1. Introduction to Numbers.
   A. Structure of Numbers. Numbers is structured around three historical periods.
      1. Numbers 1:1-10:11 Twenty day period from the completion of the tabernacle at
         Mt. Sinai to the commencement of the journey to the Promised Land.
      2. Numbers 10:11-20:13 Thirty eight years of the Wilderness Wandering
      3. Numbers 20:14-36:13: Six month period when the second generation of Jews prepares
         to enter the Promised Land.
   B. It is called Numbers because it begins with a tribal census of the Jews in chapters
      1-3. Another is in chapter 26.
2. (Numbers 1-10) Preparations for the Journey. Twenty day period from the completion of
   the tabernacle at Mt. Sinai to the commencement of the journey to the Promised Land.
   A. The Census.
      1. The total number of men twenty years and older is 603,550 (Num. 1:45, 46).
         a. This number grew out of the handful of people that went down into Egypt with
            Isaac.
         b. Does not include women and males under twenty years of age or the Levites
            (1:45, 49).
         c. Estimates of the total Jewish population range upwards to two and one half
            million or more (Archer, Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 248).
      2. Theological purpose of the census is to show that God fulfilled his promise to
         Abraham that he would make his descendents into a great nation (Gen. 12:2).
      3. The Levitical Census (Leviticus 3, 4).
         a. The Levites are numbered separately under three clans.
            1. Kohathites cared for the most holy things of the tabernacle (4:4).
            2. Gershonites carried the tabernacle burdens (4:21).
            3. Merarites carried the frames, crossbeams, etc. (4:29).
         b. Total number of male Levites aged 30-50 was 8,850 (4:47).
         c. This number of men was assigned to care for the tabernacle!
   B. Ceremonial and Moral Purity Laws, Nazarite Vow, Priestly Blessing
      (Numbers 5, 6).
      1. Those who are ceremonially unclean because of a skin infection, bodily discharge,
         or contact with a dead body are to be sent out of the camp 5:1-4).
      2. Test for an Unfaithful Wife (5:5-31).
         a. Wife expected of unfaithfulness is to drink "bitter water," i.e., water into
            which has been poured dust from the tabernacle floor.
         b. If she has been faithful to her husband , no harm will come to her.
         c. If she has been unfaithful, she is under a curse and she will not be able to
            have children.
      3. Nazarite Vow (6:1-21).
         a. A vow of personal consecration to the Lord for men or women (6:2).
         b. Not drink wine, other fermented drink, vinegar, or grape juice (6:3).
         c Not to eat grapes or raisins (6:3, 4).
         d. Not to cut hair until vow completed (6:5).
         e. Not to go near a dead body (6:6).
      4. Priestly Blessing (6:22-27). The blessing which Aaron and the priests were to
         pronounce upon the people. The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his
         face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and
         give you peace.
   C. Setting Up the Tabernacle (Numbers 7, 8).
      1. The Tabernacle is set up and dedicated.
      2. Levites are consecrated for service (8:5-24).
   D. Celebrate the Passover (9:1-14).
      1. Because some Jews were not able to celebrate the Passover due to ritual
         defilement, Moses institutes a second Passover which God commanded to be held on
         the 14th day of the second month (9:11).
      2. Those who failed to keep the Passover were cut off from among the people (9:13).
   E. The Cloud of the Presence Leads the Way (9:15-23).
      1. This is the same cloud that led the Israelites out of Egypt and stood between them
         and Pharaoh's army at the Red Sea.
      2. Stood over the tabernacle (9:15).
         a. fire by night (9:16)
         b. cloud by day
      3. When the cloud left, the Israelites followed. Where it stopped, they settled
         until it lifted again (9:17).
         a. Cloud may settle in a place for a day, month, or even a year (9:22).
         b. Might lift and leave in the day or night (9:21).
         c. Thus, by the Lord's command they encamped, and by the Lord's command they set
            out (9:23).
