Why the Book of Numbers Matters for Your Faith (Numbers 1-10:10)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

What is the Book of Numbers all about?

“Numbers is the English translation of the Greek title of the book Arithmoi, a title no doubt given to it because of the census returns found in chapters 1-4 and 26.”^[1] According to Timothy Ashley, the Book of Numbers has three main parts, “Orientation (1:1–10:10), Disorientation (10:11–22:1), and New Orientation (22:2–36:13).”^[2]  Ashley notes, “The opening section of Numbers sets out God’s ideal structure and order for the people and the camp. The second section sets out the disintegration of order to chaos, and the third the remaking of a structured society through reestablishing, in modified ways, the order that had been lost.”^[3]

The first ten chapters of Numbers are all about the Israelites' preparation for leaving the Sinai Desert. Now that Israel is wedded to God through their covenant on Mount Sinai, they’re about to find out what marriage to him involves. This marriage union went both ways. Roy Gane writes, “The vows [God] had given were not only for Israel to keep; they were his vows too. When he had said, ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ (Ex. 20:3)—the equivalent of ‘forsaking all others’—he not only forbade polytheism, but he also pledged himself to be Israel’s God.”^[4] This is how God’s covenants always work. He asks, but he gives far more in return.

Unfortunately, after this exchange of vows, Israel showed her total disregard for this covenantal union, leaving Roy Gane to write:

While the divine Groom lavished care on his bride, bringing her breakfast in bed (manna), protecting her from danger (e.g., poisonous snakes in the Sinai peninsula), and literally hovering over her (in the Shekinah cloud), she grumbled about the food, blamed his appointed representative (Moses) when anything went wrong, and kept saying she would rather return to the abusive home she had left (Egypt) to find a different husband. ^[5]

Numbers 1-10 help us better understand the character of God. Through seemingly insignificant sections such as a public census in Chapter 1, the arrangement of camps in Chapter 2, and duties for the priests in Chapter 3, God is systematically revealing himself to his people, preparing them to enter the promised land so they can be a blessing to all nations.  

A Meditation to PRAY

Praise | Lord, thank you for your covenantal love, and that union with you is a two-way street. Not only do I pledge myself to you, but you promise to be there for me. You will never leave or forsake me, and I find my total security in you today.

Release | Forgive me for times when I doubt your love and live as though you’ve done nothing for me. I so easily forget your goodness and desperately need your mercy.

Ask | Renew my confidence and delight in you today. When my love for you grows cold, and I’m only going through the motions, speak to me and take me to a deeper level of intimacy with you.

Yield | I yield my wandering mind to you today.

A Challenge to Act Like Christ  

After Numbers 1 opens with, “The Lord spoke to Moses,” this is a line we see repeated throughout this book. It reminds us of God’s involvement in human affairs and says something about God’s relationship with us today.

Moses serves as the mediator between God and man.

“Yet with the advent of Jesus Christ, the Word of God itself became flesh and tabernacled among us (John 1:14). Because no one knows God more intimately than his Son, it is Christ, the long-awaited new and greater Moses (Deut. 18:15; John 1:17), who has made God known most fully (John 1:18).”^[6]

While portions of Numbers might seem random or unrelated to our lives, we must not lose sight of where this book fits into the grand narrative of God’s redemptive plan. Each book of the Bible is like a different puzzle piece that helps us understand the fuller picture of who God is and how he relates to his people. As Gordon Wenham writes, “Numbers, like other parts of Scripture, does not attempt to paint a detailed portrait of God’s character. Nevertheless in its laws and narrative certain traits emerge very clearly.”^[7]

It's up to us to mine these deep truths and see the implications they hold for our present age.

^[1]Gordon J. Wenham, Numbers: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 4 of Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. IVP/Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1981), 13.

^[2]Timothy R. Ashley, The Book of Numbers, Second Edition, New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022), 10.

^[3]Timothy R. Ashley, The Book of Numbers, Second Edition, New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022), 10.

^[4]Roy Gane, Leviticus, Numbers, The NIV Application Commentary. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 471.

^[5]Roy Gane, Leviticus, Numbers, The NIV Application Commentary. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 471.

^[6]Bryan Chapell, eds. Gospel Transformation Study Bible Notes. Accordance electronic ed. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), paragraph 879.

^[7]Gordon J. Wenham, Numbers: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 4 of Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. IVP/Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1981), 45.