Sermon Summary
Pastor Jason discusses the transition in Numbers 21 from the first to the second generation of Israelites, emphasizing God's faithfulness despite Israel's sinfulness. He highlights Israel's victories over the Canaanites, led by Sihon and Og, giants from the Rephaim race, as significant milestones. Pastor Jason connects these events to the story of the bronze serpent, symbolizing God's cure for sin, and draws parallels to Jesus, who is described as the ultimate cure and sin bearer. He underscores the simplicity and universality of faith in Jesus for eternal life, urging the congregation to look to Jesus for salvation.

Sermon Transcript
Once again, a very good morning to all of you. Thank you for joining us in our journey through the Book of Numbers. We come to somewhat the midpoint in Chapter 21 and next week, we're going to look at Chapters 22 to 24. There's a lot of material there, and I hope you can prepare yourself by reading ahead of time.

Pastor Jason’s Introduction and Context Setting
Now, this week, I read about a certain Ms Tay Jie Qi, who used to be a law student at SMU. However, she was subsequently found to plagiarise or to copy some paragraphs for her exam paper at Year Two. Then I also read about Ms Shauna Low, who was also a student at SMU, a law student, but she was caught shoplifting eyeshadow palette at a certain Sephora outlet. Both of them were punished, and both of them subsequently applied to be called to the Bar so that they may be lawyers. Now, if you were the Chief Justice of Singapore deciding on their application to be called to the Bar, what would you do? Would you approve? Or would you disapprove? How many of you would approve? One, two. How many of you would disapprove? Then the rest? That's why you're not Chief Justice. (laughs)

Well, after consultation with the various stakeholders, the Chief Justice of Singapore decided to approve their application, and there are not a few lawyers who agreed with that decision. It came out in the Straits Times: “Those called to the bar after owning up to the wrongdoings deserve second chance”. One of the lawyers, he was quoted, “I hope, in the context of criminal cases, these lawyers may be more able to appreciate the importance of second chances.”

Transition from First to Second Generation of Israelites
Second chance is what I think about when we come to the Book of Numbers. You see, Israel failed God over and over again. After they have been brought out of Egypt, they sinned against God ten times. But God did not totally eliminate Israel. Instead, He said the second generation––whilst the first would not be allowed in, there is a hope for the second generation still to enter the Promised Land. So when we come to Numbers 20 and 21, they mark that transition point where the first generation would pass and the new generation would enter the Promised Land. Last week, we saw in Chapter 20 the passing of the first generation as symbolised by the death and funeral of Miriam. Miriam was the sister of Moses. She passed away, and at the end of Chapter 20, we read also the passing of Aaron, Moses' brother, who was also the great high priest. So you have two funerals, and right in the middle, you have Moses himself failing and disobeying God. So all of them will not enter the Promised Land, kind of giving us that sense that the first generation of Israelites will not enter. So this is a chapter of gloom and doom, of funerals and failure of judgment and punishment.

But when we turn the page to Numbers 21, the mood suddenly changes. There is a sharp contrast, because there is victory and celebration and brightness and cheer. For example, we read in the opening few verses that now Israel will be victorious. We see that “...the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction.” So now they will defeat the Canaanites. And there's an important geographical node there. So the name of the place was called Hormah. Now, I know we are Singaporeans. You do not know what is Hormah. You only know Bukit Timah or you may know Orchard. But Hormah is significant because 38 years ago, in Numbers 13 or 14, we read that the Amalekites and the Canaanites defeated Israel and pursued them even to Hormah. So 38 years ago, because of the sins of the first generation, they failed, and they were defeated at Hormah, but 38 years later, now for the second generation, the Canaanites would lose to Israel. Israel will be victorious.

So there's a change, and it's an important change from defeat a generation earlier to complete victory a generation later. Not only this victory, but at the end of Chapter 21, we read about further victories, a couple more victories, very significant victories: “Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites in Heshbon… and Heshbon was the city of Sihon, the king of the Amorites.”

Victories over Sihon and Og
Now I know Sihon… Who is this? Who cares? You may say. If I say Napoleon, you wake up. Genghis Khan, you will wake up. Qin Shi Huang, you will wake up. But who is Sihon the king? Well, I would like you to kind of remember this name, because he is someone significant, as I will hope to show later. But anyway, Sihon the king would lose, or will be defeated by the Israelites, and not only Sihon, but Og. Wow, what is this Og? Sihon, Og, don't know what you're talking about, lah! But anyway, we read: “Og the king of Bashan came out against them, and the Lord said to Moses, ‘Don't be fearful of him. I've given him into your hand all his people and his land, and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’… And they defeated Og and his sons and his people, and there are no survivors left. They possessed his land.”

