Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Numbers 35-36.
The very last word in the book of Numbers is: Jericho. To the right is a Google Map with the Jordan River and the modern city of Jericho.
In my mind, I try to image a million Israelites camped to the right of the river, set to make the city of Jericho their first confrontation.
Before considering where we are going, I thought it important that we take a bird's eye view of where we have traveled in this book of Numbers.
This from the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology:
"The theological pattern which emerges in Numbers, i.e. harmony between God and Israel, followed by unbelief and disobedience, followed by God’s judgment, followed by God once again working graciously with Israel to fulfil his promises to them, repeats itself over a much longer time frame in the subsequent history of Israel. Samuel and Kings, and Amos, Micah, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zephaniah tell a story of harmony followed by disobedience and then judgment; Isaiah 40–66, Ezekiel 24–48 and Haggai, and Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah tell of how God did not abandon his people but once again began to pursue his purpose of blessing them. So the theological themes of Numbers are attested throughout the OT.Both Matthew (4:1–11) and Luke (4:1–13) saw a parallel between Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness and Israel’s forty years in the desert. The temptations Jesus faced were almost identical, relating to food, protection and idolatry. But Jesus did not give in to the temptations. His replies to the devil were quotations from Deuteronomy, which originally referred to the wilderness experience recorded in Numbers. Jesus was the new Israel who succeeded where the old Israel failed (Wenham [1981], p. 51)."
What a journey this has been. I am looking forward to Moses' last words in the book of Deuteronomy, which we will begin tomorrow.
