1 00:00:14,059 --> 00:00:17,359 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,399 --> 00:00:24,079 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:26,820 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:35,579 --> 00:00:43,799 All right, folks, let's open up in a word of prayer and invite the Holy Spirit among us. 5 00:00:45,500 --> 00:00:50,920 Jesus, we give you the glory, God, for all things in our lives, Lord. 6 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:56,759 We know that you are the provider of all things, Lord, and we acknowledge, Lord, we are stewarding 7 00:00:56,759 --> 00:01:02,759 these things for your kingdom, Lord. Even our time, we're stewarding God for you. 8 00:01:03,420 --> 00:01:07,799 And we thank you for this time, Lord, that we can give back to you, Lord. 9 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:13,700 We pray that you honor that and let your spirit be among us, God, and bless this time, Lord. 10 00:01:14,359 --> 00:01:20,280 I open up our minds and our hearts, God, to receive your word, to grow, Lord, in knowledge 11 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:25,980 of you, and to grow in a closeness to you and a closeness to each other, Lord. We pray that you 12 00:01:25,980 --> 00:01:31,739 you open up your scripture, God, and bring it to life tonight before us, Lord, and bring fresh 13 00:01:31,739 --> 00:01:38,719 new revelation to us through your word, God. We just give you all the glory and the honor in Jesus' 14 00:01:38,719 --> 00:01:46,879 name, amen. All right, we are in Numbers 31 tonight, and you guys had, 15 00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:59,099 last week it was Numbers 30 and talked about the seriousness of vowels and spoken word and 16 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:06,140 commitments. And we've talked about that before, the power of the spoken words and 17 00:02:06,939 --> 00:02:16,199 how vowels are binding once spoken, so it emphasized personal responsibility and all that. So 18 00:02:17,259 --> 00:02:26,199 Numbers 31 kind of takes a leap, and as we know, we're at the end of the Israelite's 19 00:02:26,199 --> 00:02:33,620 journey in the wilderness, and we're at the end of Moses' role as the leader. 20 00:02:34,580 --> 00:02:42,919 And this chapter actually kind of takes a jump back about six chapters, 21 00:02:44,099 --> 00:02:52,639 you know, where the Midianites had come into camp and spread all kinds of 22 00:02:53,140 --> 00:03:02,060 bad stuff. So this is the part where God is commanding divine judgment against the Midian 23 00:03:02,620 --> 00:03:10,020 nation and not revenge. We're going to talk a little bit about that, but it's judgment for it. 24 00:03:10,300 --> 00:03:19,539 So let's start and we'll read Numbers 31, 1 through 6. And I apologize, I don't have PowerPoint tonight, 25 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:24,879 I just didn't have the time, guys, and John Kratz, I know you're listening, I apologize especially to 26 00:03:24,879 --> 00:03:34,960 you. So 1 through 6, the Lord said to Moses, take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. 27 00:03:35,379 --> 00:03:41,960 After that you will be gathered to your people. So Moses said to the people, arm some of your men 28 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:48,560 and go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the Lord's vengeance on them. 29 00:03:49,439 --> 00:03:58,259 Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel. So 12,000 men armed for battle, 30 00:03:58,919 --> 00:04:05,099 a thousand for each tribe were supplied from the clans of Israel. Moses sent them into battle, 31 00:04:05,580 --> 00:04:13,680 a thousand from each tribe, along with Phineas, son of Eliza, the priest who took within the 32 00:04:13,919 --> 00:04:20,480 circles for sanctuary and the trumpets for singling. So that's something we've talked about 33 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:25,740 before, how the Israelites used to send the priests and the Levites and the musicians out 34 00:04:25,740 --> 00:04:34,259 before battle. So in order to understand what's going on here in 31, we have to jump back 35 00:04:34,259 --> 00:04:43,000 to 25 and recall what we went through here. What did Midian actually do to deserve this 36 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:52,259 vengeance? So, you know, Israel was seduced into sexual immorality, which led to idol worship. So 37 00:04:52,839 --> 00:05:00,660 Midian did not attack Israel physically with an army. They infiltrated them with their 38 00:05:00,660 --> 00:05:08,620 immorality and their idol worship through Balaam's council specifically. So, you know, 39 00:05:08,620 --> 00:05:20,579 one of the