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All right, well, you can turn 
in your Bibles to the book of Numbers, Numbers chapter 9. I 
had mentioned that we're probably not going to look at every jot 
and tittle of the book of Numbers tonight. We're going to just 
introduce the book. And I want to read a section 
from Numbers chapter 9. If you're familiar with Numbers 
chapter 1, you should be thankful that we're not reading that. 
It's a long census with a lot of difficult names, but I want 
to look at chapter 9 specifically, verses 15 to 23, and we'll notice 
later how that connects to some previous things in the Pentateuch. 
So beginning in Numbers 9, verse 15, Now on the day that the tabernacle 
was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the 
testimony. From evening until morning it 
was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. So it 
was always. The cloud covered it by day, 
and the appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud was 
taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel 
would journey. And in the place where the cloud 
settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents. 
At the command of the Lord, the children of Israel would journey, 
and at the command of the Lord they would camp. As long as the 
cloud stayed above the tabernacle, they remained encamped. Even 
when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, 
the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not 
journey. So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle 
a few days, according to the command of the Lord, they would 
remain encamped. And according to the command 
of the Lord, they would journey. So it was when the cloud remained 
only from evening until morning. When the cloud was taken up in 
the morning, then they would journey, whether by day or by 
night. Whenever the cloud was taken 
up, they would journey. Whether it was two days, a month, 
or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children 
of Israel would remain encamped and not journey. But when it 
was taken up, they would journey. At the command of the Lord, they 
remain encamped, and at the command of the Lord, they journeyed. 
They kept the charge of the Lord at the command of the Lord by 
the hand of Moses. Amen. Well, as we look at introduction 
with reference to scripture, typically we consider matters 
like the author of the particular book, the date of composition, 
the various themes, and various connections to other books. And 
so that's what we're going to take up tonight. First, we'll 
look at the title, the author, and date, and then secondly, 
the contents of the book itself. Now, the title Numbers comes 
from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. You 
maybe have heard of that, the Septuagint. The Latin Vulgate 
also does that as well. And Numbers is taken from the 
two censuses that we find in chapters 1 to 4, and then the 
second census in chapter 26. So numbers basically arithmetic 
the various numbers involved in counting the various people 
here in the nation of Israel. Now in the Hebrew canon the title 
of the book is In the Wilderness and that's from the first few 
words in Numbers chapter 1 and verse 1. And that's a good summary 
statement of what the book of Numbers is about. It's the children 
of Israel in the wilderness going basically from point A to point 
B. Remember, God calls them out 
of Egypt. He redeems them by the power 
of his might. And he has done that so that 
he can give them the land of promise that he had spoken to 
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. So Numbers records those wanderings 
from point A to point B. Now, in terms of the author, 
there's no reason to denounce Mosaic authorship. Moses wrote 
this along with the other four books in the Pentateuch. So Genesis, 
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The five-fold work of Moses, 
we call it the Pentateuch. And then in terms of the time 
frame, one man says the book of Numbers opens with Israel 
still at Sinai. If you turn back to Numbers chapter 
1, specifically in verse 1, now the Lord spoke to Moses in the 
wilderness of Sinai. If you look up just a bit to 
Leviticus 27 at verse 34, These are the commandments which 
the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount 
Sinai. So you see that continuity between 
the books of Leviticus and Numbers. So they're presently at Sinai. 
They don't leave until chapter 10 and verse 11. But back to 
the quote, the book of Numbers opens with Israel still at Sinai 
one month after the erection of the tabernacle and 13 months 
after the completion of the Exodus. The book ends with Israel in 
the plains of Moab some 40 years later. You can turn to chapter 
36. Verse 13, again you'll see how that's situated in the larger 
work called the Pentateuch. So in chapter 36 at verse 13 
we read, these are the commandments and the judgments which the Lord 
commanded the children of Israel by the hand of Moses in the plains 
of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. And of course, 
that's where the book of Deuteronomy takes place. So it's in the plains 
of Moab, the wilderness generation of the successive generation, 
the second generation, is gathered in the plains of Moab. And basically, 
Deuteronomy is a series of exhortations given by God through Moses to 
the children of Israel to prep them for the conquest. So the 
promise of God to Abraham in terms of him giving him the land 
of promise is brought to fruition gradually through God's grace, 
through his preserving power, and according to the faithfulness 
of his spoken word. So Deuteronomy then is the preparatory 
work before they go under General Joshua into the land to conquer 
the land as God had given them command. So we see that in this 
particular book, it is something of a transition, as I said, a 
point A to point B. But one man says, it is thus 
the narrative of a spiritual pilgrimage. And when we read 
the book of Numbers, again, there's lots of names in terms of the 
censuses. or sensai, if that's the plural 
form of censuses. It's probably censuses. But just 
a little joke there. But with reference to the data, 
the historical narrative, and the names, and the numbers, and 
the various persons, and the various things going on, there's 
a lot of legislation, repetition of laws that had preceded in 
the book of Leviticus, laws that would be crucial. as they enter 
into the Promised Land, but there are narratives in the Book of 
Numbers that we are very much associated with that are very 
encouraging for the people of God. So that whole spiritual 
pilgrimage motif, I think, is very helpful as we approach the 
