THROUGH THE BIBLE - Numbers..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Numbers chapter 26 is a fairly long chapter, but we'll read it together by God's grace, and then I'll give a somewhat brief explanation of the chapter. Numbers chapter 26.

After the plague, the Lord said to Moses and to Eliezer, the son of Aaron, the priest, take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel from 20 years old and upward by their father's houses, all in Israel, who are able to go to war. And Moses and Eliezer, the priest, spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, Take a census of the people from 20 years old and upward, as the Lord commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, the sons of Reuben, of Hanok, the clan of the Hanokites, of Palu, the clan of the Paluites, of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites, of Kami, or Kami, the clan of the Kamiites, These are the clans of the Rubanites, and those listed were 43,730. And the sons of Pallu, Eliab, the sons of Eliab, Nimuel, and Dathan, and Abiram, these are the Dathan and Abiram chosen from the congregation who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, together with Korah, when the company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they became a warning."

The sons of Korah did not die. The sons of Simeon, according to their clans of Nemuel, the clan of the Nemuelites, of Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites, of Jachin, the clan of Jachinites, of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites, of Shuah, the clan of the Sheolites. These are the clans of the Simeonites, 22,200. The sons of Gad, according to their clans, of Ziphon, the clan of the Ziphonites, of Haggi, the clan of the Haggiites, of Shuni, the clan of the Shunites, of Osni, the clan of the Osinites, of Eri, the clan of Erites, of Arod, the clan of the Arodites, of Erii, the clan of the Eriites. These are the clans of the sons of Gad, as they were listed, 40,500.

The sons of Judah were Ur and Onan, and Ur and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Judah, according to their clans, were She of Shelah, the clan of the Shelahites, of Perez, the clan of the Perezites, of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites. And the sons of Perez were of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites, of Hamul, the clan of the Hamilites, These are the clans of Judah, as they were listed, 76,500. The sons of Issachar, according to their clans, of Tola, the clan of the Tolites, of Puvah, the clan of the Punites, of Jazub, the clan of the Jazubites, of Shimron, the clan of the Shimronites. These are the clans of Issachar, as they were listed, 64,300.

The sons of Zebulun, according to their claims, of Sered, the clan of the Seredites, of Elon, the clan of the Ilanites, of Jahalil, the clan of the Jahalilites. These are the clans of the Zebulonites, as they were listed, 60,500. The sons of Joseph, according to their claims, Manasseh and Ephraim. the sons of Manasseh, of Machu, the clan of the Maccharites. And Machu was the father of Gilead, the Gilead of Gilead, my apologies, the clan of the Gileads.

These are the sons of Gilead of Eazar, the clan of the Eazarites. of Helek, the clan of the Helikons, and of Asriel, the clan of the Asrielites, and of Shechem, the clan of the Shechemites, and of Shemida, the clan of the Shemites, and of Hepha, the clan of the Hepharites. Now, Zelophihad, the son of Hepha, had no sons, but daughters. And the names of the daughters of Zelophihad were Mahla, Noah, Hogla, and Milka, and Tis'a. These are the clans of Manasseh, and they were listed at 52,700.

These are the sons of Ephraim, according to their clans, of Shuthela, the clan of the Shuthelites, of Beqqa, the clan of the Beqqarites, of Tahan, the clan of the Tahanites. And these are the sons of Shuthela, of Eram, the clan of the Eramites. These are the clans of the sons of Ephraim, and they were listed 32,500. These are the sons of Joseph, according to their clans. the sons of Benjamin, according to their clans, of Bela, the clan of the Belaites, of Ashbel, the clan of the Ashbelites, of Ahiram, the clan of the Ahiramites, of Shephutham, the clan of the Shephuthamites, of Hutham, the clan of the Huthamites, and the sons of Bela were Ard and Naman.

Of Ard, the clan of the Arites. Of Naman, the clans of the Namanites. These are the sons of Benjamin according to their clans, and those listed were 45,600. These are the sons of Dan according to their clans. Of Shuham, the clan of the Shuhamites.