greatest dangers to us as God's people isn't necessarily the physical aspect 40 00:05:21,259 --> 00:05:29,680 of it, but it's this idea of spiritual warfare against the church. It's this idea of 41 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:43,980 compromising, you know, where God has us. So, in Matthew 16.6 warns us against that. He says, 42 00:05:44,220 --> 00:05:49,759 be careful, Jesus said, to them, be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the 43 00:05:49,759 --> 00:05:57,819 Sadducees. And this is a warning to beware of corrupting influences. And he was using 44 00:05:57,819 --> 00:06:09,779 leaven and yeast as a metaphor, how a small amount of this can get in and make a catastrophic 45 00:06:10,860 --> 00:06:17,319 difference. So he's saying, be careful of this, you know, be careful of false doctrines, 46 00:06:17,519 --> 00:06:23,680 be careful of immorality, be careful of these things, because even a little bit coming in 47 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:31,160 can infect, you know, an entire nation like it did here or infect us and then we infect 48 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:40,120 others. So this is a warning, you know, that Jesus had because he knew of this. So God had dealt 49 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:47,220 with, if you remember, God had dealt immediately with the Israelites who were involved with this. 50 00:06:47,220 --> 00:06:53,779 So now he's dealing with the Midianites. So that jumps back to say, okay, why is this happening? 51 00:06:54,139 --> 00:07:00,019 That's why it's happening. They brought this into Israel. He dealt with his own people, 52 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:07,700 and now he's dealing with these influences. So God commands Israel to execute the Lord's 53 00:07:07,699 --> 00:07:18,199 vengeance over Midian. And we have to delineate here between vengeance and revenge, right? So 54 00:07:18,199 --> 00:07:27,500 this is not revenge. This is divine judgment tied to his covenant protection. Big, big, big difference. 55 00:07:27,620 --> 00:07:34,500 And we often interchange revenge and vengeance, but if you think about it logically, you know, 56 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:42,519 revenge is more of this personal, emotional act or retaliation against wrong. If somebody 57 00:07:42,519 --> 00:07:49,199 wrongs me, I'm going to naturally and physically and in the flesh, I want revenge against them, 58 00:07:49,220 --> 00:07:58,040 while vengeance is more of a calculated, intense, you know, broader, maybe retribution for these 59 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:05,899 things. So it's in the vein of justice, whereas the revenge is not necessarily in the vein. It 60 00:08:05,899 --> 00:08:13,420 might be justified in our minds, but it's not justice. And the other thing to keep in mind 61 00:08:13,420 --> 00:08:21,120 here is that, you know, God is not eliminating people in a sense. He's eliminating the corruption 62 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:27,420 and the immorality that was destroying his covenant, his covenant people, right? 63 00:08:28,060 --> 00:08:38,019 So let's move on. Seven to 14 says, they fought against Midian as the Lord commanded Moses and 64 00:08:38,019 --> 00:08:48,279 killed every man among their victims were Evi, Rakem, Zor, Her, and Reba, the five kings of 65 00:08:48,279 --> 00:08:55,879 Midian. They also killed Balaam, son of Beor, with the sword. The Israelites captured the 66 00:08:55,879 --> 00:09:02,019 Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks, goods, as plunder. 67 00:09:02,759 --> 00:09:09,019 They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled as well as their camps. They took 68 00:09:09,019 --> 00:09:16,639 all the plunder and spoils, including the people and the animals, and brought the captives, spoils, 69 00:09:16,639 --> 00:09:22,539 and plunder to Moses and Elazar, the priest. And the Israelites assembled at the camp 70 00:09:22,539 --> 00:09:29,240 on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. Moses and Elazar, the priest, 71 00:09:29,820 --> 00:09:33,500 and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 72 00:09:34,759 --> 00:09:40,940 And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of the thousands, 73 00:09:40,940 --> 00:09:47,620 and the commanders of the hundreds who returned from battle. So let's dig into this a little bit 74 00:09:47,620 --> 00:09:55,720 here. So they defeated the Midianites with their military might, right? They killed the Midianite 75 00:09:55,720 --> 00:10:05,700 kings. So what was Moses and the priests upset about? Well, they returned with captives and 76 00:10:05,700 --> 00:10:19,580 plunder. So these verses reveal that Israel won the battle but almost lost the future and really 77 00:10:19,580 --> 00:10:30,799 what God was sending them in to do in the first place because they stopped short of obedience 78 00:10:30,799 --> 00:10:36,419 and completing, you know, what God had. Let's go on and get in a little bit into more of this 79 00:10:37,580 --> 00:10:45,740 because the real threat was this seduction, this spirit, not necessarily just the sword. 