Book of Numbers. We see the lows of Israel, and 
more lows of Israel, and even more lows of Israel, but the 
book ultimately ends on a positive note. And again, that's not owing 
to Israel and their faithfulness, but rather to the faithfulness 
of God Almighty. So one of those particular situations 
is in John chapter 3, when Jesus says, just as Moses lifted up 
the serpent, so must the Son of Man also be lifted up. And 
that's coming right from the book of Numbers. So it's a wonderful 
analogy of the healing power of our Lord Jesus Christ when 
God sends those fiery serpents to the grumbling Israelites, 
and they are bitten and they are plagued. God's command to 
Moses is to construct this brazen serpent, lift it up in the wilderness, 
and all those who look to that serpent will live. So again, 
Jesus invokes that as a wonderful analogy with reference to his 
cross work on Calvary, such that all those who look to him in 
faith will have everlasting life. The Balaam oracles, those should 
prove to be very fun, a bit difficult when you get to Balaam. I think 
we're most familiar with Balaam's ass, but Balaam's prophecies 
are a lot more difficult to wrap one's mind around, but I think 
the emphasis there is basically, again, on the future promise, 
or the promise of a future messiah that would make good the promises 
of God that are yea and amen in him. It's not the faithfulness 
of Israel that is going to land them in blessing, it is ultimately 
the faithfulness of the true Israel of God, our Lord Jesus 
Christ. So spiritual pilgrimage is a 
good way for us to approach this particular book. Now, in terms 
of the contents, we're going to spend the most of the time 
tonight here. I want to look at the emphasis on the journey 
as a means by which to outline the book. In other words, when 
you come to a large work of narrative, it's good to have an outline, 
some sort of framework, some sort of a way to approach it 
so that you can sort of consolidate the data and put it in its proper 
places. If you think in terms of journey, 
The narrative is pretty straightforward. So you have the preparation for 
departure in chapter 1, verse 1, to chapter 10, verse 10. So they're at Mount Sinai, and 
then they need to move on to the land of promise. So that's 
necessitating movement on their part. They're going to have to 
journey. The second block is the journey from Mount Sinai 
to Kadesh Barnea. So that's in chapter 10 verse 
11 to chapter 12 verse 16. So from Sinai to Kadesh Barnea. And then in chapters 13 to 19 
you basically have movement in and around Kadesh Barnea. And 
then the third movement by way of the journey is the journey 
from Kadesh Barnea to the plains of Moab. So that takes place 
in chapter 20, verse 1, to chapter 22, verse 1, properly. But then the movement in and 
around the plains of Moab is all the way from 22 to 36. So 
that's sort of a focus on the journey. But there's another 
way to approach this particular book in just a twofold division. And the first is the failure 
of the old generation in chapter 1, verse 1 to chapter 25, verse 
18. So you had those that were called 
out of the land of Egypt through the power of God Most High, you 
had them gathered together at Sinai, you have them then launch 
into this wilderness wandering, and then you have the judgment 
of God because along the way they sinned. most specifically 
in chapters 13 and 14, which we'll look at in a moment. But 
you can look at this book as the failure of the old generation, 
1-1 to 2518, and then the beginning of the new generation in 26-1 
to 3613. Hence the two censuses. You have the census of all Israel 
in chapter 1. Well, of course, that generation 
is obliterated except for Joshua and Caleb and Moses. So in chapter 
26, it is necessary to once again have a census of all the men 
that are age 20 or above that are ready for war. Now, thirdly, 
we ought to connect the book to the rest of the Pentateuch, 
and I think that's pretty simple. Basically, the book of Genesis, 
I mean, there's a lot going on in Genesis, but relative to the 
connection here with numbers, I would suggest the promise to 
the patriarchs in Genesis is foremost. We need to make sure 
we understand that what happens in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 
Deuteronomy, and then subsequent history in Israel is all predicated 
upon the promise of God to the patriarchs in the book of Genesis. You've got the promise to the 
patriarchs in Genesis. You then have, secondly, the 
kingdom of priests in Exodus. Remember, God says that He's 
going to make them a kingdom of priests. They're to mediate 
the blessing of Yahweh to the nations around them. Now, they 
fail in that particular endeavor, but that was the purpose. Thirdly, 
with reference to Leviticus, you have the holy people of God. 
Not holy in terms of their perfect conduct, but holy in terms of 
them having been separated from the pagan nations around them 
by God. The laws that we saw there, the 
ceremonial laws, the things respecting worship, the things respecting 
holiness and sanctity, those things were to identify the children 
of Israel as a separate people from the heathen and the pagan 
that they lived amongst. And then Deuteronomy is ultimately 
the inheritors of the promised land. So again, those exhortations 
are calculated to encourage the children of Israel, such that 
when they depart from the plains of Moab into the land of Canaan, 
they're fit and ready and able to go to take the land as God 
had commanded. And that brings us again to the 
book of Joshua, wherein we see a positive reflection upon the 
conquest And then the book of Judges, where it's a more negative 
reflection upon the conquest. So in Joshua, it looks like they're 
doing great. Judges, not so great. They didn't 
fully dispossess the land of the Canaanites, as was the command 
of God, and thus they were molested and affected and hindered by 
Canaanites in the land. But even more so in the book 
of Judges, the children of Israel ate the conduct, or they imitate 
the conduct, of the Canaanites around them. So they increasingly 
become like the Canaanites and write for the judgment of God 
Almighty. So that's kind of the flow from 
Genesis to Joshua. Then, fourthly, we ought to appreciate 
a specific connection to Exodus and Leviticus. A specific connection 
to Exodus and Leviticus. You can turn to Exodus chapter 
40. Exodus chapter 40. We looked at this several times 
as we went through the book of Leviticus. In fact, we connected 
Leviticus to this particular section. We're going to do the 
same thing with numbers connected to this particular section. Remember 
that in the book of Exodus, it basically is broken down in three 
parts. First, you have deliverance. 
