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The Book of Numbers No 1 07/04/2021
Derrick Harrison 4/7/2021
The Book of Numbers No 1
An Outline of Numbers A. SINAI (1:1-10:10), preparing Israel for their march to Canaan (ch.1-8) (ch.1-10; at Sinai) A. The Consensus Report and the Order of the camp, Ch.1-4 B. Legislation: Cleansing the camp, Ch.5-8 C. The Passover and the covering cloud, Ch.9 D. Silver trumpets, Ch.10:1-10 B. From SINAI to EDOM (10:11-20:21), departure from Sinai, the Journey begins A. Moving out from Sinai: Order of march, Ch.10:11-32 (ch.1012; Sinai to Kadesh). B. At Kadesh (13:1-20:21). The complaining and murmuring of people displeased the Lord, Ch.11. The jealousy of Miriam & Aaron towards Moses; the judgment of Miriam, Ch.12. The failure at Kadesh to enter Canaan (ch.13-14) (ch.13-20, legislation) C. 12 Spies are chosen and sent into the land of Canaan; return and report, Ch.13 D. Israel refuses to enter the Promised Land because of unbelief, Ch.14. E. Wilderness Wanderings (ch.15-25) Disobedience delays God’s blessing; do not destroy God’s purpose, Ch.15; Incidents relating to the priesthood, Ch.16-19 (ch.20-21; (the journey from Kadesh to Moab; ch.22-36); what God said to the Israelites before they entered the Land). F. Deaths of Miriam and Aaron; water from the rock, Ch.20; victory -song, murmuring – serpent. C. From Edom to the Jordan (20:22-36:13) A. Aaron’s death (20:22-29). New Life Radio – Talk No 26
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B. C. D. E. F. G.
The destruction of Arad (21:1-4). The bronze serpent (21:5-9). The journey to Moab (21:10-20). Initial victories (21:21-35). Balaam (ch.22-25). The Plains of Moab (22-36), the second generation prepares to enter Canaan A. Census Report of a new generation (v. 64), Ch.26 B. Woman’s place under law, Ch.27 C. The law of offerings, Ch.28, 29 D. Law of vows, Ch.30 E. The Judgment of Midian, Ch.31 (Moses’ last act) F. Reuben and Gad ask for land on wrong side of Jordan, Ch.32 G. Log of the journeys, Ch.33 H. Borders of the Promised Land, Ch.34 I. Cities of refuge given to the Levites, Ch.35 J. The Law of land regarding inheritance, Ch.36
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The Book of Numbers The Hebrew title is taken from the words of the scroll, “the LORD said” but when translated into Greek LXX, the title became, arithmoi (our word arithmetic), translated into the Latin Vulgate it becomes “Numbers.” It begins and ends with 2 censuses, - the first was taken when they left Sinai, the number of Israelites was 603,550 (males). The second was taken at Moab, prior to their entering the Promised Land, when the number of Israelites was 601,730 (males), almost 40 years later. These were men who could be conscripted to fight (age 20+). There were over 38 years between the 2 censuses, one whole generation had perished in the wilderness, except for Joshua and Caleb. This is therefore a tragic narrative, with such loss of lives, in actual fact the Israelites could have reached the Promised Land in 11 days on foot, but instead it took 13,780 days with the loss of a whole generation. Following the narrative of the Jews from Egypt, the journey began on the night of the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea. The Children of Israel journeyed from there to Mount Sinai, a journey of about 2 months (Ex.13-18), a summary of that journey is given in Ex.19:1-3). The Israelites encamped at Sinai, through to Numbers 10:11, Moses was preparing Israel for their departure for the Promised Land. The Israelites camped there for about a year and it was here that their first rebellion occurred while Moses was with the LORD in the holy mountain, when
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Aaron made a golden calf causing them to commit idolatry and about 3,000 were killed (Ex.32:28). They knew it was time to decamp when they saw the cloud lift from over the Tabernacle and go ahead of them. Before they could decamp with such a vast number of people they had been instructed about all aspects of life as a company of people. They had learned their allocated places among the tribes, positioned round the tabernacle. They knew how to dismantle and erect the tabernacle and its furniture. They knew how to transit as a great company of people with clear instruction from the blowing of the silver trumpets. They certainly were a disciplined and well-ordered people. They were also a favoured people, chosen by God who had entered into covenant with them