Psalm 106. We've gone through it a couple of
weeks. We took a week off from it last week,
but this week we're continuing on right where
we left off. Psalm 106, verse 16. I told y 'all
when we started Psalm 106, we were probably going
to be in it for a while because we're going to
look at some of these stories that are referenced
in detail. So we're going to go back and find
them in the Old Testament. and dig into them
in a little more depth. And we did that last
week, and we're going to do that again this week.
So we'll be in Psalm 106. We'll start in verse
16. We'll read verses 16, 17, and 18. This chapter
has to do with Israel's disobedience. The chapter
before talked about God's obedience or faithfulness
to his people. Psalm 106 talks about the unfaithfulness
of God's people toward God. And so we see some
examples of that in this psalm, and we're going
to look at another one tonight. Let's pray, and
then we'll get started. God, we come to you.
We thank you for your good word. I pray that
you would help us to understand these stories
and this passage that we're going to look at
and help us to look at our own life, dear Lord,
that maybe we can learn through what we read
tonight, God, that we don't... Look at others
and think how bad they are, but dear Lord, that
we let your word talk to us, that we can see
if there's something in here that we need to
hear. And there certainly always is in your word
if we'd listen. So let your Holy Spirit be with
us and free us from worries and distractions.
Take away any pride or fear that's within me
and help me to be able to focus and preach and
teach your word in a way that brings glory and
honor to you tonight. In Jesus' name I pray it.
Amen. All right, Psalm 106, verse 16. In the
camp, they were envious of Moses and of Aaron,
the Lord's holy one. The earth opened up and
swallowed Dathan. It covered the assembly of
Abraham. Fire blazed throughout their assembly.
Flames consumed the wicked. Now, this is just
three little verses that talks about a pretty
interesting story. that you will find in Numbers
chapter 16 if you want to turn there. Numbers
chapter 16. Now we won't read through all of
this chapter tonight. We're probably going to
break it up into a couple of weeks. But Numbers
chapter 16 tells us an interesting story about
a guy by the name of Korah and some others that
he gathered up to rebel against Moses. By this
point, you know, God's people were on their way
to the promised land, and God had told Moses
to send some scouts to scout out the promised
land, and they did. And the scouts that went
to scout out the promised land came back, and
almost all of them said, oh, yeah, it's a great
land, but there's people there, and they're giants,
and they're just, oh, we just can't go in and
take these people. You know, it's just, it's
too scary. We've come all this way, and there's
no way we can go in there. Well, a couple of
the folks that went in to check out the land,
Joshua and Caleb, they came back and they gave
a favorable report. They said, hey, look, this
is a beautiful land, and we have nothing to fear.
God is on our side, and so it doesn't matter
who's there. We need to go in and get this land.
Well, God was not happy with the people because
of what they had done. He was not happy that
they had... acted this way, that they had acted
out of fear, that they weren't living in obedience
to him. And God was just not happy with his people.
And as a result of that, they were going to be
forced to wander around in the wilderness for
40 years. They weren't going to be able to go
into the promised land. And so that's what we
see kind of leading up to this. And then right
before this, we see that God It gave a few commands
to Moses for the people, some things that they
needed to follow and things that they needed
to do. And then we get to Numbers chapter 16.
Now Moses had led the people out of Egypt. He
parted the Red Sea. God had provided for them.
They had been complaining the whole time. We
don't have enough food to eat that we want. Oh,
in Egypt we ate so good. We don't even have good
water to drink. Oh, it's so horrible. Why did
you bring us out here, Moses? It's the worst
thing ever. And they had just been complaining
and complaining and complaining the whole time.
And we talked about that the last couple of weeks
in Psalm 106. And here's another story of their
unfaithfulness to God. They're still complaining.
So by this point, the people are... tired of
Moses, that he must not be doing a very good
job. And why do we have to listen to Moses? Well,
that's what Korah said. And he got some others
along with him to start a rebellion to confront
Moses. And that's what we see in Numbers chapter
16, verse 1. Now Korah, son of Ishar, son of
Kohath, son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram,
sons of Eliab, And On, son of Peleth, sons of
Reuben, took 250 prominent Israelite men who
were leaders of the community and representatives
in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses.
