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now i know
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
now what
-Violin player joke
9
And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
-It’s remarkable how many unconverted people have the mistaken idea that the Christian life is boring. How can walking with God be boring when our Father in heaven arranges the experiences of life for our good and His glory? For the Christian believer, life becomes a school () in which we learn more about God and His Word, as well as more about ourselves and how much we need to grow. Life also becomes a gymnasium and a battlefield (; ) where we must exercise our faith and develop strong spiritual muscles for running the race and fighting the battle.
This truth is well illustrated in , a chapter in which God’s care and discipline of His people are so evident.
Some of their people were taken prisoners, but the leaders immediately turned to the Lord for His help. They vowed to utterly destroy the Canaanites and their cities if the Lord would give them victory.
To “destroy” meant to devote something completely to the Lord (; ), wiping out the people and their cities and giving all the spoils to God. This is what Israel would do at Jericho (), and because Achan took what belonged to God, he was slain (). The Canaanite culture was unspeakably wicked, especially their religious practices, and God wanted these nations removed from the earth.
God gave Israel victory over the enemy and the people kept their promise. They destroyed Arad and the other cities connected with it and gave a new name to the area: Hormah, which means “destruction.”
They had to travel around the land of Edom towards the Red Sea because the King of Edom refused to let them pass through peacefully and would wage war on them if they stepped foot in his kingdom. So, Moses protecting his people brought them around Edom towards the Red Sea.
The grace of God ()
This first victory certainly encouraged the Israelites, but it’s one thing to “mount up with wings like eagles” and quite something else to “walk and not faint” (). Courage in the battle must be followed by endurance in the race. Because the Edomites wouldn’t give Israel right-of-way through their land, Moses had to lead the people east of Edom and then north through difficult terrain. It didn’t take long before the difficulty of the march made the people impatient, and they started complaining again. It’s easy for us to win the battle but lose the victory!
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings as eagles;
They shall run, and not be weary;
And they shall walk, and not faint.
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