How many of you have heard a sermon based on the book of Numbers?

How many of you even knew that Numbers was part of the Bible?

How many of you wish the book of Numbers wasn’t in the Bible?

Let me tell you a little about the book of Numbers. There is so much in this book that it as relevant today as when it was written. We should spend more time exploring and using it. This does not mean that it does not contain texts of terror, however there is so much more: the priestly blessing, the authorization of prophecy, a priesthood of all believers, rebellion in the camp, the inclusion of strangers in the worshiping community of God, a talking donkey that can see and hear God even when the seer who is riding him can’t and even those mind numbing census lists. The censuses reinforce that everyone was important and had a place in the worshiping community of God. Sounds remarkably like church.

In our passage the first generation of Israelites, the ones who were liberated by God from slavery under Pharaoh, have been wandering in the desert on their journey to the Promised Land. They have come to the edge of the land God has promised them. God instructs them to send a scouting party made up of a representative of each of the twelve tribes of Israel to scout the land. When they return after forty days they report that the Promised Land is indeed a land flowing with milk and honey, however, there are already inhabitants of the land and even the Nephilim. Ten of the twelve are afraid and say there is no way that they can obtain the Promised Land. Caleb and Joshua, this is the same Joshua who we will see lead the Israelites into the promised land in the book of Judges, dissent and say what are we afraid of, God is with us!

In the year 587 BCE Israel was conquered by the Babylonian Empire. The Babylonians exiled all the leaders and elite of Israel. The book of Numbers took its final form sometime after this exile. The population of the Kingdom of Judah had fallen by this time from an estimated 75,000 to 10,000. Many of those who had not been killed or deported during the defeat of 587 left Judah due to a total collapse of the Kingdom. Some were in Egypt, others had followed to Babylon and others had gone elsewhere. For this reason I believe that the authors of the book of Numbers, as well as the other first five books of the Old Testament, were writing about a promised land on two levels. First was certainly the physical promised land of Israel, and I believe they were talking about a promised land that could be anywhere that a people of God were willing to listen and follow God. Additionally the concept of the Promised Land had deep theological meaning for the Israelites. The Promised Land stands for the grace of God and salvation which can be anywhere we are a people of God.

To obtain the Promised Land the Israelites, as well as us today, are required to cross a boundary and be in a new way in the world. Becoming a people of God was not easy then and it is not easy today. However, when we do become people of God we find ourselves, at the most unlikely and difficult times, residing in a land flowing with milk and honey. Our difficulty is we encounter the Nephilim and other giants in the land. Why are we afraid? The ending of verse nine in Numbers 14 says “but the Lord is with us, Have no fear of them!” Why should we today?

What is a Nephilim? The Nephilim are only mentioned twice, possibly three times, in the Old Testament. The first time is in Genesis 6: 4. Where we get a description of giants that are half god and half man who come to earth because the women are so beautiful. The other time is in our passage for this morning. There are some who say that the giant Goliath that David kills is possibly a Nephilim.

Why were these small snippets of a much older and stranger story included in our Bible? I believe as a symbol for all the irrational fears the Israelites faced then and we face today as we become people of God. All the things that go bump in the night and scare us, a symbol of our greatest fear, change.

Some time ago I was watching the Dr. Phil show and a young mother was on the show, she was concerned about her three year old son who was afraid to go to bed because he thought there were monsters in his room. The only way she could get him to sleep was to speak an incantation, “Monsters, monsters be gone” and spray air freshener which she had told him was monster repellent. I thought this was a very creative way to deal with the problem. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a monster repellent to use when we become afraid as we become people of God? We do! And that monster repellent is the indwelling Christ!

Where do I see Nephilim today? I see them personally on my faith journey, I see them in our congregation and I see them in the Methodist church as a whole.

For me when ever I set out from camp and try to walk with God the land is overflowing with Nephilim.

One place I run into the Nephilim is public speaking. Today, standing up here, I am facing one of my Nephilim. For me to put out my thoughts and ideas for others is terrifying. To admit out loud that I am trying to walk in the promised land of salvation and grace. If I turn and run I am just heading back to camp and the old way of being in this world. Being Methodists I am sure we can fill the time with a hymn.

When ever I get into a conversation with someone today that I know or have just met the discussion eventually gets around to what am I doing? The Nephilim appear, and what do I say, “Well I am going to school”. Why am I afraid to say I am in seminary? Why am I afraid to admit that I am trying to become a person of God to others? What will they think, how will they react? I turn around and run back to camp, in many ways I am all the way back in Egypt a slave to my old way of being, I just say school. I forget that God is with me. Do things like this ever happen to you on your journey with God?

What are we afraid of when God is with us?

It is time for me to tell you something else, Kathy knows this and Elizabeth knows this, however, for many of you I am in the closet and it is time to come out. I am in the Master of Divinity program at seminary. I know, I know SPR I should be talking to you however the Nephilim are keeping me from exploring commissioning and ordination.

I am not sure I could put myself so totally in God hands through ordination. Being at seminary I see first hand how dedicated those called to ordination are, the sacrifices, the passion, the compassion, the willingness to face the Nephilim and journey farther into God’s care. They do this to help guide and lead us as individuals and congregations, to be there for us in times of joy and our times deepest sorrow, our deepest fears as we journey into the Promised Land and become a people of God.

Are there Nephilim in our congregation? Yes.

I was blessed to attend a meeting several weeks ago about adding a second service. One thing that was apparent during the meeting was deep love and concern for our church and wanting the best for it. The greatest fear I heard was change. Whenever someone wants to try something new or different the Nephilim come out in force and we run back to the safety of camp. We are afraid. This is not unusual we all like stability and consistency, knowing the way things are and the way they will be. However as a people of God we need to be willing to change and try new things. We need to love goodness and be willing evaluate ideas in a non threatening way, otherwise the ideas stop coming. We need to remember who is with us. There are seven words that will probably the last spoken by any organization; the church included “We have never done it that way”.

What are we afraid of when God is with us?

With a second service are we afraid of the strangers it may attract? Do we see strangers as Nephilim and run back to the safety of camp or do each and everyone one of us welcome them into our community of God? We need to remember what it was like for us the first time we walked into this faith community, how difficult it was. How scared we may have been. Strangers will change us and we will change them. We have something special as a place of God. Think about those this congregation has nurtured and sent on into ministry, Brice Johnson, Carol Zagsma, Carry and Tyler Christianson to name a few. Our denomination needs more young and enthusiastic people to serve.

When God is with us what do we have to be afraid of.

The greatest Nephilim the church is trying to deal with is the GLBT issue. I am talking about the wider church as well as individual congregations. When ever this issue comes up, we run back to the safety of camp, we are back in Egypt enslaved to our old way of being. We need to have full inclusion, not only GLBT individuals, but for everyone like us or different, in the worshiping community of God.

Think about it, this is the Lord God who with a clap of Her hands set the ever expanding universe into existence. God who took human form to defeat our greatest Nephilim, death, did God take human form in Christ and walk the earth to exclude or include, to judge or to accept, to hurt or to heal, to hate or to love?

God longs for a relationship with us if we will only do a few simple things and one of those is to change.

Why are we afraid?