Behold the vast & great God (Numbers 11:31-35)

Behold the vast & great God (Numbers 11:31-35)

 

31 Then a wind from the LORD sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground.

32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.

33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague.

34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving.

35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.

 

Introduction)

God is the greatest of all things in the universe, and even greater than that. However, it is human nature to regard such a great God as small without knowing how great it is. That's why we people often live doubting or limiting God's ability. We must live our lives praying and praising God in anticipation that God will do greater, greater, and more amazing things for us.

Main subject)

A) The case of manna and quail

It is said that long ago, the Israelites came out of Egypt and lived in the wilderness for 40 years. God miraculously rained down manna from the sky for 40 years, allowing them to eat and live. However, people of other races, who mainly ate manna every day, first complained, and then the Israelites sympathized with them, shedding tears of longing for the food of Egypt, which they used to live as slaves in the past. I wanted fish, leek, garlic, green onion, cucumber, melon, and meat. He said he liked the time he lived in Egypt and missed it. At that time, God heard the cry of the Israelites. And he says to Moses. <Sanctify your bodies and wait for meat tomorrow. You weep and say, Who will give us meat to eat? The Lord will give you meat to eat, because it has been said to the Lord that we had fun in Egypt.” (18)

 

God continued to speak. <Not only will you eat one day, two days, five days, ten days, or twenty days, but you will eat it for a month until it overflows from your nostrils and disgusts you. ’ (19-20) Hearing this, Moses spoke to God. “The people who are with me have 600,000 footmen, and you say, ‘I will give them meat for a month. Is it enough for them to kill flocks and herds or gather all the fish in the sea?’” (21-22) say. Then the Lord rebuked Moses and said, “Has the hand of the Lord shortened? You will now see whether my words will answer you” (23).

Moses was the greatest national leader of his time. Moses is the greatest man in the history of Israel, not only at his time. Deuteronomy 34:10 says:

<After that, no prophet like Moses arose in Israel, but Moses was the one who knew the Lord face to face.>

 

Moses was certainly a giant of faith in Israel's history. There was a time when even Moses considered the great God small. He said when God said he would give the Israelites meat.

“This people with me has 600,000 foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat for a month. Is it enough for them to slaughter flocks and herds, or gather all the fish of the sea?’” (21-22)

At that time, the population of the Exodus was about 2 million, and only 600,000 people were strong men. If you calculate that two people eat 600 grams, it is said that you will eat 30 million cows in one month. Moses wondered if God could feed that many meats in a wilderness where it was difficult to find even a single blade of grass or even a single cow. He saw the power of God as small even then. He saw the great God as small. I still lacked faith. Then, what kind of faith is the faith that God really wants us to possess? Today, let's think about it in four main ways.

 

Main subject)

A) A person who speaks of the future rather than the past.

Failures speak of the past, successes speak of the future. Those who fail are longing for the past, and those who succeed are those who dream of the future. Now the people of Egypt are nostalgic for the past.

I miss the days when I used to eat meat. Eating fish, leek, garlic, green onion, and watermelon, he says it was fun, nostalgic for the days when he was a slave. Everyone said it was painful now.

 

Britain today is a much weakened country, but Britain was once the British Empire. It was the world's most powerful country enough to say that the sun never sets on British territory. But now it has declined. A pastor went to England and stopped by a bookstore to find a book about the ‘tabernacle’. However, the books displayed there were all retro-oriented. <The rise and fall of the British Empire> <The era when the sun did not set on British soil> <The 17th century when the world was conquered> were all backward-oriented.

The Israelites were talking about the past. Not a word was said about the land of Canaan, flowing with milk and honey. We should mainly talk about the future. Yesterday was fun, but yesterday has passed. Even if you were sick yesterday, you have to forget today. Yesterday is a bounced check, tomorrow is a promissory note. You have to believe and wait for the amazing promise.

