1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:02,880 All right, good morning, church family. 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:08,880 If you would open your Bibles or type in your devices the Book of 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:15,280 Numbers this morning, we're going to be in verses 3435 and 4 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:20,880 36, and we are going to conclude the Book of Numbers this 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:28,800 morning. And the title of the sermon is 6 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,600 appropriately titled both for our sermon series and the book. 7 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:38,600 It is the closing of a chapter. We, we started the Book of 8 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:43,080 Numbers back on September 22nd, 2024. 9 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,560 So it's been almost a year that we've been going through this 10 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:48,480 book. We'll actually finish it in less 11 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:49,680 than a year. I didn't think that we would 12 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,120 actually get it done in less than a year, but Lord willing, 13 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,360 if we finish it today, we will finish it less than a year. 14 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,000 This morning we're going to look at the last three chapters of 15 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,880 this book. And next week we will begin a 16 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,760 new study through the book of James. 17 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:06,240 And I've never preached through James before. 18 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,040 I have preached in James, but I never preached on the entire 19 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:09,360 book. So we'll be doing a new study 20 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:15,320 next week on the book of James. So I won't read the text upfront 21 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:20,560 because it's 3 chapters. So if you will open with me. 22 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:23,360 In a word of prayers, we ask God to please speak to us now. 23 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:34,160 Our Heavenly Father, we we pray, asking for your voice that we 24 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:39,320 have heard over and over again in our life, that it would once 25 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:43,960 again speak to us as your sheep, Lord. 26 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:50,240 And we we know your voice, we discern it, we recognize it, and 27 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,920 we pray God that you would speak once again as we close out this 28 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,760 book and as we reflect on it and process. 29 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:02,800 Lord God, help us discern what you're speaking to the church 30 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:04,920 this morning and to us specifically. 31 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,800 I pray God, as we close out this chapter, maybe some of us are 32 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:10,520 closing out chapters in our own life. 33 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,960 Maybe we're starting new chapters wherever we may be this 34 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,440 morning. Lord, would you help us to be 35 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,000 attentive to what the Spirit is speaking to us? 36 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:29,760 Thank you God for being a God who is willing and ready to 37 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:33,320 communicate to His people. We love you, we pray in Jesus 38 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:38,560 name, Amen. Have you ever watched a movie 39 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,560 where at the end of it you are unsatisfied? 40 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:44,240 You are unsatisfied with the ending? 41 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,160 It didn't, you know, there was maybe no resolution or it ended 42 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,560 in a strange way and you're like, why did you end it this 43 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:52,800 way? This happened recently, not 44 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:54,240 recently. This happened to me several 45 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,120 years ago. There was a movie that I got to 46 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,640 at the end of it and I just was totally unsatisfied with the 47 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:02,280 ending. And one of my friends came to me 48 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:04,280 and he said, I think that was the point. 49 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,440 It was one of those movies where the bad guy got away. 50 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,200 Like he, he he didn't die. There wasn't justice. 51 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:13,360 You know, I'm a big justice person and there was no justice 52 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:15,320 at the end of movie. And I was, I was, I was 53 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,040 frustrated. My friend came to me and he said 54 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,920 that's the point. The the point is, is that that's 55 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:22,920 life. In real life. 56 00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:26,080 The bad guy doesn't always get caught in real life. 57 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:27,800 There doesn't always end the way. 58 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:30,960 I think that was the point of the director was to show that 59 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:37,440 this is here, life moves on, there's a chapter, there's 60 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:42,560 another story to be had. I felt this way when I read the 61 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,520 end of Numbers. I read the end of it and I was 62 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:48,840 like, that's how you end the book. 63 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,200 There's there's no message of, you know, you're waiting for 64 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:58,080 this finale or this, you know, encouraging message. 65 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:03,080 And and and it ends with the specific test case of the 66 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:08,080 daughters. What do we take away from that? 67 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:13,080 I think it's this the book of Numbers ends, but it's the 68 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,720 closing of a chapter, but it's not the closing of the Bible. 69 00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:22,480 There's more to this story. This book ends and a new chapter 70 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,640 will begin. And so as we look at this, I 71 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:31,960 want to just remind us that so often that is is that 1 chapter 72 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:39,960 closes, but a new one begins. So as we look at our text this 73 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:44,600 morning, I'm going to be giving exposition application woven 74 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:49,080 together. I won't be reading chapter 34 75 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,920 because it is a bunch of boundaries and tribal chief 76 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:54,560 names. You can read that on your own if 77 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:56,360 you like, but I will go through it. 78 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,560 So let's I might read portions of it, but not all of it. 79 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:04,680 Let's start in chapter 34. Let's read verses 1 and 2. 80 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:09,120 The Lord spoke to Moses saying, command the people of Israel and 81 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,760 say to them, when you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land 82 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,440 that you shall fall to you for an inheritance. 83 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:22,200 The land of Canaan as defined by its borders. 84 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:26,240 We'll stop there for right now. So chapter 34, before they go 85 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,160 over the Jordan and cross into the land of Canaan, what is 86 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:33,160 going to establish the borders of Israel for Israel, for the 87 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,480 land of Canaan? Now here's what I find 88 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:40,160 fascinating about this. They haven't fought a single 89 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:45,520 battle yet in Canaan. Not one battle have they fought 90 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,720 in Canaan yet. And God is already telling them 91 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:55,120 what their borders will be. This means that God is telling 92 00:05:55,120 --> 00:06:00,360 them ahead of time what He's going to give them, specifically 93 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,840 what He's going to give them. You see, we so often want God to 94 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:08,080 tell us the future, don't we, man? 95 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,480 We want God to tell us. Like what college will I go to? 96 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,000 What job will I graduate college? 97 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:16,880 Will I get married or will I not? 98 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:22,320 Will we have kids and if we do, how many will I be able to keep 99 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:24,560 this job or will I have to look for another one? 100 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:27,640 Where am I going to live in five years? 