These are the clans of Dan according to their clans. All the clans of the Shunammites, as they were listed, were 64,400. The sons of Asher, according to their clans, of Imna, the clan of the Imnaites, of Ishvi, the clan of the Ishviites, of Beria, the clan of the Beriaites, of the sons of Beria, of Heber, the clan of the Heberites, of Malkiel, the clan of the Malkielites, And the name of the daughter of Asher was Sarah. These are the clans of the sons of Asher, as they were listed, 53,400. The sons of Naftali, according to their clans, of Jezeel, the clan of the Jezealites, of Guni, the clan of the Gunians, of Jezah, the clan of the Jezerites, of Shilem, the clan of the Shilemites.

These are the clans of Nathalie according to their clans, and those listed were 45,400. This was the list of people of Israel, 601,713. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. To a large tribe he shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe he shall give a small inheritance. Every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list, but the land shall be divided by lot.

According to the names of the tribes of the fathers, they shall inherit. their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller. This was the list of the Levites according to their clans. Of Gershon, the clan of the Gershonites. of Kohath, the clan of the Kohathites, of Merari, the clan of the Merariites.

These are the clans of Levi, the clan of the Libnites, the clan of the Hebronites, the clan of the Methilites, the clan of the Mushiites, the clan of the Kohathites, and Kohath was the father of Amran. The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. She bore to Amram, Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam, their sister. And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamah. But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord.

And those listed were 23,000. every male from a month old and upward. But they were not listed among the people of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the people of Israel. 63. These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said to them, they shall die in the wilderness. Not one of them was left except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nahn. Amen. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever.

Well, brothers and sisters and friends, as we're reading that passage with all the numbers and all the names of the tribes and the censer, or I should say the censoring, the numbering of the tribes. You may have thought, is this deja vu? Have we not already gone through a chapter that's numbered all the tribes of Israel? And if that's what you were thinking, you are correct, because the book of Numbers begins with a census. It begins with a numbering of the people of God per tribe.

And we probably remember that. That was about six months ago, so the details may probably escape you, so I don't blame you. But then also, the Lord was ordering back then, Moses and Aaron, to number all the fighting men, of course, apart from the tribe of Levi, who were over the age of 20. Those who can engage in war, in battle. The context is very important, and the wording is very important.

Battle, war, fighting men. Because the Lord had already rescued the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt. He'd saved them. He brought them out from the tyranny and the slave ship that they were under. And He brought them out and He had given them His law.

He had covenanted with this people. And He said that you will be My people and I will be your God. And as My people, you will be given a land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That promise that was done centuries ago will be fulfilled through my people that I have rescued from the land of Egypt. But you'll have to fight for it.

It's not going to be handed to you on a platter. You're going to fight for it. So you're going to engage, you're going to engage in battle. But you will win that land because I am with you and I'm the Lord God and I'll give you I will give you the victory." So the context is similar.

Especially now, because if you remember the last words of the previous chapter, the Lord had spoken to Moses to tell the people of Israel, you need to engage in harassing and striking down the Midianites. These evil people who engage their women to entice the men of Israel to commit all sorts of sexual immorality with the forbidden women. But beyond that, we're told that Israel yoked his heart to the gods of Baal of Peor. They'd given their hearts over to another god. And we remember that context, it was only last week.

Destruction. The plague came upon them. But beloved, the counting of the people is really where the similarity ends between chapter one of Numbers and what we have here in chapter 26. Because a lot has happened. A lot has happened in that 38 or so years since the first counting in Numbers chapter 1, and now the second census that is taking place before us in Numbers chapter 26, insofar as we're told a bit of a summary of what has happened in that time in verse 20 or 64.

Let me read it to you. It says, But among these that are people numbered, there was not one. of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, that's number one, for the Lord had said to them, that generation, they shall die in the wilderness. Not one of them was left except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Beloved, two men Two men.

That's it. 600,000 plus fighting men counted in Numbers chapter 1. Who's left? Two men. Joshua and Caleb.

Why? Why? Sin. Rebellion. Unbelief.

Of the only God of the universe. requires judgment. And he does pour out his judgment as he said he would some 38 to 40 years ago. And that's the thread. That's the thread that runs through the history of Israel, the thread of death and judgment, rebellion, disobedience, and beloved.

That same thread is running through this chapter here and now in chapter 26. that sin comes with consequence, that a holy God cannot look upon sin and unrighteousness. There are consequences to sin. So beloved, chapter 26 is absolutely immersed in death, and I'm hoping to show you that this evening. Death is actually everywhere in this chapter.

