Numbers 9: Beautiful Scene of Obedience

Chapters 9 and 10 of Numbers record rare incidents of full obedience of the Israelites. Some people were longing to participate in worshiping God. The entire Israelites followed the LORD’s direction in camping and setting out. We also see a “continuous” presence of God, which reflects His faithfulness and steadfastness.

Summary

In the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses to command the Israelites to observe the Passover.

The sons of Israel observed their first Passover since they had come out of the land of Egypt. Those that were clean observed the Passover at the appointed time on the fourteenth day of the first month. About a month later, those who were unclean because of the dead person observed the Passover in the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight. However, those who were clean but deliberately neglected to observe the Passover shall be cut off from the people, the LORD commanded.

Since the day the tabernacle was erected, the LORD led the Israelites by the cloud and the pillar of fire.The Israelites kept the LORD’s charge, according to the command of the LORD through Moses.

Proactive Participation

How much do we yearn to participate in the fellowship with and worship of the LORD? I believe there is an important lesson for us from these men who were initially not allowed to participate in the Passover because of their previous contact with a dead body.

The initial rule on the Passover was that those who were unclean (i.e. through touching a dead body) were not allowed to participate in the Passover. However, this initial rule would not deter certain men who were unclean from raising their honest voice and expressing their desire to participate in the Passover, a great event associated with God’s miraculous deliverance of His people.

Note their proactiveness and desire to participate in the Passover. For those who despised the Passover, they could have taken this excuse not to participate in the Passover. However, they showed proactiveness and their uncleanness would not deter them from participating in the Passover (Numbers 9:6-7). These men came to Moses and Aaron and politely raised their voice that their exclusion from the Passover was unfair – a fair point because they could have experienced death within their extended family, which was outside of their control.

Moses, being a humble leader, asked (Numbers 9:8) the LORD for His guidance. God the LORD, who listens to our every prayer and request, responded in a fair manner (Numbers 9:9-14). God provided a solution and clarified the Passover. God told them to keep the Passover a month later. Then, God clarified that the Passover participation encompassed both the native and sojourners.

Because of their proactiveness to participate in the LORD’s Passover, the LORD God gave them a solution and also clarified the scope of the Passover.

Let’s be proactive in participating in the fellowship with and the worship of our God!

Majestic Scene and Intricate Care: Cloud and Fire

After the Passover was kept by the Israelites in their full obedience, God manifested Himself through the cloud on the day and the appearance of fire in the evening (Numbers 9:15)

Source: https://tcf-spain.org/sermons/the-pillar-of-cloud-and-the-pillar-of-fire/

Imagine this majestic scene of fire as if you were a young child with your family at night. This was not just the majestic scene. In the wilderness, it was dry on the day and on the night the temperature dropped precipitously. The cloud on the day surrounded God’s people with coolness and moisture in the dry and weary land of wilderness. Pillars of fire at night provided warmer temperatures to dampen the effect of a plummeting temperature. In the majestic scene of God was the intricate care for His people. He provided a cozy climate for His people as if an eagle carried its young (Exodus 19:14).

Continuously

So it was continuously; the cloud would cover it by day, and the appearance of fire by night

Numbers 9:16

The word “continuously” stood out. This term rhymes well with one of the key characteristics of God: His steadfastness.

God led His people steadfastly and continuously with protection whether the Israelites were aware of or not. Even when they were not aware of God’s presence, God continuously protected and led His people.

Likewise, God has led and protected you continuously even if you were unaware of it. Let this sink in.

Father Heart of God

There seems to be a lot of redundancies from Numbers 9:18 to 9:23, which can be summarized into a single sentence: At the command of the LORD they camped and set out. Then, why was the main point repeated multiple times, although these verses were saying essentially explaining the same action by the Israelites?

I believe this was the reflection of the Father Heart of God on His beloved children, the Israelites. Moses was pleased to see the Israelites fully obeying the direction of God provided by the cloud and fire in camping and setting out. God also was pleased (perhaps, overwhelmed with joy) when they fully obeyed. It is like a father recording all the actions of his children whom he deeply loves. God wanted this to be vividly, repeatedly expressed to be imprinted in His heart, and also to let everyone know this.

