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All right, my Bible. In 365 brothers and sisters, we have arrived at the Book of Numbers. And this one has created a lot of internal conflict for me because I think I'm going to take a completely different route than that which I have been taking for this book. And actually kind of a different route that I've been taking for all the other books. Because the Book of Numbers represents a phenomenal lesson that we can learn through tremendous tragedy. And when I say tremendous tragedy, I mean terrible tragedy. Now, I want to just explain this because it's important. You have to understand the premise behind this book in order to be able to grasp the lesson that the children of Israel had to learn so that you don't have to learn it experientially. And this one is a big deal. So let's do this. Let's go over the sort of big picture of the Book of Numbers, and then we'll start drilling down into so many of the important lessons that we can learn. First and foremost, numbers. Literally, you guys, is the story of people who were very close to the promised land but never entered into it because of unbelief. I think this is the story of our younger generation. I think that our younger generation is being told that they can't buy a home, they can't do these things. They can't move to the next step because they're listening to the voices of liars. In reality, nothing has ever been easier than it is today in this time for young people to do all of those things. But the enemy wants to poison the minds of so many people who through unbelief. So the book captures literally what I believe to be one of the greatest tragedies that you will ever see in the history of the Bible. Quite frankly, maybe even the whole Old Testament. I can tell you this right now. It's so important because we do see some tragedies that are big at the very end of the New Testament. But this is really, really sad. Look, an entire generation stood on the edge of God's promises but literally died in the wilderness. They refuse to trust in God. Numbers becomes literally the record of a generation that experienced God's power but would not believe God's word. And that is so sad. The lesson of the book is super clear, you guys. It is centered around the idea that seeing God's miracles doesn't automatically produce faith if you don't know how to translate it into the future. And that's what's really important. So the central theme of numbers can be Summarized in one phrase. Okay. It is the tragedy of unbelief. God deliver the nation from Israel. I just said from Israel. God delivered the nation of Israel from Egypt. Man, can you tell it's been a long day. He brought them through the Red Sea. He provided manna from heaven. He led them with the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. With we go through the whole story, yet they arrived at the border of the promised land and they refused to believe God and go in. Literally 12 spies go to like literally look at the land. And only two of them said, we could do this because of unbelief, an entire generation would die in the wilderness. And I know that I sound repetitive, but I feel the need to say it again and again and again and again. One of the easiest ways to understand the Book of Numbers is to literally see that it's about two different generations. There's the first generation, which is the one that came out of Egypt. And this was a generation that literally witnessed all of the miracles of the Exodus. This generation is also the one that refused to trust God at Kadesh Barnea. And there's a story about that that is so remarkable that you could learn so much from. And because of their unbelief, they. They died literally in the wilderness. What a tragedy. And then there is the second generation. Now, this was the generation that grew up during the wilderness wandering. This is the generation of young kids that were born while the older generation was literally running around in the wilderness because they did not obey or trust God. This generation was prepared to enter the promised land. And by the end of the book, the new generation is literally standing at the border with of the land, ready to go in. So the Book of Numbers is really the story of the death of one generation, an unbelieving generation, and the preparation of another. Look, another helpful way to understand numbers is to follow the geographic movement of the nation. It's really easy when you do it this way. The book begins at Mount Sinai. That's not a hard picture to be able to develop. If you think about Egypt and to the north, and of course slightly to the east, you are in the Mount Sinai area. Now the people are. When I say Egypt, I'm talking about modern day Egypt today. Now the people are organized and prepared for the journey, and then they end up in the wilderness. The nation travels through the wilderness. This becomes the place of rebellion, complaining and judgment. And folks, I want to make myself clear, they could have gone through the wilderness in literally a couple of weeks, but they didn't. Do it. That's the tragedy, okay? Because of their disobedience, they were wandering, and then they end up in the Plains of Moab. Now, the book ends here, at the Plains of Moab, because this is the area that oversees the Promised Land. The new generation is now prepared to enter the land, led, of course, by Caleb and Yeshua. Or more likely, Yeshua. Not more likely, more accurately, Yeshua and Caleb. Very, very important leaders. And the movement of the whole book is from Sinai through the wilderness to the edge of the Promised Land. And that's kind of how you can frame all of. All of Numbers. Now, I know that I sound redundant, but I want you to feel the redundancy of what I'm saying. I'm doing this on purpose. I want you to feel the swirling, the going around and around and around and not moving anywhere, because that is the core of the spiritual lesson of the book. Guys, look, throughout the book, there is a very powerful contrast. The people repeatedly fail, but God remains faithful. The people complain, the people rebel. The people refuse to believe. Yet God does what. He provides manna for them, he provides water for them. He protects the nation. He preserves the covenant. And the Book of Numbers literally shows us it reveals the contrast between human unbelief and God's faithfulness. Which is why I can make a great case for the fact that God is not done with Israel as of yet, even in the modern day. Now, if I were to find a passage that really captures the book. There is one passage that. That really summarizes the tragedy of Numbers very, very clearly. It is found in Numbers, chapter 14. It starts in verse 22, and I'm going to read all the way to verse 23. It says this because all those men which have seen my glory and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these 10 times, and have not hearkened to my voice. Surely they shall not see the land which I swore unto their fathers. Neither shall any of them that provoked me see it.