By Captain Michael Ramsay
Numbers Quiz (answers at bottom):
1. Complete the patterns:
a) 2,4,6,8,10,
a) 2,4,6,8,10,
b) 1,2,4,8
c) 1,2,3,5,7,13,
d) O,T,T,F,F,S,S,
2. Did you know that Numbers have gender? – Some are male and some are female. For instance 4,5,6,7 could be called one gender – they’re rational numbers. And other numbers (root 2, Pi 3:14) are irrational numbers…you decide which is which (-:
Today we are talking about a different kind of Numbers. We are talking about the book of Numbers (Greek: Arithmoi, Latin: Numeri Hebrew: seper misparim) I am not convinced that this is necessarily the most appealing name for a book of the Bible. The title seems about as interesting as a book named, ‘Yellow Pages’ or even, ‘Principles of Arithmetic.’ Now in Hebrew this book is not always referred to in this way. It sometimes referred to as wayedabber which means “And [YHWH] spoke [to Moses]” It is called wayedabber for the same reason that Genesis is called Genesis: wayedabber is the first word of the book. More descriptively still the book is regularly referred to as bemidbar in Hebrew, which means ‘in the desert’ and ‘in the desert’ is exactly where the events of this book take place.[1] The book of Numbers covers the whole time that Israel spent walking around the desert between Egypt and the Promised Land (Cf. Num 1:1).
Now this is interesting. Irvin was taking the bus down to Saskatoon a lot recently – praise the Lord that that is over for bit. How long did it take to travel from Saskatoon by bus? (3-4 hours). Now, Israel borders Egypt and the trip to the Promised Land from the Red Sea is probably not even as far as the trip to Saskatoon. Anybody know how long it took the Israelites to get to the Promised Land from Egypt? - 40 years. You think your bus rides took a long time. These guys had a lot more stops en route; they were walking; they didn’t take the most direct route and when they finally did get there God told them to go away and come back later (Numbers 14:30-31). It took them a while.
Today, we thought would be a good day to begin our study of Numbers for a couple of reasons. One is that - for those of us who are reading through the Bible together (following the plan on the handout at the back of the sanctuary) - we are reading through Numbers right now. And two, because of what day it is in the Christian calendar. Does anyone know what day it is today in the Church Calendar? It is the first Sunday of Lent and the theme of Lent is retreating into the desert with Christ so I thought it would be a good time to look at the part in the Bible that covers OT Israel’s 40 years following God around the desert.
Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflecting and taking stock. It originated in the earliest days of the Church as a time of preparation for Easter, when people rededicated themselves and new believers were instructed in Christianity. [2] By observing the forty days of Lent, we imitate Jesus’ forty days’ withdrawal into the wilderness, which does have some significant parallels to Israel’s forty years of preparation in the desert.
Now the thing about preparation is that it is not always the most fun time but it is necessary. It is chopping all the vegetables for dinner. It is like heading off to high school or university before you start your job. It may not be fun but you won’t do so well in University Calculus, if you never passed a Math test in Grade 11 or 12.
Speaking of tests – I don’t have another one for you but I do have a couple of comics about them from Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes: Calvin is a six year-old boy who plays pretend a lot. In the first comic, he is in class and instead of concentrating on the test he is supposed to be writing, he is pretending he’s Spaceman Spiff, in his spacecraft…
Now this is interesting. Irvin was taking the bus down to Saskatoon a lot recently – praise the Lord that that is over for bit. How long did it take to travel from Saskatoon by bus? (3-4 hours). Now, Israel borders Egypt and the trip to the Promised Land from the Red Sea is probably not even as far as the trip to Saskatoon. Anybody know how long it took the Israelites to get to the Promised Land from Egypt? - 40 years. You think your bus rides took a long time. These guys had a lot more stops en route; they were walking; they didn’t take the most direct route and when they finally did get there God told them to go away and come back later (Numbers 14:30-31). It took them a while.
