Note: This Bible study was done by me years ago before I started in-depth theology. Enjoy...but not a source of research. Thanks for your understanding! 

Time line for Numbers

1526 b.c.- Moses' birth
1446 b.c.- The plagues and the first Passover
1446 b.c.- The Exodus
1446 b.c.- The Ten commandments & Mt. Sinai
1446-1406 b.c.- The desert wanderings
1443 b.c.- Exploration of Canaan
1406 b.c.- Moses dies; Joshua becomes leader
1406 b.c.- Israelites enter Canaan

Outline for Numbers

I. Israel at Sinai, Preparing to leave for Canaan (1:1-10:10)
II. From Sinai to Kadesh (10:11-12:16)
III. Israel at Kadesh, the Delay Resulting from Rebellion (13:1-20:13)
IV. From Kadesh to the Plains of Moab (20:14-22:1)
V. Israel on Plains of Moab, Anticipating Taking of Canaan (22:2-32:42)
VI. Supplements Dealing with Various Matters (33-36)

Author, Audience, and Theme of Numbers

Author: Tradition states that Moses is the author, as he is credited with authoring the other books of the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch is Genesis through Deuteronomy. It is also possible (and a bit more likely) that the stories and laws were passed down via oral tradition and then written, with many different authors contributing to the text.

Audience: Generations of Israelites after settling in Canaan were probably familiar with the book. It was a reminder of God's ongoing faithfulness to the people, as well as a warning to obey his commands.

Theme: This book does NOT have a unifying theme. It covers multiple topics: census, genealogy, records of places visited during the desert wanderings, prophet's oracles, and much more. However, it does cover a specific time frame: the time that the Israelites wandered the desert. I think that the variety of topics actually helps emphasize the various complications of that large of a group of people traveling, and how daily life actually was.

Lesson- Numbers: Chapters 1 & 2

Chapters 1 and 2 are very straight-forward and really don’t need any explanation. We have a census of everyone, organized by tribe. The tribes were sorted by the sons of Jacob. We also learn that the Levites are the priests. We will learn much more about the Levites at a later time.

Due to the obvious nature of these chapters, and the lack of discussion material, I’m going to simply have some “unrelated” questions to allow for discussion.

Individually too many people substitute materialism for Christianity; live in ignorance, indifference, or rejection of God; and seek fame, power, pleasure, or wealth as the goal of their life.
As a society, this leads to wars, divorce, obscene literature; a basic perversion of human values; and a wide-spread loss of human dignity.

Questions:
Do you feel the world is more pagan (and further away from God) than it was 20 years ago? Why or why not?

Many people have to hurt, trampled on, or ignored before they turn to God. Is that how you turned to God? If so, tell the story. If not, how did you find God?

At the judgment, God is going to ask one question: "Did you live your life for Me?" What is your answer going to be?

(From "On Fire with Christ" by Frank Holland, Sr.

Reading- Numbers: Chapters 1 & 2

Numbers: Chapter 1- The Census

Jacob had 12 sons...the census was organized around this organizational format. This is important, as all later organization of Israel is around these twelve sons. Also, when we meet major people later, they are referred to a descendants of these twelve:

Sons of Jacob & Leah:
Reuben- Leader was Elizur son of Shedeur- 46,500
Simeon- Leader Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai- 59,300
Judah- Leader Nashon son of Amminadab- 74,600
Issachar- Leader Nethanel son of Zuar- 54,400
Zebulun- Leader Eliab son of Helon- 57,400
Levi- (1:47-50) The Levites, however, were not registered by ancestral tribe with the others. For the Lord had told Moses, “The tribe of Levi alone you shall not enroll nor include in the census along with the other Israelites. You are to give the Levites charge of the dweeling of the commandments with all its equipment and all that belongs to it. It is they who shall carry the dwelling with all its equipment and who shall be its’ ministers.

Sons of Jacob & Rachel:
Ephraim son of Joseph- Leader Elishama son of Ammihud- 40,500
Manasseh son of Joseph- Leader Gamaliel son of Pedahzur- 32,200
Benjamin- Leader Abidan son of Gideoni- 35,400

Sons of Jacob & Zilpah:
Gad- Leader Eliasaph son of Deuel- 46,650
Asher- Leader Pogiel son of Ocran- 41,500

Sons of Jacob & Bilhan:
Dan- Leader Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai- 62,700
Naphtalki- Leader Ahira son of Enan- 53,400

(2:1-2) The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “The Israelites shall camp, each in his own division, under the ensigns of their ancestral houses. They shall camp around the meeting tent, but at some distance from it.

In the rest of chapter 2, it goes on to list the actual locations each tribe should live.

Lesson- Numbers: Chapters 3 & 4

Both chapters again today are pretty straight-forward. They lay out the reason for the Levites being in charge of the Dwelling and spells out their specific duties- in great detail!

Note the difference between the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated priests allowed to enter the temple, and normal Levites, who are purified, and allowed to help transport and take care of the Dwelling.

Again, I'm going to throw out a couple of un-related discussion topics for us:

To live your life for Christ, you must believe in your need of:
1) training and study
2) prayer and action
3) God's grace and a living union with Him
4) a rule, a way of life.

Question: Which of these is your strongest area? Which of these is your weakest area?

Question: Are you a mediocre Christian right now? Have you been in the past?

