Commentary on "The Sin of Moses and Aaron"

TERRY MIRRA

 

Day 4: Tuesday, November 24, 2009

 

Overview (Numbers 21:1-5)

The premise of this lesson, and the question asked is: “What were the people’s complaints? Could there have been some justification for their complaints?” Was there justification/reason for the Israelites complaints when they were grumbling and complaining out in the wilderness? The writer states that the Lord obviously didn’t agree that they were justified in their complaints. He then goes on to say that perhaps their complaining came out of their taking all the blessings for granted. What do we take for granted and why is that foolish?

 

Observations

I think it’s pretty obvious that they were taking things for granted and not seeing all the miraculous things God was doing for them. We all need to evaluate our blessings and thank God profusely for what He’s given us and what He’s done in each of our lives. This is a temporary fix because we’re sinful and self-centered. We soon forget. It takes constant/daily submission and communication with Jesus (prayer and reading the Word) to keep our hearts receptive to the Holy Spirit and ready to submit to His will and service. While there’s nothing like reading the account of Moses and the Israelites to see how offensive discontent is to God (See 1 Tim. 6:6-8 regarding contentment), I see another lesson in this story.

This story emphasizes the point that God is faithful and unchanging, even when we’re not. It’s about His faithfulness when nothing is reciprocated. His love is unconditional. It’s about God’s love and devotion to a stubborn and ungrateful people just because He chose them (Gen.15:6, 18)—not through any merit of their own. He loves them just because (Gen. 12:1-3) He does. It’s a foreshadowing of Christ’s love for us, giving His life for us as undeserving sinners. Under the New Covenant, Christ’s “once and for all” sacrifice eliminates the Old Covenant’s need for continual and unending sacrifices to atone for sin. It’s His unconditional gift of grace—and eternal life—to us. There’s nothing we can do to earn salvation and merit (Rom. 5:8, Rom. 3:23).

 

Summary

1. It’s good to evaluate our attitude periodically, to see if we’re acknowledging our blessings and thanking God appropriately, but we’re human and self-centered—prone to forget what God’s done for us. It takes daily submission to Him.
2. Reading the account of Moses and the Israelites reminds us of how offensive discontent is to God (Num. 11:1-15, Num. 21:4-7).
3. More importantly, this points out God’s faithfulness to a people that are not. It illustrates His unconditional love for a stubborn and ungrateful people—not based on any merit of their own.
4. God’s love for the Israelites can be seen as a foreshadowing of Christ’s love for us—His unconditional love and sacrifice for us as undeserving sinners.
5. Under the New Covenant Christ’s “once and for all” sacrifice eliminates the Old Covenant’s need for unending sacrifices. It’s His unconditional gift of eternal life to us (Heb. 10; 10-18).

 

GO TO DAY 5

 

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