Numbers Recap

Numbers Recap   I’ve now finished my blog-series on the Book of Numbers. I hope you enjoyed it. After 25 instalments, we’ve seen that Numbers is not just a boring list of details to skip past, and that it’s far more interesting than its name suggests or its reputation deserves. Despite having some duller interludes, …

Numbers 25: Round-up

Numbers 25: Round-up   After Sinai at the beginning and Kadesh Barnea in the middle, the end of the Numbers all takes place at the plains of Moab. Having arrived there at the beginning of chapter 22, a lot has happened without the location shifting. Balaam and his talking donkey have been and gone (chs. …

Numbers 24: Tent of Meeting

Numbers 24: Tent of Meeting   The phrase 'tent of meeting' occurs 53 in Numbers. It's important. It's the focal point of the camp, God's dwelling place. The whole book originates from what God spoke to Moses in this place. Right from the word go in chapter 1 verse 1, where it says 'The Lord …

Numbers 23: Grumble. Repeat. Learn?

Numbers 23: Grumble. Repeat. Learn?   What happened to the Israelites? They started out so well...The first ten chapters of Numbers are really positive, with no discontent or disasters, and characterised by obedience, where we read things like "The Israelites did all this just as the Lord commanded Moses." (1:54). But then there comes an …

Numbers 22: Be Ruthless With Unhelpful Things

Numbers 22: Be Ruthless With Unhelpful Things.   Numbers 33 is another one of those seemingly boring chapters that's actually quite significant. It starts with what's called a 'travelogue', a detailed itinerary of the route taken by these desert travellers and their various campsites. We might not be able to precisely identify all of these …

Numbers 21: Rhythms of Life

Numbers 21: Rhythms of Life.   Chapters 28 and 29 of Numbers may give you a sense of déjà-vu. Offerings and festivals? Haven't we been here before? But remember, this was spoken for the benefit of a new audience, a younger generation who either weren't born yet or were still too young to understand when these …

Numbers 20: Grace Unaware

Numbers 20: Grace Unaware.   Numbers has a surprising amount to teach us about grace. It's not normally a book associated this this word, but actually in amongst all the lists is a beautiful narrative all about God's grace. Yes, there is judgement too, the guilty don't go unpunished, but there is also so much …

Numbers 19: Blessings not Curses

Numbers 19: Blessings not Curses.   Very often the world contradicts the word of God and many voices and media carry messages and viewpoints quite contrary to those of God. We can't change that, but we can change how we respond, what we choose to believe.   Why do we so often doubt the word …

Numbers 18: Speak God’s Words Even If Opposed

Numbers 18: Speak God's Words Even If Opposed.   We come now to some of the strangest but also some of the most wonderful sections in Numbers. In chapters 22-24 we have a three-chapter interlude which seems on first viewing to invite incredulity from the 21st-century reader, but which actually offers incredible insight into the …

Numbers 17: Don’t be discouraged if you have to go the long way round

Numbers 17: Don't be discouraged if you have to go the long way round.   "They travelled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea Road, to go round Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way." (Numbers 21:4)   Detours can be fun and lead to surprising discoveries, but they can also …