By putting one question in the forefront of your mind, you can fulfill God's glory for you: "What else can I give you, Christ?"

Question: What else can you give?

(From "On Fire with Christ" by Frank Holland, Sr.)

Reading- Numbers: Chapters 3 & 4

(3:1-13) The following were the descendants of Aaron and Moses at the time that the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. The sons of Aaron were Nadab his first-born, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests who were ordained to exercise the priesthood. But when Nadab and Abihu offered profane fire before the Lord in the desert of Sinai, they met death in the presence of the Lord, and left no sons. Thereafter only Eleazar and Ithamar performed the priestly functions under the direction of their father Aaron.

Now the Lord said to Moses: "Summon the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest, as his assistants. They shall discharge his obligations and those of the whole community before the meeting tent by serving at the Dwelling. They shall have custody of all the furnishings of the meeting tent and discharge the duties of the Israelites in the service of the Dwelling. You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been set aside from among the Israelites as dedicated to me. But only Aaron and his descendants shall you appoint to have charge of the priestly functions. Any layman who comes near shall be put to death."

The Lord said to Moses, "It is I who have chosen the Levites from the Israelites in place of every first-born that opens the womb among the Israelites. The Levites, therefore, are mine, because every first-born is mine. When I slew all of the first-born in the land of Egypt, I made all the first-born in Israel sacred to me, both of man and of beast. They belong to me; I am the Lord."


The rest of chapter 3 and all of chapter 4 go on to explain in detail what each section of the tribe of Levi is in charge of: some take care of the tent and its coverings, others the statuary, others the gold, etc. Feel free to read the two chapters in full if you want to know the details.

Lesson: Numbers: Chapters 5-7

In the beginning of chapter 5, multiple people are expelled from the camp because they are "unclean." And they are unclean mostly because of skin disease or a discharge that isn't their fault!

Question: Can you think of a reason God would expel them for something that was beyond their control?  (Even scholars have trouble with a good answer...so, there is no wrong answer! Just take a shot in the dark and see what we come up with)

Would it be right to expel someone from church because of these reasons?

In 5:5-10, we learn that if someone cheats someone else (either by accident or on purpose), they must not only confess their sin, but also pay back the amount plus one fifth.

Question: If we followed this rule today, would the world be a better place? Why or why not?
Do you think confession of sin is important? Why or why not?

Next we learn of the "Nazirite vow" and how someone dedicates themselves to God for a certain time frame.

Question: Have you been on any type of retreat? Did you feel closer to God during that time?

Do you think the concept of dedicating yourself to God for a certain time frame is practical today? Why or why not?

Reading

(5: 1-10) The Lord said to Moses: "Order the Israelites to expel from camp every leper, and everyone suffering from a discharge, and everyone who has become unclean by contact with a corpse. Male and female alike, you shall compel them to go out of the camp, they are not to defile the camp in which I dwell." The Israelites obeyed the command that the Lord had given Moses; they expelled them from the camp.

The Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites: If a man (or woman) commits a fault against his fellow man and wrongs him, thus breaking faith with the Lord, he shall confess the wrong he has done, restore his ill-gotten goods in full, and in addition give one fifth of their value to the one he has wronged. However, if the latter has no next of kin to whom restoration of the ill-gotten goods can be made, the goods to be restored shall be the Lord's and shall fall to the priest; this is part from the atonement ram with which the priest makes amends for the guilty man. Likewise, every sacred contribution that the Israelites are bound to make shall fall to the priest. Each Israelites may dispose of his own sacred contributions; they become the property of the priest to whom he gives them."

-ordeal for a suspected adulteress also explained-

(6:1-8) The Lord said to Moses: "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man (or woman) solemnly takes the nazirite vow to dedicate himself to the Lord, he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he may neither drink wine vinegar, other vinegar, or any kind of grape juice, not eat either fresh or dried grapes. As long as he is a nazirite he shall not eat anything of the produce of the vine; not even unripe grapes or grapeskins. While he is under the nazirite vow, no razor shall tough his hair. Until the period of his dedication to the Lord is over, he shall be sacred, and shall let the hair of his head grow freely. As long as he is dedicated to the Lord, he shall not enter where a dead person is. Not even for his father or mother, his sister or brother, should they die, may he become unclean, since his head bears his dedication to God. As long as he is a nazirite he is sacred to the Lord."

-further rules for Nazirites-

(Chapter 7: paraphrased) Before leaving Sinai, the "prince" of each tribe made an offering to the Lord on behalf of his tribe. These "princes" where the ones that we heard of as leaders during the census.

Lesson: Numbers: Chapters 8-10

As always, feel free to read the chapters in full...I have quoted the "highlights," but some of you may want to read the entire thing.

We first read of the Lord commanding the Israelites to celebrate Passover. It is a time of remembrance of worship for them. Christianity's two largest celebrations are Christmas and Easter.

Question: What is one thing about each season that you tend to reflect on/pray about/think about?

Chapter 9 takes nine verses to say this: They set out when there was a pillar of fire, and they camped when there was a cloud. So, why would it go into such detail, repeating the story almost three times?

It is underlining the fact that they OBEYED God, even under different circumstances and when it probably didn't make a lot of sense to them. For example, why get up in the middle of the night & move on...couldn't it wait until morning?

Question: Do you think some of the Israelites grumbled over the odd pace of their journey? Why or why not?

