Sheep need shepherds. In 2005, four hundred sheep died in Turkey when 1,500 of them fell off a cliff. How did this happen? One sheep walked off the cliff and the other 1,499 followed. All this took place while the shepherds were off having breakfast. Sheep are prone to wander. They need to be gathered, otherwise they will go astray. Sheep cannot find their own way; they need to be guided. Sheep also need protection. They need their shepherds to go with them, or they will not survive in the wild.
This illustrates an important spiritual truth concerning our relationship with God: We need him to be our shepherd. Psalm 100:3 says, “Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Without God, we are directionless and defenceless. In our pride, we may think we are better off living life our way. But do not be deceived, it is not good for sheep to be without a shepherd.
God gathers, guides and goes with His people.
In Numbers 9 and 10, God shepherds his people. Although these chapters do not mention “shepherd” or “sheep”, they help us understand how God leads us. Israel is about to journey to the promised land. God assures them that they do not go alone. They are not left to find their own way. God will shepherd His people to the place He has prepared for them. This is the big idea: God gathers, guides and goes with His people. May we be encouraged to trust and follow the Lord who leads us.
God gathers us (Num 9:1-14)
A year has passed since the Lord rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. In the first month of the second year since the exodus, God speaks to Moses. In Numbers 9:2, Israel is instructed to keep the Passover at its appointed time, according to God’s word. Numbers 9:5 tells us that the Israelites obeyed. They did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses. The Passover was to be an annual feast, reminding Israel of what God did to save His people. Although it is only a year after the exodus, Israel must begin regularly remembering redemption.
God gathers His people by redeeming them.
The Passover teaches us this important truth: God gathers His people by redeeming them. In the last of the ten plagues of the exodus, God passed through Egypt to strike all the firstborn in the land. Like the Egyptians, the Israelites also faced God’s judgement. But God graciously provided them a way of escape. The Israelites had to cover the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a sacrificial lamb. God’s judgement would then pass over the houses with the blood. The Israelites were redeemed from judgement by a lamb who died in their place. God gathers through redemption. The Israelites are a redeemed people. For this reason, it is important for Israel to remember redemption by celebrating the Passover every year. It is a regular reminder of what God has done to make them His people.
Israel’s slavery in Egypt is a picture of a bondage that is much worse. God made us in His image to know and enjoy Him, but we have all turned away from Him to live for ourselves. The Bible calls this sin. By rebelling against God, we have become slaves of sin and its consequence, death. We face God’s judgement against us. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. But God, who is gracious and merciful, did not abandon us to slavery. He sent His Son, Jesus, to save sinners. Jesus laid down His life to set us free from sin and death. He is the Lamb of God who died for sinners at the cross. Jesus bore the judgement we deserved, so that God’s wrath passes over us if we trust in him to save us. In Christ, who rose from the dead, we are forgiven and made right with God.
God has gathered us to belong to Him through a far greater redemption than Israel’s exodus from Egypt. Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. He has brought us back to God and brought us together as God’s people. We remember significant life events like birthdays and anniversaries by celebrating them regularly. Like Israel,
we are to remember redemption. But instead of observing the Passover, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. The Lord Jesus commands us to do so in remembrance of Him. Next Sunday, we will gather again to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Let us prepare ourselves by reflecting on how God has been so good to us in Christ.
Come to the table in a way that honours the Lord, neither hiding any unrepentant sin nor harbouring any grudge or unforgiveness towards a brother or sister. Since the Lord Jesus has made us clean, let us come to the table with repentant hearts. In Numbers 9:6-7, certain men could not keep the Passover at its appointed time because they were ritually unclean through contact with a corpse. But because they wanted to keep the Passover, they asked Moses what to do. Rather than give a pragmatic reply, Moses waited to hear from the Lord. God is to be worshiped according to His word. If we are to draw near to God rightly, it must be on His terms, not ours. So, do not do things in our own wisdom. Just because we think something works or feels good does not mean it is right. Wait on the Lord by prayerfully seeking His will from His word. So, let us come together to pray for the church plant next Sunday. Before we busy ourselves planning and preparing, let us ask the Lord to lead us.
The Lord is gracious. In Numbers 9:9-12, he allows those who are ritually unclean to keep the Passover a month later. It is vital to remember how God has gathered us by redeeming us. This is of chief importance, whether the Passover is kept in the first or second month. In fact, there will be grave consequences for those who, without good reason, fail to keep the Passover. Look at Numbers 9:13: Such a person shall be cut off from his people…that man shall bear his sin. To be cut off is to come under God’s judgement, which could mean exile or even death.
What does this mean for us today? Because God has gathered us through the gospel, we must gather regularly as a church to remember our redemption and new identity in Christ. It is crucial to come together with our brothers and sisters-in-Christ to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. It is a sign of our unity as God’s blood-bought people. Like these men in Numbers 9, some of us may long to be with the rest of the church but cannot do so due to health or other important reasons. Be encouraged. The Lord is gracious and patient with us. He will sustain us until we are able to gather again with the church. But if, for no good reason, we wilfully absent ourselves from church and the Lord’s Supper, then we are sinning against the Lord. By refusing to gather, we are saying to the Lord that we have no part in him or his people. Beloved, do not be casual about corporate worship. The Lord cares deeply about our worship. Do not think the danger of being cut off applies only to the Old Testament. Recall Paul’s sobering words to the Corinthian church. Because of their casual attitude to the Lord’s Supper, some of them were weak and ill; some even died.
