Numbers part 1

 I really like the outline for numbers that is in my personal bible. It focuses on six different points, but I think I want to keep it to four points. In my bible it says that Numbers was written between 1450 BC and 1400BC. The author is Moses, and the book gets its name from the two censuses that are in the book.  Four of the points in the outline that I want to focus on are:

1. The first census of the Israelites is taken.

2. The old generation fails to inherit the promised land.

3. The second census of the Israelites is taken.

4. The new generation prepares to inherit the promised.

Let's start at the beginning and see why the first census is taken. Here is Numbers chapter 1.

Registration of Israel’s Troops

A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai. On the first day of the second month of that year he said, 2 “From the whole community of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by their clans and families. List all the men 3 twenty years old or older who are able to go to war. You and Aaron must register the troops, 4 and you will be assisted by one family leader from each tribe. 

16 These are the chosen leaders of the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.” 

17 So Moses and Aaron called together these chosen leaders, 18 and they assembled the whole community of Israel on that very day. All the people were registered according to their ancestry by their clans and families. The men of Israel who were twenty years old or older were listed one by one, 19 just as the LORD had commanded Moses. So Moses recorded their names in the wilderness of Sinai. 

I'm skipping the names and numbers here for the sake of time and space. Now let's at least look at the total.

44 These were the men registered by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, all listed according to their ancestral descent. 45 They were registered by families—all the men of Israel who were twenty years old or older and able to go to war. 46 The total number was 603,550. 

47 But this total did not include the Levites. 48 For the LORD had said to Moses, 49 “Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of the Israelites. 50 Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. 51 Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the Tabernacle must be put to death. 52 Each tribe of Israel will camp in a designated area with its own family banner. 53 But the Levites will camp around the Tabernacle of the Covenant to protect the community of Israel from the LORD’s anger. The Levites are responsible to stand guard around the Tabernacle.” 

54 So the Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

So now the first census has been taken and the total is 603,550. That number does not include the Levites. If I was saying it in my own words, I would say something like "This number is all of the people who were able to go to war, so it doesn't count the Levites because they are the priests and so they would not go to war". This would cover the first of the four points.

Point number two is a little bit more interesting because what happens for the next 10 chapters or so is a whole lot of complaining and rebelling. We get a first-hand look at how bad the complaining is and how God reacts. This is Numbers 11:1-15.

Chapter 11

The People Complain to Moses

Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the LORD heard everything they said. Then the LORD’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the LORD, the fire stopped. 3 After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means “the place of burning”), because fire from the LORD had burned among them there. 

4 Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. 5 “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. 6 But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!” 

7 The manna looked like small coriander seeds, and it was pale yellow like gum resin. 8 The people would go out and gather it from the ground. They made flour by grinding it with hand mills or pounding it in mortars. Then they boiled it in a pot and made it into flat cakes. These cakes tasted like pastries baked with olive oil. 9 The manna came down on the camp with the dew during the night. 

10 Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the LORD became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. 11 And Moses said to the LORD, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? 12 Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? 13 Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! 15 If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!” 

I want to point out a few things that I found interesting. First, I can't imagine how hard all of this was for Moses. The conversations he must have had with God on a regular basis just to get through all of this. In verse 13, when Moses says, " Where am I supposed to get meat for all of these people", I think that he says it that way because he knows that God is going to provide for them. The tone I hear in his voice sounds like he is saying "I know you are going to want to get meat for all of these people and I just don't see how that can be possible". He is mentally and physically drained, but he knows that God is going to provide for his people.

Let' see how God reacts to the people wanting some meat!

Moses Chooses Seventy Leaders

16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you. 17 I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone. 