God powerfully delivers the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage 
in chapters 1 to 19. Then you have demand, God's commands 
from Sinai in chapters 20 to 24. And then you have dwelling, 
God's command to them to build a tabernacle so that he may dwell 
in their midst. And that takes up chapters 25 
to 40. So in chapter 40 they erect the 
tabernacle, they get it into practice. And then at the end 
of Exodus chapter 40, we notice that the glory of God comes down. 
He comes to dwell in the midst of the people. Notice in verse 
34, Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the 
glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not 
able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud 
rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. So basically what you have here 
is God's purpose to dwell in the midst of his people. In fact, 
turn back for just a moment to chapter 25. Chapter 25, verse 
8, let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among you. That's repeated a couple of times 
along the way. So basically Exodus ends with 
the fruition of that. God now dwells in the midst of 
them. But if you read the text, you'll 
notice a particular tension. God may dwell in the midst of 
them, but they're not able to enter into his presence. So it's 
a dwelling place, but it has not yet become a meeting place. 
And that's the purpose. The tabernacle is the place where 
God dwells among his people so that they may have access to 
him in communion with him. Now, remember, the tabernacle 
and then later the temple, they do not contain God. Solomon makes 
this very clear in the dedication of the temple in 1 Kings chapter 
8. There is nothing on earth, there is no creature that can 
contain God. When we talk about God's dwelling 
in the tabernacle and then the temple, we have in our minds 
a special manifestation of God's presence here on earth. And that's 
what the tabernacle and the temple do. So here we've got a tension 
at the end of the book of Exodus. We have the dwelling place, but 
it is not yet a meeting place. And if you notice, it's Moses 
who's not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting. Moses is probably 
the godliest guy in all of Israel. Moses was upright. Moses is called 
the friend of God in Exodus chapter 33. And yet Moses himself cannot 
enter in to the dwelling place of God because of the glory of 
God. That tells us something of the 
holiness of God. It tells us something of his 
supreme majesty, and his sovereignty, and his excellence, and his power. 
But it as well tells us something about the sinfulness of man. 
Even a holy man like Moses was not a perfect man. There was 
still uncleanness. There was still impurity. So 
Moses couldn't just wander into the dwelling place of God. Well 
that's what brings us to the book of Leviticus. That tension 
upon which the book of Exodus ends is solved for us in the 
book of Leviticus, specifically through sacrifice and priesthood. And that is primarily what you 
see in the first nine chapters of the book of Leviticus. So 
we have this problem, a holy God, that's not the problem, 
but a holy God dwelling in the midst of a sinful people. In 
order for the sinful people to enjoy meeting with God, there 
needs to be sacrifice, there needs to be priesthood, there 
needs to be mediation, there needs to be cleanliness, there 
needs to be purity, there needs to be clean hands, there needs 
to be a way of access into the very presence of God Almighty. So as you move through the Book 
of Leviticus, again, that's predominantly what you see. You see the laws 
or legislation concerning sacrifice in the first several chapters. 
You see a priesthood established and instituted for the express 
purpose of facilitating that dwelling place becoming a meeting 
place. You see that achieved or realized 
at the end of chapter 9. Notice specifically at verse 
18. He also killed the bull and the 
ram as sacrifices of peace offerings, which were for the people. And 
Aaron's sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled 
all around on the altar, and the fat from the bull and the 
ram, the fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys 
and the fatty lobe attached to the liver. And they put the fat 
on the breasts. Then he burned the fat on the 
altar, but the breast and the right thigh Aaron waved as a 
wave offering before the Lord as Moses had commanded. Then 
Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and 
came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, 
and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into 
the tabernacle of meeting and came out and blessed the people. 
Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came 
out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and 
the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they 
shouted and fell on their faces. So through sacrifice and through 
priesthood, a sinful people is able to enter into the presence 
of God. Hopefully you're thinking in terms of New Covenant, and 
you'll see how all of this prefigures, typifies, and foreshadows the 
sacrifice and priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, much 
of the New Testament, specifically the book of Hebrews, reflects 
often on these Pentateuchal books in order to demonstrate how Christ 
fulfills all that we see in these books of Moses. Now, of course, 
in chapter 10 you have a priesthood that abuses their calling and 
God sends forth fire to kill them and to judge them. But in 
essence, in terms of man's approach, a sinful man's approach to a 
holy God, as Michael Morales says, Israel's sin must be dealt 
with, expiated. Only cleansed humanity may belong 
to Yahweh. The way to God then is through 
a bloody knife and a burning altar. And another significant 
feature here in the book of Leviticus is in Leviticus chapter 16. Leviticus 
chapter 16 deals with the Day of Atonement. And the Day of 
Atonement happens once in a year and the High Priest goes into 
the Holy of Holies, the High Priest alone. No one else, and 
the high priest alone without all of his royal garb. He goes 
in simply in linen, and he goes in with the blood of a lamb or 
the blood of a goat so that he can pour it on the mercy seat 
probably two or three times to make atonement for the children 
of Israel, for his own house, for the altar, for the very tabernacle 
itself. And then he takes a second goat, 
and he lays his hands upon that goat, and he confesses the transgressions 
of Israel, and then he drives that goat out into the wilderness. 
And so what you see there, again, is very typical with reference 
to our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, we have blood atonement. 
In Christ, we have the expiation of the removal of sin. That picture 
of the goat being driven out into the wilderness is a wonderful 
emblem of what Christ does in terms of our own sinfulness. 
So you see how Leviticus resolves the tension that Exodus poses 
at the end in chapter 40. But if you go back to Exodus 
chapter 40, we'll see how it links to the book of Numbers. Notice in Exodus chapter 40 again, 
I'll just reread that section and then follow along, or follow 
from there. Then the cloud covered the tabernacle 
of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 
And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting because 
the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled 
the tabernacle. So Leviticus deals with that 
tension. The prescription of sacrifice 
and priesthood cleanses man such that he can enter into the presence 
of God, such that he can dwell in the midst of God. But then 
notice in verses 36 to 38, this connects to the book of Numbers. Whenever the cloud was taken 
up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would 
go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken 
up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken 
up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, 
and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house 
of Israel throughout all their journeys. So from this vantage 
point in Exodus chapter 40, specifically verses 34 to 38, we see the predicate 
for the book of Leviticus and then the book of Numbers. We 
see it built right in here, and then that section that I read 
in chapter 9, verses 15 to 23, You ought to hear reminiscences 
of this particular passage in terms of journey, in terms of 
the glory cloud with reference to the children of Israel. So, 
guidance for the people of Israel given by God through His dwelling 
among them. So Leviticus deals with how do 
we meet God, and then with reference to numbers, how do we see God's 
presence among us? And again, that tabernacle is 
the visible representation on earth of God's nearness to his 
people. And so that idea of guidance, 
that idea of God's direct intervention over the children of Israel and 
their journeys to not only make the promise to Abraham way back 
in Genesis, but to see it through to fruition such that the children 
of Israel will enter into the promised land, conquer it, and 
possess it at least for a time. Now again, when they act like 
Canaanites, God will dispossess them from the land. He does that 
in 722 through the Assyrian Empire with reference to the northern 
tribes. He does it in 587-586 through 
Babylon to the southern tribes. So when the children of Israel 
imitate the Canaanites around them, We see that God's law is 
consistent. He's not capricious. He's not 
arbitrary. He doesn't just get on a whim 
and say, well, you know, I don't like those Canaanites anymore. 
I want Israel to go in and dispossess the land. No, God used Israel, 
who were not altogether righteous, as an instrument of judgment 
upon the Canaanites, who were even less righteous. And then 
when Israel apes their conduct, Then he's going to use Assyria, 
and he's going to use Babylon, and in AD 70 he uses the Romans 
to engage in the covenant curses indicated in Deuteronomy 28 and 
Leviticus chapter 26. The Bible fits together beautifully. The Bible is a whole. The connections 
are very, very strong. And when we come to books like 
this, hopefully we see that. And it encourages us in terms 
of the veracity of Scripture, its truthfulness, but divine 
inspiration. Men didn't just happen upon these 
thoughts and sort of put it down on paper. This is of God. All 
Scripture is given by inspiration of God. So notice the guidance 
of God for the people. Just a couple of sub points here. 
The presence of God in the camp of Israel. So in those early 
chapters, and again, this is basically 1.1 to 10.10 tonight. So you probably never thought 
you'd get that much of a block of narrative. in a Bible study, 
though I'm sure we have done that somewhere else at some point 
in the Pentateuch. But, oh, probably scabs and sores 
and whatnot. In the book of Leviticus, I don't 
know, going through yellow sores and what the priest's pronouncement 
was just didn't seem on to edification, and I'm not a priest or a Levitical 
priest. Some of that stuff is a bit confusing 
this side of the New, in this New Covenant era. but the presence 
of God in the camp of Israel. One of the emphases is now God 
is dwelling in the midst of his people via tabernacle. And so then there are specific 
instructions in terms of north and south and east and west in 
terms of tribal placement. God comes to dwell amongst the 
people, and the people are the people of Israel represented 
in those tribal groups. And so we see them sort of gathered 
around in terms of life, in terms of religion, and then ultimately 
in their journeys, the tabernacle is placed, and they resume those 
positions in terms of the camp. Morales says, the wilderness 
sojourn. By the way, I quoted Michael 
Morales a few times in the book of Leviticus. I've already quoted 
him here on Leviticus. He has a great biblical theology 
of the book of Leviticus. I highly recommend it. And then, 
I don't want to say lucky for me, but providentially for me, 
he's released a commentary on the book of Numbers. And thus 
far, I've only read a bit of the introduction. This is very 
good. Volume one is out. Volume two is coming out. But 
he makes this observation. The wilderness sojourn was the 
context for Israel to learn to live as a covenant community. 
