So now that we are done
with Leviticus, we keep moving through the Law, and into the book of Numbers.
And as you might have already guessed, the book of Numbers is full of a bunch
of…wait for it…numbers!! Can you believe that! Originally,
the title of the book wasבְּמִדְבַּר (BaMidbar or BeMidbar),
which is Hebrew for “in the wilderness”, and is taken from the first verse in
the book. Numbers 1:1
—Now the LORD spoke to
Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai… The structure of Numbers alternates between
narratives and exhaustively detailed lists. The lists show that God is a God
who is concerned with details. He doesn't just tell Moses to grab a bunch of
guys to do certain tasks—He mentions these men by name. He doesn't just have
Moses tell the people to gather whatever gifts they want to bring, and bring
them wherever they want whenever they want—He spells out who is to bring what
and when. The narratives show the mercy of God. Even after they complain about
having to eat manna—which is Hebrew for “free food from Heaven, every day”
(well, not really, but that’s what it was)—and He has to kill many of those
people. Even after they complain about Moses and Aaron “taking upon themselves”
the mantle of leadership and He has to send Korah and his sons directly to
Hell. Even after He has to strike Miriam with leprosy for daring to question
the way God ordered things. Even after the people commit harlotry with the
women of Moab. Even after they complain that they can't take the land He
promised and He makes them wander for forty years until that generation died
out. Even after…even after…even after… Even after all these things—these are still His people and He
is still their God!
So, when does this book
begin? Well, we see from the very first verse that these people have been
camped at the bottom of Mt. Sinai for a little over a year. Numbers 1:1—Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai,
in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the
second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt. This is
the first day of the month ofאִיָּר (Iyyar), they have been a year out of
Egypt—which means they’ve been at the bottom of Sinai for nearly fourteen
months. They’ve seen the lightnings and thunders and heard God speak and were
afraid and told Moses, “You talk to Him lest we die”; they’ve built
their golden calf, after which many were put to death and had to drink the
powdered gold ; God has been giving Moses all these rules and commandments and
ordinances. And now God tells Moses to take a count of all the people. Numbers
1:2—“2 Take a census of all the congregation of
the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according
to the number of names, every male individually.” Numbering is a way of showing
ownership, which is why David got in trouble for calling the census at the end
of his life. 2nd Samuel 24:10—And
David's heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to
the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O
LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very
foolishly."
This was one of several
censuses God calls Moses to undertake. A little later He tells Moses to count
all the children from the tribe of Levi, from one month old and above. He would
have a reason for that census, and we’ll talk about that when we get there.
Now, notice something about this census that God commands. He doesn't tell
Moses, “Hey, go out and grab some friends and count the people.” He
tells Moses to number the people “by their
families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every
male individually.” Notice that last word—individually.
By family, by name. This shows that God is a God who knows His
people by name. Does that sound like something Jesus might have said? John
10:2-3—2 “But he who enters by the door is the
shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his
voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them
out.” If you know Christ (or, rather, are known by Him [Galatians 4:9]),
this was not something that just happened. You were known by Christ before even
the world was founded. Listen to Jesus’ words in John 10:14—“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by
My own.” Notice, Jesus does not say “I will know My
sheep.” He says “I know them”.
Present tense. And I don’t think I'm incorrect in saying that the vast majority
of His sheep hadn’t even been born yet. I wasn’t. You certainly
weren’t. If you are reading this, then you came along at least 2000 years after
Jesus said “I know My sheep.” You
were one of the sheep He knew, even 2000 years ago. And He has called you by
name, and you have answered, and He will not lose you.
