2005 Bible Reading

Numbers

This page is not a commentary, nor an outline. It is something to bear in mind in this kind of reading. These materials I learnt from two books by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart (How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth; How To Read The Bible Book By Book). You could consult these books if you are interested.

(Pastor Raymond)

If reading Leviticus is a challenge, then reading all the names in Numbers will almost always stop someone with less perseverance. Really, why do we need records of all these names in a book of the Bible?

It would help first of all to recall that Numbers is part of the records in the five books of Moses (from Genesis to Deuteronomy) which set out how God fulfills His covenant made to Abraham. After bringing the Israelites from slavery to freedom in Exodus, God grants them the Law and teaches them how to live a holy life whilst wandering in the wilderness. That is described in parts of Exodus and all of Leviticus. The journey to the promised land, one of the things promised in the covenant, continues in Numbers where the people are moving towards the land of Canaan. In ancient time, numbering the people is for a specific purpose: to form the people into armies for war. Taking the promised land requires wars. Unlike in the Exodus account where the people of Israel did not fight a single war, this time God wants them involved. The two lists, one at the beginning and one towards the end of Numbers, describe the first and second generation of the people at the entry points facing the promised land. In between the lists, Numbers tells its readers how the first generation responded to God's challenge and died in the wilderness.

Since the first generation failed, the Israelites had to spend several decades wandering in the wilderness. That explains the presence of the materials relating to laws and priestly behaviors in Numbers, because the presence of God with this people over that period requires a proper worship and a proper relationship.

Numbers does not whitewash Israelite history. It is repeatedly shown that the people rebel against God and His appointed leaders. No one can come away from reading Numbers without a conviction that the people of God are indeed stiff-neck. In fact, the records in Numbers are often used by later generations as the model of rebellion. Despite all these, the Five Books of Moses continues to show that God's promise will not be thwarted. He will not be unfaithful to Abraham. At the end of Numbers, a second generation under the leadership of Joshua will be knocking at the door of the promised land across the Jordan River! Joshua and Caleb are the only first generation leaders alive because when they were young, they saw the promise of God bigger than the difficulties ahead. History vindicated them. Notice from 13:6-8 that they are respectively from the tribe of Ephraim and Judah, anticipating the later kingdoms in the North (with Samaria as capital) and South (with Jerusalem as capital).

As one reads the first list of people in Numbers, and the way the tribes are in formation, one can quickly form an image of an army, getting ready in formation and moving forward. In the center is the place where God's presence dwells, the Tabernacle. This image helps the reader to understand the significance of all the seemingly religious regulations about the Levites and the cleansing. God in the midst of a huge army of formal slaves dictates a proper reverence and behavior.

There is an odd event in Numbers: a donkey that speaks and a pagan prophet who blesses. It must be appreciated as an irony which nonetheless shows the steadfast faithfulness of God. Even when the Israelites fall prey to idolatry, God will eventually bring to pass His promise in the covenant; even if the blessing has to be announced by a pagan prophet, so be it. It is no wonder that when Paul takes the Old Testament, his Scriptures, and wrestles with the fate of his own people in Romans, he can come up with the answer he gives.