Ultimately, God’s goal is to gather the nations, not only Israel. Strangers sojourning among the Israelites can also keep the Passover (Num 9:14). What is more, they do so on the exact same terms as the Israelites. There is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All are redeemed through the blood of a lamb. Therefore, Israel must not discriminate against outsiders. Instead, strangers and sojourners are welcome to join in to worship the Lord. His grace extends to the whole world. So, welcome others just as God has welcomed us in Christ. Our God gathers a people for himself from every nation, tongue and tribe.
God guides us (Num 9:15-10:10)
God has gathered us through Jesus, our Passover Lamb. God also guides his people by His command. The tabernacle, which was located at the centre of the camp, represented God dwelling among His people. The tabernacle was not merely an empty symbol. God revealed His glory there by covering the tabernacle with a cloud by day and the appearance of fire by night. God gave His commands to Israel through the cloud. Notice how the phrase “the command of the LORD” is repeated seven times in these verses? This emphasises that God directs Israel’s journey, according to his perfect will. If the cloud moved, Israel moved. If the cloud stayed put, Israel stayed put. This is how God will guide his people to the promised land. He does not just tell them the destination and leave it to them to figure out the way. No, God leads his people each step of the way, all the way.
Regardless of how short or long the cloud rests over the tabernacle, the people of Israel are to remain in camp. Whether for days or for months, as long as the cloud remains, Israel is to wait on the Lord. There is a lesson for us here about patience:
We do not like waiting. We get annoyed if the MRT is delayed, or if we are stuck in traffic. We want what we want when we want it. If not, we get impatient and frustrated. If we are honest, we would admit that we even want God to keep to our schedule. But the Lord calls us to trust in Him and in His timing. How is He calling us to wait? We wait on the Lord through illness or pain. We wait on the Lord through loneliness or childlessness. We wait on the Lord through unemployment or a difficult job. We wait on the Lord through uncertainty and change. We wait on the Lord through suffering and sorrow. We wait on the Lord through disappointment and discouragement. Be encouraged to wait on the Lord, for He guides His people. Follow Him, as He leads us through the wilderness of this world. We can trust the Lord’s wise plan for us. In His sovereign will, waiting time is never wasted time. We do not wait in vain.
Israel is to be ready to follow the Lord. They stay at his command; they go at his command. Numbers 9:23 sums it up well: “At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses.” The right response to God’s guidance is to trust and obey him. The Lord told Israel the destination, but He did not give them a detailed itinerary. They were to look to the Lord each step of the way, as the journey unfolded. So, it is with us. We know our final destination, but we do not know ahead of time the exact path we will take. God does not reveal everything to us, so that we learn to trust in Him. We may not know everything, but we know that our loving Heavenly Father will guide us according to his good and wise plan. Amid life’s ups and downs and twists and turns, it is easy for us to become disoriented. We lose our way. But take heart. Whatever happens to us along the way, God will lead us safely home. Keep calm and keep trusting. The well-known verse, Romans 8:28, assures us: “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” And, what is the “good” that God intends for us? What is his purpose for us? It is that we might be glorified, conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. We can trust the Lord to guide us to glory.
The theme of God’s guidance continues in Numbers 10. The Lord also guides His people with two silver trumpets, which Moses is instructed to make. The blowing of the trumpets signals to the Israelites when to gather and when to go. Israel is to listen carefully to the sound of the trumpets. God’s specific instructions depend on how and how many trumpets are blown. When both trumpets are blown with a long blast, all the congregation is to gather at the tent of meeting. When one is blown, then only the chiefs, the heads of the tribes, will gather. When an alarm is blown instead of a long blast, it signals for the camps on the east side to set out. When an alarm is blown the second time, the camps on the south side will set out.
The trumpets are God’s means of communicating with His people. They are also used by Israel to call upon the Lord. Look at Numbers 10:9: “When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.” Blowing the trumpets was a kind of prayer, a plea to God for help. Through the trumpets, God makes himself known to Israel. They also allow Israel to cry out to the Lord. The trumpets are a reassuring reminder to Israel that they belong to God. Look at Numbers 10:10: They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.
God has made Himself known to us in a greater way.
What does this mean for us today? We no longer have to rely on a cloud or trumpets for guidance, for God has made Himself known to us in a greater way. Long ago, God spoke to His people in many ways. But in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son. The cloud over the tabernacle foreshadowed the coming of God himself in the flesh. Jesus is the eternal Word, who became flesh and dwelt (or tabernacled) among us. The cloud was a mere reflection of God’s presence and glory. But in Christ, God has actually come in the flesh and revealed the fullness of His glory. We see the glory of the Father in His only Son, full of grace and truth. Now that Christ has come, He guides us by his word and his Spirit. The Spirit, who lives in us, opens our hearts to know and apply God’s word, so that we walk in God’s ways. May we listen carefully to what God says to us through His word.
