Numbers
Outline
This is still a working document. “What I Learned” about Numbers, also a working document, is also available.
In Exodus the sons of Israel learned how to build the tabernacle, in Leviticus they learned how to use the tabernacle, and in Numbers they learn how to move the tabernacle, all so a Holy God could be in their presence.
Numbers 1 (Day 54): God orders a census of the men, “according to the number of names,” of the tribes of Israel, excluding the Levites, twenty years and older, able to go to war: 603,550.
Numbers 2 (Day 54): God determines the order of the camps of the tribes of Israel around the tent of meeting, at a distance, with the tribe of Levi surrounding it, and order of their procession when setting out.
Numbers 3 (Day 55): Since God sanctified all firstborn males to Himself at the first Passover, the Levites are given in place of the firstborn of the other tribes, in order to serve the priests and the tabernacle. God orders the sons of Levi, one month old and upward, to be counted versus number of firstborn males, one month old and upward, of the rest of the tribes, and a ransom is paid as an offering to Aaron and his sons for the excess firstborn males of the other tribes.
Numbers 4 (Day 55): God directs a census of the males, from thirty- to fifty-years-old, able to perform the work in service of the tent of meeting, from the families of the tribe of Levi (Kohath, Geshon, Merari), and describes their responsibilities regarding the tabernacle and tent of meeting.
Numbers 5 (Day 56): God reminds the Israelites to send the unclean outside the camp so as not to defile the camp where the Lord dwells in their midst, He reminds of the guilt offering for sin against another that requires restitution, and He describes the law of jealousy for determining if a woman has been unfaithful to her husband.
Numbers 6 (Day 56): God describes the law of the Nazirite, for when a man or woman makes a special vow to dedicate himself or herself to the Lord. God gives Moses the beloved Aaronic blessing to invoke His Name over the sons of Israel for Him to bless them.
Numbers 7 (Day 57): The leaders of the tribes of Israel offer carts and oxen to be used by Levites in carrying the tabernacle and tent of meeting, and then the twelve tribes make offerings and sacrifices on twelve consecutive days for the dedication of the altar.
Numbers 8 (Day 58): Aaron lights the lampstand. The Levites are cleansed for service, burnt and sin offerings are made on their behalf to atone for their sin, and they are offered by the congregation as a wave offering before the Lord to serve the tent of meeting to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary.
Numbers 9 (Day 58): The anniversary of the first Passover is celebrated, and the cloud and fire over the tabernacle that directs the movement of the people of Israel is explained.
Numbers 10 (Day 58): God directs that two silver trumpets be made to announce gathering, movement, war, and feasts, to be a reminder of the sons of Israel before Him. At God’s direction, by the lifting of the cloud over the tabernacle, the Israelites set out, according to His directions, from Mount Sinai, where they have been for 9 months, and go a three days’ journey to the wilderness of Paran.
Numbers 11 (Day 59): The people complain in the wilderness, angering God, who burns some of them to death with fire. Moses tells God the burden of them is too much to bear, so God puts His Spirit on 70 men from the elders of Israel to share Moses’ burden with him. Because of their complaint, God gives the people an abundance of quail to eat for a month, until they get sick of it, killing with plague those who are greedy in gathering it.
Numbers 12 (Day 59): Aaron and Miriam complain against Moses, claiming God spoke through them as well, and God makes Miriam leprous for seven days as punishment. She must remain outside the camp and the nation cannot move again until she is restored.
Numbers 13 (Day 59): God has Moses send out 12 men from the 12 tribes of Israel (excluding the Levites) to spy out their promised land of Canaan for 40 days. They bring back a good report about the land, but all but Moses’ servant Joshua, from Ephraim, and Caleb, from Judah, believe they are not strong enough to go up against the people of the land, forgetting the promises of God who is in their very presence.
Numbers 14 (Day 60): The people despair over the spies’ unfaithful report and threaten to return to Egypt. Moses and Aaron fall on their faces before God. Caleb and Joshua testify that the Lord can give them the land He promised, but the the congregation threatens to stone them. God threatens to dispossess the nation, but Moses intervenes, asking God to forgive them, reminding God of His promises. He forgives, but declares that the nation will remain in the wilderness for 40 years, a year for each day of spying, until all those, twenty years old and upward, who had grumbled against him die. The ten unfaithful spies are killed by a plague before the Lord, but Joshua and Caleb are promised they are the only ones of that generation who will live to enter the promised land. The people try to repent by going up to the land but are struck down by the Amalekites (who first attacked them after they left Egypt).