80 00:10:46,139 --> 00:10:50,820 They had killed the men and the warriors and all of this. So 15 through 16 says, 81 00:10:51,799 --> 00:10:59,120 have you allowed all the women to live? He asked them. They were the ones who followed Balaam's 82 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:10,379 advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the PR incident. So that a plague 83 00:11:10,379 --> 00:11:19,399 struck the Lord's people going back where he put the plague in in 25. So they obeyed partially. 84 00:11:21,220 --> 00:11:34,980 And is partial obedience really obedience? No, it's not. It's really not. I mean, if God 85 00:11:34,980 --> 00:11:49,379 commands us to do something and we do just some of it, we're not really being obedient to God and 86 00:11:49,379 --> 00:11:54,759 because that's what this was all about. It's not, you know, it's not human temper. It's not Moses 87 00:11:54,759 --> 00:12:02,259 getting agitated with this. It really reflects, you know, what God is saying because God requires 88 00:12:02,259 --> 00:12:13,340 all. He requires 100% not partial in this. Let's read Luke 9 57 through 62. 89 00:12:14,060 --> 00:12:17,820 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, to Jesus, 90 00:12:18,740 --> 00:12:24,500 I will follow you wherever you, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus said to him, 91 00:12:24,759 --> 00:12:31,460 foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. 92 00:12:31,940 --> 00:12:39,759 To another, he said, follow me. But he said, Lord, let me go first and bury my father. And Jesus 93 00:12:39,759 --> 00:12:46,559 said to him, leave the dead to bury the dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. 94 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:52,919 And yet another said, I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at home. 95 00:12:53,539 --> 00:13:01,139 Jesus said to him, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom. 96 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:05,559 And this can see, you know, when I when I was younger and read that, and I would say, 97 00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:09,179 man, that seems kind of harsh. You know, all they want to do is, you know, 98 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:16,220 what they're doing asking to do is not of a sinful nature. It's not, you know, it's not 99 00:13:16,220 --> 00:13:21,419 bad things. It sounds kind of like, okay, they want to do these final things and then 100 00:13:21,419 --> 00:13:28,700 follow Jesus. But what Jesus is saying here is you can't half heartedly, you know, he was using 101 00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:36,879 these stories and these metaphors to make a point, is that you can't put anything above 102 00:13:37,700 --> 00:13:43,399 following Jesus and following him. There can't be anything, there's got to be this 103 00:13:43,399 --> 00:13:49,340 hundred percent commitment. So this is this is what was going on with with with the warriors 104 00:13:49,340 --> 00:13:56,580 that they were partially obedient. And look, I mean, you think about it, you think about 105 00:13:56,580 --> 00:14:01,399 these guys going into we often think about it, just read it very, you know, very functionally 106 00:14:01,399 --> 00:14:06,320 that they went in and do, but these are, you know, these are men that are out out doing this, 107 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:16,320 I'm sure it was not an easy thing to do. And probably they had mercy. But God was looking for 108 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:23,320 this complete thing to be done, because it was like, you know, you can't leave this partial 109 00:14:23,879 --> 00:14:29,799 sin, you can't leave, you know, there can't be just a little bit, you know, you know, of battle worship. 110 00:14:30,100 --> 00:14:35,940 Well, we just we just have a little bit of it, not a lot, just a little. So Jesus is making a point 111 00:14:35,940 --> 00:14:51,100 and God was making a point and Moses was making a point here. Let's move on 17 through 18. 