There are seven words at the very end of the chapter that could/should be read at least three times:
"Ever heeding the charge of the Lord"

Question: How do you try to "heed the charge of the Lord"?

Reading

Chapter 8 (paraphrased)- the rules the Levites had to follow, such as age limits and proper conduct. 

(9:1-5) In the first month of the year following their departure from the land of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to celebrate the Passover at the prescribed time. The evening twilight of the fourteenth day of this month is the prescribed time when you shall celebrate it, observing all its rule and regulations." Moses, therefore, told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover. And they did so, celebrating the Passover in the desert of Sinai during the evening twilight of the fourteenth day of the first month, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

(9:15-23) On the day when the Dwelling was erected, the cloud covered the Dwelling, the tent of the commandments; but from evening until morning it took on the appearance of fire over the Dwelling. It was always so: during the day the Dwelling was covered by the cloud, which at night had the appearance of fire. Whenever the cloud rose from the tent, the Israelites would break camp; wherever the cloud came to rest, they would pitch camp. At the bidding of the Lord the Israelites moved on, and at his bidding they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the Dwelling, they remained in camp.

Even when the cloud tarried many days over the Dwelling, the Israelites obeyed the Lord and would not move on; yet sometimes the cloud was over the Dwelling only for a few days. It was at the bidding of the Lord that they stayed in camp, and it was at his bidding that they departed. Sometimes the cloud remained there only from evening until morning; and when it rose in the morning, they would depart. Or if the cloud lifted during the day, or even at night, they would then set out. Whether the cloud tarried over the Dwelling for two days or for a month or longer, the Israelites remained in camp and did not depart; but when it lifted they moved on. Thus, it was always at the bidding of the Lord that they encamped, and at his bidding that they set out; ever heeding the charge of the Lord, as he had bidden them through Moses.

Chapter 10 (paraphrased)- The making of two silver trumpets, which will be used to assemble the community, in breaking camp, announcing festivals & holy days, and during battles.

Lesson: Numbers: Chapters 10-12

 The Israelites complain about the manna that God is providing. They cry to Moses. Moses laments to God, and God ends up giving them all quail.

During out last lesson, I asked if you thought the Israelites grumbled about the pace. Now, we know they grumbled about the food. They go on and on about certain foods they had in Egypt (as slaves) that they don't have now (a free people).

Question: Do we grumble about what we don't have and forgive to be thankful for what we do have?
Can you give an example?

Moses hears the cry of the people, and goes to the Lord, saying he cannot carry this burden, that it is too much for him. Despite his lament, he is still "heeding the charge of God." He doesn't say, "No, Lord, I'm not going to do that" or "I don't want to"....he says, "I don't think I have the strength...please help."

Question: How do you try to "heed the charge of the Lord"?

How can we practice not refusing God's call, but simply asking for help when it seems like too much?
Is this a problem in your life? (Or is this something that has never come up?)

Reading

Israelites Travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh

(10:11-12) In the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud rose from the Dwelling of the commandments. The Israelites moved on from the desert of Sinai by stages, until the cloud came to rest in the desert of Paran.
 
(11:1-6) Now the people complained in the hearing of the Lord; and when he heard it his wrath flared up so that the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. But when the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died out. Hence that place was called Taberah, because there the fire of the Lord burned among them.

The foreign elements among them were so greedy for meat that even the Israelites lamented again, "Would that we had meat for food! We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now we are famished; we see nothing before us but this manna."

(11:9-15) At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell. When Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents, so that the Lord became very angry, he was grieved. "Why do you treat your servant so badly?"

Moses asked the Lord. "Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people? Was it I who conceived all this people? or was it I who gave them birth, that you tell me to carry them at my bosom, like a foster father carrying an infant, to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers? Where can I get meat to give to all this people? For they are crying to me, 'Give us meat for our food.' I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face this distress."

(11:31-32) There arose a wind sent by the Lord, that drove in quail from the sea and brought them down over the camp site at a height of two cubits from the ground for a distance of a day's journey all around the camp. All that day, all that night, and all the next day the people gathered in the quail. Even the one who got the least gathered ten homers of them. Then they spread them out all around the camp.

(Chapter 12- paraphrased) Aaron and Miriam speak against Moses. God takes them to task, and causes Miriam to be a leper for seven days.

Lesson: Numbers: Chapter 13

This chapter is one of my personal favorites out of these three books. In one chapter, we cover a period of over 40 days, but the entire chapter is pointing to one conclusion:
"People don't trust God when it counts."

At first, the Israelites obeyed perfectly...."send out scouts"...no problem. They send them on their way and wait for forty days with no dissent (that we hear of).

The scouts themselves go off into a foreign land to see what it is like, apparently trusting that the inhabitants aren't going to kill them on the spot (a possibility in those times....and in some parts of the world, a possibility today).

BUT, when the Israelites hear that, "yes, the land is great" and "see this fruit we brought back!"
and (finally), "well, these warriors live there"

They decide, "Nope, we've trusted God this far, but now we're not going any further."

(Yes, I am being a bit flip, but it is to make a point, I promise).

In the next chapter (and I'm sure we all know this), but they will be punished for their lack of faith by wandering in the desert for 40 years.

Now, this is an easy lesson to say or teach. (Example: I'm not having any trouble typing this, ha-ha).
But, living it is another thing. (Which I do struggle with).