   F. Silver Trumpets (10:1-10).
      1. When one was sounded the leaders to appear before the tabernacle.
      2. When both sounded, all Israel to appear before the tabernacle.
      3. With the sound of a trumpet, the tribes would set out on their journey.
      4. Later, trumpets to be sounded in battle and in festivals (10:9, 10).
   G. Israelites Leave Sinai (Num. 10:11-36).
      1. The Israelites leave Sinai on the twentieth day of the second month of the second
         year when the cloud lifted (10:11).
      2. The Israelite march was orderly.
         a. Cloud of the Presence.
         b. Ark of the Covenant.
         c. Judah as head of the first division.
            1. Issachar
            2. Zebulon
         d. Gershonites and Merarites carrying the tabernacle structure.
         e. Reuben as head of the second division.
            1. Simeon
            2. Gad
         f. Kohathites bearing the sanctuary.
         g. Ephraim as head of the third division.
            1. Benjamen
            2. Manassah
         h. Dan as head of the fourth division.
            1. Napthali
            2. Asher
            3. The Israelite march was logical.
               a. Note that the Gershonites and Merarites traveled far enough ahead
                  that they could have the tabernacle set up before the Kohathites
                  arrived with the most holy things.
               b. Note that the tribes with the largest numbers were in front and
                  rear, offering protection from attack.
               c. The tabernacle was always protected by being in the center of the
                  Jews.
3. (Numbers 11-25) The Wilderness Wandering.
   A. The Jews were at Sinai for less than a year, and in that time they had been
      transformed from a band of slaves into an organized nation.
      1. The Jews set out for the Promised Land.
         a. Four hundred years of slavery is behind them.
         b. They are now the great nation God promised.
         c. No more Egypt, no more Pharaoh, no more bondage.
         d. YHWH will be our God, and we will be his people.
      2. However, they will rebel against the Lord and will not arrive for forty years!
         Numbers is a record of rebellion.
         a. In the New Testament Numbers is repeatedly used as warning to Christians
            concerning the dangers of rebelling against God (1 Cor.10:1-13; Heb. 3:7-19).
         b. Numbers is also a record of the faithfulness of God.
         c. We see two principles at work.
            1. God holds individuals accountable for their sins. The whole generation that
               left Egypt died in the wilderness.
            2. In spite of the rebellion of Israel, he never casts them away as his
               covenant people. He will deliver Israel, as a nation, into the Promised
               Land.
   B. There are three rebellions from the time they left Sinai until the time God told them
      they would not be able to enter the Promised Land.
      1. First Rebellion: Complaint concerning Diet. (Num. 11:1-35).
         a. People complain that their diet is not the same as in Egypt, where they had
            cucumbers, melons, leeks and meat (11:4, 5).
         b. Now all they have to eat is manna (11:6).
         c. Moses was distraught (11:10).
            1. Moses asks God how he can carry this burden of all these people by himself
               (11:11-15).
            2. The burden is so heavy, Moses asks God to put him to death (11:15).
            3. God fills seventy men with his Spirit to help Moses rule the people
               (11:16, 17).
         d. Lord was very angry with the people (11:10).
            1. The Lord says he will send meat. Moses tells the people, they will eat meat
               until "it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it-because you have
               rejected the Lord who is among you (11:20).
            2. God sends a wind that drove quail down from the sea (10:31).
               a. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the
                  ground as far as a days' walk in any direction (11:31).
               b. People gathered quail and no one had less than ten homers (perhaps as
                  much as sixty bushels).
               c. While they were eating, God struck them with a severe plague (11:33).
               d. Place called "Kibroth Hattaavah" which means "graves of craving."
               e. Does Num. 11:31 seem unreasonable (Archer, Survey of Old Testament
                  Introduction, 249)?
                  1. (AV) And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails
                      from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's
                      journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other
                      side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the
                      face of the earth.
                  2. It sounds as if there were quail two cubits deep on the ground for a
                     day's journey in any direction.
                  3. This has been calculated to be seventy thousand bushels of quail
                     per Israelite per meal.
                  4. Hebrew text says that the quail were deflected downward by a wind to
                     a height of two cubits - not that they were two cubits deep after
                     they died.
