Numbers
Introduction:
In the Hebrew, the book of Numbers is titled Bemidbar, meaning ‘in the wilderness’. The English title ‘Numbers’ is derived from the Greek Septuagint Arithmoi, which means the same.
It deals primarily with the Israelites’ journey away from Mount Sinai to the banks of the Jordan River. Moses was Spirit-filled to write the book in 1405 BC. It also offers a comparative contrast between the first and second generations of Israelites during that trek.
Taking a census:
One month after the anointing of the tabernacle, God tells Moses to take a census of 11 of the 12 tribes of Israel, to count all males over 20 years old, to prepare them for the conquest of Canaan [the tribe of Levi was not counted in the census because their duties were delegated to the tabernacle. (See Num. 1:47 – 53.)] And the census indicated that there were 603,550 men able to do battle. (See Num. 1:1 – 46.)
Next, each of the 11 tribes took up strategic camp formations around the tabernacle to protect it. (See Num. Ch.2)
Each member of the tribe of Levi was delegated their specific duties as assistants to Aaron and his sons. Each was to perform his duties from 30 – 50 years of age. (See Num. Ch. 3 & 4.)
God shifts His focus in His instructions to Moses, by emphasizing that because He is now living amid the Israelites, no one ‘unclean’ could stay in the camp. They must stay outside of it until they have been made clean again. Jehovah also speaks about marital purity and what ritual must be performed to illuminate any transgression in that area. (See Num. Ch. 5)
We are then privy, through Moses, to see how Aaron (the High Priest), was to speak a blessing over the Israelites:
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:
The Lord bless you, and keep you [protect you, sustain you, and guard you]; The Lord make His face shine upon you [with favor],
And be gracious to you [surrounding you with lovingkindness];
The Lord lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval],
And give you peace [a tranquil heart and life].’
So Aaron and his sons shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” Nu. 6:22 – 27. AMP
This would be a great time to consider the nature of ‘blessings.’ We’ve seen God’s first blessing on Adam and Eve immediately after He created them.[1] Also in the Abrahamic covenant.[2] We have also seen Jacob steal his brother Esau’s blessing.[3]
English dictionaries define a ‘blessing’ as a ‘special favor from God – promoting or contributing to happiness, well-being, or prosperity, or to favor with talent’.
Since Adam and Eve were blessed, all their descendants were blessed as well, with the entire world, to nurture us. It was Abraham’s obedience to God’s commandments, through his faith in Jehovah, that procured his blessing, whereas he, became a blessing to all peoples.[4]
This same blessing was facilitated and perpetuated through Christ:
Christ purchased our freedom and redeemed us from the curse of the Law and its condemnation by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs [crucified] on a tree (cross)”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might also come to the Gentiles, so that we would all receive [the realization of] the promise of the [Holy] Spirit through faith. Ga. 3:13, 14. AMP
Blessings also come upon us when we stand up for Jesus:
If you are insulted and reviled for [bearing] the name of Christ, you are blessed [happy, with life-joy and comfort in God’s salvation regardless of your circumstances], because the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you [and indwelling you—He whom they curse, you glorify]. 1 Pt. 4:14 AMP
We can even be a source of blessing to God, through our praise and worship:
Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name. Ps. 100:4 AMP
Returning to Numbers, and pointing out its great importance, God once again discusses the celebration of Passover. (See Nu. 9:1 – 14.)
Leaving Mount Sinai:
Remember after the tabernacle’s construction was finished, and it was consecrated, and how God’s Shekinah glory filled it? Well, this glory, this ‘cloud’ takes on a transformation for the new journey towards Canaan:
On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it. But from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire. This was the regular pattern—at night the cloud that covered the Tabernacle had the appearance of fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp. In this way, they traveled and camped at the Lord’s command wherever he told them to go. Then they remained in their camp as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle. If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the Lord. Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days, as the Lord commanded. Then at the Lord’s command they would break camp and move on. Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and lifted the next morning. But day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and moved on. Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on. So they camped or traveled at the Lord’s command, and they did whatever the Lord told them through Moses. Nu. 9:15 – 23. NLT
In the second year after Israel’s departure from Egypt—on the twentieth day of the second month—the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle of the Covenant. So the Israelites set out from the wilderness of Sinai and traveled on from place to place until the cloud stopped in the wilderness of Paran.
