“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Numbers, Ch.1-6’

Numbers is a book of ‘Wanderings’ and it gets its name from two numberings in chapter one and twenty six. One at Mt. Sinai and the other at Moab, 38 years later. The Greek version calls this book ‘Arithmoi‘ and the Latin version calls it ‘Numeri,‘ but the Hebrew title seems the best, ‘Bemidbar‘ for wilderness. The underlying principle of Numbers seems clear and applicable; while it may be necessary to pass through some wilderness experiences, one does not need to live there or camp out in them! Another title for the book of Numbers could be, “The Book of Murmuring” or “The Book of Complaining.” Why, because an 11 day journey became a 38 year agony! Why, lack of belief in God, lack of faith, lack of vision, or lack of trust! Which ultimately leads to disobedience and rebellion which is as the sin of witchcraft!

This book is so applicable to us today in our walk with the Lord it is frightening. We are either walking with the Lord, straight for ‘The Promised Land’ or wandering in the wilderness trying to find our own watering holes. Christ is seen throughout the book of Numbers in many ways: The bronze serpent on the pole in Num. 21:4-9 & Jn. 3:14; The rock that quenched their thirst in Num. 20 & I Cor. 10:4; The daily manna or bread of life in Num. 11; Ex. 16. & Jn. 6:31-33; The pillar of fire & cloud, giving guidance and the power of His presence in Num. 9. & Jn. 14; The sinners refuge in Christ can be seen in the cities of refuge in Num. 35; Balaam foresees His kingship, “I see Him, but not now, I behold Him, but not near, a star shall come out of Jacob, a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.” Num. 24:17.

Numbers is also a sad book, as it records the failure of Israel to believe in the promise of God. The consequence of 40 years of aimless wandering in the desert. In fact their murmuring even caused Moses to sin and lose his blessing, Num. 20:10-12 as he struck the rock twice. The book of Numbers records the powerful process of testing and maturing; it is a manual of ‘Divine Discipline’ and we all have one. God must teach His people the consequences of irresponsible decisions. You would think with all they saw, with all they experienced, the ten plagues, the Red Sea, the waters of Marah, the manna, the quail, the red heifer, that they would have believed God and would have trusted Him completely! Then look at all we have seen, all we have experienced, and yet we still don’t always fully trust Him, do we?

God is the Author of order, not confusion as you see the way He organized His people around the Tabernacle in the desert. It was in the very center of their lives, as he should be! He then turns from the outward conditions of the camp to the inward conditions of the people. Listen, Numbers describes the spiritual preparation of His people, and what is He doing today with His church? Spiritually preparing them for heaven, His ‘Promised Land.’ Israel followed God step by step until Canaan was in sight. Then at the most crucial moment they drew back in unbelief, why? Because of the murmuring, the dissension, the back-biting, the complaining, and the groaning that had already become incessant, Num. 11:1. However, their unbelief after sending out the 12 spies at, Kadesh Barnea was something God would not tolerate, Heb. 11:6. Their rebellion at Kadesh Barnea was a pivotal point in their march forward, what’s yours? Due to their unbelief, the generation that began, that set out on the journey, was not to be the generation to cross the river, to conquer the land, to receive the promise.

Listen, unbelief brings discipline and hinders God’s blessings. He can’t bless a faithless people! “Be it unto you according to your ______!” Unbelief leads to disobedience, and disobedience leads to rebellion, and rebellion is the same as the sin of witchcraft, I Sam. 15:22-23. Turn to, Mark 16:9-14 and read it right now, go ahead I’ll wait, it’s to long for me to write out……………….. v.14 says, “He upbraided them” (He gave them a tongue lashing) you see unbelief leads to hardness of heart (Mk. 6:52). Hardness of heart is, ‘the lack of spiritual perception,’ the lack of readiness to learn the past and apply it to the present situation or problem. Only two spies, Joshua and Caleb,  were allowed to enter the ‘Promised Land’ after 40 years of aimless wandering, why? They believed God! Numbers illustrates both the goodness and the severity of God as seen in Rom. 11:22, and it teaches that God’s people can move forward ‘ONLY’ as they trust and depend on Him!

Numbers is a book so relevant for the Church, and Christians today that it could be titled with your name or your Church name right on it. In fact it is a book so up to date, so on the money, you could read it as today’s headline in your news journal: “Church Rejects God’s Plan, Wanders 40 Years” – “Pastor Strikes Rock In Anger, Loses God’s Promise” – “Christians Complaining, Causes God’s Fire To Fall” – “People Loathe Manna, Die From Quail Consumption” – “Woman Struck With leprosy, For Usurping Authority” – “Committee Of The Concerned, Swallowed By The Ground.” However, what we need to concentrate on in this book of wanderings are the prayers of Moses, the Priests, and the People. I am sure we could learn some ‘Principles for Prayer,’ from the lives of those who wandered for 40 years in a desert, burying more than 250 family members every day. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m not always on the bank of the Jordan ready to cross over, and I don’t always walk straight to God’s promise. Sometimes I feel I spend more time in the desert wandering around than in the land killing giants. Now maybe you don’t have that problem and maybe you do, so let’s spend some time learning from the experiences of others and see if we can glean some ‘Principles For Living’ for our prayer lives. The first six chapters are primarily concerned with setting up camp and taking a census and getting everyone in position to move forward! So don’t be in a hurry, God isn’t! He doesn’t ever wear a watch! But we need to note one thing and it is of utmost importance as we begin to look at prayer in this applicable book, “God desires to dwell in the midst of His people.” Num. 2:17. It’s important to have a prayer closet, a prayer journal, a prayer plan, a prayer time, and a prayer partner. However, if God does not dwell in the center of these five elements they will come to naught! “Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward… in the midst of the camp;” Well until we meet again, we’ll see you, “…Between The Lines…”

“Prayers In The Desert” – ‘Numbers, Ch. 1-6’ – 3/10/13