101 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:36,880 Reality is God so rarely tells us the future because He cares 102 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,040 more about our faith than our future. 103 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,720 But God does tell us what we need to know when we need to 104 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,520 know it, just as God told them. He told them this is the 105 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:51,840 promised land, and I'm giving you the dimensions. 106 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:55,840 I'm telling you exactly what you're going to inherit down to 107 00:06:55,840 --> 00:06:59,160 the city, down to the rivers. He tells them. 108 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:05,640 And likewise for us to God has told us about our promised land 109 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:11,120 that awaits us. Jesus told us that he goes to 110 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:17,800 prepare a place for us. It has walls of Jasper, streets 111 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,880 of pure gold, and gates made of pearls. 112 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,000 There is a river of life and a tree of life there. 113 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:29,880 And we are all dressed in white, praising the Lamb who sits upon 114 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:34,160 the throne. You see, we may not know what 115 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:40,640 awaits us in eight years, but we all know what awaits US in 80 116 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:46,360 years. God is going to tell them their 117 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:48,240 boundaries. He's going to tell them their 118 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,640 southern boundary, their western boundary, their northern 119 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:53,840 boundary, and their eastern boundary of the promised land. 120 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:55,400 I want to show it to you on a map. 121 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,440 This is in verses 3 to 12. We won't get there right now, 122 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:05,480 but this is a map of of the borders that are given. 123 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,720 He tells him in verses 3 to 12 that their southern boundary is 124 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:11,920 going to go all the way down to the wilderness. 125 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:15,920 Their western boundary is going to be the great sea. 126 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:19,120 That's what that that that a lie on the left is the great sea is 127 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:20,840 the Mediterranean. So when you read great sea 128 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:22,160 there, just read that as Mediterranean. 129 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,680 That's what we know as the northern boundary is going to go 130 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,560 all the way up to Labo Hamath up up top here. 131 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:30,600 And the eastern boundary is going to go all the way to this 132 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:32,960 dotted line. And then it's going to curve in 133 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:38,320 because to where this line is, where the Jordan River is down 134 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,480 to the Dead Sea. And also you'll notice a phrase, 135 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,960 the Sea of Chinarath, that's there in your text that is the 136 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,440 Sea of Galilee. So sometimes, you know, you read 137 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:49,960 these texts, you're like, what are these terms here? 138 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:51,600 You just have to research that and look that up. 139 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:54,600 All right, so this is going to be the borders. 140 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,520 God basically is telling him they have not conquered a single 141 00:08:58,520 --> 00:08:59,960 city yet. They haven't fought a single 142 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:02,640 battle. And God says, I'm going to give 143 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:07,360 you all of this land. All of it is going to be yours. 144 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,880 Now, what's interesting though, is that Israel never occupied 145 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:16,000 this full territory. They never did. 146 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:18,960 Why? Because of their disobedience. 147 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:22,360 They occupied a large portion of it. 148 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,320 But if you study geography and you say the Old Testament, they 149 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,200 never occupied all of that. David got the closest to it, but 150 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:35,440 he never got all of it. It's a reminder to us that even 151 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:42,240 though God has promised heaven to all of us in Christ, we still 152 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:47,640 have to persevere in obedience to receive the inheritance. 153 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,880 It's not as though Israel could just walk over into Canaan, find 154 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,800 a lawn chair and a glass of lemonade and say, Hey, 155 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:03,840 Canaanites, this is ours. They still have to persevere in 156 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:10,040 obedience. Likewise, you and I, nobody gets 157 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:19,320 into heaven on a sailboat. We still have to persevere in 158 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:22,720 our faith to receive the inheritance. 159 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:29,200 Third, versus 13 to 15, Moses commanded the people of Israel, 160 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:33,240 saying, This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which 161 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,760 the Lord has commanded to give to the 9 tribes and to the half 162 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:38,520 tribe. For the tribe of the people of 163 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:41,760 Reuben by father's houses and the tribe of the people of Gad 164 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,440 by their fathers houses have received their inheritance. 165 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:48,360 And also the half tribe of Manasseh, the 2 tribes and the 166 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:50,960 half tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan 167 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:53,920 east of Jericho toward the sunrise. 168 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:59,600 So Moses tells the people that this land that is up here, that 169 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:01,960 9 1/2 tribes are going to receive this. 170 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:04,080 They're going to receive it by lot. 171 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:06,840 That you're right. Why 9 1/2 and not 12? 172 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:11,640 The reason is, if you remember, 2 1/2 tribes have received their 173 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:16,200 inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho toward the 174 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,360 sunrise. Do you remember a few weeks ago 175 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:21,480 we looked at this with, remember Reuben and Gad, They, they were 176 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:25,800 on this east side over here and they basically asked for 177 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,200 permission to inherit that land and Moses agreed. 178 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,040 He said as long as you come and fight with your brothers, then 179 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,520 then it will be yours and it'll be conquered. 180 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,560 So Reuben and Gad get that land and then the half tribe of 181 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:40,680 Manasseh. Manasseh was split in two. 182 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:42,800 There's an eastern side and a western side. 183 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,960 The half tribe of Manasseh will receive a portion on the east 184 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:52,760 side as well today and dispossessed the Amorites who 185 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:56,360 were there. So 2 1/2 tribes are on the east 186 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:59,360 side, the other 9 1/2 are on the West side. 187 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,360 And the way that those 9 1/2 are going to determine what belongs 188 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:08,600 to them is by lot. I want to pause and briefly talk 189 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:10,400 about that idea. I kind of touched on a little 190 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:12,920 bit before, but I want to pause here for just a minute. 191 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:17,480 Think about this for for just a second. 192 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,920 What an interesting way to determine how the rest of your 193 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:26,240 life and the rest of the lives of your descendants is going to 194 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,560 be. It's not as though they can have 195 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:33,160 an auction for the land and the highest bidder gets to choose 196 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,160 first. It's not as though they can arm 197 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:39,760 wrestle for or have a foot race for it and whoever wins gets to 198 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,880 choose first. It's not as though they can have 199 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:46,800 a farming challenge and the the tribe with the biggest 200 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:54,880 watermelon gets to choose first. They are literally going to cast 201 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:56,520 lots. It's like rolling dice. 202 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:04,880 One time forever. Your tribe will inherit this 203 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:10,920 land, whatever your lot is. This will determine where you 204 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,880 live and your descendants live for all generations. 