Numbers (Part 2)
Bible Study Time 1-20-08
(James Roberts from 1-31-99)
Bible Study Time 1-20-08
(James Roberts from 1-31-99)
In our last lesson, we looked at the first eight chapters of the book of Numbers, and we’re going to continue in our survey of the book of Numbers in our journey through the scriptures this morning. Before we look at chapter 9, however, let me remind you that the book of Numbers gets its title from the fact that it starts with a numbering of the people, and it ends with a numbering of the people.
At the close of the book, the people were numbered to determine the number of people that would be going into the Promised Land. However, at the beginning of the book, the people were numbered to determine the number of fighting men in each of the tribes.
All the tribes except the tribe of Levi were numbered for battle. Levi was not numbered for battle because it had been set apart and numbered for the work of the tabernacle. It’s very interesting to see also that this first numbering determined the position and order of the tribes around the tabernacle as they camped as they marched through the wilderness.
The first eight chapters of the book of Numbers give us the details of the first census, but then in Chapter 9 we see that it was time for the people to leave Mt. Sinai, but first God told them to observe the Passover. It had been a year since their departure from Egypt, and it was, therefore, time to observe the Passover once again.
The children of Israel had observed the very first Passover in Egypt before they left in their glorious exodus, and they were told at that time to observe the Passover on that very day every year as a memorial to the Lord. Now, a year later at the foot of Mt. Sinai, it was time to observe the Passover once again.
However, according to the Law, if a person was ceremonial unclean, he was prohibited from participating in the ceremonies and festivals of the Law. As it turned out, there were several men who were ceremonially unclean because they had touched a dead body. When they explained their situation to Moses, Moses said that he would go and inquire of the Lord.
What a wonderful thing to do. Moses didn’t just make up a declaration or an ordinance off the top of his head, but he said that he would go and inquire of the Lord. When we have problems or questions that arise in our lives, we need to go and talk to the Lord. He will give us guidance and direction through His word. The Psalmist said:
Psalms 119:105 (KJV)
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
When Moses inquired of the Lord, the Lord said that if a person was ceremonially unclean or if they happened to be on a journey during the set time of the Passover, they should keep the Passover in the following month.
After the Passover, it was time for the children of Israel to set out for the Promised Land, but how were they to know when and where to go? When Moses set up the tabernacle, a cloud formed over it to indicate the presence of the Lord, and God told Moses that He would use this cloud to give the children of Israel guidance in their travels through the wilderness.
When the cloud lifted off the tabernacle, the people were to pack up and then follow the cloud wherever it went. When the cloud moved, they were to move. When the cloud rested, they were to rest. God said, when the clouds rest, you rest, whether it’s two days, a month or a year.
This is a great lesson for us today. Sometimes God simply wants us to wait and rest in the Lord. However, there are other times when God wants us to move out and take action. Well, how can we know when it’s time to wait and when it’s time to move?
When we trust the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within our lives, and the cloud in the wilderness is a picture of the Holy Spirit. As we look to the word of God, the Holy Spirit gives us direction. Again, we refer to the thoughts of the Psalmist, who said:
Psalms 119:105 (KJV)
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
On their wilderness journey, the cloud gave the children of Israel direction, but that was not their only means of direction. The Bible says that God told Aaron’s sons to blow silver trumpets to signify different commands.
When the cloud lifted off the tabernacle, the people would get ready to move, but when the cloud started moving, Aaron’s sons would blow the silver trumpets and the first group of tribes would start to march. When Aaron’s sons blew the trumpets the second time, the second group of tribes would start to march. After the third trumpet blast, the third group of tribes would start to move.
The trumpets told the people exactly when it was time to move. However, the trumpets were also used to signal the people for the various feasts and for the tribal councils. They were also used as an alarm to signal danger and as a call to battle. Obviously, they used different trumpet sounds to signal the people for the different occasions and situations.
In the New Testament, we see in the book of I Corinthians that some of the people had the gift of speaking in tongues, but their misuse of this gift had created confusion within the church. So when Paul wrote to them in his first letter, he gave them a prescribed order in which they were to use their gift. He said that they should not just randomly use their gift. To illustrate his point, he turned to the trumpet sounds that were used in the Old Testament by the children of Israel. He said:
1 Corinthians 14:7-9 (KJ2000)
7 And even things without life which give sound, whether flute or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is played?
