The overall purpose of Numbers 1-10 is that Yahweh is organizing and preparing Israel to be His earthly hosts. They are to be His earthly army through whom He will enact His judgment upon the Canaanites. So far, the first two chapters have given us the number and focus of the whole congregation. In Numbers …
Why is the Bible so full of chiasms? A chiasm, we should recall, is a literary mountain, where the emphasis is placed upon the center and everything before and after that center parallel with one another. We observed a number of chiasms last year during our study of Leviticus, which is chiastically structured around chapter …
Why Numbers? Because it was next. The first series I preached at Western Meadows was Genesis 1-11. Only three years since have been without a series through a portion of the Pentateuch. By the Lord's grace, we have completed Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, which brings us now to Numbers. We will not study the whole …
Author Moses is traditionally understood to be the author of Numbers, since it belongs to the Torah or the Pentateuch, which are also called the Five Books of Moses. I say "traditionally" because some scholars argue that Moses was only one source among several and that the Pentateuch was compiled much later than Moses' lifetime. …
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying… All of Scripture is God-breathed and profitable. It is profitable for teaching, for proper doctrine. God’s Word is also profitable for reproof. While being reproved is never pleasant, it is necessary and for our good. David once prayed: “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let …
Leviticus 21-22 are now before us, which brings us to a new section in the chiastic structure of Leviticus. Chapters 17-20 gave us laws of holiness following the Day of Atonement in chapter 16. These correspond to the laws of purity in chapters 11-15, which preceded the Day of Atonement. Before the purity laws, we …
Continue reading The Holiness of the Priests | Leviticus 21-22
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying… The text before us is a portion of God’s holy Scriptures, and as 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable…” The Bible is God-breathed; it is the very Word of God. But it is also profitable, useful, or beneficial (Greek, ωφελιμος). Paul …
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying… In 2 Timothy 4:16, Paul tells us that “all Scripture is breathed out by God.” Every word was inspired by the Holy Spirit, as He carried God’s prophets along (2 Peter 1:21). The Scriptures were physically written by men, even maintaining the individuality of each author, but they …
Continue reading Love Your Neighbor as Yourself | Leviticus 19
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying… As we come to the Word of God, let Psalm 19:11 be our meditation: “Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” We have already seen the goodness, the richness, and the sweetness of God’s law, but this verse calls us to …
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying… As we come to the this text, which is the very word of God, may Psalm 19:10 be our meditation: “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” This verse ought to force us to …
B. C. Newton 