Actually, no other chapter, in my opinion, speaks to or mentions death in the context of death being applied under the judgment of God. No other chapter in the book of Numbers speaks to it as abundantly as we see here in Numbers chapter 26. Death. Judgment. And although you cannot but look at this chapter and realize and see that it's riddled with death and the judgment of God as the new generation and none of them except for two had been there 38 years ago.

Devastating. But we see that there is also a glimmer of hope and life in this chapter. And that's the other thread that runs through the history of the people of Israel and also through this chapter. Because side by side, you have sin and the consequence of sin, judgment from God, but also you have a merciful, loving God who pours out His mercy on an undeserving people. You have those threads side by side, and you've got to see them.

Because our God is not simply a God of judgment. He's a God of love and mercy. There's a balance to be used, and it's a perfect balance, beloved. The content in this chapter is really to serve as a warning to those who persist in rebellious unbelief. That the due punishment of unbelief, of sin, of disobedience, is necessarily death.

And it will inevitably come, because God is just. But also it's a glorious reminder that despite human sinfulness, and we've We've seen much of this. We've worked our way through the Old Testament thus far. We've seen a lot of rebellion. We've seen a lot of death.

We've seen a lot of punishment. that despite human rebellion, there is a faithful God who's absolutely resolute in keeping his promises. And beloved, nothing and no one will stand in his way of him accomplishing and completely fulfilling every one of his promises, no matter what. human effort, human sin, may cause obstacles. We may actually see them as being delays, humanly speaking.

But in the sovereign decree of God, His timing is perfect, and He will accomplish His promises. We'll see this through this chapter. So what do we have before us in chapter 26? Over 600,000 fighting men from all the tribes of the people of Israel. Now that's a big number, especially when you consider that we're only counting men who are over the age of 20, not including the Levites.

So everyone under the age of 20 not being counted, nor are the women being counted. So this is a pretty big number. It would be fair to assume that there could be in the vicinity of around 2 million, maybe 2 million plus people now in the wilderness. But beloved, the humbling thing is this. More than these, who are numbered here in chapter 26 on the brink of then going into the conquest, more than these men actually perished in the wilderness.

601,000 or thereabouts now, or 603,000 men, and none of them are still alive except Caleb and Joshua. Why was that? unbelief. You remember the rebellion that caused God's judgment to go against His people. You remember the story.

The twelve tribes, or the twelve spies, one from every tribe, went into the land of Canaan to spy out the land for 40 days, come back and give a report. And they did, they came back and gave a report. Ten of those spies gave an embellished report. They exaggerated what they saw, and the people of Israel, they had their hearts struck with fear. But you had this Jake, you had this Caleb, and you had this Joshua, who continued to say, no, we can beat them.

God is with us, Yahweh is with us. He is with us, He's greater than He was against us. Yes, they're formidable, but look who's with us. Look at our God, look how great He is. But did the people listen?

Their hearts were struck with fear. And despite seeing the mighty hand of God that has taken them out of Egypt by supernatural wonders that no one can deny, despite seeing God visually in His manifest glory in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, despite knowing that God is with them, they capitulated and they said, no, no, we're not going to go. We're not going to listen to this Joshua. We're not going to listen to Caleb. We're going to rebel against God and against God's anointed, God's prophet and the mediator that God has put in place, Moses himself.

And that rebellion angered God. So what did God do? He proclaimed judgment upon his people. And that judgment was that none of them, none of those men who were counted would see or set foot on the promised land. That land flowing with milk and honey that I was so eager to see and to experience, the peace that would come.

Finally there, the promise given to Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac will be given to us. It will come to fruition. God said, no, none of that. In fact, you're going to die in this barren wasteland over 40 years, and the next generation will inherit the land. Unbelief.

Unbelief. They knew that the guy that was with them was mightier than he was against them, but they did not believe. So God's judgment came upon them. And thus, the last 38 or so years have been years that have been riddled with death and judgment. These people have experienced a lot more death than you and I could ever imagine.

And I say that standing on the inerrancy of Scripture. So how does this chapter begin? This chapter actually begins in verse 1 by saying, after the plague. After the plague. That's actually how it begins.

After the plague. What plague? We know what plague. It's the plague that just took place in chapter 25. You remember when I said earlier that the Israelite men had engaged in illicit sexual activity with the Moabite women and the Midianite women?

And you remember, that wasn't the extent of it. But beyond that, they submitted and they prostituted their hearts to the bale of pure. They gave their affection. They bent their knee to another God. And so God was angered by these people.