They came together against Moses and Aaron and
told them, You have gone too far. Everyone in
the entire community is holy, and the Lord is
among them. Why then do you exalt? exalt yourselves
above the Lord's assembly. Okay, so the scene
is set. Korah, there's a few other guys here.
They gather up 250 leaders in the land, and they
go and confront Moses. And they said, let me
tell you, Moses, you have gone too far. The things
that you're doing, the way that you're leading
us, we're not pleased with this. This is not
a good way to do it. We don't want to follow
you anymore. And listen to what he said in the
middle of that verse. He says, everyone in the
entire community is holy. Well, that's a bold
statement to make. These are the same people
who have been complaining and been disobedient
to God since they left Egypt. And they're so
bold to stand before Moses and say, who are you
to tell us that we're holy? Who are you to have
all the power? We can have as much power as you.
Why can't we be the ones that lead these people,
Israel? So Korah gets this group together and
they rebel against Moses and come to him and
say, hey, look here, we're not going to follow
you anymore. Let's see what happens in verse
4. When Moses heard this, he fell face down.
Then he said to Korah and all his followers,
tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs
to him, who is set apart, and the one he will
let come near him. He will let the one he chooses
come near him. Korah, you and all your followers
are to do this. Take fire pans and tomorrow place
fire in them and put incense on them before the
Lord. Then the man the Lord chooses will be the
one who is set apart. It is you Levites who have
gone too far. So Moses hears their objection
and he says, we're going to let the Lord decide.
We'll let the Lord decide who's in the right.
We're both going to go before the Lord. We'll
see who the Lord answers, who the Lord pays attention
to, who the Lord is gracious to, and who the
Lord brings punishment to. If I'm in the wrong,
so be it. If you guys are in the right, then
so be it. Moses says, we're going to let the
Lord decide who's right and who's wrong. They
told Moses he had gone too far. He says, no,
y 'all are the ones who are in the wrong. Y 'all
are the ones who have gone too far. Verse 8.
Moses also told Korah, Now listen, Levites, isn't
it enough for you that the God of Israel has
separated you from the Israelite community to
bring you near to himself, to perform the work
at the Lord's tabernacle, and to stand before
the community to minister to them? He has brought
you near, and all your fellow Levites who are
with you, but you are seeking the priesthood
as well. Therefore, it is you and all your followers.
who have conspired against the Lord. As for Aaron,
who is he that you should complain about him?
So Moses said, look, God has put me in charge.
God has established me. He's called me. He's
called Aaron to lead you guys, to be the priest
of you guys. And you guys are not paying any
attention to what the Lord has said. And why
are you mad at Aaron? What did he do, he says.
And so Moses is not happy about what's taking
place. He's not happy about these people confronting
him. But nevertheless, the Lord is going to decide
and take care of the situation. Verse 12. Moses
sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab.
But they said, We will not come. Is it not enough
that you brought us up from a land flowing with
milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness?
Do you also have to appoint yourself as ruler
over us? Furthermore, you didn't bring us to
a land flowing with milk and honey or give us
an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will
you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will
not come. Now, isn't it interesting the language
that they use here? They said, look, you brought
us out of a land flowing with milk and honey
and brought us here. Wait a minute. That's what
God said about the promised land. That it was
a land flowing with milk and honey. But yet,
these people who are rebelling against God here,
they're using that same language of Egypt. They're
thinking, oh, remember back, it was so good in
Egypt. They had totally forgot that they were
enslaved. Now, certainly Egypt was blessed in
those days. Egypt was doing well. Egypt did have
a lot of resources. But the people of Israel,
they were slaves there. They didn't have freedom
there. They were enslaved in a foreign land.