So,
if you're facing a situation that seems impossible, or are trying to follow in Jesus' footsteps and feel like you're lost on the trail:
Have faith!

Question:
Can you name on little "everyday" thing you should/could give over to God?

Can you name one large thing you are either facing or have faced in which you just had to throw up your hands and say "God, it's all yours...I'm just trusting you"?

What is one way you could help others have faith? (By teaching, praying for them, being nice to strangers....throw out whatever feels good to you)

Reading

(1-3) The Lord said to Moses, "Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, all of them princes." So Moses dispatched them from the desert of Paran, as the Lord had ordered. All of them were leaders among the Israelites.

(17-21) In sending them to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, Moses said to them, "Go up here in the Negeb, up into the highlands, and see what kind of land it is. Are the people living there strong or weak, few or many? Is the country in which they live good or bad? Are the towns in which they dwell open or fortified? Is the soil fertile or barren, wooded or clear? And do your best to get some of the fruit of the land." So they went up and reconnoitered the land from the desert of Zin as far as where Rehob adjoins Labo of Hamath.

(25-28) After reconnoitering the land for forty days they returned, met Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites in the desert of Paran at Kadesh, made a report to them all, and showed them the fruit of the country. They told Moses: "We went into the land to which you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit. However, the people who are living in the land are fierce, and the towns are fortified and very strong. Besides, we saw descendants of the Anakim there."

(30-33) Caleb, however, to quiet the people toward Moses, said, "We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly do so." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We cannot attack these people; they are too strong for us." So they spread discouraging reports among the Israelites about the land they had scouted, saying, "The land that we explored is a country and consumes its inhabitants. And all the people we saw there are huge men, veritable giants, [the Anakim were a race of giants]; we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them."

Lesson: Numbers: Chapter 14

1) In this chapter, the Israelites once again refer to Egypt, and even start to make plans to return there, even knowing that they will surely be slaves again.

Question: Can you name one sin that our society often becomes "slaves" to?

2) The Lord is very wrathful and filled with anger when he hears the Israelites and their ungratefulness and lack of faith. Moses, however, pleads on their behalf that they not be destroyed. God listens and instead of destroying them punishes them by 40 years of wandering in the desert.

Question: Do you think if we pray for someone else to receive forgiveness that God will/might grant them forgiveness, even if they don't ask for it? Why or why not?

3) Some of the Israelites decide, belatedly, to go and try to take the land of Canaan. Moses warns them not to go, that it is no longer "their" land but that the promise will be fulfilled in their children's generation. They ignore him and then are defeated.

Question: If we belatedly do what God wants us to do: do we suffer the same fate as them or different? Why?

Reading

At this, the whole community broke out with loud cries, and even in the night the people wailed.  All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, the whole community saying to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt, or that here in the desert we were dead!  Why is the Lord bringing us into this land only to have us fall by the sword?  Our wives and little ones will be taken as booty.  Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”  So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”

But Moses and Aaron fell prostrate before the whole assembled community of the Israelites; while Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, who had been in the party that scouted the land, tore their garments and said to the whole community of the Israelites: “The country which we went through and explored is a fine, rich land.  If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us in and give us that land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  But do not rebel against the Lord!  You need not be afraid of the people of that land; they are but food for us!  Their defense has left them, but the Lord is with us.  Therefore, do not be afraid of them.”  In answer, the whole community threatened to stone them.

But then the glory of the Lord appeared at the meeting tent to all the Israelites.  And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn me?  How long will they refuse to believe in me, despite all the signs I have performed among them?  I will strike them with pestilence and wipe them out.  Then I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”  

But Moses said to the Lord: “Are the Egyptians to hear of this?  For by your power you brought out this people from among them.  And are they to tell of it to the inhabitants of this land?  It has been heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people; you, Lord, who plainly reveal yourself!  Your cloud stands over them, and you go before them by day in a column of cloud and by night in a column of fire.  If now you slay this whole people, the nations who have heard such reports of you will say, ‘The Lord was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them; that is why he slaughtered them in the desert.’  Now then, let the power of my Lord be displayed in its greatness, even as you have said, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and rich in kindness, forgiving wickedness and crime; yet not declaring the guiltless guilty, but punishing the children to the third and fourth generation for their fathers’ wickedness.’  Pardon, then, the wickedness of this people in keeping with your great kindness, even as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”

The Lord answered: “I pardon them as you have asked.  Yet, by my life and the Lord’s glory that fills the whole earth, of all the men who have seen my glory and the signs I worked in Egypt and in the desert, and who nevertheless have put me to the test ten times already and have failed to heed my voice, not one shall see the land which I promised on oath to their fathers.  None of these who have spurned me shall see it.  But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me unreservedly, I will bring him into the land where he has just been, and his descendants shall possess it.  But now, since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn away tomorrow and set out in the desert on the Red Sea road.”

The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron: “How long will this wicked community grumble against me?  I have heard the grumblings of the Israelites against me.  Tell them: By my life, says the Lord, I will do to you just what I have heard you say.  Here in the desert shall your dead bodies fall.  Of all your men of twenty years or more, registered in the census, who grumbled against me, not one shall enter the land where I solemnly swore to settle you, except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun.  Your little ones, however, who you said would be taken as booty, I will bring in, and they shall appreciate the land you spurned.  But as for you, your bodies shall fall here in the desert, here where your children must wander to forty years, suffering for your faithfulness, till the last of you lies dead in the desert.  Forty days you spent in scouting the land; forty years shall you suffer for your crimes: one year for each day.  Thus you will realize what it means to oppose me.  I, the Lord, have sworn to do this to all this wicked community that conspired against me: here in the desert they shall die to the last man.”  

