June 07, 2025
Today, as we begin the book of Numbers, we are going to do things a little bit differently. Instead of going in chapter order, we are going to look at the first 10 chapters in chronological order:
Number 9:1-14 records that on the 14th day of the 1st month of the 2nd year, Israel celebrated Passover.
Chapters 7, 8 & 9 are an expansion of the consecration of the Tabernacle and the Priests found in Exodus 40 and Leviticus 1-9.
Chapter 7 records the offerings brought by the leaders of each tribe as part of the dedication of the Tabernacle. The 1st offering of 6 covered carts and 12 oxen were presented the day the Tabernacle was erected. For the next 12 days each tribal leader presented additional offerings on behalf of his people (7:12-88).
Chapter 8 pertains to the Priests and Levites.
Numbers 9:15-23 - On the day when the Dwelling was erected, the cloud covered the Dwelling, the tent of the commandments; but from evening until morning it took on the appearance of fire over the Dwelling. It was always so: during the day the Dwelling was covered by the cloud, which at night had the appearance of fire. Whenever the cloud rose from the tent, the Israelites would break camp; wherever the cloud came to rest, they would pitch camp. At the bidding of Yahweh the Israelites moved on, and at his bidding they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the Dwelling, they remained in camp. Even when the cloud tarried many days over the Dwelling, the Israelites obeyed Yahweh and would not move on; yet sometimes the cloud was over the Dwelling only for a few days. It was at the bidding of Yahweh that they stayed in camp, and it was at his bidding that they departed. Sometimes the cloud remained there only from evening until morning; and when it rose in the morning, they would depart. Or if the cloud lifted during the day, or even at night, they would then set out. Whether the cloud tarried over the Dwelling for two days or for a month or longer, the Israelites remained in camp and did not depart; but when it lifted, they moved on. Thus, it was always at the bidding of Yahweh that they encamped, and at his bidding that they set out; ever heeding the charge of Yahweh, as he had bidden them through Moses.
It is now the 1st day of the 2nd Month of the 2nd year out of Egypt and the Children of Israel are still camped at the base of Mount Sinai.
God has delivered, sustained and set Israel apart for His service and now they are about to enter a new phase in their history. They were going to begin functioning as a nation within their covenant relationship with God, “You are to be holy because I am holy.” As we saw in Leviticus, virtually every aspect of their daily lives was influenced and prescribed by law: religious and ceremonial laws, dietary and hygiene laws, civil and family laws.
Now that the Tabernacle had been erected, the priests consecrated and the laws given, Israel was now to fulfill another part of God’s promise to Abraham – the conquest of Canaan. God had promised to make them victorious so long as they remained faithful and obedient to the covenant.
Up to this point in the story, however, despite Yahweh’s mighty works on their behalf, when there was little water, Israel accused Moses of trying to kill them. When they thought they would run out of food, they complained and longed for the food of Egypt. When Moses was MIA they replaced God with a calf of gold. Everything was a struggle. Everything was a crisis. The way was too hard. God’s expectations were too great. At any perceived hardship they were ready to give up and go back to slavery.
This will be the ongoing struggle that God will face in the book of Numbers, a People who want the perks of being “Chosen” but none of the responsibility. What we will learn in the coming weeks is that, despite everything they are about to do, God is going to stick with them. They will be unfaithful. He will be faithful.
That part of the story is in the future. Today, Yahweh directed Moses to prepare for the conquest of Canaan by numbering the people. A Census of all able-bodied fighting men aged 20 and over was to be taken:
Reuben - 46,500
Simeon - 59,300
Gad - 45,650
Judah - 74,600
Issachar - 54,400
Zebulun - 57,400
Ephraim - 40,500
Manasseh - 32,200
Benjamin - 35,400
Dan - 62,700
Asher - 41,500
Naphtali - 53,400
Total: 603,550
The tribes were also assigned their areas of encampment around the Tabernacle and their order of march.
The Levites were not counted in this Census. They were to be dedicated exclusively to God and to the service of the Tabernacle; therefore, the numbering of the Levites was done separately.