112 00:14:52,299 --> 00:14:57,620 Now, kill all the boys, kill every woman who has slept with a man, 113 00:14:58,340 --> 00:15:02,740 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man. 114 00:15:05,379 --> 00:15:12,000 This is a challenging scripture, isn't it? I personally, for me, you know, I think I've 115 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:18,779 shared this before, I find, you know, all of these verses, you know, where they talk about 116 00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:26,220 wiping out, you know, all of the nation, I find them just really, really difficult to reconcile 117 00:15:26,779 --> 00:15:33,220 in my heart and my mind, because, you know, I equate, you know, I equate God with his, 118 00:15:33,620 --> 00:15:39,679 with my relationship with him and Jesus. And, you know, I can't imagine Jesus saying, hey, 119 00:15:39,779 --> 00:15:43,980 you know, go in and just wipe out that entire village. So it's a very, it's a challenging 120 00:15:44,539 --> 00:15:49,659 thought and it's a challenging scripture to wrap our head around. I used to think to myself, well, 121 00:15:50,059 --> 00:15:56,320 you know, the God of the Old Testament doesn't seem like the God of the New Testament. 122 00:15:57,380 --> 00:16:08,879 But, you know, we can't avoid or soften or even sensationalize these things. This is, 123 00:16:08,879 --> 00:16:17,659 judicial judgment. It's not barbaric revenge. It's not racial hatred. It's not just, you know, 124 00:16:17,980 --> 00:16:26,639 blatant killing. You know, Israel is acting as an instrument of God to cleanse, is really what it 125 00:16:26,639 --> 00:16:33,360 was. And we can, you know, a little bit later, we're going to, we'll look into how this translates 126 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:40,259 from a, you know, from this physical cleansing, you know, in this physical warfare to more of a 127 00:16:40,259 --> 00:16:50,620 spiritual cleansing and spiritual warfare. But, you know, he was preventing, he was cutting off 128 00:16:51,519 --> 00:17:00,080 this generational corruption, this generational immorality, which if given root, if given seed, 129 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:08,259 if allowed to go on, could have ruined the nation, could have ruined it from the inside out. 130 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:18,119 So challenging, yes. Difficult to understand, yes. But as we dig in deeper and really get the 131 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:23,940 spiritual aspect of it, you know, it opens our eyes a little bit. And when we correlate it again, 132 00:17:23,940 --> 00:17:31,859 a little bit closer to New Testament grace, it becomes, it becomes much more enlightened. So, 133 00:17:32,059 --> 00:17:41,140 verses 19-24 gets into this cleansing after the victory, after the battle. 134 00:17:42,319 --> 00:17:51,900 So anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed must stay outside 135 00:17:51,900 --> 00:17:57,319 to camp for seven days. On the third and seventh days, you must purify yourselves 136 00:17:58,059 --> 00:18:06,759 and your captives. Purify every garment as well as everything made of leather, goat hair, or wood. 137 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:15,140 Then laser, the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, this is what is required 138 00:18:15,140 --> 00:18:24,279 by the law that the Lord gave Moses. Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead, and anything else 139 00:18:24,900 --> 00:18:31,380 that can withstand fire must be put through the fire and then will be cleaned. 140 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:38,880 But it must also be purified with water, with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand 141 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:47,059 fire must be put through the water. On the seventh day, wash your clothes and you will be clean, 142 00:18:47,380 --> 00:18:56,779 and then you may come into camp. So, this gets back to months and months and months and months 143 00:18:56,779 --> 00:19:02,380 ago when we were going through Leviticus. This is the Levitical law of purity and we went through 144 00:19:02,380 --> 00:19:11,180 all of this. What had to be done, why it had to be done, and why it's symbolic of what Jesus did 145 00:19:11,180 --> 00:19:18,779 for us. This ritual purity, this cleansing from defilement caused by death or even the 146 00:19:18,779 --> 00:19:24,759 touching of death. So the warriors, they must be cleaned after battle and then even the objects, 147 00:19:25,519 --> 00:19:31,380 even their clothing, everything needed to go through this cleansing. 