Numbers 31:25-54 Bible Study | Episode 822

December 3, 2024

Hope Alive: Applying God’s Word to Your Daily Life

Numbers 31:25-54 Bible Study | Episode #822

I am Chad Harrison, and I am the teaching pastor of Lake Community Church and had been serving as a pastor for 25 years. I'm also a practicing attorney. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word and find God's will for your life. The purpose of studying scripture is that you might know the character of Jesus Christ, and that you might see the world from the Father's perspective. That you gain wisdom that changes your life. I pray in the name of Jesus right now that God would open His word to you and allow you to see Him and to know Him. To know His will, that you might glorify Him and that you might walk in faith and power each day, especially today. In Jesus name.

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Transcript

This is Chad Harrison, and you're listening to hope alive, applying God's word to your daily life. Hi, this is Chad Harrison, and I am the teaching pastor of Lake Community Church and have been serving as a pastor for 25 years. I'm also a practicing attorney. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word and find God's will for your life. I pray in the name of Jesus right now that God would open up his word to you and allow you to see him and to know him and to know his will, that you might glorify him and that you might walk in faith and power each and every day, especially today. In Jesus name.

Well, good morning. Welcome to Lake Community Church's morning Bible study. We are in numbers, chapter 31. Numbers, chapter 31. And we're finishing the chapter because they're going to the spoils of war, and they're going to divide them up and make them. Well, make them available to the people. And there were a lot of spoils of war. They defeated five kings, and they destroyed a bunch of cities and a bunch of forts. And so there were a lot of gold and silver and a lot of animals and a lot of captives, even after Moses ordered a. That the women and the young men be killed. And so once that comes about, you would think that as far as God's concerned, that he would. Well, you would think that as far as God's concerned, he would really want a lot of this as an offering to him. But the truth is, he does. In fact, God only requires a very minuscule percentage of this be given to God as an offering. In fact, most of it he leaves to the people who did the fighting. And there's some things we can glean from this. And I think it's important that we kind of see that it says verse 35. Now, Moses. Now, the Lord spoke to Moses saying, count up the plunder that was taken of man and beast, and you and Eliezer the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation, and divide the plunder into two parts between those who took part in the war, went out to the battle, and all the congregation mean they're going to divide it between the regular people and the people who went out to war, and levy a tribute for the Lord on the men of war who went out to battle. Wonde of every 500 of a per of the persons, meaning one 500th. That's. .2% it is 0.02%. Actually, it is a very minuscule amount. Not 1%, which would be 1101. 500th is 0.2%. It is, it is. It is a small amount. You said, pastor, pastor, that's not a tent. It's not. And it's not in this situation. So there's some interesting. That there's some interesting thoughts you can kind of think through. And this is one of those things you kind of put in your mind, and you say, well, God only wanted 0.2%. Yeah. Take it from their half and give it to Eliezer the priest as a heave offering to the Lord. And from the children of Israel, half you shall take a one of every 50. So they divided the plunder between the men who went out to battle. They got half of it, and then the whole congregation split the other half. So when they came back and they had all these things, and we're going to go through them, they gave half to the congregation, and then they gave half to the people who went out to war. Now, I think, and as you're looking at this, and the reward for being faithful, doing what God said, willing to take risk, willing to be a part, is literally half. It's half God. God gives. God gives half of it to those who are willing to go and put themselves on the line. And really, if you think about that, that really kind of how it happens in church today, a lot of people enjoy the goodness of God, the presence of God, the power of God, the anointing of God, how God is moving, they benefit from it. And anyone who is regularly being part of church or regularly attending church somewhere, they're going to have great benefit from that. Their family is going to benefit from it. Their family is going to benefit in a mighty way. But the truth is, the amount of people in the congregation, which would be close to way over a million actual people and 600,000 men and the people who went out to battle is a large difference. There's 12,000 who went out to battle, but 600,000 Mendez who were left behind. So when they divided it, the 12,000 got half and the 600,000 got half. And in many ways, that's how the kingdom works. When we go out and we take ground for God, those who are willing to be the ones who go out and do the work, they get, they get at least half the benefit from it. They do, and they get half the growth, they get half the strength, they get half the eternal reward. Those who are part of the congregation, they do benefit also. They see God moving. Their family gets to be in the presence of God. The obedience brings about God's blessing, and they get to be tangentially a part of that blessing. You know, oftentimes when we talk about God's grace, people go, well, why does unrighteous people benefit? Well, because there is an idea. There is the idea in scripture of common grace that the sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous. God's goodness and his nature is beneficial to all, even if it's not as beneficial to those who don't trust him, is the ones who do. There is common grace, and then there's grace unto God's people. There's specific grace, and that grace actually changes my life. That grace actually sustains my life. And so when I'm living my life and trusting God and walking with God, that life's important, that life's powerful. And so that life sustaining walk with God benefits me the most, even though it is beneficial to those around me. Well, the same is true in the