And so it happened to the men whom Moses had sent to reconnoiter the land who on returning had set the whole community grumbling against him by spreading discouraging reports about the land; these men who had given out the bad report about the land were struck down by the Lord had died.  Of all the men who had gone to reconnoiter the land, only Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, survived.

When Moses repeated these words to all the Israelites, the people felt great remorse.  Early the next morning they started up into the foothills, saying, “here we are, ready to go up to the place that the Lord spoke of: for we were indeed doing wrong.”

But Moses said, “Why are you again disobeying the Lord’s orders?  This cannot succeed.  Do not go up, because the Lord is not in your midst; if you go, you be beaten down before your enemies.  For there the Amalekites and Canaanites face you, and you will fall by the sword.  You have turned back from following the Lord; therefore the Lord will not be with you.”

Yet they dared to go up into the foothills, even though neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp.  And the Amalekites and Canaanites who dwelt in that hill country came down and defeated them, beating them back as far as Hormah.

Lesson: Numbers: Chapter 15-16

1) First we read of a person who breaks the Sabbath and is stoned to death as punishment.

Do you think stoning someone to death was an appropriate punishment for gathering fire wood? Why or why not?
Why do you think this punishment is no longer appropriate?

2) At the beginning of the rebellion, Korah says "The whole community, all of them, are holy."

Do you think that in any group of people that large, every single one them is holy? Why or why not?

3) Moses then goes and talks to two other men of the group who are rebelling. They accuse Moses of being at fault for them not receiving the land of Canaan, when we know it was a lack of faith on part of the people that caused this.

Question: Do we, as a society, sometimes refuse to accept blame for what we ourselves have caused?
Do you occasionally do this on a personal level?

4) The Lord has the earth swallow up the people in rebellion.

Question: Do you think He was angry to the insult proffered to Moses and/or do you think He was angry over their lack of faith?

Reading

(15:32-36) While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was discovered gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who caught him at it brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly. But they kept him in custody, for there was no clear decision as what should be done with him. Then the Lord said to Moses, "This man shall be put to death; let the whole community stone him outside the camp." So the whole community led him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

(16:2-5) Two hundred and fifty Israelites who were leaders in the community, members of the council and men of note. They stood before Moses, and held an assembly against Moses and Aaron, to whom they said, "Enough from you! The whole community, all of them, are holy; the Lord is in their midst. Why then should you set yourselves over the Lord's congregation?"
When Moses heard this, he fell prostrate. Then he said to Korah and to all his band, "May the Lord make known tomorrow morning who belongs to him and who is the holy one and whom he will have draw near to him! Whom he chooses, he will have draw near him!"

(16:8-9) Moses also said to Korah, "Listen to me, you Levites! Is it too little for you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the community of Israel, to have you draw near him the service of the Lord's Dwelling to to stand before the community to minister for them?

(16:12-14) Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, but they answered, "We will not go. Are you not satisfied with having led us here away from a land flowing with milk and honey, to make us perish in the desert, that you must now lord it over us? Far from bringing us to a land flowing with milk and honey, or giving us fields and vineyards for our inheritance, will you also gouge out our eyes? No, we will not go."

(16:20-24)...and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Stand apart from this band, that I may consume them at once." But they fell prostrate and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will one man's sin make you angry with the whole community?" The Lord answered Moses, "Speak to the community and tell them: Withdraw from the space around the Dwelling" [of Korah, Dathan and Abiram].

(16:28-33) Moses said [to the people], "This is how you shall know that it was the Lord who sent me to do all I have done, and that it was not I who planned it: if these men die an ordinary death, merely suffering the fate common to all mankind, then it was not the Lord who sent me. But if the Lord does something entirely new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them alive down into the nether world, with all belonging to them, then you will know that these men have defied the Lord." No sooner had he finished saying all this than and ground beneath them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their families [and all of Korah's men] and all their possessions. They went down alive to the nether world with all belonging to them; the earth closed over them, and they perished from the community.

Lesson: Numbers: Chapters 17-20

1) Again, we find the Israelites raising up their voices against Moses for the situation they are in. We can be forgiven for believing that complaining and blaming is all they did for 40 years...I'm sure there were times of great faith, it probably is simply that the "unrest" times were different enough to be recorded (see last section of lesson).

It is easy to look at their situation and say what they were doing wrong. Can you look at your life and find one thing that you change today to make your life more for God?

2) It is still debated among scholars exactly what Moses and Aaron did wrong: was it actually striking the rock instead of simply standing before it and/or the actual words that they used.

Question: Which (or both) "feels right" to you? Why?

How can we avoid the sin of Moses and Aaron (taking credit for God's work/false pride)?

Question (for fun): imagine wandering around the desert living for even just a year....what would you miss most? What would you dislike most?

3) Simply take note of 20:20-21...we will read a lot about Edom later.

4) When Aaron dies, he is first stripped of his garment (his priestly robe). This is not intended as an insult, so please don't read it that way. If a dead body touches a garment, it becomes unclean. It would be improper for a priestly garment (which was what Aaron wore) to touch a dead body. Therefore, it was passed on to his son before he actually died to avoid uncleanness.

