The Family of Israel
Forging Family • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Numbers. The book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Pentateuch.
In the first book of the Pentateuch, Genesis, the story of Creation is told as well as the story of a large family (Israel) who, because of a famine, moves to Egypt.
In the book of Exodus that family has become a nation, a great nation but slaves of Egypt. Thanks to the intervention of the Lord, Israel is freed through Moses.
In Leviticus, the family of Israel receives the Law of God and the tabernacle at Mount Sinai.
In the book of Numbers, this people, this large family is called to reach the Promised Land.
That journey (Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea) should have lasted no more than 11 days, yet it lasted 40 years.
The reason? Disobedience, rebellion, apostasy against God.
Application. Many families are on an endless pilgrimage.
Even though they have received so much from God, deliverances and blessings, because of their disobedience they are still on the journey, they are still walking in the wilderness.
Numbers 11. The biblical passage just read reveals to us the reason why Israel wandered in the desert: they whined against God.
This continuous and ungrateful complaint against God, in chapter 11 of Numbers is repeated 5 times.
As if that were not enough, verse 10 tells us that “all the families” of this great people, whined.
According to Dr. Melvin Grove Kyle, archaeologist and Egyptologist, the people of Israel were composed as follows:
600,000 fighting men
400,000 women
200,000 senior citizens
800,000 children
100,000 mixed multitude (Numbers 11: 4)
Total: 2,100,000 people.
To this number we must also add the tribe of Levi.
Israel therefore numbered between 2 and 3 million people.
Everyone is crying, everyone is complaining, everyone is murmuring.
Whining is contagious, in fact even Moses begins to murmur with the Lord.
Ten minutes’ praying is better than a year’s murmuring.
Charles Spurgeon
Sermon’s outline. How many families are unfortunately experiencing the nefarious effects of sterile murmuring.
I wish to encourage you not to let the complaint negatively affect your family, but allow the Spirit of God to fill your home with His power.
If negativity, tears and defeatism are destroying your home, it is time for the Holy Spirit to take full possession of your family.
In this regard I wish to consider 3 elements that allowed the family of Israel to overcome this difficult moment:
The leadership of Moses;
The terror of Moses;
The help for Moses.
N.1 - The Leadership of Moses
N.1 - The Leadership of Moses
He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?
Leadership. At this particular moment for Moses, leadership was not an honour, a privilege, but a curse.
The weight of decisions, the tension and responsibility of leading others is not something we can take lightly.
Perhaps, there are some among us who are tired because of the weight that leadership brings.
Just like Moses, it seems that your family is slipping out of your hands and you are unable to regain control of your home.
Lot. The Bible reminds us of Lot, who had stopped being a leader for his family, to the point that he was sitting alone at the gates of Sodom:
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.
We are alone, tired, disappointed, resigned and convinced that being leaders for our families is our curse.
Perhaps you are so discouraged that you no longer recognize your calling to be a leader for your family.
Don’t be discouraged, don’t abandon your calling.
Anyone who influences others is a leader.
Chuck Swindoll
Stop feeling sorry for yourself while your house is falling apart.
Don’t act like Lot, but ask God for the strength to act like Cornelius, who prepared his family to receive the message of salvation and the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
We want to gather all our family members around us and receive from God:
While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people.
N.2 - The Terror of Moses
N.2 - The Terror of Moses
If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”
Failure. Moses' problem was to accept his eventual failure.
The idea of making a mistake, of failing as a leader and therefore of not meeting the expectations of the people of Israel made him wish for death.
For Moses, revealing his vulnerability and admitting an eventual failure was a big problem.
For the Leader of Israel failure is worse than dying.
May God help us to cultivate an attitude of compassion and forgiveness in our families.
All families should build a “room for mistakes”.
Thomas Edison failed many times. And yet he made 1,100 inventions.
Anonymous
Imagine a family game night where everyone is excited to play a board game. As the game unfolds, everyone starts making silly mistakes—dropping pieces, forgetting rules, and even losing track of turns. Yet, in the midst of laughter and friendly teasing, the true joy lies not in winning but in the togetherness and bonding that occurs. Just like our families, they are a safe space where we can stumble, learn, and grow, finding hope and restoration no matter how many times we mess up.
N.3 - The Help for Moses
N.3 - The Help for Moses
The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you.
Helpers. The murmuring ends when we understand that the burden of our families must be shared with the one whom God has placed beside us.
This verse also reminds us that help is closer than we can think or imagine: “among the people”.
Everyone needs help:
For Jeremiah the Lord provided Baruch;
For David there was Jonathan;
For Ezra there was Nehemiah;
For Naomi there was Ruth;
For Esther there was Mordecai;
For Peter there was Mark;
For Paul there was Barnabas.
In a Christian family, the members do not live separated from each other like the countless small islands scattered in the Pacific Ocean, but they help and understand each other.
Share your burden this morning.
Maybe you don’t need 70 people.
Maybe you just need the person God has placed at your side you.
Recently, I was trying to lift a heavy box all by myself. It was a struggle until my spouse came over to help. With both of us pulling together, the task became manageable and even fun! Just like Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, 'Two are better than one.' When we share our burdens, we lighten the load and make hardships a little less heavy. So, next time you face a challenge, remember: teamwork makes the dream work!
Conclusion
Conclusion
See you at the Tent of God. God gives an appointment to Moses and the 70 elders at His tent, at His tabernacle.
That would have been a ceremony that would have sanctioned the beginning of a stronger leadership, blessed, anointed by the Holy Spirit, because sealed with the power of the Spirit of God.
Parents, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, men and women of God, the Lord also addresses the same invitation to us: return to the tent of prayer, return to the tent of anointing, return to the tabernacle of the glory of God, and the Lord will come down (Numbers 11:17) and pour out His anointing on our families.
How long has it been since you and your wife met at the tent of God?