Numbers 8: A Living Sacrifice Holy to the LORD

It is important to dedicate yourself to the LORD both privately and publicly. It is important to dedicate yourself to the LORD in your prime life. It is also important to dedicate yourself, along with others, as a unified body of Christ to the LORD. These are the main lessons from the dedication of the Levite tribe to the LORD in Numbers 8.

Summary

The LORD spoke to Moses to speak to Aaron to set up the seven lamps in front of the lampstand. Then, the LORD commanded Moses to dedicate the Levites to Him.

Let’s break the chapter down by who, what, where, when, how, and why to draw insights from each element.

Who

That the entire Isrealites and the LORD participated in this public dedication signified the importance of this unifying event. The main players in this chapter are as follows: the Levites, Moses, Aaron, the entire Israelites, and the LORD. Moses and Aaron helped Levites to be cleansed and be presented to the LORD publically.

What

The main topic of the chapter is a cleansing of the Levites, followed by a public dedication of the Levites.

Where

The dedication of the Levites was likely to have taken place in the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers 9:1).

When

This took place a little bit before the first month of the second year (Numbers 9:10). This means that the cleaning and the dedication took place approximately a little bit less than a year after the first Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea.

How

The majority of the chapter is devoted to explaining the details of how the Levites were dedicated. The dedication ceremony was both private and public.

Private purification was the first part of the dedication (Numbers 8:7). The Levites were taken by Moses and they were cleansed by Moses with purifying water. They shaved their whole body and washed their clothes and presented grain and sin offerings privately.

Public ceremony was the second part of the dedication. This public ceremony was presented before the LORD with the entire Israelites. Note that the entire nation of Israel participated in this ceremony;

1) The sons of Israelites laid their hands on the Levites; 2) the Levites were presented as a wave offering to the LORD; 3) the Levites laid their hands on the head of the bull for the offering and to make atonement or the Levites; 4) The Levites were offered as a wave offering the second times.

Note that the Levites were offered to the LORD twice as a wave offering. This was how the Levites were wholly given to the LORD and they belonged to the LORD (Numbers 8:16).

It was the gift of God for the Levites to be wholly dedicated. It was the privilege to perform the service and make atonement for the Levites on behalf of the rest of the Israelites.

Why

Why were these steps important?

This dedication ceremony was important for the Levites themselves privately and for the Israelites publicly. First, all the detailed steps of dedication were to qualify the Levites to perform the services of the LORD (Numbers 8:11). Second, the Levites were dedicated to make atonement for the entire Israelites so that there would be no plague among the Israelites when they come near the sanctuary (Numbers 8:19).

In other words, the Levites “sacrificed” themselves so that the rest of the Israelites could worship the LORD near the sanctuary freely.

Immediate application: are you serving yourself as a bridge for others to be connected to the LORD God?

Romans 12: A Living Sacrifice (a singular sacrifice, not plural sacrifices)

It is difficult not to draw a comparison between Numbers 8 and Romans 12. Apostle Paul urged Christians in Rome to “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship (Romans 12:1).”

The Levites were offered as a wave offering (Numbers 8:13). Note the use of plural and singular in both Numbers and Romans verses. The Levites and your bodies were plural. However, “a wave offering” and “a living sacrifice” were singular. Insight: although we are distinct, separate individuals in Christ, when we were offered to the LORD, we were offered as a single living sacrifice before the LORD.

Dedicate the Best Part of Your Life to the LORD

The Levites were to serve the LORD, starting from 25 and retiring at the age of 50. What was the significance of this?

Between 25 and 50 can be considered a prime of people’s life. People start to work in their 20s and reach the peak of their work productivity in their 40s and 50s, contributing to the society the most with their labor and knowledge. Likewise, the LORD wanted the Levites’ prime life dedicated to Him.

Let’s dedicate ourselves as the Levites were dedicated to the LORD!