You say, what's the big deal? Israel defeated many kings, what. So, Sihon, Og, what's the big deal anyway? Now the big deal comes when you know who these two kings are, in particular, Og. We don't know much more in Numbers, there are no further details, but when you read Deuteronomy… Deuteronomy, by the way, is also written by Moses. And Deuteronomy are the records of Moses’ final speeches to Israel. It's like he's going to die, and he's telling the second generation some important things. And in those speeches, he gives us a further detail about Og the king of Bashan. He says, “For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim.” Now this is going to be a bit chim (Hokkien for “difficult to understand”). So if you're new with us, you're not a Christian, you're not familiar with the Bible, you say, “Wow, this guy is crazy going on to some esoteric stuff.” I'll say to you, it's cool, it’s rainy. I know you like to sleep. You can sleep for five minutes. After five minutes, I'll tell you when to wake up.

But this is further details or something quite interesting, but not maybe so well known by Christians, but I think it's important. So we read of Og being of the last of the Rephaims. Now, the Rephaims, if you Google it, if you check it out, the mentions of it in the Bible, they refer to a race of giants living in Canaan in ancient times. It's not so strange if you think about Goliath, if you think about the sons of Anak, remember? 38 years ago, they went to spy out Canaan, and one of the things that made their hearts melt in fear is that they saw giants. They are like the Nephilims mentioned in Genesis 6. So the word “Rephaim” refers to a race of giants living in Canaan in ancient times. For example, we would read in Deuteronomy 2: “Rephaim formerly lived there––but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim”–– very hard to pronounce––“a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim.” So the Rephaims are big people. And in Deuteronomy 3, we read that the bed of Og was a bed of iron. Just to let you know it's not made of plywood, not from IKEA, but iron, because it's got to be strong enough. And the size of his bed is nine cubits for its length and four cubits for its breadth. Now, what is a cubit? We don't use cubit. We talk about meters, centimeters, feet, yards, whatever, but a cubit? Anybody knows? 18… 18 inches or 1.5 feet, or in Singaporean terms, about 45 centimeters. So if you do your mathematics correct, 9 cubits is close to… it is exactly 4 meters. So the bed of this king is 4 meters by 1.8 meters.

Well, this, this guy has a big bed, ah. You say, “Aiyah, his bed big because he's a king. He likes to roll around his bed, lah.” No, I don't think it's just because he likes to roll around his bed. But he probably is a giant who needs this size. For example, we read in Amos 2:9: “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars.” A cedar tree is very tall. These are gigantic beings, this Amorite at least. And of course, in Numbers 13, I remind you that the spies saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak who became… who come from the Nephilim. And so they said, “We seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers.” So the Bible gives us details about Sihon and about King Og of the Amorites, who were giants. And the remarkable thing about it is that they, the Israelites, defeated him and his sons and all his people.

It is one of the most unlikely scenarios that Israel, untrained and so on, would defeat these mighty kings. And that's why you read about the songs, the book of the wars and so on, how Sihon’s victory over Moab was celebrated. They are powerful, but Israel defeated them, and this victory became very significant for Israel's consideration throughout their history. Deuteronomy 31:4––Moses said, “As the Lord will do to them, and the Lord will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og.” So Moses is saying to the second generation, “Hey, don't be worried. Don't be fearful about conquering Canaan, the Promised Land. Why? Because God enabled you to defeat Sihon and Og.” I mean, if you can defeat Shaquille O’Neal, you can defeat Jason Lim. That's the image. That's the idea.