8 For if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for the battle?
9 So likewise you, except you utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? . . .
Paul was reminding the Jews in particular there in Corinth of the trumpet sounds in the Old Testament, and of the fact that the children of Israel depended upon their understanding of the distinctive sounds of the trumpet to know what they were to do when the trumpet sounded.
From this we can also conclude that God has given us distinctive marching orders in the scriptures. However, He has given different marching orders for different groups of people in different ages, and God expects us to be so familiar with His word that we will know exactly what God is directing us to do today. God told Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJ2000)
15 Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
So in the book of Numbers, God used the cloud over the tabernacle and the sound of the trumpets to give specific direction to the children of Israel. It’s worthy of mention that when Solomon finished the work of building the temple in Jerusalem, he held a great service to dedicate the temple to the Lord. As they worshiped the Lord, the presence of the Lord in the form of a cloud filled the entire courtyard. But then, as the service continued the cloud slowly moved from the courtyard into the temple and then into the Holy of Holies within the temple.
The cloud in the Holy of Holies signified that this was the very dwelling place of God upon the earth. The cloud remained there in the Holy of Holies for the next five hundred years, but then the children of Israel were carried away into captivity because of their sin. At that time Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, and Ezekiel wrote from Babylon that he saw in a vision the cloud of glory as it was leaving the temple. The glory of the presence of the Lord had departed from Israel.
We can praise the Lord, the glory of the Lord did return to the earth. The nation of Israel once again beheld the glory of the Lord when Jesus Christ lived and ministered on the earth. John said:
John 1:14 (KJ2000)
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
On the mount of transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw the glory of the Lord, and someday the Lord Jesus will come back in His glory to establish His kingdom on the earth. Today, we have the glory of God dwelling within us in the form of the Holy Spirit.
In Numbers, Chapter 10, we read that:
Numbers 10:35-36 (KJ2000)
35 . . . when the ark moved forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let your enemies be scattered; and let them that hate you flee before you.
36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.
Well, today, believers have the ever-present glory of the Lord within them, but we never have to ask the Lord to return to us. God has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us.
Do you know Him today as your Savior? If you don’t, you can accept Him today and then you too can have the ever-present glory of the Lord living within you.
At the close of the book, the people were numbered to determine the number of people that would be going into the Promised Land. However, at the beginning of the book, the people were numbered to determine the number of fighting men in each of the tribes.
All the tribes except the tribe of Levi were numbered for battle. Levi was not numbered for battle because it had been set apart and numbered for the work of the tabernacle. It’s very interesting to see also that this first numbering determined the position and order of the tribes around the tabernacle as they camped as they marched through the wilderness.
The first eight chapters of the book of Numbers give us the details of the first census, but then in Chapter 9 we see that it was time for the people to leave Mt. Sinai, but first God told them to observe the Passover. It had been a year since their departure from Egypt, and it was, therefore, time to observe the Passover once again.
The children of Israel had observed the very first Passover in Egypt before they left in their glorious exodus, and they were told at that time to observe the Passover on that very day every year as a memorial to the Lord. Now, a year later at the foot of Mt. Sinai, it was time to observe the Passover once again.
However, according to the Law, if a person was ceremonial unclean, he was prohibited from participating in the ceremonies and festivals of the Law. As it turned out, there were several men who were ceremonially unclean because they had touched a dead body. When they explained their situation to Moses, Moses said that he would go and inquire of the Lord.
What a wonderful thing to do. Moses didn’t just make up a declaration or an ordinance off the top of his head, but he said that he would go and inquire of the Lord. When we have problems or questions that arise in our lives, we need to go and talk to the Lord. He will give us guidance and direction through His word. The Psalmist said:
Psalms 119:105 (KJV)
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
When Moses inquired of the Lord, the Lord said that if a person was ceremonially unclean or if they happened to be on a journey during the set time of the Passover, they should keep the Passover in the following month.
After the Passover, it was time for the children of Israel to set out for the Promised Land, but how were they to know when and where to go? When Moses set up the tabernacle, a cloud formed over it to indicate the presence of the Lord, and God told Moses that He would use this cloud to give the children of Israel guidance in their travels through the wilderness.