205 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:18,240 How would you feel if all decisions were made this way? 206 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:22,840 Which college you went to was determined by lot. 207 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:26,120 Who you married was determined by lot. 208 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,960 What job you worked at was determined by lot. 209 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,440 Where you lived was determined by lot. 210 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,880 I thought about that this week. I was meditating on that idea 211 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:41,920 all week long. On the one hand, I thought this 212 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:48,920 it would surely simplify things. I don't ever have to question if 213 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:52,360 this is God's will because I know it's God's will. 214 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,000 The lot says that it's God's will. 215 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:01,080 If the lot told me you're going to live in Tacoma, I guess I'm 216 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,720 going to Tacoma. I don't have a choice. 217 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:11,800 That's the will of the Lord. It surely would simplify, but it 218 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:16,280 also got me thinking this. Why don't we have this 219 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,280 perspective even without casting lots? 220 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:26,400 Why is it that the moment we introduce human choice and 221 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:32,920 effort and talent and merit and hard work, we also introduce 222 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:37,520 things like envy and jealousy and bitterness and resentment 223 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:40,760 and pride and boasting and anxiety? 224 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:50,280 If your lot fell next to a river and therefore your animals and 225 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:56,360 your crops were prosperous, no one could boast because no one 226 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,960 controls the lot. God does. 227 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:05,240 No one could say, look at how prosperous my crops are. 228 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:15,440 I rolled that lot really well. And if your lot fell in a dry 229 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:22,320 and arid land and therefore you had to struggle, no one could be 230 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:26,280 envy or bitter because God controlled the lot. 231 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,120 That's what he apportioned for you. 232 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:38,200 Brothers and sisters, God controls your lot. 233 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:48,840 Even with human choice involved, he still controls it. 234 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:57,280 Verses 16 to 29 I won't read. This is a list of tribal chiefs. 235 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:00,120 God, it gives Moses that. You can read that on your time 236 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:02,480 if you like, but it's there's a list of names there. 237 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,840 God gives Moses the names of the men who divide up the land, the 238 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,200 first names mentioned. I do want to point out the first 239 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:12,080 names mentioned. Or Eliezer the priest and Joshua 240 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,200 the son of Nun. And then he tells Moses to take 241 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,960 one chief from every tribe for inheritance. 242 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,440 And then he list 1 chief from each of the 12 tribes. 243 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,600 You can read their names in the text if you like. 2 things I 244 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:28,240 want to point out about this list though. 245 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:33,360 Number one, the two names that that I want to highlight is that 246 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:38,040 Joshua and Caleb are mentioned and Joshua and Caleb are going 247 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:42,080 to enter the promised land. In fact, they are the only two 248 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:46,400 men over the age of 20 who came up out of Egypt who will see the 249 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:49,920 Promised Land. An entire generation of of men 250 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:51,920 and women and children came up out of the Promised Land. 251 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:56,000 And all those over the age of 20, none of them got to see the 252 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:01,240 Promised land except 2 Not even Moses, not even Aaron, not even 253 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:07,520 Miriam, 2 Joshua and Caleb. Why? 254 00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:10,839 Because they were faithful to trust the Lord. 255 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:19,000 God rewards our faithfulness. 40 years ago they faithfully trust 256 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,040 the Lord when everybody else around them doubted God. 257 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,319 And now 40 years later, God is rewarding them for their 258 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:29,280 faithfulness. Brothers, sisters, God doesn't 259 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:33,680 need to put anything in His calendar. 40 years have gone by. 260 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,040 God doesn't need to put anything in his calendar. 261 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:39,880 He doesn't need a secretary to remind him. 262 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:47,480 God remembers every act of faithfulness, and He will reward 263 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:53,080 us in due time. He sees it and He will reward 264 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,240 it. That's the first piece I want to 265 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,160 mention #2 there is a shared leadership here. 266 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:04,880 The task of dividing up the land doesn't fall on Eliezer. 267 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:10,920 It doesn't fall on Joshua. The task falls on 14 men, two 268 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:13,080 Eliezer and Joshua. Eliezer is the high priest, 269 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,240 Joshua is their new spiritual leader. 270 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:17,400 And then one man from each tribe. 271 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:21,120 Total of 14 men that are going to be responsible for dividing 272 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:25,200 up this land. In the same way, the church 273 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:32,000 should have shared leadership. No one man is equipped to divide 274 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,000 up all this land. No one man is equipped to lead 275 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:40,680 an entire church on their own. God has designed the church to 276 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:50,120 have shared leadership, to have elders, plural in place, even if 277 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:58,920 that is just two elders. Verse 35, verse 30, chapter 35. 278 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,240 Let's look at chapter 35, verses 1 to 5. 279 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:07,840 The Lord spoke to Moses and the plains of Moab by the Jordan of 280 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:10,840 Jericho, saying, Command the people of Israel to give to the 281 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,000 Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities 282 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,120 for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the 283 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:18,120 Levites pasture lands around the cities. 284 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,520 The city shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasture land 285 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:23,840 shall be for their cattle and for their livestock, and for all 286 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,200 their beast. The pasture lands of the cities 287 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:28,560 which you shall give to the Levites shall reach from the 288 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:33,240 wall of the city outward. 