Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday April 16, 2017
In our passage, Num 13, the weak and fearful believers, such as the 10 spies are obsessed with giants and the emotional complex of sins.
And the main issue is ---- are you into being fearful of the your giants today or not?
As we have noted the fact that being obsessed with size and sight is extremely detrimental when it comes to executing the spiritual life.
In fact, we are celebrating a holiday or Holy Day that says in effect the impossible is possible.
In our passage, the strong courageous believers, like Caleb and Joshua are excited about the victory that TLJC is going to give them over the giants in the land.
However, the fearful believers are obsessed with giants and the emotional complex of sins.
1. First, there is fear as an emotional part of the sin nature.
2. Worry and anxiety are also emotional sins.
3. Anger is an emotional sin, and is always irrational.
4. Hatred is an emotional and irrational sin.
5. Violence is an emotional sin.
6. Murder is an emotional sin. Murder is also related to sins that are not emotional, such as bitterness, jealousy, frustration, revenge motivation but basically fear is an emotional part of the sin nature.
In Num 14:1 we find the emotional revolt of the soul.
When the Egyptian army approached the Jews under the Pharaoh, there was great depression, there was great fear, great hysteria.
The Lord has brought them to this place.
The Exodus congregation relied on the 10 spies and their bad report rather than on Caleb and Joshua and their doctrinal view.
There was one very important phrase that went with those promises.....the land is flowing with milk and honey.
This is an idiom to express prosperity in the agricultural economy of the ancient world.
The phrase "flowing with milk and honey" is an idiom for economic prosperity under the agricultural economy in the ancient world.
He has presented problem solving devices.
He has even presented Christology.
He has reconfirmed soteriology by which they were saved.
First, some said we will not even listen to Moses.
The second group said we will listen, we understand what Moses is teaching, but frankly we just don't believe it.
The third group said; "We will metabolize the word but not apply it and this was a very large group and their failure was by far the greatest.
The reason that they developed hardness of heart was simply NVTD in one of those three stages....perception, metabolization and application.
The most dangerous stage to develop a hard heart is the third stage, when you have the doctrine but refuse to live in the doctrine.
Jam 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Joh 9:41 Jesus said to them, if you were blind you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' (and yet) your sin remains.
For those who have been taught the truth and who have sat under the teaching of Bible doctrine from Moses for years, they are the ones who are candidates for hardness of the heart.
Psa 95:8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert;
Isn't it interesting, when the Lord brings in a test many believers become hardened ---- hardened in their heart.
Apparently they forget about the fact that the Lord brings in certain tests to bless us not to discipline us but in Heb 3:15 While it is said, "today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked me."
Yet when under pressure, they began to turn on each other, and the Lord became angry.
Heb 4:7 He again fixes a certain day, "today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
MAT 18:33 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?'
They had the doctrine and the technical vocabulary and vocabulary storage but they refused to apply the doctrine under pressure.
They began to develop scar tissue of the soul which is one of the last stages of "believer degeneracy."
The combination of scar tissue of the soul and garbage meant that a lot of them were mentally ill.
First of all, they were depressed when they heard the majority report of the recon team.----- and in their depression they reacted with hysteria.
They were withdrawing from the reality of doctrine which meant that they were increasing the scar tissue in their soul and at the same time the garbage was now coming out to haunt them.
This is maximum complaining and maximum discouragement from all the garbage in their soul.
This is fear, worry, anxiety, self pity, and hatred of Moses.
No one went to bed that night, they spent the entire night crying and falling apart, having a nervous breakdown and then finally entering into terrible depression.
The same thing, blame the leaders, it's always their fault, and that's exactly what they did, though Moses has stood firmed!
Because first of all in Egypt they saw the 10 great miracles by which they were released from slavery.
In Egypt they wanted to get away until they realized that if Moses failed that they might all suffer for it.
Up to now they have seen 10 fantastic miracles in the desert.
And therefore irrationality has come into the picture.....they wished that they had died in Egypt or in the desert.
This congregate wished is that they were dead.
EXO 5:21 And they said to them, "May the Lord look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh's sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us."
EXO 16:3 And the sons of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
In Num 16:14, they will try and will blame Moses for not bringing them into the promise land and then they will accuse him of trying to pluck out their eyes.
NUM 16:14 "Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!"
My friends, these are believers who had been taught doctrine by the greatest Bible teacher in the O.T.
Don't be so concerned about them, as the apostle Paul warns us in 1Co 10:1-12, he said learn from them.
In other words, do not do what they did!
1Co 10:6 Now these things happened as examples for us, that we should not crave evil, as they also craved.
Vs 7 says, "do not get involved with religion and legalism" ---- as they had done!
1Co 10:7 and do not be idolaters, as some of them were;
Vs 8 says, don't act immorally as some of them did.
1Co 10:8 nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty three thousand fell in one day.
Vs 9, teaches do not test the Lord as they did,
1Co 10:9 nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.
Vs 10 says, do not murmur and complain as some of them did, 1Co 10:10 nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
1Co 10:11 now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction,
1Co 10:12 therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
So, this is why we study the Exodus congregation, to learn what not to do when under pressure from the trials of life.
And so back in Num 13;2, they blame Moses.
Num 14:2 And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, "would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this desert!
Now, after blaming the leader, it is inevitable that they begin to indict the Lord, and so in verse 3.
Num 14:3 "And why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?"
Please notice in vs 2 they blamed Aaron and Moses, the leaders.
They had actually provided and environment of fear, hysteria, emotionalism, arrogance, bitterness and self pity.
Neurotic parents can actually drive their children away from all authority and even repression.
These children who have heard Moses maligned every day in their tents will be healed by doctrine and they will go into the promise land.
The tabernacle will remain at Kadesh-barnea in the 38 silent years.
Many of the adults will take their flocks and they are going to scatter and disperse throughout the desert.
Moses will stay there and teach that next generation of young people for 38 years.
They will learn the doctrine that their parents refused either to listen to, to believe, or to apply.
They are going to be as positive as their parents were negative.
These children did not react at the negative volition of their parents.
Most of them saw those 10 great miracles in Egypt and the 10 great deliverance's in the desert.
Therefore, they will spend the next 38 years sharing in the suffering of their parents but also having positive volition toward doctrine.
They will handle that suffering magnificently because Bible doctrine is going to make the difference.
The congregation of Israel;
Cried and wept all night,
And then they started to blame Moses and Aaron, and then finally they blamed the Lord.