Approaching God Through the Way He Established

A Bible study on Numbers 15 to 17. How do we approach God when we have failed, when we doubt, when we feel disqualified? These three chapters give the answer: through the way God established and the mediator he chose.

Introduction

Numbers 15 opens with a surprise. The generation that has just rebelled in the wilderness is condemned to die without seeing the promised land. And yet, right from the first verse, God speaks to Moses and says, "When you enter the land..." In other words, despite the failure, the covenant holds. God does not let go of his people. He keeps preparing the next generation to draw near to him.

You too may have failures behind you. You may be well aware that you have gotten something wrong. These three chapters are for you. They show that God does not set you aside, but invites you to come back to him, through the way he himself prepared and the mediator he himself established.

Outline

1. Numbers 15: The Way God Established for Worshiping Him

God lays out the details of the sacrifices: a grain offering, oil, a drink offering of wine, an offering of the firstfruits. These offerings are not food for God; he has no need of them. What he is after is your heart. The firstfruits are the first and best of what you have. Bringing them is a way of acknowledging that everything comes from him, and joyfully giving a portion back to him.

The text insists: the same law applies to the Israelite and to the foreigner passing through. One assembly, one rule. In our own language, in the church, this means that before God we are equals, sharing the same faith, the same hope, the same knowledge of the Son of God (Ephesians 4). Worship is not a buffet where everyone helps themselves as they please. God sets the way.

Then comes an essential distinction between two categories of sin.

• Unintentional sin (vv. 22-29). You meant to do right, but you did not succeed. The Greek word hamartia literally means "to miss the mark." You aim for the center and fall short, for lack of strength or discernment. For this kind of sin, God provides a sacrifice, and forgiveness is granted, to the Israelite and the foreigner alike.
• Defiant sin (vv. 30-31, sometimes translated as sin "with a high hand"). Here it is something else entirely. You know, you understand, and you deliberately choose to despise God's word. You brush off his command: "that's not such a big deal." The man caught gathering wood on the Sabbath is a chilling illustration of this. For this kind of sin, the text provides no covering sacrifice.

Does this mean deliberate sin is beyond hope? No. David committed adultery and murder in full awareness. The people of Nineveh had openly rejected God. Neither of them brought an animal for sacrifice. They repented, and grace covered them. Forgiveness for defiant sin is not found in ritual: it is found in grace, and that grace has been fully offered to us at the cross.

Finally, the blue tassel on the edge of the garment (vv. 37-41). It served as a reminder not to follow your own heart or your own eyes, but to follow obedience instead. Today, you no longer need objects to remember: the Holy Spirit lives in you and continually reminds you of the Father's word. That is a better reminder than any medallion or any icon.

2. Numbers 16: The Mediator God Chose

Korah, a Levite, joins forces with Dathan, Abiram, and two hundred fifty leaders to challenge the authority of Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds pious: "The whole assembly is holy, God is among us, so why do you set yourselves above us?" In reality, they covet the priesthood.

Look at how Moses responds: he falls face down. He does not try to argue his case, maneuver, or control the crisis. He falls prostrate. He knows he has nothing in himself to answer with. This is a lesson for you. When opposition, injustice, or slander come your way, the first response is neither strategy nor anger: it is falling prostrate before God. That is where he gives you the practical wisdom for what comes next.

Moses then reminds the Levites: God has already set you apart for a precious service. You carry the holy objects. That is no small thing. To contest your place is to despise what God has already given you. You too, before asking God for something else, thank him for what he has entrusted to you (your health, your resources, your service, the people around you), and be faithful with the little you have. That is how he will entrust you with more (Luke 16:10).

Dathan and Abiram go even further. They call Egypt "a land flowing with milk and honey." They accuse Moses of wanting to kill them, of wanting to lord it over them. This time Moses becomes angry, but before God, not against these men. His faithfulness to the Lord is under attack, so he brings the matter before the Lord.

