PP0902
GOD CAME DOWN!!
Numbers 12:4-9
Nu 12:4 And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. (KJV)
INTRODUCTION: I was reading this passage a few weeks ago and the phrase “And The Lord Came Dow” jumped out at me, and I started thinking about that phrase. If we could make every Christian understand the magnitude of this concept, that God Came Down – It would revolutionize each Christian’s life. Any time God came down it was for the benefit of man – or because of man.
The Lord made many visits to the Earth during the early days is Israelite History. This particular time when He left the earth He left angry. He got mad at people. I sure don’t want to do anything to make the Lord angry and cause Him to leave our presence. I am not sure what all would be involved in making God angry – but in this passage it was the matter of Miriam and Aaron condemning Moses’ for an inter-racial marriage. God got so upset with them that He left them alone.
I am not going to be preaching on the matter of interracial marriages. Nor am I preaching on the matter of the anger of God. But I am going to speak on the subject in Vs. 5, “And The Lord Came Down.
Many times in the O.T. God came down to His people.
He came in the form of a cloud by day and a fire by night to lead the Israelites.
He came in the form of fire on Mt. Carmel.
He came to them often in the voice of the prophets.
I want to point out a few of the times that the Lord Came Down.
1. (The Voice Of God Came Down)
Ge 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. (KJV)
Why His voice? God is as a Spirit – a spirit cannot be seen – you can hear a voice. You can’t see it but you can hear it. They heard a voice – they didn’t see God. The voice of God was the only way they could communicate – the Word of God had not been written yet. When God spoke they couldn’t see Him – but rather only hear His voice. Therefore it would appear that there was only a voice.
A. God Is Always Available When Man Needs Him. If God hadn’t come to Adam then Adam’s sin would have destroyed him. God was present in Adam’s darkest hour.
B. God Came Down To Show Man Where He Had Disobeyed God –
There was something between God and Adam – This had never occurred before. Notice the word God used to describe their sinful state after they had sinned. Ge 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;…….. God’s first word used to describe the sin of mankind was the word naked. “They saw they were NAKED.” This is the first time I have seen this in this light. The first mention of man’s sin is described with the word naked. It doesn’t say they saw they were sinners – nor that they were condemned, nor disobedient, but that they were naked. The first word to explain sin was “naked”. I wonder why it is so easy for man to go naked today? Being naked now made him afraid. The more man is naked the more he is displaying his sinfulness.
Adam was afraid of God after his sin. This was the first encounter with sin in the Bible and it has totally separated Adam and God.
C. God Came Down To Point Out To Adam The Penalty Of His Sin, And To Tell Him Of Redemption.
Ge 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; (KJV)
Ge 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. (KJV)
In Vs 15 God announced to the Devil and to Adam that a Saviour would come. Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (KJV)
In Acts 9:3-4 the voice of God appeared to Paul/Saul as he traveled to Damascus. Ac 9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? (KJV)
Paul had not planned on coming in contact with God that day. He was riding along on his journey and the Voice of God came to him. Without a body or a form for God to appear in, the only means of knowing His presence is through His voice.
How do we know His presence today – Through His Voice. His voice is heard from the Word of God – the Bible.
His voice can be heard through circumstances. Who can think of a circumstance where God’s voice has been heard? What about through hardships? Through difficulties – through sorrows.
His voice is heard today through His preachers/prophets.
2. (The Law Of God Came Down)
Ex 19:20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. (KJV)
A. The Law Was Given To Show Man How To Live Before God – Those same laws are still current today. They have been removed from all government places – that’s because the law makers don’t want to abide by the law of God.
We have just finished studying the Ten Commandants. The same laws were given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They show man how to live and dwell with man on the earth. They show man his flaws in how he lives.
B. How Many Times Did God Give The Law To Moses? Two times. What happened to the first set of laws? Moses broke them out of his anger at the Israelites and their sin.
Moses went back on the mountain again and God wrote them again.
Think about this – There are a lot of preachers and Christians that believe and teach that only the original writings were inspired. The copies after the original were just man’s writings and thus may be subject to error.
C. Were The Original Set Of Laws Inspired? Yes they were. What about the second set – were they inspired also? Sure they were. Any time God writes or rewrites anything He can make it an exact copy of the original. Even the Books of Law, the Books of the Prophets and all of the writings of David, the Apostles have been long lost – does God have the ability to reproduce those writings for us today? Of course He does. He used men to write the original writings so why couldn’t He use men to write them over and over again? In reproducing them would they be as authentic as the originals? Sure. How would God reproduce for us the inspired Word of God? He won’t send the originals writers back to copy them again. Men like Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, etc. He will use men that are presently available – such as He did when the KJV was transcribed.