148 00:19:32,020 --> 00:19:37,259 And as I was reading that, I was trying to correlate and trying to think of 149 00:19:37,259 --> 00:19:48,460 how does this relate to our walk with Jesus. And months ago we went through Romans as well. 150 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:57,839 And Romans 12, 1 through 2 talks about this continual transformation after salvation. I talked 151 00:19:57,839 --> 00:20:04,599 about this a few weeks ago, this idea of continual transformation that we go through. 152 00:20:05,039 --> 00:20:12,039 So it reads, presenting ourselves, therefore I urge you brothers and sisters in the view of God's 153 00:20:12,039 --> 00:20:20,819 mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is true and proper 154 00:20:20,819 --> 00:20:29,299 worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing 155 00:20:29,299 --> 00:20:37,700 of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good and pleasing 156 00:20:37,700 --> 00:20:50,339 and perfect will. This is after salvation. So this is a continual purification that we go to 157 00:20:50,339 --> 00:20:57,680 and a transformation that we go through. Yes, yes, the blood of Jesus covers us and it cleansed us and 158 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:05,640 it saved us. But we often have to go through this transformation because holiness, you know, 159 00:21:05,759 --> 00:21:12,859 holiness is a requirement of God. It's not a suggestion of God. It's a requirement 160 00:21:13,619 --> 00:21:17,259 that he calls us to be holy because he is holy. 161 00:21:20,459 --> 00:21:30,779 Verses 25 through 47. So this is about shared victory and God's ownership of everything. 162 00:21:31,799 --> 00:21:39,059 The Lord said to Moses, you and Elazar, the priests and the family heads of the community, 163 00:21:39,319 --> 00:21:47,859 are to count all the people and animals that were captured. Divide the spoils equally between the 164 00:21:47,859 --> 00:21:55,579 soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. From the soldiers who fought in 165 00:21:55,579 --> 00:22:03,799 the battle, set apart as a tribute for the Lord, one out of every 500, whether people, cattle, 166 00:22:04,500 --> 00:22:11,920 donkeys or sheep, take this tribute from their half share and give Elazar the priest 167 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:20,500 the Lord's part. From the Israelites' half, select one out of every 50, 168 00:22:21,839 --> 00:22:30,799 whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or animals, give them to the Levites who are responsible for 169 00:22:30,799 --> 00:22:38,799 the care of the Lord's tabernacle. So Moses and Elazar the priest did as the Lord commanded. 170 00:22:38,799 --> 00:22:50,880 The plunder remaining from the spoils that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep. That's a lot of 171 00:22:50,880 --> 00:23:02,019 sheep. 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, 32,000 women who had never slept with a man. 172 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:14,420 The half share of those who fought in battle was 375,500 sheep, of which the tribute for the Lord 173 00:23:14,420 --> 00:23:26,920 was 675. 36,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the Lord was 72. 30,500 donkeys, of which the 174 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:35,259 tribute to the Lord was 61. 16,000 people of whom the tribute to the Lord was 32. 175 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:42,599 Moses gave the tribute to Elazar and the priest as the Lord's part and the Lord commanded Moses. 176 00:23:43,059 --> 00:23:49,519 The half belonging to the Israelites, which Moses set apart from that of the fighting men, 177 00:23:49,519 --> 00:24:00,900 the community's half was 370,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, 3,500 donkeys, 16,000 people. 178 00:24:01,380 --> 00:24:08,420 From the Israelites half, Moses selected one out of every 50 for the people and animals 179 00:24:08,420 --> 00:24:18,779 as the Lord commanded him and gave them to the Levites who were responsible for the Lord. So 180 00:24:18,779 --> 00:24:24,019 and I would encourage you if you like to study things, what have we said in the past, 181 00:24:24,519 --> 00:24:32,880 numbers always mean something. They always equate to something. But this was super confusing to me 182 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:37,940 as I was studying. I read through it, I can't tell you how many times I read through it, 183 00:24:37,940 --> 00:24:42,400 and I said, wait a minute, who got what? You know, how much did the priest gets and how much, 184 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:49,359 wait a second. So it's confusing when you read it, but it really breaks down like this. So half 185 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:55,400 of the spoils went to the warriors and half went to Israel. The priest and the Levites received 186 00:24:55,400 --> 00:25:05,039 