at Sinai. They had been given comprehensive laws which taught them how to live properly, a model for the surrounding nations. They had been favoured by God’s supernatural acts – deliverance from Egypt and the passage through the Red Sea and now sustained by heavenly manna and constant running water in the desert and yet they failed God in the desert, whenever hardship or adversity came their way they always murmured against God. They never learned to trust Him or to grasp the fact that He was a faithful and loving God who was preparing them to transit to the Promised Land. The major crisis occurred when the 12 spies were sent out by Moses (he did it with clear instructions from the Lord), “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, everyone a leader among them. So, Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel” (13:1-3). New Life Radio – Talk No 26
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When they returned, they gave a negative report to the people, persuading them not to embark on the conquest of Canaan. Moses’ authority crumpled under their united opposition and so they turned into the wilderness where they wandered for 40 years until they had all died. The book of Leviticus was dictated by the LORD from inside the tabernacle and in this book of Numbers we read 80 times, “the LORD said to Moses.” He gave to Moses the laws and regulations and regarding the journey, we read how Moses kept a journal of their travels and a journal of their wars. On 80 occasions we read that God spoke to Moses face to face. Numbers is a mixture of legislation and narrative. The first chapters 110 are taken up with Mosaic legislation as well as chapters ch. 26-36. This teaching of the Law is continued in Deuteronomy as Moses’ prepares the second generation of Jews to keep the Law when they have entered the Promised Land. We may look at the book as containing Mosaic regulations and laws or as an ongoing narrative of the Israelites journey to the Promised Land, but the animosity, hostility, anger, and rebellion of the people dominates this book. They had been enslaved in Egypt and they have gained their freedom, but they are still enslaved to their bitterness and distrust of authority. The key word in this book is rebellion which quickly rises to the surface because they are constantly murmuring against the LORD and Moses His servant. How awful must the constant sound of murmuring have been to the ears of Moses. Numbers records the events which occurred during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. The book has 3 geographical/chronological locations: Israel’s time at Sinai, their time New Life Radio – Talk No 26
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in the wilderness and their time at the Plains of Moab on the edge of the Promised Land. •
Discontent in the congregation (ch.11), an ominous token of what was only going to get worse,
“Hear now My words: “Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So, the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. So, he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them” (Num.11:1-3). NUMBERS can be summed up in one word: “rebellion”- against leadership, but ultimately against the LORD. Even Moses was displeased and complained to God that He had laid on him the burden of all the people. This crisis resulted in the appointment of the 70 elders. When they were anointed for this service, they each received the gift of prophecy (Num.11:16-17, 24-29), earlier Jethro had proposed the appointment of elders (Ex.18:12). •
Rebellion in Moses’ family, Aaron, and Miriam
God immediately stepped in and spoke of the intimacy of Moses’ relationship with Him. This testimony of the LORD is quite unique in Scripture and provides an important point for discussion, “Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken New Life Radio – Talk No 26
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only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth). Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So, the three came out, then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. Then He said, If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, (mouth to mouth) Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant Moses?” So, the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed” (Nu.12:1-9). •
Moses sends out 12 spies to reconnoitre the land of Canaan, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, everyone a leader among them” (Num.13:1).
