Numbers records the 40-year wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness from Mount Sinai to the Moab Plain in the east of Jordan.
We can see from Exodus that the Israelites are saved because they are the people of God, and God gave them laws to make them truly become the people of God, which symbolizes the completion of the sacred curtain that God is with them. Through Leviticus, we know how to use the holy screen, in other words, the way people come to God to communicate with him.
So, what's the next stage? That is to March into the promised land of Canaan. The Hebrew title of the number means "in the wilderness". At the beginning of Numbers, chapter 1, section 1 says, "The Lord said to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the tent of meeting." Now cross the wilderness and enter the land of Canaan. God instructed Moses to count the number of people who were "over twenty years old and could go out to fight". The number of people counted is 603550. God ordered them to organize into four teams, each leading three tribes, and each team selected a representative tribe and named it after the tribe. Each team is called the camp of Judah, the camp of Reuben, the camp of Dan and the camp of Ephraim.
According to the orientation map of their March, each camp took Shengping as the center and camped against Shengping. In the direction of the holy tent, the camp of Judah is in front, the camp of Reuben is on the right, but the camp of Dan is on the left, and the camp of Ephraim is behind. Each battalion has its own flag. According to legend, the image of a lion is painted on the flag of the front-line Judas camp, which is based on Jacob's prediction that "Judas is a little lion" (Gen. 49: 9). Putting the Jewish camp at the forefront also has profound historical significance. Biblical numbers say, "In the east, to the sunrise, the banner of the camp of Judah should be encamped according to the army" (2: 3), which is in line with Malachi's saying that "the sun of righteousness will rise and its light will heal" (3:4). "In the east, facing the sunrise" means that the righteous sun will come from the tribe of Judah.
The atmosphere of numbers is very different from the Leviticus we analyzed before. In Numbers, we not only saw the troops, battalions and flags, but also heard the loud horn to command the army (10: 1- 10).
What preparations does the Lord's army need to make to cross the wilderness now? You don't need any preparation, you just need to believe God's promise and move forward with confidence. The only thing we need is "faith", fight a beautiful battle of faith and give glory to God. This is the big theme of numbers. The Bible says, "They camped at the command of the Lord and set out at the command of the Lord. They kept what the Lord commanded, as the Lord commanded Moses. (9: 23) The mission of God's army is to obey God's commands and obey and obey God's commands.
"In the second year on February 20th, cloud came out from the tent to testify. So the Israelites moved forward and left the wilderness of Sinai "(10:11-12). God finally gave the order to start. They left Mount Sinai and walked for three days. The ark of the Lord went forward for three days (10: 33). The poet sang, "God, you went out before your people and walked in the wilderness. (Psalm 68: 7) The author of this poem is too excited to go on. It is also recorded in the Book of Numbers that when the ark went forward, Moses said, "Get up, Lord! May your enemies be scattered, and those who hate you leave you. When the ark stopped, he said, Lord, please return to the thousands of Israel! " "(Min 10: 35-36)
Here, we can see that the morale of God's army is high. But, brothers, let's see what section 10 of chapter 1 1 says. The Bible says, "All the people grumbled, and their evil words reached the ears of the Lord. When the Lord heard this, he was angry and made a fire burn among them, reaching to the border of the camp. At that time, the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire went out. Before long, however, they began to complain again-"the idle people among them became greedy, and the Israelis cried again." Who will give us meat to eat? " ( 1 1:4)
Compared with God's goodness and faithfulness, numbers are full of human disbelief, dissatisfaction and complaints. 12 recorded a scene in which Miriam, Moses' sister, and Aaron, Moses' brother, did not believe. Chapter 16 recorded the scene of 250 patriarchs meeting with Korah. In chapter 20, even Moses made an unbelievable mistake in the complaints of those people. God accused Moses and Aaron of saying, "You don't believe me, and you don't sanctify me in the eyes of the Israelites ..." (20:12). As a result, Moses could only look out over the land of Canaan and couldn't go in.