And beloved, there we're told, after Israel had yoked himself to the God of Peor, we're told that 24,000 people died as a result, under the plague of God. 24,000 people died! Until Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the priest, comes and intervenes and offers him the torment that God doesn't accept. And God holds back his wrath and the plague. 24,000 people.

That's almost the size of the Ravina Stadium full to the brink. That's how many people died in this one incident. And Beloved, we can say this, but we can be far removed as well from the effects and the consequences of sin. Because every one of those men and women and children who died in this plague that was just experienced by the people of Israel, every one needed to be carried away and buried. They're standing or sitting or camping at the plains of Moab, and looking beyond the camp, they see bumps all over the wilderness.

Bumps, burial sites everywhere. Death could not escape them. It was visual. It was before them. And they knew it was the consequence of rebellion against a good and holy God who has only promised blessing to those who obey.

Devastating. And then it goes on. It goes on in the chapter. It says, Eliezer, the son of Aaron, was the one who conducted the count of Moses. So why not Aaron?

Why does Aaron conduct this count with Moses? What's obvious? Aaron's dead. Chapter 20 told us Aaron died and he died of old age simply. Or was there more to it?

In chapter 20 verse 12, listen to what we're told. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, this is after Moses struck the rock when God said, speak to the rock. Because you did not believe in me to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them." Aaron was forbidden entry into the land because he was judged by God and said, even though you'd be eager to enter, you're not going to enter because of sin. He says, because you did not believe in me.

It starts with after the plague, so the mind of the people would go back to the plague, the death and destruction under the judgment of God. It starts with telling us, it's Eliezer this time who conducts the census, the counting with Moses, not Aaron, because Aaron's been taken out of the equation because of judgment and sin. Death? Judgment? Verse 9 and 10 tells us there's another reminder, the incident of Korah, which hasn't been that long, maybe 10 weeks in chapter 16.

We remember the incident that we would probably call the rebellion of Korah. Korah and the Reubenites, you remember the story? They rebel, and Korah in particular is a clan of the Levites, thought to himself and said, well, why can't we be priests? Why can't we burn the incense? Why can't we do the things that Aaron's son does?

Why can't we be like them? You see, he's not complaining because he's thinking, oh, we're better than them. Well, probably he is. But his complaint is against God. Because God didn't choose Aaron and his sons because they were more righteous than the rest.

Just like God didn't choose Israel because they were more righteous than the rest. God chose Aaron and his sons because He chose Aaron and his sons. He's free to elect and do as He wills. And so if Korah's saying, what's wrong with us, we're just as righteous as them, he's missing the point. The point is, God is free to do what he pleases, and what he pleases to do is ultimately good, and always good, and should never be questioned.

So the response of a creature to a creator should always be one of obedience. Korah disobeyed. He rebelled. Judgment came. Judgment came that day.

We know that Kora there, the land or the ground opened up, swallowed Kora. Dathom and Abirim, the families of the Ribbonite family who also linked with Kora in the rebellion, swallowed them up. 250 men were struck and burnt to a crisp. The men were holding incense that day, if you remember. But beyond that, the next day, you would think that the people who'd witnessed this catastrophe, this judgment from God, would have learned the lesson.

Instead, they complained. They said, Moses, you're responsible for the deaths. And what does God do? Sends a plague. 17,000, my apologies, 14,700 people die in that plague.

Death. Death! More death, more death, more judgment! Like, how much death can someone handle before they go crazy? The only way, or the only time that that plague was stopped was when Aaron, if you remember, stood between the living and the dead and offered an atonement to God that God accepted.

And the plague was stopped. It continues. But you didn't think you'd be hearing so much about death when you came in this evening. But that's the chapter that is before us. Death continues.

Back to chapter 26, verse 19. Beloved, this verse is speaking about the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Judah is the tribe that our Lord Jesus Christ will come from. from Judah, and you remember the prophecies that in Genesis chapter 49 it speaks about Judah having a scepter, an everlasting scepter, that the king will come from Judah, a perpetual kingdom. John, the tribe of Judah is mentioned here, as with the other tribes, but then we see that there's sinfulness even in these tribes.