Numbers 15 (Day 60): God immediately reminds the people that they will enter the land promised to them by giving them instructions about sacrifices they will offer there. He also declares that aliens that live among them shall live like they do: “as you are, so shall the alien be before the LORD. There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.” God describes the sacrifices required for unintentional sin, but declares those who sin defiantly should be cut off from their people. He then pronounces that a man caught gathering wood on the Sabbath should be stoned to death. He instructs that the sons of Israel put tassels on the corners of their garments in order to remember His commandments and be holy.
Psalm 90 (Day 60): the first recorded Psalm, written by Moses: “we have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath we have been dismayed”
Numbers 16 (Day 61): Korah, with Dathan and Abiram, leads a rebellion of 250 men against Moses and Aaron, inciting the whole congregation against them. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and their families, homes, and possessions are swallowed up by the earth and the 250 men are killed by fire. The congregation blames Moses and Aaron, inciting God’s anger and a plague against them that kills 14,700 before Aaron’s burning incense among them to atone for their sins checks the plague.
Numbers 17 (Day 61): God has Moses get rods from the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel, write their names on the different rods, and deposit them before Him in the tent of the testimony, saying that the rod of the man God had chosen would sprout. When Aaron’s rod sprouts with buds, blossoms, and ripe almonds, God has Moses put the rod back in the tent of the testimony as a sign against the rebels so that they might end their grumblings and not die.
Numbers 18 (Day 62): God explains the provision for the priests and their families from the sacrifices and offerings of the sons of Israel, as well as the provision from the Levites and their families from the tithes of the sons of Israel. The Levites must tithe these tithes in return, for provision for the priests. Neither the priests nor the Levites will be given land as an inheritance, but they will have cities, with their pasture lands, to live in amongst the tribes of Israel.
Numbers 19 (Day 62): God explains how an unblemished red heifer must be used to make a water of purification to cleanse all those who become unclean because of death.
Numbers 20 (Day 62): The importance of Kadesh. This is where the spies, except Caleb, shared their report of doubt that they could conquer the land promised to them by God, which resulted in their sentence of 40 years in the wilderness until that generation died. They have now returned here, and Miriam dies. The people complain because of lack of water, and Moses fails to specifically follow God’s command, treating Him as holy, for how to have the rock yield the waters of Meribah, resulting in God’s proclamation that Moses and Aaron will not enter the Promised Land. Edom does not let Israel pass through their land, so they turn and come to Mount Hor. Moses, Aaron, and his son Eleazar go up on Mount Hor at God’s command, strip Aaron of his garments and place them on Eleazar, and Aaron dies.
Longer Outline of the book of Numbers:
Numbers 1-2 (Day 54)
“the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ‘Take a census’” (Numbers 1:2a).
God names the head of each tribe: “there shall be a man of each tribe…who shall stand with you” (Numbers 1:4b-5a)
Moses takes a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head from twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel: the total for 12 tribes is 603,550
the Levites were excluded from this census since they were appointed not for war but to serve the tabernacle of the testimony, in the stead of all the firstborn of the nation of Israel who God dedicated to Himself at the first Passover
“the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no wrath on the congregation of the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony” (Numbers 1:53)
God orders the location of each tribe's camp around the tent of meeting at a distance, as well as the order each tribe should set out
camp of Judah on the east sets out first, with Issachar and Zebulun [all are sons of Leah]
camp of Reuben on the south sets out next, with Simeon and Gad [Reuben and Simeon are sons of Leah, while Gad is a son of Leah’s maid]
“Then the tent of meeting shall set out with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; just as they camp, so they shall set out, every man in his place by their standards” (Numbers 2:17) [Levi was one of the six sons of Leah]
camp of Ephraim on the west sets out next, with Manasseh and Benjamin [Ephraim and Manasseh are sons of Joseph, while Joseph and Benjamin are the sons of Rachel]
camp of Dan on the north sets out last, with Asher and Naphtali [Dan and Naphtali are sons of Rachel’s maid, while Asher is a son of Leah’s maid]
Numbers 3-4 (Day 55)
God sets aside the tribe of Levi to serve Him, in place of all the firstborn of men that He sanctified to Himself at the first Passover in Egypt
“I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the LORD” (Numbers 3:11-13).