 

There is a movie called <The Best Year of Our Lives>. The plot of this movie is as follows. During World War II, a young man named Harold Russell participated in combat as a paratrooper. One day in a battle the young man was hit by a bomb. He lost both of his arms. He is crippled. He was discouraged and in despair. He lost both of his arms and had no way to live. He prayed desperately to God. <God, I am useless. I am useless.> But I heard the voice of God. <Still, isn't there more gained than lost?>

When ‘Russell’ thought about it, he had more left than what he lost. He had two eyes. He still had two ears, and he had two feet. Still more gained than lost. He changed his mind. <I have more left than lost. Only two arms are missing. And everything else remains the same.> He asked the doctor to make a prosthetic arm. He practiced typing hard. So he organized his life well and compiled it into a book. This suddenly became a bestseller. And a movie was made. In that film, he starred and directed himself. It reached its peak of popularity. It has been a great success. It has inspired many people. This movie is <The Best Year of Our Lives>in 1946.

 

A reporter asked him. <Didn't you despair because of your physical condition?>

He answered calmly. <No. My physical handicap has become my greatest blessing. You should always think of what you have received and gained from God, not counting what you have lost. When you use it with gratitude for the grace, God greatly compensates you for the fruit of what you have lost. More possibilities will open before him.> We should speak of the future rather than the past. We should talk about tomorrow rather than yesterday.

 

B) Be a Bigger speaker.

People of faith go beyond talking loudly and speak Bigger. How loud is Moses talking? “The people who are with me have 600,000 men, and the Lord says, ‘I will give them meat to eat for one month. Is it enough for them to kill sheep and cattle, or is it enough for them to gather all the fish of the sea? God has spoken.

<The Lord said to Moses, Has the Lord's hand been shortened? Now you will see whether my words will answer you.> (23)

Moses asked God if it would be enough to kill all the sheep and herds, and if all the fish in the sea would be enough. What a big idea. I guess that Moses was the only person in the world who thought of catching all the fish in the water. He thought big. But God was greater. God made the wind blow so that all the quail that flew away fell where the Israelites gathered. Verse 31 says:

<A wind came from the Lord and drove the quail from the sea, and caused them to fall on one side of the camp, on the other side, about two cubits above the ground, a day's journey from each side to the four sides of the camp. And the people rose up and gathered quail all day and night, and all the next day, ten homers. They spread it all around the camp for themselves> (Numbers 11:31-33) Usually, people say that a day's journey is 100 li (40 km, 25 miles). Two cubits is about a meter. In Korea, it means that quails were piled up to 1m from Seoul to Incheon, and here, quails were piled up from Watertown to Carthage (about 20 miles). It's amazing. Moses thought as big as he could think, but God shot bigger. The problem is that no matter how big we look at it, it is not as big as God thinks. The psalmist said: (Psalm 81;10)=<Open your mouth wide. I will fill it up.> Open bigger and bigger! Believe bigger and bigger! This is the message God gives us. God is clearly more than we think out loud! more! more! more! more! You are a big man.

C) Speak spiritual things, not physical things.

A person of faith does not speak physical things, but spiritual things. The Israelites are speaking now. <I want to eat fish, leek, garlic, green onion, watermelon, and melon.> <The past was fun.>

<I want to go back to Egypt.> All of them were carnal things. However, a person of true faith always thinks of spiritual things.

*This is a story that happened during World War II. A young man was shot down by an enemy bullet and was dying. The chaplain approached the young man and said, <Now you are dying. Too bad. I will write a letter to my mother for you. What should I write?> said the young man. <Please write to my mother that I am glad I died. Tell her that she died proudly fighting for her country.> And she went on to say, <Pastor! And please write one more letter. Now I remember the face of the teacher who taught me at church school. He was the one who taught me the Bible when I was young. Write to him that I died as a Christian.>

Having said this, the young man closed his eyes. The chaplain wrote two letters and sent them as the young man said. I wrote one to my mother and the other to my Sunday School teacher.