So they're brought out of Egypt. They are then gathered at the 
base of Sinai. There they receive a multitude 
of laws, specifically 25 to 40, in terms of the tabernacle, the 
sanctuary, the dwelling place of God. Well, now it comes to 
pass. Now the covenant community, who 
had sworn fidelity to Yahweh in Exodus 24, is all cohesive 
and gathered at His feet. So the wilderness sojourn was 
the context for Israel to learn to live as a covenant community, 
as the multitudes redeemed out of Egypt were organized into 
a four-square encampment embodying the polity, structure, and nature 
of the Sinai covenant, a community where Yahweh dwelled among His 
people as sovereign. And intriguingly, when you get 
to the book of Ezekiel, for instance, and he engages in that, or he 
describes that visionary temple in chapters 40 to 48, all kinds 
of reminiscences about this situation that we find in terms of the 
tribes gathered in the sanctuary or near the sanctuary of God. 
And then I think John the seer in the book of Revelation in 
chapters 21 and 22 is drawing from that as well. So what you 
find here in the book of Numbers is somewhat a paradigm for all 
future tabernacling and templing in terms of God and His people. Morales again says, while the 
covenant is ratified in Exodus and the sacrificial system is 
legislated in Leviticus, it is not until Numbers where the covenant 
community is realized in its archetypal form. that the story 
of Israel's learning how to submit to Yahweh's leadership through 
his newly appointed offices and institutions is narrated. So 
this is the beginning, as it were. Again, we know it goes 
back to Genesis, but you see development, you see pieces being 
put into place, Well, when we get to the book of Numbers, the 
pieces are in place, the covenant community is assembled, the covenant 
community now has a particular task in mind to go into the land 
of Canaan and dispossess the land according to the promise 
of God to the patriarchs. It's a very wonderful and cohesive 
look at the Pentateuch. And then with reference to the 
camp, basically matters concerning the people and the camp in chapters 
1 to 6. We'll just do a bit of a flyover 
here. So matters concerning the people 
and the camp in chapters 1 to 6. And then various matters concerning 
the tabernacle itself in chapters 7 to 10. And so, again, all these 
pieces in place, and then we see God's guidance very specifically 
throughout the book of Numbers. We see his guidance in the first 
place in the midst of various troubles. In chapter 11, they're 
hungry. Well, the God who dwells among 
them and the God who is sovereign provides for them. You'll see 
various leadership struggles in the book of Numbers. And again, 
God makes clear his mind relative to who is to lead the people 
of Israel. So you've got leadership struggles 
in chapters 12, 16, and 17. And then you see this danger 
from without. So you've got the internal problems 
that typically always face a people group, but there's usually external 
problems as well. There's adversaries. And with 
reference to the adversaries, you see the emphasis on that 
in chapters 13 and 14. So basically in chapters 13 and 
14, you have a reconnaissance mission. Moses sends out spies 
to recon the land of Canaan. Remember, they're going to war. 
They're going to battle. They're going to dispossess the 
land of the Canaanites. And as any good military strategist 
would, they would try and find out what kind of weapons the 
enemy has. What kind of resources does he 
have to try and resist our invasion attempt? Is the land worth it? I mean, do we even really want 
to go into this land if it's a bad land and it's not what 
God had promised? So that fear of adversaries, 
regardless of God's dwelling in the midst of them, is one 
of the predicates as to why God destroys that first generation. And then with reference to guidance 
of God all the way into the promised land. So as I mentioned earlier, 
you can look at two things, the book of Numbers in two big parts, 
the demise of the old generation and then the rise of the new 
generation. The fact that there's the rise 
of the new generation, again, it's not owing to the goodness 
of the people. It is owing to the goodness and 
the graciousness of God Almighty. Stephen Dempster is commenting 
on the latter section of the book, The New Generation, and 
he says, the remainder of the book with its stress on a census 
of the new generation in chapter 26, preparations for the occupation 
of the land in chapters 27 and 36, the transition of leadership 
from Moses to Joshua in chapter 27, and a description of the 
boundaries of Canaan in chapter 34 seems to be more positive. So we must not miss that. There's 
a lot of sin, and there's a lot of judgment, and there's a lot 
of issues facing Israel in the book of Numbers. But the fact 
that Numbers ends with a generation gathered on the plains of Moab 
to be exhorted by Moses and then to enter into the promised land 
shows us once again the faithfulness of the God who promised to Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob that he would give them a good land. And then 
finally, I want to just focus on the function of numbers as 
a whole. So we've seen its connection 
to the Pentateuch in a general way, a specific connection to 
the book of Exodus and Leviticus, but with reference to the function 
of numbers as a whole, and this is not an exhaustive list. It's 
not an authoritative list. It's just some thoughts for us 
to consider as we move through this book. I'd say the overarching 
theme has to do with God. The overarching theme has to 
do with God. Of course, we see the sins of 
the people. Of course, we see some of the triumphs of the people. 
