Author of Numbers is traditionally thought to be Moses. Again, as with the other 3 books we've read, that were thought to be written by Moses, too, the date of the writings is hard to say for sure and is based on when the Exodus actually took place. Scholars place is either in the 15th century or 13th century BC.
The Theme of Numbers is: "God's faithfulness despite Israel's rebellion, which resulted in 40 years of misery and mercy"... sounds like Numbers might have more of the kind of stories we encountered in Exodus
Historical Background: "The Book of Numbers relates the story of the forty years during which Israel journeyed from Mount Sinai to the edge of Canaan. This was a time of great turmoil for Israel in which the people expressed not gratitude for deliverance from Egypt but rebellion against God. Consequently, they lived out their lives in the desert."
Characteristics: "Arranged around the travel itinerary of the Israelites' wilderness wanderings, the book chronicles God's actions in leading his people toward the land of promise. What makes these actions truly remarkable is that they establish God's faithfulness in spite of the people's rebellious nature. The central human figure in all this is Moses. The extraordinary individual [although remember what Moses thought of himself in Exodus 3-4] combines his many talents with a humble spirit to act as intermediary between his God and His people. [This idea here reminds me that maybe God does always know best when He makes His choices... remember how Moses stood up for what was right back in Exodus 2? So, God knew Moses's character from the start and knew he'd be up for the task that seems to be coming up in this book... interesting... I wonder what God is preparing us for and what He sees in our character, that maybe we don't, but He knows will be just the right fit for future events?] The Book of Numbers provides us with a dramatic portrait of Moses, the Israelites, and God as they struggle to turn the disaster of the wilderness wanderings into success."
(Sounds like there should be lots of life applications in this book since we are all "struggling to turn the disaster of [our] 'wilderness wanderings' into success" for God, too, huh)
Most of the above was taken from the "Invitation to Numbers" section that begins this book in my Bible.
Total random side note... I found that even though I like to read, these geneology parts are way better to listen to on the audio bible because you can hear how the names are pronounced instead of having your eyes glaze over as you try to sound them all out (or skip them completely) :)... plus, the guys voice on the Bible Gateway audio has a really cool accent and fun, yet dramatic reading style. :)... and with that, on to today's reading/listening commentary. :)
Chapter 1: This is the second census God has commanded be taken (see Exodus 30 and 38 for the details of the first one). God seems to do a census when He is finding out how many people He has to work with (not that He doesn't already know, I'm sure, but He's probably just giving the details to everyone else)... anyway, this makes me think about the saying 'Stand up and be counted'... if God took a census today, would we be among those who are on His service list, or would we be in the "other" category... the ones not mentioned because they had no use to God's purpose (at least not at this point)... harsh to think about how we may be of no use to God, but important to be honest about in our life... that doesn't mean that we can never be of use... remember the comments yesterday about how if we just confess and turn back to God with humble hearts He will heal us and put us on His 'team' (see Leviticus 26:40-41)... also it makes me think about how much God does for us even when we are turning our back on Him or playing for the opposite team... Romans 5:7-8 (in The Message version) says it best, I think: "He [Jesus] presented Himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put His love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to Him."... I love that part: "while we were of NO USE WHATSOEVER to Him"... God loves us so much that He even though we are not of use to God because we are too focused on our pride, or love of the world, or whatever, even though we do not want anything to do with Him, He is still working on our behalf, in hopes that we will choose to change our minds and humble our hearts to Him... now that is love! That kind of love makes me want to give my life wholly to God, because nothing else will provide that kind of satisfaction, as knowing you are giving yourself fully to someone who gives themselves fully for you.... and we can only find that in Jesus.
