On pilgrimage - things to remember
Text Numbers 10 Time 20/05/12 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
There
are several things in Numbers 10. First, we have what we may call the
Silver Trumpets rule explaining how silver trumpets were to be made
for the use of the priests in calling the people together and other
ways. Next we have a description of the tribes setting off On
the twentieth day of the second month of the second year and
the order in which they went. Finally, there are references to Hobab
son of Reuel, to the ark and the cloud and to what Moses would say
when they set out and when they halted.
As ever, it all seems rather far
off both in terms of the time – so long ago - and the circumstances
– trumpets and priests and deserts and the tabernacle and the ark
and the pillar of cloud and so on. How can we connect?
The
Apostle Peter begins his first letter like this Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world
scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia and Bithynia, etc. The
word he uses is the one used for a foreigner, a non-native who is
only staying in a place, an exile from his homeland. This is our
position as Christians. Yes, we are on earth. We live here but we do
not belong here any more. But it is not our home. Heaven is our home.
We are sojourners, exiles, strangers, pilgrims.
Now to that extent we can identify with the people here.
They were strangers and exiles too. They had been redeemed from Egypt
just as we have been redeemed from sin. They were on their way to the
Promised Land just as we are on our way to heaven. Right now they
were travelling through the desert where there was no permanent rest
as we are too. Like them we are living by faith and surrounded by
foes on every side. I think that if we look at the chapter in that
light we will see things to learn.
1. Hear the trumpet calls to
worship, to march, to fight and to rejoice in Christ
First
we read that The
LORD said to Moses Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them
for calling the community together and for having the camps set out.
These
trumpets are not to be confused with the ram's horns that were
sometimes blown. These silver trumpets were (8) to be blown by
The sons of Aaron, the priests and
this was
to be a lasting ordinance for them
and the generations to come. The
trumpets were to be used for four different things.
1. To assemble the people before
the tabernacle
3,
4 When
both are sounded, the whole community is to assemble before you at
the entrance to the tent of meeting. If only one is sounded, the
leaders - the heads of the clans of Israel - are to assemble before
you.
2. To announce that it was time to
set out
5,
6 When
a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the east are to set
out. At the sounding of a second blast, the camps on the south are to
set out. The blast will be the signal for setting out.
3. When going into battle
9
When
you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is
oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be
remembered by the LORD your God and rescued from your enemies. We
are familiar with the idea of bugles and trumpets in battles.
4. To mark sacrifices and
festivals
10
Also at your times of rejoicing - your appointed festivals and New
Moon feasts - you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings
and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before
your God. I am the LORD your God.
Different signals were to be used for the different uses.
Now a great deal has changed since
those times but the need for the leaders of God's people to put their
silver trumpets to their mouths and sound the right signal remains.
In particular those who preach the word to pilgrims must make a clear
and certain sound that does at least four things.
1. To call the people to worship
The
people were called by the trumpets to assemble at
the entrance to the tent of meeting. I
understand why bells are rung to call people to worship. There is
something attractive and very English about it too. Canon F8 of the
Church of England states that:
“1.
In every church and chapel there shall be provided at least one bell
to ring the people to divine service. 2. No bell in any church or
chapel shall be rung contrary to the direction of the minister”.
Bell or no bell, even when we come
together there needs to be a further call to worship God. It is good
for the minster to remind the people the purpose of gathering. This
is why some begin with what they call “the call to worship”.
Whether or not we do it like that, that note must be struck. Worship
God, honour him.
2. To call on them to march
We
are also giving marching orders. We are saying – get going or keep
going as appropriate. The end is not too far away now. Keep looking
to Jesus. Keep pressing on. Forgetting
what is behind I
urge you to strain
toward what is ahead and
to press
on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called you
heavenward
in Christ Jesus (Philippians
3:3, 4).
3. To call on them to fight
The
Christian life is not only a race or a journey but a fight too and
the call to battle is always there, explicitly or implicitly. Remember
how Paul urges the Corinthians to make sure that they speak what can
be understood by people and make everything plain.
If
the trumpet does not sound a clear call, says
Paul (1 Corinthians 15) who
will get ready for battle? We
have been speaking recently about the need to Put
on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against
the devil's schemes. For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore
we
must put
on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you
may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything,
to stand.
4. To call on them to rejoice over
Christ our crucified Saviour.
The
trumpets were also to be sounded Also
at your times of rejoicing - your appointed festivals and New Moon
feasts - you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your
God. We
no longer have to sound trumpets because there are no more feasts and
no more sacrifices since Jesus made the supreme sacrifice of himself.
However, the very fact that Christ has come and died should lead to
rejoicing and preachers should take the lead in urging this.