a portion taken out of each half. So in other words, from the warrior's half, one out of 500 187 00:25:06,100 --> 00:25:13,119 is given to the priests as the offering. This is called the Lord's tribute as he was talking 188 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:21,299 about it. So you understand that? So one out of 500 was given to the priests out of the warriors 189 00:25:21,299 --> 00:25:27,500 portion and the rest, rest they keep. For the Israelites, or in other words, the community is 190 00:25:27,500 --> 00:25:39,720 what he was calling it. One out of 50 is taken and given to the Levites. So this supports the 191 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:48,039 10 of meetings, as we've talked about in the past. As I was reading through that, I originally 192 00:25:48,039 --> 00:25:56,299 thought, well, did that whole half go to the priests? Well, no, actually a very small portion 193 00:25:56,299 --> 00:26:02,420 of it went to the priests and God gave half of the victory to the people and their portion went 194 00:26:02,420 --> 00:26:16,180 to serve him. So he says, divide what I have placed under your stewardship. And that's a real key thing 195 00:26:16,180 --> 00:26:25,940 for us to understand. This is something that I've tried diligently to apply in my life 196 00:26:25,940 --> 00:26:38,619 for the past 40 some years is I don't own anything. I don't own my stuff for my money or my house or 197 00:26:39,220 --> 00:26:49,440 my time or my business or my kids or I don't own anything. I am a steward that God has placed 198 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:57,519 and a steward has to steward things in a way that gives honor to God. God owned the land, 199 00:26:57,900 --> 00:27:07,079 God owned the victory, God owned the spoils. And he was turning over portions of that to his people 200 00:27:07,079 --> 00:27:20,299 to steward. So 48 through 54 gets into this idea of a volunteer offering or a heart response 201 00:27:20,299 --> 00:27:28,119 out of out of gratitude. So it says, then the officers who were over the units of the army, 202 00:27:28,259 --> 00:27:33,559 the commanders of the thousand and the commanders of hundreds went to Moses and said to him, 203 00:27:33,559 --> 00:27:39,740 your servants has counted the soldiers under our command and not one is missing. 204 00:27:40,700 --> 00:27:48,859 So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired, 205 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:57,819 armlets, bracelets, sinlets, rings, earrings, necklaces to make atonement for ourselves before 206 00:27:57,819 --> 00:28:06,259 the Lord. Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold, all the crafted articles, 207 00:28:06,420 --> 00:28:13,180 all the gold from the commanders of thousand, the commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar 208 00:28:13,180 --> 00:28:23,819 presented as the gift to the Lord weighed 16,750 shekels. Each soldier had taken 209 00:28:23,819 --> 00:28:30,839 plunder for himself. Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders 210 00:28:31,579 --> 00:28:36,039 of the thousands and the commanders of the hundreds and brought them to the ten of 211 00:28:36,039 --> 00:28:43,960 meetings as a memorial for the Israelites. So think about this for a second. The officers 212 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:54,240 were so grateful to God that none of their men, none of their soldiers had been killed, 213 00:28:54,359 --> 00:29:00,940 not one of them, and they were so thankful for that. They loved their people so much that they 214 00:29:00,940 --> 00:29:08,859 said, in addition to this portion that went back to them, we're giving you this because we want 215 00:29:08,859 --> 00:29:19,920 to honor what God did for us. It's a beautiful gesture and a beautiful thought from the officers, 216 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:27,079 and it's a model of something of gratitude that we should follow. So they gave gold voluntarily. 217 00:29:27,420 --> 00:29:32,859 No one commanded them to do it. Moses didn't ask for it. God didn't ask for them to do it. 218 00:29:33,420 --> 00:29:45,920 Reminded me of Luke 19.8 and how gratitude can transform our behavior, transform us, 219 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:56,859 and really compel us to want to give abundantly. When we realize the blessing of that, 220 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:06,000 Luke 19.8 reads, and Zacharias stood and said to the Lord, behold the Lord, 221 00:30:07,779 --> 00:30:17,319 the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it 222 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:30,940 fourfold. 