If Psalm 106 gave us a wide angle lens on this portion of the history of Israel, the number 1641 through 1711, our text for this evening, is a zooming in of that lens, so to speak, on a specific episode in this Israel's rebellious history. As you're turning to number 16, page 159 in your pew Bibles, let me set the stage for the book a bit for us. The book of Numbers recounts for us the period in redemptive history when Israel, due to her own unfaithfulness, has been sentenced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. And throughout this wandering, we read time and again of Israel grumbling and faithlessly complaining against the Lord. That is to say, their complaints are not the yearnings of the righteous clinging to the promises of God, but they are those of whining children. That's the specific issue which the Lord addresses in our passage this evening. We pick up at verse 41 in chapter 16. The account described for us takes place immediately following the events of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, the corrupt and rebellious leaders in Israel who, having brought faithless complaints and accusations against the Lord's leaders, were swallowed up into the earth. All this was witnessed by the children of Israel, who in verse 34 we read, had fled for her dear life so as to not be swallowed up with Korah and his company. Numbers 16, beginning at verse 41. This is the word of our Lord. But on the next day, all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, you have killed the people of the Lord. And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell on their faces. And Moses said to Aaron, take your censer and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them. For wrath has gone out from the Lord, the plague has begun. So Aaron took it, as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting when the plague was stopped. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the children of Israel and get from them staffs, one for each father's house, from all their chiefs, according to their father's houses, 12 staffs. Write each man's name on his staff. And write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each father's house. then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony where I meet with you. And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you. Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their father's houses, 12 staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony. On the next day, Moses went into the tent of the testimony. And behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. And the Lord said to Moses, put the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die. Thus did Moses, as the Lord commanded him, so he did. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of our Lord endures forever. Shall we pray for the Spirit's illumination tonight? Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we come unto you once again to hear again on this Lord's Day from your Word. Lord, we must admit that sometimes we come to your Old Testament scriptures and we fail to see how they apply to us. But Lord, this evening we pray that you would cause us to see ourselves in light of the stubborn heartedness of Israel. And more importantly, that you would cause us to see Jesus Christ in the priestly work of Aaron. Lord, we pray that you would bless the words of your servant's mouth and the meditations of all our hearts that they might be acceptable in your sight. Cause us, Father, to be led by this your word and fed by this your word. For Jesus' sake, amen. congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ. In many ways, our lives are much the same as the lives of the Israelites from long ago. Like the people of Israel, it is easy for us to forget the Lord. Now, of course, it's not that we forget there's a God out there somewhere, but we so easily forget or act as though he's not our God. as though we weren't His covenant people. And sometimes the road of sanctification in this life feels much the same as a wilderness road did for the people of Israel, as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. And sadly, as we also find ourselves in seasons of wilderness wandering, so to speak, like Israel, we too find ourselves grumbling and faithlessly complaining against the Lord. How quickly we begin to sound an awful lot like the people of Israel, taking for granted the reality that you and I really are the Lord's chosen people, and that He is in fact walking alongside us. even along the road of wilderness road, the road of sanctification in this life, and that the road that we're on, the end of the road, is not a desert wasteland, but a promised land, a promised land of paradise that will not fade away, a promised land where you and I will see Jesus Christ face to face. But Wilderness Road isn't easy, is it? Wilderness Road is physically tiring and spiritually exhausting. Wilderness Road tests us. Wilderness Road presents us, really, with only two choices. Either turn to the Lord and trust Him, or doubt and deny Him every step of the way. It seems like Israel often