Numbers Introduction Bible Teaching

Numbers is the fourth book in order of the Pentateuch (or the Law) or the first five books of the Tanakh, also known as the Law of Moses. It has been called NUMBERS because it contains an account of numbering the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness toward the land promised to them or “the promised land.”

Its English name is derived from the Vulgate Latin, “Numeri,” which is a literal translation of the Greek word “ariymoi,” which is the title it has in the Septuagint, causing us to call it “numeration,” in the Anglo-Saxon.

I made an earlier mistake assigning the title to represent the whole book – embarrassingly, it doesn’t – just the first three chapters – and then the 26th is their numeration.

After this, the book recounts the Nation in specific instances in the wilderness.

The First Chapter

The Census Command

So let’s work through the first seven chapters and in the first chapter we read:

Numbers 1:1-4

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
2 Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls (heads);
3 From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.
4 And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.

The Census Results

The tally winds up being:

• Simeon: 59,300 (verses 22-23)
• Gad: 45,650 (verses 24-25)
• Judah: 74,600 (verses 26-27)
• Issachar: 54,400 (verses 28-29)
• Zebulun: 57,400 (verses 30-31)
• Ephraim: 40,500 (verses 32-33)
• Manasseh: 32,200 (verses 34-35)
• Benjamin: 35,400 (verses 36-37)
• Dan: 62,700 (verses 38-39)
• Asher: 41,500 (verses 40-41)
• Naphtali: 53,400 (verses 42-43)

And then verses 44-46 give us the total of qualified men in Israel altogether, from twenty years old and upward (and therefore able to go to war): 603,550.

Add in wives and children, and we are way over a million plus people. From one man, Abraham, and the wife of his youth, Sarah.

The Levites

You might have noticed that the Levites are not numbered with the tribes because they were dedicated to the service of God (and not to war) and those services are described from verse 47 to 54 of the first chapter.

Chapter Two: Camp Arrangements

The Camp Layout

Chapter two lays out how they were to camp around the tabernacle and the order in which they were to march forth.

In the center of the camp was the Tent of Meeting [also called the Lord’s Tabernacle], which was surrounded by the different families of Aaron’s sons on three sides of it. The Levites were the only tribe that was allowed to camp any closer to the Tent of Meeting or tabernacle.

Numbers 2:1-2

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:
2 “The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family.”

Clearly, from this text we see that each tribe, and probably each family, had its own banner or flag. There is no description in the Bible of what these tribal or family banners looked like.

The Camp Arrangement

Numbers 2:3-31

‘On the east… the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard… The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them… The tribe of Zebulun will be next.

On the south will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard… The tribe of Simeon will camp next to them…The tribe of Gad will be next.

Then the Tent of Meeting and the camp of the Levites will set out in the middle of the camps. They will set out in the same order as they encamp, each in his own place under his standard.

On the west will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard… The tribe of Manasseh will be next to them… The tribe of Benjamin will be next.

On the north will be the divisions of the camp of Dan, under their standard…The tribe of Asher will camp next to them…The tribe of Naphtali will be next.’

This was also the marching order of the 12 tribes: those who camped in the east set out first, followed by the tribes who camped on the south. Then the Levites who camped in the center and carried the Tent of Meeting and all the holy items set out next. Then the tribes who camped on the west set out, and finally, the three tribes who camped on the north side set out as the rear guard.

Visualizing the Camp

So, this is what the camp looked like:
(Insert visual aid here)

Chapter Three: The Levites and Sons of Aaron

Genealogy and Duties

In chapter three we read about the Levites and the sons of Aaron. Specifically, there are some passages worthy of further study.

Numbers 3:1-4

1 These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai.
2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.
4 And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father.

Priestly Duties

Then from verse 5-10 some of the general stuff the Levites were over is mentioned but at verse 10 we read an interesting line, saying:

Numbers 3:10

10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

I am personally convinced that this was a type for strangers to God, unwashed in that day and unbelieving in the heavens above, who attempt to access the Kingdom through any other means than what God has prescribed. The result? Death.

Counting the Levites

From verse 11 through 39 the Lord describes the duties of each of Aaron’s sons in the tabernacle and tells Moses to count them – which he does – and they number 22 thousand even.

Counting the Firstborn

Then at verse 42 Yahavah tells Moses to count the firstborn among all of Israel, from one month and up. Why? We read a reiteration of why at verse 41 where Yahavah says:

Numbers 3:41

41 And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am Yahavah) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.

And their number was 22,273. So, then Yahavah says, for all the firstborn that are more than the Levites (who had become His people), they were to pay 5 shekels to the Levites – so 5 shekels to be paid to the Levites for the 273 firstborn Israelites.