You see, the tribe of Judah had the greatest number, and the tribe with the greatest number got the biggest allotment. We saw that at the end of this chapter. So it could be, in the minds of the people, they're thinking maybe this tribe is more righteous than the rest. Because that's a theology that began through the ancient days, that if God blesses you, He blesses you with numbers and prosperity and money and health and children and all these things, then God is able to do that. But does that equate to the faith of God?

Judah had the largest number, therefore would get the largest inheritance. But then we're introduced once again, reminded once again, I should say, to Ur and Onan. You remember those evil brothers, sons of Judah, and that whole deal with Tamar. Disgusting. But it doesn't stop there, because although Judah's not mentioned here, the patriarch himself was implicit in that crime, in that sin.

You remember, he had sexual relations with his daughter-in-law. The very patriarch and the head of the tribe is riddled with unrighteousness. Don't you think for a moment it's because of the inherent righteousness of that tribe that the Lord's blessed it with numbers or with a greater inheritance? Don't you think that for a moment? As I said earlier, he blesses whom he blesses.

What about the most holy of holy people? Are they different? What about the priests? What about the mediators, the ones who approach God in His very presence? The ones who did the workings or the servicing in the tabernacle, the one who represented the people before God through sacrifices, incense, prayer, taught the people God's Word.

What about the priests? Are they all righteous? When we get to the priests, it's interesting that we're quickly introduced to Nadab and Abihu, and once again, verse 16. No one and no tribe is exempt from sin, and therefore no one is exempt from the judgment of God. I don't think for a moment that Joshua and Caleb are exempt.

The Lord chose to retain these men, but they weren't perfect sinless men either. And these events for Israel, as they look back in history, as verse 10 tells us, serve as a warning. Warning, it says here. So they would look back and be warned when they look at the fate of their fathers, and the sinfulness, and the rebellion, and unrighteousness, and the rebellion that they committed against God, that they would be taught a lesson. And that lesson is, don't be like your fathers.

Obey God. He's worthy of your trust. Believe Him. Has He ever let you down? Has He ever spoken a word that He didn't fulfill?

Has He ever said that He'll do and He doesn't do? Is He anyone more righteous? Is He anyone more merciful? Have you ever experienced a greater love when you are in and of yourself so unworthy? Look back.

Remember. And beloved, as we read through the historical books of the Old Testament, and as we grow in our understanding of God's holiness, you're left asking the question, I hope that this is the question that is in all of your minds, not so much, why do so many people die under the judgment of God? But I'm hoping you're asking the questions, or the question, how is it that anyone remains under the judgment of God? If God hates sin, How is it that anyone even remains before the all-seeing eye of God? Beloved, that's mercy.

Mercy. Because although human sin is abundant, as abundant as death itself, and it renders every man, woman, and child guilty and unworthy of the blessings of God, there remains a God who is merciful. And this is the beauty of this partex, I think. That His love is seen, His mercy is seen, and He's a God who's absolutely resolute to keep His promises. Beloved, if He speaks, He will fulfill what He has spoken, no matter what.

no matter what human sin and obstacles, and you can stand in His way, obstinate, but if God has spoken, His glory is on the line, and He will give His glory to no other, and He is a God of truth, and He will always fulfill what He has spoken. Always. Always. In this chapter, we see the mercy of God, despite the sinfulness of man and death and judgment everywhere. You can't go very far without thinking, okay, 76,500, 64,300, 60,500 numbers of the tribes, but they're all brand new.

The rest are dead. The rest are dead. However, we see representation of every single one of the tribes before us. He hasn't wiped any out. They're all still there.

Do they deserve to be there? No. Korah, reading chapter 16, you may have thought, well, that's the end of that people. Right? The ground opened for him and his family and everyone just sunk in.

But then we got in verse 11 that Korah's sons did not perish. What's that? That's grace. I'm glad they didn't perish. The sons would have been the same.

Samuel, the prophet, is from the tribe of Korah. God knows what he's doing, and he's merciful. He's far more merciful and loving than you and I can ever imagine, but he's also a just God, and we have to remember that. Now, some tribes suffered greater loss than others. Some were big in number, some were small in number, compared to Chapter 1.

For example, Simeon, the tribe of Simeon, for example, he had a pretty big hit, actually the biggest hit of all the tribes. He was 59,300 in Chapter 1, and now only 22,200. That's a pretty big hit for the tribe of Simeon. It was the third largest in number, and now it's the smallest. Beloved, sin has its consequences.