      2. Second Rebellion: Complaint of Miriam and Aaron (Num. 12:1-16).
         a. Miriam and Aaron challenge the fitness of Moses to lead Israel because he
            married a Cushite woman (12:1).
         b. They want the place of leadership for themselves: "Has the Lord spoken only
            through Moses? Hasn't he also spoken through us?"
         c. God comes down in front of the tabernacle in the Cloud and calls Moses, Miriam
            and Aaron forward (12:4).
            1. Reminds them that he chose Moses!
               a. I speak to prophets in dreams and visions (12:6).
               b. But I speak to Moses face to face (12:8).
               c. He see the form of the Lord (12:8).
               d. Why weren't you afraid to speak against my servant, Moses(12:8)?
            2. God strikes Miriam with leprosy (12:10).
               a. Aaron turned to Moses and asked him to intercede.
               b. Moses intercedes and Miriam is healed, but set outside of the camp for
                  seven days because she is unclean (12:14, 15).
            3. Third Rebellion: Rebellion of the Ten Spies (Numbers 13, 14).
               a. At the border of the Promised Land, Moses sends twelve spies to enter
                  Canaan (13:1-20).
                  1. Good land or bad?
                  2. What kind of towns do the people live in?
                  3. How is the soil? Is it fertile?
                  4. Bring back some of the fruit.
               b. After forty days, they returned with a cluster of grapes carried
                  on a pole carried by two men (13:23).
                  1. Good news was that it truly was a land flowing with milk and
                     honey (13:27).
                  2. However, the people are powerful and the cities fortified(13:28).
                  3. Ten of the spies went through the camp and spread a bad report.
                  4. Joshua and Caleb encouraged the people to go up and take the
                     land (13:30; 14:7, 8).
               c. People begin to weep and complain (14:1-4). If only we had died in Egypt!
                  Or in this desert! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let
                  us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder.
                  We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt!
               d. When Joshua and Caleb try to encourage faith among the people,saying
                  that they can take the land because the Lord is with them, they talked
                  of stoning them (14:10, 11).
               e. God decides to strike the entire group of rebels with a plague and
                  kill them (14:12).
                  1. Moses speaks with God and says if he does that the Egyptians
                     will hear about it and say God was not powerful enough to deliver
                     his people to Canaan.
                  2. God forgives them (14:20), but adds that not one of the men who
                     "saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and
                     in the desert but who disobeyed me by testing me ten times, not
                     one of them will ever see it" (14:23, 30).
                     a. Their bodies would fall in the desert (14:33, 35).
                     b. For forty years they would wander in the desert, one year
                        for each day the spies were in Canaan (14:33, 34).
                  3. God strikes the ten spies with a plague of death (14:37). Only
                     Joshua and Caleb survived.
               f. Israel decides to go into the Canaan anyway (14:40-45).
                  1. After the plague, Israel repented and decided they would go into
                     Canaan after all.
                  2. Moses warns them that the Lord was not with them and they will
                     perish (14:43).
                     a. Moses and the ark do not go.
                     b. Israelites defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites who
                        lived in the hill country (14:45).
   C. The Wilderness Wanderings continued to be a time of rebellion and failure on the part
      of the Jews and judgment and mercy on the part of God (Numbers 15:1-25:18).
      1. Rebellions and Moral Failings.
         a. Korah's Rebellion (Numbers 16, 17).
            1. Korah, a Kohathite, with 250 community leaders, opposed Moses.
               a. The whole camp is holy. Why have you set yourself above the assembly
                  (16:3)?
                  1. The charge is that since the Lord is in their midst and the people
                     are holy, they do not need Moses and Aaron to stand between them
                     (the community leaders) and God.
                  2. They want the role of leadership for themselves.
               b. The test will be that Korah and his men will put incense in censers and
                  appear before the tabernacle with Moses and Aaron. The Lord will then show
                  who he has chosen (16:5-7).
               c. Korah and his men initially refuse to come (16:12).
               d. While standing before the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the Lord
                  appears (16:19).
                  1. Tells Moses and Aaron to have the people move away from the tents of
                     these wicked men (16:46).
                  2. Moses tells the people, if these men die a natural death, then I am
                     not your leader.
