Well, good afternoon again, everyone! By the time this DVD is played, most of you will be keeping the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. And you will hopefully have adequately prepared yourself, by the time this is done, for taking the Passover, the removing the leaven from your homes, kept the Night to be Much Observed and the First Day of Unleavened Bread, and with, and I always say this, with a greater or lesser success, managed to keep the leavening out of your lives in the week that ensued.
And, as I mentioned, since this DVD is made ahead of time, I don't have any anecdotes. You know something usually happens during the Days of Unleavened Bread to one of us that we can share, but I don't have any of those. But consider this: In the fulfillment of what that means, we're still looking forward to that as well. So, perhaps we're in good company talking about it and it hasn't been fulfilled because the complete fulfillment of the Last Day of Unleavened Bread is something that we, as we will see in the sermon, will be something that we're looking forward to.
Brethren, this Day is very unique for God's firstfruits that it not only pictures the beginning of the journey and us walking away from our past, walking away with Jesus Christ as our guide, it also pictures the end of our journey. This Day pictures the forty years of walking in the wilderness with its tests, with the dangers and the attainment of that Promised Land. Today, I'd like to examine this and see if we not only can renew in our minds our calling, but also be warned of the potential pitfalls that are on that journey and to be reassured that God and Christ are with us on our journey and to focus our attention on that goal that lies ahead.
Turn over to Exodus 12. Let's look at the beginning of the journey. Exodus 12 and I'll start in verse 40, it says:
Exodus 12:40. Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
41) And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies [all the multitudes] of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
42) It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations. (NKJ)
Skip down to verse 51.
Exodus 12:51. And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies. (NKJ)
Chapter 13 verse 1:
Exodus 13:1. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2) "Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, [whoever] opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine."
3) And Moses said to the people: "Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
4) "On this day you are going out, in the month Abib.
5) "And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month.
6) "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.
7) "Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters.
8) "And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, 'This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.'
9) "It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord's law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.
10) "You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year. (NKJ)
Take very special note that God in giving this command to our forefathers ended it with the fact that it was to be done every year in its season.
Most of us today in God's Church have been keeping the Holy Days for many years. And on one hand, repetitiveness can be—I don't know—humdrum? Maybe it becomes "old hat" after doing it twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years, but Brethren, God knew what He was doing in telling us to do it.
When the major defection of God's Truth occurred in the early nineties, I was amazed at how fast people that quit keeping the Sabbath and quit keeping the Holy Days, not only returned to the worldly customs, but, Brethren, they forgot God's Plan and what He was doing in the process with mankind and what man's potential was. And we know that is to become Gods as part of His Family.
I'm constantly amazed at how closely the spiritual maturation process—and it was interesting, we were talking about it just before the meeting when we were sitting eating together—but the spiritual maturation how closely it mirrors the physical. And I want you to reflect for a moment on your own calling and compare it to the physical.
As a baby, we start out small. We're humble and we're teachable. Everything is new to us. There's this huge unknown, unexplored world that needs to be understood and to learn. Our Bible Study leaves us just wide-eyed with amazement. And many of us, before that period, read our Bibles and we came out of perhaps other religions or beliefs that we did. And, yet, after that we would sit there and say, "I never saw that before." And it was incredible.
And, of course, the first thing we want to do is share it with everybody because they're going to be amazed too! Just like the child that picks up the dirt or the worm and wants to give it to you! And they're doing you a favor. It's incredible to them. They're amazed.
You know things that perhaps we had seen before and never understood. We're continually hungry. And think about a child, especially a newborn. Just for proper decorum, I’m not going to go into all of the things they do, but one of them is eat all the time. But they're hungry and they just devour everything.
As we grow and as we mature, we feel that we know we're getting there because we're no longer babes. And we enter this phase that I refer to as "spiritual puberty." And that's the point where we know it all! We know everything. We know more than our parents. We know more than our teachers. We're no longer asking questions to learn, but we're questions to lead into so we can tell people how much we know!