the number of every son of Levi from one-month-old and upward is 22,000
the number every firstborn male from one-month-old and upward of the rest of the sons of Israel is 22,273
God has Moses ransom the excess 273 by giving five shekels, according to the established shekel of the sanctuary, apiece to Aaron and his sons, the priests
God then has Moses number all the males between 30- and 50-years old of each of the three families of the tribe of Levi (Gershon, Kohath, and Merari—the total is 8580) and assigns their work in support of the ordained priests (Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar) and the tabernacle
Kohath (from whom Moses and Aaron are descended), with Eleazar having responsibility over them, is to carry the holy objects and furnishings of the sanctuary, after Aaron and his sons prepare and cover them (no one but Aaron and his sons can see or touch them or they will die) (camp on the southward side [Reuben] of the tabernacle)
“The responsibility of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light and the fragrant incense and the continual grain offering and the anointing oil—the responsibility of all the tabernacle and of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings” (Numbers 4:16)
Gershon, with Ithamar over them, is to serve and carry essentially all the material components of the tent and court (camp behind the tabernacle westward [Ephraim])
Merari, also with Ithamar over them, is to serve and carry all the hardware components required to erect the tent and court; each man is assigned by name to the object he is to carry (camp on the northward side [Dan] of the tabernacle)
“those who were to camp before the tabernacle eastward [Judah], before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; but the layman coming near was to be put to death” (Numbers 3:38)
Numbers 5-6 (Day 56)
God reminds Moses that those that are unclean from leprosy, a discharge, or because of a dead person are to go outside the camp, “so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst” (Numbers 5:3b)
God reminds that “the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the LORD” require confession, restitution plus 1/5, and a ram of atonement for a sin offering, which provides a portion for the priest (Numbers 5:5-10)
God explains the law of jealousy when a husband suspects a wife has been unfaithful
she is brought be her husband before the priest, offers a grain offering of jealousy, is made to say an oath, and then drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse
“it shall come about, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, that the water which brings a curse will go into her and cause bitterness, and her abdomen will swell and her thigh will waste away, and the woman will become a curse among her people. But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will then be free and conceive children” (Numbers 5:27-28)
God explains the law of the Nazarite, for “When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the LORD” (Numbers 6:2b)
no eating or drinking any fruit of the vine, no cutting of hair, uncleanness because of a dead person (even if unintentional) ends the days of the vow
vow ends with offerings before the Lord
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, “Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:
“The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.”
‘So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.’” (Numbers 6:22-27)
Numbers 7 (Day 57)
the leaders of the tribes give an offering of six covered carts and twelve oxen, and God directs Moses to give them to the families of Gershon and Merari who, under the direction of Ithamar, are responsible for carrying all but the holy objects for the tabernacle and surrounding court (the sons of Kohath were responsible for carrying the holy objects on their shoulders)
“The leaders offered the dedication offering for the altar when it was anointed, so the leaders offered their offering before the altar. Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Let them present their offering, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar’” (Numbers 7:11).
from each tribe, offered on 12 consecutive days:
one silver dish whose weight was one hundred and thirty shekels
one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering [portion for God and portion for priests]
one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense
one bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering [offered all for God]
one male goat for a sin offering [acknowledges sin without having to confess a particular sin, portion for God and portion for priests]
two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old for peace offering [portion for God, portion for priests, portion for offerers]
“Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, so He spoke to him” (Numbers 7:89).
Numbers 8-10 (Day 58)
Aaron lights the lampstand
the Levites are cleansed for service:
sprinkled with purifying water, razor over whole body, wash clothes
bull for burnt offering, with its grain offering, and bull for sin offering to atone for their sins
sons of Israel lay hands on Levites and present them as wave offering before the Lord
Levites lay hands on bulls for offerings before they are slain
“Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine…I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary.” (Numbers 8:14, 19)
God explains the years that the Levites should serve:
“from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. But at the age of fifty years they shall retire” (Numbers 8:24b-25a)
the first Passover anniversary is celebrated, on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight
Moses sought God for special dispensations for celebrating:
some men came and asked Moses and Aaron: “‘Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the LORD at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?’ Moses therefore said to them, ‘Wait, and I will listen to what the LORD will command concerning you.’ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone of you or of your generations becomes unclean because of a dead person, or is on a distant journey, he may, however, observe the Passover to the LORD’” (Numbers 9:7-10).
