"The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself" (1689 Baptist Confession, I.9). Scripture illuminates Scripture, and one portion of the Bible must be interpreted through other portions. The full sense of Scripture is not manifold but one, just as Author Himself is one. I always have that principle in mind as I …
Counted, centered, guarded, assigned, cleansed, consecrated, blessed, spoken, purified, and equipped. Over the course of these first chapters of Numbers, God has been doing all of these things to prepare His people for leaving Sinai. And, now, Israel actually marches out. Israel spent nearly a year at the base of the mountain of God. For …
Going on a journey requires planning and preparation. Since Exodus 19, the people of Israel have been camped at the base of Mount Sinai, and these opening chapters of Numbers have been about Yahweh preparing His people to leave and enter the Promised Land. Chapters 1-7 moved from broad to specific, focusing first on the …
Continue reading Equipped: The Passover, the Cloud, & the Trumpets | Numbers 9:1-10:10
As we have noted, Numbers 1-10 is about God preparing His people to leave Sinai and to enter the Promised Land as His instruments of judgment upon the Canaanites and receive the promises that Yahweh made to their ancestor Abraham. The first six chapters focused on the people themselves as the LORD counted, centered, guarded, …
Last week, we came to one of the climatic moments of these opening chapters of Numbers. Remember that everything in these first ten chapters is about preparing Israel to leave Sinai and enter the Promised Land, where God will fulfill His promise to Abraham and also use them as His instrument of judgment upon the …
Continue reading Spoken: The Dedication of the Altar | Numbers 7
Clinger. Clutcher. Grabber. The ESV footnote says that Jacob's name means 'to take by the heel' or 'he cheats.' If we called him Grasper, he certainly lived up to the name. While Esau let go of his birthright for a bowl of soup, Jacob clutched it away from his brother's hand. Then came Isaac's deathbed …
Continue reading Blessed: The Aaronic Blessing | Numbers 6:22-27
I haven't seen Christopher Nolan's Odyssey. I don't know if I will. The internet seems divided. Some call it one of Nolan's greatest achievements; others call it a desecration of Homer. I suspect the truth is somewhere between those extremes. Great artists have always reimagined great works, and viewers have always been free to embrace …
Continue reading Whether You See the Movie or Not, Read the Book
God is preparing His people for the Promised Land, and so far in Numbers, Israel has been counted, centered, guarded, assigned, and cleansed. As we have noted, these chapters have come in pairs. Chapters 1 and 2 concerned the whole congregation of Israel. Chapters 3 and 4 narrowed the focus to the Levites. Now, chapters …
Continue reading Consecrated: The Nazarite Vow | Numbers 6:1-21
Yahweh is preparing His people to enter the Promised Land. That is the big idea for all of Numbers 1-10. And He is not simply getting them ready for possession but for invasion. Four hundred years prior, God promised to give Canaan to Abraham's family, but He did not do so in the patriarch's day. …
Numbers 4 must be understood in the context of Numbers 1-10, which is primarily about Yahweh preparing Israel to be His earthly army, paralleling His heavenly army. That preparation began in Numbers 1 with the first census. God's people needed to be counted, both counted in for the privileges and counted on for the responsibilities. …
Continue reading Assigned: The Work of the Levites | Numbers 4
B. C. Newton 