Through God's mercy, most of us go through that phase and then we begin to understand that there's a depth to what we thought we knew and we become teachable again. If we remain, things that we do academically become part of our character, they become a depth within us. The things that have been repeated every year are opportunities. Then not for "old hat," but to learn to a deeper degree things that perhaps we knew academically and now we're starting to see how they fit into God's Plan.
God's Holy Days are the same way. Every year that we rehearse them and bring them to mind and understand them, Brethren, if we are close to God, if we're asking Him, there is a depth. There is a maturation of that understanding and who we are and our part in them.
The Spring Holy Days starting with the Passover picture the sacrifice, that was made for us once and all, to provide a reconciliation with God that according to His purpose and His plan and His timing, He will open a person's mind to accept that sacrifice, to see that they need it, to see that they need to change and God's willingness to extend mercy to that person. After it has been done, that sin must be put out of a person's life, pictured by the First Day of Unleavened Bread. Remember when the Israelites left Egypt and they left the leavening behind. We then start a journey away from our past leaving it behind us understanding that we've been rescued, that we've been delivered by a number of powerful miracles!
Think back to your own calling. From that time forward, we like Lot delivered from Sodom must never look back. The route that we're taking is not a beaten path that we've taken before. And we have to follow Christ's lead in it. The moment we stop and He continues on, the moment we make a turn and we get off the path, we're in danger, Brethren, of becoming lost because we are in uncharted territory! This is a narrow path. Our walk is a different manner, a different way. It's toward a different goal. God knows it's not going to be perfect.
And I think that's one of the hardest and most difficult things that Christians can do is to try to put sin out of our lives and then try to keep it out of our lives. It seems that when you're not looking, or you're looking the other way, or you're distracted, it comes back because of our human weakness. And, Brethren, I believe that we're going to possess that; we're going to have proclivity. As long as we draw breath, we're going to have to battle it.
And this year Sunday April 24 represents the Wave Sheaf Offering when the resurrected Christ presented Himself to the Father to be accepted and that sacrifice and, then, in turn returned back to His disciples to walk with them for the forty days on earth as it says in Acts 1:3. In my opinion, that's significant because we know that He promised everyone that He would be with us until the end. And using a day for a year, He's with each of us during our forty years of wandering. Never to leave us! Never to forsake us throughout our journey!
Just as an aside, I was thinking about this. Consider this: Those in God's Church—and this is a great number—that were baptized before the Spring Holy Days of 1971 have had their journey longer than the Israelites that wandered the desert! 1971—that was forty years! And if you were baptized before that, your sojourn, your journey is longer than theirs! And it's something you don't consider, but those that have been baptized longer than forty years.
The Summer Holy Day which occurs fifty days from, again, this year Sunday April 24 is Pentecost, the day that God's Church as a spiritual organism was born, was given the spirit as a group of called out ones, and the Day that pictures the completion, as we know, of the harvest of the firstfruits.
The Fall Holy Days, which are really made up of four individual days, picture Christ when He will be coronated, when the earth's governments, the world's governments will cease to exist and they will all come under Him. Satan will be put away along with his demons and will not be allowed to work deception. And those sins that Satan has contributed to, his part that he's caused, will be made manifest and put on his head and banished. The Feast of Tabernacles, the badly needed Sabbath, when man will have finished his work and his labor and suffered through the fruits of what he's produced and God's government and God's work, the Sabbath rest that has been promised will begin.
Look over in Exodus 33 and verse 9. It says:
Exodus 33:9. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the [Eternal] talked with Moses.
10) All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door.
11) So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.
12) Then Moses said to the Lord, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people.' But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.' (NKJ)
So He told God, "Look, You say You know me. You're my friend. You know my name and I've found grace, but you haven't told me who's going to go with me."
Exodus 33:13. "Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now [Notice this, Brethren!] Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people." (NKJ)
Here's a question to ask: Have we asked God to be our companion on our trip?
It's interesting that in the letter to the Laodicean Church, Christ was on the outside. He had not been invited and was standing outside knocking. Notice Moses specifically requested it. And I personally believe we should as well. We should invite God into our lives, into our journey, realizing—and let's just notice this. Notice God's response:
Exodus 33:14. And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." (NKJ)
Hold your finger there. Let's just go over to Matthew 11 and verse 27. He says in Matthew 11:27, He says:
Matthew 11:27. "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28) "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, (NKJ)
And, Brethren, what weighs us down? What makes us heavy laden? He says:
Matthew 11:28b. …and I will give you rest. (NKJ)
If you want a title for the sermon today, it is "I will give you rest."
