Faltering Faith

Hello turn with me to number's chapter 11, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus numbers fourth book of Moses fourth book of the Old Testament sermon today is going to take us throughout the entire chapter, which consists of 35 verses. I am just going to read verses one through 23 in your hearing at this time. But when the people complained it displeased the Lord for the Lord heard of it, and his anger was aroused so the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp and the people cried out to Moses and when Moses prayed to the Lord. Fire was quenched.

So he called the name of the place timbre because the fire of the Lord had burned among them. Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving, so the children of Israel also wept again and said, who will give us meat to eat. We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leaks, the onions and the garlic. Now our whole being is dried up. There is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes, not the man I was like coriander seed and the color was like the color belt of Delorme. The people went about and gathered it grounded on millstones or beaded in the mortar cooked it in plantains and made cakes of it and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil and when the dew fell on the camp in the night. The man I fell on it.

Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent.

The anger of the Lord was greatly around Moses also was displeased.

So Moses said to the Lord, why have you afflicted your servant and why have I not found favor in your sight that you have laid the burden of all these people on me. Did I conceive all these people that I did get them, that you should say to make carry them in your bosom as a guardian carries a nursing child to the land which you swore to their fathers wear a mind to get meat to give to all these people, for they weep all over me saying give us meat that we may eat.

I am not able to bear all these people alone because the burden is too heavy for me.

If you treat me like this.

Please kill me here and now, for I if I have found favor in your sight and do not let me see my wretched so the Lord said to Moses, gathered to me 70 men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you that I will come down and talk with you there. I will take the spirit that is upon you, and will put the same upon them, they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone, then you shall say to the people, consecrate yourselves for tomorrow you shall eat meat for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord saying, who will give us meat to eat for it was well with us in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat, you shall eat not one day, nor two days nor five days nor 10 days nor 20 days, but a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, why did we ever come up out of Egypt.

Moses said the people who I am among our 600,000 men on foot. Yet you have said I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month of flocks and herds be slaughtered for them to provide enough for them, or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to provide enough for them.

The Lord said to Moses, has the Lord's arm been shortened. Now you shall see whether what I say to you, will happen to you, shall we pray fathers.

We value your presence today we come rejoicing that we have been granted salvation in Jesus Christ and all who are you believing people have been justified before your judgment bar.

Therefore, we, Lord to give you our praise and worship our adoration to renew our lives to you to commit ourselves afresh into your service to acknowledge our need of you to pronounce our love for you and to ask that it may be increased by the work of your spirit in our lives to ask the Lord that you will cause your word to live and be powerful in our hearts and lives. This day we come to intercede for those who are in need. We pray today for a missionary brother Stewart why is he is just about to the end of a 14 day quarantine. To determine that he has not contracted covert that he was exposed to in the hospital. We thank you that no symptoms have appeared.

We pray all Lord, we pray that now. His transplant may take place soon. We pray for Pastor Bob mature, who is running a fever today of 103+ we ask the Lord you will touch him for his week from his recent heart attack. Pray that you will give him strength and healing. We pray for Rob Conrad this brother of ours whose been the hospital all week that you might touch him for Gail Davis as she recovers from covert.

We thank you for the good report from why don't matter that the outbreak there is now under control and is considered to be in the past we rejoicing that pray for the staff and residents there and people doing the families who have lost loved ones who died there in great number that you might minister comfort to them.

Pray for Sarah Cardwell as she continues to recover from her surgery. We thank you that it went well on Monday.

We pray for David Moxley as he is battling a covert, 19 along with his cancer treatment. We thank you that our brother, our pope is able to be with us today in church and we pray that you continue to strengthen and protect him. Father, we know of a number of people in our congregation who have been in contact or who found out retrospect that they had been in contact with those diagnosed with covert, 19, and we pray that in your kindness you might protect them from getting sick.