Because of what Christ has done for sinners, He has opened up the way for us to draw near to God. Much better than blowing a trumpet, we can confidently come to God in prayer and ask in Jesus’ name. We have a Heavenly Father who hears us because we are in his Son. In Christ, we can be sure that God knows and remembers us. Therefore, this is the confidence we have towards God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. God invites us to cry out to Him and ask of him. Let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
We can trust God to guide us to the end. On the final day, when the Lord Jesus returns, he will gather us with a loud trumpet call. We shall be with the Lord forever in the new heavens and new earth. “The Lord himself will descend from heaven… with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thess 4:16-17)”
God goes with us (Num 10:11-36)
God will guide us till the day He gathers us home. In the meantime, God goes with us as we journey towards the new creation. The faithful God is with us today, just as He was with Israel in the wilderness. Numbers 10:11-36 tell us three things about how God goes with us: God goes with us by dwelling with us; God goes with us to fight for us; God goes with us to give us rest.
After nearly 14 months since the exodus and after spending almost a year at Mount Sinai, Israel finally begins its journey to the promised land. Israel has camped at Sinai from Exodus 19 to Numbers 10:10. Numbers 10:11 marks the momentous occasion of their departure from Sinai: In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony. The cloud moves, signalling that it is time for Israel to move too.
All along the way, He is there among His people, journeying with them.
In Numbers 2, God instructed Israel concerning the marching order of the twelve tribes. Israel is to obey God’s order. The tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun go first. They are followed by the Levites carrying the different parts of the tabernacle. Next, the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad set out. Then, right in the centre of the march, come the Levites carrying the holy things. The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin go next. Bringing up the rear are the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali. This is the key point: God goes with His people. All along the way, He is there among His people, journeying with them.
God goes with us by dwelling with us. The ark and the tabernacle were merely types and shadows pointing forward to a more glorious reality. Jesus is God with us. During his earthly ministry, Jesus ate with sinners. He healed the unclean. He raised the dead. He lived and walked among people like us. By dying on the cross and rising from the grave, Jesus brought us back to God. By His ascension, Jesus gave the Spirit to His people, the church. The ark and tabernacle were merely symbols of God’s presence. Jesus Christ is the substance. In Christ, we — together as the church — are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Since we have been united to Christ by faith, He will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus is with us in the wilderness. He is with us in our trials and troubles. He is with us in dry and barren times. He knows what we are going through. He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Beloved, lean upon Christ, who is with us.
God goes with us to fight for us. In Numbers 10:35-36, Moses prays for the Lord to fight for His people. Whenever the ark sets out and whenever it rests, the Lord must help Israel against their enemies. The journey is perilous. Life in the wilderness is war. In this world, we will go through many dangers, toils and snares. Trials and temptations threaten our faith. How shall we endure and survive unless God goes with us to fight for us? Praise the Lord, for He has defeated our fiercest foes — Satan, sin and death. Therefore, be strong in Christ. Put on the armour that Jesus provides for us. Put on His righteousness. Be ready with His gospel. Take up the shield of faith in Him. Guard our minds with His salvation. Wield the sword of His Spirit, which is God’s word. The Lord is our Warrior who conquers for us.
So, be strong and courageous in the Lord. Press on in hope, knowing that we will not be in the wilderness forever. God goes with us to give us rest. This temporary resting place anticipates the rest to be enjoyed in the promised land. The Lord gives Israel a foretaste of what awaits them. The Lord will lead them to rest. Israel looked forward to the promised land. We look forward to a far better rest in the new heavens and new earth. The Lord is leading us to an everlasting rest in our eternal home.
See how the ark went before them. God goes with us and he also goes before us to prepare a place for us. Be encouraged by Jesus’ parting words to his disciples in John 14: “Let not your hearts be troubled…If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” We sung about this earlier in the service:
All the way my Saviour leads me
Oh the fullness of His love
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father's house above
Jesus is our trailblazer. He has gone ahead to open up the way for us to come to God and to enter into his rest. Look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Indeed, the Lord is our Shepherd. All we like sheep have gone astray. We are still prone to wander. But God in Christ gathers us. He guides us. He goes with us. May we follow the Lord, who promises good to us. Listen to Numbers 10:29-32. Moses invites Hobab, his brother-in-law, to come with Israel to the promised land. Why? It is because the LORD has promised good to Israel. Hobab declines at first, but Moses persists. The Lord can use Hobab as Israel’s guide in the wilderness. More than that, the Lord can do good to Hobab. Although nothing is said here, Hobab was probably persuaded. His descendants, the Kenites, are later found living among Israel in the promised land.
Friends, the Lord has promised good to His people. He invites you to believe in His Son, Jesus, that you might become a part of His people. Will you trust in the Lord and receive good from Him? The Lord promises us eternal peace, joy and rest. In Christ, we have a sure hope of enjoying God forever in the new creation. We can trust in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to lead us home.