…the people set out for the first time, following the instructions the Lord had given through Moses… Nu. 10:11 – 13. NLT
So they set out from the mountain of the Lord (Sinai) three days’ journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went in front of them during the three days’ journey to seek out a resting place for them. The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp. Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered; and let those who hate You flee before You.” And when the ark rested, Moses said, “Return, O Lord, to the myriad (many) thousands of Israel.” Nu. 10:33 – 36. AMP
Rebellion:
After the golden calf incident, up until and through the first three days of the Israelites’ journey away from Mount Sinai, the people did everything that God told them to do, through Moses, to keep a holy relationship with their holy Creator.
Now, just as they did after their liberation from the Egyptians, the Israelites begin to grumble over their conditions during this new journey to the Promised Land – again, losing faith in God’s ability to provide:
Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp. Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped. Nu. 11:1, 2. NLT
Remember that when the Israelites began their exodus to Mount Sinai, many ‘foreigners’ who were oppressed in Egypt, left along with them. Some of these same people complained as well, even after this ‘fire’ expressed from Jehovah’s anger manifested at the people’s moaning against His benevolence:
Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!” Nu. 11:4 – 6. NLT
Recall that God has been providing manna (a bread from heaven), to all the people since they first set out towards Mt. Sinai[5], and is still doing so nightly, including providing quail as well.
Moses hears all this whining. Jehovah becomes extremely angry. Moses too. He too complains to God, but it is about how he feels that he is being treated harshly. He rails on about his inability to carry the burden of the people, and how his load is too heavy. (See Nu. 11 – 15.)
God responds:
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle[a] to stand there with you. I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.” Nu. 11:16, 17. NLT
However, God sends a message to the people through Moses, which clearly expresses His ire:
“And say to the people, ‘Purify yourselves, for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were whining, and the Lord heard you when you cried, “Oh, for some meat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will have to eat it. And it won’t be for just a day or two, or for five or ten or even twenty. You will eat it for a whole month until you gag and are sick of it. For you have rejected the Lord, who is here among you, and you have whined to him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” Nu. 11:18 – 20. NLT
The people gorged themselves, and during their gluttony, Jehovah sent a severe plague and many of these gluttons died.
Afterwards, they made their second camp after leaving Mt. Sinai in a place called Hazeroth (unidentified on a modern map).
Aaron and Miriam (Moses and Aaron’s sister) grew angry at Moses because he married a ‘Cushite’ woman.
Cush was one of Noah’s grandsons. The land of the same name is associated with Ethiopia. Taking issue with Moses, his brother and sister complain:
They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” But the Lord heard them. (Now Moses was very humble—more humble than any other person on earth.)
So immediately the Lord called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!” So the three of them went to the Tabernacle. Then the Lord descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward. And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say:
“If there were prophets among you, I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams. But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust. I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as he is.
So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?” Nu. 12:2 – 8. NLT
To say that Jehovah was angry with Aaron and Miriam is a vast understatement. Moses is clearly favored by Him. In response, God moved His cloud from the tabernacle. When He did so, Miriam was covered with leprosy. Aaron cries out to Moses, who cries out to God and begs Him to heal her. Jehovah relents by telling them to put her outside of the camp for seven days until she becomes ceremonially clean.
Spying out the Promised Land:
The people make a new camp in the wilderness of Paran. God gives Moses a new command:
The Lord now said to Moses, “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. Nu. 13:1 – 3. NLT
Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” Nu. 13:17 NLT
What did they find? Next time. I will tease you be saying that the outcome will be a climactic one for the first generation of the Israelite exodus…
Goodnight and God bless.
[1] Gn. 1:28
[2] Gn. 22:15 – 18.
[3] Gn. 27:18 – 41.
[4] Gn. 12:1 – 3.
[5] Ex. 16:31 – 36.