2. Take note of these travel directions
regarding direction, worship and weaker brothers
Next
in verses 11-28 we are told how (11) On
the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud
lifted from above the tabernacle of the covenant law. This
was 19 days after the census mentioned at the beginning of the book.
The people had been at Sinai a whole year but now it was time to move
and this was the sign. No doubt the trumpets also sounded and the
Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and travelled from place
to place (the
stages are described in the next chapter) until
the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran. We
also read that (13) They
set out, this first time, at the LORD's command through Moses. We
are then given the order in which they would travel as described
earlier. Judah was first with Issachar and Zebulun. Next (17) the
tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and Merarites, who
carried it, set out. After
them came Reuben with Simeon and Gad. They were followed by the
Kohathites ... carrying the holy things. The tabernacle was to be set
up before they arrived. The
third tribal grouping was led by Ephraim with Manasseh and Benjamin.
Finally,
(25)
as
the rear guard for all the units, the divisions of the camp of Dan
set out under their standard. With
them came Asher and Naphtali. 28 This
was the order of march for the Israelite divisions as they set out.
There are some obvious lessons
here about living the Christian life.
1. Look to God to direct you
God is the only one who knows all things and
the only one who loves as much as he does. Therefore, we should live
as he dictates. Besides this ,he alone has the authority to dictate to
us how to live. It is not right to put ourselves under some human
leader who tells us where to live and what to think, like the Pope or
the leader of a monastic community. No, by constantly going back to
the Word and seeking to conform more and more to that and being
sensitive to God's guiding so we seek his direction.
1 When he says rest then rest. That's how it
was in Israel and how it should be with us. Unless there is some
clear guidance otherwise, remain where you are – the same place, the
same job, the same situation.
2 When he says rise then rise. Equally, if he
moves you on gladly and willingly move on.
2. Keep worship at the heart of what you do
The mention of the tabernacle being at the
centre even when they were travelling is instructive too. It was
clearly given a priority in the travelling arrangements. It is so
easy for worship to get pushed out of our busy schedules. It must
not.
3. Don't forget the weak and the wandering
The
divisions of Dan acted as the
rear guard for all the units in
case there was an attack from behind. We too know that our
enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone
to devour and
so we must take care and watch out for the weak and needy too. Romans
15:1 We who are strong ought to bear
with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. If
someone is caught in a sin, we should be ready to help him out.
3. Follow this example of encouraging others
to join us on the journey
So
here are these redeemed people passing through a place where there
was no real rest, surrounded by foes but living by faith. Their
leader Moses (in verse 29) says
to Hobab
son of Reuel the Midianite, his
father-in-law, who
has been around for a while now, We
are setting out for the place about which the LORD said, I will give
it to you -
a real statement of faith if I ever heard one - Come
with us and we will treat you well, he
says for
the LORD has promised good things to Israel. At
first Hobab answered,
No, I will not go; I am going back to my own land and my own people.
But (31,
32) Moses
said, Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the
wilderness, and you can be our eyes. This
is not a lack of reliance on God on Moses part but a recognition that
Hobab knew the area well and could be a real help to the people. If
you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the
LORD gives us. His
reply is not recorded but we know that his descendants lived in
Israel and so he must have said yes.
How good are we at inviting others to join us? Sometimes we have hang
ups over asking people to help and to share our blessings. Moses
clearly has no such hang ups. Why should we? Let's say to all We
are setting out for the place about which the LORD said, I will give
it to you – heaven.
Come
with us and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good
things to us.
They may say no at first but persist in asking. Say
Please do not leave us. We
can even point out how they may help us (think of Jesus asking the
Samaritan woman for a drink. We may feel nervous about this but
surely such condescension is not wrong. If
you come with us, we
can say we
will share with you whatever good things the LORD gives us.
4. Always follow God
Verses
33 and 34 speak about the ark and the pillar of cloud. So
they set out from the mountain of the LORD it
says (the only time Sinai is referred to in that way) and
travelled for three days that is to Taberah. Then we learn that The
ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them during those three
days to find them a place to rest. Also
The
cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the
camp.
In a similar way, it is the
privilege of the believer to follow Christ and to have the Holy
Spirit upon him protecting him and keeping him. How thankful we
should be for such a privilege.
5. Always begin and end with
prayer
Finally, we have what has been
called the song of the ark.
35,
36 Whenever
the ark set out, Moses said, Rise up, LORD! May your enemies be
scattered; may your foes flee before you. Whenever it came to rest,
he said, Return, LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel. It
is good to begin and end each day with prayer. In the morning we pray
that the Lord will rise up and scatter our enemies for us. In the evening
we pray that he will come to his people. Each day we are day's march
nearer home. Always we must keep looking to God.