Many don't understand that this "rest" that was promised was not then. It was not at the moment that He said that. It was not at the moment that they invited Him. It was not as a result of just starting the journey, but it was the "rest" that was waiting at the end of their journey. We'll cover that in a little more detail later.
Let's go back to Exodus 33 and reread verse 14. This is God speaking
Exodus 33:14. And He [God to Moses] said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." (NKJ)
The same God who said it in Matthew, the One that was there said to His disciples, "I will give you rest."
And then, He said to him—this is Moses now, said:
Exodus 33:15. Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. (NKJ)
In other words, "God, if we're on our own, we're not going to make it. Don't let us leave if You're not going to be with us. Apart from You, don’t even let us start this journey."
The Bible records that Moses was the most humble man on the earth according to Numbers 12:3. And this statement shows Moses' mind and his humility. You see, he said, "God, I don't even want to walk out of here without You." Humility and teachableness is to realize one's total and utter dependence on God day by day.
Verse 16:
Exodus 33:16. "For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth." (NKJ)
It's obvious that Moses' realized that they were to be different. They were to walk in a different manner, that they were to be separate from the everyday business, the everyday goings on. And God was delivering them from that. He knew that only a few, relatively speaking, were going to make the journey. Just like us today!
What a lesson, Brethren, to ask God to accompany us on our journey. And yet, it's the only one, it's the only way that we will reach our destination.
The Sabbath Rest for all of mankind, of course, is the Millennium, a time when God's government is going to be set up. And there's going to be peace and there's going to be happiness. And there will be what man has always desired and just didn't know how to obtain it.
He tried all of their ways—doing their thing, trying to gather things about them, possessions, money, wealth, all of those. And yet, none of those brought true happiness even to mankind.
And, of course, then, the final Holy Day, the Last Great Day, pictures the time when all who have ever lived will have a chance to make that choice and to live God's way and to inherit eternal life.
If you look at the Holy Days from the perspective of the individual Christian, in other words, not just the overall plan, I believe it has additional meaning to our journey. The Spring Holy Days picture our calling and our personal journey out of the bondage of sin. The Summer Day, the Second Season of the year, pictures the attainment of that goal that we're all looking forward to. We're working toward it and it will be the attainment of that goal—the Harvest of the Firstfruits—that will be complete and then we will be part of the Fall Holy Days when we're going to be able to serve those who are going to be in bad need of being served. In other words, what we've just learned, we're going to be able to serve and to provide to others.
This is not a journey that God has called us to "take" something. It's not just to get. That's one of the great blessings is to inherit and to obtain eternal life, but, Brethren, God has called us here and now to experience what we have, to share and to give, and to learn to serve and provide others the tremendous blessings that have been given to us now.
The Holy Days picture for us our journey, our goal, and our future service. With that perspective, these days mirror for us what our forefathers went through and set an example.
Look over in 1 Corinthians 10. And I know you're very familiar with this, but I just think that this is an area that we can focus on because of the examples that were set. I think sometimes we tend to focus on the negative and we're going to go through it, but keep in mind that there are many positive examples that were set for us as well. Let's go over to 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1 and here is a Scripture that we're very familiar with. It says:
1 Corinthians 10:1. Moreover, brethren, I would not that [you] should be ignorant, (KJV)
Paul was telling the Corinthians he wanted to make sure that they understood that the account of the Passover and the Exodus was not just a history lesson. It was not just about them and what they did, but it had meaning to them in his day, as well as to us today as we'll see because he was also inspired to write that and said:
1 Corinthians 10:1b. …how that all our [forefathers, not just a few, but all our] fathers were under the cloud, and all [baptized] through the sea;
2) And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (KJV)
You know it's a journey that everyone that is called by God is going to have to take. Baptism is the first step. It's the first outward step. By that time, we need to have repented, we need to have been spending time in soul-searching, but the first outward step is our baptism as we take that journey out of sin.
