Numbers

The Walk in the Wilderness

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's masterpiece, created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good actions that God prepared long ago to be our way of life.

The theme of Numbers is the transitions and victories of the people of Israel from the time they left the area of Sinai until they reached the borders of the Promised Land. It is a collection of data, narratives, rituals, and civil law.

The people followed the domestic pursuits of nomads, living in tents and pasturing flocks in the semi-arid steppes. These circumstances required special divine provision of food and water.

God is presented in Numbers as a sovereign who demands absolute obedience to His holy will, but who also shows mercy to the repentant and believing. Just as a father nurtures and guides his children, God directs His beloved people, Israel. He chooses to interact with humanity through mediators. Among these, Moses stands out as unique, although others, like Balaam, may also possess prophetic gifts, for God is the creator of all spiritual beings.

The deliverance from Egypt serves as a model of earthly redemption that foreshadows eternal redemption. The experiences in the wilderness are recorded for our warning.

1 Corinthians 10:11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down as a warning for us in whom the culmination of the ages has been attained.

The incident of the brazen serpent illustrated how Jesus Himself was to be lifted up, so that those who believe in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! He has blessed us in the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm, just as He chose us in the Messiah before the creation of the universe to be holy and blameless in His presence.

Scarlet Thread:

• Bread of life Numbers 11:7-9 = John 6:57-58
• Water of life Numbers 20:11 = 1 Corinthians 10:4
• Lifted up Numbers 21:9 = John 3:14-15
• The coming star out of Jacob Numbers 24:17 = Luke 1:78; 2 Peter 1:19; Revelation 2:28; Revelation 22:16