Numbers 6: Outward Behavior + Inward Heart -> Active Holiness

We often hear that “it’s the heart that matters before God.”

It is true, but let’s be aware of the downside of this statement.

Summary

The law of the Nazarite was given to the Israelites. The Nazarites were those, men or women, who made a special vow to dedicate themselves to the LORD. The Nazarites were to remain holy to the LORD during all the days of their separation (Numbers 6:8): by abstaining from drinking anything made out of grapes; by having no razor over their head; and by not going near a dead person.

When the days of their separation were fulfilled, they shall bring the offering to the doorway of the tent of meeting. Their offerings were to comprise a burnt offering, sin offering, peace offering, grain offering, and drink offering. The Nazarites shall shave their dedicated head, and the priest would present the offering to the LORD.

The chapter ended with the LORD’s instruction on how Aaron and his sons were to bless the Israelites.

The Nazarites and the Levites: Remember the LORD your God

There are some similarities in outward regulations between the Nazarites and the Levites. Therefore, the message and the effect conveyed by the lives of the Nazarites on the Israelite society would have been similar to that of the Levites.

What was the role of the Levites? The Levites were given a special task by the LORD to be in charge of taking care of and moving all the equipment pertaining to the tabernacle. Three Levite clans, the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Meratites, had different roles in overseeing the tabernacle. Therefore, the primary, practical function of the Levite was to set up a tabernacle and move it in a proper manner whenever the Israelite camp was guided to march by the LORD in the wilderness.

The Levites’ primary, practical function of overseeing the tabernacle in the wilderness was to transform to a slightly different role of reminding each Israel tribe of the LORD after the LORD gave the land of Canaan to the Israelites. Unlike other tribes, who received their dedicated lots, the presence of the Levites spread out to 48 cities throughout the land of Israel. The presence of the Levites would facilitate the remembrance of the LORD to each Israel tribe by their specially dedicated lives.

Consider Nazarite in a similar role as the Levite – more at the community level than at the national level. The Nazarites, as those wholly dedicated to the LORD God, would be easy to be recognized as they would have long hair and abstain themselves from any drink made out of grapes. People would be reminded of the LORD in the presence of the Nazarites just as each Israel tribe would be reminded of the LORD by the presence of the Levites.

Consider Nararite not as a regulation, but as an opportunity for non-Levite Israelites to dedicate themselves like priests and live out their full life or a limited period of their lives as priests. Note the inclusivity of this opportunity: both men and women were allowed to dedicate themselves to the LORD (Numbers 6:2). Also, this was strictly voluntary.

Outward Regulations Matter

It is often said among Christians that “it’s the heart that matters before God.”

This statement is true, but could pose a potential danger if one separates the heart from the outward behavior. As Morpheus in the Matrix movie said “the body cannot live out the mind,” the heart and the outward behavior is not distinct, but one. A heart fully dedicated to the LORD God, but without commensurate outward behavior (not saying that we have to be perfect in our daily lives) dedicated to the LORD God, is not a truly dedicated heart.

For that reason, a few outward regulations, which may seem outdated, such as abstaining from grape-made drinks, keeping long hair, and staying away from a dead body can actually help the Nazarites to set up their hearts dedicated to the LORD. Some restrictions on the outward behavior can help people to maintain the appropriate posture of the heart.

What are some restrictions on your behaviors that can help you set up the right posture of the heart before the LORD?

Active Holiness

At the center of Nazarite life is holiness (Numbers 6:8). The Nazarites were to remain holy to the LORD during all the days of their separation. We know from the text that what the Nazarites were not to do (Numbers 6:1-8), and what the Nazarites were to do at the end of their dedication time (their offering before the LORD and the priests in Numbers 6:13-21)

But what about their daily lives as the Nazarites? What does it mean to live a life of holiness? Does it comprise reading and meditating on the word of God and worshipping Him? Yes, but more.

