Numbers 1-3
Once upon a time, I had to take a statistics class. It was awful! I am not a numbers person at all and the professor was dry and would trail off while he was talking. Every class was an exercise in trying to stay awake for an hour and 15 minutes! But I do think he could have spiced things up a bit if he had thrown in some fun or shocking stories in between the equations. For example: “So in this case p is equal to the sum of the number of participants in the study, which was looking at the correlation between owning a machete and a ninja outfit and ending up in the emergency room.”
So when I was reading the first two chapters, I was getting flashbacks of that statistics class. They are purely numbers and logistics. The 12 tribes of Israel had left Egypt about a year before and God was now “parking” the tabernacle in the desert, with the 12 tribes in specific stations around the tabernacle.
God had Moses and Aaron count all the men in the tribe. Boring! I like how Chuck Swindoll put it in his commentary, “Numbers takes the reader on a long and winding path through a desert of excruciating detail.” But then I hit chapter 3 and Aaron’s two eldest sons, Nadab and Abihu fall dead because they offer God an “unauthorized fire” and they had no children, WHAT??? That got my attention! Why was the fire “unauthorized”? Why did God strike them dead? So many questions??? But the biggest question the story starts to answer is WHY Numbers is included in our Bible.
Besides its historical significance, Numbers speaks of the importance of obedience to God and God’s intolerance of sin. Leviticus 10:1-2 gives a little more detail on what happened to Nadab and Abihu, but it was basically just straight up disobedience to God. We may think this was a pretty minor issue, but it points to the fact that God does not tolerate sin of any kind. No matter how “good” you are, you will not live a life of perfection and will at some point deserve the punishment Nadab and Abihu received. Goodness, do we need a savior! THANK GOD for JESUS!
So, yes, much of this book is boring, especially today’s reading, but unlike that statistics class, you will find application for your own life in this book.
-Maria Knowlton
Reflection Questions
- God has a plan for His people, even for where each tribe was to park around the tabernacle. How might He share His plans today?
- Why is God looking for, and expecting, obedience from His people during the time of Numbers? What does God’s desire and expectations look like today? Does the sacrifice of Jesus mean obedience isn’t required any more?
- What application can you find for your life from Numbers 1-3?
Seek Grow Love 