                  3. If they die by some new method - if the earth opens up and swallows
                     them alive, then you will know they are not your leaders (16:28-30).
                  4. Earth opened up and swallowed Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their
                     families and possessions (16:33).
                  5. Fire came down and consumed the 250 followers (16:35).
            2. Plague Kills the Grumbling People (16:41-50).
               a. The next day the people grumble because of the death of Korah and
                  his followers.
               b. The Jews gathered at the Tent of Meeting to oppose Moses.
               c. God sends a plague among the people and they begin to fall over dead
                  (16:45ff.)
               d. As the plague is moving across the assemble, Moses tells Aaron to put
                  incense and fire from the altar and run in among the people to make
                  atonement.
               e. When he reaches the point where the plague is moving across the assembly,
                  it stops. He stood between the living and the dead (16:48). 147,000
                  died (16:49).
            3. Aaron's Staff Blossoms (17).
               a. To show who is the High Priest, Moses commands Aaron and each of the
                  tribal leaders to bring their staffs to the Tent of Meeting.
               b. The next day, Aaron's staff had budded, blossomed, and produced
                  almonds (17:8).
               c. Aaron's staff was placed in the Ark of the Covenant along with manna and
                  the Ten Commandments.
         b. Moses at Meribah (Numbers 20).
            1. In the Desert of Zin, people complain that they have no water (20:1, 2).
            2. God tells Moses to take Aaron's staff and speak to the rock and it will
               pour forth water (20:8).
            3. Moses disobeys God.
               a. "Listen you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock" (20:10).
               b. Strikes rock twice with his staff (20:11).
            4. Water came out of the rock, but because of Moses disobedience,he was not
               allowed to enter the Promised Land (20:12).
         c. The Bronze Snake (Numbers 21:4-9; 27:13, 14).
            1. Later, the people again grew impatient and complained of a lack of water
               (21:4-9).
            2. God sent venomous snakes which killed the Jews (21:6).
            3. Moses constructed a bronze snake and placed it on a pole.
            4. When the Jews looked at it, they were healed and lived (21:9).
            5. 2 King 18:4 [Hezekiah broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made,
               for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was
               called Nehushtan.)
      2. Defeat of Enemies. Though Israel is not faithful to God, God is faithful to
         Israel.  This is seen in his protection of his people against attacking nations.
         a. The Edomites, descendents of Esau, refused to allow Israel to pass through
            their land (Num. 20:14-21).
            1. They turned to another way (20:14-21).
            2. (Deut. 2:4) Israel was not to harass the Edomites and were to pay for
               whatever food and water they needed.
            3. Also cf. Deut 23:8; Ezek 35:5.
         b. Defeat of Arad (Num. 21:1-3) The king of Arad attacked the Israelites and took
            some captive. Israel then attacked and defeated Arad.
         c. Defeat of Og and Sihon (21:21-35)
            1. When the Israelites asked Sihon, king of the Amorites, if they could pass
               through their land, he attacked the Israelites. God empowered his people
               to defeat Sihon and they took their land.
            2. Later, they were attacked by Og, king of Baashan (21:33). Israel also
               defeated Og and took their land.
            3. Celebrated in Ps 135:11; Ps 136:19.
         d. Defeat of the Moabites and Midianites: The Balaam Oracles (Numbers 22-24).
            1. Moabites and Midianites hire the sorcerer Balaam to come and pronounce a
               curse upon the Jews (22:24-26).
            2. They send dignitaries with money to ask Baalam to come (22:15).
               a. Asks the Lord, who tells him not to go.
               b. They send more dignitaries and this time, when he inquires of the Lord,
                  the Lord tells him to go.
            3. On the way, an angel blocks the way along the way.
               a. Donkey turns into the field. Balaam beats his donkey (22:23).
               b. Further down the road, the angel stands at a place where the path
                  squeezed between two walls (22:24, 25).
                  1. Balaam's foot crushed against the wall.
                  2. Beats the donkey a second time.
               c. Further, still, the donkey stops because the angel is standing in the
                  path with a drawn sword (22:26, 27).
