Week 36: Numbers Part 4

People The people as a whole were problematic, as well as some individuals. Acts tells us that God endured their conduct for 40 years in the wilderness. Numbers says that the whole people failed except for two – two out of more than 2 million, not a high proportion....

Week 35: Numbers Part 3

Narrative In turning to the narrative parts of Numbers, we move from the divine word to human deeds – from what the people should do to what they did do. It is a sad and sordid story. The wilderness becomes a testing ground for them. They are out of Egypt but not in...

Week 34: Numbers Part 2

Legislation As noted above, we are told on 80 occasions in Numbers that God spoke to Moses ‘face to face’. This was unique: others would receive God’s Word through visions when they were awake or dreams when they were asleep. The people would consult the priests’ urim...

Week 33: Numbers Part 1

Introduction Numbers is not a well-known book, neither is it widely quoted. Perhaps only two or three passages are well known. Samuel Morse quoted one of these after he sent the first telegraph message in Morse code to Washington DC on 24 May 1844. He expressed his...

Week 32: Leviticus Part 6

Reading Leviticus as Christians What has this book to say to us, living as Christians in the modern world? Do we have to get rid of all mixed-fibre clothing? If we get dry rot in the house, do we have to burn it down? One principle we can use as a guide is found in...

Week 31: Leviticus Part 5

Rules and regulations We need to be clear about our understanding of the law of Moses. It is called the ‘law’, not the ‘laws’, because it all hangs together. Holiness means wholeness, and all these rules and regulations fit together and form one whole. If you break...