they call for a childlike attitude with regards not just to our need to be humble and free from malice, but also as to our faith or belief in God. So we'll begin over in the book of Mark. I just want to read these scriptures, put them back in our mind, and pretty much let them speak for themselves here as I begin.

I'm going to turn to Mark 9 and read verses 36-37. This is the first of two occasions we see Christ holding a child. This is the first one, Mark 9, 36. Then he, Jesus, took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when he had taken him in his arms, he said to them, whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me.

And whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me. A reminder that he had been sent by God, our Father. Then, over in chapter 10 of Mark verses 14-16, another episode. But when Jesus saw it, they didn't want the people bringing their children to him, when Jesus saw it, he was greatly displeased and said to them, let the little children come to me and do not forbid them. For of such is the kingdom of God.

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. And he took them up in his arms, and he laid hands on them, and he blessed them. And hence, tradition we have in the church. And then in Matthew 18 verses 2-6. And again, we see Jesus must have loved children. I'm sure he did. My thought is he'd probably like to hold them as often as he could. Here in Matthew 18, 2-6, Jesus called a little child to him, said to them in the midst of them, and said, assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.

It's pretty harsh words. But when we look at these scriptures about the little children, it strikes me that with regards to belief and trust, little children, the infants, the little babies, they don't seem to have a problem at all with believing or trusting the loving parent who holds them. I'm sure you've noticed that. And perhaps neither do they worry about things like we do. Those little babies, they willingly nestle in a deep, comfortable fold of their arms or their parent.

They know their parent's going to keep them safe and warm, no matter what. The child doesn't fear or worry about whether daddy will protect him, comfort him. He's not worried about mom feeding him, except maybe not fast enough at times, I've noticed, or whether mom and dad are going to clothe them. The baby knows it will happen. He will still be taken care of.

He never worries about it. He never worries about it. Dad and mom will and they always do. And dad and mom will only do what is good and best for them. Dad, he can't help it, neither can mom. It's all they know to do, to love that child. So infants and little children don't understand what those big words like love and trust and faith and even what belief means. In fact, even us older ones are still working on understanding those terms fully, aren't we? But they know what it is. They know what it is. They know what it is at their own level.

Now, at the beginning of Hebrews 11, we have that very memorable definition of faith. You can turn there with me. We're going to read it. Help us to remember it. Hebrews 11, verse 1, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I like the way the Revised Standard Version reads it. It reads it this way. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. That makes it a little more clear to me. The conviction of things not seen is faith.

When we think on it, little children do typify a faith that we might learn more about, that we might learn to have. And so with Christ's example of holding children in His arms and telling us to be more like them, I wonder if we might also find in that image of Him holding those babies a subtle definition of the faith we need to be developing with God.

That kind of simple trust, that simple but very powerful faith. Now I've searched the Bible for other instances when children are being held in the arms of men, especially, like we see with Christ. But so far—and I'm searching if some of you know, let me know, because I'm looking too—so far what I've found is but a few other instances of images, pictures, times when men are holding babies in their arms. One occurs in Deuteronomy chapter 1. Let's turn there and look at that. I'm always intrigued to follow a thread of thought. There's an image. Does this appear elsewhere? If it does, why?

Is there something to it? Here a little there a little, as we've been taught. This is an interesting place. Deuteronomy 1, verses 29 through 31. Here we'll give you a little bit of the backdrop here, the backstory. In the book of Deuteronomy, we will remember, I'm sure, that at the end of 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, and soon before his death, Moses addressed the children of Israel as he was commanded to you by God.

And then he wrote down in the book of Deuteronomy the things he said. He recorded it for us as well. His words provide an interesting perspective about Israel's relationship with God, the children of Israel's relationship with God. And here in Deuteronomy 1, verse 29 through 33, Moses is reminding Israel that occasion, that occasion back in Kadesh when they listened to the spies' bad report, that time when they listened to the spies' bad report and refused to trust God and enter the Promised Land at that time.

Thereafter, of course, that was somewhat the final straw with God for a while, thereafter they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years, and the older generation would not enter the Promised Land. Notice what Moses told them at Kadesh. This is what he said he told them. This is what he told them about God's care for them. Deuteronomy 1, 29.

