365 Reflections

So far in Numbers, God has set up the camp of Israel. He has aligned them around His presence in the tabernacle and divided up their responsibilities in the management of the sacred things. He has also directed their order for marching as well as how to disassemble the tabernacle for movement. The camp is in place, Israel is a cohesive unit. At least from the outside looking on. For Israel to be powerful in war they must be united and at peace with each other. For this reason, God establishes laws pertaining to making amends when they experience wrongs against one another. Numbers 5:5-10 (ESV) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 "Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the LORD, and that person realizes his guilt, 7 he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. 8 But if the man h

Numbers 5:1-4 (ESV) The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. 3 You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.”  4 And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did. God is constantly teaching His people in the book of Numbers about their condition and His holiness. He is also teaching us about the truest nature of ourselves in light of who He is and how much we need Him to intervene in our condition. These verses seem cold and unloving on the part of God. But they are meant to instruct and point us to Jesus. The Bible is about Jesus. The purpose of the Old Testament was to reveal our need for Him, what we need from Him and what He will do to supply our needs in Himself.

Numbers 4:1–3 (ESV) The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. Reading Numbers 4 can seem irrelevant. It is NOT. It is the procedure by which the Sons of Levi dismantle and prepare the Tabernacle for transport. Each family of Levi has a special function assigned to them. We may ask what this passage is doing here? We could reason that this text is outdated and unnecessary for New Testament saints. We might think a passage like this really needs no attention since Jesus has fulfilled the Old Testament and made it possible for our bodies to become living temples by which God dwells by His Spirit. We would be wrong to do this. This passage exists because we regularly forget just how sacred is the presence of God. We also take for granted the amazing gift God has

If Numbers is teaching me one thing it is teaching me what God has planned for His community. The third chapter describes the layout for the Levites and priestly families which are responsible for the place where God dwells. First we see God giving the Levite to Aaron to serve the purposes of the gathering place.  Numbers 3:5–7 (ESV) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. Numbers 3:9–10 (ESV) And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” Aaron is given the Levites. The breakdown of the Priesthood is as follows in this chapter: The Hi

Numbers 2:1–2 (ESV) The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the  tent of meeting on every side. Sometimes I wonder how Israel missed the Lord. Here in the second chapter of Numbers we find an otherwise mundane chapter but it gives us amazing truth for how we live with God and who Jesus is. The center of the Israelite camp was to be tent of meeting. Again, the picture of Christ among us tabernacling with His own could not be clearer. A tent made of poles and animal skins, with all the royal colors in modest appearance from the outside could not be a clearer picture than the One born in Bethlehem and raised by two of the most modest of parents hundreds of years later. He came to His own, He dwelt AMONG them. We also see how life is to be experienced with God. First, He is our center. People talk about being centered as if its some spiritual achieve

If Israel was to be a successful nation, it would be because they had God among them. So far in Exodus we have seen God give the plans for the Tabernacle and the people follow the plans to the letter. In Leviticus we have seen the amazing amount of detail that goes into the Tabernacle and its sacrifices and standards. Now here in Numbers, as the people are counted for battle, God makes clear, the Levites are not to be counted, they have a job to do. Numbers 1:47–50 (ESV) 47 But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. 48 For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. 50 But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle. God is teaching His people th

Numbers 1:44–46 (ESV)  These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ house. 45 So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel- all those listed were 603,550. Let's dive into Numbers. To be honest, I'm kind of happy to be past Leviticus. That was tough. Numbers opens with a census of the men able to fight in Israel. This is a nation that went to Egypt 70 in number. They have come out 400 years later at 600k+ men 20 years old and able to fight in war, not including the younger men and all the females. This nation has become enormous in an incredibly short amount of time. Possibly 2.5 million people from 70 in 440 years (if you include the wilderness wanderings). Now, lets address something that keeps coming up in commentaries and in Biblical archeology studies. People usually discredi

Leviticus 27:1–8 (ESV)   The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the Lord involving the valuation of persons, 3 then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 If the person is a female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5 If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 6 If the person is from a month old up to five years old, the valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female the valuation shall be three shekels of silver. 7 And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the valuation for a male shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 8 And if someone is too poor to pay the valuation, then he shall be made to stand before the priest, and the priest shall va

Leviticus 26 is wrapping up the context of this most intricate book. The 26th chapter is God's reiteration of the covenant stipulations. There are conditions for the blessing of God upon His people. Make sure you catch that... there are conditions for the BLESSING of God, not the saving of God. The saving has happened. They are His people, His chosen nation. They are even still in existence today. But for His people to experience His blessing, there must be obedience. Leviticus 26:1–5 (ESV) “You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the LORD your God. 2 You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. 3 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, 4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall last to the time o