1000 cubits all around you shall 289 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:38,160 measure outside the city, on the east side 2000 cubits and on the 290 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:42,240 South side 2000 cubits and on the West side 2000 cubits and on 291 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,320 the north side 2000 cubits. The city being in the middle, 292 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:50,320 This shall belong to them as their pasture land for their 293 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:53,440 cities. So what's going on here? 294 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:57,600 If you remember, the Levites are not the Levites are tribe of 295 00:19:57,600 --> 00:19:59,400 Israel. They're one of the 12 tribes and 296 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:01,160 they're not going to inherit any land. 297 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,880 They won't cast a lot because they don't get any land. 298 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:08,560 God said, but to Aaron back in chapter 18, you shall have no 299 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,720 inheritance in the land, neither shall you have any portion among 300 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:13,040 them. Why? 301 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,920 I am your portion. I am your inheritance among the 302 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,200 people of Israel. Now of course that raises the 303 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:22,920 question. And you know, if I'm a Levite, 304 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:26,840 I'm like, OK, Lord, I, I'm all for this, but I just have one 305 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:29,520 question. Where are we going to live? 306 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:37,400 Where are they going to live? And God commands people to give 307 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,200 to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession 308 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:45,200 as cities for them to dwell in. In addition, they're to be given 309 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,600 pasture lands around the cities. They have a city and then they 310 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:49,680 have pasture lands around the city. 311 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,720 The Levites will own these cities and own these pasture 312 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,800 lands. Now why did God set it up this 313 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,640 way? I'll give you 3 reasons why #1 314 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,400 so that the Levites would be scattered throughout the entire 315 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:06,360 nation if God had given the Levites just one portion of land 316 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:09,400 and all of the spiritual leaders would all be in one section. 317 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:13,280 So those who live way up north, you know, it's like living, 318 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,720 well, some of you do live in Lynnwood or like you like living 319 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,960 in Marysville, right? Like you probably wouldn't come 320 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:21,440 to this church if you lived in Marysville. 321 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,720 It's too far. Well, if you, if you did, praise 322 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:31,880 God, but it's too far. So God is going to have the 323 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,960 Levites be scattered all throughout the nation of Israel. 324 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:38,080 The Levites are charged with teaching the Torah. 325 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:40,560 And so by having them scattered throughout the whole entire 326 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:44,720 nation of Israel, every tribe will have access to this 327 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:46,600 teaching. They'll have access to the 328 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,400 teaching of the Levites. That's the first reason #2 the 329 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:53,280 Levites were to serve as a picture for how all Israel 330 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,040 should live. In other words, even though it 331 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,040 was good and right for them to inherit the land, when they saw 332 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,200 the Levites living in these cities not inheriting this land, 333 00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:06,640 they were to be reminded this is how we are all to live. 334 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:12,440 Would that we all considered our soul inheritance to be the Lord, 335 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:18,360 that I wouldn't cling so tightly to this and say I have to have 336 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:25,920 this. God is our inheritance #3 Some 337 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:29,120 of the Levite cities will be cities of refuge. 338 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:31,200 We'll look at that in just a minute. 339 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:32,320 I'll explain that in just a minute. 340 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,720 God gives to them the dimensions of the pasture land. 341 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,080 Let me show you a picture of how this would probably work. 342 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:42,680 The city would be in the middle. It'd be 1000 cubits on each 343 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,720 side, 2000. That's where the 2000 comes from 344 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:48,720 around. So they would live in the city, 345 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:52,400 and everything else is pasture land where they would have their 346 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:56,800 animals and so forth. Now, that's not miles or feet, 347 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,720 that's cubits, right? A cubits about 18 inches, give 348 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:01,960 or take. So how big is this? 349 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:06,360 That's about .3 square miles, About 200 acres. 350 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:12,040 All right, So .3 square miles or about 200 acres, you say? 351 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,920 That's not a lot. If you think about it, if you 352 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,720 add up all the cities, if you count all the cities and 353 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,480 multiply it times this size, the total area assigned to the 354 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,080 Levites came to just 15 square miles. 355 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:28,960 That's it. 15 square miles, which is only about .1% of the 356 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:33,960 land of Canaan. The Levites only got .1% of the 357 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,600 land. They really did not have an 358 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:39,160 inheritance like the other tribes did. 359 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:47,160 God was their inheritance. The verses 6 to 8 The cities 360 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,000 that you give to the Levites shall be 6 cities of refuge 361 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,160 where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in 362 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,200 addition to them you shall give 42 cities. 363 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,480 All the cities that you give to Levites shall be 48 with their 364 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,920 pasture lands. And As for the cities that you 365 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:04,400 shall give from the possession of the people of Israel from the 366 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,360 larger tribes you don't take many, from the smaller tribes 367 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:10,040 you shall take few. Each and proportion to the 368 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,720 inheritance that it inherits shall give of its cities to the 369 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,680 Levites. So All in all the tribes that 370 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:22,360 the the 1211 tribes, well, I guess, yeah, 12 if you count the 371 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:27,960 the two halves, they are to give a total of 48 cities to the 372 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:32,560 Levites, 48. Now six of the 48 are going to 373 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,000 be cities of refuge. You're like, what is that? 374 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,520 What is a city of refuge? This is the city where you shall 375 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,800 permit the manslayer. It's an interesting phrase. 376 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,120 Manslayer to flee. What does that mean? 377 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,600 God explains this and Deuteronomy 19. 378 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:55,920 He says if anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally in the 379 00:24:55,920 --> 00:25:01,080 past, and then he he says, suppose you and your friend, 380 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:03,960 suppose Ian and Lucas, I'll use them, they're right there. 381 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,440 Two brothers. Suppose they went to go chop 382 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:14,360 wood in the forest and Ian's chopping and as he goes to swing 383 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:19,240 his axe head flies off and it hits Lucas in the head and kills 384 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:21,880 him. This is the example that God 385 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:30,160 gives in Deuteronomy 19. At this point Ian has to flee to 386 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,560 a city of refuge. Why? 387 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,960 Because Lucas's family is going to kill Ian. 388 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:44,640 That's, that's what it is. There is an Avenger. 389 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:47,720 What? And their custom and their 390 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:49,920 culture. One of Lucas's relatives, 391 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:53,120 whoever is his closest Avenger, go. 392 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:55,600 Well, it's also going to be translated Redeemer, same exact 393 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,240 word as Boaz Kinsman Redeemer, same exact word. 394 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:05,320 We'll go and avenge Ian's blood, Lucas's blood by killing Ian. 395 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:08,920 But there's a city of refuge where you can flee. 396 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:10,240 I'll talk more about this in just a second. 