Then I said to you, he says, remember what I told you, I said, do not be terrified or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you, he will fight for you according to all he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, before your very eyes. And in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place. Yet for all that, you did not believe the Lord your God, who went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night, in the cloud by day.

And so here Moses reminds them how God took care of them. It's a relationship. God was acting with them as a man or rather a father carrying his son. And that's a concept that they should have known about. They should have been familiar with that concept. We turn to...you can hold your place here, by the way. And if you turn quickly with me to Exodus 4, they should have been familiar with this idea of God being like a father to them.

Exodus 4, verse 22, we find this scripture. Notice what God ordered Moses to declare to Pharaoh. Exodus 4, 22, then you shall say to Pharaoh, thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn. And so they knew this. They should have known this. They should have remembered it. Now back in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 8 this time, verses 2 through 6, Moses also refers to God's relationship with Israel in terms of how a father disciplines his son.

In explaining why God tested them in the wilderness, Moses states, Deuteronomy 8, verse 2, and you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And so he humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. God took such good care of them like a father would his son. And so God knew from this, we reminded, that of course God knew they needed food and water, they needed clothing, they needed good health. He gave them all that.

And just like a loving father, God cared for the children of Israel. Yet at the same time God wanted to know whether they wanted to obey him, whether they would live according to his words. Of course he knew they wouldn't keep it perfectly. It's sin, human nature, it's a struggle we still have. But he wanted to know would they even try? Would they keep at it? Would they keep repenting? Would they keep drawing closer? Keep trying without giving up. So in order to know if they would keep his commandments, he tested them with the hardships of living in the wilderness. It wasn't a comfortable life. Life, even today, we know is not always comfortable, it's not always easy.

God wanted the children of Israel to place their trust, their faith, and their belief in him. But when they sinned, he was right there to correct them, as a father does. Continuing on in verse 5, he said again, you should know in your heart that as a man chases his son, so the Lord your God chases you. It's what is expected of a father and a child. It's what a child should expect. That's part of love. That's part of love. This understanding of how God defined his relationship with Israel can help us understand a bit, I think, a bit of God's anger, his disappointment, his frustration with the children of Israel, because they continually failed in believing him, in obeying him.

Now, there's one more verse that refers to a man carrying a child, and that's in Numbers 11. Numbers 11. Numbers 11, Numbers 11, verses 10 through 13. I may not have said that right the first time. Numbers 11, verse 10. Here we find Moses expressing his profound duress due to the children of Israel clamoring and complaining. In this case, they're wanting meat to eat. They're wanting meat. Some of us are meat eaters, I'm sure, here, and we know we like our meat, and they did, too.

We're going to read more about this incident later, but here let's notice how Moses describes his aggravating predicament to God. Moses says, verse 10, then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent, complaining, whining, murmuring. And the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused, and Moses also was displeased. I can imagine. So Moses said to the Lord, Why have you afflicted your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight that you have laid the burden of all these people on me? Well, there's nearly a million of them, all total.

I'm sure the sheep and the goats and the bleeding and the mooing, that probably got to be irritating, too. I don't know, but it's just got to be too much for him at this point. Why have I not found favor in your sight that you have laid the burden of all these people on me? Here's the interesting part. He says, Did I conceive all these people? Did I bear these people? Are they my babies? Did I beget them that you should say to me, carry them in your bosom as a guardian carries a nursing child to the land which you swore to their fathers?

Where am I to get me to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, Give us meat that we may eat. It probably is a chant. I don't know if it would work in Hebrew, but it almost sounds like a chant. Give us meat that we may eat. Now, I looked up the Hebrew words here for verse 12, and it says, Carry them in your bosom as a guardian carries a nursing child.

If you looked up those words in the Hebrew and get the literal translation, I used Young's literal translation, and this is how it reads. Young's literal translation of this verse reads, Carry it or carry them in your bosom as the nursing father carries the suckling. As the nursing father carries the suckling.

Now, yeah, I was puzzled. Men can't nurse or breastfeed a baby. So what could Moses mean? What is that? Well, I thought about it because I couldn't really find much help from the resources out there, so bear with me. Here's my thought on it. Have you ever seen how a dad carries his son? I remember my son as large as I am now, but I remember he holds him like this.

