Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Numbers 1-2.
Today we begin the fifth book in our chronological series, and the fourth book of the Bible: Numbers.
The title of the book comes from the Greek Septuagint translation, but as Dr. Gordon J. Wenham explains, in my ESV Study Bible notes, the Hebrew title "bemidbar" (in the wilderness) gives us a better description of the book.
The book of Numbers is largely narrative, historical (records actual history), and also contains more of God's Law to his people.
Here is the theme of Numbers (ESV Study Bible):
"The theme of Numbers is the gradual fulfillment of the promises to Abraham that his descendants would be the people of God and occupy the land of Canaan. The book shows the reality of God's presence with Israel in the cloud of fire over the tabernacle, but the repeated displays of unbelief by Israel delay the entry into Canaan and cost many lives. Nevertheless, by the end of the book, Israel is poised to enter the land."
Here is the purpose of Numbers (ESV Study Bible):
"Jews refer to the first five books of the Bible as “the Law” (Torah), and Christians call them the “Pentateuch” or “The Five Books of Moses.” Numbers is the fourth volume in this series and relates Israel's journey from Mount Sinai to the borders of the Promised Land, summarizing some 40 years of the nation's history. The book begins with Israel making final preparations to leave Sinai. It then records their triumphal setting out, before relating a series of disasters in which the people grumbled about the difficulty of the journey and the impossibility of conquering Canaan. This response leads to God delaying the entry to Canaan by 40 years. The closing chapters of the book tell how the people at last set out again and reached the banks of the Jordan, poised to cross into the land promised to their forefathers."
In today's reading we find God instructing Moses to number the tribes of Israel. After completing the census, we find 603,550 men capable of armed service, with the total Israel population likely totaling over 2,000,000.
That is a LOT of people wandering around in the desert!
Also, after the census, God instructs Israel how to camp around his tabernacle, with the Levites' camps completely surrounding the tabernacle as God's priests.
It will take eight more chapters of instruction from God before Israel actually starts moving, and I am looking forward to another journey through this book of Numbers.
We are going to see a lot of excitement, and a great deal of heartbreak in the book of Numbers. As we together join to read this book, let us keep in the forefront of our minds that God desires to instruct us, and reveal more of his character through these pages.
Are you ready for the journey?