church. Those who are putting the effort, those who are spending their life, meaning they're taking time and energy and effort out of their lives, and they're specifically placing that into kingdom work. They get half the benefit of what they do. The other half goes to those around them, but they get half the full benefit of what they do. And that's, that's pretty amazing. And what God requires of that when it's a battle, when it's a struggle. When it's a struggle, kind of like what we were talking about last night, when, when we're going through the fire, when we're, when we're being refined, that struggle, that struggle is going to inure to everybody's benefit, but it's really going to be benefited by me. And, and God does not require an offering from that. That the, the effort is the offering. The offering here is, is not going to be real big. In fact, for, for the congregation, it's only one out every 50. So it's only 2%. For the, for those who have done the work, it's only 0.2%. You see, the work we do in the world, the income that we have derived from the efforts we place in the world, God, God says, I want more of that because I'm the one who made. In making sure that your worldly efforts are beneficial to you. But when you make your efforts toward me, when your efforts are at my direction, when your efforts are at my expense, when you do, when you are doing things for my benefit, when I tell you to walk in this and you walk in it, I'm not going to require as much from that. Even when you benefit greatly from it. I'm not going to require much from that. Why? Because you have given me an offering of worship, an offering of glory, offering a praise. And so, verse 32, it says, the booty remaining from the plunder which the men of war had taken were 675,000 sheep. That's a lot of sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, 32,000 persons in all of women who had not known a man intimately. And half the portion of those who had gone out to war was in the number 337,500 sheep. And the lord's tribute of the sheep was 675. And the cattle that were 36,000, of which the lord's tribute was only 72. And the donkeys were 30,500, of which the lord's tribute was only 61. The persons were 16,000, of which the Lord's tribute was only 32 persons. So Moses gave the tribute, which was the lord's, a heave offering to Eleazar the priest and the Lord, as the lord commanded. And then he goes in and from the children of Israel, half which Moses separated from the men who fought. Now, the half belonging to the congregation was 337,500 sheep. They gave 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 persons from the children of Israel, half. Moses took one of every 50 drawing from a man and beast and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. So. So everybody benefits when God takes territory. Everybody benefits when God steps out and, and goes to, well, really gives us the promised land. Everybody benefits. But some benefit more, some benefit a lot more. And those who are the one, those are the ones who are doing the battling. And you go, well, are those the pastors? Are you talking about the. No, I'm not talking about the pastors. What I'm talking about is every person who is willing to take the step of entering into the struggle which is advancing the kingdom of God. And that struggle is a difficult struggle. The prayer warrior struggle is a weight that is carried by those who pray and seek God's face and seek God to move on behalf of the church. The servants in the kingdom who show up regularly show up in all kinds of situations, show up in the church and in the things that are going on outside the church, and they are there or regularly take on that role. Each one of them benefit. The benefit is great to them. Those things are sacrifices that are beyond just being a part of the congregation, that are beyond just being discipled, that are beyond just your personal walk with God. Those are efforts and energy that are given to God for a kingdom purpose, for a growth purpose that benefit you nothing in the short term but benefits you greatly in the kingdom terms. And, and, and give you an assurance of your faith and your, and ultimately your salvation. And you're going, you mean assured rather than not I'm going to heaven? No. An assurance that God is moving in your life. When you serve, when you give, when you move beyond yourself and do things that are beyond yourself, there's a great assurance that God is at work in your life and that he is changing your heart and you, he's making you different. And people see that. The reason people continue to serve in the kingdom for years and decades of their life, they give and give and give and they're always, there is because there's great assurance that comes from that. There's great benefit, there's great booty, there's great, there's great reward from that. And that reward is a sustaining, it's a hopeful, it's a powerful reward. And yet so many do miss out. So many, so many don't join in. So many are not a part of it. And I've always wanted for the people I pastor for them to experience it. And one of the great things about the place where I pastor now is the percentage is not near as stark as it is. It's been in other places. I brag on the church. I pastor when the call goes out to show up and to be somewhere and to do something for the kingdom. We don't have to search for folks. We don't have to go out and ask when the car goes out. Oftentimes we have, we, we have more than, more than we could then that we really need to do the job. They, they show up. Lake Community church shows up. And when, when there's a need, that need gets met. And when they're, when there are people who are, who are in need, our people make sure those needs are fulfilled and met. And so I'm excited that that means there's going to be far more reward, there's going to be far more benefit, there's going to be far more assurance, and there's going to be far more peace. And so as you enter into the weekend and get prepared for Sunday and prepared for spending time with family and friends this weekend, always remember that the kingdom is advancing and God has a place for you in that army. And when you find that place, there is wonderful benefit from it. Benefit that is far beyond what you dreamed when you started.

As you go today. I pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you, that he'll make his face to shine upon you, and that he will give you hope and peace today. In Jesus name.