He got the hand under the head. I thought about borrowing somebody's baby, but I didn't want to use the audio visual. You understand. And so when a father is holding his son in an infant, he will carry him fully in his arm. He carries him up close. Now, I've seen some dads carry their babies like a football on their hip, but that's not what this is. The dad is carrying the baby up close to his chest in the fold of his arm.

And especially when the dad is protecting his son, the dad, you notice, will, for lack of a better word, kind of hunch over the baby more. And the other shoulder will lift up over. And so my guess is, from a distance, a man might look almost like a nursing father. It said, in the idea that he's very close. The baby is close to his bosom, close to his heart. The baby is looking right up at his face. Very close, safe, comfortable, and hopefully happy. And so it looks, I think, that might express this idea. You know, Moses was saying, am I a nursing father?

Is it my job to be, in essence, a wet nurse to all these whining Israelites? You've got to help me out, God. This is more than I can handle. But even though Moses is saying that in frustration, his own complaining about the Israelites, ironically, I think it may actually describe, in a sense, how God had been protecting and caring and providing for Israel, like a father carries his son. I think that would work. God was like a father to Israel in the wilderness. Again, he knew what they needed.

He was firmly in control of all that happened to them. They had food, they had water, they had a shady cloud by day, an illuminating fire by night, shoes they never wore out, feet they never swelled. They had it pretty good in many ways. God had it all covered, just like a loving dad. He had it all covered. He had it taken care of him. Nothing happened without his knowledge. So these images of God and references to God carrying his children in his arms, I think that does help us to understand that we need to place our trust and keep our faith and belief ultimately and fully in God.

The children of Israel, though, we know the story. The children of Israel failed to believe God and they were not allowed, the older generation, to enter the Promised Land. At that moment, after that time of their rebellion against God at Kadesh, nobody got in. He made them all wait for 40 years. And so they were punished for 40 years of wandering the wilderness. Brethren, I don't think we want to make a similar mistake.

We don't want to make a similar mistake of faithfulness, of lack of faith, and not enter our own rest in the Kingdom of God, our Promised Land. That's a warning we find expressed over in Hebrews 3. Let's turn and look there. Over in Hebrews 3, verses 12-9, I like to read this section with you. Hebrews 3, verses 12-19. The writer of Hebrews states, verse 12, Hebrews 3, Beware, brethren! Beware! That means let's all sit up straight and pay close attention to what's being said.

Beware, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. While it is said today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

For who, having heard rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses? Now with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?

And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. So God did not allow that older generation, aged twenty and above, to enter the Promised Land, their place of rest, because of their unbelief. Similarly, we can read further in Hebrews 4, verses 9-11. God's people, those who have God's Holy Spirit, they also have a place of rest to enter into, that being the kingdom of God, that being eternal life. Here we read Hebrews 4, verse 9-11, there remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his.

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience, the example being referred to of the children of Israel. Then in 1 Corinthians 10, verses 1-6, the Apostle Paul here urges us likewise to learn from their example, their failed example. Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea.

All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank that same spiritual rock. God took care of them. For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased.

For their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. Now all these things again happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. So this is a very clear warning to all of us. It's not ancient history. It's not just old story. It's more than just that. It is a message for us to be aware of and to be sure that we live according to, so we do not make the same mistake.

So we're going to review just a little bit and survey what happened in the wilderness. What did the children of Israel do that proved their unbelief in God? What did they do? What did they do? Because we need to know so we don't do it. Let's turn back to Numbers 14. Let's start with Numbers 14 and read about God's judgment on Israel. We're going to start here. Numbers 14, verse 22.

God speaking, Because all these men who have seen my glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, God says they have put me to the test now these ten times and have not heeded my voice, they certainly shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected me see it. Now we've heard mention, Dr. Ward has mentioned it, we've heard it several times, and reading the ten times.

What is that? What were those exact ten times? Some scholars think that ten times may just be a rhetorical device. Some translations say many times they tested God. Some say to a full amount, complete.