Numbers 1:3-16—“3 From
twenty years old and above—all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and
Aaron shall number them by their armies. 4 And with you there shall be a man
from every tribe, each one the head of his father's house. 5 These are the names of the men who shall
stand with you: from Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; 6 from Simeon,
Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7 from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; 8
from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; 9 from Zebulun, Eliab the son of
Helon; 10 from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11 from Benjamin, Abidan the son
of Gideoni; 12 from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13 from Asher, Pagiel
the son of Ocran; 14 from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; 15 from Naphtali,
Ahira the son of Enan." 16 These were chosen from the congregation,
leaders of their fathers' tribes, heads of the divisions in Israel. Every tribe sent the head of their tribe, as
listed here. As you will see, there is an order that God commands, as God has
an order for everything. In His order of creation we see that He first created
the heavens and the earth, then He gave it light, then He divided the water
from the land, then the moon and stars, then life in the sea, then creatures
that lived on land, then Man. At
creation, He gave all that man would need, and gave him dominion over those
creatures, and set man over them. But here, He gives orders to set these men
over their armies. And He calls them by name. He always knows His own, and in
Scripture, He calls His own by name. Isaiah 43:1--But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He
who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I
have called you by name; you are Mine!” We belong to Him,
just as the armies of Israel belonged to Him, and He knows us and calls us by
name, just as He knew and called the armies of Israel by name.
These
are men who were called to be warriors. There was land that God had promised to
His people, land that was already inhabited, and the people that lived in these
lands were not just going to give it up without a fight. Today, we are called
to win people to Christ, not by war and fighting, but by spreading the gospel
to people who do not know God, and many of whom don’t care for God and may even
hate God. They have a master, one who, like the inhabitants of the lands the
Israelites were to conquer, does not give ground easily. 2nd
Corinthians 4:4--whose minds the god of this age
has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. Many times in the
New Testament, we are referred to in a militaristic manner. 2nd
Timothy 2:3-4--You therefore must endure
hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles
himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who
enlisted him as a soldier. In Ephesians we are told to wear the full
armor of God. Ephesians 6:13-17—13 Therefore
take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your
waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having
shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all,
taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Many
of the hymns we love speak of our battle.
Onward, Christian Soldiers
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never
failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Does the one hymn say "Onward Christian Daffodils"? Or "A Mighty Civic Center Is Our God"? No. These tell us to be soldiers, and that God is a mighty fortress. We should be ready to go into battle for the gospel--not with arrows and shields, but by the power of God, fully submitted to Him, remembering that the battle is the Lord's (1st Samuel 17:47). Here in Numbers, God is calling all men—not women,
not children, they had to be of a certain age to be considered, by God, to be
ready for this service—into service, much like in 1st Timothy, where
Paul relates that a pastor must be not a novice,
lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil
(1st Timothy 3:6). When one is too young, or too new in the
faith, and is given too great a position, he can think that he deserves it, can
become arrogant, and take himself too seriously, instead of submitting himself
to the word, and the authority, of God. Likewise here, males for service in the
army of Israel were not to be youngsters, or adolescents, or teenagers, but
were to be fully grown and mature, lest they think they are better than their
leaders or better than what they truly are.
Numbers
1:17-19—17 Then Moses and Aaron took these men who had been
mentioned by name, 18 and they assembled all the congregation together on the
first day of the second month; and they recited their ancestry by families, by
their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old
and above, each one individually. 19 As
the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai. Notice,
this is the second day of the first month, the very day the Tabernacle was
erected (Numbers1:1). Just as God commanded the people to come out of
Egypt quickly and to not delay, here He does not delay, either. He knew these
people would resort to being a lazy people if given the chance (see Exodus
32:1). And because there were so many people to prepare, all who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand
five hundred and fifty. So He wanted to get them numbered, mustered and
ready for battle. And so we must be ready. 1st Peter 3:15—But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be
ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is
in you. That is why we must always be in the word, reading it, studying
it, so we may give that answer when needed.
