19 Rebel Not Ye against the Lord, Neither Fear

Rebel Not Ye against the Lord, Neither Fear

Rebel Not Ye against the Lord, Neither Fear



What is your spiritual distance from the Lord?

What is our promised Land? (Zion, Eternal Life with our Father)

Numbers

Revelation is available to everyone, but God guides His Church through His prophet.
Numbers 11:11–17, 24–2912


Numbers 11:11–17, 24–29 Moses felt overwhelmed by being the leader of a people. The responsibility was too great for him to bear alone. The 70 were called. Also, Joshua was being trained to become the next leader in Israel.

verse 29 29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!

The Gift of Prophecy is one that we should all seek after, so that we can testify of Christ and lead people towards the covenant path.

Personal revelation is available to all, but God alone chooses His prophets to lead His people.

1 Nephi 10:17 17 And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.

Doctrine and Covenants 28:1–7 Behold, I say unto thee, Oliver, that it shall be given unto thee that thou shalt be heard by the church in all things whatsoever thou shalt teach them by the Comforter, concerning the revelations and commandments which I have given.

But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses.

And thou shalt be obedient unto the things which I shall give unto him, even as Aaron, to declare faithfully the commandments and the revelations, with power and authority unto the church.

And if thou art led at any time by the Comforter to speak or teach, or at all times by the way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest do it.

But thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom;

And thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and at the head of the church;

For I have given him the keys of the mysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead.

Two Lines of Communication

Focus on what’s most important. Some people get overwhelmed with the weekly reading suggestions in Come, Follow Me. As you review the outlines, follow the Spirit. Consider your own needs and the needs of the people you may be teaching. Understanding and fully applying one principle in a week could be more helpful than reading several chapters only superficially.

“Moses was very meek.”
Numbers 12:3

Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

How can meekness be a powerful strength?

Meek and Lowly of Heart

Meek, Meekness

Verses on Meekness:

Exodus 18:13–25 Moses’s Father in Law Jethro taught Moses that he should not bear the judgment and ruling of the great people on his own. Jethro is the one who bestowed the priesthood on Moses; so although God called Moses to be a great prophet, Moses was still able to listen and take council when it was necessary and beneficial.

24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.

Numbers 11:26–29 Joshua wanted Moses to stop the two young men who were teaching among the people. But like Jesus said, when he said those who are not against us are for us, Moses said that he would God that all the people were prophets (or teachers of the gospel).

Numbers 12 Moses stays in tune with God, even when family and friends speak against him.

Hebrews 11:24–27 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;

25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

What are you willing to give up to be a child of the covenant and a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Moses 1:10–1110 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.

11 But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.

Moses was not boastful about the vision he received. Rather he was humble and acknowledged God’s glory.

Matthew 11:29 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Taking His yoke upon us is to follow His example and bear things with more patience, which will make it all more bearable.

27:11–14 11 And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.

12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

Jesus remained composed and purposeful, knowing that His responsibility was to atone for our sins, not to prove His power. In His humility, His power is manifested.

Luke 22:41–42 41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Still walking by faith, Jesus was willing to do His Father’s will.

John 13:4–5 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

As the greatest of all, He became to the servant to all. What kind of love am I developing?

Am I humble and meek enough to enter His kingdom?

With faith in the Lord, I can have hope for the future.
Numbers 13–14

Numbers 14:3 And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

When things get difficult or challenging to us, are we ready to revert to what we new in the past? Are we ready to pick up old habits and forsake the Lord, when we need Him the most?

Numbers 14:24 24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

Am I keeping the Spirit of the Lord with me? Or am I murmuring and turning to join those who are feeling faithless? Can’t we do better than we are doing? How can we be truth and faithful like Caleb and Joshua?

Video: The Lord Is with Us: Fear Them Not: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C54CAwcJkbY

If I look to Jesus Christ in faith, He can heal me spiritually.
Numbers 21:4–9

Numbers 21:4–9  ¶ And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

¶ Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

When all we need to do is look to Christ and live, why aren’t we beholding Him quickly?

1 Nephi 17:40–41And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.

41 And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.

Why aren’t we looking to Christ? He is the one that has the words of Eternal Life? And His is the only power that can save us?

Alma 33:18–22 18 But behold, this is not all; these are not the only ones who have spoken concerning the Son of God.

19 Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

20 But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.

21 O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

22 If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works.

Helaman 8:13–15 13 But, behold, ye not only deny my words, but ye also deny all the words which have been spoken by our fathers, and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah.

14 Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come.

15 And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.

Look to God and Live

We must increase our faith in Jesus Christ to make it through these last days.

Numbers 21:4–9 The Israelites complained against God and spoke as if Egypt were better. They were bitten by fiery flying serpents.

Matthew 14:25–31 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

1 Nephi 8:24–28 24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.

25 And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed.

26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.

27 And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.

28 And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.

Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee

I can follow God’s will, even if others try to persuade me not to.
Numbers 22–24

Numbers 22:5–7, 15–17 1And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:

17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.

Balaam would not go against the Lord’s word and the will of the Lord not matter what Balak offered him.

Should we not love, fear, and revere the Lord more that we do men? Shouldn’t we care more about the reward of Eternal Life than we do about all the riches and honor of this world?

Be resolved to follow the Lord!

Numbers 22:18, 38 18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.

23:8, 12, 26 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?

12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?

26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do?

24:13 13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak?

Numbers 31:16 16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.

Jude 1:11 11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

What causes good men to give into pressure? What persuades them to forsake the Lord’s way for the will of men?

How will I remain faithful to the Lord, even under pressure?

Scripture Helps

Click to see more.

For Kids:

I can be thankful for what God has given me.
Numbers 11:4–10

Recall miracles: The Plagues of Egypt and The Passover

Numbers 11:4–10 The people were tiring of eating manna and wanted some of the variety of foods they had in Egypt.

How can we choose to look forward in faith instead of looking back with longing to where we no longer belong? How is complaining harmful?

Elder Robert D. Hales once described that being thankful means being appreciative of what we have now without comparison to what we had in the past or what we might have in the future.

How can we be more grateful for our present circumstances?

Count Your Blessings

Draw pictures of the blessings you enjoy.

The Lord wants me to follow His prophet.
Numbers 12

Why was the Lord not happy with Aaron and Miriam? How can we be more supportive of the Bishop and other Church leaders?

Numbers 12:1–8 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.

(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.

And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.

With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

It is important for us to hearken to the prophet.

Gospel Art Book

How are we blessed when we follow the prophet?

I can look to Jesus Christ.
Numbers 21:6–9

Moses and the Brass Serpent

Numbers 21:6–9 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

¶ Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

John 3:14–15 14 ¶ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Helaman 8:15 15 And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.

1 Nephi 17:41 41 And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.

Alma 33:18–20 18 But behold, this is not all; these are not the only ones who have spoken concerning the Son of God.

19 Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

20 But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.

Helaman 8:13–15 13 But, behold, ye not only deny my words, but ye also deny all the words which have been spoken by our fathers, and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah.

14 Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come.

15 And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.

Doctrine and Covenants 6:36 36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

I can follow God’s will, even if others try to persuade me not to.
Numbers 22–24

Summarize Numbers 22:1–18 for your children, emphasizing how Balaam refused to curse God’s people, even though Balak, the king of Moab, offered him honor and riches.

Balaam wanted to follow the Lord.

Numbers 22:18 18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

23:26 26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do?

24:13 13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak?

 

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