chose the latter. Grumbling and faithlessly complaining became her default response to whatever circumstances came her way. But what they failed to recognize, and what you and I can often fail to recognize, is that our grumbling is not ultimately rooted in the circumstances and scenery of our lives, but in our own sinful hearts, our own sinful hearts which want so badly to march to the beat of our own sinful drummers rather than to the beat of righteousness, to the beat of holiness, to the beat of long-lasting satisfaction in the Lord. And so we come to see and we need to recognize that our grumbling and Israel's grumbling are not ultimately responses to their circumstances but to the Lord and to the Lord himself. such as the problem addressed in our passage this evening. In this time, the Lord has finally had enough. The people of Israel are so utterly blinded by their sin that it's finally going to cost them. 14,700 Israelites are going to be justly slain for their grumbling against the Lord of mercy and grace. And yet what we see in our passage this evening is that the Lord ends Israel's grumbling. The Lord ends Israel's grumbling by upholding his anointed priest. That will be our theme for this evening. The Lord ends Israel's grumbling by upholding his anointed priest. And we consider this theme in three ways. Firstly, we consider Israel's faithless complaint against the Lord's appointed leaders. We see that in verses 41 to 45 of chapter 16. Secondly, we consider Israel's need for atonement by the Lord's anointed priest. We see that in verses 46 to 50. And finally, in the latter part of chapter 17, we see the Lord's gracious provision of a covenant sign. The Lord ends Israel's grumbling by upholding his anointed priest. This we need to recognize, beloved, propels us forward to recognize that all our grumbling, all our faithless complaining are utterly fruitless. and only lead to death and destruction. And yet God in his grace and mercy rather than destroying us has instead destroyed our every reason for grumbling through and on account of the atoning work of our Lord Jesus Christ, the one of whom Aaron was but a shadow. The one who will one day bring about the end of all our grumbling. But in order to fully understand and recognize how our redemptive need has been met in Christ, we first need to allow ourselves to place ourselves in Israel's shoes, to place ourselves in light of Israel's own stubborn heartedness, in light of Israel's faithless complaint against God's appointed leaders, which is our first consideration as we delve into our narrative for this evening. Our passage begins, but on the next day, All the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron. The first 40 verses of chapter 16 tell us what happened on the day before. And chapter 16 begins by unraveling for us this narrative of these two groups in Israel grumbling against the Lord and against his leaders. Moses and Aaron. The first group consisted of Korah and his Levite followers. Korah, jealous for the priestly office, challenged the anointing of Aaron. And yet we know that it was Aaron, not Korah, who was God's chosen one. That much was made clear to all of Israel in Leviticus 8 when the priestly garments were put on Aaron and when the anointing oil was poured on his head. consecrating him as the Lord's chosen servant. But Korah and his followers failed to recognize their own unholiness and unworthiness. And by extension, Korah and his followers failed to recognize the unholiness and unworthiness of the people of Israel at large. And they brought the lofty accusation in verse three of chapter 16, saying to Moses and Aaron, you have gone too far. For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the people of the Lord?" The second group consisted of Dathan and Abiram, rebels from the tribe of Reuben, who with their followers sought to usurp the Lord's authority given to Moses. saying in verse 13, is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, Egypt, to kill us in the wilderness? That you must also make yourself a prince over us? But of course, Dathan and Abiram just wanted to be princes themselves. And so we see in these three groups of rebellious leaders the absolute ugliness of self-exaltation. And so in response to their grumbling, the Lord displayed His just wrath against Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. They and their families were swallowed up into the earth. And the 250 men with them who were offering unauthorized incense were consumed with the Lord's fire. And yet, what does the Lord do for Israel in the aftermath? In the aftermath, the Lord seeks to clear things up for Israel. In verses 36 and following, what does he do? He commissions Eleazar, Aaron's son. And he commissions Eleazar to take from all the burnt up censers of the 250 men and hammer them into plates for the altar, to serve as a perpetual reminder, a memorial for the people of Israel, that they might always recognize that the Lord had chosen Aaron and his line to serve as their priesthood. But the memorial wasn't received, which brings us to the start of our passage tonight. But on the