18 “And say to the people, ‘Purify yourselves, for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were whining, and the LORD heard you when you cried, “Oh, for some meat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will have to eat it. 19 And it won’t be for just a day or two, or for five or ten or even twenty. 20 You will eat it for a whole month until you gag and are sick of it. For you have rejected the LORD, who is here among you, and you have whined to him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” ’ ” 

21 But Moses responded to the LORD, “There are 600,000 foot soldiers here with me, and yet you say, ‘I will give them meat for a whole month!’ 22 Even if we butchered all our flocks and herds, would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all the fish in the sea, would that be enough?” 

23 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!” 

24 So Moses went out and reported the LORD’s words to the people. He gathered the seventy elders and stationed them around the Tabernacle. 25 And the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again. 

26 Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle. Yet the Spirit rested upon them as well, so they prophesied there in the camp. 27 A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!” 

28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since his youth, protested, “Moses, my master, make them stop!” 

29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit upon them all!” 30 Then Moses returned to the camp with the elders of Israel. 

First of all, God gave Moses some help. Second of all, if I was Moses I would be completely scared when God said that they would have so much meat that they would gag on it and get sick of it. I also love the response God gives when Moses questions how God will provide. In verse 23 God replies, "Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true". I wonder how many times God says that to us from heaven. No matter how powerful we believe God to be, we can't comprehend it. Now let's see how God provides some meat.

The LORD Sends Quail

31 Now the LORD sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground. 32 So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. 33 But while they were gorging themselves on the meat—while it was still in their mouths—the anger of the LORD blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. 34 So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of gluttony”) because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the Israelites traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed for some time. 

The graves of gluttony, I'm worried that is my name some days. I worry God will recommend that for a new tattoo for me. He tattoos my name in the palm of his hand so he can't forget me, maybe I need to tattoo that on my palm so I can finally learn a lesson.

Let's move to chapter 12 so we can see how Aaron and Miriam complain about Moses.

Chapter 12

The Complaints of Miriam and Aaron

While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. 2 They said, “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” But the LORD heard them. 3 (Now Moses was very humble—more humble than any other person on earth.) 

4 So immediately the LORD called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!” So the three of them went to the Tabernacle. 5 Then the LORD descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward. 6 And the LORD said to them, “Now listen to what I say: 

    “If there were prophets among you, 

      I, the LORD, would reveal myself in visions. 

      I would speak to them in dreams. 

    7 But not with my servant Moses. 

      Of all my house, he is the one I trust. 

    8 I speak to him face to face, 

      clearly, and not in riddles! 

      He sees the LORD as he is. 

    So why were you not afraid 

      to criticize my servant Moses?” 

9 The LORD was very angry with them, and he departed. 10 As the cloud moved from above the Tabernacle, there stood Miriam, her skin as white as snow from leprosy. When Aaron saw what had happened to her, 11 he cried out to Moses, “Oh, my master! Please don’t punish us for this sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Don’t let her be like a stillborn baby, already decayed at birth.” 

13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, “O God, I beg you, please heal her!” 

14 But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had done nothing more than spit in her face, wouldn’t she be defiled for seven days? So keep her outside the camp for seven days, and after that she may be accepted back.” 

15 So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they traveled again. 16 Then they left Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran. 

Verse 8 is crazy to me! God actually asks them why they aren't afraid to criticize Moses. Can you imagine being called out like that? 

I want to wrap up point two here soon, so I want to move on to the 10 people who scout the land of Canaan. Here is chapter 13.

Chapter 13

Twelve Scouts Explore Canaan

The LORD now said to Moses, 2 “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” 3 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.

17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? 20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.) 

Here are the results:

The Scouting Report

25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27 This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.” 

30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” 

31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” 

Here is how the people reacted in chapter 14 to the majority believing that they could not take the land.

Chapter 14

The People Rebel

Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2 Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. 3 “Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”

Now let's finish up point two by seeing how God reacts to them wanting a new leader and wanting to go back to Egypt.

The LORD Punishes the Israelites

26 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 27 “How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me. 28 Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. 29 You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. 30 You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 

And this is how the old generation failed to inherit the promised land. Completely not having any faith in God!