So Sihon and Og became the markers, the significant milestones for the conquests of Israel going forward into Canaan. Not only this, in Joshua 2, you remember Rahab? Rahab, she was one of the Canaanites, but when the spies came to Canaan, she immediately trusted in God and sided with Israel. And this is the reason she quoted, “...we have heard. We have heard how your God, the Lord, dried up the water of the Red Sea. We have heard how He parted the Red Sea. That is amazing. But not only that, we heard how He helped you to do to the two kings of the Amorites to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.” So the Canaanites kind of knew that Sihon and Og sitting at the gateway into the Promised Land were pretty much undefeatable because they were powerful. They were great, they were big, but you guys defeated them. God is with you. And so this becomes, again, another evidence of how significant Sihon and Og will show themselves to be in the history of Israel. And then in Nehemiah, same thing––”You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land of Sihon and of Og.” So the writers of the Bible in the Old Testament regularly talk about Sihon and Og because Israel knew how impossible it was to defeat these two kings. And here we have Israel defeating them.

So Numbers 20. This is last week. This is the previous chapter. It is a chapter of gloom and doom, because it's about funerals and failure. They couldn't even enter Edom. But when you turn to Chapter 21, it's a different mood because it's about victory and celebration. There are wins at Hormah, there's conquest over Sihon and Og. Super amazing victories. And there is also the gift of the well. In those days, you don't look for oil. Nowadays, we all look for oil. If there's an oil well in your house, you are a very rich man. But in those days, they looked for water. And if you strike water underground and you get a well, you are blessed. So you read about the patriarchs, Isaac, Abraham, they will fight over wells, right? So God gave them a well, provided water for them, which is amazing, and they sang in worship. So it's a celebratory chapter about God's grace and goodness. But just in case, we think that God is good to Israel because Israel, in the second generation, is a good people… Oh, by the way, if you have been sleeping, you can wake up already (laughs).

Just in case you think that God is good to Israel, because Israel is fantastic; Israel is deserving; Israel is “good boy”; Israel is obedient––we are brought to a rude reminder once again that they are not. Because here in Numbers 21, though it's celebratory in general, there is still the reminder of their sinfulness before God. So we're going to see this story of sin and God's salvation for them in the story of the bronze serpent––the serpent that will be lifted up that those who sin against God and are being punished may still be rescued and saved. So I've simply entitled this message, “Serpents, Serpent and Our Saviour”.

The Story of the Bronze Serpent
Let's get into this little story in Numbers 21 and then I'll swing back at the end of the day to see the big picture once more. This all began with a complaint, very typical in the Book of Numbers. You kind of get sick of it by now, because it's always the same thing. The people are not happy, and so they spoke against God and against Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” Same language, actually, as the first generation. They are not very special. They are not better than their fathers. They are just as sinful as their fathers, actually.

“For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food,” so they say this food given by God is disgusting. By the way, what are they eating? They are eating manna, which is a miraculous, supernatural provision by God every day for them for 40 years in the wilderness. It's not sour, alright? It's not bitter. It's sweet! The Bible tells us so. It's actually called angel’s food in Psalm 78, but they are not appreciative. They are ungrateful. They complain against God. And it is particularly disgusting, considering that this account follows hard after how God gave them victory at Hormah. So instead of being a thankful people, they complained against God. And maybe this is the first time we read about them speaking against not just Moses, but now against God by the second gen.

So they complained. And you would have guessed, secondly, they will now reap the consequences. You can't get away with sinning against God, and so God now sends fiery serpents among the people. Now I think fiery, not that I think they look fiery, but perhaps the bite is of such intense pain, and maybe a burning pain, that inflammation is so severe that these serpents are called fiery serpents. It's not just painful, but they are lethal. The people who are bitten will die, and that is the consequence for their sin.

So thirdly, we see in this story a cry, a cry for help. The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned.” Perhaps the first time we read again of the second gen admitting their sins. They say, “We have sinned. We have spoken against the Lord and against you. Please, pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So this is what they want. Please take away the serpents. And Moses then prayed for the people. So we have seen the complaint, the consequence, the cry, and finally, the cure.

Very strange cure, because God said, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So the idea here is that the bronze serpent will be set on the pole that all Israel may see. And those who are bitten and those who are going to die need not die, if they only admit their sin, if they only humble themselves, if they only recognise they can't save themselves, and they will look in hope to this bronze serpent. And so this was done. Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, all he had to do was to look at the bronze serpent and live.