D. Would God Give Us An Inferior Copy Of His Word To Instruct Us In His Work? That’s why we always insist on the KJV. It’s God authentic word to us today. The originals have long been lost, but God preserved them for us and then gave them to us in the KJV.
There are so many who discredit the KJV as being just another version and no more authentic than all the other versions. It is important to understand that we today have the English Version of God’s Word that is just as authentic as was any of the other writings given to the People of God in days past. Only a few people had opportunity to see and to read from the “original writings”.
Let’s say that God did send the original men back to the earth to reproduce for us the original manuscripts – When they were finished we would have another copy of the KJV.
3. (The Power Of God Came Down)
2Ki 1:10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
11 Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.
12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. (KJV)
Ahaziah had fallen and became ill unto death. He ordered 50 of his men to go and enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether he shall recover of this disease.
The Lord spoke to Elijah to go and ask the messengers why they are going to Ekron – is it because there was no God in Israel? God told Elijah to tell the king that he would not get well, but would die. Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the men. He did that twice.
Every once in a while God flexes His muscles and shows man how feeble man is before a holy and omnipotent God.
A. The Enactment Of God’s Judgment.
Why the emphasis of it being done twice. I think it was so Ahaziah would know that God was the God of Israel – and beside Him there was no other God. There had been doubt cast upon the authenticity of God and so He put the matter to rest.
B. The Display Of God’s Fury.
God always has a way of displaying His anger and fury. He may not use the same method over and over again. He wanted the King of Israel, Ahaziah to understand the anger and fury of God.
Here’s the point I am making: God doesn’t always show His power with goodness or blessings. Here He shows it with anger.
4. (The Saviour Came Down)
Lu 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (KJV)
Lu 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (KJV)
This was the One they had been waiting on for hundreds and hundreds of years. The Promised Saviour came down to complete the atonement that was promised to Adam and all of mankind. This was the time the Heavenly Father chose to reveal the Eternal Savior.
That small infant in that manger embodied all the deity and omnipotence of the Almighty God. Jesus wasn’t just a baby God – he was All God – All Powerful in His infant stage. There wasn’t a period of time as He grew up that He would test his majestic ability, nor his power. He was always ALL GOD. Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (KJV)
Ge 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (KJV)
All of Israel knew there was One coming that would be their deliverer, their scapegoat. De 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; (KJV)
Moses told the people there was a prophet coming that would be like he (Moses) had been unto them. “…thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me…” Moses had been everything to them. He had fed them, He led them, he judged them, he represented God to them, and he told there was One coming that would be like he was. They were looking for another Moses type. They didn’t truly understand that this Prophet would be the Deliverer from sin.
De 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. (KJV)
As time went on they looked for David to reappear as king and lead them in great victories. They didn’t expect to see a Man that was lowly and meek in spirit. They wanted a mighty warrior as was David, or a Leader as Moses had been. When Jesus appeared they rejected Him.
The present day Jew does not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. They are still looking for Him to come. When He does come they will then recognize Him as their Messiah, and we will recognize Him as our Bridegroom.
5. (The Spirit Of God Came Down) Ac 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (KJV)
After the ascent of the Son of God back to Heaven – the Spirit of God came to empower and comfort the Local N.T. Church.
Jesus had promised that He would send another Comforter that would be just like Him, Jesus.
The coming of the Spirit of God was for the purpose of fulfilling the work and the word of God. God’s work cannot be done in the energy of the flesh. It is folly on man’s part to attempt to work for God in the absence of the power of the Spirit of God.
Let me give you an example of this: A cordless drill has a power pack.
6. (The Son Of God Will Be Coming Down) Re 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (KJV)
We are approaching the time in which the Son of God will once again come to the Earth.
A. He Will Come With Clouds.
It will be a cloudy day when He comes. He may well bring the clouds with Him. It may not have to be cloudy where you and I are, He may have the clouds with Him.
B. Every Eye Shall See Him.
C. Those Who Persecuted Israel, The Saints Of God, And Those Who Shunned The Lord.
They will know that their doom is coming – the coming of the Lord spells the doom of those nations that persecuted the Lord.
7. (The Christian Will Be Going Up)
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (KJV)
A. This Is The Rapture Of The Saints.
Every person who has been born again by the blood of the Lamb of God will be in this event. Each believer will ascend up into the heavens above and there we will meet our Bridegroom. This will begin the Judgment Seat of Christ, and then the wedding of the Lamb.
B. We Await This Event With Great Anticipation.
This is the next event on God’s Calendar.