5) When Aaron dies, the whole community mourns, showing that most of the time there was good faith, love between neighbors, and basically, just a "good community." And clearly, Moses and Aaron were respected most of the time as great people, as shown by the 30 days of mourning done by the entire community.

Question: When reading about the wanderings, does it sometimes seem every story is about rebellion? Why do you think this is? (Or why don't you think this is a true statement?)

Reading

Chapter 17 covers the leaders of the twelve tribes putting forth their staffs before God. God causes the staff of Aaron (the Levite tribe) to not only sprout, but have blossoms and ripe almonds, showing the Israelites that it IS Moses and Aaron he wants in charge of them.

Chapter 18 covers the priests' share of the sacrifices, the tithes due the Levites, and the tithes paid by the Levites.

Chapter 19 covers the burning of the red heifer and the use of the ashes.

Chapter 20:1-13, 20-21, 27-29

(1-13) The whole Israelite community arrived in the desert of Zin in the first month, and the people settled at Kadesh. It was here that Miriam died, and here that she was buried.

As the community had no water, they held a council against Moses and Aaron. The people contended with Moses, exclaiming, "Would that we too had perished with our kinsmen in the Lord's presence! Why have you brought the Lord's community into this desert where we and our livestock are dying? Why did you lead us out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place which has neither grain nor figs nor vines nor pomegranates? Here there is not even water to drink!" But Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the meeting tent, where they fell prostrate.

Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord said to Moses, "Take the staff and assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron, and in their presence order the rock to yield its waters. From the rock you shall bring forth water for the community and their livestock to drink." So Moses took the staff from its place before the Lord, as he was ordered. He and Aaron assembled the community in front of the rock, where he said to them, "Listen to me, you rebels! Are we to bring water for you out of this rock?" Then, raising his hand, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff, and water gushed out in abundance for the community and their livestock to drink. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you were not faithful to me in showing forth my sanctity before the Israelites, you shall not lead this community into the land I will give them." These are the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites contended against the Lord, and where he revealed his sanctity among them.

(20-21) But Edom (the king of) still said, "No, you shall not pass through," and advanced against them with a large and heavily armed force. Therefore, since Edom refused to let them pass through their territory, Israel detoured around them.

(27-29) Moses did as the Lord commanded. When they {Aaron, Moses, and Eleazar} had climbed Mount Hor in view of the whole community, Moses tripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain. When Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, all the community understood that Aaron had passed away; and for thirty days the whole house of Israel mourned him.

Lesson: Numbers: Chapters 21-24

It was a long reading today, but had one major point that is particularly interesting. Balaam says throughout the reading that he can only say what God wants him to say. Even with Balak promising gold and silver, Balaam continues to "do the right thing" (aka: giving God's message), not cursing the Israelites just to get the money.

Questions: Do you sometimes speak without thinking and then realize that what you said was something hurtful/untrue/etc.?

Name one way you can avoid doing this in the future.

Do we, as a society, put money above truth? Can you name one example?

Reading

Chapter 21: Israel defeats those who live in Negeb. As they travel, they request from the Amorites simple passage through the land. They refuse and the Israelites defeat them.

Chapters 22 through 24 cover a period of time when the Israelites are camped on the Plains of Moab. Balak, the king of Moab, was fearful of the Israelites after he saw what they had done to the Amorites. Therefore, he summoned a magician/soothsayer, Balaam, to curse the Israelites.

Chapter 22: 6-15, 20-21, 36-38

(6-15) [Balak to Balaam] "Please come and curse this people [the Israelites] for us; they are stronger than we are. We may then be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed and whoever you curse is cursed." Then the elders of the Moab and of Midian left with the divination fee in hand went to Balaam.

When they had given him Balak's message, he said to them in reply, "Stay here overnight, and I will give you whatever answer the Lord gives me." So the princes of Moab lodged with Balaam.

Then God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men visiting you?" Balaam answered God, "Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me the message: 'This people that came here from Egypt now cover the face of the earth. Please come and lay a curse on them for us; we then be able to give them battle and drive them out.'"

But God to Balaam, "Do not go with them and do not curse this people, for they are blessed."

The next morning Balaam arose and told the princes of Balak, "Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you." So the princes of Moab went back to Balak with the report, "Balaam refused to come with us."
Balak again sent princes, who were more numerous and more distinguished than the others.

(20-21) That night God came to Balaam and said to him, "If these men have come to summon you, you may go with them; yet only on the condition that you do exactly as I tell you." So the next morning when Balaam arose, he saddled his ass, and went off with the princes of Moab.

(36-38) When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the boundary city Ir-Moab on the Arnon at the end of the Moabite territory. And he said to Balaam, "I sent an urgent summons to you! Why did you not come to me? Did you think I could not reward you?"

Balaam answered him, "Well, I have come to you after all. But what power have I to say anything? I can only speak was God puts in my mouth."

Chapter 23: 11-12, 25-26 (words in brackets are my paraphrases)

[Balaam builds alters and then gives voice to his first oracle, which blessed the Israelites]

(11-12) "What have you done to me?" cried Balak to Balaam. "It was to curse my foes that I brought you here; instead, you have even blessed them." Balaam replied, "Is it not what the Lord puts in my mouth that I must repeat with care?"