Today, we thought would be a good day to begin our study of Numbers for a couple of reasons. One is that - for those of us who are reading through the Bible together (following the plan on the handout at the back of the sanctuary) - we are reading through Numbers right now. And two, because of what day it is in the Christian calendar. Does anyone know what day it is today in the Church Calendar? It is the first Sunday of Lent and the theme of Lent is retreating into the desert with Christ so I thought it would be a good time to look at the part in the Bible that covers OT Israel’s 40 years following God around the desert.
Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflecting and taking stock. It originated in the earliest days of the Church as a time of preparation for Easter, when people rededicated themselves and new believers were instructed in Christianity. [2] By observing the forty days of Lent, we imitate Jesus’ forty days’ withdrawal into the wilderness, which does have some significant parallels to Israel’s forty years of preparation in the desert.
Now the thing about preparation is that it is not always the most fun time but it is necessary. It is chopping all the vegetables for dinner. It is like heading off to high school or university before you start your job. It may not be fun but you won’t do so well in University Calculus, if you never passed a Math test in Grade 11 or 12.
Speaking of tests – I don’t have another one for you but I do have a couple of comics about them from Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes: Calvin is a six year-old boy who plays pretend a lot. In the first comic, he is in class and instead of concentrating on the test he is supposed to be writing, he is pretending he’s Spaceman Spiff, in his spacecraft…
Calvin - if you followed the strip at all you know – he knows lots about lots of things particularly for a six year-old. He is special but he never does so well in school because he is never prepared and he doesn’t pass the tests.
Ed Wallace was on the front page of the Nipawin Journal just recently. He just won 3 medals, including a gold medal, in snowshoeing at the Special Olympics. He passed the test. He worked really hard. In the process, I think he even broke 3 pairs of snowshoes from all the practicing. We had a big congratulatory lunch for him the other week at the Evergreen Centre. It was good and this victory wouldn’t be celebrated at all without all the preparation, all the training, and all the testing he had to go through beforehand.
Israel, in the desert, had a test that was a little more serious than this even. The results of which is a message of the book of Numbers. The generation that failed to pass into the Promised Land is passing on what they learned to the next generation. This relates directly to the test that Jesus was involved in immediately after his baptism - in his forty days in the desert. One significant difference however was that Jesus passed his test in the desert. But the Israelites, like Calvin, even though they were special, even though they were chosen, the Israelites failed their test and as a result of their failure, a whole generation (save Caleb and Joshua) perished in the wilderness (Num 14:20-43). All of these children of Israel died. This is a message of Numbers.
In our text today we have two of Aaron’s own children that died. His oldest two sons died. Numbers 3:3,4: “Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. Nadab and Abihu, however, fell dead before the LORD when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons; so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron” (Num 3:3,4; cf. Lev.10:1).
Just as the whole generation who left Egypt will die in their sins before they can enter the Promised Land (except Joshua and Caleb), two of Aaron’s children including his first-born son die here before the LORD.
Ronald Allen comments on this passage about their death: “‘Unauthorized fire’ translates a Hebrew expression that is seemingly deliberately obscure, as though the narrator finds the very concept to be distasteful... The essential issue here is that Nadab and Abihu were using fire that the Lord had not commanded (Lev 10:1). The pain of the account is strengthened by its brevity and mystery. We are left at a loss to explain their motivation, just as we do not know the precise form of their error. Were they rebellious or presumptuous? Were they careless or ignorant? Or was their sin some combination of these and other things? Because of the prohibition of wine and beer among the priests in their priestly service in Leviticus 10:8-11, it may be inferred that these sons of Aaron had committed their offense against God while in a drunken state.”[3] But we do not know.
Whatever their sin – and we can only guess the specifics of it – the Lord chose him for a special task: Aaron’s oldest son, Nadab, was assumed heir to the High priesthood. He fell short and he fell dead. This should be a warning to us. How do we come before the LORD? Are we ever rebellious or presumptuous, careless or ignorant or do we ever possess a combination of these in worship? Are we? Are we worshiping as we sing? Are we worshiping as we listen to the Scriptures and the sermon? Are we worshiping as we pray together? Are we? How are we doing on our tests here on earth? Are we able to pass the test and enter our promised rest (Cf. Heb 4)?