The Levites’ Role

Do you remember what this is about? Originally God intended for all Jewish first-born sons to serve Him in the Temple. They were inducted into this service when God spared them from the Plague of the Firstborn in Egypt. However, when they sinned with the Golden Calf at Sinai, the first-borns lost their status and the Tribe of Levi, who did not sin in that way, replaced the first-borns and became the Tribe exempt from warfare and dedicated to working in the Holy Temple as God’s priestly class.

So, the last verse of chapter 3 (51) reads:

Numbers 3:51

51 And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of Yahavah as Yahavah commanded Moses.

Chapter Four: Service and Retirement

Sons of Aaron

The Sons of Aaron would serve in the temple from 30 to 50 years of age and would then retire, according to chapter 4. These sons were Kohath, Gershom, and Merari who totaled over 8 thousand men (who are counted in chapter 4 where God

rehearses their duties through Moses).

Chapter Five: Purity in the Camp

Expelling the Unclean

In chapter five, Yahavah begins to reiterate how to purify the camp and he begins by having them expel those sick with leprosy, which we have discussed in the past, was a picture for sin.

The Ordeal of Jealousy

But at verse 11 we come to one of the more amazing practices among them that we should discuss – it’s called the ordeal of jealousy by some.

Numbers 5:11-31

11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;
14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:
15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:
17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:
18 And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:
19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
20 But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:
21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;
22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.
23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:
24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.
25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:
26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.
27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.
31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

Almost sounds out the gates like a Salem Witch Trial test, you know, “Ye old waters of jealousy test!” How horrible, some say. Demeaning to woman. Punitive and barbaric. In our world it certainly sounds like it, right? But let’s try and put ourselves in this world culture, including where they were coming out from and then decide.

Cultural Context

We can begin by explaining that women anciently, being less physically strong than males, were often dismissed and seen as second-class citizens in most cultures. Even in our present world, women readily experience these attitudes at the hand of some males. It’s an age-old struggle. Seeing women as their property, jealousy in males, especially in that day and culture, was often expressed through violence, other brutalities, and even murder. Being physically weaker, women were often mistreated and abused by the jealous mind of man whether guilty or innocent. Do women get jealous? Of course, but usually it is expressed differently and even if violently, it is typically not as dangerous and violent as male jealousy, especially in that day.

Adultery and Jealousy

Like it, or understand it or not, anciently, men were able to have relationships with other unmarried or unbetrothed women but never with other men’s wives. Women were forbidden from such – no lovers, married or not. One husband with that husband being defined by the One that she only has sexual intercourse with. There is a reason that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession. Generally speaking, males are dogs.

Protection for Women

If an Israelite man insisted that his wife was unfaithful—but had no proof—he could bring her to the tabernacle to undergo a test God instilled among them. Sounds barbaric? But in that day and in other cultures, he could just beat her to death. So, God says, “No, no! None of that nonsense. I’m gonna give you a simple go-to to keep the peace and to protect society and innocent women. This is what you are all gonna do.”

And the priest would create a concoction of some sort which contained nothing in it that would harm an innocent woman – understand that – drinking it would not make an innocent woman ill in the least. The wife would recite an oath and drink the mixture. If she was guilty, however, her stomach swelled and she became sick. If that didn’t happen her innocence was made known and she was vindicated.

Adultery Punishment

Leviticus 20:10 tells us that adultery could be punished by death, so this made it really simple to exonerate the innocent wife and should be seen as a gift, not a barbaric test.

Some have suggested that the ill-effects on her were sterility based on Numbers 5:28 because if she was innocent she would be able to still bear children.

Sorcery and Misinterpretations

Some believe that this was a practice in sorcery which is prohibited specifically in (Deuteronomy 18:9–13) and others have suggested that that was the way God would cause an abortion within her but neither of these ideas are proven by the text. Certainly, this practice is wild and weird to us today but let’s not lose sight of the fact that the rite protected women from husbands who were overly aggressive or hasty in their judgments, offering them an escape not otherwise afforded them. It also may have helped suspicious men from going to warlocks and wizards who would use magic to reveal if their suspicions were on point. So just as the Mosaic Law and its procedures were intended to protect women in cases of arbitrary divorce, so was this in place to protect them from jealous husbands.

Divine Intervention

I don’t believe that there was anything magical about the concoction the priest would make to determine guilt or innocence any more than there was magic in the lots they would cast. Because an innocent woman would not react in the least to this test, I also suggest that the ingredients were benign and that it was Yahavah who would use this rite to expose the innocent and the guilty.

There is the idea that this process would also work directly on the conscience where fear weighs in heavy, and we see a similar thing happening in other tests which we will come across later.

Numbers 32:23 plainly presents the biblical premise, “Your sin will find you out.” This may have been an aid to making this happen.