next day, verse 41 says, don't look over that, but on the next day, all the congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron. This is the day after the events that have just been described. Just hours prior, the people of Israel had seen Korah and his camp swallowed up into the earth. Just hours prior, they had fled for dear life, lest they also be swallowed up with Korah and his tents. You'd think their adrenaline would still be pumping. You'd think they'd be in awe at the power of the Lord. Who, after all, was a God like theirs? a God who not too long ago had mightily parted the Red Seas and allowed his people to pass through on dry ground, swallowing up Pharaoh and his army. That same God opens up the earth and swallows up the rebels in their camp. In spite of this, however, the rebellious inclinations and intentions of Israel's corrupt leaders have seeped into the hearts of the people of Israel at large. That's how grumbling and faithless complaining works, people of God. Grumbling, you see, is like a contagious and chronic disease. It begins with just a few, but it spreads like wildfire. And this happens in Christ's church all the time, doesn't it? People from within begin to grumble or complain against one thing or another. And before you know it, half the congregation has risen up in rebellion, grumbling against those whom God has placed in authority over them. But such grumbling, of course, we know is not against the people, but against the Lord himself. This kind of grumbling, of course, is easy. It's an easy thing to do in a time of vacancy such as this, as we long for a pastor. It's easy to want to direct blame at the elders, perhaps. Sadly, what we see in our passage is that the people of Israel have begun to buy into their own hype, so to speak. So we have to say, yeah, like Cora said, all in the congregation are holy, every one of us. And the Lord is among us. Why do you exalt yourselves over us? What gives you the right, Moses? What gives you the right, Aaron? Beloved, do we ever think this way? What gives you the right, Elder so-and-so? What gives you the right, Pastor? See, like Israel, it's so easy to exalt ourselves. It's easy to exalt ourselves as perhaps from time to time we leave the church parking lot and we begin to grumble right away at what the sermon might have been about or how the pastor stepped on our toes. Or as we just generally have a disposition of complaining as we gather around the dinner table and whine about the things that are happening in our lives. But when we grumble against those whom God has placed in authority over us, when children grumble against their parents or against their teachers, we're not grumbling against the people, but against the Lord himself. We know what Israel knew. The Lord appoints and chooses whom he will to serve and to lead his people. That's as true today in the church as it was long ago in the days of Israel. The Lord had ordained Moses to lead. The Lord had anointed Aaron to serve as high priest. And Moses and Aaron, as God's representatives, served to show Israel the way of life. Through Moses came the words of life, through the giving of the law. And through the priestly service of Aaron, the forgiveness of their sins was displayed to them day after day through the priestly sacrifices. And God speaks through his office bearers in the church in much the same way today. Therefore, we of course confess in Lord's Day 39 that the fifth commandment requires of us that we honor, love, and be loyal to our father and mother and all those in authority over us, that we obey and submit to them as is proper. when they correct and punish us, that we be patient, for through them God chooses to rule us. The voices of Moses and Aaron you see were the heralds of life for Israel, despite their sin, despite their shortcomings and imperfections, they were the heralds of life in the camp. But sadly, the people of Israel began to echo the voices of the dead. They began to echo the voice of those who had been swallowed up into the earth and silenced. And then they're grumbling, what do the people of Israel say? Like the rebels, they bring a lofty charge, a lofty accusation. You have killed the people of the Lord. Do we understand what the people of Israel are suggesting? The people of Israel in their own stubborn heartedness attribute the just wrath of the Lord to Moses and to Aaron. as if Moses and Aaron could open up the earth and swallow the rebellious camp. So we see that Israel's grumbling congregation has crippled her. So dissatisfied with the Lord's loving chastisement along Wilderness Row that they grumble against him by accusing Moses and Aaron of murder, of killing the people of the Lord. Even though it wouldn't seem like Israel even knows what it means to be the people of the Lord. Like Dathan and Abiram did in chapter 16, Israel denies the sovereign reign of the Lord by attributing all their supposed problems to Moses and to Aaron. And like the rebels in the first part of chapter 16, we see in verse 42, the people of the Lord think themselves more holy, more worthy than they ought. As they gather against