Notes:
The Context (Numbers 11-17)
- A Context of Rebellion
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- Rebellions of the Multitudes (11:1-3; 11:4-35)
- Rebellion of Miriam and Aaron (12:2, 8, 15)
- Rebellion of the Men (13:31;14:10,4,37,29,32-33)
- Rebellion of the Morning (14:40-45)
- Rebellion of Motivation (16:10, 31-33; 17:10)
- A Context of Reverence (13:30; 14:24, 30, 38; Psa. 138:2)
The Commandment
- The Presumptuous Sin – A deliberate defiance of God’s word which reproaches Him (vs. 30) and despises His word (vs. 31; Deut. 29:19-20).
- The Problem – It is a problem of the heart (vs. 39; 2 Pet. 2:10; Jude 8).
- The Punishment – Presumptuous sin was to be punished by death (vs. 30, 21).
The Case
- The Sticks – A man was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath (vs. 32; Exo. 20:8; 35:3; 31:18; Deut. 9:10; Exo. 35:1; 16:26; 20:9-11).
- The Sentence – After being held in custody, the Lord delivered his sentence (vs. 33-35).
- The Stoning – The sentence was carried out as Israel stoned the man (vs. 36).
The Calling
- The Requirement – God instructed Israel to put fringes with blue riband on their garments (vs. 38).
- The Reminder – The fringes and blue riband was to be a reminder to Israel (vs. 39-40).
- The Reason – God gave them this reminder and wanted them to be holy because they were His people (vs. 41; cf. 1 Cor. 6:19-20; Heb. 10:28-29).