We also want to pray for the service tonight with the Bixby's father we are so blessed to be in partnership with these faithful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ whose ministry you are so obviously blessing in the land of France. Father we pray that as they come to us that they might stir us up in the most holy faith and strengthen us in our resolve to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, and we pray that you might cause us to be a blessing and encouragement to them. Pray for their building project, which is daunting that you might provide for indeed the Lord your arm is not short that you cannot save in your ear is certainly not heavy, that it cannot hear father open our hearts to receive your word this day. We pray in Christ name your bulletin has an insert in on one side you will find the him speak all Lord as we come to you to receive the food of your holy Word.

Shall we stand together as we say no and and and and set aside our expository consecutive expository series to second Corinthians back in March because of covert minority the meeting at all for a while thinking it might be good to set aside then come back to it and we could gather together again and not knowing it would be as long has it has been since we return to normalcy. So during that time we launched into a seven part series on the great iambs of Christ found in the book of John. That was followed by three sermons relating to Israel and the vine, and all of those from the Old Testament, the number of texts that show us the lessons of the vine that apply to Israel and teachers of God's dealings with them today. I thought I would take up numbers chapter 11, another Old Testament text. Since we have been in our regular preaching series in the New Testament for an extended period of time all the way through first Corinthians now more than halfway through second Corinthians. I thought it would be appropriate to spend a little more time in the Old Testament, and also because I have over the years I kept a file and when I do my daily Bible reading and come across a passage that I say now, I'd like to preach that someday my jot down a few thoughts and drop the file and usually never see it again, but this is an occasion to pull some of those things out of the file deal with them and so I'm taking advantage of that opportunity at this time so it come to numbers chapter 11 and 21 of the occasions of Israel's wanderings in the wilderness in these Old Testament wanderings are recorded in great detail for us in the Old Testament, and, as Paul tells us in first Corinthians chapter 10. It is there.

These are there for our benefit for our admonition for our learning.

Hear what Paul says in first Corinthians 10 six and following. Now these things became our example to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted and not become idolaters, as were some of them as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play, not let us commit sexual immorality as some of them did one day 23,000 fell. Nor let us attempt Christ as some of them also attempted and were destroyed by serpents nor complain.

Some of them also complained and were destroyed by the destroyer.

Now all these things happen to them as examples.

They were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come clearly, God wants us to examine passages like this from the Old Testament, and particularly from the wilderness wanderings. And so today we come to numbers chapter 11, which I have entitled faltering faith going to see two things were going to see. First of all three tests of faith and secondly, three divine responses to these tests of faith in the faltering faith which they revealed three tests of faith three particular areas where faith was tested and is recorded for us for our admonition in the first test of faith is related to adversity. Verse 1.1 the people complain to displease the Lord.

They complained the Newberry American Standard Bible translates that they complained because of adversity is actually something in that Hebrew word translated complain, which carries the idea of adversity. This is therefore talking about external circumstances, things that come up in life. In the of in the course of life, the kinds of things that we consider to be adversities, trials of various kinds. One kind or another, and that was what was happening to them at this time and they were complaining because of this adversity what was going on the particular adversities are not identified, just as they complained, but we can look back in the context and understand a little bit of what was going on three days before this Hebrew run on numbers 11 one we read in numbers chapter 10 that they had departed from signing. They had struck camp and they had started marching guided by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.

They were guided in their resumption of their March toward the promised land. We read in Numbers 10 verse 11. Now came to pass in the 20th day of the second month of the second day of the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of the testimony and the children of Israel sat set out from their from the wilderness Society I on their journey in the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paris and so forth.

So they started moving there on the move from signing. Now you have to go back and I had to do a little research to get this all in place, but it turns out, from the time the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea into the wilderness until they arrived at sign Eli encampment that's referred to in chapter 10. Took two months two months of marching in and stopping along the way. It actually wasn't long enough to take two months if they had camped if they had marched steadily, but by the guiding of of God. They marched a while stopped a while camped while Brooke Marched the more, and during that time there were episodes went they complained to God doubted God's provision complained that they didn't have water complained that they didn't have one thing or another.

