WINNERS AND LOSERS (Book of Numbers)
By Frank Eiklor and Cecilia Contreras
LESSON 22 Part 2
INTRODUCTION
When I was new in the ministry, I was told by some older saints, “Don’t spend much time in the Old Testament. The New Testament is for us today.” I was also discouraged from preaching any messages from the Old Testament. Those saints were well-meaning but they were deceived. I was also deceived for accepting their counsel.
The Old Testament takes in two thirds of our Bible. The Old Testament Scriptures were the only Scriptures used by Jesus and the early disciples. No New Testament had yet been written! We were warned by Paul to learn from the examples of the Old Testament. Those examples show us winners (those who pleased God) and losers (those who failed to please God). We will eventually study all the winners and losers of the Old Testament. For now, we will study the first five books of Moses called in Hebrew, “The Torah”. When we complete The book of Deuteronomy we will go to other practical subjects before we return to study further examples in the Old Testament. Today’s lesson will complete the fourth book of the Torah—the book of Numbers.
EDOMS’S DEATH WARRANT
20:14-21—Example of the curse—Edom signs its spiritual death warrant by refusing to aid the people of Israel in their distress (see Obadiah 10-17).
21:1-3,21-24,33-35—Example—Canaanites, Amorites and Bashan refuse to learn a lesson from the Edomites, and so themselves are victims to the “law of the curse” (Genesis 12:3). Note v14 “the wars of the Lord.”
21:4-9—Another example of no matter how good God is, man’s heart is so very bad—Israel is still longing for Egypt. The serpent of brass becomes a symbol of the Messiah (John 3:14) and obedience is demanded by God (“look and live”) in order to be saved.
22:12—(Then read the whole chapter) Balaam is an example that once God speaks, He counts as sin any attempt or hope we have that He might change His mind. (Here is a pitiful example of a covetous heart not able to see the greater spiritual riches of God—see II Peter 2:15,16. God applies pressure three times by means of Balaam’s donkey and yet Balaam tried to go through the road blocks—an example of how a man moves from inward lust to the outward fall (James 1:13-15).
CURSING ISRAEL IS A FOOL’S GAME
23:8-10,13,19,20,27—Balak is another example of a man determined to curse Israel—only to be destroyed instead (see 24:9-18).
25:1-3—Example of deceit—while Balaam was forced to bless Israel, he taught the Moabites how to see Israel destroyed; just get them to worship false gods. (See 31:15,16) Note two more Jewish examples; one for devotion to God (Phinehas); the other devoted to Satan (Zimri).
26:9,10—A sign—or example—that God can arrange a bigger mouth to swallow the big mouths of pride and arrogance.
26:51,64,65—An entire generation pays with death for its refusal to believe God—and only their children, whom they accused God of wanting to kill, will live on and inherit the promised land.
PASSING THE TORCH
27:12,13,18-20—Example of one Spirit-filled leader (Moses) passing the torch to another Spirit-filled younger man (Joshua).
30:2—Example of the seriousness God places on keeping my word. Jesus warned us “by your words you shall be justified…by your words you shall be condemned” (Matthew 12:37).
32:1,5,17-23—Example of the unity in battle that God demanded from Israel and now expects from His body, the Church. World missions—and concern for brethren who suffer for the faith—should be the burden of every local church in America.
33:51-56—Example—Those who claim Christ and yet compromise with sin will fall under the same judgment as the Israelites who embraced the sins of their evil neighbors and had to share God’s wrath directed at the pagans and their sins.
(To be continued)