I guess they tested him to the full amount. But that being said, it is possible to pinpoint ten occasions when Israel did test God. That started from the time of crossing the Red Sea before the sea was split at that moment, to the report of the twelve spies. So I want to look at those ten incidences carefully, quickly, I shouldn't say carefully, but narrowly, because we can spend several sermons doing that. I'd like for us to look at these ten incidences, these ten occasions narrowly, and to specifically answer two questions. One is, what was the crisis? What was the problem that put them in a situation where they felt or where they did disobey God? What was the crisis that motivated them to disobey God, to share no belief in God? And the second question, what did they say or do that revealed their unbelief? So the second question, what did they say or do that revealed their unbelief? As I read these, as we read these together, I'd like for us to think about the attitudes being expressed by the children of Israel in these instances. I think you'll find, you just look at words, their words, but if you can try to sense the attitude behind the words, it can be very revealing. Also, it encourages us to consider this as we read these occasions. I think we should also consider whether our own behavior at times might be dangerously similar to that of the children of Israel. We are told to beware and take note of their example. So let's turn to the first testing, as many scholars counted, and it seems this could be the place to begin. That's where we're going to begin. Exodus 14, verse 10. Israel's first testing of God is recorded here. Exodus 14, we're going to look at verses 10 through 12 at the Red Sea. What was the cause of their crisis? What was the problem? The crisis of their first testing of God was that they thought Pharaoh's army was going to annihilate them. They thought they were dead. They were sitting ducks up against the sea. We get their sense of despair in verse 10 and their worry. When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes and behold, they didn't expect this, the Egyptians marched after them. They were so very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Now let's note what they said. They said to Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us to bring us up out of Egypt? Are you crazy? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. Wow, those are pretty crazy. But they're scared. They're scared, but still. They had just witnessed God's astounding miracles in Egypt. They had just plundered the Egyptians. They had all this gold and riches and treasure with them. And while they're leaving Egypt, the Egyptians are still burying. They're dead firstborn. All that witness, all that example. And yet, when you look at their complaints, their complaints show doubt about God saving power. They don't think God can help them. They don't think God can help them. The second incident, Exodus 15. Exodus 15, verse 23-26. They have an out of the crisis now. The second crisis was due to undrinkable water. Undrinkable water. Verse 23 of chapter 15. Now when they came to Mara, they could not drink the waters of Mara, for they were bitter. It must have been poisonous, too alkaline, not drinkable. Therefore, the name of it was called Mara, and the people complained against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? What shall we drink? And again, we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people and their livestock.

Here, if you notice, they just directly go to Moses. What shall we drink? Israel expresses no supplication to God whatsoever. Maybe they did, but what we see here, they don't even mention a prayer to God for His help. And it's as if they had already forgotten how God had done some miraculous things with water, hadn't He? He had just divided the Red Sea, and they walked across in dry land. Not so long ago. And yet, they spoke as if there is no helpful recourse with them. It's just them and Moses, as if already they'd forgotten about God. Where was their belief? No, over in Exodus 16, the third incident.

Now the children of Israel are hungry. The children of Israel hungered, and they thought they would die in the wilderness of sin. Exodus 16, we're going to read verses 1-4. And we're told here, and they journeyed from Elam, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of sin, which is between Elam and Sinai on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. Verse 2, then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, oh, we've heard this before, oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord, oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt.

When we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the foal, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Well, the words had to have been an affront to God. He had delivered them from Egypt, and now they yearn to return back to Egypt just for the food.

Again, they're expressing doubt about God's power, about His goodness. They expressed doubt about even believing why He would have brought them here for any good purpose. They practically accused God of wanting to kill them in the wilderness. Instead, we know God would feed them miraculously with manna from heaven. Look at verse 4.

And then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I will reign bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day that I might test them. He's going to prove them to see what is in their hearts.

Remember, that's part of what's going on. He wants to know would they obey me or not, that I may test them whether they will walk in my law or not. So now they have manna. They're getting food. Exodus 16, now we're going to go to verses 17-20, same chapter down to verses 17-20. Still in the desert of sin, they disobeyed God is what happens here. They disobeyed God concerning the storing of manna until the next morning. God had given them very specific directions of what to do and what not to do.

So in verse 17, then the children of Israel did so and gathered, followed God's direction. Some gathered more and others less. So when they measured it by Omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over. And he who gathered little had no lack. They all had just what they needed. God was so good to them. And every man had gathered according to each other's, each one's need.