Verse 3:
1 Corinthians 10:3. And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4) And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (KJV)
By the time this is viewed a week will have passed when all people of God will have come together to participate in the most solemn occasional of the year. And as we're commanded, we come together to remember the sacrifice that was made for us by our Passover Lamb by applying the blood so our lives would be spared and to renew the commitment to that Covenant by taking the spiritual meat and by drinking the spiritual drink that gives us life.
Continuing verse 5—and let's take special notice of this!
1 Corinthians 10:5. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. (KJV)
The Greek word for "overthrown" is, I think especially for us today, is very significant. It's Strong's 2693, and it is katastronnumi (kat-as-trone'-noo-mee). And it means to strew down, to overthrow. It's the root word we use of "catastrophe."
We reflect back almost eight years and the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami in the Indian Ocean that swept away a quarter of a million people! Just wiped them off the face of the earth! Most of them never to be found again! You know Phuket, Thailand was literally wiped off the map. Five years ago Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast. Do you know we still do not know the death toll? But it's believed to be five thousand, almost five thousand.
We focus on New Orleans, but Mississippi, Alabama sustained very heavy losses as well. My grandmother's house in Pascagoula, Mississippi with the city that I was born was built in the twenties and it took a direct hit. And the only thing that remains of my grandmother's house are three bricks that my brother retrieved. And I have one, my older brother has one, and he has one. And yet, that's all that's left are the memories. I still go to Google Earth and shake my head when I looked at the empty lot where her house used to be on Farnsworth Boulevard.
February of last year an 8.8 earthquake and tsunami slammed into Chile. And although the death toll and the destruction were lower than the previous one, the magnitude of the earthquake spread out and the damage was tremendous. Brethren, it was a catastrophe.
Almost a year to the day later, this past February, a 6.8 earthquake struck New Zealand, killed sixty-five and leveled parts of Christchurch. And they described that for New Zealand as the worst catastrophe in history. All of this, while trying to recover from the 7.1 magnitude from September 2010.
March 11, just over a month ago, by the time this is viewed, Japan suffered one of the greatest national catastrophes in their history. Losses in people and cities are still unknown!
When Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10 about our forefathers being overthrown, we're talking about tens of thousands of people! On the order of the natural disasters that we are experiencing today! There were about three thousand that died following the golden calf incident. The plague sent after their lust for quail, the deaths that followed their refusal to enter Canaan and decided to take it on themselves to enter, the serpents, 14,700 killed in the rebellion of Korah! Twenty-four thousand at Acacia Grove for their harlotry with the Moabite women! We look at those numbers and that's what they can be is just numbers. Keep in mind the number of Israelites and the numbers of death as a percentage of the total and the loss was staggering! There were catastrophic! Remember the only two adults that left Egypt forty years before and crossed over Jordan were Joshua and Caleb. The rest of them were a catastrophe!
1 Corinthians 10:5:
1 Corinthians 10:5. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown… (KJV)
They were a katastronnumi.
The New Jerusalem Bible says:
1 Corinthians 10:5. In spite of this, God was not pleased with most of them, and their corpses were scattered over the desert. (NJB)
After doing, after leaving, after being baptized, there were some that didn't continue and they were overthrown.
Verse 6:
1 Corinthians 10:6. Now these things were our examples, (KJV)
And notice Paul didn't say, "my example." He didn't say, "your example." He said, "our." He includes Himself also. This is for everyone as an example to everyone.
Here's a question to ponder. In every case we've talked about in the catastrophes, we've talked about physical lives and, Brethren, we've talked about temporary death.
I watch the neighbor children playing "army." And they run around and they shoot one another. And one shot and he falls down, and after a few seconds, he get back up, and they resume playing.
I'm not trying to minimize human loss and suffering, but, Brethren, viewed through the lens of eternity, God will stand every one of those back up and they're going to draw breath again. That's the hope we have of the Last Great Day.
What is a catastrophe is when a potential God-being is swept away and eventually destroyed—never to have consciousness again! It's done. It's over. It's finished.