The judgment falls: the earth opens up and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their households. Fire comes out and consumes the two hundred fifty men. The next day, instead of repenting, the people grumble again against Moses and Aaron. The plague begins.

So Aaron runs. He takes the censer, stands between the dead and the living, and the plague stops. That is what a mediator does. He does not stand above people passing judgment. He places himself in the middle, at his own risk, and carries the intercession. He does not wait for others to correct themselves: he cries out for grace on their behalf. When you pray for someone, you are not praying from above. You stand beside them, you carry their burden before God, and you ask for grace to be shown to them.

3. Numbers 17: The Staff That Bloomed Again, and Jesus Christ

To settle the dispute once and for all, God orders that twelve staffs be placed in the tabernacle, one for each tribe. In the morning, only Aaron's staff has budded: it bears blossoms and ripe almonds. Dead wood brought back to life.

This is a picture of the resurrection. Aaron is the mediator God chose, but he is only a shadow. The true mediator, the one God established once for all, is Jesus Christ. He died and he rose again. He is alive at the right hand of the Father, and he intercedes for you (Hebrews 7:25). The staff that bloomed again before the people points forward to this mediator.

At the end of the chapter, the people cry out, "We are all going to die! We are all perishing! Anyone who comes near the tabernacle will die!" They are right. Without a mediator, no one can approach God and live. This is the truth you must first accept about yourself: I have no right to stand before God, no merit to be forgiven, no claim to be saved.

And this is exactly where Christ steps in. He has been given to you as the way and as the mediator. Through him, you can draw near with boldness. Through him, your sins are forgiven, and God promises to remember them no more (Hebrews 8:12).

Key Takeaways

• After the failure, God keeps preparing the way for his people. Your past does not stop him.
• Worship is not something we invent: God sets the path. Our task is to know it, not to redesign it.
• Sin committed in ignorance is covered by sacrifice; deliberate sin is covered only by grace, fully offered at the cross.
• In the face of crisis, falling prostrate comes before strategy. That is where God gives the practical instructions.
• Aaron's staff blooming again points to the risen Christ, the only mediator through whom you can approach God.

Personal Application

• What "firstfruit" of your week (time, energy, income) do you want to joyfully give back to God?
• Is there an area where you brush off a clear command from God by telling yourself "it's not such a big deal"? Name it before him today.
• When conflict or attack comes, is your first reaction human strategy, or falling prostrate before God?
• Who are you called to stand for "between the living and the dead" in intercession this week?
• Practically speaking, how does the fact that Jesus is alive and interceding for you change the way you approach God today?

Scripture References

• Numbers 15 · Sacrifices, firstfruits, unintentional sin and defiant sin, the tassel on the garment
• Numbers 16 · The rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; Aaron's intercession
• Numbers 17 · Aaron's staff blooms again
• Romans 12:1-2 · Offering ourselves as a living sacrifice
• Ephesians 4:3-13 · Unity of the Spirit, of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
• James 4:17 · Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, sins
• Hebrews 7:25 · Christ intercedes for us
• Hebrews 8:12 · I will remember their sins no more

FAQ

Is deliberate sin really beyond forgiveness?

Under the old covenant, no sacrifice covered it. But the Bible shows that David and Nineveh, guilty of deliberate wrongdoing, were forgiven by pure grace after genuine repentance. Today, the cross of Christ offers forgiveness even for defiant sin, provided there is a broken heart that returns to the Father.

Why does God insist so strongly on the "way" he established?

Because worship on our own terms is no longer a response to God, but a project centered on ourselves. God sets the way because he knows what pleases him and because he wants to meet us where he already is. Stepping outside his way is not freedom: it is cutting ourselves off from that meeting.

What does it mean to "stand between the living and the dead" like Aaron?

It means interceding without looking down on those threatened by the consequences of their choices. It is not about judging or thinking yourself better. It is about carrying the other person before God in a real way and asking for them the same grace you yourself have received. Christ already does this for you; he calls you to do it for others.