There's a lot of that goes on during this short two month period until they arrive. Signing when they got to signing a that's a mountain range, they encamped for an extended period of 10 months didn't move an awful lot took place during those 10 months, that's the time when God gave the 10 Commandments and the rest of the law on Mount Sinai, and Moses delivered that to the people. That's the time when God gave instructions for the construction of the tabernacle.

Detailed instructions and provided men who were skilled and able to do this construction and gave the people an opportunity to give of their resources they had taken much treasure out of Egypt. As you know, they gave generously to the construction of the tabernacle so that eventually Moses had to say stop. We got enough stop giving stop giving. Don't give anymore. We got all we need, and more than enough stop that.

Of course it took some time to construct the tabernacle. All the furniture all of the things that involve their but all this took place and an awful lot of what you find in the in the books of Exodus and Leviticus in the first part of numbers is all taking place during this 10 month encampment at the foot of Mount Sinai. Now, after nearly a year of encampment God says it's time to move out again and the cloud rises and they broke camp they took down the tabernacle they took down their tents. They started to march and they are headed toward change – sometimes called K dish bar Neil which is on the very border of Canaan, the promised land, and they direct march from society like to K dish would've taken them about 11 day. There are three days into that 11 day march is going to land them on the border of Canaan and what are they doing their complaining, their complaining now the people complained it serious complaining when it tells us the Lord heard at that is to be understood in a special way. Clearly, God hears everything but it's telling us that the complaining was loud.

It was incessant.

God took note of it and he was not a favorable taking note on the part of God. Why were they complaining every need, had been supplied.

Every person that was in their camp was healthy and able to march. I really hadn't been struck by this until this week, but do know that so some hundred and five verse 37 says he brought them out with silver and gold out of Egypt and listen to this. There was none feeble among their tribes. Nobody who was weak. Nobody who was sick. Nobody who was infirm. No one whose advanced age made it difficult for them to march that is remarkable how did that happen. Obviously by special dispensation of God's grace and power. Everybody was fully able to carry out this March by the direction of God and they had been in camp for 10 months, 10 months of marching 10 months of known working there food was supplied to them every day.

10 months of basically rested their clothes didn't wear out and have to be replaced. Their shoes didn't wear out and have to be replaced every necessity had been supplied and so now they're called upon by God to resume marching resume walking again after 10 months of this extended break, and they are contemplating this is too much you're asking too much of is you requiring too much. This is hard now.

From our perspective it doesn't look very difficult and demanding it all and we went there we don't know how much of the adversity is genuine and how much is exaggerated.

I'm sure it wasn't a picnic to march through a wilderness area.

This is not lush Meadowlands.

This is not hiking the Appalachian Trail or some beautiful place in the park.

This is a more difficult march to be sure, but everything is been supplied. They are well rested there. It seems to be very little reason for them to come Lane but they are complaining and they are complaining loudly, insistently, incessantly, which tells us the people don't need much of a reason to complain and still complained we have to acknowledge that we are prone to that as well. We have to guard against that.

It really doesn't take a whole lot to cause us to complain if we have an ungrateful and complaining spirit which these people obviously had so the first test of their faith had to do with the adversities of life difficulties, whatever they may have been in this case the second test of faith tested with fleshly desires. These are the things we normally think of an in terms of temptation do not so much the one that comes up here, but that particular category is one that we would think of as a genuine temptation, but there fleshly desire is there craving for food and I read it to you earlier. So I'm not going to go back and read it all again were told in verse four that they had intense craving translated in another version, as greedy desire and this was started this this complaining and calling out for food was started were told by the mixed multitude, and then later was taken up by the children of Israel themselves, who are the mixed multitude will those are non-Jewish people who left Egypt and came with them. We read about the use in Exodus 1237 and 38 then the children of Israel journeyed from RAM RAM cc to suck with about 600,000 men on foot, besides children get you some idea size of this group. It's probably around 2 million people altogether and then we read in verse 38. A mixed multitude went up with them also and flocks and herds a great deal of livestock.

