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2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES

Wednesday in the Word

Second Baptist Church

October 9, 2019

Numbers 9:1-23

  1. Verses 1-14. We are reminded that the book of numbers is not always in chronological order. This section actually happened before the census. On the first anniversary of the Passover in Egypt, just after the Israelites had dedicated the tabernacle, they observed this feast as God had commanded (Numbers 9:5). Most of the males were already circumcised (cf. Joshua 5:5). This event took place in the first month of the second year after the Exodus (Numbers 9:1). The census in chapter l occurred in the second month of the same year (Numbers 1:1). This fact shows that at least these events described in Numbers are not in chronological order. Passover is to celebrate the night the Hebrews were spared from the loss of their firstborn in Egypt. Death passed over the houses that had the blood of a lamb over the door. At the very same time every year, they were to remember that night, and be thankful to God. The Passover had been made an ordinance forever. We know from biblical history that the people of God didn’t always keep the Passover like they should. The Passover is a type and shadow of our true Passover Lamb (Jesus Christ). 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. When God called for the Passover to be celebrated, the issue came up to Moses from the people that some were not ceremonially clean for the celebration (this might be the reason for the location of this in the book of numbers. This might be a reminder to keep the Passover no matter what). God graciously gave an ordinance that people who were unclean or on a journey when the rest of the nation celebrated the Passover could eat it exactly one month later (Numbers 9:10-11). However, God prescribed the death penalty for anyone who did not observe it at the preferred time if he or she could (Numbers 9:13). The idea was that the Passover was a sign that God saved your life. (we actually never read of anyone being killed because they didn’t keep the Passover, the point was to see that without God your SOUL was in danger as well as your body). This regulation applied also to foreigners living among the Israelites who had identified with the Abrahamic Covenant through circumcision (Numbers 9:14; cf. Exodus 12:48-49). It didn't matter where the person came from: Even the stranger could and must partake of Passover, or be cut off. A Hebrew would be cut off if they neglected the Passover; the alien would be accepted if they participated in God's Passover. The purpose of including this segment of narrative was perhaps to show that God’s laws were not arbitrary and unreasonable. We see how God was teaching the Hebrews that he was God over everyone. Before Israel could enter into the Promised Land, they must remember what got them there. It was the sparing of God’s judgment, and His glorious, miraculous deliverance. Promised Land people must always live in remembrance of God's deliverance, and it all flows from the work of Jesus on the cross.

  2. Verses 15-23. We see in this section that the people of God weren’t supposed to get ahead of God. They were to wait for God to move. Sometimes they would stay in one place for a short time and sometimes they would stay in a pace for a long time. The time had come for the Israelites to resume their journey when the people had celebrated the Passover. All that remained for the Israelites to know was how God would lead them. Moses recorded Gods revelation of that in this section. The cloudy pillar stood over the tabernacle (Numbers 9:15-16). It does not appear to have covered the entire camp of Israel. The description of God’s direction of Israel with the cloud indicates God’s sovereign and purposeful leadership of His people. The Israelites remained where they were just as long as God wanted them to remain there. Their experiences along the way were not accidental but providential. The way the Israelites discovered how God was leading them was to look at the revelation of Himself that He provided in the cloud. He did not explain His movements, but their duty was to follow in faith. The writer is intent on showing that at this point in their walk with the Lord; Israel was obedient and followed the Lord’s guidance. The writer’s concern to make this point can be seen in that seven times in this brief narrative, it is said that they "obeyed the commandment of the Lord" and thus traveled when the cloud lifted from the tabernacle and moved.

  3. Chapter 10:1-10. God ordered that priests should announce His movement of the people by blowing two silver trumpets because the Israelites would not watch the cloud continuously. The blasts from the trumpets would reach the farthest tents in the camp (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). The cloud would lift and the priest would blow their trumpets as a signal for all to arise if they hadn’t notice the cloud lifting. The priests also used these trumpets in times of war in Canaan. They used them to call the people to arms and to remind them to seek God’s help so He would deliver them. (Numbers 10:9). “They also announced the feasts of Israel and the first day of each new month to remind the people to remember their God (Numbers 10:10). In this chapter we have the first reference to the new moon celebration (Numbers 10:10). The appearance of the new moon signaled the beginning of a new month. The Jews viewed the first day of each new month as consecrated to God in a way similar to the Sabbath (cf. Isaiah 1:13). They marked this fresh beginning with special sacrifices (Numbers 28:11-15) over which the priests blew the silver trumpets (Numbers 10:10; Psalm 81:3). On the new moon of the seventh month, the Feast of Trumpets, the people did no work (Leviticus 23:25-25; Numbers 29:1-6; 2 Kings 4:23). In Israel’s later history the priests blew these trumpets on other festal occasions as well (Ezra 3:10; Nehemiah 12:35; Nehemiah 12:41; 1 Chronicles 15:24; 1 Chronicles 16:6; 2 Chronicles 5:12; 2 Chronicles 7:6; 2 Chronicles 29:27). The impression that this chapter intends to give is that of an orderly and obedient departure from Sinai. The picture is a far cry from the scene which Moses saw when he first returned from the mountain and found the nation celebrating before the golden calf: "the people were running wild and Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies" ( Exodus 32:25). The people are now living in an orderly fashion.

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