I am reminded of an American prosperity gospel radio and televangelist who went on the air and told the world that they should give him a million dollars. He hid up in a tower awaiting the deadline. HHHis tower was struck with a lightning bolt.[4] In our text today, Aaron’s firstborn son did not come before the Lord properly and he was struck and killed - possibly by a lightning bolt.
There is more. Numbers 3:13. God says, “‘for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine. I am the LORD.’”
You remember that don’t you? The Exodus. Pharaoh is given many opportunities and much warning through the plagues to do as God commands him. Time and time again he is reminded to just listen to God and let His people go but Pharaoh’s heart is hardened and he doesn’t do it. His disobedience costs him the life of his firstborn son (Exodus 4:22-23, 12:12). His disobedience costs him the life of all the firstborn – people and animals - in Egypt and his disobedience, 3:13 records, costs the Israelites the life of their firstborn.
This is important. The firstborn is the one through whom people often choose to transfer their inheritance. Susan reminded me the other week that as recently as the Middle Ages people would often pass the bulk of their inheritance down through their oldest son and dedicate their second son to God by educating him and sending him into the priesthood. This has contributed to some interesting events in history.
The Salvation Army comes to us through William Booth and before him John Wesley and John Wesley was an Anglican Priest. Do you know the story about how the Anglican Church (The Church of England) was founded? It was founded under King Henry VIII. King Henry VIII was a second born son, not a firstborn son. He was not expected to ascend the throne; He was not expecting the inheritance; he was not trained to be a king. He was trained to enter the priesthood. There were accompanying political reasons but God still did use this admittedly imperfect person on the throne after He had trained him in theology rather than politics and through him, He founded the Church of England. This is a part of our heritage. We – both our denomination and our country actually – were founded by God through a second son dedicated to the Lord because the first son one passed away.
In Numbers here it records that the High Priesthood, which it was anticipated would pass down through Aaron’s oldest son Nadab, instead passed down through another son, at least until the reign of David. Nadab, Aaron’s oldest, died in his sin and had no son to inherit the promised position.
The whole generation, whose actions are recorded in the book of Numbers, also passes away in the wilderness because they refuse to follow YHWH into the promise but rather try to achieve it on their own. Numbers is their passing on what they have learned to their children. Numbers is their passing on what they have learned to us.
Now we know that it is not only Aaron who gave up his firstborn son. We spoke of how Pharaoh and all of Egypt gave up their firstborn. We know that God demands the firstborn sons of all of Israel and as a sort of foreshadowing of this, of course, we know that God demanded that Abraham be prepared to sacrifice his son, Israel’s father (Gen 22). And God himself sacrificed his only begotten. God sacrificed his only directly sired son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16). And as Jesus himself is God, God himself died so that we may live (Cf. Gen 15:7-21).[5]
Lent is the time when we prepare for Good Friday where we remember His sacrifice and Easter where we celebrate His victory. It is only through this sacrifice that we have the victory in Jesus. And because we have it no one needs to die. The tragedy is of course, that like Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons. Some of us choose to not serve God fully and some of us though we are chosen may not take our responsibilities seriously and perish at the foot of the altar. Some people, like this generation of Israelites, instead of following God into our promised rest will try to obtain it on their own and, as a result, die trying.
Lent is a time of repentance. It is a time to learn from those who have gone before us. It is a time to turn from our sins and (repent) turn back towards God, knowing that as we do we will enter His promise. In that spirit today, I would ask that we all quieten our hearts and let the Lord reveal to us any acts that we need to repent of and to come and lay them at the altar here so that we can enter into this Lenten season with clean hearts, clean minds, and in all holiness.
Let us pray…
http://www.sheepspeak.com/
---
Ed Wallace was on the front page of the Nipawin Journal just recently. He just won 3 medals, including a gold medal, in snowshoeing at the Special Olympics. He passed the test. He worked really hard. In the process, I think he even broke 3 pairs of snowshoes from all the practicing. We had a big congratulatory lunch for him the other week at the Evergreen Centre. It was good and this victory wouldn’t be celebrated at all without all the preparation, all the training, and all the testing he had to go through beforehand.