A mixed multitude. They are either totally not Jews or they are in some cases, those who have been born out of mixed marriages were Jews may have married Egyptians and so forth, to mixed multitude, but those who wanted to go were allowed to go. Anyone who believe the word of God. Anyone who avail themselves of the provision of God made with the blood on the doorpost of the lintels. Anyone who heard the word of God and responded to it and wanted to cast in their lot with the children of Israel to leave Egypt was allowed to go but not all of them were were Jews were not all physical descendents of Abraham, and it's this mixed multitude that begins the complaining and griping that we don't have meat were tired of this man and it wasn't long until the Jews took up the same complaint. They did so. Also, we read. It starts out with a mixed multitude in verse four that were told that the children of with Israel also wept and said, who will give us meat to eat. Immediately we think of the problem of of bad company when you're with that company. You tend to take up the attitudes and actions of bad company they can have a bad influence upon you and this is certainly an example of it and often times we are inclined to blame the problems of our children with the bad company they keep is nothing wrong with them, but it's it's those other guys you know don't don't criticize the preachers kids.

The problem is they were influenced by the deacons. Kids know that sort of thing. See too many to smile because I can't see how he faces. But it's clear that the children of Israel's hearts were the same place as the mixed multitude if they had been they would have said no we have no reason to complain. God is good, God has supplied while we complaining God has given us everything we need, but instead, they quickly took up the very same complaint. You see, oftentimes I would say most of the time when we see ourselves or others who are influenced by what we consider to be bad company and it causes us to follow those wayward triads and to join that bad company.

We need to acknowledge what is the truth and that is this is simply revealing what is in our hearts or this is simply revealing what is in the hearts of our children.

We can't blame it on outside influences, though, that obviously had some effect, but the problem is in word not out word and it's going to come out one time or another.

It's going to come out sooner or later. So now they're all complaining and they are complaining very soon after the last episode of complaint. That's the force of that word again in verse four, so the children of Israel also wept again that refers to the complaining that was that was described in verse one. Now they're doing it again and said he will give us meat to eat what they were missing was the meat that they had enjoyed in Egypt, which had been available to them, meat, fish garden produce watered by the Nile River and they remember that they remembered these these benefits of living in Egypt, seemingly had completely forgotten the slavery, the, the harsh taskmasters. The incredibly difficult life that was imposed upon them in slavery in Egypt. They forgot all that but all they could remember is at least a set as well and were not happy with this man were dissatisfied with the manna in the text goes on to describe a little bit about the manna which was God's provision for their food in the wilderness. This was God's way of feeding about 2 million people every day. This manna mysteriously appeared upon the ground every morning and it was a perfect food in one place is called Angels food. We don't know what it was that there's nothing, nothing comparable to it in the world today. This was divinely supplied on this particular occasion, but it had all the food groups, all of the vitamins. All of the minerals in the productivity of the nutrition that they could possibly have needed enough to sustain them in good health, for as it turned out 40 years in the wilderness and it tasted good, but yes it was repetitious that we'd like to have a little variety course you can always find something wrong.

The matter how much his right and so their flesh is rising up and craving, desiring lusting after food that God had not provided for them. The fleshly desires can come to us in three different areas. They can be, in some cases, sinful desires as example sexual desires that are that are wrong.

Fall into the category of immorality of fornication, inordinate desires, which are legitimate things that we want to take to and in ordinate level, such as gluttony or ungrateful desires desires for things that are not illegitimate.