You see, Simeon bore the brunt. We cannot know exactly why. Do you remember that previous chapter that we read? The chapter where this young man just comes before where the Midian women and Moab women were enticing the men of Israel, they fell to sexual immorality and they started worshipping Baal Peor. This young man by the name of Zimri, do you remember what tribe he was from?

Sinian. This is from the Simeonite tribe. And he comes in with this Midian woman called Cosby, and he walks right before Moses and the rest, who are weeping at the tenth meeting, and he walks right before them, and then he goes, we're told, to his family. And then he begins to engage in illicit activity. Why didn't his family do anything about it?

Why did it take Phineas, this righteous man, with a jealousy for God to come and poke that spear into his heart and to see him wring Anacostia's heart probably simultaneously while engaging in the act of immorality? Why? Could it be that the Simianites were the ones who felt the full brunt of the plague that killed 24,000 people? Possibly. We don't know.

But they go from 59,000 down to 22,000. Sin has its consequences. And as a result, they get the smallest allotment in the land. Because the allotments are always relative. But beloved, I want us to see this.

The promises of God seem, from a human point of view, to be delayed here in this story. It seems to us that the people of Israel should have taken possession of land 40 years ago. It seems like these people's parents put their sin and their unrighteousness, put obstacles in the way, and God didn't give them the land back then. It seems like God's plans have all been delayed. He wanted to get back there, but He can't, so He's had to change and adjust.

But beloved, you are and I are to know that God is sovereign over everything. His sovereign decree was always that they would get the land. Now, He didn't have His hand implicit in that sin. And sin does have its consequences. But God is never caught off guard.

And the fact of the matter is that these people inherit the land not because of their innate righteousness, inherent righteousness, because they aren't righteous. Even the numbers that we're counting now, these aren't righteous people. They're sinners. But they will get the land because God said he would give them the land and God is good. You see, the hope of Israel doesn't lie in their own goodness.

Let's face it, none of them have that goodness that is required by God. Their hope lies in the faithfulness of Yahweh to keep His promises and bless them, and to keep them by His grace and by His grace alone. And that is their hope. Their hope ought to be in God. Our hope ought to be in God, because although their history in this chapter shows us death and judgment, disasters and plagues, God preserved.

He preserved them. He preserved every tribe. So they will be receiving the land. And the fighting men, once counted, are almost the same number as there were perished in the wilderness, which is extraordinary. Give or take a couple thousand.

But beyond that, God promises to give them the land. But there is a great glimmer of hope in these words. Because unlike the census that was taken 38 years ago, this one includes something different. It includes the land a lot. That wasn't there 38 years ago.

This one does. Yahweh decrees that this generation will get the land. Now, they're still on the plains of Moab, and what is across the River Jordan in the land that they will be conquering is still a mystery to them. Apart from Joshua and Caleb, No one has stepped foot on the land. So they don't really know exactly the details of what to expect when crossing over the Jordan River.

Is that right? They don't know that when they go to Jericho, that the walls of Jericho are impregnable. They don't know that it's a fortified city and they're ready for battle. How will we conquer this city? They don't know the Hittites, and the Hittites were giants, and are formidable in their strength.

They're warrior men, ready. One man can take down 20 men. They don't know. They don't know the Canaanites who live across on the Mediterranean Sea, who are rich and wealthy in their resources. They spend on expense.

They have weapons that the Israelites can only imagine. They don't know. But do they need to know? But all they need to know is who's with them. Not who's against them, but who is with them.

There is not a person, not a power, not a principality in this universe that can stay in the hand of the powerful God who is with these people. That's all that matters. Who is with you, child of God? Who is with you, child of God? God is saying in this text, unlike chapter 1, He's saying, these are the numbers, these are your families.

But then He says to Moses, once everyone's been counted, that this is how you divide the land. But we haven't got the land. This is how you divide the land. Because it is good as done. And when these people read this, when Moses wrote and gave it to people, they were to see this and go, God has spoken.

He's saying that the land is going to be divided, and it's going to be divided in this way, because the promises of God will always come to fruition, and it's as good as done. Will you believe it? That's the only question that they need to be answering. The people of Israel are to answer, do we believe what God has spoken? Brothers and sisters, do you believe the promises of God?

