Numbers 1 NIV

Suggested Praise Songs:

• Israel & New Breed – Jesus At the Center (Live Performance)
• Center My Life : Austin Stone Worship W/ Lyrics

Resources for Family Worship (with Children)

• The punishment of Miriam | Animated Bible Stories | My First Bible | 27 – Lesson for Younger Kids (Play Partially 0:00-1:20)
• Book of Numbers Summary: A Complete Animated Overview – Lesson for Youth
• One Way Jesus Hillsong Kids (Lyric & Motion) | Christian Kids Worship Video | Worship Dance | – Song for Kids
• Let’s Trust In Jesus | True North VBS | Group Publishing – Song for Kids
• To God Be the Glory | Yee-Haw VBS | Group Publishing – Song for Kids
• Discussion Questions for Children & Youth are located in the section after Explanation, Meditation, and Prayer (at the end of this email/blog).

Beginning Our Meditation on Numbers

Starting today, we will read and meditate on the book of Numbers. In the Hebrew Bible, this book is called Bemidbar (“in the wilderness”). The Hebrews had a tradition of using the opening word of a book as its title, and Bemidbar is the first word of Numbers in Hebrew. Later, when the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, the translators named this book Arithmoi. This is where the English title Numbers and the Korean title Minsu-gi come from. The reason for this name is the census statistics found in chapters 1 and 26.

The story of Numbers continues from Exodus. Exodus ends with the completion and dedication of the tabernacle, and then come the regulations concerning various laws of purification related to the tabernacle. That is the content of Leviticus, which stands between Exodus and Numbers. The story that was temporarily paused in Exodus 40 continues in Numbers 1. After leaving Egypt, the Israelites stayed in the wilderness of Sinai for two years. During that time, they received the law and completed the tabernacle. Then for thirty-eight years, the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness. Numbers records only a few of the events that took place during that period, because only those stories that contained very important lessons for the faith of later readers were selected.

Therefore, when reading Numbers, we must keep in mind the time gaps between one story and the next. In some cases, there were gaps of several months, and in many other cases, gaps of several years. If we ignore that fact, we can easily stumble over very difficult questions that cannot be answered and be unable to move forward.

The structure of Numbers can be viewed in two ways. From a geographical perspective, 1:1–10:10 tells the story of the wilderness of Sinai, 10:11–20:13 tells what happened on the journey from the wilderness of Sinai to Kadesh Barnea, and 20:14 through the end (36:13) tells what happened on the journey from Kadesh to the plains of Moab. If we use the two censuses (chapters 1 and 26) as the framework, then chapters 2–25 can be seen as the story of the first-generation Exodus generation, and chapters 27–36 as the story of the second-generation Exodus generation.

In Scripture, the “wilderness” is often used as a metaphor for the journey of life or for the journey of faith. To pass through the wilderness, one must go through many obstacles and hardships. Therefore, the wilderness is a place of temptation and testing, and when one overcomes it well, character is refined, and resilience is strengthened. The wilderness is also a place where everything is lacking. There, human beings come face to face with their own limits and weaknesses. Only when people reach such a limit do they finally seek God, and at the end of that הדרך, they meet God.

Seen in this way, the destination of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness was not Canaan, but God. It is the same as how the destination of the journey of faith on this earth is the kingdom of God.

Numbers 1 Explanation:

It had been two years and two months since the Israelites left Egypt when God appeared to Moses in the tent of meeting and commanded him to take a census. A representative was to be chosen from each tribe, and a list was to be made of all the men twenty years old and over in each tribe (vv. 1–5). This was because the people needed to be organized in military order for their full-scale wandering in the wilderness. Usually, a census is carried out either for economic purposes, such as taxation, or for military purposes.

In obedience to God’s command, Moses chose representatives from the twelve tribes, and they registered all the men twenty years old and over in each tribe (vv. 16–19). As a result, the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500, Simeon 59,300, Gad 45,650, Judah 74,600, Issachar 54,400, Zebulun 57,400, Ephraim 40,500, Manasseh 32,200, Benjamin 35,400, Dan 62,700, Asher 41,500, and Naphtali 53,400, for a total of 603,500 (vv. 20–47). If males under twenty and all the women were included, the total population is estimated to have been around two million.

This number has raised questions for many people, because it is difficult to imagine two million people moving together as one group. Scholars have offered various opinions about this difficulty. Some have tried to interpret the number symbolically, while others have argued that the figure was exaggerated from a later perspective. None of these theories explains the issue perfectly.

The question, “Is this figure historically believable?” is a fair question, but it misses the intention of Numbers. By presenting this number, the author conveys that during the four hundred years in Egypt, God fulfilled the promise he had given to Abraham (Gen. 15:5).

God told Moses to exclude the tribe of Levi from the census. Instead of bearing the obligation of participating in war, they were to 1) care for the tabernacle and its sacred furnishings, 2) carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings during the march, and 3) camp around the tabernacle and preserve its holiness (vv. 48–53). Whenever the Israelites camped in one place, the tabernacle was to be in the center of the camp. Whenever they marched, the tribe of Levi, carrying the tabernacle and the sacred objects, was to be in the middle of the procession.

Meditation:

Jacob had twelve sons, and they became the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. Yet when we look at the names of the twelve tribes, the name of Joseph, Jacob’s older son by Rachel, does not appear. Before Jacob died, he blessed Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and they received the honor of becoming patriarchs of Israel alongside their uncles. Because of that, the number of tribes became thirteen. But when Scripture speaks of Israel, it always says “the twelve tribes,” because the tribe of Levi was set apart separately.

The tribe of Levi was set apart for the care of the tabernacle and for sacrifices in the tabernacle. They were exempted from military duty because sacrifice was more important than war. When Israel settled in Canaan, the tribe of Levi did not receive an allotment of land. This was so they could devote themselves to the care of the tabernacle, and later the temple after Solomon, and to the temple sacrifices. The tithe was provided for the livelihood of the Levites, who did not receive a land inheritance. Since the tribe of Levi was set apart for the spiritual needs of the twelve tribes, the twelve tribes were responsible for the tribe of Levi’s physical needs.

This special care for the tribe of Levi means that the tabernacle and sacrifice are central elements in life. Materialists would think such an arrangement foolish. They would regard the Levites as “people who do nothing and live off others,” or as “people who live for a trivial and insignificant task.” But by placing the tabernacle at the center of Israel’s camp and setting apart the Levites, God emphasizes that he must come first and be at the center of life.

Key Verse: Verse 50

Instead, appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, over all its furnishings, and over everything that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, take care of it, and camp around it.

Prayer:

Our hearts are inclined toward materialism. We keep forgetting that worship comes before war. We should regard building the sanctuary of time within us and dwelling there as the most important thing, but we are often swept away by other matters and leave the sanctuary of time desolate. Forgive our wrongs and correct us. Help us to live with the Lord in the central place of our lives. Amen.

Discussion Questions for Children & Youth:

Key Point: God wanted the tabernacle in the center of Israel’s camp, because he was not supposed to be one part of their life, but the center of their life. In the same way, God calls us to put him first in our daily choices, worship, time, and priorities.

• For Preschool-Elementary:
  • What was in the center of Israel’s camp?
  • What are some things that can become more important to us than God?
  • What is one small way you can put God first this week at home or at school?
• Youth:
  • Why is it easy to make achievement, sports, friends, money, or phones the center of life instead of God?
  • How can worship shape the rest of life, rather than becoming just one activity among many?
  • What would change in your schedule, attitude, or decision-making if God were truly at the center?