If God provides them but God hasn't provided them and were ungrateful with what God has provided, and the fact is, God has provided for us everything we need. Not everything we want, but everything we need, as he had for them. We go to guard against the spirit of ingratitude and lusting after thing that God has not at this time provided, so faith is tested. First of all, in the adversities of life. The external circumstances that we consider to be hard. Faith is tested. Secondly, in the inward cravings of our body of our soul of our mind, those internal desires that can trip us up. And it certainly test our faith. And when I say these are temptations.

These are testings of faith, here's what I mean. The desire for food, disabled items and like a very strong temptation. If attempt if it's a temptation to doubt God to be ungrateful to God. It is a very strong temptation to sin. That's what it is we have a lot more temptations than what we often call temptations. Any thing that is urging us to question God to doubt God to be ungrateful to God that he is a temptation to sin. They sinful temptation and that's what they were experiencing, but there's 1/3 area and it's in the area of duty and has to do with Moses. He began to complain God's man, God's most godly man, God's most prominent man God's chosen man, but he began to complain to verse 10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families. Every one of the door of his tent.

So Moses said to the Lord.

Verse 11.

Why have you afflicted your servant, and so forth. And Moses temptation is to lose his faith in God under the burdens of leadership. In his case, a very large leadership but it could be any area of Christian duty, something that God calls upon us to do and we get tired in doing it. We get Larry in doing it.

We get unhappy in continuing faithfully to do what God has called us to do.

We are tempted to lay aside the duties that God has given to us.

And Moses case it was the burden of leadership and he complains to God in verses 12 through 14. He says God IN produce all these people, these these 2 million people that you called upon me to lead this this leading these people is no picnic. God and they are demanding meat and I can't supply its driving me crazy.

They will leave me alone there there demanding meat and there's no way that I can supply that.

And Moses is feeling overwhelmed with the responsibility that has been given to him by God.

This is a test of his faith, milky test God to enable him to carry out the duty to God has given to him a divinely appointed duty or will his faith failed and he will be unable therefore to carry it out.

So Moses case it was a burden of leadership which was a heavy responsibility and he took it seriously and that's why it was having.

If you had taken it so seriously, it wouldn't seem so heavy he was the burden of unmet expectations. The people expected something of Moses, which she was not able to provide the people expected something of Moses which was not in his job description, God never called upon him to supply me for these people, but there demanding it. Selfish demands expecting of Moses what they had no right to expect and Moses is feeling the weight of it very heavily. There complaining and on godly expectations could have cost them the best leader that they'd ever had history looks back to Jewish history looks back on Moses and considers him to be the supreme leader of God's people of all time. That's not the way these people are looking at it now is that a different Moses that histories looking back on such favor the same Moses. It's just a different perspective. The people of the time there unhappy. They are expecting things that are not reasonable. So the burden of leadership. The burden of unmet expectations in the burden of has been heavy responsibility that's come up on Moses. It seemed like this responsibility was too much for him. But the reason it seemed that way is because his faith had weakened his perspective had faltered. He wasn't looking to God.

He was looking to his circumstances and difficulty folks we all face test like these at one time or another.

We are tested by the difficulties of life that are external to us. We are tested by our inward desires which are very much a part of us who we are and are hard and are sold in our inner man. We are tested by the responsibilities that God gives to us and sometimes, if we're not careful, we can conclude that these are unreasonable expectations when they're not ever. Our boat we can come to that conclusion as Moses did three tests of faith, but we hurry on three divine responses. What are the to the first one the complaining about circumstances, the adversity in their March from Sinai. What is God's response. It is serious judgment so serious it astonishes us. We read in verse one, so the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp, then the people cried out to Moses when Moses prayed to the Lord.

The fire was quenched. So he called the name of the place timbre because the fire of the Lord had burned among them was God's response to their incessant complaining. He kills some of them not Maddie but he kills some of them by an outbreak of fire. We don't know if this is lightning that striking the bed on the outskirts of the camp.

We don't know this is some kind of conflagration that is started in the Oscar on the outskirts of the camp, but some of them were killed and the ones who were not killed saw the ones who were that became a very important lesson to them that we better be careful that we don't say that doesn't seem fair that seems to severe.