However, a reply came from the teacher. <Thank you for your letter. I was actually a teacher for church school students. However, I resigned a month ago because it was not very fruitful and I was bored. However, after receiving this letter today, I realized that what I did was not in vain. So I decided to become a church school teacher again.> When we teach the Word, even if it doesn't seem to be very effective, the seeds of the Word are sown and bear fruit over time.

 

D) Speak faith, not common sense.

Moses was a man of supreme faith, but she can't escape common sense.

“This people with me has 600,000 footmen, and you say, ‘I will give them meat for a month. Is it enough for them to slaughter sheep and herds, or is it enough for them to gather all the fish of the sea?’” Moses is now thinking of sheep and cattle on the visible land. He is thinking of fish in the sea. However, God transcended Moses' thoughts and drove the meat of the birds in the sky with the wind. It was beyond common sense. God is not common sense but transcends common sense. We limit God with common sense, but God breaks our common sense with miracles. He saved us through the cross of Jesus.

 

*A Korean Pastor; Munho Kang once received ‘New village movement education’ from Elder Yonggi Kim at a place called Canaan Farmers School.

Then, President Park jung-hee visited the Canaan Farmers School at that time. He had lunch there. At that time, Elder Kim served the President the same food that the trainers in the farmers ate. Kimchi, kkakdugi(Radish kimchi), and soybean paste stew were all. It was a really very simple farmer’s food to eat. What surprised everyone, not just the president's aides. Even President Park himself was surprised. At that time, President Park came to see Elder Kim Yong-gi as an unusual person. That is why he came to actively help the Canaan Farmers School. God is also beyond our common sense. He works miracles that people cannot see. Moses saw only the land and the sea, but God showed him the sky.

conclusion)

That's right. What kind of person is a person of faith who lives a successful life?

1. A person who does not speak of the past, but of the future.

2. A person who speaks louder.

3. This is a person who does not speak physical things, but spiritual things.

4. This is a person who does not speak of common sense, but of the God of miracles.

 Let's not limit God's greatness and power, pray with our mouths wide open, and seek and record more amazing grace and power, and build our lives day by day. Hallelujah!

 

041823 Pastor Iksun Ahn

 

Behold the vast & great God (Numbers 11:31-35)

31 Then a wind from the LORD sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground.

32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.

33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague.

34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving.

35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.

 

Introduction)

God is the greatest of all things in the universe, and even greater than that. However, it is human nature to regard such a great God as small without knowing how great it is. That's why we people often live doubting or limiting God's ability. We must live our lives praying and praising God in anticipation that God will do greater, greater, and more amazing things for us.

Main subject)

A) The case of manna and quail

It is said that long ago, the Israelites came out of Egypt and lived in the wilderness for 40 years. God miraculously rained down manna from the sky for 40 years, allowing them to eat and live. However, people of other races, who mainly ate manna every day, first complained, and then the Israelites sympathized with them, shedding tears of longing for the food of Egypt, which they used to live as slaves in the past. I wanted fish, leek, garlic, green onion, cucumber, melon, and meat. He said he liked the time he lived in Egypt and missed it. At that time, God heard the cry of the Israelites. And he says to Moses. <Sanctify your bodies and wait for meat tomorrow. You weep and say, Who will give us meat to eat? The Lord will give you meat to eat, because it has been said to the Lord that we had fun in Egypt.” (18)

 

God continued to speak. <Not only will you eat one day, two days, five days, ten days, or twenty days, but you will eat it for a month until it overflows from your nostrils and disgusts you. ’ (19-20) Hearing this, Moses spoke to God. “The people who are with me have 600,000 footmen, and you say, ‘I will give them meat for a month. Is it enough for them to kill flocks and herds or gather all the fish in the sea?’” (21-22) say. Then the Lord rebuked Moses and said, “Has the hand of the Lord shortened? You will now see whether my words will answer you” (23).

Moses was the greatest national leader of his time. Moses is the greatest man in the history of Israel, not only at his time. Deuteronomy 34:10 says:

<After that, no prophet like Moses arose in Israel, but Moses was the one who knew the Lord face to face.>

 

Moses was certainly a giant of faith in Israel's history. There was a time when even Moses considered the great God small. He said when God said he would give the Israelites meat.

