Introduction Today's passage records the third great rebellion which took place in the wilderness. The first one -- in chapter 12 -- was when Miriam and Aaron complained about Moses, because they believed they were equal to him and anything he could do, they could do as well. The second rebellion was the one we … Continue reading Numbers 16(01–40) →

Introduction I've mentioned before that all the way through the book of Numbers it alternates between narrative and law. So, chapters 1 to 4 contained the narrative of how they took the census. That was followed by chapters 5 and 6 which contained a number of laws and instructions about various matters. Then chapters 7 … Continue reading Numbers 15 →

Introduction Numbers 14 is a continuation of Numbers 13. In Numbers 13, spies went up to explore the Promised Land on behalf of the people of Israel. After 40 days they returned and reported that the land was good; just as the Lord had said, it flowed with milk and honey. However, they said, the … Continue reading Numbers 14 →

Introduction After the good start in the book of Numbers -- when Moses and the people did all that the Lord commanded to prepare for their journey to the Promised Land -- after that good start, things changed in chapters 11 and 12. In chapter 11 the people grumbled and complained about the hardships they … Continue reading Numbers 13 →

Introduction Last week we saw how the Israelites began to grumble and complain. They complained about the general conditions and the everyday hardships they faced as they made their way to through the wilderness. But they complained in particular about the food, because they were sick and tired of the manna, and they remembered what … Continue reading Numbers 12 →

Introduction It was all looking so good in the last chapter, wasn't it? The Lord's glory-cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle as the signal to the people that they were to leave Sinai and begin the journey to the Promised Land. And the ark of the covenant -- which symbolised God's throne -- went before … Continue reading Numbers 11 →

Introduction The Israelites have been at Sinai for 11 months. The Lord's army has been counted; the Levites who will serve in the Tabernacle have been counted too, and their duties have been assigned to them; each tribe has brought offerings for the dedication of the Tabernacle; the Passover has been celebrated once again; the … Continue reading Numbers 10(11–36) →

The Glory-Cloud In today's passage -- where we read about the Lord's glory-cloud which covered the Tent of Meeting; and about the trumpets which were sounded at various times -- Moses is taking us back to Exodus 40. In Exodus 40 we read that the Tabernacle was set up; and everything in it was put … Continue reading Numbers 09(15)–10(10) →

Introduction We started studying the book of Numbers in May; but then we took a break from it over the summer; and we resumed our studies in this book at the beginning of September. It's called 'Numbers' because it contains a lot of numbers. Right at the beginning of the book, the Lord commanded Moses … Continue reading Numbers 09(01–14) →

Introduction Two weeks ago we spent our time on chapter 7 and we read how the leaders of each of the 12 tribes of Israel brought gifts and offerings to the Tabernacle. Do you remember? First, they brought oxen and carts for the Levites to use when transporting the Tabernacle and all its furnishings from … Continue reading Numbers 08 →