Numbers is good

Let me begin by saying two things. First, My title does not reflect bad grammar on my part – I am referring to the Book of Numbers. Second, this is not a teaching on the book itself or some portion of it. So relax!

I have this brother who comes in at night sometimes, on his break, and we talk about the Lord. And the Bible. We talked about Zechariah (and I wrote about that here ). A few weeks ago we got to talking about the spies sent by Moses into the Promised Land. I got all excited telling him about the spies, faith, Oshea the son of Nun, and his new name, Joshua, and the spiritual significance of that and on and on I went. Eventually, I caught my breath and asked him if he had ever read the Book of Numbers. He said, No. I said, “You ought to read it. It’s a good book. Tell you what, let’s read it together and we can talk about it when you come in from time to time.” He agreed and went back to work. Sadly, he never began. I have some thoughts about that but I quit bugging him about it. Nevertheless, I began reading the book.

Numbers. Kind of a strange name for a book, wouldn’t you agree? The one thing everyone knows about the book is there is a lot of numbering or counting. And that is partially true. We get our name for it from the Greek translation of the Old Testament (LXX or Septuagint). The LXX named it Αριθμοί. In English that is Arithmoi. We get arithmetic from this word, an obvious reference to numbers or numbering. But the Jews called it במדבר or bemidbar, which literally means "in the desert of..." because they used the first significant word or words to title a book - and the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai.

I admit, the book begins with numbering, Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;  From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies. But, it is not all about counting heads. There is a lot of activity in this book. After all, this is the account of the children of Israel in the wilderness. They are redeemed out of Egypt in Exodus. Then the worship is established in Leviticus. Then Numbers, wherein they are to travel up to the Land and enter into the Promise -  – and doesn’t that in itself say something? First, Redemption. Second, Worship. Then, Activity. You know the story, so I won’t repeat it here. What?!? It’s not fresh in your mind? Take up and read.

Anyway, my point today is simply this: I’ve really enjoyed reading so far. I’ve only read twelve chapters, but it is good. There is such energy and freshness in their walk with God. Such honesty and openness. Even when they don’t believe or they grumble, there is no pretence, no sweet façade. Even Moses. He has a crisis and he is upset with the people and upset with God. And he tells Him so! And when God reveals his plan to Moses, Moses struggles with the enormity of it and tells God that he struggles with it. I love God’s answer, Is the LORD'S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. This is a very difficult trial and Moses is stretched beyond his ability to even believe. But this is a good thing. This thing is not Moses and his exceptional talent and ability. This is God! And honestly, God is even bigger than our ability to believe! That’s scary, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to be part of something that is obviously bigger than the greatest person in it?

On the other hand, Moses is a good man. A great man. A real man of God. He is described this way, Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. Isn’t this cool? Of all the things that could be said about a leader, this is what is singled out. God’s priorities are so different than ours.

This is good stuff! I feel bad for the churches whose Pastors overlook or ignore Numbers because it is “a dull and boring book.” I feel for the believers who have been told that Numbers is “a dull and boring book” because it is only about counting. It is counting. Whole chapters of it. That must be important. But there is so much more! I enjoyed teaching this book. And I am really taking delight in reading it again.