“This people with me has 600,000 foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat for a month. Is it enough for them to slaughter flocks and herds, or gather all the fish of the sea?’” (21-22)

At that time, the population of the Exodus was about 2 million, and only 600,000 people were strong men. If you calculate that two people eat 600 grams, it is said that you will eat 30 million cows in one month. Moses wondered if God could feed that many meats in a wilderness where it was difficult to find even a single blade of grass or even a single cow. He saw the power of God as small even then. He saw the great God as small. I still lacked faith. Then, what kind of faith is the faith that God really wants us to possess? Today, let's think about it in four main ways.

 

Main subject)

A) A person who speaks of the future rather than the past.

Failures speak of the past, successes speak of the future. Those who fail are longing for the past, and those who succeed are those who dream of the future. Now the people of Egypt are nostalgic for the past.

I miss the days when I used to eat meat. Eating fish, leek, garlic, green onion, and watermelon, he says it was fun, nostalgic for the days when he was a slave. Everyone said it was painful now.

 

Britain today is a much weakened country, but Britain was once the British Empire. It was the world's most powerful country enough to say that the sun never sets on British territory. But now it has declined. A pastor went to England and stopped by a bookstore to find a book about the ‘tabernacle’. However, the books displayed there were all retro-oriented. <The rise and fall of the British Empire> <The era when the sun did not set on British soil> <The 17th century when the world was conquered> were all backward-oriented.

The Israelites were talking about the past. Not a word was said about the land of Canaan, flowing with milk and honey. We should mainly talk about the future. Yesterday was fun, but yesterday has passed. Even if you were sick yesterday, you have to forget today. Yesterday is a bounced check, tomorrow is a promissory note. You have to believe and wait for the amazing promise.

 

There is a movie called <The Best Year of Our Lives>. The plot of this movie is as follows. During World War II, a young man named Harold Russell participated in combat as a paratrooper. One day in a battle the young man was hit by a bomb. He lost both of his arms. He is crippled. He was discouraged and in despair. He lost both of his arms and had no way to live. He prayed desperately to God. <God, I am useless. I am useless.> But I heard the voice of God. <Still, isn't there more gained than lost?>

When ‘Russell’ thought about it, he had more left than what he lost. He had two eyes. He still had two ears, and he had two feet. Still more gained than lost. He changed his mind. <I have more left than lost. Only two arms are missing. And everything else remains the same.> He asked the doctor to make a prosthetic arm. He practiced typing hard. So he organized his life well and compiled it into a book. This suddenly became a bestseller. And a movie was made. In that film, he starred and directed himself. It reached its peak of popularity. It has been a great success. It has inspired many people. This movie is <The Best Year of Our Lives>in 1946.

 

A reporter asked him. <Didn't you despair because of your physical condition?>

He answered calmly. <No. My physical handicap has become my greatest blessing. You should always think of what you have received and gained from God, not counting what you have lost. When you use it with gratitude for the grace, God greatly compensates you for the fruit of what you have lost. More possibilities will open before him.> We should speak of the future rather than the past. We should talk about tomorrow rather than yesterday.

 

B) Be a Bigger speaker.

People of faith go beyond talking loudly and speak Bigger. How loud is Moses talking? “The people who are with me have 600,000 men, and the Lord says, ‘I will give them meat to eat for one month. Is it enough for them to kill sheep and cattle, or is it enough for them to gather all the fish of the sea? God has spoken.