Many concrete examples of holiness are given in chapter 19 of Leviticus. The chapter starts by “You shall be holy for I the LORD your God am holy (Leviticus 19:3).” Then, the chapter provides many example holiness: honor your mother and father; in your harvest time, leave the grain and grapes for the needy and for the stranger; you shall not steal falsely; you shall not oppress your neighbor; do not be partial to the poor; you shall have just balances and weights in your business transactions.

If the person who took a vow to be a Nazarite happened to be wealthy, that person was to exercise generosity by leaving grains for the needy during the harvest time. If that person was in business, he/she needed to be honest in business transactions. Inside their family, they need to honor their father and mother even more as they made a vow to be a Nazarite dedicated to the LORD.

Although not explicitly stated in Numbers 8, the Nazarites were to live out a holy life as stated in Leviticus 19. Holiness is an action, not a status.

God wants to bless you

The chapter ended with the blessing. The bottom line is that God wanted to bless the Israelites. Being a Nazarite is a blessing and opportunity for the Israelites, especially to the non-Levites, to be close to the LORD God, the very embodiment of life.

Let this chapter of the law of Nazarite be an opportunity for you to be nearer to the LORD your God.

Numbers 2: God of Formation

“The LORD of hosts” is one of the most repeated descriptions of the LORD God in the Old Testament (more than 260 times). What is the meaning of this expression? The New Living Translation makes the term more explicit: The LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

Yes, that is right. Although this expression was not used until 1 Samuel 4, the LORD God had been essentially a commander in chief of the Israelites army. This role was very important because the Israelites needed to prepare themselves quickly to conquer the land of Canaan soon.

Then, what was one of the essential elements of the army to become ready for war? Orderly marching formation: especially in ancient wars, especially in a large army mostly composed of infantry. Numbers 2 describes stationary and marching formations for the sons of Israelites to maintain during their time in the wilderness.

Summary

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron to arrange the Israelites by tribe around the tent of meeting: east, south, west, and north. Each tribe should hold the banners of their family and station themselves close to their clans and family. On the east side were Judah, Issachar, Zebulun tribes. On the south were Reuben, Simeon, and Gad tribes. On the west were Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin tribes. On the north were Dan, Asher, and Naphtali tribes.

In the center was the tabernacle, which resided in the tent of meeting. This was the formation of the entire Israelites when they encamped and when they set out.

The LORD of Order

Imagine leading a troop of 600,000 men, along with another 2 to 3million civilians. Without a proper order, leading this large group of people may easily succumb to a disorderly chaos. A disorder will be detrimental for the morale of the Israelites and could leave them vulnerable to enemies’ attacks.

For that reason, God commanded Moses and Aaron to group twelve the Israelites into four directions, surrounding the tabernacle in the middle. In order to maximize cohesiveness within the group, the tribes were to stay with their clan and family. The picture below provides an aerial view of the formation.

Source: http://www.citycentrechurch.org/home/update-on-this-coming-sunday/

The Purpose of Formation

There seem to be strategic and tactical reasons to have the formation with the twelve tribes surrounding the tabernacle of the LORD on all four corners.

First, on a high-level, a formation provides order and discipline. This physical order and discipline in the formation would also contribute to alert mental fortitude for the Israelites to minimize a collective complacent mind set.

Second, this kind of four-round formation instills a sense of self-confidence for all twelve tribes of Israel. All twelve tribes are approximately equal distance from the tabernacle of the LORD. No single tribe is significantly physically closer to the tabernacle of the LORD than the others. Therefore, this formation maximizes the collective sense of confidence while minimizing any tribal superiority or inferiority. The unity across the twelve tribes would be very important in the battle array.

Third, the formation provides flexibility. Marching can take place in any direction. For each direction, the leading tribes will be different. If the LORD decides to guide them to the north, the leading tribes would be Dan, Asher, Naphtali. If the LORD directs them to the east, then the leading tribes would be Judah, Isaachar, and Zebulun. This flexibility provides an ample opportunity for each tribe to take a leadership role. In the wilderness, flexibility to change marching direction will be important. Also, the experience and the ability for any tribes to lead the march or battle will be important.