If you today travel to the Middle East, and you go to this place called Mount Nebo, you may find this monument designed or sculpted by an Italian artist, and it's a homage or a monument to this story in Numbers 21. Or maybe some of you might be familiar with this logo. Do you know what this logo is representing? It represents medicine, represents doctors or dentists. So in Singapore, you have your SMA logo, Singapore Medical Association logo, same thing. Got serpent. You have NUS Medical Society also got serpent. You have Singapore Dental Association, got serpent. Also got lion, ah. Singapore, lah. But all have serpent, and then you have a Singapore Armed Forces Medical Corps also got serpent. Why serpent? Strange, right? Because serpents are supposed to be venomous. Serpents are supposed to be killing people. But we all have serpents on our medical logos because of this story in Numbers 21. This is a symbol of cure. This is a symbol of healing, and that's why you see it everywhere.

I’d like to remind you that this story of the bronze serpent is speaking of God's amazing goodness and faithfulness. God has called a people to belong to Him, and even though they are absolutely undeserving––because they are faithless people, they will not obey God, they will not trust God––God remains faithful. Now for some of you who are new, this may be stunning to you, because your idea of religion, your idea of gods, is that gods are good to me if I am good to him in the first place; if I give him things; if I worship Him with things, then God will be good to me. But do you realise that the Bible actually presents God in a totally different light? Because the Bible tells us that we all, as men, are rebellious and we turn away from God, and we will never seek God. But this God doesn't wait for us to seek Him. This God is so good that He will be good to you even when you don't. And I think this is beautifully displayed, for example, in a story such as this. Israel did not deserve any goodness, but as they cry out to God for mercy, God in His goodness gives them a solution.

And I'm going to show you that this story of the bronze serpent ultimately finds its great fulfillment in Jesus Christ. And again, these three things are the main themes in the Book of Numbers. Numbers is 36 chapters. You say, “What is it all about?” I say Numbers is a travelogue that tells us over and over again how Israel is faithless, God is faithful, and the fulfillment is found in Jesus. Now, how is this story about Jesus? Well, we're going to come to what Jesus Himself said. He said in John 3––that's a long time after this episode––he was speaking to Nicodemus, who asked him the way of salvation and life. And Jesus engaged Nicodemus amazingly. Jesus used many Old Testament, Jewish ideas of being born of water and the Spirit and about the wind. I think those are Jewish references to Ezekiel 36. For example, washing of water and a new spirit, a new heart, and about that, perhaps that wind, that breath that is necessary to raise the valley of dry bones to life.

But another Jewish story that Jesus used was Numbers 21––the story of the bronze serpent. And Jesus would say, “This is a story about Me.” Because He said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” So Jesus is saying, just as… even so…serpent in the wilderness lifted up… Son of Man lifted up. Now I know these words are not very clear, so let me put it clearer here: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” So it is God's design that thousands of years ago, there will be this story to teach you and I, reading about this story and reading about Jesus, to be able to understand more about Jesus from this story.

Theological Implications and Application
How is this episode going to teach us more about Jesus? Well, I'd like you to think about the serpent as a cure and Jesus as a cure, symbols of healing in medicine. How is the serpent as a cure and Jesus as a cure similar? I suggest five things for you to consider. Number one, both represent a specific cure and in this case, a specific cure for sin. So Israel sinned against God, and therefore the consequence. And the cure is for sin and the consequence of sin. And it is the same: why did Jesus come to this earth? Why did He go to the cross to die? He did not come so that you can become wealthy in financial riches. He did not come so that you can be healthy physically only. The main reason why Jesus came is so that He may bear away our sin. So 2 Corinthians tells us, “For our sake, He (that is God, the Father) made Him (that is Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin.” In other words, it is God's design and plan to save you and I by sending Jesus to bear our sin. He will be our sin bearer. So perhaps that's why it was a bronze serpent. Because if it was sin, and the consequences of sin that bit and killed Israel, then someone needs to bear that sin. And that bronze serpent is that picture of a sin bearer. Jesus is our sin bearer. For our sake, God made Jesus to be sin. He is bearing our sins even though He Himself knew no sin. He was innocent and perfect and righteous in all His ways. So that in Christ, we might become the righteousness of God. So herein is that great exchange.

The core teaching of the Bible, the core teaching of salvation in the Bible, is found in this idea of substitution. I deserve to be bitten and to be suffering in hell forever more for my sins against God, but Jesus is my substitute. He took my sin. He was made sin for me, so that I may then take on His righteousness, even though I had none. He substituted Himself, and He bestowed upon me what I could never do. The serpent, the bronze serpent, was a specific cure for sin, and Jesus is a specific cure for your sin and my sin.