And how quickly they forgot. How quickly they
forgot their situation. And now that they're
in this wilderness and in these situations that
they brought on themselves because they were
disobedient to God, and now all of a sudden their
memory of the past is a lot better than what
the past actually was. Sometimes we have a way
of doing that. Sometimes we have a way of...
of remembering things as being a little better
than they actually were when i was in in seminary
i bought this little futon that folded into a
bed and it was so i mean i said on that thing
it was so comfortable i'd use it as a couch i'd
use it as a futon and it was so comfortable and
we needed a cheap couch when we got married and
i was like hey i'm gonna get that same couch
because i remember that thing was so comfortable
and they still made it everything so i bought
the same thing and guess what it wasn't it I
said, man, this ain't as comfortable as I remember
it being. And the Israelites, they're in the
wilderness and in their mind they're thinking,
man, it was really good back in Egypt when we
were slaves and having to do all that manual
labor. It was the land flowing with milk and
honey. But it wasn't that good. It wasn't that
good at all. They had just kind of been blinded
for their current situation and their old situation.
They thought things were better than they were.
But they would be a lot better than they were
if they would just listen to God. They would
be in a land flowing with milk and honey. None
of this would have taken place if the ones who
went into the land to check it out would have
come back and said, hey, this is a great land.
If God says we need to take it, let's go in there
and take it. If they would have done that, we
would have saved a lot of ink in writing these
scriptures about them wandering in the wilderness.
But they didn't do that. And so now they're rebelling.
They want to be in a land flowing with milk and
honey, and the reason they're not is because
they're not obedient to God. And so they call
Moses out, and Moses doesn't want to have any
of it. He says, Furthermore, you didn't bring
us to a land flowing with milk and honey, or
give us an inheritance or fields and vineyards.
Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We
will not come. Now they had a choice. They could
follow the man that God sent or not. That was
their choice. Okay, God has established this
is the way things need to be. I have somewhere
I want to send you. I want to take you to a better
place. I want to provide for you. But that's
going to require obedience of you to me. And
sadly, they were disobedient to the Lord. But
what about you and I? Maybe we look at this story
and we say, man, these foolish people. But do
we ever do the same thing? Are we ever guilty
of complaining in the same way that these folks
complain? This is their history. This is their
pattern. Like no matter what God did for them,
they just complained, complained, complained.
And every time they complained, God would bring
judgment on them. And it was pretty serious.
You may recall from the story we talked about
a couple of weeks ago where they wanted food.
Give us food, give us food, give us food. We
want food, we want meat, we want meat. Give us
meat, give us meat. And God said, you want meat,
you got meat. And he gave them meat and they
ate so much meat that it made them sick. And
they finally got what they wanted and they realized
that what they wanted was not what was best for
them. And then they turn around and they complain
and they complain. That's just scripture after
scripture. They're just complaining and rebelling
against everything that God calls them to do.
And they continually get in bad situations. And
then they fail to see that they bear some responsibility
for where they are. Do we ever do the same thing?
Do we ever complain, complain, complain, complain,
complain? Of all the things that God has done
for us, do we ever complain? Now you may say
to yourself, well yeah, but if I would have saw
the Red Sea part, I wouldn't complain. Well yeah,
you would have. Because there were hundreds of
thousands, maybe even a couple of million of
Israelites at that time that walked through a
sea, parted on dry ground, and as soon as they
get to the other side, the first thing they can
do is start complaining. about how good they
had it in Egypt and oh why did we leave Egypt
that's the first thing they do and God has been
good to us in a lot of ways and maybe we haven't
seen a sea part but man we have a thank you everybody
in here has a house they're going to go to tonight
when they leave I suspect everybody is probably
eating a meal. If you hadn't, let me know after
church. We'll get you a meal, but I suspect we're
probably all eating a meal today. We're all wearing
clothes tonight. Praise the Lord for that. That
would be really awkward if we weren't. A lot
of you have jobs or were able to work jobs and
are now retired. I mean, there's so many good
things that God has been good to us with, and
yet we still find so many ways to complain. about
things that maybe don't matter. And maybe there
are things that God wants to do in our life and
ways that God wants to lead us, ways that are
tough, things that are before us, just like it
was going to be, in a sense, it was going to
take some faith. It was going to be tough for
them to go into that promised land because it
was scary. Sometimes what's before us is scary.