We see all of that, to be sure. But I would suggest, first, we 
see the presence of God in the midst of His people. Again, this 
is helpful for us as New Covenant believers because we have access 
through priesthood, through sacrifice, to the living and true God. Jesus 
is the true temple of God. Jesus is why there was a tabernacle 
and a temple. This is why you've probably heard 
me say on many occasions that this idea among some Christians 
that we need a rebuilt temple in a revived Roman Empire is 
absolutely contrary to biblical revelation. That is to go backward 
in redemptive history. The tabernacle and the temple 
existed to point to Christ. Once Christ is here, we don't 
go back to temple. We don't go back to tabernacle. 
When you ask the question about Ezekiel's visionary temple in 
Ezekiel 40-48, he's not talking about a rebuilt temple in a revived 
Roman Empire. He is preaching Christ. He is 
preaching the gospel. He is preaching the glory of 
the Lord Jesus Christ in the language and in the conventions 
that the people of God would have understood at that particular 
time. So we've got the presence of 
God in the midst of his people. Secondly, the necessity of God 
for victory over their enemies. They'd learn that lesson in the 
book of Numbers. They were going to need that 
lesson when they went up against all the various ites that were 
going to be occupying the land of Canaan. And when Cam read 
it on Sunday night, Joshua chapter 10, the Lord God fought for Israel. That wasn't the first time in 
the conquest led by Joshua. You'll see it throughout the 
book of Numbers. I would suggest, thirdly, the 
promise of God as the basis for the relationship. It's not their 
merit. It's not their law-keeping. It's 
not their goodness. It's not their sanctity. It is rather God's goodness, 
or rather God's promise, that serves as the basis for the relationship. And as I mentioned vaguely earlier, 
the oracles of Balaam seem to suggest that it's not more obedience 
on the part of Israel. That's not what's going to gain 
them or keep them in the favor of God. Well, in one sense it 
is, but not Israel, those people, the true Israel of God, which 
is Jesus Christ. Again, I think Balaam is preaching 
the promise of God in Jesus Christ. Now, in a lot more difficult 
way to get than, say, a Romans 1, or a Romans 4, or a Galatians 
1 and 2. But nevertheless, when Balaam 
is sent by Balak to curse the children of Israel, God blesses 
the children of Israel. And throughout Balaam's oracles, 
we get glimmers and glimpses of a blessed Messiah to come 
that is going to save his people from their sins. And then another 
overarching theme, so presence of God, necessity of God for 
victory, promise of God as the basis for the relationship. And 
then I would suggest, fourthly, the commands of God to regulate 
the conduct of the people. The commands of God to regulate 
the conduct of the people. How do you keep this group together? 
How do you have tribal allotments dwelling right near that sanctuary? How do you have it such that 
when the glory cloud lifts and they're called to journey, how 
do you have it when they go into battle that without some cohesiveness, 
without some legislation, without some overarching God who is controlling 
them, and I think that's one of the issues, is that he's preserving 
the nation of Israel to keep the line clean and pure with 
reference to the coming Messiah? You see it brought into jeopardy 
along the way in the Old Testament books, but it's always kept, 
and it's always kept by the power of God for the express purpose 
that the Lion of the tribe of Judah would come. He had to be 
a Davidic king, had to come from the Lion of David. Well, if you 
would have left it up to Israel, and this is what happens in the 
books of Ezra and Nehemiah, what do they do? They go out and they 
marry pagans. Well, Ezra and Nehemiah, they 
don't want that. Ezra says, no, you need to put 
those pagans away. Not gun to head put away, but 
separate from them. Why? Because you're going to 
jeopardize the line of the Messiah. The seed of the woman promised 
in Genesis chapter 3, the blessed one of Israel that's going to 
come to redeem us from our sins, this body had to be held together, 
and it was held together by something a whole lot better and a whole 
lot greater and a whole lot more glorious than they themselves. They would have lost it a hundred 
times over, but God preserved them and God kept them. Now, 
finally, the historical situation, just to run through some of the 
contents in the book, not verse by verse, but just some of the 
major themes. First, the command concerning 
the censuses. That's how the book starts, with 
a census. That's probably not the way we'd 
start a book. We'd build up to that. We might 
paint some background data. But again, it's close connection 
with Leviticus, Exodus prior, and Genesis prior. It doesn't 
really need to be a buildup. But specifically, you've got 
a census in the first generation in Chapter 1 and following. And then you've got the second 
census in Chapter 26. Dumbrell says a new census called 
for in Numbers 26 indicated that the 40 years of wandering are 
over and a new beginning is heralded. But turn to Numbers chapter 1 
so that we can see the purpose for the census. I don't know 
because I don't think I looked at it when it came to my house 
whenever it was a few years ago. But from what I understand, they're 
asking, do you have spare bedrooms and those sorts of questions 
in the Canadian census? Is that accurate? Has anybody 
ever seen a census? It's kind of like a Walmart flyer. You don't look at the censuses. 
But very invasive, very none of your business type stuff. Like I'm a citizen in this body 
politic. I'd like the right to privacy. 
