Where's My Wagon

Numbers 7

1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them;

2 That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered:

3 And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle.

4 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

5 Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service.

6 And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites.

7 Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service:

8 And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

9 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.

I. Moses had set up the tent. He anointed it. He sanctified it. Filled it with the altars and vessels and anointed and sanctified them.

· Verse 3 tells us there were: 6 covered wagons and 12 oxen.

· God told Moses to take and give it to the Levites.

· (Levites were the Priests). They did not till the land or own the land. They lived off a tenth of all the other tribes.

II. Notice in V. 7 how he distributed the wagons and oxen to the Levites.

· Gershon was given 2 wagons and 4 oxen (according to their service).

· Merari was given 4 wagons and 8 oxen (according to their service).

· Kohath, according to V.9 was given none.

· If my Laurel and Whitley County Math serve me right – There were a total of 6 wagons and 12 oxen.

· That means each Levite should have received 2 wagons and 4 oxen.

In Genesis 45 Joseph had seen his brothers and Pharaoh was pleased in his heart and gave them all wagons to go and get their children and wives and all their possessions.

III. My question to you is what do you do when everybody else gets their wagons and you are left in the cold with nothing?

· Anybody ever felt that way?

· Why is he driving a Cadillac while my hunk of junk can hardly make it to church?

· Why to they own their own home and we live in this little dumpy apartment filled with roaches and rats?

· Look at those people over there that live like the devil and rob God of His tithe and treat their family like a dog! They have a new wagon in the driveway. They seem to have enough money to buy 1,000 new wagons.

· I pay my tithe! I am faithful to church! I give my family everything I can, filled with love! But I barley get by!

· It’s not fair!

IV. Here are a few examples that happen a lot in our society.

· John is in college.

· His dad attended the same school and is a successful businessman.

· He lives in the dorm. Is president of the pep club.

· He spends his evenings doing homework and spending time with his friends.

· He has all evening to study for his test tomorrow. He will no-doubt Ace it!

While in the same dorm,

· There’s Bobby. He left his class this afternoon to go to his fulltime job.

· He works until midnight and falls asleep studying for his test tomorrow.

· He gets in trouble for sleeping in class and makes a C- on his test.

Another example

· The boss in the office comes to work everyday and sets in an air-conditioned office. He answers a few calls, drinks a pot of coffee and takes a nap in the afternoon.

· He makes a very good salery. Three times the normal employee.

· He goes home to a wife and three kids. Supper is ready when he walks through the door.

· His wife has been at home all day with the baby and the kid’s homework is already done.

· After supper he plays with his kids awhile and as mom puts them to bed he reads his paper and falls asleep in his recliner.