Do you believe what God has said to you? Through Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the promises for those who have trusted in Christ, who have been inserted by faith in Jesus Christ, the promises that are in His Word for all His people, do you believe? Have you embraced those promises? Because either you're a people who believe the promises of God and you live by faith in the joy and the blessings of God, or you look outside the camp and be reminded of those who don't believe. Burial sites everywhere.

Because judgment comes upon those who don't believe. Do you believe? In spite of the uncertainty of our lives, in spite of not knowing what comes next, do you believe? Do you believe? And you don't know what's coming across the Jordan?

You have no idea. I don't know whether another day my heart will beat. I have no idea. I don't know. The question is, do I need to know?

Or do I need to just know the one who says to me, I hold you in the palm of my hands. Look to me and be strengthened. Believe. Under the leadership of Joshua, I'm sorry I've gone over, I'm almost done. We know the story.

You weren't going to know these men didn't know, or these fighting men didn't know. Caleb and Joshua had only seen. But under the mighty leadership of Joshua, a man who loved the Lord and knew God. We know the story. Israel does conquer the land.

They go into battle, they defeat the enemy, and they are given an inheritance. And even in Joshua's day, we're told that they lived in peace with their enemies. They conquered the land. Joshua did some alliances that he shouldn't have done. Irrespective, they did live in peace in that land.

Joshua was strong. And as long as God was with him, he was strong. Beloved, that day came when this man was young. He was probably about 80 years old when they went in. This is about 110 when he dies, we're told, when he becomes frail and then he dies.

And then when he dies, we know, we read through the history of the people of Israel, through the judges and through the kings. And we know that these people rebel against God over and over again. They turn their back against God. They rebel against Him. And what their parents were doing in the wilderness, they do all over again.

They fall in the sin of unbelief. You've got the land. You've received the promise, the physical promise that you were given. And now you turn your back on God, against God, and you spend your knee to the Baals and the Ashtoreths and the Dagons of the pagan cities around you. Turn your back on God.

And so God's judgment comes. Many die and they're expelled from the land. They lose the land that they were for centuries looking forward to inheriting. The land, gone. Gone.

It's gone because of the judgment of God. But God preserves the remnant nonetheless. because he had something far greater than the physical land in mind when he chose these people. Someone far greater than Joshua. In fact, the new and the better Joshua, Yeshua himself, but he's from the tribe of Caleb, Judah.

He had those two men in his integration. Joshua from the tribe of Judah, and the prophecies of old that said He'll have a scepter and He'll be the King of kings and the Lord of lords. This is our Lord and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who came into this world and He bore the sins of His people upon that cross. And not only did He bore that sin, our sins, beloved, for those who believe in His atoning sacrifice on the cross. But on that cross, He defeated the worst and the most violent of enemies of God's people.

The Jebusites and the Hittites and all the iths you can imagine are this small compared to the enemy that Jesus defeated. Sin and death. Conflict. Where is your sting? Death.

Where is your victory? I tell you where it is. It's being defeated upon the cross of Calvary. Because when He was buried and He resurrected, He put to death sin and He put to death death. Beloved, those who come to trust in Christ, this is a beauty.

This is a beauty. These people received the inheritance because God said He would, and He gave them the inheritance, but then they lost the inheritance. You know why? Because keeping the inheritance in the old covenant was predicated and rooted in performance. Do this and live.

Obey me and I'll be your God and you'll be my people. But if you disobey me, then those who I protect you against will come in. And I'll allow them to come in and destroy you. What a fearful thing if you disobey. But the New Covenant is not predicated on your forgiveness, Christian, or your obedience, or mine.

But it's predicated and rooted upon the perfect righteousness and obedience, the flawless obedience of Jesus Christ. So to those who are inserted in Christ, they receive an inheritance. And it's not the land in first century Palestine. It's not that at all. But it's an inheritance of eternity with Him.

An inheritance, hear this, is the glory that can never be taken away. Why? Because it was purchased by the blood of God. Blood of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Blood of the One who laid down His life for His people.

It was purchased by the Lion of Judah, who sits on the throne now in His everlasting kingdom. A kingdom will never come to an end, and all that come to believe in Him are inserted in Him to enjoy that kingdom for all eternity. Let me ask you, Christian, is that not an inheritance worth waiting for? But we can enjoy it even now. Because if we'd be inserted in Christ by faith, then even now, even now, we enjoy the eternal glories of the Kingdom of God because of what Christ has done, and Christ alone.

Let's pray.