Notes on Numbers 1-14

Hi everyone,

So apparently, my vacation has turned into a vacation in all senses of the word!

By now, you've dug into the book of Numbers, and have probably found that it, like Leviticus, is not exactly a "thumping good read." Well, we have to realize that the Bible serves a greater purpose than just our own spiritual fulfillment - it is a book that tells the story of God's people from beginning to end, and without the genealogies and details, God's people Israel wouldn't have known how they are connected to this story. So it all serves a purpose.

But what can we get from all these things? Well, here are some tidbits that we can glean from the chapters we've read:

1) Redemption of the firstborn males: This is a Jewish ritual now called Pidyon haben. If I understand this correctly, apparently before Israel sinned with the Golden calf, the eldest child of each family was to be set aside as a priest to their family. After the Golden Calf incident, the priesthood was taken from the eldest child and given to the tribe of Levi. So in this ceremony, the eldest child was to be "bought back" or "redeemed" from his former duties by a Levite (Kohen). Someone who is more knowledgeable in Jewish custom can feel free to fill in any details missing.

2) Nazarite Vow: It is interesting because John the Baptist himself was born under (and upheld) this Nazarite vow in his own life.

3) The Aaronic Blessing: This is a very frequently used benediction in Christian Churches today (in fact, I use it quite often mostly because I actually have it memorized - haha).

4) "When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. He spoke to him [that way]." The mercy seat is important because it is here that the blood of the sacrificial lamb is placed on the day of atonement. This blood would be placed here as an atoning or "amends-making" offering to God: that is, it was done for the forgiveness of sins. The mercy seat was also seen as a symbolic of God's throne in heaven, where just as the mercy seat was between the cherubim, so also God is "enthroned between the cherubim" in heaven (Is. 6).

5) Purification: this is a big deal in Jewish law. The people of God are called to be ritually pure before God and to be set apart from others in the world. They were to be clear of sin and all defilement in their lives. Of course, the problem was that most people could become unclean at one point or another. But again, the purpose of all these laws is noble: it's to keep the man or woman of God pure before Him.

6) Pillar of Cloud/Fire - these are the sign of God's presence. In Christian worship today, the candle is used to symbolize God's presence. I am reminded of the Easter Vigil service, where the pastor carries the tall paschal candle through the dark church, symbolizing both the deliverance of God's people through the sea, God's presence with His people

7) Complaining: Yes, the people of God are complaining again...

8) Miriam gets leprosy for complaining about Moses - I just point that out as an interesting story. She gets it for complaining about the fact that God speaks directly to him.

9) The Land flowing with milk and honey - sounds great (but sticky). Nevertheless, the people there are apparently gigantic, and the people won't be able to take it as their own. So everyone says forget about it (for now at least).

I think that's enough for tonight. I will finish my notes on numbers in the next couple of days.

Grace and Peace in Christ,
Pastor Nathan