We don't know all the circumstances, it may just as well have been too lenient and I think it probably was. As I study God's judgments throughout the Bible. I realize that in most cases, they obviously are more lenient than they deserve to be. And instead of killing all the people who complained just a few all deserved it.

All who complained like this all deserved it. Just a few actually received the judgment of God. That's actually very lenient but for our part, we need to guard our hearts that we don't get these attitudes toward God as if we are able to judge God is therefore able to see all the circumstances. This is a four able to know everybody's heart is therefore able to know all the things God knows and we sit back and we stroke are charitably safe. Well, I don't think God did that right. Whenever we think that way. We have raised ourselves up as something almost equal to God, and we need to get back down to where we are.

We are the creature he is to create tour. We are the finite one. He is the infinite one of the sinful ones he is the holy one. We are that we are the cruel ones.

He is the merciful one songwriter had it right when he said judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace that saw judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. That's the right attitude, fiery judgment, he tells us how seriously God takes complaining we think all that's nothing good on the big banks is like murdering stealing stuff big step and serial immorality, and in the perpetual drunkenness, so that's pretty serious stuff. We might expect God to judge that would complaining careful learn these things are written for our admonition that we might learn that passage in correcting said learn not to complain as they complained, God takes it seriously.

But let's look at the divine response to their like all their lustful compromisers compromises the course an of calling at that because the people of Israel caved in late compromise to the complainant was started by the mixed multitude not a God handle that will first of all, he announced to Moses in verses 18 through 20. Beyond the portion that I read earlier that their desire for meat would be granted was promised to which Moses response was Lord that's impossible. Now this is Moses Lahr. There's 600,000 men, besides women and children is 2 million people here where the flocks and herds to provide me for all these people where if you brought all efficiency together how how would you possibly provide meat for all these people and God simply says my arm is not short I'm able Moses faith was weak.

I'm able in the astonishing supply is described for us in verses 32 and following God sent Quail flying all around the camp, we read that the accountant it's a little pleasant. Exactly what is being said. But I think this translation is probably the correct one.

The Quail were in verse 31 all around the camp and about 3 feet above the ground. In other words, in my Bible. My version seems like they were stacked up 3 feet high on the ground which you try to figure out how to even walk among them. That would've been difficult, but I think it's more likely to God because the Malta fly low, about 3 feet off the ground so that they were easily clubbed and captured and it tells us that the one who gathered the least was able to gather 10 homers and I had trouble getting an exact amount of what that was but that is something no less than, and probably more than 60 bushels. You know to bushels don't you if we don't we don't live on farms anymore, so you may not know, but if you go to the farmers market.

You see the big wicker baskets of food was a bushels little ones are packs rid of a bushel pack.

Did you ever hear that song I heard a growing up. I love you a bushel and a pack a bushel and a pack and a hug about the neck from the neck up.

If you are that that's were talking, you kids is a bushels pretty good size basket affects a smaller one 60 bushels.

That's a lot of meat frankly what he going to do with that much meat out of the desert you don't have a refrigerator to take a lot of refrigerated trucks while they were they were addressing it and putting it out on the floor of the desert to dry. Dry meat, but when they aided, they got sick badly sick and one commentator suggested I think it's probably right on target that this was severe food poisoning. This is not a suitable place for meat. God provided them the perfect food for their environment. At that time. When they got to Canaan, which state could have reached within a matter of weeks if they had doubted God and failed to go in and thus ended up another 38 years before they got there, but when they got to Canaan that they would be able to process me to keep it to salted to do the various things that they do with it to preserve it, but out there. Camped in the wilderness was not a suitable place for meat. God is not withholding from them because he doesn't love them. He's withholding from them.

