Sermon Central
Numbers 14-15
The People Rebel 1That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! 3Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
4And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” 5Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.
9Only do not rebel against the LORD . And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” 10But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?
12I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.” 13Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, LORD, are with these people and that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say,
16‘The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ 17“Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18‘The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’
19In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.” 20The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
25Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.
35I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.” 36So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it— 37these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD .
38Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived. 39When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly.
40Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the LORD promised. Surely we have sinned!” 41But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the LORD ’s command? This will not succeed! 42Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies,
43for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.” 44Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD ’s covenant moved from the camp. 45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
Supplementary Offerings
1The LORD said to Moses,
2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you as a home
3and you present to the LORD food offerings from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the LORD —whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings—
4then the person who brings an offering shall present to the LORD a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah
5With each lamb for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.
6“ ‘With a ram prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah
7and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the LORD .
8“ ‘When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow or a fellowship offering to the LORD,
9bring with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah
12Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare. 13“ ‘Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when they present a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the LORD . 14For the generations to come, whenever a foreigner or anyone else living among you presents a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, they must do exactly as you do. 15The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the LORD :
16The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.’ ” 17The LORD said to Moses, 18“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you 19and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the LORD . 20Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor.
21Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the LORD from the first of your ground meal.
Offerings for Unintentional Sins
22“ ‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the LORD gave Moses—
23any of the LORD ’s commands to you through him, from the day the LORD gave them and continuing through the generations to come—
24and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it, then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering.
26The whole Israelite community and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong. 27“ ‘But if just one person sins unintentionally, that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. 28The priest is to make atonement before the LORD for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven.
29One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you. 30“ ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD and must be cut off from the people of Israel.
31Because they have despised the LORD ’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.’ ”
The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death 32While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.”
36So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Tassels on Garments 37The LORD said to Moses, 38“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 39You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. 40Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. 41I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.’ ”