This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode we see what’s
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

After Israel’s failure to
enter the Promised Land,

and God’s promised punishment against
the older generation, God gives commands

to the younger generation that
they will apply when they return.

See, the commands he
gives are about sacrifices.

And this reaffirms that God
will bring them into the land

and make atonement for them through
the sacrifices commanded in Leviticus.

Things are looking up.

We even see the people obeying God’s commands
to put to death those who break the Sabbath.

The people seem to be falling
back into obedience once again.

But it doesn’t last long at all.

Three Levites create a rebellion of
250 leaders who rise up against Moses.

They accuse Moses of exalting
himself over everyone else.

But the book of Numbers
makes it clear that these men

did not have a problem with
Moses, they had a problem with God.

Not only that, but they were overlooking
the privileged position that they had already

been given as Levites, separated
from Israel to serve at God’s tent.

What we see next is what happens
when sin comes near a perfect God.

God punishes these three men by
opening up the earth so that they fall in.

He also punishes the 250 who followed
them by consuming them with fire.

The rebellion spread
through the land as well.

So, God’s punishment
followed in the form of a plague.

Quickly Aaron took his
own censer of incense and

stood in the midst of the plague,
between the living and the dead.

The plague stopped, but not
before claiming 14,700 lives.

Stories like this can be hard to hear.

But there are a few
things we must remember.

First, sinning against God is
more serious than we want to admit.

It is so serious that, even though it
may be hard to wrap our minds around,

those who sin deserve death.

Second, God provides ways out of the
punishment we deserve through intercession.

Aaron’s censer of incense
did not stop God’s plague

by magic  or because it
overpowered what God was doing.

God allowed the person he appointed
to intercede for the people to do his job.

Most importantly, we need
to see our own sin in this story.

Like those who led this rebellion, we have
questioned the one person God has appointed

to speak to us on his behalf, earn our way
into his presence, and be our ultimate leader.

This person is Jesus.

At different moments and in different
ways, we all have disbelieved that

Jesus is who he said he was.

This is so much more offensive than
what happened in the book of Numbers.

We deserve what
they got and far worse.

However, Jesus rushed into
the middle of our plague.

He offered up something more
precious than incense - his very own life.

He is the sin offering that we need to stay in
God’s presence and enter into the Promised Land.

Even though we have done things
far worse than breaking the Sabbath,

Jesus has stepped in and
taken the death we earned.

I pray that the Holy Spirit would open
your eyes to see the God who treats sin

like it truly deserves, but
always provides a way of escape.

And that you would
see and treasure Jesus

as the only appointed
intercessor God has given us.