                  1. When Baalam beats his donkey, the donkey turns to him and rebukes
                     him (22:28).
                  2. Lord opens Balaams eyes so that he sees the angel.
                  3. Angel tells the prophet to go on his journey, but to only speak the
                     words he is told (22:35).
                  4. Three Times Balaam is taken to Curse Israel, but each time, it is
                     turned into a blessing.
                     a. First Oracle (23:1-12).
                        1. Balaam has them build seven altars and offer sacrifices (23:1,2).
                        2. God then tells Balaam to announce a blessing upon Israel                             (23:7-10).
                        3. Balak says that he has brought Balaam to curse, but he has only
                           blessed!
                     b. Second Oracle (23:13-26).
                        1. Again, seven altars are built (23:14).
                        2. Again, a blessing is announced (23:18-24).
                           a. I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I
                              cannot change it (23:20).
                           b. No misfortune is seen in Jacob, or misery in Israel (23:21).
                           c. Third Oracle (23:27-24:13).
                              1. Seven altars are built (23:29, 30).
                              2. How beautiful are your tents O Jacob
                                 your dwelling places O Israel (24:5).
                           d. Fourth Oracle (24:15-25). The fourth oracle is spoken directly
                              to Balak, not toward the Jews.
                              1. Announces judgment against Israel's enemies.
                              2. Prophecy of the coming Messiah (24:17).
                  5. Israel is seduced.
                     a. Numbers 24 ends with Balaam returning home.
                     b. In Numbers 31:16 we learn that Israel was seduced by the
                        Moabites by the advice of Balaam (also cf. Rev 2:14).
                     c. His advice to the Moabites was that if they wanted Israel cursed,
                        they should send women down among them to seduce them and lead them
                        into idolatry.
                        1. Numbers 25: Israel is seduced in exactly this way (25:1) and they                              worship Baal of Peor (25:5).
                        2. Moses had judges execute by sword those who were guilty (25:5).
                        3. God also sent a plague among the people that killed 24,000
                           (25:8, 9).
                        4. Midianites were killed for seducing Israel (25:17; 31).
4. (Numbers 26-36) Second Generation Prepares to Enter Canaan.
   A. Second Census. A second census is found in Numbers 26.
      1. There have been so many Jews that have died in rebellions against the Lord that
         only Joshua and Caleb remain of the original group that came out of Egypt
         (26:65).
      2. The theological purpose of the census is to show that God has still been faithful
         to his promise to Abraham to make him into a great nation.
      3. Males twenty years old and older numbered 601, 730 (26:51).
   B. Zelophehad's Daughters (27:1-11).
      1. Zelophehad died as a result of personal sin in the desert (21:3).
      2. The problem is that he had no sons, only daughters. If they are not able to
         receive their father's inheritance, they will be cut off from the covenant blessing
         and the clan would be cut off from among the people.
      3. Lord says they may receive their father's inheritance.
   C. Joshua to Succeed Moses (Num. 27:12-23).
      1. Joshua is appointed the place of leadership before the entire community. (27:19).
      2. Eleazar the new high priest was to inquire for him by Urim and Thummim (27:21;
         cf. Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8).
      3. Moses will die and is to be replaced by Joshua. Aaron had already died and was
         replaced by Eleazar (20:22). Mariam has also already died (Num. 21:1).
   D. Sacrifices, Feasts and Vows. Numbers 28-30 reviews the ceremonial institutions to
      be carried on in generations to come.
   E. Numbers 31, discusses the defeat of the Midianites, discussed above in connection
      with Balaam (Num. 22-24).
   F. Transjordan Tribes (Numbers 32).
      1. Gadites, Reubenites and half-tribe of Manassah were given lands east of the
         Jordan River conquered from Sihon and Og (32:33).
      2. They had to agree to cross the Jordan River and help the rest Israel fight for
          their land (32:16-20). Had to lead the fight (Deut. 3:18).
      3. Half of Manasseh was east, half west of Jordan. Called half-tribes (Num 32:33;
         Joshua 16:9).
   G. Towns for the Levites (Numbers 35).