The Israelites in the Wilderness

I. Introduction
A. Our 2021 summer series is stories from the Bible which help us learn how to live in this world.
1. This is our fourth sermon. We’ve already covered Abraham, Moses and Noah.
2. Today we are talking about Israel in the wilderness.
3. 2Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for equipping us to live in this world. But surely some Scripture is especially profitable for teaching us to live in this world. And the story of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness is one of those parts of Scripture.
B. The story takes dozens of chapters of the Bible, so we can’t read it all.
C. But let’s review the story of Israel in the wilderness, from Exod.15 to Deut.
1. God sent Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt.
2. The climax of that story is after the ten plagues when they come to the Red Sea (Exod.14) and God parts the waters so they walk through on dry ground. Then the sea is released and the Egyptian army drowns.
3. This is followed by a great celebration with singing and dancing (Exod.15).
4. But then the Israelites set out on a journey to Sinai (Exod.15-18).
5. And after three days they hadn’t found any water, and their supplies were gone.
6. And the thirsty people began to grumble against Moses at Marah. And Moses cried to the Lord and the Lord supplied water by healing a poisonous pool and leading them to a place of springs. – Exod.15:22-27
7. Next the people began to complain about having nothing to eat. “It would have been better if the Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt, where we had plenty of meat and bread to eat, than to you have you bring us into is wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Exodus 16:3
8. So God provided them with manna, and then with quail. Exod.16
9. When they began their journey again, it didn’t take long before they ran out of water once again, and grumbled against Moses. This time, when Moses brought the need to the Lord, He supplied water out of the Rock, when Moses struck it, and named the place Meribah – Exod.17:17.
10. When they finally arrived at Mt. Sinai, they camped before the mountain where there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast. And there was fire, and the whole mountain trembled greatly – as did all the people, in fear. Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God. – Exodus 19:16–20
a. That’s where they received the 10 commandments (Exod.20), and the rest of the law (e.g. Exod.21-23). And that’s where the covenant was ratified between God & the Israelites (Exod.24).
b. That’s also where the incident with the golden calf occurred (Exod.32), the priesthood was established and the tabernacle set up (Exod.35-40).
11. Then the Israelites set off for Kadesh-Barnea (Num.10-13), a journey which was accompanied by more grumbling (Num.11) and by an uprising against Moses because of his marriage to a Cushite woman (Num.12).
12. But the low point of Israelite grumbling came when they arrived at Kadesh, and sent in 12 spies to scout out the land. And when 10 of the spies were too intimidated by the people in the land to recommend trying to take the land, “all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt, or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become their prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ And they said to one another, ‘Let’s just choose a leader and go back to Egypt.’” – Numbers 14:2-4
13. This was what brought God’s patience to an end. He said to Moses and Aaron, “I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel. Say this to them, ‘All of you twenty years old and older, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land I swore to give you, except Caleb and Joshua. But your little ones, the very ones you said would be killed by the Canaanites if you went in, I will bring them in, and they shall live in the land you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.’” –Num.14:26-32
14. And so the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Not much is said about what happened during those 40 years, except that it was a time of bitterness, quarreling and rebellion. (Num.16-31). The three big stories which occur during those years are:
a. Moses strikes the rock a second time, this time sinfully, and is told he will not be able to enter the promised land
b. The story of the bronze serpent
c. The story of Balak&Balaam, which ends with Israel’s sin with the Midianite women -Num25:1-9.
15. At the end of the period, the Israelites are in the plains of Moab, about to enter into Canaan. All of the older generation has died off except for Joshua and Caleb, and Moses gives the younger generation the law (Deuteronomy), and then climbs Mt. Pisgah, from where he can see the promised land.
