Title Numbers 10:1-36
Contents
<Text> Numbers 10:1-36
Chan 449 (Tong 377) “Following Jesus”
As we read Numbers, there is one expression almost invariably found at the time the events unfold. This is the sentence “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,” When Jehovah God led Israel to the land of Canaan, he raised up Moses, a leader who would convey his will. And he often told him what God's will is and how God's way to accomplish it.
Today’s text also begins with the expression “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,” This is v.1~2. “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Make two trumpets of silver, and beat them, and use them to gather the congregation and set off the camp.” God commanded Moses. They were told to make silver trumpets and use them to gather the congregation and set up camps and use them when marching. The silver trumpet was ultimately a tool used to make the will of God known to the Israelites and to make them obey the will of the Lord. In this sense, the silver trumpet can be said to be a symbol of God's rule and reign over his people.
There seems to be no clear standard for defining Christians in the church today. If you regularly attend worship, have been baptized, and do a good job of service, at least outwardly, the person is recognized as a Christian. This external evidence should never be ignored. However, more important than the outward evidence is the person's inner condition. It's because you can't really tell what kind of person a person is just by looking outward. What, then, is the inner evidence of being a Christian? There are many things to choose from, but one of them is whether a person is hearing God's reign in his life, the sound of God's silver trumpet. If he acknowledges and responds to God's rule in all areas of his life, then he must be a Christian.
Christians are not those who live according to their own will and will, but those who enjoy living according to the will of the Lord God. Even if living under God's rule seems foolish and foolish by worldly standards, they silently walk that path. Because, after all, you know that you are the safest, the happiest, and the most prosperous only in the reign of God.
In John 10:14-15, Jesus said this: “I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.” But the level of that knowledge is enormous. It is the same as Jesus the Son, who is the God of the Trinity, knows God the Father, and God the Father knows Jesus the Son. That is, it is clear and practical that each other recognizes and knows each other. Christians are those who respond to the sound of the silver trumpet. Those who recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and are willing to follow it. And when you follow that voice, you will experience that you will be led to green grass and still waters.
Verses 9-10 of the text describe in detail when to blow the trumpet. In summary: When we go out to fight the enemy, it is a day of joy, a day of fixed feasts, and a time to offer sacrifices. Silver trumpets were used in several different sulfurs. This implies that the people of Israel were under God's rule no matter what circumstances and circumstances they were in.
God's reign and reign is not just manifested in one area or one time in life. You must be ruled by the Lord in all areas and at all times of your life. Some people want to be ruled by the Lord only on the Sunday of the week. And for the remaining 6 days, you become the master and live your life in the flesh to your heart's content. Some acknowledge the Lord's lordship in only one area of their life. I close my ears to the sound of the silver trumpet of the Lord in the face of children's work, in the face of rational love, and in places where my self is exalted.
If a person says that he is governed by the Lord in all other areas of his life, but lives according to his desires in terms of earning money or satisfying sexual desires, then that life is actually God's in all areas. It is proof that you are not being ruled. The same is true. If you say that you are living holy lives under the guidance of the Lord on Sunday, but the other 6 days are mixed with the world and living according to the world's way, it is true that the person is not under God's rule even on Sunday. All areas of our lives are deeply interconnected. And those who are governed by God will be affected by that rule in the whole area of their lives.
Continuingly, the text records the state of marching from Mount Sinai to the Wilderness of Paran according to God's command and the positions of each tribe as they marched. However, there is something we need to pay attention to here. Section v.33. “When they left the mountain of the Lord and went on a three-day journey, the ark of the covenant of the Lord went ahead of them on the three-day journey, seeking a resting place for them.” This means that is at the beginning of the matrix. When Israel marched into the land of Canaan, it was always the ark of the weakling of the Lord that stood in the forefront. What is the Ark of the Covenant? It is the ark containing the law that Moses received from God in his glory on Mount Sinai. What is the function of the law?
In Galatians 3:24, Paul said, “So the law was our elementary school teacher leading us to Christ, that we might be justified through faith.” The law is the elementary teacher leading us to Christ. That law allows us to see the Lord, our ruler, with the eyes of faith. And it reveals how a person of faith can be built up righteously.
What made the Ark of the Covenant stand at the head of the people of Israel was God's consideration to show that if we go forward with faith in Christ, which the law points to, we can overcome any adversary. A life that puts our strength and strength in the Lord and depends on Him will taste the Lord's work. A year is coming to an end. In the new year, I pray that we will all build the kingdom of the Lord by putting our faith in the Ark of the Covenant, the Word of God, and Jesus Christ at the forefront of the procession of our lives.
Dear God, thank you for governing and governing us this year as well. Even though I knew and experienced the happiest and most prosperous life in the Lord, I confess that I lived a life like Peter, who sometimes did not fully trust the Lord and doubted and drowned. In the new year, put the ark of the covenant at the forefront of our lives, and lead us all to taste the life of heaven in advance through faith in you. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.