There are many numbers throughout this book of the Bible, as it essentially takes a census of the Israelites traveling in mass from Egypt to Cannan or the Promised Land. The people are broken into tribes by the heads of families who are descendants of Jacob’s sons. The astonishing numbers left me wondering how many people there really were. This is because the first census was for all the males twenty years and up who could go to war. The number quoted in the Bible for this census is 603,550. Could you imagine what that looked like? That is only over 600,000 men over twenty, add on the women, the children, and the animals, and it must have been quite a site to watch as an entire small country relocated. I was trying to wrap my head around what this would look like. According to the website “worldometers.info,” the current nation of Fiji has a population of just around 1 million, so I’m trying to picture an entire island moving to follow Moses and God’s word out of Egypt to the promised land.
However, the Israelites do not travel easily. They are a whiney bunch. They are kept in separate camps and are not allowed to mingle, and there are so many rules and restrictions placed upon them that they seem to want to whine more. I mean, they are hungry. They were promised this land of milk and honey, and apparently, no one thought about the work they would have to do to get there. Along this journey, Moses continues receiving instructions on different censuses, communities, and other age groups. It appears that God wants to put His people into categories, which seems to be the opposite of the all-encompassing God I know. We see a reappearance of laws and rules from Leviticus, but some new ones and some with new details have been added. There are laws about jealousy, the unfaithful wife, murder, death, and more. As an independent woman with many feminist proclivities, I do struggle with these books of the Bible, which elevate men and blame women for everything – but I must remind myself that the Bible is an ancient book and life is ever evolving. I believe my interpretation should be as well. We also must be careful as Christians not to focus on single sentences in chapters or books as law but ignore the context and history. Even Moses argues with God’s demands on him. Is this journey depicted throughout Numbers a test of loyalty and faith for all? I’m not sure.
I found a few sections of Numbers interesting and noted them as I read—one section that stood out begins with Chapter 22, Balak and Ballam’s story. I had to read it a few times because my geographic skills are not excellent, but on their journey to the Promised Land, the mass of Israelites fought on many fronts when they entered other territories. Balak was the king of Moab, where the Israelites were headed. Balak sends word through his elders to Balaam to curse the Israelites. Balaam had the group wait the night for the Lord to speak to him. The Lord commanded him not to curse the people and to turn Balak away, but Balak was stubborn and tried again. Balaam goes the second time, only to have the Angel of the Lord stop his donkey from going forward. Balaam eventually gets to Balak, but nothing goes as Balak wants. Balaam receives four different oracles from the Lord with beautiful passages such as: “God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind. Has he promised and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill hit?.” (Numbers 23:19).
One of my favorite passages comes from Numbers; I don’t know if I knew that. The first is the Priestly Benediction: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:22-26). In college, this was my music sorority’s blessing that we sang at the close of every meeting and every function in beautiful 4-part women’s harmony. They were just words until one of our sorority sisters fell asleep at the wheel Junior year, hit and tree, and died. When we sang this at her remembrance ceremony, I understood the power the Lord has for our everlasting life.
Beyond that, it was essential to know that Aaron died during Numbers, and Joshua was appointed Moses’s successor. Numbers was a difficult book to get through, but I think it’s because there is so much there, and I struggled with how many people were talked about and where they all were. Deuteronomy is up next! Do you have a favorite book of the Bible?
Amanda Renz