Misinterpretations and Modern Views

As an aside, the 2011 NIV errantly translates these passages with a reference to miscarriage which is why some suggest that this was an ancient “morning after pill.” But the same Hebrew term used is later used to describe other injuries to other parts of the human anatomy and “miscarriage” is, from what I can tell, the result of reading into the text.

In the most troubling of possible results, it seems that the passage implies the possibility of future infertility. In the ancient world, pagan spells were common to decipher and produce convictions. Just like the magic men in Egypt replicating Moses’ miracles, it is possible that this was the way men in Israel were handling matters and that this was a way to put such things to an end.

So that is the rite of Je

alousy. Mysterious, yes. Altogether fair? Not really but in that age, a gift.

Chapter Six: Nazarite Vows

The Nazarite Vow

In Chapter Six, we read all about Nazarite vows and then the chapter ends with a song that we used to sing at Calvary Chapel led by Chuck Smith.

Numbers 6:2-8

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:
3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.
7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.
8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.

Although there is no mention of any Nazarite before Samson, it seems that they existed even before the time of Moses. The Hebrew word, nazir, means to consecrate or separate or dedicate oneself to something and the vow was typically made for a period of time. This vow was a symbol of a life devoted to God so therefore it would be a life separated from all sin including defilement from things and attitudes that bring pride.

Elements of the Vow

As we have read, the vow of a Nazarite involved these three things:

1. Abstinence from wine and strong drink and anything from the vine.
2. Refraining from cutting the hair off the head during the whole period of the continuance of the vow.
3. The avoidance of contact with the dead.

Then when the period of the vow came to an end, the Nazarite had to present himself at the door of the sanctuary with:

1. A he-lamb of the first year for a burnt offering.
2. A ewe lamb of the first year for a sin offering.
3. A ram for a peace offering.

After these sacrifices were offered by the priest, the Nazarite cut off his hair at the door and threw it into the fire under the peace offering.

Paul’s Nazarite Vows

For some reason, probably in the midst of his work at Corinth, Paul took on himself the Nazarite vow. This could only be terminated by his going up to Jerusalem to offer up the hair which till then was to be left uncut. However, it seems to have been allowable for persons at a distance to cut the hair, which was to be brought up to Jerusalem, where the ceremony was completed. And this is what Acts 18:18 says Paul did at Cenchrea just before setting out on his voyage into Syria.

Then, according to Acts 21:23-26 at the feast of Pentecost, Paul took on another Nazarite vow. In that setting, Paul ran out of time, but the Law allowed a man to “share the vow” with others in terms of participation and paying fees.

Shared Vows

In this situation, four Jewish Christians were performing the vow, and would admit Paul to their company, provided he paid their expenses. Paul consented, paid the charges, and when the last seven days of the vow began, he went with them to live in the temple, giving the usual notice to the priests that he had joined in regular fashion, was a sharer with the four men, and that his vow would end with theirs.

Apparently, people who took the Nazarite vow would stay in the temple during the last period of seven days because they could be secure there against any accidental defilement.

The length of the vow was determined by each individual or group of individuals.

Lifelong Nazarites

That said, there are three examples of individuals who were Nazarites for life: Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist. Usually, however, a vow would last minimally 30 days and maximally 100.

A Psalm of Blessing

At verse 22-26, we read the text of what I see as a Psalm of blessing:

Numbers 6:22-26

22 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

And chapter six ends with:

Numbers 6:27

27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

Chapter Seven: Offerings of the Princes

The Princes’ Offerings

Then in chapter 7, which is 89 verses long, we read about the Princes of Israel, who were the head of each of the twelve tribes, bringing wagons full of gifts to the Levites at the tabernacle.

Long and detailed, but the chapter ends with a verse we will end with today which says:

Numbers 7:89

89 And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.

Fulfillment of a Promise

This was the fulfillment of a Promise Yahavah gave to Moses all the way back in Exodus 25:22 where we read:

Exodus 25:22

“And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”

God’s Manifestation

Notice that Moses heard the voice of one speaking unto him but saw no similitude – only he heard a voice. In this way, God chose to manifest himself during that dispensation until the fullness of the time came, in which the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Remember, no man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Here, God spoke to Moses from the mercy seat, giving him oracular answers as IF Moses spoke with Him “face to face.”

Conclusion

This caused the writer of Hebrews to open his epistle up and say:

“God, who had at sundry times, and in divers manners, SPOKE in times past to the fathers by the prophets, but has in these last days, SPOKEN unto us by his Son.”

No more need for prophets. After the establishment of His Kingdom above, no more need for Apostles, or any man to say, “know the Lord, know the Lord,” because God now speaks to all, especially to all of His Children by faith, in whom He has written His law and whom He governs by the Spirit.

To walk in this is the most liberating, beautiful, incomprehensible experience if we would all allow Him to directly be our God and listen and follow and serve no other.