And Moses said, let no one leave any of it till morning. Notwithstanding, they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning and it bred worms. And it stank. And Moses was angry with them. And of course, God was too. Here we see that they lacked the willingness to obey God even in what would seem to have been rather simple directions, rather simple instructions.

And they wouldn't even do that. Fifth, Incidents down in verse 25, still with manna, still in the desert of sin, Exodus 16, 25-30, they also disobeyed God concerning the gathering of manna on the Sabbath. Now there's really no need to have gone out on the Sabbath looking for manna. There wasn't going to be any. God had already told them. Moses told them, verse 25, eat that today for today is the Sabbath to the Lord. What they picked up the previous day. Today you will not find it in the field.

Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day the Sabbath there were none. There will be none. Excuse me. Now it happened that some of the people, at least it's just some, went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, how long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? That's the message Moses would have communicated to them. How long do you refuse to keep my command and my laws? So they're just being rebellious, in this case, in keeping the Sabbath.

God had already given them exactly what they needed for that day, and yet they went out anyway. Then we move to Exodus 17, verses 1 through 4. Exodus 17, the Campton Rifidim, and we read in verses 1 through 4, Exodus 17, 1, then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin according to the commandment of the Lord and Campton Rifidim, but there is no water for the people to drink.

Therefore the people contended with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. So Moses said to them, Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord? He's trying to warn them. You're asking for trouble. Why do you tempt the Lord? And so, verse 3, the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, Why is it you have brought us out of Egypt? Again, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?

Probably being a little sarcastic, along with the anger. And so Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, What shall I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me. Even that attitude of hatred for God's chosen leader showed incredible lack of faith and belief on their part. Of course, God later provides them water from flinty rock, from solid rock.

But notice what they had said, then. It's recorded here in verse 7. So Moses called the name of the place Masah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, this is pretty astounding words here, they said, Is the Lord among us or not? Can you get the attitude behind that question? Is God behind it with us or not? It's incredible, isn't it? They doubted whether God was even with them. Seventh occasion, seventh testing, Exodus 32, verse 1 through 3.

Over in Exodus 32, verses 1 through 3. Here they're at Mount Sinai, Exodus 32, 1 through 3. In Mount Sinai, Aaron led the people in making the golden calf. Well, what was the crisis? What was the big crisis? The crisis was that Moses had been gone for a long time. As much as they complained about Moses, you wouldn't think they'd miss him so much. But he'd been gone too long, and they didn't know about him. So naturally, of course, they decided to make themselves a God.

Isn't that what we would do? No. No, it's not, but that's what they did. Verse 1. Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron and said, Come, make us gods that shall go before us. Sounds like they're ready to leave Moses already. For us, for this Moses, this man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden earrings which are in the years of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. Verse 4. So they did that, and he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and he made a molded calf. Then they said, This is your God, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt. This is your God. How quickly they turned in rebellion against God. God, obviously, delivered them.

And in verse 9, God said this of their stubborn rebellion. And the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people. It almost makes you think that he has really studied them, and he knows them.

I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people. A stiff-necked people.

To this day, we don't like that term being applied to us, do we? I don't want to be called stiff-necked.

It has a very bad connotation as well that should. The eighth testing is in Numbers 11, verses 1-3. Numbers 11, verses 1-3.

Numbers 11, verses 1-3 Here the people raged against the Lord. Now, what was the crisis they complained about?

Here it is unclear. It doesn't give us much information here. Perhaps it was due to their traveling. They had been stationary for a while, and perhaps they weren't too happy about that.

But in any case, they raged against God. They complained. We read in verse 1, Numbers 11-1. Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord, for the Lord heard it. Probably some of what we've heard before. And his anger was aroused.

So the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.

And then the people cried out to Moses. And when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. So he called the name of the place Taboroth because the fire of the Lord had burned among them. And if you notice here, the people did not pray to God. They asked Moses to do it.

That's interesting too, isn't it? It's a statement of their unbelief.

Number 9, testing number 9. Still in Numbers 11, now 4-6.

Here is a place where we're going to find out. It's called...we're going to be reading Numbers 4-6.

I have my notes here. Where does it say it? I want to give you the wrong thing. I want to give you the wrong thing.

