Numbers

     Imagine being with the Israelites as they leave Egypt, pass through the Red Sea and continue on their trip to the Promised Land.  We're not talking here about a small group of a few hundred people.  Numbers 2:32 gives the total of fighting-age men, not including the tribe of Levi, as 603,550.  Estimates of the size of the entire nation, including women, children and elderly men, usually run between three and four million.
     Before getting into our discussion of the book of Numbers, we need to mention that the book for the upcoming week is Job.  If you don't have a copy of the reading schedule that we are following just write and we will send you one.
     Hopefully you were able to find several references to Jesus as you read the book of Numbers this past week.
     Did you notice the manna, which is referred to in New Testament passages such as John 6:31-34 and 1 Corinthians 10:3?  Did you think about the rock that supplied water?  1 Corinthians 10:4 compares this rock with Christ.
     Numbers 24:17 contains a prophecy about Jesus, the Star out of Jacob.
     Numbers 9:12 points out that none of the bones of the Passover lamb were to be broken.  Compare this to John 19:36.  The bronze serpent of Numbers 21 is also a clear reference to Christ, as we learn from John 3:14.
     Let's go, now, to an examination of the fourth book of the Bible.               In addition to a census, the first few chapters of the book of Numbers give instructions about where the various tribes were to camp and how the tabernacle and its contents were to be transported.
     In chapter three we find the dedication of the tribe of Levi in the place of the first-born of each individual family.  This dedication to service is in contrast to the practices of many pagan religions of the time.  Leviticus 18:21 and 20:2-5 mention the worship of Molech.  Sacrifices to this idol actually involved burning children.  Some pagan practices included burying the first-born in the foundation of a house to bring "good luck."
     Numbers chapter nine informs us that exactly two years have passed since the departure from Egypt.  The Israelites observe the Passover in accordance with God's instructions.  The same chapter describes that the people were directed by a cloud that had the appearance of fire at night.  While the cloud covered the tabernacle the tribes remained camped.  But when the cloud lifted the people set out and traveled until the cloud stopped again.  We have an account of this happening in chapter 10.
     Remember from the book of Exodus how much the Israelites complained?  Remember how they complained about Moses, about being pursued by the Egyptian army, about food and about water?  By now they have learned their lesson, right?
     "Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord;" Numbers 11:1 reveals, "and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp."
     Moses prays and the fire stops, and certainly the people have learned their lesson by now.
     "And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires," we read in verse four, "and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, 'Who will give us meat to eat?'"
     "We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt," the crying people continue, "the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone.  There is nothing at all to look at but this manna."
     Don't forget that these are the same people who, according to Exodus 3:7, cried out to God because of their unbearable suffering as slaves in Egypt.
     Moses is pretty fed-up by now, and he asks God what he ever did to deserve being burdened with such a group of people.
     "You shall eat," God promises in Numbers 11:19-20, "not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, 'Why did we ever leave Egypt?'"
     "Where are You going to get all of that meat?" Moses questions.
     "Is the Lord's power limited?" God replies in verse 23.  "Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not.
     The first thing God does is accept 70 men to help bear the burden of leadership.  Then He sends quail three feet deep for a day's journey in any direction from the camp.  Those who gather the least pick up about 110 bushels.  But many of the greedy, ungrateful people are killed while the meat is still between their teeth.
     Surely the people have learned their lesson by now, right?
     "Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses," chapter 12 begins.
     "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?" they continue.  "Has He not spoken through us as well?"
     Verse three points out that Moses was more humble than any other man on the earth.  So God steps in and defends His chosen leader against this attack.  The two rebels are fortunate that they get off with light punishment.  Miriam is afflicted with leprosy for a week, but both she and Aaron seem to understand how God feels about Moses.

     Numbers chapter 13 describes a pivotal event in the lives of the people who have come out of Egypt.  They send 12 spies, one from each tribe, to scout the land of Canaan.  When the men return after 40 days, all report a land flowing with milk and honey.  They arrive with a single cluster of grapes that must be carried on a pole between two men.
     But ten of the spies add that the cities are fortified and the inhabitants are fearful warriors.  There are also giants in the land.  This report discourages the people from entering the land.
     The other two, Joshua and Caleb, encourage the people to go on.  But the people will not listen.  Instead, they grumble and complain and decide to appoint a leader to guide them back to Egypt.  Moses and Aaron join with the two spies in an attempt to encourage the people to not rebel against God, but the reaction of the people is to stone the four.
     Just then the glory of the Lord appears.  God's suggestion is to eliminate all of the rebels and start over.  Moses encourages God to pardon the people.  God adds, though, that none of the people except Joshua and Caleb would enter the Promised Land.  Instead, the Israelites would wonder around for 40 years, one for each day the spies were in the land, until all the unfaithful adults 20 years old and older had died.  The 10 spies who brought the bad report are killed by a plague.
     The reaction of the people is to go ahead and enter the Promised Land right away.  They suffer defeat at the hands of the inhabitants.
     The people have finally learned their lesson, haven't they?
     In chapter 16 a large group of Levites rebels against Moses and Aaron.  Fire destroys the 250 men who gather against God's chosen leaders.  Two others who refuse to present themselves for God's test are swallowed alive by the earth.
     What is the reaction of the people?  They blame Moses and Aaron for what has happened.  These people are fast learners, aren't they?  It takes another intervention by Moses to save the people from the wrath of God.
     In chapter 17 God instructs that a rod from the leader of each tribe be placed in the Tabernacle overnight so He can indicate for the people His choice of high priest.  The rod of Aaron sprouts, buds, blossoms and bears ripe almonds.  This rod is then placed in the Ark of the Covenant as a reminder to future generations.
     Finally, the people understand, don't they?
     In chapter 20 they assemble themselves against Moses and Aaron because of a lack of water.
     "If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord!" they complain.  We have to wonder which occasion they have in mind.
     Once again God supplies water, although Moses' handling of the situation results in his not being allowed to enter the Promised Land.  The deaths of Miriam and Aaron are both recorded in chapter 20.
     In chapter 21 the people are once again complaining about travel conditions.  God sends fiery serpents among the complainers.  A bronze serpent is used to cure those who are bitten.  In John 3:14 Jesus compares this serpent to His crucifixion.
     The next few chapters contain an interesting and important story about a prophet named Balaam.  By chapter 25 the people are participating in pagan worship.
     The book closes with reminders of various laws and with a record of the 40 years of wandering.  Joshua is appointed to take the place of Moses when the Israelites enter Canaan.
     It's a good thing that we are smarter than the Israelites, isn't it?  After all, we never grumble and complain about what God says or does, do we?  We never rebel against His commands, do we?  Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 and see whether the Holy Spirit through Paul felt that there would be a danger of Christians acting just like the Israelites.
     "Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day," verse eight warns in a clear reference to Numbers chapter 25.
     "Nor let us try the Lord," the admonition continues with verse nine, "as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.
     "Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
     "Now these things happened to them as an example," verses 11-12 conclude, "and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.  Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."
     Does it matter whether or not we know, understand and obey the truth if we want to be free?

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)