2 Corinthians 9.7 reminds us to be cheerful when we give. I've said this many, 223 00:30:30,940 --> 00:30:45,259 many, many times over the years when we truly embrace this idea of giving from our heart 224 00:30:45,259 --> 00:30:53,539 and really understanding that, you know, we are really just stewards of what God has given, 225 00:30:53,960 --> 00:31:02,680 and when we give, the blessing, you hear people talk about this all the time, and sometimes 226 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:10,200 you just don't know until you experience, but the blessing of giving. When I was young, 227 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:20,299 young in the Lord, I used to hang on pretty tightly to my wallet and my money, and when the offering 228 00:31:20,299 --> 00:31:27,240 basket would come around, I'd look at my wallet and maybe throw in a five or something like that, 229 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:33,500 or sometimes I wouldn't throw in any. If I had a heavy week with bills, I wouldn't put any in, 230 00:31:33,500 --> 00:31:44,099 and as I began to mature in the Lord in it, when I began to have experiences of giving 231 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:55,740 and what God did in my heart through giving, it wasn't a ritual of, okay, I have to give 10%. 232 00:31:57,500 --> 00:32:02,700 Honestly, I don't even think about the 10% anymore. It's not even a number 233 00:32:02,700 --> 00:32:14,640 that I think about and use as a guide, because I want to give abundantly. I want to give more and 234 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:24,319 more. In my personal life, in my business, I want to be able to give more. People that work for me, 235 00:32:24,319 --> 00:32:36,440 many, many aren't even believers. I have a giving goal for every year, and I look at it very closely, 236 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:44,480 and Tammy and I look at it, and we say, we want to give abundantly more and more every year, 237 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:52,559 and in years when it's tight, I still want to give, because God blesses that, 238 00:32:52,559 --> 00:33:01,259 and that's what was happening here. These commanders and these leaders were so blessed 239 00:33:02,220 --> 00:33:10,839 by the abundance that God had given them, and so blessed by the grace that he had on them, 240 00:33:11,019 --> 00:33:19,299 that they were compelled to give, and I think that's just a wonderful testimony. 241 00:33:20,259 --> 00:33:31,339 As I reflected back on this chapter, I look at this battle that went on and this cleansing 242 00:33:31,339 --> 00:33:41,240 that went on, and I think of what Christ did for us and the deliverance of where he brought 243 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:47,099 me and the sanctification that he brought me through, but then still the inner battle 244 00:33:47,820 --> 00:33:57,200 that is going on all the time within me, that inner battle is reflective of this physical battle 245 00:33:57,980 --> 00:34:08,360 that went on here in chapter 31. It's a physical battle. It's a battle for 246 00:34:09,180 --> 00:34:16,340 purity. It's a battle to cleanse what came into that, and from a spiritual perspective, 247 00:34:16,340 --> 00:34:22,880 this is, you know, the Old Testament had these physical battles and these physical enemies, 248 00:34:23,519 --> 00:34:31,659 and in us and in the New Testament talks about sin and flesh and divided allegiance and spiritual 249 00:34:32,260 --> 00:34:40,980 warfare. We have the covering of the blood of Jesus. We have the covering of grace 250 00:34:41,780 --> 00:34:49,480 and forgiveness that's on us, but make no mistake about it. It's a battle. 251 00:34:50,099 --> 00:34:55,239 We're just not out there, you know, with guns and swords and all of this stuff, 252 00:34:55,260 --> 00:35:03,920 but we are out there battling against very, very real enemies that want to come into our camp. 253 00:35:05,119 --> 00:35:09,900 They want to come into our camp. They want to come into us personally. They want to come 254 00:35:09,900 --> 00:35:16,840 into Land's Dale life. They want to infiltrate just like the Midianites did, 255 00:35:18,460 --> 00:35:24,059 and that's a fact, but it's a spiritual thing and not a physical thing. 