D. So, this morning we’re looking at this entire period as a whole, from exiting Egypt to entering Canaan.
E. Our passage this morning is 1Cor.10. And though the apostle Paul did not set out to give us a summary of the wilderness experience in 1Cor.10, he gives us something of a summary:
1. He refers to the pillar of cloud in v.1.
2. He refers to the crossing of the Red Sea in v.1.
3. He refers to getting water from the rock in v.4
4. He refers to the quail in v.3.
5. He refers to the older generation dying in the wilderness in v.5.
6. He refers to the golden calf in v.7 (where he quotes from Exod.32:6).
7. He refers to the sin with the Midianite women in v.8 (Num.25:1-9).
8. And he refers to the complaining in v.9 (Num.21:4-6).
F. But he doesn’t just tell us a story, he tells us that in the story we learn how to live in this world.
G. 1Corinthians 10:1-14 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
H. Now it doesn’t take an in depth study of this passage to see that Paul sees the Israelites in the wilderness as a bad example to us, not a good one. Just the fact that God allowed the entire generation to die in the wilderness and not enter into the promised land proves this.
II. So, why is the story of Israel in the wilderness so helpful for learning how to live in this world?
A. Because our situation is so similar to theirs. What are you talking about?
B. How can you say that our situation in 21st century middle class America is similar to that of the Israelite former slaves wandering in the desert of the middle east 3500 years ago?
C. Well, they are similar.
1. We too have been delivered from slavery. (I’m referring to those of us who are believers.)
2. We too are in something of a wilderness, on our way to a promised land.
3. We too experience deprivation at times.
4. We too (at least many of us) have memories of pleasures which we experienced in our former lives, which can haunt us in the midst of our times of deprivation.
D. So, let’s begin by putting ourselves in their sandals. They were in a difficult situation. Shouldn’t we feel a little compassion for them?
1. Wasn’t it understandable that they were thirsty and hungry? Of course!
2. Wasn’t it understandable that they felt urgent about it? Of course.
3. What was so wrong about their reaction then? Let’s talk about where they went wrong.
a. Through the promise of Abraham, through the raising up Moses, through the ten plagues, through the Passover, through the Exodus, God had already blessed them greatly and shown them not only His power but His great love for them as well.
b. But, when troubles came, instead of humbling themselves before Him – with gratitude – they acted as if they had forgotten everything God had done for them and grumbled against Him as if He had set out to harm them instead of help them.
c. This reminds us of the story of the disciples in the boat during a storm (Mt.8:23-27, Lk.8:22-25). They say to Jesus, “Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” (Mk.4:38) He’d done so much for them, and yet they ask, “Don’t you care?” Instead of asking humbly for His help, venom comes out. He rescued them out of their last ten crises, but this one proves He doesn’t care for them?
d. And it reminds us of a story in Matt.16:5-12. In Matt.15:32-39 Jesus had just miraculously fed 4000 men with their wives and kids. And there were 7 baskets of leftovers no one could eat. And then Jesus gets in the boat with His disciples and they start fretting over the fact that they forgot to bring lunch. But Jesus said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Don’t you get it? Don’t you remember how I fed five thousand with five loaves , and how many baskets of leftovers you gathered? Or the time I fed four thousand with seven loaves, and all the baskets of leftovers? And yet you’re in a panic about lunch?” 8-10
e. How many times do I have to help you before you start looking to me for help? How many times do I need to prove Myself trustworthy before you start trusting Me? I’ve told you that I love you! I’ve showed you that I love you! Why do you keep refusing Me?
III. (Grumbling)
A. This is the issue for the Israelites in the wilderness.
1. Instead of asking the Lord for help, they grumbled (Num.14:27).
2. Instead of being thankful and putting their trust in God, they forgot all He had done for them.
3. They looked at their richness and called it poverty.
4. And they looked at their former poverty and called it richness.
5. This is the devil’s temptation. He deceived Adam and Eve into looking at their richness and calling it poverty. And to look at the poverty he promised them and calling it richness.
6. And the Israelites fell for the same lie.
B. We know that for a Christian, there is no place for grumbling/complaining. Philippians 2:14 “Do all things without grumbling.”
1. So, how do you do all things without grumbling? Is it a matter of keeping your mouth shut when you feel like grumbling? Do you really think God is OK with us having grumbling hearts as long as we don’t let it out of our mouths? I don’t think so.