verse 32... notice that Joseph's clan was the only one split between his sons... not completely sure why, but I think it might have something to do with how Joseph was 'lost' to the Egyptians, but Jacob asked Joseph to give him his boys to be Jacob's sons, and so they were claimed, on Joseph's behalf, to carry on his line/clan under Jacob's name? (see Genesis 48:5, 17-20)
verse 49-53... why were the Levites to be set apart? well, see Numbers 3:11-13 for the answer, which also ties into Exodus 13:1-16... the Levites were to be in the holy service of the Lord as priests and helpers of the priests... they were not to be part of the 'fighting' army, as was the case of the other men of the other clans, as described in the directions/census given of each clan. This made me wonder how the Levites must have felt to be excluded from the census at first, before they knew the whys of how they were CHOSEN to be the carriers and helpeers, etc, of God's very 'home' and all that went with it.... that made me think about how Jesus says several times in the New Testament that we are to be in the world, but not of the world (in various termonolgies, but same basic meaning)... sometimes I forget that it is a good thing that we, as Christians, are set apart from the world... it can sometimes seem a lonely place to be when you see everyone else doing their own thing and you just want to join in, but then, when you see that God has plans for you to be HIS, the rest of the world fades away and the things you once enjoyed no longer hold any delight or value to you because you have a new purpose in life, one more special than you could have ever imagined... you are in the service of the very King of Kings Himself!... so, sometimes it is a good thing to get 'picked last' and 'left out of the game' :)
verse 46... interesting to note that the number from the census was the same number as before (603,550... see Exodus 38:26)... was this taken before Aaron's two sons died (Leviticus 10) and the blasphemer was stoned (Leviticus 24)?... was the death rate the exact same as the birth rate?... was it a coincidence (I say that in some humor as I know at this point in my life that there is no such thing as coincidence with God)...
Chapter 2: ok, I have is a question for this chapter... why were these groups divided as they were?... at first I thought it might have something to do with Jacob's blessings (see Genesis49), but that didn't fit... then, I thought it might have to do with birth order, but that didn't fit everyone either... I'm sure it's not a random choice, as God does not come across as a random God so far (reread end of Exodus and all of Leviticus if there are any doubts)... any insights you have would be helpful here. :)
Chapter 3: Mostly this is just a reiteration of things we've already discussed and a breakdown of who is responsible for what within the Levite clans. I did like how God made the transaction fair to justly handle the difference between His original claim to the firstborn and His decision to take the Levites as a replacement (see verse 39-51)... I did wonder, though, which 273 people had to give 5 shekels and how that was determined... was it the oldest firstborns (since they'd likely have the money"... was it the youngest firstborns (since they were the lowest on the totem pole, so to speak, and the older ones had taken all the slots already)... or what?
The Study Notes make an interesting point in conjunction with the idea that anyone who was not Aaron or his sons, that approached the sanctuary must die (see verse 10)... they refer to Hebrews 4:14-16, and also Hebrews 10:19-25, to point out that even though we would have been among those who would have died from approaching God ourselves before, since Jesus came on our behalf, we can now approach God and His sanctuary with CONFIDENCE on our own... we no longer need an intercessor (someone to act as a go-between on our behalf)... so, since we are free to come before God completely, what is stopping me? and how can I overcome this (or allow God to work through me to overcome it)? Just something to ponder a bit...
Chapter 4: this chapter has a cool color coded breakdown... beats writing on a box with marker :)... from what I can gather, the red was to cover the things that had to do with edible food from the offerings... the blue was used to cover all the gold stuff [so basically everything... God must really like blue and gold... I bet there is a football fan out there using this as his reason to say God likes his favorite team best :)]... and the purple was used to cover stuff from the burnt offering alter (the bronze one and all the bronze stuff)
verse 3... why didn't they serve until they were 30? was this why Jesus' ministry began at 30? (see Luke 3:23)... also, why did they stop serving at 50? was that like retirement age for them? what did the men do before and after these ages?
verse 19... I like how God is protecting the people from what could happen to them by setting in place a safety net long before it is needed to assure their success in Him and for Him... it reminds me that God prepares for the work He acts us to do, so we are never going it alone or "pioneering", since God has already gone ahead and prepared the way (remember Exodus 23:20, John 10:3-4, and Ephesians 2:10)
The Study Notes suggest some reflection on how many people it takes for a church service to run and how many people it takes for a church building to continue to operate? why is it important for those things to continue to go on? what is our role in all of that?
That's all for tonight... probably more than enough. :) Hope you have a wonderful night!
In His Love,
sandJ
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