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•
The rebellion of the 10 spies
Israel’s tribal leaders returned from Canaan and they dissuaded the Israelites from advancing to conquer the Promised Land; except of course, Joshua and Caleb who urged them too immediately advance. In the face of the total opposition of the congregation Moses was powerless to do anything but to acquiesce to their rebellious will. Joshua and Caleb urged the congregation to advance, but at the risk of their lives. The rebellion sparked God’s judgment which was averted by Moses’ intercession (Nu.14:17-20). Note 2 things: (1) the LORD initiated the sending of the spies to reconnoitre the land. (2) Each man is recognized as a leader which of course included Joshua and Caleb. The catastrophic turn of events when 10 leaders of 10 tribes refuse to obey Moses, this is a collaborative act of rebellion. Identify the reasons – both spiritual and natural why this happened? It is significant when Moses faced the challenge of entry to the Land of Canaan 40 years later, he prepared well – the book of Deuteronomy bears testimony this. The first period of preparation failed so now God’s second plan of preparation is undertaken by Moses. •
The rebellion of the priests and princes,
They were defiant in their rebellion, “Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the New Life Radio – Talk No 26
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congregation, men of renown. They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” (16:1-3). The result of their rebellion was that the LORD opened up the ground before them and they fell into Sheol with all their families and possessions, And Moses said: “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord. Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words that the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. 34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!” And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense” (16:31-33). •
The rebellion of the whole congregation,
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They were angry and protested at the severity/harshness of God’s judgment. It was the action of Moses and Aaron that stopped the advance of the oncoming plague. As God had stood with Moses against the rebellion of his brother and sister, now God stands with Aaron against the priests and shows that he is God’s chosen priest by causing his rod to blossom, to bud and to produce almonds before their eyes, “Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds” (17:8). •
The final rebellion of the congregation was caused by drought conditions.
The Lord commanded Moses to speak to the rock before their eyes, “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” So, Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him” (Num.20:7-9). In his uprising anger Moses’ upbraided them, addressing them as, “you rebels” and then he vented his anger on the rock by violently hitting it twice with his rod, “And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” (Num.20:10). New Life Radio – Talk No 26
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In this Moses failed to set an example of godly character under provocation and pressure before the congregation and lost all credibility in their eyes. The spirit of rebellion which had characterized the continued behaviour of the congregation momentarily possessed the LORD’S servant Moses as he angrily hit the rock with his rod. Anger is an issue which is not acceptable in leadership. The Lord’s immediate response to Moses and Aaron was to forbid them to lead Israel into the Promised Land. Moses had sustained and encouraged himself through the long wilderness years by his vision of the Promised Land; anticipating that the crowning success of his leadership would be to lead Israel at last into the land which “flowed with milk and honey.” What a crushing disappointment for him to be denied this privilege; but he submitted to the Lord, a testimony to his humility. His final task as a leader was to appoint his successor Joshua (27:18-23). Despite the LORD’S rebuke and prohibition to enter the Promised Land Moses still devotes his energies to re-affirm the Laws and sacrifices he had established at Sinai, despite the fact that he was not going to lead the Israelites into Canaan. This legislation takes up ch.26-36. His preparation to lead Israel into Canaan had failed due to the rebellion of its tribal heads and so he now begins again to prepare their children to enter the land. Let’s conclude a sad chapter in Israel’s history by pointing to God’s heart of love for Isarel.