We'll just read it as it is here. Numbers 11, verse 4-6.

Now the mixed multitude who are among them yielded to intense cravings.

Okay, it's going to be a food issue. The mixed multitude were among them, the children of Israel.

They yielded to intense cravings. So the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt. Now that's how the details become clearer and more glossy and shiny. Probably has sparkles on it too.

We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt. The cucumbers, all the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Food tastes better with garlic. But now our whole bean is dried up.

They're like a shriveled fig. I don't know. They're all dried up. And there is nothing at all except and I love this, this manna before our eyes. This manna. Obviously they are expressing a severe lack of gratitude to God. God had created his own special recipe for them.

The special bread from heaven. And they got to eat it every day.

Now God responded to their cries with the meat of quail. Yep. Oh, they love quail. Yeah, let's have some quail. But let's notice what else. So let's read what God's going to say about what he's going to give them here in verse 19 through 20. And then what else they had said. And this is pretty damaging towards them. Verse 19 to 20 God tells Moses to tell them, you shall eat not one day, not two days, hopefully like leftovers, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but for a whole month they're going to eat quail until it comes out of your nostrils.

Well, they're going to get so sick. I'm sure they won't even want to look at a quail without getting sick because they're just going to vomit. They're so sick of it. But they wanted it.

I love God's sense of humor at times. You wanted this. And so he says, let's see, and so it'll come out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you. Because why? God's judgment is you have despised the Lord who is among you. And you have wept before him, saying, and here's what they said. They're asking, why did we ever come up out of Egypt? They can't let go of Egypt. That's a common theme. And they're wishing that God had never delivered them is what it sounds like.

They're wishing God had never taken them out of Egypt. Then finally, number 10.

Numbers 14 verses 1 through 5. Again, we've been just touching each of these, the two narrow, what's the crisis and what do they say or do? Numbers 14 verses 1 through 5. Here they're at Kadesh. That's where the 10th test occurs. The desert of Peron. And the people have refused to receive that good report of Joshua and Caleb. They want to believe the bad report of the spies.

And they're going to wish themselves dead. Verses 1 through 5. It's interesting. Sometimes what we wish for comes true. Verses 1 through 5. So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. They cried themselves to sleep. They're so distressed.

And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. And the whole congregation said to them, if only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness.

They said, why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?

And so they said to one another, they go, yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Well, let us select a leader and return to Egypt.

Moses and Aaron had the right response. They said nothing. But look what they did. Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. They had no words to express their horror over what they were saying.

They just fell flat on their faces. I'm sure they were praying to God immediately for His mercy.

Well, it's with this tenth time. My words, my way of seeing, is that God essentially declares enough. Enough. In fact, He is prepared to kill them all.

He's prepared to kill them all except for Moses. Continuing verses 11-12.

Then the Lord said to Moses, How long will these people reject me?

They've been rejecting Him all along the way. And how long will they not believe Me?

With all the signs which I have performed among them, I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them. And I will make you a nation greater and mightier than they are. Can you imagine that? Mightier than they are. Greater number. And Moses does an amazing thing, a wonderful thing. He begs God for His mercy on behalf of the people. Verse 19-22, Moses says, Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of your mercy. That's what you're known for, God.

According to the greatness of your mercy, just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt, even unto now, every test, God has been forgiving them. God has been giving them His mercy. Of course, they didn't see it that way.

And then the Lord said, I have pardoned according to your word.

But truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of God.

He wasn't going to let these murmuring Israelites keep him from his purpose. Because all these men who have seen my glory in the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded my voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected me see it. God certainly is merciful. God, as we know, is very generous. He gives us much better than we ever deserve. Now the word translated here, test. God said in verse 22 how Israel had tested him these ten times. The word test in verse 22 is translated from the Hebrew word nasa. It's N-A-S-A. It can also be spelled N-A-C-A-H. It means to test or to prove.

Some translations do use the word tempt, so that's not wrong to use that word there either.

The word nasa, meaning test, does denote the testing of a person's loyalty or obedience.

That's what's being tested. Their loyalty or their obedience. Now the word is, this is interesting, the word allows for both God and individuals to be the object of testing, to be the object of being proven. Proven what are they made of? Proven, we might say, of what is in their heart.