The 1st part of the Levitical Census numbered all males one month and older = 22,000 and included their place in the camp:
Gershon to the WEST of the Tabernacle, Kohath to the SOUTH, Merari to the NORTH and Moses, Aaron and his sons to the East, immediately in front of the entrance to the Tabernacle.
All the 1st born males in Israel were also to be named and counted = 22,273.
The number of Israelite 1st born exceeded the Levites by 273. So, Yahweh gave Moses instructions for the “redemption” of those 273 = 5 shekels for each to be given to Aaron and his sons.
The 2nd part of the Levitical Census was for the service of the Tabernacle – all men age 30-50 = 8,580.
• The Gershonite clans were responsible for the soft furnishings: the coverings, the curtains: at the entrance to the tent, the entrance to the courtyard and surrounding the Tabernacle complex, the ropes and everything related to their use ---- see 3:21-26 and 4:22-28.
• The Kohathite clans were responsible for the care of the hard furnishings: the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain separating the Holy and Most Holy Places, and everything related to their use ---- see 3:27-32 and 4:4-20
• The Merarite clans were responsible for the frame work of the Tabernacle: the planks, crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use, as well as the posts surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs and ropes ---- see 3:33-37 and 4:29-33
• Aaron and his sons were responsible for covering all the furniture and associated utensils and preparing them to be moved. No one else was allowed to do this job.
Chapters 5 & 6 contain additional laws regarding infectious skin disease, discharge, wrongs against a neighbor, sacred contributions and the Nazarites laws of dedication.
Law of Jealousy – 5:11-31
A jealous husband accuses his wife of adultery:
• She is guilty, but there is no evidence to prove it.
• She is innocent.
This law is different from that of a woman being caught in the ACT of Adultery. In that case, both she and her lover were to be stoned. This law pertains to suspicion, not facts.
The husband was to take his wife to the priest with a tenth of an ephah of barley flour on her behalf as a “grain offering for jealousy.”
The priest took the wife and had her stand before Yahweh. He took a flask of holy water and mixed in dust from the Tabernacle floor (holy dirt).
The woman’s hair was loosed and the offering of jealousy placed in her hands.
The priest put the woman under an oath and then wrote the oath on a scroll and rinsed the scroll, the contents “going into” the holy water.
Next, he took the offering of jealousy and waved it before Yahweh, took a handful and burnt it on the altar.
After all that, the woman was given the flask of holy water to drink.
Drinking the holy water was a kind of litmus test because holiness is only compatible with purity.
• If innocent – nothing happened.
• If guilty – there were consequences when impurity mixed with holiness.
Many don’t like these verses – they seem harsh, anti-women and misogynistic.
On closer inspection, I would argue that the exact opposite is true. In the cultures of the Ancient Near East, a man could treat his wife as he saw fit with little interference. He could divorce her on a whim and if he decided she was unfaithful, even with no evidence, she could be killed. This procedure ensured that the woman would get a fair “trial” – her guilt or innocence would be decided by God. Who better to make such a judgment? If she was guilty, she would be infertile, if she was innocent, she was free and her jealous husband could not contest the results.
Far from being against women, it was a protection for them.
The people have been numbered and their duties assigned, but before leaving Sinai and setting off into the Wilderness, there was one final preparation – the making of 2 silver trumpets – to be used for summoning the congregation, the breaking camp, in battle, in times of rejoicing, during the appointed feasts and festivals and when sacrificing burnt and fellowship offerings.
Numbers 10:11-14, 33-36 - On the 12th day of the 2nd month of the 2nd year, the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony. Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran. They set out, this first time, at Yahweh's command through Moses. The divisions of the camp of Judah went first, under their standard. Nahshon son of Amminadab was in command…… 33 So they set out from the mountain of Yahweh and traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of Yahweh went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest. The cloud of Yahweh was over them by day when they set out from the camp. Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, "Rise up, O LORD! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you." Whenever it came to rest, he said, "Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel."
Until Next Time…………………………
