Into the Wild

This Sunday marks the beginning of a new sermon series for us — the Book of Numbers. 

I say “new” but it’s really Part 4 in our journey through the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. We started that series in the Book of Genesis back in Fall 2016, and we left off in the Book of Leviticus in 2022. Because it’s been a minute, I’ll spend a little time catching us back up on Sunday, but I also wanted to give you some food for thought ahead of time.

The Torah can be intimating, and the Book of Numbers especially because of all the, well, numbers. There are two different census reports in the book, including some laws, offerings, and list of duties. I’ve found that the best way to approach these more opaque parts is to see them in light of the whole. 

There are a couple of different ways to outline the book, the broadest being a twofold division between the first generation of Israelites and the second. 

The first generation, Chapters 1–18, becomes a cautionary tale. They prove faithless. Although rescued from Egypt, they do not trust God, and therefore, they all die in the wilderness.

The second generation, Chapters 20–36, becomes a positive example. Marked by faith and zeal, the new generation journeys with God. They will make it to the Promised Land.

Don’t be like the first generation; be like the new generation. 

The census reports for each generation are strategic, giving us warning and hope.

Commentator Adrian Reynolds writes, 

Numbers reminds us that God has saved us and, as we travel through the wilderness of this world, we need to go on exercising faith to enter the inheritance Christ has secured for us. 

Michael Morales eloquently explains, 

While the destination, to “dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” (Psalm 23:6), awaits consummation, Numbers is both compass and map for the journey, revealing both the glory of [the LORD] and the nature of humanity. 

“These things were written for our instruction”, wrote Paul of Israel’s wilderness experience (1 Corinthians 10:11), that we might learn the strength of [the LORD’s] arm, the absolute nature of his holiness and the tenderness of his boundless mercies; that we might forsake unbelief and grumbling, and follow him with simple dependence and songs of gladness.

God has something important for us in this new study. Join me in the wilderness, praying that God do abundantly more than we could ask or imagine!