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“These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places.” (Numbers 33:1-2, ESV)

Pastor Abel’s sermon on this passage is titled, “Worry”.

A remarkable truth about the Bible is that you can read a passage so many times and still see new things each time: new observations about God and man, new ways to apply its truth to life, or a new experience you’ve had that helps you see the text in a new light. All the while, the central meaning of the text remains.

For example, as I read the above passage this morning, one that I’ve read before, a phrase jumped out at me: “by command of the Lord.” So, Moses diligently recorded every location that Israel camped at during their forty years of exile, because God commanded it.

The claim here may seem insignificant at first glance, but it is not. It points to one of the most important truths about the Bible: it was written by both God and man. Moses wrote the words on the page, but it was God who commanded those words to be written.

The Apostle Paul said in his second letter to Timothy that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God…” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Apostle Peter as well said, “no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21).

The Bible is not like any other book. We do not have the luxury of reading it and then deciding for ourselves what it means, or how much of it we should believe or disbelieve. Because the Bible was “breathed out by God,” and God’s words were written down by his prophets and apostles, we must believe what the Bible says. And we must surrender our lives to live by the principles in it.

May this simple statement, that God commanded Moses to record something as seemingly mundane as a wilderness travelog, remind us to hold the Bible, God’s Word, in high esteem, to read it regularly, and to diligently seek out its true meaning so that we can change the way we live to be more in line with God’s will.

 

Further Study

 

Small Group Questions

  • Describe a time in your life when God provided for you.
  • Why is this idea of remembering God’s faithfulness so important as we live our busy, stressful lives?
  • As we look back and remember God’s faithfulness, what are we looking forward to?
  • What is the ultimate source for our hope for the future?
  • What are some practical steps we can take this week to remember God’s faithfulness and his promises when we inevitably begin to worry?