Numbers 10:33-36, Finding a Resting Place

Israel, in the wilderness, was a nation of a couple million.  So you might think it difficult to find a resting place in the desert.  Fortunately Israel was blessed to have God leading them by a cloud by day and fire by night.  The Hebrew term is menuwcha.  Let’s study the term.

·       Num. 10:33: they left Mt. Sinai 3 days journey seeking a resting place.  There’s one of those “3 day” references that remind me that after 3 days in the tomb Jesus arose, providing the “rest” of eternal life.

·       Deut. 12:9: Moses reminded them in the Plains of Moab they had not reached their resting place, Canaan, “the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you.”.

·       Ruth 1:9: What a wonderful truth.  Naomi refers to a husband for Ruth as a “resting place.”  From Gen. 2 that’s what a husband is for his wife.  He provides!

·       1 Kings 8:56: In Solomon’s time God had given “rest” to His people; not one word of the LORD had failed.

·       Psalm 23:2: The LORD, my Shepherd, leads me beside “still” waters.

·       Ps. 95:11: This is the passage quoted and exegeted in Hebrews 3-4.  Israel, because of their unbelief at Kadesh Barnea, did not enter God’s rest.  For that reason, they never did, wandering 38 years until they had all died off.

·       1 Chron. 28:2; Psalm 132:8: The holy of holies, with the Ark of the Covenant and it’s Mercy Seat, is God’s resting place.  Although, eventually, under the New Covenant, God’s resting place will not be in a physical building (“where is the house that you will build Me?”) but with the one who has a contrite spirit (Isaiah 66:1-2).

·       Isaiah 11:10: The Messianic Kingdom will be a “resting place” provided by and for the LORD.  Isa. 32:16-20 speaks of Israel dwelling in “a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.”  It is the time of Messiah’s rule.

·       Isa. 28:12: The larger context of this verse indicates Israel sought rest in lies and not in the LORD’s rest.  “This is the refreshing; yet they would not hear.”  Micah, who prophesied at the same time as Isaiah, spoke of this in Micah 2:6-11.  They doubted the LORD and so trusted the words of false prophets.  Micah warns them, “This is not your rest; because it is defiled it shall destroy” (2:10).

·       Jer. 45:3: Jeremiah’s assistant Baruch, having sided with the prophet, could find no rest in Jerusalem.  But God promised him his life because of his faithfulness.

Having meditated on this concept in the OT, now remember the point of Hebrews 3-4.  Let us not fail to enter God’s rest because of unbelief.  We are talking our day-to-day walk as Christians.  Let us walk the restful walk of faith as we continue on in this troubled world and wearisome journey.