I don't want big brother to know there's an empty room in my house 
so he can ship an immigrant in there. that might eat my cat 
or dog. Sorry, I just had to throw that 
out if anybody's up on the news. But with reference to the censuses 
in the book of Numbers, it's very specific. Look at chapter 
one, verse one. Now the Lord spoke to Moses in 
the wilderness of Sinai in the tabernacle of meeting on the 
first day of the second month in the second year after they 
had come out of the land of Egypt saying, Take a census of all 
the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, 
by their father's houses, according to the number of names, every 
male individually from 20 years old and above, all who are able 
to go to war in Israel. That's the purpose for the census. When you look at chapter 26 and 
the second census, that is the same purpose. Notice in 26, four, 
take a census of the people from 20 years old and above, just 
as the Lord commanded Moses and the children of Israel who came 
out of the land of Egypt. So it's just as the Lord commanded 
Moses. The census is specific. It is 
with reference to male fighting persons. Why? Because they're 
going into Canaan. And the Canaanites aren't going 
to hand them the land. The Canaanites aren't going to 
say, hey, Israelites are here. Honey, pack your bags. Let's 
leave everything we've worked hard for and built with our own 
two hands, and let's just give it up for the Israelites. That's 
not going to happen. Every bit of ground that they 
get in the land of Canaan is going to be bloodied with Canaanite 
blood. Now, this is the command of God. Remember, we've got the stipulation 
for holy war very clearly laid out in Deuteronomy 7, as well 
in the book of Exodus. So this mandate by God to go 
into the land of Canaan and dispossess the land of the Canaanites, that 
dispossession wasn't through invitation, it wasn't through 
paying them off, it was through conquering. That's why we call 
it the conquest. And so as they are moving through 
the wilderness, they're going to have some skirmishes. They're 
going to have some battles. They're going to have some fights. 
There are going to be people in their journey, their sojourn, 
that they're going to have to deal with. But when they get 
to the land of Canaan and they go into that land, they're going 
to need to be prepared to fight. And again, how do you move an 
army if you don't know who you've got? How do you move an army 
if you don't know who's able to function? So it's a beautiful 
thing. God is over sovereignly these 
people, but he uses means. He uses the leadership of Moses. 
He puts down those who challenge Moses' leadership. With reference 
to Joshua, he supplies a successor to Moses. So God the Lord rules 
and reigns, to be sure, and it is direct in terms of a theocracy, 
but it's mediated through priests, it's mediated through a king, 
it's mediated through a king-like figure. And again, all of that 
to teach us that the champion to come is going to be a prophet, 
priest, and king. So what God is doing in the Old 
Testament is basically telling us what the Messiah is going 
to look like when he comes in the New Covenant. So you've got 
the command concerning the censuses, the purpose for the censuses, 
and then thirdly, the preparation of the people for life in the 
Promised Land. They've gotten lots of legislation 
in Exodus and Leviticus. Remember, that first generation 
died off. I'm not suggesting that the second 
generation didn't have access to what they had been taught, 
but it is incumbent upon this second generation to learn these 
things. And again, that's much of what 
the book of Deuteronomy, why it repeats much of the book of 
Exodus, is so that the people can learn how to function for 
their tenure in the land. And many of the laws given that 
we call judicial laws, or the judicial use of the law, chapters 
21 to 23 in the book of Exodus, and then again lots of them in 
the book of Deuteronomy, are to govern the nation of Israel 
while they are in the land. That's why our confession says 
those judicial laws are no longer binding on the people of God 
in the New Covenant, because we're not that Commonwealth of 
Israel is no more. But it goes on to say there's 
a general equity. You can appreciate what God does 
through those judicial laws and put them into practice in a way 
in the New Covenant. but a strict one-for-one judicial 
law, Exodus 21 to 23, carry over into the New Covenant Church 
in a strict parallel way, that's a misstep. That's not something 
that is legitimate with reference to the Word of God. So then, 
fourthly, You've got the failure of the first generation and the 
success of the second generation. Turn over to Numbers 13. I've 
alluded to it. We should just look at why this 
was the case and why it was that God judged them so severely. Now, as I said, it's a recon 
mission. They go into the land, and the 
initial report is it's a good land, but there's some big, bad 
people. Then they revise their report, 
and they say, good land, big people. I'm sorry. The 10 spies 
say, good land, big people. Joshua and Caleb rather say, 
good land, big people, but bigger God. We've got this. And then 
the other spies revise their report. They say, bad land, big 
people, no chance. So of course, when the spies 
go back to report to the congregation of Israel, as you might imagine, 
the congregation of Israel doesn't listen to Joshua and Caleb. They 
don't listen to good land, big people, but bigger God. They 
listen to the ten spies who say bad land, big people, no chance. Now, what this indicates is a 
lack of faith. Look at how the section begins 
in chapter 13, verse 1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, 
saying, Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving 
to the children of Israel. This was settled. This was a 
done deal. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, they all 
received the promise. They're in this very vantage 
point presently because of this promise. They're not there again 
because they decided it might be a good thing for us to go 
and try to dispossess the land of the Canaanites. No, it was 
all predicated on this gracious promise of God. Notice, Caleb 
understood this, verse 30, chapter 13. Then Caleb quieted the people 
before Moses and said, Let us go up at once and take possession, 
for we are well able to overcome it. Why? Because our God. We have seen Him. We have known 
His presence. We have witnessed His power. 