God repeats the provisions of Passover (Numbers 9:11-14):
“they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”
“They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break a bone of it” [foreshadowing of Jesus]
“the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and yet neglects to observe the Passover, that person shall then be cut off from his people, for he did not present the offering of the LORD at its appointed time. That man will bear his sin.”
provision for “aliens” to celebrate:
“If an alien sojourns among you and observes the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so he shall do; you shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land.”’
the cloud that covers the tabernacle and dictates the movement of the people of Israel is explained (Numbers 9:15-23)
“Now on the day that the tabernacle was erected the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the tabernacle, until morning.”
“Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would then set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp.”
“At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out; they kept the LORD’S charge, according to the command of the LORD through Moses.”
God directs that two silver trumpets be made, to announce meetings, movement, war, and feasts
both blown: congregation gathers at doorway of tent of meeting
single blown: only leaders gather
alarm blown: dictates when camps should set out
“When you go to war in your land against the adversary who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and be saved from your enemies. Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the LORD your God” (Numbers 10:9-10).
the Israelites finally set out from Sinai, on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year
“they moved out for the first time according to the commandment of the LORD through Moses” (Numbers 10:13)
first Judah, with Issachar and Zebulun
“Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out” (Numbers 10:17).
then Reuben, with Simeon and Gad
“Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects; and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival” (Numbers 10:21).
then Ephraim, with Manasseh and Benjamin
then Dan, with Asher and Naphtali
Moses invited his father-in-law along, trusting in God’s promises
“We are setting out to the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you’; come with us and we will do you good, for the LORD has promised good concerning Israel” (Numbers 10:29).
“Thus they set out from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD journeying in front of them for the three days, to seek out a resting place for them.” “the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran” (Numbers 10:33,12b)
“when the ark set out that Moses said, ‘Rise up, O LORD! And let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You.’ When it came to rest, he said, ‘Return, O LORD, To the myriad thousands of Israel’” (Numbers 10:35-36).
Numbers 11-13 (Day 59)
“Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD and the fire died out” (Numbers 11:1-2).
Moses then realized the burden of the people was too much for him. God tells him. God tells him to choose 70 elders of Israel, saying, “I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone” (Numbers 11:17b).
“when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied….But two men had remained in the camp….And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp…..Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, ‘Moses, my lord, restrain them.’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!’” (Numbers 11:25-29).
The people longed for meat, so God promised to give them meat for a month, until it became loathsome to them. When Moses questioned how this would occur, God said, “Is the LORD’S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not” (Numbers 11:23).
“there went forth a wind from the LORD and it brought quail from the sea….While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very severe plague” (Numbers 11:31-34).
Aaron and Miriam then speak against Moses: “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?’ And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)” (Numbers 12:2-3).
God reprimanded them: “If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?” (Numbers 12:6-8). Then he made Miriam leprous.
Aaron appealed to Moses, and Moses appealed to God: “O God, heal her, I pray!” (Numbers 12:11-13).
“But the LORD said to Moses, ‘If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.’ So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again” (Numbers 12:14-16).
12 men from the 12 tribes of Israel spy out the land of Canaan for 40 days and bring back a report that the land is good but they won’t be able to conquer it
Caleb, from the tribe of Judah, and Joshua, Moses’ servant, from the tribe of Ephraim, dissent, with Caleb saying, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it” (Numbers 13:30).
Numbers 14-15 (Day 60)
The bad report of the ten spies causes the people to despair; God is displeased with the people’s lack of faith and determines that all those twenty years and upward at that time, except Joshua and Caleb, will stay in the wilderness until they die; the ten spies die immediately
“Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel” (Numbers 14:5).
“Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes….’If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us…Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them’” (Numbers 14:6-9).
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?’” (Numbers 14:11).
God does forgive the people after Moses’ intercession: “But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now” (Numbers 14:17-19).