You see with the "our" that Paul was referring to, there's a lot higher stakes. It's not just a temporary death to be resurrected, as all of those that we talked about over the last few years and down through time. It's forever!
Look over in Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 7. It says:
Hebrews 3:7. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice,
8) Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9) Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years.
10) Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.'
11) So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'" (NKJ)
Verse 7 through 11 is a direct quote—and in your own Bible Study—from Psalm 95:7-11. It's interesting that even the verses match up. It was not only something that occurred in the past, but it was a prophetic warning down through the ages as Paul was pointing out to the Corinthians.
Continuing:
Hebrews 3:12. Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;
13) but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14) For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence … (NKJ)
Notice there's an "if".
Hebrews 3:14b. …if we hold the beginning our confidence steadfast to the end, (NKJ)
Just to start the journey, Brethren, is not as important—of course, there has to be an end, but we have to finish that journey. And there's an "if" in the middle!
Hebrews 3:15. while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."
16) For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?
17) Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?
18) And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?
19) So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (NKJ)
Clearly "the rest" that was promised by Jesus Christ, both as the God of the Old Testament and to His Church through the ages today, is a rest at the end of the journey. You see, they left, they took it, but He says, "They're not entering that. They're going to die out in the wilderness." It's at the end of the journey not just the starting.
It's interesting that the Greek word used for "rest" is Strong's 2663, katapausis (kat-ap'-ow-sis). And it means to repose down and it means rest. Let me read what Zodhiates says about it. I recently gave a sermon entitled "In My Father's House" about the dwelling place that's being prepared for us. And I just want you to hearken back to that as I read about katapausis. It says:
It's a noun from katapauo; To make to cease, the act of rest, ceasing from labor or the place of rest, a dwelling, a fixed abode; used as a dwelling in Acts 7:49 an illusion to a temple, quoted from Isaiah 66:1; see Psalm 132:14 where God is represented as searching through the earth in selecting Zion as His dwelling place; also of the rest and quiet abode of the Israelites in the Promised Land after their wanderings.
You see that "rest" is the attainment of that goal that's promised. It is that abode that waits for all of those that finish the race.
How is the, let's say, the every day walk of the Christian and perhaps those that turn off the path and take a different path, how is that viewed in the spirit realm? Look over in Luke chapter 15. Does God and even the angels take note of what goes on on this earth? Is there emotions? Is there joy? Is there grief? Are they—I'm going to use the word—"pulling" for us to make the right and proper decisions? Luke 15 and verse 3, it says:
Luke 15:3. So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
4) "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
5) "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6) "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'
7) "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
8) "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
9) "And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'
10) "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (NKJ)
Brethren, there is grief and joy over the decisions that God's people make.
Okay, back to 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 6. I don't know if I remembered or told you to hold your place but pretty close. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 6, it says:
1 Corinthians 10:6. Now these things [were] our example, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. (NKJ)
As we continue reading, keep in mind Paul was starting to summarize the epistle that he had just written them. 1 Corinthians was a very strongly corrective letter to the Corinthians because they started going off of that path in many areas. He had written in his epistle to set things back that he was trying to show them the seriousness and that their very eternal lives were at stake and they needed to heed what was written to them as a strong admonishment. What were some of the issues? He had just addressed in chapter 8 the meat sacrificed to idols and to participate in them knowingly was idolatry.
Continue on in verse 7 of 1 Corinthians 10:
1 Corinthians 10:7. Neither be [you] idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. (KJV)
The City of Corinth where the temple prostitutes and the revelry was all associated with that, and these things, just as just today with what surrounds us, had a numbing effect on them. It was all around them. How about us today, Brethren that are immersed in this world, in this society? Is it going to rub off on us?
Verse 8:
1 Corinthians 10:8. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. (KJV)
Consider these two Scriptures, keeping in mind as I stated previously that what we're observing represents not only the beginning of the forty year journey, but verse 7 referring to the golden calf incident, which happened right after they made the Covenant with God, within two months! Because remember Moses went up on the mountain to receive the Law and it happened during that time. It was within months of them witnessing these powerful miraculous miracles of God that they were thrust out of Egypt.