I want to say secondly, it is a singular cure. In other words, there is no other cure. Israel, bitten by the snakes, would probably say, “Doctor, doctor, please help me. Priest, priest, please pray for me.” But none of these people could heal them of this serpent's bites. There's only one cure. It's only that cure found in a serpent that is hoisted on that pole that they can be saved.

Today, there are many religions, many teachings. There are thousands of religions, but you know what Jesus said? He said, “There's only one cure for your sins.” Because He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Now that's an extremely bold statement, don't you think? It will not be very well accepted in our day and age, because we practise tolerance, we want to say every road leads to Rome. So you may look at Jesus and say, “He’s either a liar or He's crazy, or He's speaking the truth.” And He is saying He is the only way, just like that serpent. That's the only way.

We are glad you are here. We see this message of the Bible as a very important and urgent message. I don't think there is any other message more important than this: that you and I can only be saved through Jesus Christ. That's what the early church leaders spoke about. They say there is no salvation, there is salvation in no one else, because Jesus is the only perfect God-Man who suffered and died to pay for your sins. I can't pay for your sins. The church cannot pay for your sins. You cannot pay for your sins. No one can pay for your sins. Even if you try to obey all the laws in the Bible, you cannot pay for your sins because you will never be able to keep them anyway. There is no way you can be saved except through this Jesus, this serpent, as it were. It is therefore a highly singular cure.

But thirdly, I want you to also appreciate that this is a cure that is sent by God. This is not an invention of man. Moses didn't say, “Oh, I know how to cure you. I'll just make this serpent by myself.” He could not come up with this plan. It is not Moses’ idea. It's God's plan. Jesus, God's Son, coming to die on planet Earth, on the cross, is not man's idea. No one would have figured that out, that the only way God would save man is through the sacrifice of His own Son. No one would have figured that out. Everybody thought that it will be by behaving better that we are saved. But no, God's standards are so high, behaving better is still not good enough, because what God looks for is absolute perfection, and you and I can never achieve that. But Jesus did it, and that's the only way you can be saved. And God sent this cure even when we don't deserve it, or when we are not looking for it.

Do you remember in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve sinned against God? And what did they do after they sinned against God? Did they turn to God and say, “God, save us”? Did they do that? No, they hid from God. They ran from God. They would not want to face God. And if God had waited for Adam and Eve to do the right thing before they can be saved, they will never be saved. No man will be saved. But on that very day Adam and Eve sinned against God, God came to them and God gave a promise via the serpent saying, “From the offspring of Eve, one of the descendants of Eve, will be a serpent crusher.” One of the descendants of Eve will defeat Satan, destroy evil, and bring all things to what it should be. God's idea, God's plan, God's grace, God's goodness, when man doesn't deserve it. Today, the great news of the Bible is that God is willing to save not good people, because there is none, but God is willing to save all sinners. It is His initiative. It is His plan. It is His own Son. He did it all. It's a cure that is sent, given to us out of His goodness.

And then, not only that, I think number four, this is a simple cure. Now, I hope you understand. I'm not saying this is simple for Jesus to do, but I'm saying from our perspective, it is not a complicated process that we need to do. From the perspective of the Israelites, they don't have to go anywhere to look for some medical herb or climb some mountain or do some great deeds. All they need to do is to turn and look that they, who would look at the bronze serpent, will live. It's as simple as that. How complicated can that be?

Conclusion and Call to Faith
And you say today, “What does God want me to do? I know I'm a sinner. I need to be saved, and I know that only Jesus saves but what am I supposed to do? Do I come to church every Sunday? Do I give a lot of money? Do I give up my job?” I'm saying no, it's not these things that save you. There's only one thing that saves you. Like Israel, look to Jesus and live. To look to Jesus is to look at Him in dependence, trusting, having confidence in Him alone and what He did for you on the cross to be the basis of your righteousness, of your forgiveness, of your reconciliation with God.

