Numbers relates the journey of God’s pilgrim people through the wilderness from Mount Sinai to the borders of the promised land of Canaan. It covers almost forty years of their history. It receives its title from the two censuses (numberings) of the Israelites – one taken at the beginning of the book and one towards the end. There are two because God sadly has to set aside one generation whose unbelief and disobedience disqualifies them from receiving their inheritance. He then prepares a new generation who could enter the promised land. The book’s main spiritual significance relates to how God prepares his people to enter into their spiritual inheritance, the fullness of our salvation. The fulfilment of God’s plan of restoration requires a people of faith and wholehearted obedience. It will be such a people who can possess their full inheritance in Christ.

God’s Unfolding Plan

At this point in Israel’s story, God’s plan is to prepare his people to take possession of the land that he promised to their ancestors. For them, this was the literal land of Canaan but God’s plan is not only focused on a strip of land in the Middle East. His purpose has always been to bless the whole earth through the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). Christ is this true seed and so are we if we belong to Christ (Galatians 3:16, 29). So this story – along with all of the Old Testament – is written for us (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:7; 1 Peter 1:10-12), illustrating principles of the spiritual life in Christ and God’s eternal plan. This particular part of the story is about the kind of people we need to be to take possession of all the blessings that we have in Christ. The whole earth is going to be blessed through Christ and his body, the church. The world will be filled with God’s glory as the sons of God enter into the fullness of their inheritance. This is what entering Canaan represents for us.

There are at least three key lessons to learn from this book if we are going to enter into all that God has for us. Firstly, from the earliest chapters, the instructions about the Levites and the Tabernacle, together with the counting of the men ‘able to fight’ introduce the key theme of worship and warfare. God must always take the central place in our lives and, though the land is given to us by God’s grace, there are enemies who want to prevent us from receiving our inheritance. We will have to fight for it. When the enemy can’t beat us by direct assault, he is often more successful through seduction, and sadly some of the Israelites were seduced to worship false gods.

A second lesson is about the need for faith, the lack of which caused the first generation to be set aside and fail to enter the promised land. They were continually guilty of complaining, grumbling and rebelling against God and his leaders. Their unbelief is most clearly shown in the story of their reaction to the reports brought back by the men sent out to spy out the land. The people chose to believe the bad report of the doubting spies and rejected the men of faith, Joshua and Caleb. It is impossible to enter into all that God has for us without faith.

A third lesson concerns the spiritual leadership of God’s people. On their pilgrimage to possess the land of promise, God’s people are to be led by God. There is a direct leading of the community through the pillar of cloud/fire, representing the Holy Spirit leading his people. Also, the silver trumpets represent the importance of the prophetic gift in leading us. But what emerges strongly throughout the book is God’s leadership through his appointed and anointed leaders. The phrase ‘at the command of the Lord through Moses’ is frequently repeated (Numbers 3:39; 4:37, 49; 9:23; 10:13). The accounts of the rebellions, like the one of Korah, are significant because they show a rejection of God’s chosen leaders. When Moses is going to die, his main concern is that God raises up a leader so that the community of God’s people will not be left like sheep without a shepherd (Numbers 27:15-17). Later the Psalmist is to write of this period wrote: “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (Ps. 77:20, nkjv). Those who enter into their inheritance will be those who know how to rightly relate to spiritual leadership.

Outline

Principles and Pictures

Worship and warfare – from the beginning of the book we are introduced to the combination of worship (the Levites, the tabernacle, the offerings) and warfare (the military formation, the counting of the fighting  men, etc.) This theme continues throughout. The major lesson is that worship comes before warfare, as Joshua is later to find out (Joshua 5:13-19). If we are going to be successful in the spiritual battles we have to fight, then God must take first place in our lives. It is by praising God that we overcome the enemies and occupy the promised land (Psalm 149:6).

When pilgrims become wanderers – the life of faith is a journey, a pilgrimage. We have to be always ready to move forward in obedience to God. When we start to settle, look back, grumble and rebel against God’s leading, then we end up not as pilgrims, but as wanderers. Pilgrims are headed somewhere. Wanderers are not. Sadly, the first generations died without arriving at their destination because they became wanderers in the wilderness (1 Cor.10:2-11).

The cloud of presence (Numbers 9-10) – the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night is a picture of God leading his people (Exodus 13:21-22). But the cloud is often used in Scripture to speak of the presence of God (1 Kings 8:10-11; Isaiah 4:5; Ezekiel 1:4; Matthew 17:5) .The cloud speaks of the both the tangible reality and the unfathomable mystery of God. His presence must go with us and must lead us on our pilgrimage.

Trumpets (Numbers :10:1-10) – trumpets are often used in Scripture as a figure of the prophetic or proclaimed word of God (Exodus 19:16-1`9; Joshua 6:4-6; Isaiah 27:13; Revelation 4:1.8:6-13)  In Numbers they are used to gather God’s people together, to call them to move forward on their pilgrimage, to set out into battle and as an accompaniment to their worship. Preaching and the prophetic gift continue to serve these purposes.

Christ in all the Scriptures

The shepherd leader – the community of Israel was led by Moses and Moses was concerned that God chose someone to replace him when he died, so that the people were not left as sheep without a shepherd (Numbers 27:15-17). Jesus is our good shepherd (Isaiah 40:11; John 10:11) and the chief shepherd (Heb.13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; 5:4). Just as rebellion against Moses led to judgment and failure to enter Canaan, so obedience to the chief shepherd is vital if we are to enter our spiritual inheritance.

The bronze serpent (Numbers 21:14-15; John 3:14-15) – when the people complained against God and Moses, God sent venomous snakes in judgement, but also provided the means of healing, by instructing Moses to make and lift up a bronze snake. Those who looked at it were healed. This become a prophetic picture of Christ lifted up on the cross; when people look to (put their faith in) him, they receive eternal life. Bronze is often associated with judgment and, on the cross, Christ took the judgement that we deserved so that we could be healed.

Our inheritance in Christ – for natural Israel, the promised land was Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. But for us the promised land represents all the spiritual blessings we have in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14). The New Testament declares that all the promises of God are ‘yes’ in Christ (2 Cor.1:20). Like the land, the blessings are given by grace, but they have to be taken hold of through faith and patience (Hebrews 6:12).

Aaron’s rod (Numbers 17) – on one occasion God used the dramatic prophecy of making the staff of his anointed leader, Aaron, bud and blossom. Not only does this show that true, anointed leadership is shown through life. It also shows that it is based on resurrection life. It therefore points to the resurrection of Christ and the new life that we can have in him, and that must be the basis for all ministry and leadership (John 15:4; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 7:15-17).

There is a very helpful introduction and overview to the Book of Numbers at Bible Project.

The People who Take Possession of the Promises of God:

Having set aside the first generation, God prepares a new generation to enter into the promised land. From the lessons he teaches them as recorded in the second half of the book of Numbers, we can find some of the qualities required to enter into the inheritance that God has for us.

Going on to maturity	Numbers 26:1;  Hebrews 6:1
Able to fight and armed for battle	Numbers 26:1; 32:27;  Ephesians 6:10-18
God-directed worshippers	Numbers 28-29; John 4:19-24
Wholehearted	Numbers 32:11-12; Romans 1:9
Radical and zealous in obedience	Numbers 25; Matthew 5:29-30
Willing to be led	Numbers 27:15; Hebrews 13:17
Full of faith	Numbers 21:32-35;  Hebrews 6:12; 11:6

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[1] This outline is taken from Warren Wiersbe’s exposition of Numbers, Be Counted.