[They go to another place and Balaam gives voice to his second oracle]

(25-26) "Even though you cannot curse them," said Balak to Balaam, "at least do not bless them." But Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not warn you that I must do all that the Lord tells me?"

Chapter 24: 10-13, 25

[They go to another place, build alters, and then Balaam gives voice to his third oracle]

(10-13) Balak beat his palms together in a blaze of anger at Balaam and said to him, "It was to curse my foes that I summoned you here; yet three times now you have even blessed them instead!" Be off at once, then to your home. I promised to reward you richly, but the Lord has withheld the reward from you!"

Balaam replied to Balak, "Did I not warn the very messengers whom you sent to me, 'Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not of my own accord do anything, good or evil, contrary to the command of the Lord'? Whatever the Lord says I must repeat."

[Balaam gives voice to his fourth oracle]

(25) Then Balaam set out on his journey home and Balak also went on his way.

Lesson: Numbers: Chapters 25-29

1) First, the Israelites commit their first instance of worshipping foreign gods in the land around Canaan. This will be an ongoing problem for a very, very long time, despite God's continuous punishment for this sin.

Question: Can you think of a reason that the Israelites continue to worship other gods?

Why do you think they ignore the punishment and continue to commit this sin throughout their history?

2) The Lord then gives rules for inheritance; including allowing daughters to inherit land (but only if there are no sons!).

Question: Do you think ordered rules for inheritance are better than the person getting to write out a will and decide who should get their property? Why or why not?

3) Joshua is then chosen as Moses' successor. Despite the years that have gone by, Moses is still denied getting to walk in the holy land promised to them.

Question: Do you think there are consequences for our sins even when God forgives us? Why or why not?

Reading

Chapter 25- The Israelites fall to worshipping the god Baal of Peor. God's wrath falls upon them and twenty-four thousand are killed.

Chapter 26- A second census is taken, again sorted by the twelve tribes.

(52-56) The said to Moses, "Among these groups the land shall be divided as their heritage in keeping with the number of individuals in each group. To a large group you shall assign a large heritage, to a small group and small heritage, each group receiving its heritage in proportion to the number of men registered in it. But the land shall be divided by lot, as the heritage of the various ancestral tribes. As the lot falls shall each group, large or small, be assigned its heritage."
[Note: This will be very, very important later!!!  Remember it!!!]

Chapter 27: 5-11, 22-23

(5-11) When Moses laid their [daughters of Zelophehad, who died without a male heir] case before the Lord, the Lord said to him, "The plea of Zelophehad's daughters is just; you shall give them hereditary property among their father's kinsmen, letting their father's heritage pass on to them. Therefore, tell the Israelites: If a man died without leaving a son, you shall let his heritage pass on to his daughter; if he has no daughter, you shall give his heritage to his brothers; if he has no brothers, you shall give his heritage to his father's brothers; if his father had no brothers, you shall give his heritage to his nearest relative in his clan, who shall then take possession of it." This is the legal norm for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.

(22-23) Moses did as the Lord had commanded him. Taking Joshua and having him stand in the presence of the priest Eleazar and of the whole community, he laid his hands on him and gave him his commission, as the Lord had directed through Moses.

Chapters 28 and 29 cover proper times for sacrifices.

Lesson: Numbers: Chapter 30

In a previous chapter, God gave women the right to own property, but in this chapter her word can be canceled if the man "in charge" (aka- husband, father, guardian) of her doesn't like the vow she made.

Question: Do you think this rule should apply today? Why or why not?

Can you think of one good reason for this to apply during that time frame?

Can you think of one bad result of this rule being applied during that time frame?

Reading

(30: 2-6) Moses said to the heads of the Israelite tribes, "This is what the Lord has commanded: When a man makes a vow to the Lord or binds himself under oath to a pledge of abstinence, he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered.
When a woman, while still a maiden in her father's house, makes a vow to the Lord, or binds herself to a pledge, if her father learns of her vow or the pledge to which she bound herself and says nothing to her about it, then any vow or any pledge she has made remains valid. But if on the day he learns of it her father expressed to her his disapproval, then any vow or any pledge she has made becomes null and void, and the Lord releases her from it, since her father has expressed to her his disapproval."

[The chapter goes on to apply the same rule to women living in her husband's house, with the husband able to null and void his wife's word.]

Lesson: Numbers: Chapter 31

The Israelites go now and attack the Midianites and take home their women, children, and all of their goods as spoils of war. Moses then orders all of the CHILDREN killed, along with all women who have ever had sex. The "girls who have not had intercourse with a man" [aka- bluntly speaking, the virgins] can be kept by the Israelite men. I'm sure we can imagine what life was like for them.

Questions: Do you think God really ordered the children to be killed and the young girls to be treated that way? Why or why not?

If so, why is it now morally wrong to treat people like that today, and not back then?

If not, why does the Bible clearly spell out these details, condoning them?

Final question: (which relates to both chapter 30 and 31):

Is it all right to treat a woman as a possession not capable of making her own decisions (in the case of swearing oaths) or a possession that can be used as a man wills (in the second case)?

Why or why not?