397 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:15,600 For all the 48 cities, they shall be given in proportion to 398 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:19,960 the size of each tribe. Larger tribes are going to give 399 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,120 more cities. Smaller tribes will give fewer 400 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:27,760 cities. Now, how are we to apply this 401 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,760 today? We don't have refuge like this 402 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,360 today. Here's how I think we apply it 403 00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:39,520 today. The church is a city of refuge. 404 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:47,600 This church, any church that is gospel centered is a city of 405 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:48,760 refuge. How so? 406 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:50,760 Well, we have all sinned against God. 407 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:53,160 We have all sinned against our neighbors. 408 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:58,680 We are all guilty of death. And of course, our ultimate 409 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:00,640 refuge is the cross of Jesus Christ. 410 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:04,120 But Jesus himself has also given us something else. 411 00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:08,040 He's given us the church. Jesus founded the church and he 412 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:12,200 gave it to us as a gift and it is a place where we simply do 413 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:20,040 not drive to, nor do we walk to, but we flee to unto the church 414 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,640 where there is an entire city of forgiven sinners. 415 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:33,360 We step inside this city and we are reminded, I too am guilty, 416 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:39,600 and I too am forgiven and I am safe. 417 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:47,440 Look at verse 9 to 15 and the Lord spoke to Moses saying, 418 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,360 Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when you cross 419 00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:53,000 the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select 420 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,160 cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who 421 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,640 kills any person without intent may flee there. 422 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:04,360 The city shall that the manslayer may not die until he 423 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:06,480 stands before the congregation for judgement. 424 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,800 And the cities that that you gives shall be your six cities 425 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:12,920 of refuge. You shall give three cities 426 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,720 beyond the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan to 427 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,400 be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be for 428 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,840 refuge for the people of Israel and for the stranger, and for 429 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:25,400 the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person 430 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:30,360 without intent may flee there. So God here gives them further 431 00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:33,600 details of how these six cities would work of refuge. 432 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:40,040 When the Manslayer flees to this city of refuge, he would be safe 433 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:44,320 from the Avenger. So he flees the city, he's safe 434 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:46,240 from the Avenger. The Avenger cannot enter this 435 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:50,840 city, but the man who flees there still has to stand for the 436 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,880 congregation for judgement. Why? 437 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:56,440 Similar to our context, he's innocent until proven guilty, 438 00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:58,760 right? I mean, you could kill someone 439 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,040 to the city of refuge when like you really did it intentionally. 440 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:06,760 So he has to stand trial. Three of the cities will be 441 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:10,240 beyond the Jordan made on the other side. 442 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,320 The three will be on in the land of Canaan. 443 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,520 These cities will be not only for the Israelites. 444 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:19,520 They will also be for the stranger, for the sojourner, 445 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,440 meaning the foreigner. They will be for everybody. 446 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:26,880 Look at verse 16 to 21. But if he struck him down with 447 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:30,400 an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. 448 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,640 The murderer shall be put to death, and he struck him down 449 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:36,360 with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died. 450 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:38,600 He is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to 451 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,440 death, or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could 452 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:43,840 cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. 453 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:45,280 The murderer shall be put to death. 454 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,880 The avenger of Bloodshot himself put the murderer to death. 455 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:50,920 When he meets him, he shall put him to death. 456 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,120 And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at 457 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:57,920 him lying in wait so that he died, or an enmity struck him 458 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:01,520 down with his hand so that he died, then he who struck the 459 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:03,840 blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. 460 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:06,800 The avenger of blood shall be shall put the murder to death 461 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:11,600 when he meets him. So God makes it clear that these 462 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:16,200 cities of refuge are only for those who commit accidental 463 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:18,840 death. These are not for those who 464 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:21,160 commit murder. They're not for those who even 465 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,360 commit manslaughter. He gives several examples of 466 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:27,080 when this would apply. He says if someone struck 467 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:32,120 another person with an iron tool or a stone tool or a wooden tool 468 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:36,720 and the person died, then the event the offender is a 469 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:39,560 murderer. If someone pushed someone else 470 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:43,840 out of hatred, or he hurled something at him and he did it 471 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:48,320 in enmity, he did it with anger and the person died as a result, 472 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:50,720 the offender is considered a murderer. 473 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:55,000 And in all these cases, the murderer is to be put to death. 474 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:59,040 The avenger of blood is the one who is to put him to death, 475 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,200 whoever his closest relative was on his family side. 476 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:04,440 Now, just as a side note, he's like, why? 477 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:06,320 Why is he? But that God commanded capital 478 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:07,960 punishment. The Old Testament remember 479 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,480 capital punishment. God said eye for an eye, tooth 480 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,560 for a tooth. That's how it worked in the old 481 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:17,720 covenant. Since they shed blood, their 482 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:22,440 blood is to be shed, but the scissors. 483 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,840 Aren't you glad that we don't live under the old covenant? 484 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:31,360 How many of us would be dead by now if we did? 485 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:38,640 I mean, a man was put to death for picking up sticks. 486 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:45,840 How many of us would be dead if we lived under the old covenant? 487 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,600 The author of Hebrew says that Jesus has become the guarantee 488 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,960 of a better covenant. Hebrews 722. 