Let's see the incident that was referred to in verse 8 about the twenty-three thousand. Go back to Numbers 25 and just start in verse 1. It says:
Numbers 25:1. Then Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab.
2) They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
3) So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.
4) Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel."
5) So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor."
6) And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
7) Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand;
8) and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel.
9) And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. (KJV)
When did this happen? Look over in Numbers just forward to chapter 33 and verse 48.
Numbers 33:48. They departed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.
49) They camped by the Jordan, from Beth Jesimoth as far as the Abel Acacia Grove in the plains of Moab.
50) Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, (NKJ)
You see, Brethren, this was the end of the journey! This was after their forty years and they're standing there on the shore with Jericho in sight.
And what do they do? I'm going to just fill in my idea. "Why Lord? Why are we still here? Why hasn't He brought us across? He delays His coming!" And they start this. The point being, Brethren, is I think that's where we are today. We are right with God's Kingdom in sight. We are in the end and what can happen to us? Brethren, we are vulnerable because it didn't end in '72. It didn't end in '78. It didn't end in '86. "Surely, one nineteen year time cycle!" And what can happen is we can say, "God's not looking. He's delayed His coming. I've got time. I'll get a pass on this."
Joshua chapter 3 verse 1, it says:
Joshua 3:1. Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over.
2) So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; (KJV)
The final stop, Brethren, the land in sight!
Paul in these very strong warnings to the Corinthians and to us in the Church today bracketed the entire journey. He covered it all! From the very beginning to the very end, there was defection. There were people that turned away from it.
The biggest mistake we can make today is to think, "I'm still here and I've got it made." Brethren, let me tell you, "If we think that maybe we aren't still here." So far, perhaps we have. But, Brethren, we are vulnerable because it's been hard. It's been tough. I would just say, Hearken back to our ancestor Jacob the Heel Grabber and he wrestled all night. And God said, "Let Me go." And he goes, "I’m not going to let You go. I want the blessing first!" We have got to prevail! And we've got to stick with it, because, Brethren, if we let our guard down, if we take our eyes off the calling that we've been given, we'll lose! And we'll return to our path. Remember Paul himself said, "Lest I've preached to others, I myself become a castaway." He didn't even exempt himself! And yet we hold Paul up and say, "I wish I could be like Paul."
These had made it through the rebellions and the defections that had claimed so many lives. And they were there at the end and all that was left was to keep their eye on God, to keep following Him, to march over and take possession of what God brought them to. And what did they do?
In the Corinthian Church when the issue of fornication and adultery came up, Paul told them to remove them and deliver them to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.
Go back to 1 Corinthians 10. Again, I don't remember if I told you to set a marker there. Go ahead and do it if you haven't. We'll probably be back here a few more times. 1 Corinthians 10:9, it says:
1 Corinthians 10:9. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed [by] serpents. (KJV)
Now here's a question: How is Satan, who's called "the Destroyer" pictured throughout the Bible? He's pictured as a serpent. And they were destroyed by them! Remember Paul said, "Deliver one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh?
Every issue that Paul addressed in the Corinthian Church almost two thousand years ago are issues that remain in His Church with us today. The issues of their misusing the Passover, the sexual issues, the factions that develop behind men—"I'm of Paul, I’m of Apollos."
Verse 10:
1 Corinthians 10:10. Neither murmur [you], as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. (KJV)
Now again, was this just for the Corinthians? Or, Brethren, do we in God's Church today have some of the same issues?
Verse 11:
1 Corinthians 10:11. Now all these things happened unto them for [examples]: and they are written for our admonition, (KJV)
This is the second time he's said this in about as many verses! It's a repeat of verse 6. God wanted us to take very special note of this. Not just the first century Church, but God's Church today. Notice:
1 Corinthians 10:11b. …for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (KJV)
The end time Church! It was written for us!
Brethren, we stand on the shore today ready to cross over. We've got forty years' journey behind us. And those who are still here have for the most part survived rebellions, the apostasy, but, Brethren, the last chapter is yet to be written! And we're very vulnerable if we let down.