Of course we can take this. We've got this. So that's why 
the judgment of God falls upon that generation. The congregation 
of Israel, without any faith whatsoever in the promise of 
God, listened to the ten grumbling, whining spies, and basically 
said, there's no hope for us. And of course, Moses intercedes, 
stays in the hand of God, according to the manner of men, at least 
for a time, but there is judgment upon them. I would suggest, fifthly, 
with reference to the book of Numbers, it's programmatic. And 
by programmatic, I mean that it's a program for the subsequent 
happenings to the nation of Israel. I mean, when you look at the 
prophets, you get the same movement. You get lots of problems. Lots 
of complaints, lots of grumbling, lots of sin, and a lot of grace 
on the part of God Most High. There would be a host of failures 
in the subsequent history of Israel, but the faithfulness 
of God would likewise be obvious. I would suggest sixth, the presence 
of God with his people in the wilderness. I'm gonna end tonight 
quickly, or soon, on a statement that affirms that. But the presence 
of God with his people in the wilderness. That's a good theme 
for us in this New Covenant setting. Again, not one-for-one parallel. We are not Old Covenant Israel. 
America is not Old Covenant Israel. I know a lot of Americans like 
to think that they're Old Covenant Israel, but they're not. The 
one-for-one strict parallel is not there. But we see patterns. We see similarities. We see that 
in the lives of God's people in this present evil age, it 
feels at times like a wilderness. It feels at times like we're 
strangers in a very strange land. If you're not feeling that presently, 
I want to give you a shake and ask how. I mean, the things that 
you see on a regular basis are pretty perplexing. So in one 
sense, in a New Covenant setting and in our arena, we can look 
back on the book of Numbers and see, hey, you know, even in the 
midst of the wilderness, even when it seemed like they were 
destitute, even when it seemed like they were just aimlessly 
wandering around, God was present with them. God was in the midst 
with them. D'Umbrell again says, the glory 
cloud is thus God's manifested presence, serving both to save 
and to judge Israel during this wilderness period. And then another 
emphasis in terms of the historical situation is the faithfulness 
of God with reference to the promise to the patriarchs. If 
you've read Numbers recently, or if you've ever read Numbers, 
you'll know that there was a man by the name of Zelophehad who 
had daughters. And of course, Zulafa had died, 
and he had no sons. And so the daughters come and 
say, hey, do we get a share in the tribal allotments? It's not 
our fault. I'm kind of reading between the 
lines here. Not our fault that dad died. Not our fault that 
there's no brothers. This is mentioned twice. Isn't 
that interesting? God's Word takes up the downtrodden 
and poor, these sisters that are wondering whether or not 
they will have a share in the land of promise. You see it in 
chapter 27, verses 1 to 11, and then again in chapter 36, verses 
1 to 12. Now, on the one hand, that makes 
for a nice, moving, delicate story. God has a heart for these 
sisters who have no father and no brothers. But what is the 
bigger point illustrated? There is a land to inherit. The promise of God to Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob has come to fruition. It has come to realization. The daughters of Zelophehad are 
going to own property in the land promised by God to Abraham. That is what you need to get 
from that. And then finally, the goodness 
of God in the Exodus and in the wilderness. Turn to the book 
of Deuteronomy in the first exhortation on the plains of Moab. You've got sort of a historical 
review. Well, not sort of, but you do 
have a historical review. Notice in Deuteronomy 1, and 
we'll just end here, in verses 29 to 33. Then I said to you, do not be 
terrified or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before 
you, he will fight for you according to all he did for you in Egypt 
before your eyes and in the wilderness. So you tried and proved your 
God in Egypt, so the book of Exodus, and in the wilderness, 
the book of Numbers, where you saw how the Lord your God carried 
you as a man carries his son in all the way that you went 
until you came to this place. Yet for all that, you did not 
believe the Lord your God. who went in the way before you 
to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show 
you the way you should go in the fire by night and in the 
cloud by day. So the goodness of God runs very 
loudly and clearly through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 
originating in Genesis, fruition in the new covenant with our 
Lord Jesus Christ. So as Israel interpreted the 
wilderness, God had abandoned them. Moses says, no, that's 
absolutely positively not the case. It was, as it were, like 
a man carrying his son. That's how God tended to you 
in the wilderness. So hopefully as we approach the 
book, as we move on from chapter 10, verse 11, into that first 
journey, we will see these themes and hopefully be an encouragement 
to us. Well, let me pray. Our Father in Heaven, thank You 
for Your Word. Thank You for its cohesiveness. Thank You for 
the history. Thank You for the theology. Thank 
You for the prophecy and how it points us to our Lord Jesus 
Christ. And we bless You that, as Paul 
says, all the promises of God are yea and amen in Him. and 
we rejoice that you have given us a saving interest in Christ 
Jesus our Lord. Go with us now, watch over all 
the brothers and the sisters in our local church, bring us 
together on the Lord's day that we may worship you in spirit 
and in truth, and we pray through Christ the Lord, amen. Well, 
any questions or comments on not specific texts in Numbers 
1 to 10?