There's a story told of a young man. He grew up in a Christian home. His father is a preacher, a pastor. His grandfather is also a preacher, a pastor, but he didn't quite know enough about the gospel, this message of the Bible, strangely. Because he still thought to himself, “I need to do a lot of things to be saved.” But one day, he went into a church service. The resident preacher, the normal pastor, the usual pastor, is not there; something happened to him. Do not know what. But there was a stand-in preacher who doesn't usually preach, and he's not doing a great job, at least according to this young man, because he just kept saying the same things. Kept repeating this phrase in Isaiah 45: “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!” The preacher just kept reading the same thing, but he said it so many times. And there was one time he was pointing to the young boy there, a young man there, “You need to turn and be saved!”. And this young man listened to that, and it was as if God was speaking to him directly, and he said, “That's all? I thought I have to do a lot of things to be saved. You mean that's all? Turn and be saved?” And that day, he did just that––turned and looked to Jesus alone to be saved.

This young man turned out to be Charles Spurgeon, one of the maybe well-known preachers of history. But that's it. It's as simple as that, and that's what Jesus said, isn't it? Whoever believes in Him, that's all. What is belief? Is this some complicated gymnastics? It's just look. It's just looking, just like Israel looking to the serpent. I look to Jesus to be saved. And this offer is for every single one here, because the word used is “whoever”. If the Bible says, “Jason Lim believes in him, may have eternal life.” You know, it's not such a great thing for me, because He might not be talking about this Jason Lim. There may be many Jason Lim’s, but if it is “whoever”, then I am included. You are included, whoever is whoever. Doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, educated, not educated, moral or immoral, just like whether the Israelite was rich or poor, male or female, it did not matter. Whoever looks to the serpent will live, whoever believes in Jesus Christ will live, will have eternal life. It is really a simple cure.

You know, it's so tragic if Moses had this bronze serpent and did not tell Israel. It would be so tragic if there was this cure and Israel did not hear. But I tell you what is even more tragic––that Moses went around telling people, “Look to the serpent and be healed”, and they heard, but they won't turn. The great tragedy is not people who did not hear the gospel. The great tragedy is people who hear the gospel and won't turn. You won't believe in Jesus.

Finally, I say to you, there is this successful cure. Everyone who looked to the serpent was cured; even so, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. It's a euphemistic way. It's a nice way of speaking about His crucifixion, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. This is God's promise to you.

Some of you may say, “I don't want eternal life, because just live forever… I'd rather die.” Well, I want to say the idea of eternal life is not just about quantitative duration, but it's about qualitative way of living too. What are the benefits of believing the Gospel? We have… okay, I will skip this. We have no time, but you can go check it out. I'm telling you, eternal life is not just living forever. Eternal life is knowing God, enjoying Him, having that new life, looking forward to the glorious inheritance to come, and so much more. And it is because Jesus was lifted up that we can have this eternal life.

Step back, let's not just look at these few verses about the serpent, although Jesus referred to it, but to see Numbers once again. That in Numbers 21 there is this account of sin by Israel. Hey, it's the same old story of faithlessness. But let's not forget the faithfulness and the goodness of God to provide salvation, to grant them victories at Hormah, to grant them the well, to grant them that amazing conquest over Sihon and Og.

Last week, I posed this question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Many people get troubled. Many people get disturbed. Wow, God is so harsh. Wow, God is so mean. Wow, God is so cruel. And we start to say, Why do bad things happen to good people? Let me say the answer to that is really: bad things never happen to good people. See this, this, this preacher. I thought he was okay, but now he's getting bonkers. What do you mean bad things never happen to good people? Well, I think this is a true statement, in a sense, because there is no good people. According to you, they are, but according to God, “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one.” We all have gone astray. We have turned, everyone, to our own way, and there is none that seeks after God. There is no good people. Everything we suffer today in this sin-fallen world is not unjust from God. There's no injustice with God. So why do bad things happen to good people? Bad things never happen to good people.

But then again, the twist is that this is also not very correct, because there is one exception. It did happen. Bad things did happen to good people, and the only exception is Jesus Christ. He is the truly good one who had no sin, but He suffered immeasurably for you and for me. Why? So that good things, absolutely amazing, wonderful things can happen to totally undeserving bad people like me. This is the good news of the Bible. May you come to know Jesus, the Serpent that takes away the sin of the world, that Lamb that suffers for you.

Let's bow for a word of prayer. Father, we are thankful for this time, and we pray that Your Word would find good soil in hearts. May sinners turn from sin and look to Jesus alone. Oh, what a tragedy, if they should know so much and yet die in hell. Humble each one, grant grace that they may look to Jesus alone and be saved. And may this church be zealous in telling the world the good news of Jesus. May we live worthy of Your calling. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.