Back to Joshua chapter 3. Let's start to tie this back to the Last Day of Unleavened Bread—Joshua 3—because you see at this point, the rest that's promised is still ahead of us. We are still waiting for that. We're still marching to that. Joshua 3 verse 13 and these were some of the instructions that Joshua gave:
Joshua 3:13. "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap."
14) So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, (KJV)
And remember, that was God going with them!
Joshua 3:15. and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), (KJV)
And again, this we'll see is in the spring. This was when the ice had melted in the mountains and the Jordan was running higher.
Joshua 3:16. that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. (KJV)
As near as I can tell and there's some that say, "Well, here's the cities today," but that was about twelve to fifteen miles upstream!
Joshua 3:16b. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; (KJV)
It's interesting when they crossed the Red Sea, the waters stood as a wall on both sides because they were going through the sea. In the case here of the Jordan, it was a swift river that was running from all of the ice melt and it was a swift river flowing. It heaped up on the upstream side and dried up on the downstream side.
Joshua 3:16 continued. …and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
17) Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. (NKJ)
Skip ahead to the next chapter, 4 and verse 15.
Joshua 4:15. Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,
16) "Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan."
17) Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan."
18) And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before. (NKJ)
It's interesting in both cases, when they started the journey and when they ended the journey, there was a window that was opened and then it closed and no one else crossed! Of course, Pharaoh and his army died in the other. And the water at this point, remember again, it said it was very deep. It had overflowed its banks. It was only the Israelites that went through.
For the sake of time, I won't go through some of the perhaps parallels to that. But remember Christ said they came to Him and said, "Well, open to us! Didn't we prophesy in your name?" and this, that and the other. And He said, "I don't know you." There is a specific period of time that this is available. And that was while God was leading those people and then it closed up and it was closed.
Verse 19:
Joshua 4:19. Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. (NKJ)
Now remember that was the day that the Passover Lamb was selected and set aside—the tenth of the first month.
Joshua 4:20. And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.
21) Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?'
22) "then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land'; (NKJ)
Again these were stones that were under water all of the time and now they were up on the shore. And that was proof that God had dried up the Jordan.
Joshua 4:23. "for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, (NKJ)
So again the beginning and at the end.
Joshua 4:24. that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever." (NKJ)
God performed the same miracles at the end of the journey in the same way that He had at the beginning of the journey. And in this case, we'll see it was a mirror image. When they left, He had destroyed Egypt by performing the miracles of them crossing the Red Sea. And in this case, He parted the waters so they could cross, and then He destroyed Jericho. So it was almost looking in a mirror at the beginning and at the end.
Is there a lesson in this today? Brethren, there are three that come to mind. I don't want to limit them, but just for the sake of time, I think there's more. Let me mention them so that you in your own Bible study can expand on them. God wanted them to have a powerful witness that He kept His promise to them, which was to accompany them in their journey.
Set a mark there in Joshua. Let's go look at Matthew 28. I can probably just quote this one because you know it well. Matthew 28, the final words of Christ before He ascended. Matthew 28 and I'm just going to break into the thought in 20. Matthew 28:20:
Matthew 28:20. "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (NKJ)
I believe God wanted them to have a powerful witness that He performed miracles at the beginning and that same God performed the miracles at the end of their forty years. He as there the whole time!
Have we ever been in a sore trial and wondered, "Has God left us? Why are we going through this?" Look over in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5.
Hebrews 13:5. Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
6) So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (NKJ)
Brethren, we are never alone in our journey. From the beginning God says, "I am the Author and the Finisher. I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am there at the beginning and I'm there at the end." And a promise that we can hang our hats on, He said, "I will never leave you or forsake you."
And that leads to the Second Lesson. How many miracles does God perform in our lives on a daily basis that we don't even know about or consider?
During their forty year journey, they had food that was provided in a very miraculous manner every day! They had a fire and cloud to guide them.
Have we ever considered our journey and the absolute miracles that it takes to convert a human carnal, temporary existence into a God-being? Have we ever considered that? Tremendous miracles! Something that man apart from God could never do! Just for our well-being, I think there are times that God averts things we never see. And there are times that God lets us have close calls so we know He was there! A truck that almost hits us and we're able to avoid it. And we know God intervened. A catastrophe! Forget the ones we never know. Forget the ones we can never see. I sometimes think God allows us to see that because then we know He's still there with us.