The core chapter of the number is 14. This chapter is a dividing point, which divides the old generation and the new generation. When they came to the wilderness of Paran, they sent spies to spy out the land of Canaan. In fact, they should believe that if they keep going up, God's promise will come naturally. Later, Moses recalled that he sent spies to spy out the land of Canaan at the request of the people (Deuteronomy 1: 19-23). He hopes that these spies will bring courage to the weak people when they come back. However, ten of the twelve patriarchs reported bad news with unbelief and incited people to disbelief. Even if the letter they reported is true, they don't have the word God in their mouths. It's all with the naked eye. Joshua and Caleb, who were traveling together, must have seen the giants of the Anakim family there, but they did not look at the strong giants and the fortified cities, but looked up to God with confident eyes, so they said confidently, "But you should not betray the Lord or be afraid of the inhabitants of the land, for they are our food. (14: 9) As a result, the Israelites, the older generation over 20 years old, were counted, and those who could fight failed to enter the promised land.
How do numbers witness Christ? In the life in the wilderness, nectar and running water are two basic elements that can't be taken with one day. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said in the sixth chapter that he is manna, and in the seventh chapter that he is the water of life, which shows that "manna and living water" are related to the Ministry of Christ. Numbers also reveals Christ's "escape from the city" (Chapter 35), in which the suffering people "escape to the refuge and hold on to the hope ahead of us" (Hebrews 6: 18). The Lord Jesus personally witnessed that "as Moses lifted the snake in the wilderness, so will the Son of Man be lifted up, so that all who believe in him may have eternal life" (John 3: 14- 15, man 2 1: 9).
So, what is the faith of redemption? Numbers tell the answer through historical experience. Brothers, why did God's army wander in the wilderness for forty years? Why did the body of the God Army fall in the wilderness? Hebrews gives us a clear explanation-"Who (God) swore not to let them enter his rest? Isn't it just for those who don't listen? In this way, they can't rest in peace because of unbelief. " (Hebrews 3: 18- 19) They ended up like this because they did not obey or believe, that is, they did not "obey by faith".
So, what confidence do you have to enter the land of Canaan? In other words, what is the confidence of salvation? It was "obedience out of faith" that Joshua and Caleb obeyed out of faith, but the other ten patriarchs did not. This is what the Holy Spirit wants to say to us through numbers.
When they arrived in the plains of Moab, the LORD ordered a second census (Chapter 26). The number of people counted is 60 1730. Forty years later, their number actually decreased. When they were in Egypt, the Egyptians "tortured them more, and they increased and spread more" (Exodus 1: 12), but now it is very different, showing how barren the fruit of disobedient life is. The Bible says, "They counted the Israelites in the plains of Moab across from Jericho by the Jordan. But none of those who were counted were the Israelites counted by Moses and Aaron the priest in the desert of Sinai. (26: 63-64) After that, God said to Moses, "When you have seen it, you shall also go to your fathers." (27: 13) Moses' feelings at that time can be imagined. Moses kept silent on this matter. He only said, "May the Lord, the God of all souls, appoint a man to rule the congregation so that he can go in and out before them and guide them, lest the congregation of the Lord be like a flock without a shepherd." (27: 16- 17) God appointed Joshua as the successor of Moses. Here, Moses' prayer "set up a person to manage the congregation ... lest the congregation of the Lord be like sheep without a shepherd" leads us to the real shepherd Jesus Christ, "when you see many people, have pity on them, because they are like sheep without a shepherd" (Kyle Gospel 6: 34).
Moses, the representative of the law, failed to lead the Israelites into Canaan after all, so he had to pass the baton to Joshua (Jesus).
think deeply
1. What do you think of the phrase "people over 20 can go out to fight" and call them "the army"?
2. Who do they obey?
3. How do numbers reveal Christ? What is the faith of salvation?