489 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:59,920 Look at verse 22 to 29. But if he pushed him suddenly 490 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:02,160 without enmity, or hurled anything on him, without lying, 491 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:05,000 and wait, or use a stone that could cause death, and without 492 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,240 seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not 493 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:10,920 his enemy, and did not seek his harm, then the congregation 494 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:13,200 shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of 495 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:14,960 blood. In accordance with these rules, 496 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:17,800 the Congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of 497 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:20,480 the Avenger of blood, and the Congregation shall restore him 498 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,840 to a city of refuge to which he has fled, and he shall live in 499 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:28,440 it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with 500 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:30,840 holy oil. But if the manslayer shall at 501 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:33,680 any time go beyond the boundaries of a city of refuge 502 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,480 to which he fled, and the avenger of Blood finds him 503 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:40,880 outside the boundaries of a city of refuge, and the avenger of 504 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:44,960 Blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood, 505 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:50,400 for he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the 506 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:52,880 high priest. But after the death of the high 507 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:55,880 priest, the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. 508 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:59,720 And these things shall be for a statute and a rule for you 509 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,400 throughout your generations and all your dwelling places. 510 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:07,160 I didn't put this in the sermon, but I was talking to Lauren at 511 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:10,600 lunch this week and I was like, man, you kind of wish that the 512 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:12,360 high priest was like 80 that year. 513 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:19,040 And what if he was 20? God clarifies that if a person 514 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:25,960 kills someone by accident, so someone or hit someone and it 515 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:30,120 was no enmity, or if he hurled something or dropped something. 516 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:33,720 If you're staying on a on a on a Ridge and thought it would be 517 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:36,560 cool to pick up a stone and just throw it off, not realizing 518 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:38,440 there was a guy down at the bottom and hit him in the head 519 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,640 and killed him, you didn't mean to. 520 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:47,360 This person still has to flee to the the the City of Refuge. 521 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:50,800 The congregation will judge between the Manslayer and the 522 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,920 Avenger of Blood in accordance with these rules. 523 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:56,360 Maybe he's to have a court case and the congregation is to serve 524 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,800 as a jury. The text doesn't say this, but 525 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:03,120 if the congregation found him to be guilty, then he would 526 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:05,720 presumably be considered a murderer and he would 527 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:09,360 consequently die by the Avenger. If they found him guilty, they 528 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:11,560 would hand him over to the Avenger and the Avenger would 529 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,080 put him to death. But if the congregation found 530 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:18,840 him innocent, that he was required to stay in the city of 531 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:24,719 refuge until the death of the high priest, once the high 532 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:29,120 priest died, then the manslayer could return to the land of his 533 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,920 possession. Now why does he have to wait 534 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:38,000 until the high priest dies? Well, whenever death occurs, 535 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:41,600 there must be atonement through another death. 536 00:34:44,199 --> 00:34:47,120 Whenever there is death in the Old Testament, there has to be 537 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:51,920 atonement through another death. So in this case, the death of 538 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:56,320 the high priest serves as the manslayer's atonement. 539 00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:01,560 Now he has to stay there until he dies. 540 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:05,600 The high priest dies. But if he leaves the city of 541 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,400 refuge before the high priest dies, you know what he like one 542 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:10,640 day is like? You know what I don't like? 543 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:14,080 The city of Refuge. I got a much better plot of land 544 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:16,920 back in my hometown. I'm tired of being here. 545 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:23,040 If he leaves those borders, if the Avenger of Blood finds him 546 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:28,920 and he decides to kill the Manslayer, he is not guilty. 547 00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:32,120 He is actually allowed to kill him. 548 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:38,720 In other words, if you leave the city of Refuge before the 549 00:35:38,720 --> 00:35:41,520 designated time, all bets are off. 550 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:45,720 You kind of wondered, anybody ever do it? 551 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:52,200 Anybody risk it? Did anybody ever try it in a 552 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:54,520 totally different context? Shamai did. 553 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:57,040 I don't know if you guys remember when Shamai, who hurled 554 00:35:57,040 --> 00:36:01,320 insults and dirt at David, and then David told Solomon to make 555 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:04,000 sure you bring judgement on Solomon, told him you got to 556 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:06,120 stay in the city. You ever leave the city, you'll 557 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:08,040 be killed. Shamai was stupid enough to 558 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:14,880 leave the city and then he died. This reminded me of something I 559 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:16,680 once read in Tim Keller's book on prayer. 560 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:18,280 You may have read that if you read that book. 561 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:22,880 Here's what he writes. At one point my wife urged me to 562 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:25,720 do something with her we had never been able to muster the 563 00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:30,080 self-discipline to do regularly. She asked me to pray with her 564 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:33,760 every night. Every night. 565 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:37,240 She used an illustration that crystallized her feelings very 566 00:36:37,240 --> 00:36:39,560 well. As we remember it, she said 567 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:43,080 something like this. Imagine you were diagnosed with 568 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:46,480 such a lethal condition that the doctor told you that you would 569 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:51,640 die within hours unless you took a particular medicine, a pill, 570 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:53,320 every night before going to sleep. 571 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:57,640 Imagine that you were told that you could never miss it or you 572 00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:00,200 would die. Would you forget? 573 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:06,320 Would you not get around to it? Some nights, no, no, It would be 574 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:08,720 so crucial that you wouldn't forget. 575 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:21,560 You would never miss. I got to be honest, I think some 576 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:31,400 of us might miss. What if we viewed sin like this 577 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:39,160 though? What if we viewed all sin like 578 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:47,200 this? The boundary and if I step 579 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:50,760 outside this boundary, I might die. 580 00:37:55,760 --> 00:38:02,720 There is a boundary and if I step outside this boundary I 581 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:10,760 might die. What if we viewed sin like that? 582 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:20,120 The verse 30 to 34 If anyone kills a person, the murderer 583 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:22,480 shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses, but no 584 00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:25,600 person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 585 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:28,520 Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a 586 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:31,760 murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death, 587 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:34,640 and you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to a city 588 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:37,200 of refugees, that he may return to dwell in the land before the 589 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:39,760 death of the high priest. You shall not pollute the land 590 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:41,960 in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no 591 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:44,360 atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed 592 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:46,200 in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 593 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:49,640 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of 594 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:53,240 which I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell in the midst of the people 595 00:38:53,240 --> 00:38:56,240 of Israel. God here give some further rules 596 00:38:56,240 --> 00:39:00,240 and statutes. A murderer shall only be put to 597 00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:03,680 death on the evidence of witnesses, plural. 