Well, consistently, I think we see that God's faithfulness to Israel had been tested time and again and proven. But God's testing of Israel had proven them, Israel, to be faithless. God had proven himself over and over again to be merciful, to be faithful. It doesn't mean they're going to get away with sin. God never allows that.

God is ultimate judge. So time and again, they had stubbornly refused to believe and to obey God to trust him. Back in Deuteronomy 8, verses 2 through 3, we should simply believe what God says. When God says he will carry Israel like a man with his child, that should be enough to convey that God is a righteous God. God is faithful. God is loving. God is kind. The children of Israel tested God and didn't appreciate, it seems, just how loving and kind he was. Part of the purpose we read here in Deuteronomy 8, verses 2 through 3, these verses reveal a purpose in God's testing of Israel. It was to teach Israel, in part, about what a right relationship with him should be. It should be one of faithfulness and obedience, of absolute trust. He wanted them to understand that they really needed to be depending upon him for more than just for food and water and clothing and healing. He wanted them to understand that he would give them those things, but he wanted them to do more than that.

God desired their willing loyalty. He wanted faithful obedience to his every word.

Let's read these verses then. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years, Moses is reminding them in the wilderness, to humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. Again, that's what each of these incidences were helping God to see. He wanted to know. And so, Moses said, God humbled you, allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, and so on, as we read before.

God wants to know what's in the hearts of men and women and people that follow him.

It's no different, I think, and I've seen my own children at times when they were little, not going to tell any stories. Okay, I'll tell a story myself. That'll keep me out of trouble at home. My mom told me as I got older, because parents don't want to tell their kids everything, because we need as much edge on watching our kids as possible. There are times when my mom knew I was doing something I wasn't supposed to do. Mom knew, let's say, I was stealing the cookie out of the cookie jar, sometimes the whole cookie jar. And she knew it, but she wouldn't come after me about it. And she told me, I wanted to know what you would do, because we told you kids don't lie. Ask before you take a cookie. Sometimes I did it right, sometimes I did it wrong.

But parents, and I've caught myself doing that, too, we like to know what we will do, what our kids will do. And I think God wants that with us. There was one time I'll tell another story myself. Years ago, when people still bought newspapers on Sunday, I used to go to the post office and put my five quarters in the newspaper box, right, deposit your coins, open the lid, honor system, you take out one newspaper and you shut it back up. I put my coins in, I open the door, it was like Vegas. All these quarters dropped out of the box and scooted out on the concrete outside the post office, right at my feet. My first reaction was, of course, wow, you know.

And I gathered up all those quarters and it was like this, my hands full, many years ago. And of course I'm going, wow, the carnal side of me is going, yeah, okay, this is good. But of course, I had a much more powerful urge telling me, how do you get this money back to the people it belongs to? I can't just put it, I can't leave it here because somebody else is going to steal it.

I can't just open, put more money in, open the door and put the coins in there. Again, somebody's going to get it. What do I do? I don't remember there ever being a phone number. I'm sure I looked, nothing, nobody to call. Didn't know who was putting newspapers in there. So it probably took me about a half hour, but I slowly fed those quarters back into the machine, tug on the door, push the change return button, whatever, just to make sure they stayed put. And they did. And then I walked away real fast because I didn't want them coming out again. But I was trying real hard to do the right thing. And I've told my kids that story because I think that was a little test for me, but I think it was a great example. And I still see it in my head. Maybe that was a little test for me from God to see, well, what is in my heart? Would I keep a rather simple commandment, thou shalt not steal? I like to think I passed that test. I hope I can always pass tests that come that way. But we get the idea. The point is, God wants to know something about each of us, each of us here as well. He wants to know what's in our hearts. See, we can put on a good show being obedient. We can look the part on Sabbath services. We could do a lot of great things.

But He wants to know in our heart when things happen unexpectedly, we're under duress, things get hard, and things get hard. And they really get hard. But even then, He wants to know, are you going to believe in Me? Are you going to trust Me in this? Are you still going to hold on to My arm and let Me hold you and do what I tell you? He wants us to live by His every word.