Look over in Deuteronomy chapter 8. Deuteronomy 8 and verse 1
Deuteronomy 8:1. "Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers.
2) "And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, (NKJ)
God led us!
Deuteronomy 8:2b. …to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. (NKJ)
Why did we go through this? To humble us and to test us and to know what's in our hearts and to know if we were going to put God first.
Deuteronomy 8:3. "So He humbled you, (NKJ)
Now did we have everything we wanted? Were we able to have the— What do they call it? The wealth, and health, and prosperity?
Deuteronomy 8:3. "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, (NKJ)
And there was a purpose for it.
Deuteronomy 8:3b. …that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; (NKJ)
And, Brethren, underline:
Deuteronomy 8:3 continued. …but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
4) "Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.
5) "You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the [Eternal] your God chastens you. (NKJ)
Brethren, our calling was not a calling of comfort or plenty. It was a calling to a journey on a road much less traveled to a destination not understood or even seen. And if we're going to finish, we have to trust, we have to rely on God.
But, Brethren, we have a tremendous responsibility as well. And that is to allow God to perform His work in us. And there are going to be trials. And there is going to be pain. And there's going to be want. And we're chastened by that and we learn by that. And we learn that we can depend on God. And we learn that God's going to be there.
The Third Lesson, and let's continue the account. It's going to become self-evident. Joshua 5 verse 1:
Joshua 5:1. So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, (NKJ)
And remember there was no water in the bottom part of the Jordan and yet it overflowed its banks that time of the year. So from there down to the Dead Sea, it dried up. And above the Jordan, it heaped up! This didn't happen just kind of in a little two hundred yard area where they could walk through. This was miles and miles and miles! And it was known!
Joshua 5:2. At that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time."
Verse 5:
Joshua 5:5. For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised.
6) For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord—to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, "a land flowing with milk and honey." (NKJ)
Verse 10:
Joshua 5:10. So the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.
11) And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.
12) Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.
13) And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?"
14) So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped [Him], and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"
15) Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so. (NKJ)
Brethren, this was not an angel! This was the same God that spoke to Moses. This was Christ!
Chapter 6 verse 2:
Joshua 6:2. And the Lord said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
3) "You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. (NKJ)
During the Days of Unleavened Bread!
Joshua 6:4. "And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. (NKJ)
Joshua 5:10. Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, (NKJ)
Just take note first that there were trumpets that were blown. There were seven trumpets. The trumpets were blown seven times with the seven trumpets.
Joshua 5:10b. "You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, 'Shout!' Then you shall shout."
11) So he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.
12) And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
13) Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.
14) And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days. (NKJ)
Again, it took place during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Joshua 5:15. But it came to pass on the seventh day [The Last Day of Unleavened Bread] that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times.
16) And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: "Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! (NKJ)
God was not only with us on our journey, He was not only our Provider, but the Third Lesson, Brethren, God is our Deliverer. God will save us.
Look over in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 15.
1 Thessalonians 4:15. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven [What?] with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (NKJ)
In the very near future, this world, Brethren, is going to be in worse turmoil, experiencing more catastrophes than we are today—much worse than what we see!
But if we learn the tremendous lesson from the Days of Unleavened Bread and the journey that our forefathers took, we can avoid the mistakes and perils that cost so many of them their lives. We can have faith that God will deliver us, but, Brethren, we have to do our part! We also have a great responsibility.
Let's take these lessons forward with us and have confidence, not in ourselves, but in the great God that called us to take this journey—the great God that we invited and asked to be with us through our journey!
What waits ahead is the fulfillment of His promise and that is, to enter into His rest, the place He's prepared for us. We should be very sobered, Brethren, by our calling. But, Brethren, if we see God in our lives guiding us, providing for us, protecting, us, we should be very encouraged. The final verse of 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 18, this is the way it should leave us. It says:
1 Thessalonians 4:18. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (NKJ)
Transcribed by kb April 22, 2011