New Life Radio – Talk No 26
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The Aaronic Priestly Blessing (Num.6:24-26)
“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace” These lines are referred to as the Aaronic blessing but if you read the first line it says that it is the LORD’S blessing! The Bible teacher, David Pawson says that, “It has every mark of direct inspiration from God because it is mathematically perfect. In the Hebrew there are three lines in the blessing (as above). In the Hebrew there are 3 words in the first sentence, 5 in the second and 7 in the third. There are 15 letters in the first, 20 letters in the second and 25 in the third. There are 12 syllables in the first, 14 in the second and 16 in the third… Even in English it builds up – there is a kind of crescendo through the lines. Each line has 2 verbs, and the second expands the first.” The LORD declares a double blessing, both of grace and peace, “this is the blessing given in the epistles of the New Testament: “Grace and peace to you from our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
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The Nazirite Vow (Num.6:1-21)
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, 3 he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin” (Num.6:1-4). This Aaronic Blessing from the LORD follows a description of the godly Nazirite vow and I suggest that you read the entire chapter which includes the legislation and conditions which are necessary for fulfilling this vow which involves not only the vow but also the person who vows before the LORD. The Nazirite represented true godliness and consecration/separation unto the Lord, and he/she needed discipline (v3, 4), to accomplish his vows, in that the person had to abstain from certain things. The Nazirite vow of separation unto the Lord could be undertaken by any male or female Israelite, just as the surrendered life is possible to all God’s children. The Nazirite, during the period of his/her vow demonstrates a singular model of godliness which seems out of place here among a people of avowed godlessness. The effectiveness of personal consecration (v5) depends for its virtue upon the sacrificial offerings of the Mosaic system. In these offerings God was vowing future salvation through the sacrifice of Himself. The sacrifices and offerings which accompanied the Nazirite vow were - a New Life Radio – Talk No 26
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sin offering and a burnt offering (v11), a trespass offering and a peace offering (v14), a grain offering and a peace offering (v17,18). To explore such a profusion of sacrifices would be rich in meaning and significance. God is seeking and finding in the personal sacrifice and consecration of the Nazirite a compatibility with His ordained sacrifices. In other words, he who participates in the Breaking of Bread must be found worthy – emphasising the truth of the Nazirite, that there must be compatibility between the vow of the Nazarite and his personal separation/consecration to God. Our personal consecration, which is represented by the yielding up our bodies to God as a living sacrifice requires the virtues and accomplishments of Christ’s sacrifice to give it worth. We compliment Christ’s sacrifice (we don’t add to it) by our yielding ourselves to Him and God places an incalculable worth to our separation and consecration. At the end of the Nazirite vow he/she shaved off their hair “from the consecrated head,” and then burnt it under the fire of the peace offering. Then the priest offers a wave offering which represents the fruit of this period of consecration and then the priest eats the offering, and the Nazirite can now drink wine, which means that he/she returns to their normal way of living. Every Israelite may draw apart to vow and to make sacrifice to the LORD. Separation and consecration was a condition of priesthood which was exclusive to the Levites, but with the Nazirite we have an occasion when the ordinary person could enter into the service of the Lord and give himself entirely to God. Certain men and women were called to live the life of a Nazirite from birth, some men and women separated themselves unto the Lord for their entire lives and we have New Life Radio – Talk No 26
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the wonderful example of Simeon and Anna. Paul describes those who have been given the gift of singleness as separated and consecrated to the Lord alone, “But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband” (1Cor.7:32-34). We have to look at consecration in broader terms than the specific point that Paul is making here, for example, what does consecration/separation/singleness look like in the life of Paul or Timothy, Simeon and Anna, or Phoebe. The Nazirite vow establishes the importance of vowing, or making definite promises to the Lord, of such importance and significance that they engage all of our life, such holy vows originate in the heart of God, finding clarification in our own heart and translate into the energy of our will, captivate our dreams, and absorb our thinking – these vows before God are vows for life and engage our entire being, they are life-changing, life-motivating and lifetransforming. The Nazirite vow teaches us a few simple truths. The first one is that the Nazirite has drawn aside from his normal life to be with the LORD for the singular purpose of vowing unto the LORD. The vow is accompanied by the consecration and separation of the individual. The vow is also synchronised with a whole spectrum of sacrifices. Thus, we New Life Radio – Talk No 26
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see that it is important to draw aside for specific periods with the Lord, but we must also be intentional in our seasons of withdrawal. The vow teaches us the importance of compatibility in terms of the Nazarite’s integrity and his making vows. Simply put, - vowing calls for consecration. Making promises to God requires a willing heart! My promises demand integrity to give them force. The final lesson is simply that the Nazirite vow not only requires the integrity of the Nazirite to give it credibility, but it also required the sacrifices of the Mosaic legislation to give it virtue and worth. The Nazirite needed alongside his own sacrifice the sacrifice of God to make it life changing.
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