598 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:08,760 No one can be put to death on the evidence of one witness #2 599 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:12,680 You shall accept no ransom for the life of the murderer who is 600 00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:16,120 guilty of death. In other words, if if you killed 601 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:19,680 someone, you couldn't pay a price to get off, right? 602 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:21,880 If you did, it would just incentivize rich people to 603 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:26,080 murder. There is no price to pay for 604 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:29,520 such a a sin. There is no price that you can 605 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:34,520 pay except the price of death. This is a reminder that there is 606 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:37,680 no amount of money. There is no amount of good works 607 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:42,880 that can atone for our sin. No one will stand before Jesus 608 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:46,840 Christ and before the Father and say, here's what I'll give you 609 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:49,120 to enter heaven. There is nothing. 610 00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:54,280 What ransom could we pay for our sins? 611 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,560 What amount of money would a holy God accept? 612 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:05,360 There is none except one. And it was death. 613 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:13,720 It was the death of His Son. And #3 God says you shall accept 614 00:40:13,720 --> 00:40:17,200 no ransom for him who has fled to a city of refuge. 615 00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:21,440 So in other words, if you even accidentally killed someone, you 616 00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:24,120 went to the city of refuge. The high priest that year was 20 617 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:26,720 years old when you did this. So now you're looking at a life 618 00:40:26,720 --> 00:40:29,480 of six years, perhaps, of living in a city of refuge. 619 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:34,120 And you say to Eliezer or whatever, I'll give you $10 620 00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:36,240 million. I do not want to live in the 621 00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:38,720 city of refuge. I'll give you $10 million. 622 00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:41,000 Let me go back to my land. Doesn't work that way. 623 00:40:43,040 --> 00:40:46,440 There is no price you can pay to go back to your land. 624 00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:52,040 There is only one price, and it is the price of the death of the 625 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:56,000 high priest. That was all that God would 626 00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:59,960 accept. God makes it clear that His land 627 00:40:59,960 --> 00:41:03,520 shall not be defiled with blood, because God dwells in their 628 00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:07,640 midst. Now what does that mean for us? 629 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:15,560 If that is true of this land, how much more is it true for 630 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:21,080 this temple? The apostle Paul writes to us. 631 00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:23,840 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse 632 00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:27,080 ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing 633 00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:30,160 holiness to completion in the fear of gods in Corinthians 7/1 634 00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:35,480 last chapter. I know I'm moving fast. 635 00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:39,520 Chapter 36. Let's read verses one and four. 636 00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:44,480 So the heads of the father's houses of the clan of the people 637 00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:48,200 of Gilead, the son of Mahir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of 638 00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:50,800 the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and 639 00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:53,360 before the chiefs, the heads of the father's houses of the 640 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:55,880 people of Israel. They said the Lord commanded my 641 00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:59,760 Lord to give the the land for inheritance by lot to the people 642 00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:02,240 of Israel. And my Lord was commanded by the 643 00:42:02,240 --> 00:42:05,600 Lord to give the inheritance of Zela Fahad, our brothers, to his 644 00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:08,080 daughters. But if they are married to any 645 00:42:08,080 --> 00:42:11,160 of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then 646 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:13,800 their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our 647 00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:16,920 fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into 648 00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:20,320 which they marry, so will be taken away from the lot of our 649 00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:22,400 inheritance. And when the jubilee of the 650 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,400 people of Israel comes, then the inheritance will be added to the 651 00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:29,120 inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their 652 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:31,720 inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe. 653 00:42:31,720 --> 00:42:37,200 Now, what's going on here? The Book of Numbers ends with a 654 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:41,760 very specific test case. The people from the half tribe 655 00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:43,800 of Manasseh, remember the people who lived on the east side, the 656 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:47,160 half tribe of Manasseh, they're living in on the east side of 657 00:42:47,160 --> 00:42:49,160 the Jordan. They come to Moses with a 658 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:52,200 problem. I want to pause right there for 659 00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:54,440 a moment. I want to say a word about that. 660 00:42:56,440 --> 00:42:59,960 They come to Moses with a problem. 661 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:05,960 One of the most helpful things that a church congregation can 662 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:13,920 do is to come to their leadership with their problems, 663 00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:19,360 with their complaints. And one of the most hurtful 664 00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:22,880 things they can do is to not do that. 665 00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:32,480 No leader can solve a problem or clarify A misunderstanding that 666 00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:39,360 they don't know about. I don't know you have a 667 00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:41,240 complaint. I don't know you have a 668 00:43:41,240 --> 00:43:47,480 misunderstanding unless you tell me, unless you tell Frank or 669 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:54,000 another leader or pastoring. One of the most helpful things 670 00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:58,960 church members can do is to go to their leadership with their 671 00:43:59,040 --> 00:44:06,040 problems and their complaints. There was clearly a problem with 672 00:44:06,040 --> 00:44:09,920 an earlier law. Moses was not aware of the 673 00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:12,160 problem. He didn't foresee it. 674 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:16,080 He didn't know about it. But the Klan and Manasseh, they 675 00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:18,840 realized it. The Klan and Manasseh says, hey, 676 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:21,760 there's a problem. Rather than grow bitter about 677 00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:25,440 it, rather than try to fix it on their own, rather than gossip 678 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:28,960 about it, bring their problem to Moses. 679 00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:31,800 Now, what was the problem? Here it is. 680 00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:36,560 My Lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of 681 00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:39,200 Zealfahad, our brother, to his daughters. 682 00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:41,400 Now, this was back in chapter 27. 683 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:43,720 You remember the story. There was a man named Zealfahad. 684 00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:47,680 He had five daughters and no sons, and the father died. 685 00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:53,760 Now in their culture the inheritance would pass to only 686 00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:56,520 sons. But the daughters bring their 687 00:44:56,520 --> 00:45:01,120 complaint to Moses, and they say to Moses, Why should the name of 688 00:45:01,120 --> 00:45:04,320 our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? 689 00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:07,000 Give to us a possession among our father's brothers. 690 00:45:07,520 --> 00:45:11,320 Moses brings this case before the Lord, and the Lord says the 691 00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:13,320 daughters of Zela Fahad are right. 