<The Lord said to Moses, Has the Lord's hand been shortened? Now you will see whether my words will answer you.> (23)

Moses asked God if it would be enough to kill all the sheep and herds, and if all the fish in the sea would be enough. What a big idea. I guess that Moses was the only person in the world who thought of catching all the fish in the water. He thought big. But God was greater. God made the wind blow so that all the quail that flew away fell where the Israelites gathered. Verse 31 says:

<A wind came from the Lord and drove the quail from the sea, and caused them to fall on one side of the camp, on the other side, about two cubits above the ground, a day's journey from each side to the four sides of the camp. And the people rose up and gathered quail all day and night, and all the next day, ten homers. They spread it all around the camp for themselves> (Numbers 11:31-33) Usually, people say that a day's journey is 100 li (40 km, 25 miles). Two cubits is about a meter. In Korea, it means that quails were piled up to 1m from Seoul to Incheon, and here, quails were piled up from Watertown to Carthage (about 20 miles). It's amazing. Moses thought as big as he could think, but God shot bigger. The problem is that no matter how big we look at it, it is not as big as God thinks. The psalmist said: (Psalm 81;10)=<Open your mouth wide. I will fill it up.> Open bigger and bigger! Believe bigger and bigger! This is the message God gives us. God is clearly more than we think out loud! more! more! more! more! You are a big man.

C) Speak spiritual things, not physical things.

A person of faith does not speak physical things, but spiritual things. The Israelites are speaking now. <I want to eat fish, leek, garlic, green onion, watermelon, and melon.> <The past was fun.>

<I want to go back to Egypt.> All of them were carnal things. However, a person of true faith always thinks of spiritual things.

*This is a story that happened during World War II. A young man was shot down by an enemy bullet and was dying. The chaplain approached the young man and said, <Now you are dying. Too bad. I will write a letter to my mother for you. What should I write?> said the young man. <Please write to my mother that I am glad I died. Tell her that she died proudly fighting for her country.> And she went on to say, <Pastor! And please write one more letter. Now I remember the face of the teacher who taught me at church school. He was the one who taught me the Bible when I was young. Write to him that I died as a Christian.>

Having said this, the young man closed his eyes. The chaplain wrote two letters and sent them as the young man said. I wrote one to my mother and the other to my Sunday School teacher.

However, a reply came from the teacher. <Thank you for your letter. I was actually a teacher for church school students. However, I resigned a month ago because it was not very fruitful and I was bored. However, after receiving this letter today, I realized that what I did was not in vain. So I decided to become a church school teacher again.> When we teach the Word, even if it doesn't seem to be very effective, the seeds of the Word are sown and bear fruit over time.

 

D) Speak faith, not common sense.

Moses was a man of supreme faith, but she can't escape common sense.

“This people with me has 600,000 footmen, and you say, ‘I will give them meat for a month. Is it enough for them to slaughter sheep and herds, or is it enough for them to gather all the fish of the sea?’” Moses is now thinking of sheep and cattle on the visible land. He is thinking of fish in the sea. However, God transcended Moses' thoughts and drove the meat of the birds in the sky with the wind. It was beyond common sense. God is not common sense but transcends common sense. We limit God with common sense, but God breaks our common sense with miracles. He saved us through the cross of Jesus.

 

*A Korean Pastor; Munho Kang once received ‘New village movement education’ from Elder Yonggi Kim at a place called Canaan Farmers School.

Then, President Park jung-hee visited the Canaan Farmers School at that time. He had lunch there. At that time, Elder Kim served the President the same food that the trainers in the farmers ate. Kimchi, kkakdugi(Radish kimchi), and soybean paste stew were all. It was a really very simple farmer’s food to eat. What surprised everyone, not just the president's aides. Even President Park himself was surprised. At that time, President Park came to see Elder Kim Yong-gi as an unusual person. That is why he came to actively help the Canaan Farmers School. God is also beyond our common sense. He works miracles that people cannot see. Moses saw only the land and the sea, but God showed him the sky.

conclusion)

That's right. What kind of person is a person of faith who lives a successful life?

1. A person who does not speak of the past, but of the future.

2. A person who speaks louder.

3. This is a person who does not speak physical things, but spiritual things.

4. This is a person who does not speak of common sense, but of the God of miracles.

 Let's not limit God's greatness and power, pray with our mouths wide open, and seek and record more amazing grace and power, and build our lives day by day. Hallelujah!

 

041823 Pastor Ik sun Ahn