August 6, 2013
WAITING ON PATIENCE
Numbers 21:1-20
Julie Vorce
Central Truth
Our impatience can lead us to blaspheme God, question Him, and despise what He has graciously bestowed upon us. To surrender fully to the Lord, we must practice patience.
Key Verse | Numbers 21:4–5
Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food." (Numbers 21: 4-5)
Numbers 21:1-20
Arad Destroyed
1 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2 And Israel vowed a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.” 1 21:2 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verse 3 3 And the LORD heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah. 2 21:3 Hormah means destruction
The Bronze Serpent
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze 3 21:9 Or copper serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
The Song of the Well
10 And the people of Israel set out and camped in Oboth. 11 And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD,
“Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,
15
and the slope of the valleys
that extends to the seat of Ar,
and leans to the border of Moab.”
16 And from there they continued to Beer; 4 21:16 Beer means well that is the well of which the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—
18
the well that the princes made,
that the nobles of the people dug,
with the scepter and with their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that looks down on the desert. 5 21:20 Or Jeshimon
Dive Deeper | Numbers 21:1-20
We live in a world in which we pride ourselves on being fast, efficient, and always on the go. How many of us stood in a line at Starbucks this morning or sat in a drive-thru, thinking, "Man, what's taking so long?!" We want what we want, when we want it. To say that we are patient . . . . Well, that would just be silly.
Like the Israelites, my impatience can easily cause me to blaspheme God, question Him, and ask, "Why have You (fill in the blank)?" How easily I forget during trials or difficult seasons who I was and what I did before Christ. The Israelites, while in Egypt, were in bondage to slavery. Before Christ came into my life, I was in bondage to sin. To forget who I am only dishonors Christ.
My impatience manifests in my desire to see immediate results and know the return on my investments. I want to see seeds that have been planted grow into a tree bearing much fruit. NOW! My lack of patience stems from my inclination to control the circumstances around me. My tendency is to do what I want to do while neglecting the Father and what He desires for my day, my week, and my future.
Yet, even in those moments, the Lord in His faithfulness reminds me that He is in control and that His plans are always better than mine. Even though I don't always know why things happen, I know the One who holds me. I know that He chose me. He delights in me. He is for me. He died for me. He rose for me. And He loves me. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'"
To trust in this promise allows me to sit back and enjoy the journey He is taking me on, and trust that He's got me, even in the wilderness.
Discussion Questions
1. What recurring situations in your life make you impatient?
2. What is a specific way you can practice patience today or this week?
3. Who in your life do you need to extend patience towards?