Numbers

Book: Numbers

Sep 7

The Book of Numbers basically moves from the wilderness at Sinai to the Jordan opposite Jericho. However it is not so much a record of their journeys as it is a record of the purging of the congregation of the sons of Israel who were to enter the Promised Land, and thus a message to those who were to enter, that the Word of YHWH needed to be obeyed to the fullest.

The book is broken into three sections. The first section contains the instructions to Israel as they journey to the Promised Land (1:1-10:10). The second division is their journeys up to the very door of the Promised Land, including their setback at Kadesh-Barnea (10:11-25:18). The third division is their preparation for entry into the land (26:1-36:13).

The first division and the third division are set apart since both of them contain a census that God orders. The first census is for the former generation who failed to enter. The second is the new generation that enters the land. The middle division simply demonstrates the failure of the first generation and the wanderings in the wilderness in preparation for the second generation to enter (who also fail).

A section where God gives instructions to each group characterizes each division. In the first section, following the census, God gives instruction for the travels, particularly the items regarding the holiness of the camp (5:1-10:10). In the second section, the Lord gives instructions for the necessity for His holiness to be respected as they enter the Land (15:1--19:22). In the third section the Lord speaks to the necessity of the land dwellers to keep all the proper offerings throughout their time in the land.