Israel, in the desert, had a test that was a little more serious than this even. The results of which is a message of the book of Numbers. The generation that failed to pass into the Promised Land is passing on what they learned to the next generation. This relates directly to the test that Jesus was involved in immediately after his baptism - in his forty days in the desert. One significant difference however was that Jesus passed his test in the desert. But the Israelites, like Calvin, even though they were special, even though they were chosen, the Israelites failed their test and as a result of their failure, a whole generation (save Caleb and Joshua) perished in the wilderness (Num 14:20-43). All of these children of Israel died. This is a message of Numbers.
In our text today we have two of Aaron’s own children that died. His oldest two sons died. Numbers 3:3,4: “Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. Nadab and Abihu, however, fell dead before the LORD when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons; so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron” (Num 3:3,4; cf. Lev.10:1).
Just as the whole generation who left Egypt will die in their sins before they can enter the Promised Land (except Joshua and Caleb), two of Aaron’s children including his first-born son die here before the LORD.
Ronald Allen comments on this passage about their death: “‘Unauthorized fire’ translates a Hebrew expression that is seemingly deliberately obscure, as though the narrator finds the very concept to be distasteful... The essential issue here is that Nadab and Abihu were using fire that the Lord had not commanded (Lev 10:1). The pain of the account is strengthened by its brevity and mystery. We are left at a loss to explain their motivation, just as we do not know the precise form of their error. Were they rebellious or presumptuous? Were they careless or ignorant? Or was their sin some combination of these and other things? Because of the prohibition of wine and beer among the priests in their priestly service in Leviticus 10:8-11, it may be inferred that these sons of Aaron had committed their offense against God while in a drunken state.”[3] But we do not know.
Whatever their sin – and we can only guess the specifics of it – the Lord chose him for a special task: Aaron’s oldest son, Nadab, was assumed heir to the High priesthood. He fell short and he fell dead. This should be a warning to us. How do we come before the LORD? Are we ever rebellious or presumptuous, careless or ignorant or do we ever possess a combination of these in worship? Are we? Are we worshiping as we sing? Are we worshiping as we listen to the Scriptures and the sermon? Are we worshiping as we pray together? Are we? How are we doing on our tests here on earth? Are we able to pass the test and enter our promised rest (Cf. Heb 4)?
I am reminded of an American prosperity gospel radio and televangelist who went on the air and told the world that they should give him a million dollars. He hid up in a tower awaiting the deadline. HHHis tower was struck with a lightning bolt.[4] In our text today, Aaron’s firstborn son did not come before the Lord properly and he was struck and killed - possibly by a lightning bolt.
There is more. Numbers 3:13. God says, “‘for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine. I am the LORD.’”
You remember that don’t you? The Exodus. Pharaoh is given many opportunities and much warning through the plagues to do as God commands him. Time and time again he is reminded to just listen to God and let His people go but Pharaoh’s heart is hardened and he doesn’t do it. His disobedience costs him the life of his firstborn son (Exodus 4:22-23, 12:12). His disobedience costs him the life of all the firstborn – people and animals - in Egypt and his disobedience, 3:13 records, costs the Israelites the life of their firstborn.
This is important. The firstborn is the one through whom people often choose to transfer their inheritance. Susan reminded me the other week that as recently as the Middle Ages people would often pass the bulk of their inheritance down through their oldest son and dedicate their second son to God by educating him and sending him into the priesthood. This has contributed to some interesting events in history.
The Salvation Army comes to us through William Booth and before him John Wesley and John Wesley was an Anglican Priest. Do you know the story about how the Anglican Church (The Church of England) was founded? It was founded under King Henry VIII. King Henry VIII was a second born son, not a firstborn son. He was not expected to ascend the throne; He was not expecting the inheritance; he was not trained to be a king. He was trained to enter the priesthood. There were accompanying political reasons but God still did use this admittedly imperfect person on the throne after He had trained him in theology rather than politics and through him, He founded the Church of England. This is a part of our heritage. We – both our denomination and our country actually – were founded by God through a second son dedicated to the Lord because the first son one passed away.
