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BACKGROUND
GOD
GOD
I. His Being
II. His nature
III. His character
IV. His will
V. His subsistence
VI. His Fatherhood
MAN
WOMAN
FALL OF MAN
MAN
a. Man in nature
b. Man’s destiny
c. Man ‘s structure
d. Man’s sin
e. Man in God’s image
WOMAN
The
full background to this teaching is available online at this link
DEFINITIONS (For serious students)
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Online links to scriptures (New International Version [NIV] unless otherwise stated) are shown in blue
| WHY DID MOSES MISS OUT ON THE PROMISED LAND? |
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 Why did Moses, regarded as the greatest Israelite
Deuteronomy 34:10-12
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before the coming of Jesus, miss out on the Promised Land?
Hebrews 3:1-6
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While the answer is obvious and well known, the punishment seems to us to be extremely harsh for the man who had led Israel faithfully through the deliverance from Egypt and the period of punishment and testing in the desert. Surely such a great man's single misdemeanour would be overlooked by a gracious, loving and forgiving God?
It wasn't!
Therefore, the act of disobedience committed by Moses must have been of great importance to God, important enough to prevent Moses achieving his heart's desire, to lead his people into the Promised Land.
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| THE PHYSICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MOSES' SIN |
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To understand this we must go back to God's commissioning of Moses and then look at 3 key events during Moses' leadership.
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a. SYMBOL OF GOD'S AUTHORITY
i. To the Israelites - a sign of God's visitation to Moses.
Exodus 4:5
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ii. To the Israelites Enemies - a sign of God's power over their God's and therefore over them. eg. Pharaoh and the Plague of Frogs.
Exodus 8:5
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b. SYMBOL OF GOD'S SUPREMECY IN THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL
Exodus 4:2-4
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i. The Staff - representing God's power and authority (turned into)
ii. A Snake - representing the serpent/satan/evil powers taken hold of by the tail (and turned back into)
iii. The Staff symbolising the supremacy of good over evil
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| THREE KEY EVENTS DURING MOSES LEADERSHIP |
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These 3 events all involved;
1. Water (a symbol of cleansing and purification)
2. Striking the Staff (symbolising the working of God's power through Moses) Moses normally held out the staff, as a sign of God exercising His power. Moses only struck the staff on objects 3 times in total (Aaron also once in Exodus 8:17), twice on God's specific instruction and the third time of his own volition.
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| 1. TURNING THE NILE INTO BLOOD |
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 17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. (Exodus 7:17)
Moses acting upon the Lord's instructions struck the river, (Aaron stretched out the staff over streams, canals, ponds and reservoirs), making it appear to Pharaoh that he (Moses) had done it.
Exodus 7:17-20
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| 2. STRIKING THE ROCK AT HOREB |
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.....and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. (Exodus 17:5b-6)
Moses acting upon the Lord's instructions struck the rock making it appear to the people that he (Moses) had done it.
Exodus 17:1-7
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| 3. STRIKING THE ROCK IN THE DESERT OF ZIN |
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 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. (Numbers 20:8a) 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. (Numbers 20:11)
Moses disregarding the Lord's instructions struck the rock twice making it appear to the people that he (Moses) had done it.
These 3 key events each represented the start of a new stage in the lives of God's covenant people, the Israelites.
1. The turning of the Nile into blood signaled the start of the plagues which led to the exodus of the people from Egypt.
2. The provision of water as well as manna led the nation into full reliance upon God for their physical needs during the 40 years of their desert wanderings.
3. The water incident at Zin occurred when the old generation had died and the new generation were to occupy the Promised Land, as they had been promised by their (and our!) God.
Moses was obedient all his life but for this one slip up, that was obviously of key importance to God. The disobedience of Moses at the beginning of the entry to the Promised Land angered God greatly and cost Moses dearly.
The disobedience of Moses was the forerunner of what was to happen when the Israelites did enter Canaan. While Moses didn't directly cause the disobedience that occurred following the crossing of the Jordan River, he did set the scene for it.
There was a much more profound spiritual significance to these events in Moses' life that provide an explanation for the seemingly harsh treatment meted out to him, that contains a vital lesson for us to learn today.
Numbers 20:1-13
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| <i>NEXT WEEK:</i> GOD AND MAN continues.... |
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 as we look at the spiritual significance of Moses' sin.
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| A NOTE FROM DAVID |
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 It is pretty sobering that after all that Moses went through and his closeness to God, that he could still react in a human way, and 'do his own thing'.
We need to be on guard at all times, lest we too make a similar mistake in our own lives.
Of course, the reality is, we do make mistakes, even the most spiritual amongst us. We are so blessed today to have the blood of Jesus through which our sins, our mistakes, can be forgiven and forgotten. Thank you Lord.
JERUSALEM: THE DUNG GATE
Most of the gates of the Old City have names which call to mind distant cities or ancient history, names imbued with a certain majesty like the Zion Gate or the Golden Gate – but then there is the modest Dung Gate, a name imbued only with an association of a most unpleasant digestive byproduct.
Somewhat perversely, it is the Dung Gate, set in the Old City's southern wall, that provides the most convenient access to the Western Wall, and it is the only gate which leads directly into the Jewish Quarter.
In Hebrew it is called Sha'ar Ha'ashpot (Garbage Gate), a reference to a Biblical gate in the same area through which the refuse of the Temple (which was the same as the refuse of a butcher shop, only consecrated) was carted outside the city to be burned.
Today the only things being carted through the gate are busloads of tourists and religious devotees; the gate was widened by the Jordanians during their tenure in the Old City to accommodate vehicular traffic, one of only two such gates in the Old City. Visitors in the mood for chintz can find plenty at the small gift stalls usually set up right outside the gate.
Source: http://www.bible-history.com
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So until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD!
His servant and yours
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A DAVID'S DOODLING
915. Obedience to God's will for our life is the highest call.
David Tait
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Check
out the WWJ website for….
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Facts for Fun: http://www.wwj.org.nz/facts.php
Marriage and Family Facts: http://www.wwj.org.nz/maffacts.php
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