When the cloud lifted off the tabernacle, the people were to pack up and then follow the cloud wherever it went. When the cloud moved, they were to move. When the cloud rested, they were to rest. God said, when the clouds rest, you rest, whether it’s two days, a month or a year.
This is a great lesson for us today. Sometimes God simply wants us to wait and rest in the Lord. However, there are other times when God wants us to move out and take action. Well, how can we know when it’s time to wait and when it’s time to move?
When we trust the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within our lives, and the cloud in the wilderness is a picture of the Holy Spirit. As we look to the word of God, the Holy Spirit gives us direction. Again, we refer to the thoughts of the Psalmist, who said:
Psalms 119:105 (KJV)
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
On their wilderness journey, the cloud gave the children of Israel direction, but that was not their only means of direction. The Bible says that God told Aaron’s sons to blow silver trumpets to signify different commands.
When the cloud lifted off the tabernacle, the people would get ready to move, but when the cloud started moving, Aaron’s sons would blow the silver trumpets and the first group of tribes would start to march. When Aaron’s sons blew the trumpets the second time, the second group of tribes would start to march. After the third trumpet blast, the third group of tribes would start to move.
The trumpets told the people exactly when it was time to move. However, the trumpets were also used to signal the people for the various feasts and for the tribal councils. They were also used as an alarm to signal danger and as a call to battle. Obviously, they used different trumpet sounds to signal the people for the different occasions and situations.
In the New Testament, we see in the book of I Corinthians that some of the people had the gift of speaking in tongues, but their misuse of this gift had created confusion within the church. So when Paul wrote to them in his first letter, he gave them a prescribed order in which they were to use their gift. He said that they should not just randomly use their gift. To illustrate his point, he turned to the trumpet sounds that were used in the Old Testament by the children of Israel. He said:
1 Corinthians 14:7-9 (KJ2000)
7 And even things without life which give sound, whether flute or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is played?
8 For if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for the battle?
9 So likewise you, except you utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? . . .
Paul was reminding the Jews in particular there in Corinth of the trumpet sounds in the Old Testament, and of the fact that the children of Israel depended upon their understanding of the distinctive sounds of the trumpet to know what they were to do when the trumpet sounded.
From this we can also conclude that God has given us distinctive marching orders in the scriptures. However, He has given different marching orders for different groups of people in different ages, and God expects us to be so familiar with His word that we will know exactly what God is directing us to do today. God told Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJ2000)
15 Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
So in the book of Numbers, God used the cloud over the tabernacle and the sound of the trumpets to give specific direction to the children of Israel. It’s worthy of mention that when Solomon finished the work of building the temple in Jerusalem, he held a great service to dedicate the temple to the Lord. As they worshiped the Lord, the presence of the Lord in the form of a cloud filled the entire courtyard. But then, as the service continued the cloud slowly moved from the courtyard into the temple and then into the Holy of Holies within the temple.
The cloud in the Holy of Holies signified that this was the very dwelling place of God upon the earth. The cloud remained there in the Holy of Holies for the next five hundred years, but then the children of Israel were carried away into captivity because of their sin. At that time Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, and Ezekiel wrote from Babylon that he saw in a vision the cloud of glory as it was leaving the temple. The glory of the presence of the Lord had departed from Israel.
We can praise the Lord, the glory of the Lord did return to the earth. The nation of Israel once again beheld the glory of the Lord when Jesus Christ lived and ministered on the earth. John said:
John 1:14 (KJ2000)
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
On the mount of transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw the glory of the Lord, and someday the Lord Jesus will come back in His glory to establish His kingdom on the earth. Today, we have the glory of God dwelling within us in the form of the Holy Spirit.
In Numbers, Chapter 10, we read that:
Numbers 10:35-36 (KJ2000)
35 . . . when the ark moved forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let your enemies be scattered; and let them that hate you flee before you.
36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.
Well, today, believers have the ever-present glory of the Lord within them, but we never have to ask the Lord to return to us. God has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us.
Do you know Him today as your Savior? If you don’t, you can accept Him today and then you too can have the ever-present glory of the Lord living within you.
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