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- [00:06]
A
Hey, this is Shelby and Scott, and today we begin the Book of Numbers. Can you just give us a little bit of an overview? What do we need to keep in mind as we read the Book of Numbers?
- [00:15]
B
All right, so I have a quote, because this book is wild. So there's a quote from Gordon Fee and Douglas Stewart in their book how to Read the Bible Book by Book. And they say this, that if Leviticus tends to be an unappealing book to contemporary readers, the Numbers must be one of the most difficult in terms of what in the world is going on. And I just, I love that quote because there's so much happening in this book. You've got census lists, traveling narratives, spies scouting out the Promised Land. There's a lot of complaining, a bunch of laws, a guy named Balaam who we're going to talk about later, who shows up, Moses gets told he won't enter the Promised Land. There's just so much happening in this book and we're going to get into it all, which I'm excited about. But broadly speaking, Numbers tells a story of a few different things. First, God organizing Israel into an army and leading them to the Promised Land. Secondly, this book is about how Israel refused to go into the Promised Land. And thirdly, how God punished them by making them wander in the wilderness for 40 years. So the whole 40 year period in the wilderness is found in this book. And then lastly, Numbers shows how God brings them once again to the edge of the Promised Land a generation later, which is where Deuteronomy will pick up.
- [01:28]
A
Yeah. Well, I'm excited to get into all of that with you. I feel like some of those things you mentioned are like stories that I'm familiar with, but maybe I haven't read those chapters in a long time, so it'll be fun to get in. Any other tips on reading Numbers before we jump into today's chapters?
- [01:42]
B
Sure, yeah. I think it's just really important to continually keep the promises to Abraham in mind that God made to him. So the promises of becoming a great nation to give this people the land of Canaan and then for them to bless all the nations. And Exodus and Leviticus in particular really showed God forming them into that, that great and holy nation. With Numbers, God is now preparing them to take possession of the land of Canaan. So that land promise comes more into view now. But you know, remember, they're still at Mount Sinai where they've been since Exodus 19. They've been there about 11 months now. But now God's getting ready to move Them. And so we need to have that in our minds, especially that they're about to depart from Sinai as we begin these first few chapters.
- [02:26]
A
All right, let's jump in. And right away we learn why numbers is called numbers.
- [02:31]
B
Right.
- [02:31]
A
In the first few chapters.
- [02:32]
B
A lot of numbers, a lot of.
- [02:33]
A
Names, a lot of numbers. So let's break down chapters one through.
- [02:36]
B
Sure. Yeah. A lot of names, a lot of numbers. And I'll. I'll cover chapter three a little bit more tomorrow. Essentially, what's happening, though, is in chapter one, God tells Moses to take a census of all the fighting men in Israel. So, you know, this answers the question of who is actually going to do the fighting once they get into the promised land. And then in chapter two, God tells Moses how to arrange the tribes of Israel, both when they're at rest and when they're on the march. And at the center of this camp, which is important, is God Himself, like the tabernacle. So it kind of just visualizes and shows them that he alone is ultimately responsible for really any military victory they're going to have.
- [03:13]
A
Okay, love that. Thank you for explaining that. Because otherwise these would just maybe seem like meaningless names and numbers. But we see they really have a purpose here. So what can we today, who aren't camped in, you know, at Sinai at this time? What can we take away from this passage?
- [03:30]
B
Yeah, that's a great question. So for me personally, when I was reading this, I thought of Exodus 14:14, which when they're at the Red Sea, the Egyptians are coming after them, and we read that the Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet. And it's interesting because at the Red Sea, Israel didn't have to do anything. They just had to watch God defeat their enemy. Now, though, they've got to pick up weapons and go to battle against the Canaanites. And so here it's not sit back, but it's fights, which was probably scary. And we're going to see a lot of that fear come out later in Numbers. But, you know, I love this comment. Also, at the end of Joshua, after they've already taken possession of the land, Joshua reflects on all the fighting they've done in Canaan. He says, one of you routed a thousand because the Lord your God was fighting for you as he promised. And so, Shelby, I think my takeaway is like God is always fighting for his people, even when he calls them to a more active role in that fight, like to take up arms. But essentially with God in the fight, the outcome of the fight is already settled. There's no question about the outcome. And I think that's an important reminder for me that when God calls me to do hard things, when he calls us to do hard things, like sharing our faith or serving other people in difficult, demanding ways, to remember that God is in the fight, too. God is in the fight, too. He's with me. And I can take comfort knowing that everything I do for Him, I do with him by my side. And God calls me to be faithful, though, and just trust that he'll do exactly what he intends to do through me.
- [05:02]
A
That is such a great reminder. And I honestly don't think that without you guiding us through, I would have taken that away from numbers one through three. So I appreciate that. I think my one takeaway for these chapters, it really stuck out to me when you talked about the way that God was organizing the Israelites with Him at the center. And, you know, we're several weeks into a new year now, but we probably all thought toward the beginning of the year about how we wanted to organize our lives and maybe how we want to organize our lives around the Lord. And so this is just a little checkup moment for me of, like, how is my life organized? And is God at the center of it? And am I looking to him as my provision and my strength in all things? So, so good. This has been a great start to the Book of Numbers.
- [05:43]
B
Excited to keep going.
- [05:43]
A
We'll have chapters four through six tomorrow.
- [05:45]
B
Yep, it.