What is not good for them he's letting them learn that lesson by you can have it and what see what happens makes you sick. Too many of them died and what they thought they wanted so badly proved to be deadly to some of them and undesirable to all of them and was actually a spiritual weakness to all of them Bible tells us that God gave them the stuff this food but it resulted in leanness in their soul. Some hundred six, 14 and 15 but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tested God in the desert and he gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul when we talking about the divine response to testings of faith. The first one that involved a great deal of complaining God's response was severe judgment. The second one which was there fleshly craving for what that which God had not provided their asking for things that God in his wisdom had not given to them. That resulted in some of them being severely judged and also brought leanness to their solely was detrimental to their relationship with God, we come to the third one. God's response to the weakness of faith to his weary servants. That's Moses in this case, we find the responses entirely different. It is a gracious enabling by God for Moses to go on. And God says all right lets you use choose 70 qualified men. These are just any man, but there men who are elders. The men who are leaders qualified men in the camp and I'm going to enable them to help you they will become a sublayer of delegated responsibility not been removed from you the responsibility of leadership you're still going to be the leader.

Like it or not, but he didn't like it very well. He didn't even before God called him and he wasn't enjoying it very much now but you see this is what God called upon them to do. This was his responsibility. His duty before the Lord God said I'm going to provide 70 men to help you and God endued them with the power of the Holy Spirit and they prophesied once did not repeat it. This is in the portion that I didn't read Moses prophesied regularly, they prophesied once did not repeat it.

Say what is this prophecy what what exactly is it what it sounds like what it consist up. The answer is I don't know, and I can't find anybody who really knows for sure the Bible doesn't tell us. Some think it was singing the word of God. Some think it was speaking the word of God. We don't know what we know is it was something that people in the camp recognized as divinely bestowed enablement and it authenticated the 70 men as having been authorized by God for places of leadership to help Moses similar to the gifts of the spirit of the New Testament which are related to the office of apostle and authenticate the apostles and others that they have chosen to be leaders in the early church very similar, and we even have this account of ill dad and me dad which I don't have time to go into now Joshua was was jealous for Moses honor Moses was of a different spirit.

But here's the point in this that I think is most important. Moses said to Joshua, I wish everybody could prophesy verse, verse 29 then Moses said to him, are you zealous for my sake apparently Joshua was concerned that Moses honor was somehow diminished because me dad and and Eldon were prophesying in the camp, he says, oh that all the Lord's people were prophets in the Lord would put his spirit upon them.

People read that say well, doesn't Moses have a different spirit is not done. He's not territorial he's not protective but the first thing that came to my mind was luck is depressions God you can tell it in his response, there is no longer depressed. God's ministry to him, strengthened him lifted his spirits gave him a good attitude, a wholesome attitude, a wonderful attitude. Instead of his week and even complaining attitude and God restored his soul. His depression is God.

That's the way God responded to a weary servant quickly. The lessons we need to understand when it comes to the adversities of life that we find difficult at many times there caused by our route wrong attitudes more than by actual difficulties, we see that here we need to restrain our impulse to complain because when we do we can discourage others in drag them down with us and when we do we can discourage spiritual leaders and make their jobs more difficult and we certainly need to restrain our impulse default God. Many of the dissatisfactions that we have with God are listen to me situations that we have created for ourselves.

Thank you God.

Shame on us lessons relating to duty.

Just remember when God gives us a responsibility, he always provides whatever is necessary.

Place press Tim is a songwriter said he giveth more grace as the burdens grow greater incentive more strength as the labors increase to added afflictions he added his mercies to multiply Charles his multiplied peace. His grace has no limit to his love has no measure.

His power has no boundary known unto men were out of his infinite riches in Jesus. He then give thank God when it comes to fleshly desires and temptations of the flesh. We need to simply submit to God's commands and providences and accept his wisdom and his provision and thereby honor him. Shall we pray. Father, help us oh Lord to be strong in faith help us oh Lord to trust you help us oh Lord to suppress the unbelieving recesses of our hearts, and by your grace, replace them with the faith that honors you as we ask it in Jesus name