In Numbers here it records that the High Priesthood, which it was anticipated would pass down through Aaron’s oldest son Nadab, instead passed down through another son, at least until the reign of David. Nadab, Aaron’s oldest, died in his sin and had no son to inherit the promised position.
The whole generation, whose actions are recorded in the book of Numbers, also passes away in the wilderness because they refuse to follow YHWH into the promise but rather try to achieve it on their own. Numbers is their passing on what they have learned to their children. Numbers is their passing on what they have learned to us.
Now we know that it is not only Aaron who gave up his firstborn son. We spoke of how Pharaoh and all of Egypt gave up their firstborn. We know that God demands the firstborn sons of all of Israel and as a sort of foreshadowing of this, of course, we know that God demanded that Abraham be prepared to sacrifice his son, Israel’s father (Gen 22). And God himself sacrificed his only begotten. God sacrificed his only directly sired son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16). And as Jesus himself is God, God himself died so that we may live (Cf. Gen 15:7-21).[5]
Lent is the time when we prepare for Good Friday where we remember His sacrifice and Easter where we celebrate His victory. It is only through this sacrifice that we have the victory in Jesus. And because we have it no one needs to die. The tragedy is of course, that like Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons. Some of us choose to not serve God fully and some of us though we are chosen may not take our responsibilities seriously and perish at the foot of the altar. Some people, like this generation of Israelites, instead of following God into our promised rest will try to obtain it on their own and, as a result, die trying.
Lent is a time of repentance. It is a time to learn from those who have gone before us. It is a time to turn from our sins and (repent) turn back towards God, knowing that as we do we will enter His promise. In that spirit today, I would ask that we all quieten our hearts and let the Lord reveal to us any acts that we need to repent of and to come and lay them at the altar here so that we can enter into this Lenten season with clean hearts, clean minds, and in all holiness.
Let us pray…
http://www.sheepspeak.com/
---
Answers to quiz: a) 12, 14, 16 (even numbers) b) 16, 32, 64 (multiply previous number by 2)c) 17, 19, 23 (prime numbers) d) E,N,T (eight starts with E, nine starts with N, ten starts with T)
[1] Cf. Ronald B. Allen. The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM: Numbers/Introduction to Numbers/Background of Numbers, Book Version: 4.0.2 and Thomas B. Dozeman 'The Book of Numbers' in NIB II (Nashville: Abingdon, 1998) 3-5.
[2]Cf. http://www.kencollins.com/holy-04.htm
[3] Ronald B. Allen, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Numbers/Exposition of Numbers/I. The Experience of the First Generation in the Desert (1:1-25:18)/A. The Preparation for the Triumphal March to the Promised Land (1:1-10:36)/1. Setting apart the people (1:1-10:10)/a. The census of the first generation (1:1-4:49)/(3) The placement and the numbers of the Levites and firstborn of Israel (3:1-51)/(a) The family of Aaron and Moses (3:1-4), Book Version: 4.0.2
[4] Cf.http://www.viahotelstulsa.com/popups2/about/about.asp
[5] Cf. Michael Ramsay, Genesis 15:7-21: When God is Bound. Journal of Aggressive Christianity, Issue 52, December 2007 – January 2008, p. 5-10.Avail. On-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsay_JAC.htm#Covenant%20-%20When%20God%20is%20Bound
[2]Cf. http://www.kencollins.com/holy-04.htm
[3] Ronald B. Allen, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Numbers/Exposition of Numbers/I. The Experience of the First Generation in the Desert (1:1-25:18)/A. The Preparation for the Triumphal March to the Promised Land (1:1-10:36)/1. Setting apart the people (1:1-10:10)/a. The census of the first generation (1:1-4:49)/(3) The placement and the numbers of the Levites and firstborn of Israel (3:1-51)/(a) The family of Aaron and Moses (3:1-4), Book Version: 4.0.2
[4] Cf.http://www.viahotelstulsa.com/popups2/about/about.asp
[5] Cf. Michael Ramsay, Genesis 15:7-21: When God is Bound. Journal of Aggressive Christianity, Issue 52, December 2007 – January 2008, p. 5-10.Avail. On-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsay_JAC.htm#Covenant%20-%20When%20God%20is%20Bound
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