The next verses, from verse 20 through verse 44, are
simply relating the numbers from each of the twelve tribes, so we will skip
those verses, and pick up at verse 45. Numbers 1:45-51—45 So all who were numbered of the children of Israel, by
their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go
to war in Israel—46 all who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand
five hundred and fifty. 47 But the Levites were not numbered among them by
their fathers' tribe; 48 for the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying: 49
"Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them
among the children of Israel; 50 but you shall appoint the Levites over the
tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that
belong to it; they shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they
shall attend to it and camp around the tabernacle. 51 And when the tabernacle
is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to
be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The outsider who comes near shall be
put to death. 603,550 men, age 20 and older. But we see the Levites left
out. Why? Simple. They were to be the priests to God, to go between men and
God. And He did not want these men entangled in military combat. Because
military service did not involve only going into battle, but also training,
which usually took up more time than the fighting itself. And what was the main
duty of the priests? Preparing the sacrifices of the people to God. And there
was a lot to remember about these sacrifices; they had to be done properly,
they had to divide the animals in certain ways depending on what the sacrifice
was for, then there was the actual slaughtering of the animals, burning them on
the altar, and let’s not forget carrying the waste and the skeletons out of the
camp.
Plus, another thing to consider, these were the men
who made peace between God and man, they could not be seen as men of war. This
is exactly why God told David not to build Him a temple. 1st
Chronicles 28:3—“But God said to me, ‘No David, you must
not build a house for my name. You must not do that because you are a
soldier, and you have killed many men.’” Likewise, we Christian men should not try
to force others into the kingdom of God by violent force. Which is why we are
given many admonitions in the New Testament about our conduct toward those who
are outside of Christ. Colossians 4:5-6—5
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your
speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you
ought to answer each one. 1st Peter 4:3-4—3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing
the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness,
revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these,
they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of
dissipation, speaking evil of you. James 1:19-20—19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift
to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce
the righteousness of God. The
world will not listen to what we say about Christ if we try to bludgeon them
over the head with a Bible.
One more thing, God calls those whom He will, for one
reason—because that is the way He wants it. Like in Acts 6:1-4—1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was
multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists,
because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the
twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not
desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore,
brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the
Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will
give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word."
Men in 11 of the tribes of Israel were to fight for His people, but His
priests—the Levites—were to stay behind to do the work of bringing His people
closer to Him. Likewise, the Apostles
were to go out, taking the message of Christ to the world—to both Jew and
Gentile—but the deacons were to serve the church locally, that the Apostles may
not be ensnared with micromanaging the local congregation, but that they may
devote themselves to studying and teaching the word of God.
Then in the
last sentence of the last verse we see that only the Levites are to go near the
Tabernacle. The outsider who comes near
shall be put to death. Why?
Because it was in the innermost part of this massive tent that the priest—and
only the High Priest at that—was to speak with God, and that on only one day
out of the year. Remember when God was speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai? Exodus
19:12—You shall set bounds for the people all
around, saying, 'Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain
or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
God sets boundaries. He has to. Otherwise, a creature may get too close, and
they would die. Exodus 33:20—But He said,
"You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live."
God does not set these boundaries to be a big, bad ogre who wants to stifle
your freedoms. He does it to protect you and to keep you safe.
In an article published by the American Society of Landscape Architects, they cited a study of playgrounds, and they discovered a difference between those that had a fence and those that didn’t:
A simple study was conducted to discover the effects of a fence around a playground and the consequent impact it would have on preschool children. Teachers were to take their children to a local playground in which there was no fence during their normal recess hour. The kids were to play as normal. The same group was to be taken to a comparable playground in which there was a defined border designated by a fence. In the first scenario, the children remained huddled around their teacher, fearful of leaving out of her sight. The later scenario exhibited drastically different results, with the children feeling free to explore within the given boundaries. The overwhelming conclusion was that with a given limitation, children felt safer to explore a playground. Without a fence, the children were not able to see a given boundary or limit and thus were more reluctant to leave the caregiver. With a boundary, in this case the fence, the children felt at ease to explore the space. They were able to separate from the caregiver and continue to develop in their sense of self while still recognizing that they were in a safe environment within the limits of the fence.
(https://www.asla.org/awards/2006/studentawards/282.html)
We do
better with boundaries. Thus, we do
better with God. Because God sets those boundaries, and we can trust that He
knows what He is doing. He doesn’t act on impulse, He always has a reason for
doing what He does, and sometimes we need Him to show us that don’t need what
we think we need, or what we want. And as you read through the Bible, you will
see that His ways are best, because “For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My
thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.
