Oct. 27, 2021

“THE LIFE OF MOSES”

“HAZARDS OF WALKING WITH GOD”

NUMBERS 10-14

1.   Understanding The “Peril Principle.”

Before we set our sight on Moses, let’s get a grip on the peril principle and examine some of its occurrences in the Bible.

*The Word Peril Defined- in the Webster dictionary, the term peril means “exposure to the risk of being injured, destroyed, or lost.”

*The Peril Principle Stated- Those who determine to walk with God, become targets of the enemy.

*The Peril Principle In Scripture- When we scan God’s Word, we can find numerous passages that communicate and amplify this characteristic of the Christian life. Lets look at three:

*2 Timothy 3:12 “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 

*1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

*Psalm 4:3 “But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.” 

2.   The Example: Moses

Numbers 10:11 “Now it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

We are told that the Lord had guided them:

Number 10:12 “And the children of Israel set out from the Wilderness of Sinai on their journeys; then the cloud settled down in the Wilderness of Paran.” A desert region which was northwest of Mount Sinai.

The Hebrews were on their way to Canaan. But their journey would not be void of risks-especially for Moses. Indeed, this account informs us about five perils Moses faced as Israel’s leader. These hazards are still experienced by believers today:

*The Peril of Discouragement and Depression:

Numbers 11:1 “Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.”

As a result, the Israelites cried out to Moses: 

Numbers 11:2 “Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched.” 

However the complaining did not stop:

Numbers 11:4-6

Numbers 11:11-13

Moses’ burden, along with his petition for God to kill him, reveal the intensity of his depression:

Numbers 11:15 “If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and do not let me see my wretchedness!”

Numbers 11:16-25

*The Peril of Jealousy and Indispensability.

Numbers 11:24-25 “So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again.”

This change did not bother anyone until two of the seventy elders remained in the Hebrew camp, prophesying as the Holy Spirit directed them:

Numbers 11:26 “But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp.”

This act prompted two men one of whom was Joshua, to exhort Moses to “restrain them”

Numbers 11:27-28 “And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, forbid them!”

Numbers 11:29 “Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” 

*The Peril Of Being Misunderstood and Misrepresented.

This trap was set for Moses by two of his family members, Aaron and Miriam, while they were camped in Hazeroth:

Numbers 11:35-12:1 “From Kibroth Hattaavah the people moved to Hazeroth, and camped at Hazeroth. Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman.”

Numbers 12:2 “So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it.”

So the Lord rebuked their misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Moses and his wife, and He punished them by inflicting Miriam with leprosy for seven days.

Numbers 12:3-11

*The Peril of Being Ignored and Rejected.

Numbers 12:16 “And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

Then Moses sent out several leaders into Canaan on a reconnaissance mission:

Numbers 13:1-24

When they returned, all but Joshua and Caleb delivered a frightening report about the size and the fierceness of the land’s inhabitants:

Numbers 13:25-33

As a result, all the sons of Israel grumbled:

Numbers 14:2-3 “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! 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?”

They even discussed appointing a new leader who would take them back to Egypt:

Numbers 14:4 “So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”

With these words of rejection ringing in their ears, Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb respond:

Numbers 14:5-9

But all the congregation said to stone them:

Numbers 14:10 “And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.”

*The Peril of Resentment and Revenge.

Numbers 14:11-19

The Lord answered Moses’ plea by pardoning the Hebrews and disciplining them less severely.

Numbers 14:20-35

3.   Practical Applications.

*The godly life is never easy.

*The godly life is often endangered.

*The godly life is always eventful.