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Numbers
Posted: Monday, August 2, 2010 by Morgan inSo after I finished reading Romans, I began reading Numbers. It sounds like a strange transition, but my mom had been reading Numbers for a while and she found that many of the lessons in Numbers and Romans are the same, they just are expressed in different ways.
(Quick bit of trivia: the Hebrew name for the book of Numbers is In the Wilderness, which is way better since it actually describes what the book is about instead of describing two censuses that are more or less insignificant in the big scheme of the book.)
The Old Testament generally uses a story to illustrate the same principles and ideas that the New Testament does through logical organization of ideas in a sort of a lecture format. So I've been trying to make connections between the Old and New Testaments, and God has shown me many similarities and identities between the two. Most significantly, he has shown me that he is the same God no matter where he reveals himself in his Word.
I've found a recurring idea in my studies thus far:
God has a purpose and a plan for his people, and even though it may seem outrageous or impossible, he faithfully provides the means for them to carry out his plans for them.
An example of this idea can be found in Numbers 4 when God was giving the Levites their duties for the tabernacle. Moses mentions that if any of them who are not priests touched the holy articles (lampstand, altar, ark, sacrificial bowls and utensils, etc.) or even looked at them, they would die instantly. This seems pretty harsh, but before this passage, Moses described all the coverings that were to go over all these holy items. Some were wrapped in 4 layers of cloth and goatskin, which means that there is no way the Levites could touch the articles themselves or even see them without going to lots of effort to disobey this command. God doesn't just make impossible and arbitrary demands on his people, he protects them from his overwhelming glory and holiness and provides whatever they need to fulfill their duties to him.
Another example is found in chapter 11. The Israelites complain about their diet after God had delivered them out of torturous slavery in Egypt and provided food and water for them in the middle of a desert. God is astounded and angered at their ingratitude and consumes part of the camp with fire. Moses intercedes for this ungrateful people and expresses his inadequacy to guide them by himself. He even asks God to kill him rather than see his failure in this position. God hears his plea and divides up the spirit he had given to Moses and gives it to 70 other leaders, allowing them to bear part of the responsibility for this obstinate and stiff-necked people. God hands the people over to their desire for meat, giving them so much meat that "it comes out [their] ears and becomes loathsome to [them]." Moses is incredulous. How can he possibly find enough meat to feed over a million people for an entire month? This is the best part. Here is God's response: "Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not." Sure enough, God brought loads of quail for the Israelites to eat, so much that the slowest and laziest gathered 6 bushels.
Yeah, God provides. We just have to trust that he will.
"For I the Lord do not change..." Malachi 3:6a
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