All of these factors contribute to the higher level of confidence and self-esteem for the Israelites. This would boost the morale for the Israelites in the LORD, which will be an essential element in going out to a battle.

Finally, an orderly formation sends a clear message to the enemies as well. An orderly formation would send a formidable auro to the enemies, deterring their attacks. On the other hand, imagine a chaotic marching by the Israelites. That would be much more likely to invite attacks by the enemies.

Always be Ready…. To Fight!

Note that the formation was to be kept when they encamped and when they set out (Numbers 2:34). The formation is to be kept the same for both occasions. While they are stationary or moving, they are to keep the same formation. What does this mean? This implies that the Israelites should always be ready to launch into actions, when needed.

Conclusion

Does order in any way choke efficiency and freedom of the people? No. In fact, they complement each other. Let’s look at the example of traffic laws. Having a clear set of traffic laws enables drivers to drive freely, safely, and efficiently on the road along with others. Having an order and discipline of the army camp empowers the Israelites to camp and march out to the destination freely, safely, and efficiently to the destination.

Numbers 1: God of Compound Interest Rate

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.

If you invest a sum of money at 10 per cent for five years, you will multiply your wealth by 1.6 times.

If you invest your capital at that rate for 10 times as long (50 years), you will not multiply your wealth by 16 times.

You will multiply it by more than 117 times.”

Albert Einstein

What does the first chapter of the book of Numbers have to do with compound interest? And, is there any relation between the wonder of compound interest with one of the key characters of God?

Summary

The LORD told Moses to take a census of all the congregations of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the twelve tribes of Israel, their total numbered men were 603,550, who were ready to go out to war (Numbers 1:25). The Levites were not counted among them, but they were appointed over the tabernacle of the testimony.

God’s Invisible Work

Between Genesis and Exodus, a time gap of approximately 400 years, we do not know exactly what had happened to the sons of Israel. However, this “silence” section of the Bible implicitly points out how God invisibly worked on His people, the Israelites, to produce wonder. Please refer to the equation below.

What is the equation solving? For those who are Bible and number savvy may have already recognized each component of the equation. On the left side of the equation, 603,550 is the total number of Israelite men in Numbers. On the right side of the equation, 70 is the total number of Israelite men when Jacob came to Egypt, invited by Joseph (Genesis 46:27, Exodus 1:5). 400 is the approximate number of years it took from 70 people to grow to become 603,550 men from Genesis to Exodus and Numbers. The equation is solving for the average annual population growth that enabled 70 men to be multiplied to 603,500 in 400 years.

What would be your guess of the annual average population growth if the population of 70 was to grow to 603,550 for the next 400 years?

It requires only 2.3% a year.

Most people, especially those who are not familiar with the power of compound interest, are surprised to see such a low number. Just a 2.2% annual growth would be needed for 70 to become 603,550. Year-over-year growth would be too negligible to be noticeable. However, this small growth, when compounded for 400 years, would result in an increase of an astounding factor of 8,622. This is the wonder that Einstein talked about – although his was about the money, a similar logic can be applied to population growth.

This small yearly growth would be powerfully manifested under two conditions: 1) a long time horizon; and 2) consistency. If this growth rate was disrupted significantly anytime in the 400 years, an increase from 70 to 603,550 would not have been possible. Therein lies one of the key characters of God: His steadfast love and work.

God’s Steadfast Work

Steadfast: a: firmly fixed in place: IMMOVABLE b: not subject to change

Merriam Webster Dictionary

God worked on the Israelites steadfastly over a long time. He never used His power to multiply the Israelites dramatically in a short period of time. A steadfast working of God and His consistency are two of His main characters. God allowed the Israelites to consistently multiply by protecting them from foreign invasions, pandemic, or any other unexpected natural disaster for the 400 years. In the process, a small, consistent annual growth of 2.3% turned 70 men into 603,500 men.

Lesson

God works faithfully. The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. His mercy never ends. He who worked on the Israelites will empower you to accomplish His work through you.

As God multiplied the sons of Israelites from 70 to 603,500, let Him multiply your faith in Him.