C. I would suggest that not grumbling but giving thanks in all things (1Thes.5:18) is a matter of interpreting your life correctly.
1. Overall, am I a blessed person or a cursed person? Am I a rich person or a poor person? Am I basically a privileged person with a few hardships, or a deprived person with a few pleasures?
2. I mean the fact is, we all have hard things and happy things in our lives.
3. The question is, which carries more weight for us? Which do we see as the big story of our lives?
D. What are the criteria by which we decide?
1. It all comes down to this: What is your true treasure? What things do you really cherish in life – above everything else?
2. It’s pretty clear that what the Israelites in the wilderness really treasured was ease/comfort in life.
3. Just like Esau, they just wanted their tummies filled, and the bigger things, the eternal things were unimportant. They were blind to the exceedingly great value of having God, of knowing God.
E. This is the great Treasure of the believer!
1. We have God.
2. We are His chosen people.
3. We have His promises.
4. We have His instruction, His tutelage.
a. We are students in training.
b. We have a great Teacher. There is no better.
(1) Do you what a difference a great teacher can make in your life?
(a) How many of you would say that your life was changed by a good teacher?
(b) We could tell a lot of stories about how we’ve been blessed by a teacher.
(2) One of the weaknesses of classroom learning is that students are very different from one another, but a classroom doesn’t give the luxury of adapting the curriculum to each person’s best pace and learning style.
(3) Not so with the Lord! Not only does He adapt the education to each student, but He knows us better than we know ourselves. He made me so He gets us. He knows us through and through. He knows what’s best for us. He knows how to get through to us. He knows how to teach us. He knows how to encourage us. He knows how to guide us. He knows how to discipline us. He knows how to correct us. He sticks with us even through the hard times and does not forsake us. He finishes what He begins.
5. We have His leadership.
6. We have a great God traveling with us, who always supplies our needs.
7. We have His protection from all that is harmful.
8. We are traveling to the promised land.
9. In one sense, we are in a wilderness, but we are so blessed. We have so much going for us!
a. And there is a good reason for the wilderness experience. We don’t learn very much when things are floating along smoothly. We learn best through suffering.
10. And we have all these things not just for a while, but for eternity.
F. And when someone grasps the exceedingly great value of these things, everything else seems trivial in comparison. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the thing of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” Steven Taylor & Helen Lemmel
G. Compare the attitude of the Israelites in the wilderness with David’s attitude in Psalm 23. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
1. David doesn’t deny the reality of the valley of the shadow of death, or the presence of enemies.
2. But he knows the Lord is his good and loving shepherd.
H. Here is the psalm of the Israelite in the wilderness: “The Lord is a disappointment; I am always left wanting. He makes me lie down on hard ground. He leads me through barren places. He drains my soul. He claims to lead me in paths of righteousness, but it’s all for his own sake, for I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and see only evil. What good is it that You are with me? Your rod and Your staff are a pain in my back side! You deprive me of everything but enemies; You anoint my head with dust and ashes; my cup is empty. Surely hardship and deprivation shall follow me all the days of my life. I am going to get out of the house of the Lord if it’s the last thing I do.”
I. Those psalms could be written by two people going through identical circumstances, couldn’t they?
1. The only difference is that one sees what a Treasure God is and the other one doesn’t.
J. This is the key to happiness.
1. It’s not money; it’s not success or esteem; it’s not friends & family; it’s not health and longevity.
2. It’s knowing what the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. (Phil.3:8)
3. It’s knowing that He is your portion (Ps.16:5). It’s knowing that because you have been given the gift of knowing God, the lines have fallen in pleasant places (Ps.16:6).
K. When we know these things, then when troubles or crises crash into our lives, we don’t need to grumble, because we remember that we still have God as our Father, and that He still loves us. We remember that we can come to Him humbly and gratefully, and cry out to Him for His help. And that He is an ever-present help in times of trouble (Ps.46:1).