HCMC

Victories Along The Way
Text: Numbers Chap 21

Introduction:
Numbers 21 is almost as if God is giving a reboot to the nation of Israel. God was teaching the new nation that when they trust Him...

A. There are no Ultimate Defeats (vv1-3)
1. The last time they encountered Hormah was at Num 14:39-45. There they were soundly defeated by the Canaanites. So Hormah came to symbolise failure and defeat.

2. The people learnt to trust God - they cried out to Him for help (v2) and in doing so, God turned what was formerly a place of defeat into a hallmark of His victory (v3).

B. There are no Meaningless Detours (vv4-20)
1. The people complained because they were made to detour Edom. God used a seemingly meaningless detour to surface unfinished business in His people's lives so that He could deal thoroughly with them. Subsequent to this episode, the people learnt their lesson and no longer complained.

2. God also used the solution of this episode (i.e. looking at the bronze serpent) to point proleptically to what his son would do for all mankind in the future (Jn 3:14-15).

C. There are no Insurmountable Difficulties (vv21-35)
1. The Amorites represented what the previous generation considered as unconquerable (Num 13:28-29).

2. This new generation learnt that when they trust God fully there are no insurmountable difficulties.

Conclusion:
God is able to turn our past defeats into present victories, give meaning to our moments and help us conquer seemingly unconquerable difficulties when we trust Him fully.