But there were a couple of them that wanted to
trust in the Lord, and then there were some that
didn't, and then there were these guys that said,
Not only do we want to trust, we just want to
do away with everything that God has established
and do away with Moses and we want to do it all
ourselves. And do we ever do that? Do we ever
have that attitude that there's something before
us that maybe is scary or maybe is tough and
we're not so sure about it and we miss out on
what God wants to bless us with because we're
too afraid to just have faith and listen to him?
How many times does God give us commands and
we rebel against it? We know what the Word of
God says. We feel the conviction of the Holy
Spirit, and we know what we should do, and we
rebel against it. These people knew what they
should have done. Moses had been with them for
a while. He had just, right before this, a chapter
or two before, he'd been telling them these laws
and these commands that God had given. They were
aware of what God desired and what God required.
And they weren't just rebelling against Moses.
They were rebelling against God. And how many
times do we do the same thing? Now Moses was
the one that God had sent. He was going to be
the one that was going to deliver the people
out of slavery and lead them to the promised
land. And they were rejecting the one that God
sent. And Moses is just foreshadowing Jesus Christ.
It's foreshadowing who's to come. That whole
situation with the Israelites. And it really
happened, but... But it's also symbolic of what
was going to happen. That there was going to
be a Passover. That those who were covered in
the blood were going to be passed over. That
there would be one who would lead the people
out of slavery and into freedom. Who would lead
the people into the promised land. Moses was
foreshadowing what was going to come in Jesus
Christ. That he was going to be the one that
God was going to send. That he would be the one
to lead us out of the slavery of our sin. That
he'd be the one to lead us into the... and the
peace of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that he
would be the one to bring us into the promised
land. And so God has sent his one and only son.
He's the deliverer. He's the one that God has
appointed. And we have a choice to make. Are
we going to follow him or are we going to rebel
against him? Are we going to say, no, we don't
want to follow the one that God sent. We want
to do it our way. Because we don't like God's
way. We don't like the way God wants to send
us. We don't like the things God wants us to
do. We want to do it our way. And we're in a
bad place when we get to that place. And there's
plenty of people in this world that are there.
Maybe some here tonight. Maybe some listening
online. But the only way we're going to find
freedom and peace and deliverance is when we
trust in the one that God sent in Jesus Christ.
He's the one that's going to... Lead us through
whatever's before us. I don't know what's before
you. It might be scary. There may be giants before
you just as there were for those spies that went
into the promised land. Will you be one who sees
the giants and flee or will you be one that sees
the giants and say, we got this? Will you be
one that follows Jesus, the one that God sent,
or will you be one that rebels against him and
say, I don't want to live for Jesus. I want to
live for myself. Well, this crew of folks here,
They made the wrong choice. They rebelled against
Moses, and really they rebelled against God.
And we're going to see next week that they are
going to pay the consequence for that. Let's
pray. God, we come to you. We thank you for your
good words. I pray that you help us not to be
so foolish, to think back of our past, of our
sinfulness, and think that it's better than it
was. Sometimes, dear Lord, we forget how bad
things that we've done in our past are, Let us
never be drawn to our sinful desires of the past,
but to keep on pushing forward, to keep on on
the straight and narrow path. As tough as it
may be, God, sometimes that path leads us to
places that are overwhelming to us. But, dear
Lord, if your people would have just listened,
you would have took them there and took care
of them and gave them everything that they needed.
You do it to us, dear Lord, and so many times
we don't have faith and we're afraid and we turn
back. Maybe if we're honest, we... We rebel against
you, dear Lord. We know what you call us to do,
and there's something in us, God, that just we
don't want to do it. And I pray that you forgive
us of that, and I pray that you would help us
to be a people that are obedient to you, that
we would not think too highly of ourselves, dear
Lord. These folks in this story we looked at
tonight, boy, they call themselves holy, but,
dear Lord, they were so far from it. And so,
God, I pray that you help us to examine our lives.
Maybe we look at ourselves and we say, Or think
just how holy we are. But maybe, dear Lord, our
pride has blinded us and we're not as holy as
we think. So God, I pray that we would seek you
and not rebel against your word and not rebel
against the one that you sent. But that we would
seek Jesus Christ and trust him and not seek
to do it our way as these folks did, but to trust
in the one that you sent to be our deliverer.
And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.