And so we need to be demonstrating throughout our lives our loyalty to Jesus Christ, our loyalty to God the Father. That requires faith. That requires, as Dr. Ward has so often told us, it's simple definition. It means believing God and doing what He says. It's harder than it sounds, but we can do it because God's helping us. So what have the children of Israel done that finally brought about God's punishing judgment? What do they do that we don't want to do?

It seems to have been their compounding record, item upon item, of their unbelief.

They had constantly tested God's power, questioned it, questioned His goodness, questioned His faithfulness, His dependability. In essence, at times, they practically challenged God or dared Him to help them.

They had continually murmured against God, complained relentlessly, constantly found fault.

It seems they found fault in almost everything He did for them.

Did you know that the book of Numbers has also been called the Book of Murmurings?

I found that interesting. Some have called it the Book of Murmurings for good reason.

The children of Israel refused to believe with their own eyes the many daily miracles that proved that God really is here. He's really in your midst. He is watching, He is listening, He is with you. And they had also refused to heed God, to do what He says and repent of their sinful and rebellious ways. They didn't truly appreciate that God considered them as His children.

They didn't really appreciate that He carried them like a father carries his son.

And so instead of giving God humble prayers of praise, their supplications, God received from them complaints, murmurings, doubts about His love, doubts about His power, and so on.

We might say that the children of Israel acted like petulant, self-centered children.

Well, they didn't have something. They didn't have something. Deuteronomy 29, verses 2 through 5. Deuteronomy 29, verses 2 through 5.

What they lacked was the right sort of heart and mind that could truly believe and obey God.

Deuteronomy 29, verses 2 through 5.

Notice what Moses says here. Moses called all Israel and said to them, You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to farrow in all His servants and to all His land. The great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs and those great wonders. Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, and to this very day, and I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Israel didn't have a heart to perceive, the eyes to see, and ears to hear.

And that's what everyone lacks. That's when everyone lacks until God the Father begins working with us in our lives. Until God the Father starts touching our hearts and minds, doing something to open our understanding. He invites us and He lets us know, I'm here.

And we say, this is interesting. I want to know more. And He lets us know more. He leads us to His Bible. He leads us to understand the Word of God. And He works with us. And He leads us. And He guides us. We're told in John 6, verse 44 through 47. Let's turn there. John 6, 44 through 47.

You know, Jesus said back in Matthew 19, He's talking about holding the children. He said, I said you, unless you are converted and become us little children, you by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Well, the conversion process begins with God, the Father. John 6, 44.

No one can come to me, Jesus said, unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught by God. Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God. He has seen the Father. But most assuredly, I say to you that He who believes in me has everlasting life. And of course, Christ said, I am the bread of life. And so, our calling begins with the Father. How interesting it is that the children of Israel, they complain so much about dying in the desert. They complain so much about better food, better things to eat, and water to drink. Isn't it interesting that Jesus Christ was that rock who followed them, who carried them like a father would carry his son, He came to their descendants, children of Israel's descendants, and offered them the real food and the real drink into eternal life. And He's offered that to all of us. But it does require that we believe God and that we willingly serve Him. And so, through the warning example of the children of Israel, in these words of Jesus Christ, we should better understand that we cannot maintain in our lives the ways of our old carnal nature. We cannot keep looking back to our old ways, the old ways we used to know, what the children of Israel would have understood as the ways of Egypt. That's a clear message of these past holy days and of this season still. We must keep moving forward with God. We must ever refuse to be willful and stubborn against God. God wants us to remain obedient and faithful to Him. He wants us to look to Him and trust Him totally. Total belief. Total faith. And so we must keep our total trust in God. We must hold on tight to Him like a child in the arms of His parents, His loving parents. And so we need not fret ourselves over whether God loves this. Of course He does.

Quit asking that question. You can't help but love us. We don't have to worry about, will God provide for our needs? Of course He will. Well, God correct me in love. That's the only way He knows how.

But what we need to do is to love God. To love God. To show Him we love Him. To pray to Him, to praise Him, to thank Him, to do all we can with His help, to walk with Him, and to keep ourselves in His arm.

And so, brethren, I do pray that during this spring Holy Day season we continue to study God's Word and we continue to pray and draw closer to God so that we can better believe Him and better obey Him who carries us like a father, who carries a son.