Moses and Aaron, they do so around the tabernacle of the Lord of all places. Around the tent of meeting with the Lord's holiness, where the Lord's glory was most clearly exemplified in the camp. But behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. The Lord isn't going to tolerate Israel's grumbling any longer. Verses 43 to 45, and Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, get away from the midst of this congregation that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell on their faces. They fall on their faces in intercessory prayer as they've done in the past several chapters. And so Israel finds herself in great need of atonement lest they die, lest they be consumed in a moment. And it's no different for us people of God. We too need atonement lest we die, lest we be consumed in a moment. Israel's sin has estranged them, it's alienated them, it's separated them from the Lord. And in order for them to be made at one with Him once again, they stand in dire need of atonement. They need someone to stand in the breach between them and the wrath of God. which brings us to our second consideration this evening, Israel's need for atonement by the Lord's anointed priests. Notice the urgency with which Moses now seems to speak to Aaron in verse 46. And Moses said to Aaron, take your censer and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them. For wrath has gone out from the Lord, the plague has begun. As terror and horror swept through Israel, we read of Moses and Aaron falling to their faces in intercessory prayer to plead with the Lord to relent His wrath. But this time Moses and Aaron had no real basis to plead for Israel, for the people who were called to be a holy nation in trust, and the Lord have left holiness and trust behind. And the people of Israel have instead replaced them with grumbling and rebellion. And prayers offered to God, you see, are only heard on account of the work of a mediator. So Moses emphatically commands Aaron to take up his priestly charge, his mediatorial role. To take his censer with the fire from the altar and burn incense to make atonement for the people of Israel. To take up his priestly role to abate the Lord's wrath from coming in swift judgment. Because the justice of God needs to be propitiated lest we and Israel get what they and we would otherwise deserve. The plague had already begun, that's what we read. Imagine what this scene must have been like, beloved. How quickly Israel must have realized the absolute error in their way. The people of Israel began to fall dead to the ground. The congregation, this time there were no innocent bystanders. This time Israel wasn't being dragged into the thick of things by Korah and Dathan and Abiram. This time the stubborn heartedness, the faithless complaining was their own. The seed of grumbling and rebellion had spread like a cancer throughout the entire body and the consequences would be every bit as far reaching. spreading like a wildfire, leaving only death and destruction in its wake. What are the people of Israel to do, beloved? What hope do they have as they flee from the terror of the Lord's wrath? As they run as fast as they can with the plague of death on their heels, taking friends and family behind them? Thousands upon thousands of Israelites falling like dominoes. And isn't this what we would likewise deserve for all our grumbling? For all our grumbling, which comes out of our hearts almost each and every day. Just imagine, people of God, were it not for the work of your mediator, that the plague of death was on your heels, sweeping its way through the congregation, beginning with me, to the back pews. What hope do they have? What hope do we have? But the question, brothers and sisters, is not what can save them, but who can save them. That was the question then, that's the question today. That's the question for as many tomorrows as there are until the final day of judgment, which is pictured in this plague of death account tonight. Who will save the people of the Lord? By now, most of us should know the answer. The Lord's anointed will save them. Aaron, in his office of high priest, we read in verse 47 and 48, took the censer, as Moses said, and he runs into the midst of the assembly. He puts the incense and makes atonement for the people, and he stands between the dead and the living. 14,700 dead on one side, terrified Israelites on the other, and the plague was stopped. You see people of God as the Lord's anointed. Aaron runs out into the midst of this congregation, not in his own right, but as one anointed, as one cloaked with Christ. And the plague comes to a halt. as he abates the wrath of the Lord." Notice, beloved, the gravity of Israel's depravity. Did they really think they could grumble without consequence and escape on their own? That's how the world thinks. That's the way unbelievers think. But praise be to God that Jesus is a seeking savior. We sung about that just a few moments ago. Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God. He to rescue me from danger interposed his precious blood. And that's who Aaron was foreshadowing. Seeing the justice and holiness of God, the people of Israel should have run to Aaron, the high priest. They should have pled for atonement. But they didn't. Rather, Aaron, perhaps fearful of putting his own life on the line, runs out to them. Runs out into the midst of the congregation in order to save them. And so did Jesus have to run to us, people of God. Because we know that we would not run to him on our own if left to our own devices. But such are the sinners that Jesus came to save, people of God. Those who would naturally run away, he ran towards and came to save them by laying down his life for them, by making atonement for them. Beloved, we need to recognize that you and I would be utterly doomed apart from the work of our mediator, apart from the work of our great high priest, Jesus Christ, who did for us what Aaron did symbolically for the people of Israel. Except for Jesus didn't simply stand in the breach between the dead and the living, did he? Rather, Jesus crossed over onto the other side. and died for us, giving up his own life for us, a far better sacrifice than the incense of Aaron. Dying the death we deserved to die, allowing the curse of sin and death to rest upon his shoulders rather than on our own. That's why Hebrews 8 tells us that Christ has obtained a more excellent ministry a more excellent ministry than Aaron, says Hebrews 8, and that he is also the mediator of a new and a better covenant, which is established on better promises, because Jesus didn't simply turn aside the Lord's wrath, he took the Lord's wrath upon himself, and hung on the cross to make atonement for us. What could end Israel's grumbling, beloved? There's only one thing, complete atonement made in full by the Lord's anointed priest. Complete atonement made in full by the Lord's anointed priest. The Lord ends Israel's grumbling by upholding his anointed priest. He accepts the atonement of Aaron and the Lord brings the plague to a halt. But Moses tells us that those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. Nearly 15,000 Israelites lie dead on the ground. But beloved, despite those who lay dead on the ground, the Lord was yet gracious for his people Israel. Because what we have in our passage this evening is a picture of the priestly work of Christ for us. who Lord's Day 12 tells that he is called Christ, that is anointed because our high priest, he has set us free by the one sacrifice of his body. The Lord accepted the atoning work of Aaron the high priest for Israel because it pointed to the work of Jesus Christ, the greater high priest. And yet the Lord doesn't stop there, does he? No, instead the Lord is going to ensure that the people of Israel will not forget his grace towards them. And the gracious provision of a perpetual sign of his covenant faithfulness to them. That's what we see in the first 11 verses of chapter 17. The Lord's gracious provision of a covenantal sign. In the wake of the plague, the Lord is going to give Israel a sure covenant sign that he will and always will uphold his anointed priest. That his priesthood will and always will be a thriving and a fruitful priesthood. As the Aaronic priesthood we know will be fulfilled in the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Lord's anointed. the Lord's anointed Messiah. The word in the Hebrew for anointed Messiah is one and the same Christ is the Lord's anointed priest. So in the first four verses of chapter 17, the Lord outlines for Moses a divine instructions for this divine test. Moses is commanded by the Lord to speak to the children of Israel and to give from them staffs, one staff from each father's house, from all the chiefs, according to their father's houses, one staff for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. And from there, Moses is to write each man's name on his staff, but on the staff of Levi, he is to write the name Aaron. He needs to place them before the testimony, before the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle. Look with me at verse 5, there the Lord says to Moses, and the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout, thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel which they grumble against you. It had likely been a long day for Israel. Our passage began with the people grumbling and itching for rebellion the day after Korah, Dathan, and Abiram had been swallowed up. A grumbling, a rebellion, which had resulted in the death of nearly 15,000 Israelites. 