Reading

Chapter 31: 1-2, 6-7, 9-12, 14-18

(Note: Earlier, in chapter 25, we read how the Israelites were tempted by those living in Moab to worship a false god. The Lord ordered them then to treat the Midianites as enemies. Moab's population consisted of both Moabites [descendants of Lot and his daughter, who had an incestuous relationship, and a son named Moab] and the Midianites [descendants of Abraham and his third "wife"...one of their six sons was named Midian, who was the founder of this tribe].)

(1-2) The Lord said to Moses, "Avenge the Israelites on the Midianites, and then you shall be taken to your people."

(6-7) Moses sent them out on the campaign, a thousand from each tribe, with Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest for the campaign, who had with him the sacred vessels and the trumpets for sounding the alarm. They waged war against the Midianites, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male among them.

(9-12) But the Israelites kept the women of the Midianites with their little ones as captives, and all their herds and flocks and wealth as spoil, while they set on fire all the towns where they had settled and all their encampments. Then they took all the booty, with the people and beasts they had captured, and brought the captives, together with the spoils and booty, to Moses and the priest Eleazar and to the Israelites community at their camp on the plains of Moab, along the Jericho stretch of the Jordan.

(14-18) Moses became angry with the officers of the army, the clan, and company commanders, who were returning from combat. "So you have spared all the women!" he exclaimed. "Why, they are the very ones who on Balaam's advice prompted the unfaithfulness of the Israelites toward the Lord in the Peor affair, which began the slaughter of the Lord's community. Sly, therefore, every male child and every woman who has had intercourse with a man. But you may spare and keep for yourselves all girls who had no intercourse with a man."

Lesson: Numbers: Chapter 32

In this chapter, the descendents of Reuben and the descendents of Gad decide that they like the land on this side of the Jordan. Making a deal with Moses, they will support their "brothers" in taking their own land, and receive as their share of the inheritance the land to the East of the Jordan. This “story” is used to explain why the Israelites are spread out on both sides of the Jordan.  It is also used to demonstrate how they strongly they felt as one people, with descendents of Reuben and Gad willing to go to war to help their brothers.  

Question: Do you think that the decision to stay on the far side of the Jordan reflects a lack of faith in their eventual victory in the land of Canaan?  
-or-
Was it simply a matter of the land being suitable for their flocks?   

Reading

(1-24) Now the Reubenites and Gadites had a very large number of livestock. Noticing that the land of Jazer and of Gilead was grazing country, they came to Moses and the priest Eleazar and to the princes of the community and said, "The region of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Baal-meon, which the Lord has laid low before the community of Israel, is grazing country. Now, since your servants have livestock," they continued, "If we find favor with you, let this land be given to your servants as their property. Do not make us cross the Jordan."

But Moses answered the Gadites and Reubenites: "Are your kinsmen, then, to engage in war, while you remain here? Why do you wish to discourage the Israelites from crossing to the land the Lord has given them? That is just what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to reconnoiter the land. They went up to the Wadi Eshcol and reconnoitered the land, then so discouraged the Israelites that they would not enter the land the Lord had given them. At that time the wrath of the Lord flared up, and He swore, 'Because they have not followed me unreservedly, none of these men of twenty years or more who have come up from Egypt shall ever see this country I promised under oath to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, except the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun, who have followed the Lord unreservedly.' So in his anger with the Israelites the Lord make them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord had died out. And now here you are, a brood of sinners, rising up in your fathers' place to add still more to the Lord's blazing wrath against the Israelites. If you turn away from following him, he will make them stay still longer in the desert, and so you will bring about the ruin of this whole nation."

But they were insistent with him: "We wish only to build sheepfolds here for our flocks, and towns for our families; but we ourselves will march as troops in the van of the Israelites, until we have led them to their destination. Meanwhile our families can remain here in the fortified towns, safe from attack by the natives. We will not return to our homes until every one of the Israelites has taken possession of his heritage, and will not claim any heritage with them once we cross the Jordan, so long as we receive a heritage for ourselves on this eastern side of the Jordan."

Moses said to them in reply: "If you keep your word to march as troops in the Lord's vanguard and to cross the Jordan in full force before the Lord until he has driven his enemies out of his way and the land is subdued before him, then you may return here, quit of every obligation to the Lord and Israel, and this region shall be your possession before the Lord. But it you do not do this, you will sin against the Lord, and you can be sure that you will not escape the consequences of your sin. Build the towns, then, for your families, and the folds for your flock, but also fulfill you express promise."

Lesson & Reading: Numbers: Chapters 33-36

As much of this information is a review of stuff we have already covered, please feel free to go back and answer an earlier question if you so desire.  Or feel free to read the chapters in whole!

These last four chapters are supplemental material to the book of Numbers. I'll simply going to do a quick overview of what each chapter covers.

Chapter 33: Covers the entire journey from Egypt to Canaan, including some of the major stops.

Chapter 34: Describes the borders of the land the Lord is giving them, Canaan. In future chapters, these borders will be adjusted, as the Israelites will NOT end up taking possession of the entire area, though they will end up controlling most of it.

Chapter 35: Covers the cities of the Levites and cities of asylum. We will learn much more about these in future readings. This chapter also re-covers the death penalty.

Chapter 36: Re-iterates what we learned about heiresses, but adds that if they marry outside of their tribe, their land will NOT be passed on to the outside tribe. In a case of "outside" marriage (aka- a heiress from the tribe of Judah marrying someone from the tribe of Simon), the land stays within the original tribe (in this case, Judah).