But pronounces 40 years in the wilderness, until that generation dies, as consequence for their lack of faith: “Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it….According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition…..even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the LORD” (Numbers 14:20-38).
the people try to repent by going up to the land, but get attacked by the Amalekites [descendants of Esau, who first fought against them when they came out of Egypt, in Exodus 17] and Canaanites (Numbers 14:39-45)
“But Moses said, ‘Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD, when it will not succeed? Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the LORD is not among you’”
“But they went up heedlessly to the ridge of the hill country; neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses left the camp.”
“Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down”
Despite judgment, God immediately reminds that the people will enter the land by offering instruction about the sacrifices they will offer there: “When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you…” (Numbers 15:2).
God explains how aliens sojourning in the land should conform to His commands and rituals as well: “as you are, so shall the alien be before the LORD. There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you” (Numbers 15:15b-16).
God gives a reminder of the sin offering required for unintentional sin, but the penalty for defiant sin
“The priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him that he may be forgiven. You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him” (Numbers 15:28-31).
God’s point is made when He requires a man who violates the Sabbath to be put to death
“they put him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp’” (Numbers 15:34-35).
God instructs that tassels be put on the corners of garments to remember His commandments
“they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. I am the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD your God” (Numbers 15:37-41).
Psalm 90: a reflection of Moses (Day 60)
we have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath we have been dismayed….
Who understands the power of Your anger And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?
So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
Numbers 16-17 (Day 61)
Korah, of the Kohath family of the tribe of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, of the tribe of Reuben, rose up with 250 men against Moses and Aaron
“You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” (Numbers 16:3).
Moses responded, “is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also? Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him?” (Numbers 16:9-11).
Moses directed that the men, and Aaron, put incense in firepans and appear before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting
“Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation” (Numbers 16:19).
God threatened to kill the whole congregation but Moses intervened. The earth opened and swallowed up the houses and families and possessions of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and fire came forth from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering incense (Numbers 16:31-35).
At God’s direction, “Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar, as a reminder to the sons of Israel that no layman who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the LORD” (Numbers 16:39-40).
The congregation assembled against Moses and Aaron the next day, blaming them for the deaths. God threatened to consume them, and Moses and Aaron fell on their faces. “Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun!’ Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah” (Numbers 16:41-50).
God has Aaron’s rod blossom to demonstrate His choosing of Him
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each father’s household: twelve rods, from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households. You shall write each name on his rod, and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households. You shall then deposit them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony, where I meet with you. It will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you” (Numbers 17:2-5).
“on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds” (Numbers 17:8b).
“Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die” (Numbers 17:10).
Numbers 18-20 (Day 62)
God repeats His explanation of the proper roles and responsibilities of the priests and the Levites so that no one will die from His wrath due to violating them
God tells Aaron the tribe of Levi are to serve the priests and the tent:
“they shall thus attend to your obligation and the obligation of all the tent, but they shall not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die” (Numbers 18:3).
“But you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and inside the veil, and you are to perform service. I am giving you the priesthood as a bestowed service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death” (Numbers 18:7).
God repeats His explanation of provision for the priests and their families from the offerings of Israel (Numbers 18:8-20)
“I Myself have given you charge of My offerings, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual allotment:
the most holy gifts reserved from the fire
every offering of theirs, even every grain offering and every sin offering and every guilt offering, which they shall render to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons
all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual allotment. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it.
All the best of the fresh oil and all the best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the LORD, I give them to you.
The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours; everyone of your household who is clean may eat it.
Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours
nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem
But the firstborn of an ox or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a soothing aroma to the LORD. Their meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh.
It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD to you and your descendants with you.
You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.
God explains the provision for the Levites: all the tithes that the sons of Israel offer to the Lord (Numbers 18:21-4)
the Levites must tithe the best of these offerings as provision for the priests
“You will bear no sin by reason of it when you have offered the best of it. But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, or you will die” (Numbers 18:32).