15,000 Israelites, among whom every Israelite deserved to be a number. But Israel did not fear the Lord for the Lord, is going to be gracious to them on the morrow. And the morrow will be a far better day than the last. Verses eight and following, on the next day, Moses went into the tent of testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel, and they looked, and each man took his staff. And the Lord said to Moses, put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die. Thus did Moses as the Lord commanded him, so he did. The Lord gives to Israel a sign to further ratify for them that He has called Aaron to serve as their atoning priest. According to Hebrews 9, that staff of Aaron would serve as a perpetual sign of God's covenant faithfulness, to point Israel forward to the covenant of eternal redemption in Jesus Christ, who, Hebrews 9 tells us, with his own blood would enter into the most holy place once and for all to obtain eternal redemption for us and to cleanse our consciences from dead works so that you and I might serve the living God. Perhaps some of us are wondering why the staffs? Why this test with the staffs? Well, we should recognize that a staff was a symbol of a man's power. And the chief staff was a symbol of his authority. And yet, what's a staff really? Well, a staff in and of itself is nothing but a dead branch, a branch that's been cut off from its source of life, a branch, a dead branch doomed to eventually wither away and decay. Such branches were like Israel in and of themselves. Such branches are you and I in and of ourselves. Such is the case for all of fallen man. All in their sin have been cut off from the tree of life. They've been cut off from communion and fellowship with God. All have died to sin. And yet we know that the beauty of the gospel lies in that the Lord can bring to life that which is dead, can't he? The Lord can bring to life a branch that's been cut off from its source of life. He can bring to life a valley of dry bones like we see in Ezekiel 37. And if you are here this evening grumbling and complaining against the Lord, He can free you also from the bondage of death and decay, because that's what He accomplishes in the atonement of Jesus Christ. Eternal life is what He secures in the rising of the dead of Jesus Christ. That's what's pictured, beloved, in the sprouting of Aaron's staff, foreshadowed in the sprouting and fruitfulness of Aaron's rod is the fruitful and thriving priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the priest who is yet to come. What a picture, beloved, that we see in the sprouting of Aaron's staff, the Lord making that which is dead come to life. And not only is the thriving priesthood of Jesus Christ foreshadowed in this sign, but this sign also points us forward, doesn't it, to what we read in John 15, that Christ is the true vine that we have been grafted in to bear much fruit. Has not the Lord come to us on worthy dead branches, incapable of any fruitfulness on our own and brought us back to life? And so we see, congregation, that any notion of grumbling on this side of Christ's cross is rendered utterly ridiculous. Because we also confess in Lourdes, day 12, that you are members of Christ and so share in His anointing. People of God, you too are cloaked with Christ. You're cloaked with His royal garments by which we confess in the latter part of Lord's Day 12, we will reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity. What reason have we for grumbling? What reason have we for faithless complaining, for this ungrateful disposition? Grumbling at first glance perhaps seems like a victimless crime. But it's not. Our grumbling, you see, people of God robs God of the honor that we owe Him. Our grumbling is nothing short of a blatant assault and attack on the honor that is owed to Him. Perhaps some of us are familiar with that quote by John Piper, that God is most glorified when His people are most satisfied in Him. God is most glorified when His people are most satisfied in Him. And so, beloved, when you and I grumble in this life, what do we do? We show only dissatisfaction for what the Lord has done for us. When we grumble, brothers and sisters, we do nothing but take for granted the atonement which Christ has made for us, His people. And we thus hinder ourselves from taking up our chief end of the Westminster Catechism to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Wilderness road, you see, the road of sanctification for the child of God is not a lonely road. But the road of sanctification, wilderness road, is not lonely because Jesus himself, who wandered in the wilderness for 40 days without falling into temptation, without grumbling against the Lord, now indwells your hearts by his spirit. So that his joy might be in us and that our joy might be full. That we might find full and lasting satisfaction in the Lord of our salvation. Beloved in the Lord, let there be no more grumbling in your hearts. For the Lord has upheld his anointed high priest, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen, shall we pray? Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we come unto you once again, praying at the end of this, Lord, that you would apply this message to our hearts. Lord, we know in our hearts that we are prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love. and yet you have sought us, and you have interposed your precious blood in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we pray that you would remove our every inclination and tendency towards grumbling and faithless complaining in this life, for you have given us the riches of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we pray that you would apply this not only tonight, but in the days and the weeks to come. All this we pray in Jesus' name, amen.