692 00:45:13,520 --> 00:45:16,840 You shall give them a possession of an inheritance among their 693 00:45:16,840 --> 00:45:20,960 father's brothers, and transfer the air inheritance of their 694 00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:26,160 father to them. Now the clan of Gilead begins 695 00:45:26,160 --> 00:45:29,680 thinking about this, and they notice a problem with this new 696 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:32,520 law. And here's the problem, They say 697 00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:39,560 if any of these five daughters marry sons from another tribe, 698 00:45:41,080 --> 00:45:44,960 then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of 699 00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:49,320 our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into 700 00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:54,320 which they marry. So let's say number one, who is 701 00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:58,880 from Manasseh, marries a dude from Zebulon. 702 00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:04,400 That inheritance that she has will pass to Zebulon. 703 00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:11,920 That's how it worked. And they said, wait, that way 704 00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:18,360 they recognize, look, we've been given this inheritance divinely. 705 00:46:18,720 --> 00:46:20,600 This is the you said this was ours. 706 00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:23,600 This is. But if these women marry outside 707 00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:26,880 their tribe, the land will be taken from them and it'll pass 708 00:46:26,880 --> 00:46:29,880 to another tribe. Look at verse 5 to 6. 709 00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:33,600 Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the war of 710 00:46:33,600 --> 00:46:36,960 the Lord, saying the tribe of the people of Joseph. 711 00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:39,600 That's Manasseh. Same thing is right. 712 00:46:40,280 --> 00:46:42,920 This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zela 713 00:46:42,920 --> 00:46:46,080 Fahad. Let them marry whom they think 714 00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:51,200 best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of 715 00:46:51,200 --> 00:46:54,240 their father. Now the text doesn't say this, 716 00:46:54,240 --> 00:46:57,080 but it's implied that Moses brought this specific situation 717 00:46:57,080 --> 00:47:00,000 before the Lord. This is confirmed by two phrases 718 00:47:00,400 --> 00:47:02,040 according to the word of the Lord. 719 00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:04,480 And this is what the Lord commands. 720 00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:06,440 So Moses brought this to the Lord. 721 00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:11,560 He doesn't just, you know, shoo him away and be like y'all 722 00:47:11,560 --> 00:47:14,200 figure it out. He doesn't just make up his own 723 00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:16,360 mind. He brings it for the Lord. 724 00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:22,040 Let this be a reminder that all leaders begins on the knees. 725 00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:26,000 Leadership doesn't begin with the mind. 726 00:47:27,440 --> 00:47:31,200 It doesn't begin with the hands. It doesn't begin with the sweat 727 00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:33,920 of the brow. It doesn't begin with the 728 00:47:33,920 --> 00:47:39,280 wrinkles on the face. All leadership begins with the 729 00:47:39,280 --> 00:47:46,640 spiritual calluses of the knees. The Lord commands them. 730 00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:52,240 Let them marry whom they think best. 731 00:47:52,240 --> 00:47:54,920 And what does that mean? Literally? 732 00:47:54,920 --> 00:47:58,240 Let them be the wives of whoever is good in their eyes. 733 00:47:59,920 --> 00:48:02,560 Let them marry whoever they think is good in their eyes. 734 00:48:02,560 --> 00:48:04,520 And this is off topic but related. 735 00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:09,120 After everything I preach, this will be like the one thing you 736 00:48:09,120 --> 00:48:14,720 guys remember. That's how it is my wife and I 737 00:48:15,360 --> 00:48:18,520 hates for years. About whether there is the one. 738 00:48:19,720 --> 00:48:22,320 She would argue yes. I would argue no. 739 00:48:23,240 --> 00:48:26,440 Just for what it's worth, I would give this verse to you for 740 00:48:26,440 --> 00:48:31,760 your consideration. God says they may marry whom 741 00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:37,280 they think is best. As Paul writes about widows, if 742 00:48:37,280 --> 00:48:41,440 her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, 743 00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:46,000 but only in the Lord. Just for your consideration, 744 00:48:48,040 --> 00:48:52,160 there is one stipulation though. For these daughters they do have 745 00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:56,040 to marry within the clan of the tribe of their father, meaning 746 00:48:56,040 --> 00:49:00,800 they have to marry a Manasanite. So for Zela Fahad's daughters, 747 00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:04,080 they they have to marry someone from the tribe of Manasseh. 748 00:49:04,880 --> 00:49:08,160 Look at verse 7 to 9. The inheritance of the people of 749 00:49:08,160 --> 00:49:10,280 Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another. 750 00:49:10,560 --> 00:49:12,960 For every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to his 751 00:49:12,960 --> 00:49:14,800 inheritance of the tribe of his father's. 752 00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:17,800 And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of 753 00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:20,720 the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the 754 00:49:20,720 --> 00:49:23,200 tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of 755 00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:25,360 Israel may possess the inheritance of his father's. 756 00:49:25,680 --> 00:49:28,400 So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to 757 00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:30,240 another. For each of the tribes of the 758 00:49:30,240 --> 00:49:34,240 people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance. 759 00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:38,920 God says that the inheritance of each tribe shall not pass from 760 00:49:38,920 --> 00:49:43,400 one tribe to another. Everyone who shall hold on to 761 00:49:43,400 --> 00:49:47,080 his inheritance that he got from the the casting of lots. 762 00:49:47,640 --> 00:49:52,760 Now This is why if you remember when Ahab asked Nabov for he 763 00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:55,080 just wanted it, he's like, oh, I want that vineyard and he goes 764 00:49:55,080 --> 00:49:56,920 to him and asked for it. And what is Nabal said? 765 00:49:57,120 --> 00:50:00,800 He says the Lord forbid that I shall give you the inheritance 766 00:50:00,800 --> 00:50:06,320 of my father's. God specifies that in this text 767 00:50:06,360 --> 00:50:09,480 that the rule doesn't just apply to Zelafah's daughters. 768 00:50:09,960 --> 00:50:14,560 It applies to any daughter who gets an inheritance and any 769 00:50:14,560 --> 00:50:18,920 tribe, meaning this for all future generations. 770 00:50:19,640 --> 00:50:23,840 If you were a woman who had no brothers and therefore your 771 00:50:23,840 --> 00:50:29,600 father's inheritance went to you and or your sisters, you get to 772 00:50:29,600 --> 00:50:35,120 keep the inheritance. However, if you're going to 773 00:50:35,120 --> 00:50:37,360 marry, you have to marry your own tribe. 774 00:50:38,800 --> 00:50:43,920 You can't marry outside your tribe so that the inheritance 775 00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:46,240 would stay with that specific tribe. 776 00:50:47,720 --> 00:50:51,120 That was the deal. Look at verse 10 to 13. 777 00:50:51,920 --> 00:50:54,960 The daughters of Zealfahad did as the Lord commanded Moses for 778 00:50:54,960 --> 00:50:58,320 Maha, Terza, Hagla, Milka, and Noah. 779 00:50:58,320 --> 00:51:01,040 The daughters of Zealfahad were married to sons of their fathers 780 00:51:01,040 --> 00:51:03,000 brothers. They were married into the clans 781 00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:05,120 of the people of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, and their 782 00:51:05,120 --> 00:51:07,640 inheritance remained in the tribe of the father's clan. 783 00:51:08,120 --> 00:51:10,480 These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord 784 00:51:10,480 --> 00:51:13,840 commanded Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by 785 00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:18,120 the Jordan at Jericho. Now I want to point out what the 786 00:51:18,120 --> 00:51:23,240 text doesn't say, what the daughters don't say. 787 00:51:25,320 --> 00:51:30,560 That's not fair. I don't really like Manassonite 788 00:51:30,560 --> 00:51:36,680 boys. What if I want to marry someone 789 00:51:36,680 --> 00:51:41,560 from Judah? You know, David's from Judah? 790 00:51:43,040 --> 00:51:44,040 Exactly. From Benjamin. 791 00:51:46,560 --> 00:51:49,520 What if I like Zebulon? I've always been fond of 792 00:51:49,520 --> 00:51:53,920 Zebulonites. That's not the perspective of 793 00:51:53,920 --> 00:51:58,720 these five daughters. The text says the daughters of 794 00:51:58,720 --> 00:52:03,920 Zelfaha did as the Lord commanded Moses. 795 00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:11,320 They submitted themselves to the will of the Lord. 796 00:52:16,240 --> 00:52:20,800 As we close this chapter, I want to leave you with a question, 797 00:52:20,800 --> 00:52:23,960 and it's going to be the same question that we ask in 798 00:52:23,960 --> 00:52:29,080 Worshipping Community. What was the most impactful take 799 00:52:29,080 --> 00:52:30,680 away you had from the Book of Numbers? 800 00:52:32,040 --> 00:52:33,840 It's been about a year, just shy of a year. 801 00:52:36,320 --> 00:52:41,400 What it was the most impactful take away you had from The Book 802 00:52:41,400 --> 00:52:45,360 of Numbers? I'll give you mine. 803 00:52:45,920 --> 00:52:47,800 I'll answer a different one in Worshipping Community. 804 00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:58,920 Mine is this, that when I read the book of Numbers, there's a 805 00:52:58,920 --> 00:53:05,480 page to turn after it. That's mine. 806 00:53:07,040 --> 00:53:16,960 There's another page. Because if I were God, end of 807 00:53:16,960 --> 00:53:27,280 story, I'm done. Our God is faithful and patient 808 00:53:27,880 --> 00:53:30,280 and merciful. Let's pray.