256 00:35:25,980 --> 00:35:37,920 You know, Jesus taught in Matthew 5, 29, 30, if your right eye causes you to sin, 257 00:35:38,720 --> 00:35:45,579 tear it out and throw it away, for it is better that you lose one of your members 258 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:53,039 than that your whole body be thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, 259 00:35:53,340 --> 00:36:00,440 cut it off and throw it away, for it is better that you lose one of your members 260 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:04,019 than that your whole body go into hell. 261 00:36:06,900 --> 00:36:14,780 Obviously, this is not literal, right? So don't anybody go home and cut your hand off or your 262 00:36:14,780 --> 00:36:27,940 foot or whatever, but it's a metaphor of the radical removal of sin in our lives, and Jesus, 263 00:36:27,940 --> 00:36:36,420 as Jesus taught so brilliantly, he used, I don't want to say hyperbolic language, but he used these 264 00:36:36,420 --> 00:36:48,699 metaphors to drive a point home about we cannot allow these sins to infiltrate our lives. 265 00:36:49,780 --> 00:36:59,500 Matthew 6, 24, no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, 266 00:36:59,579 --> 00:37:05,159 or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 267 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:16,380 Well, God must hate money, or God must hate wealth, right? No. Again, this is not the point. 268 00:37:16,940 --> 00:37:27,440 He is using this metaphor to talk about we cannot have divided loyalty when it comes to God. We can't 269 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:38,800 just be, again, halfway in with God. We can't be semi-obedient to God, and he's making a point here 270 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:47,179 because, you know, money can so easily corrupt, but there are many things can so easily corrupt us 271 00:37:47,179 --> 00:37:55,719 when we allow him to, but the point here is our loyalty to God cannot be divided. We cannot serve 272 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,420 two members, two masters. 273 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:10,320 So what Israel was commanded to destroy physically, we as believers must destroy 274 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,539 spiritually and battle against spiritually. 275 00:38:15,599 --> 00:38:24,079 So in summary, you know, the core principles are the key points, the key takeaways that I like. 276 00:38:24,079 --> 00:38:28,599 You know, compromise is more dangerous than conflict. 277 00:38:31,279 --> 00:38:39,760 So when we compromise things, in other words, when we give in just a little bit for the sake of 278 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:48,019 this or the sake of that, it is dangerous. Partial obedience invites future destruction. 279 00:38:49,760 --> 00:39:00,300 God demands undivided allegiance, and gratitude flows from recognizing God's mercy and his grace. 280 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:10,780 I think this chapter really revealed, you know, God who refuses to coexist with corruption 281 00:39:10,780 --> 00:39:19,699 and immorality. You know, not out of cruelty, not out of punishment, but out of love, 282 00:39:20,860 --> 00:39:29,820 and out of wanting to protect and preserve his people. And I've said this countless times as 283 00:39:29,820 --> 00:39:40,719 we've gone through these Old Testament books, thank God for Jesus. Thank God for what he did 284 00:39:40,780 --> 00:39:54,139 for us and his new covenant that he placed on us. So I'm going to close this in prayer, 285 00:39:54,280 --> 00:40:01,039 and then we can break down into groups and just talk. I went a little longer, so we can just 286 00:40:01,039 --> 00:40:08,960 have quick, we can have quick little meetings, right? Thank you, God, Lord, for this chapter, 287 00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:15,380 Lord. Thank you for the spiritual lessons that we learned from this. We pray, God, you will 288 00:40:15,380 --> 00:40:21,900 quick into our heart what it means, Lord, to walk with you, you know, with undivided allegiance, 289 00:40:22,059 --> 00:40:31,880 Lord, in giving you 100% of who we are, Lord. Help us to guard our hearts and guard our lives 290 00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:38,239 and guard our loved ones against things that can come in and corrupt us and pull us away 291 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:49,179 from you. We give you, God, everything and everyone in our lives, Lord. And we turn 292 00:40:49,179 --> 00:40:55,559 everything over to you, recognizing, Lord, that we are but stewards of these things. 293 00:40:57,099 --> 00:41:06,900 And give us the grace, Lord, to steward them in a way, God, that brings honor to you. Amen. 294 00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:16,659 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His Word. 295 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:22,820 Don't forget to join us for Worship Lives Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 296 00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:25,900 Be blessed and have a great day!