God explains how an unblemished red heifer must be used to make a water of purification to cleanse all those who become unclean because of death (Numbers 19)
Miriam dies at Kadesh, the place where the spies brought back the bad report
Moses and Aaron lose the Promised Land for themselves
the people complain because of lack of water; Moses and Aaron fall on their faces before God at the doorway of the tent of meeting; the glory of the Lord appears to them and He tells them to speak to a rock that it will yield water, but Moses struck the rock twice, saying, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?”; God proclaims to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
Edom [descendants of Esau] does not let Israel pass through its land, coming out against them with a heavy force, so Israel turns away from them and comes to Mount Hor
Moses, Aaron, and his son Eleazar go up on Mount Hor at God’s command, strip Aaron of his garments and place them on Eleazar, and Aaron dies. The house of Israel weeps for 30 days.
Numbers 21-22 (Day 63)
· Israel is attacked by the king of Arad [Canaanite] and God honors their vow to respond by allowing them to destroy them and their cities
· the Israelites begin to go around Edom, but complain, so the Lord sends deadly serpents to bite them; they repent and God tells Moses to set a serpent on a standard and if the people are bitten, they look to it and live
· the Israelites journey on until they come to the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites [sons of Canaan], and ask to pass through, just as they had asked Edom if they could pass through; Sihon and the Amorites attack and are utterly defeated; the same thing happens with Og, king of Bashan
· Balak, king of Moab [descendants of Lot], summons Balaam the prophet to curse Israel; Balaam is tempted by promises of wealth, so the Lord allows Him to go but puts the angel of the Lord in his path and has his donkey speak
Numbers 23-25 (Day 64)
· Balak sacrifices to Baal; three times Balaam has Balak build altars and burn offerings and three times God has Balaam pronounce His blessing over Israel, and then he prophesies regarding Moab’s fate
· the Israelites join with the Moabites in sacrifice to their gods and the wrath of God breaks out so that 24,000 are killed; Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, kills an Israelite man and a Midianite woman, stopping the plague, and earning him a perpetual priesthood
· after the generation sentenced to die, because of their unbelief, in the wilderness during 40 years of wandering has died, God directs Moses and Eleazar to take a new census: the count of men twenty years and older, excluding the Levites, is 601,730, and the count of the Levites, set aside for service in the place of first born males, is 23,000; God directs that the size of the counted families will determine the proportion of their inheritance of the Promised Land
· God directs the laws of inheritance for a man who has no sons
· Moses is told by God that he is going to die, and he asks God to appoint a shepherd for the people in his place, and He appoints Joshua
· God recounts what is required to be offered for burnt offerings daily, on the Sabbath, and at all of His festivals
· God explains a man’s obligation to his vow before Him, but a woman’s freedom should her husband or father forbid her at the time they hear of it (or they will be guilty of her breaking it if they forbid her obligation later)
· God has the Israelites take vengeance on the Midianites, killing all but virgin girls and women; the statutes of war are established: 7 days outside of camp after return with water of purification on days 3 and 7, spoil either passed through fire or washed with water, tithe of spoil to both priests (1/500 of people) and Levites (1/50); officers make an offering to the Lord because not a man of Israel had been slain
· Reuben, Gad, and half-tribe of Manasseh ask for and are given land of Gilead (conquered land of Amorites and Bashan) after they agree with Moses that they will accompany Israel to the Promised Land and help subdue it
· Moses records all the places the sons of Israel camped, by the command of God, on their 40-year journey
· God directs the sons of Israel to drive out all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan when they enter it to possess it, and to divide it by lot proportionally according to the size of the 9 1/2 tribes (2 1/2 tribes have their inheritance in Gilead, east of the Jordan)
· God describes the borders of the Promised Land
· God appoints leaders from each tribe to apportion the land
· God explains that the sons of Israel must give 48 cities, with surrounding pasture lands, for the Levites to live in, more cities in larger land inheritances and less cities in smaller land inheritances; six of these cities should be cities of refuge (three in Gilead, east of the Jordan, and three west of the Jordan); anyone who kills anyone unintentionally (without enmity or seeking to injure) may flee to a city of refuge to await a trial before the congregation; two or more witnesses are necessary for a conviction of murder, which must result in the death penalty; an unintentional manslayer must stay in the city of refuge until the anointed high priest dies and then he can return home; if he leaves the city of refuge before the high priest dies, the avenger of blood is permitted to kill him
· God clarifies that if a man has only daughters, the daughters must marry within their tribe to that the tribe’s inheritance does not pass to another tribe