Ten years ago today, I was filled with anxiety. Part of the anxiety was because I was supposed to preach a twelve-minute sermon in front of my peers whose sole task was to evaluate my performance. That’s, of course, challenging. The other reason for my anxiety was because at any moment, Lili was going to give birth to our first child, Michael. And the two things together were overwhelming. In fact, one anxiety fed the other. I was nervous that Lili would call with news that we needed to go to the hospital before it was my turn to preach. Then, I wouldn’t be able to get my class preaching over with and behind me but would have to have it continue to hang over my head in the midst of the sleep deprivation that would come with bringing home an infant. For that reason, I joked with Lili that she was free to go into labor any time after my class ended on November 4th at 2:00 P.M.
Anyway, shortly after my preaching in the class ended, I got a call from Lili. Michael was on his way. And oddly enough, when I got in the car to drive home and pick up my wife, the clock on the dashboard read 2:00. I’d never be able to make a joke again about submissiveness! Then, as the day progressed and the afternoon turned to evening, Lili’s mom told us a detail neither of us was aware of until that moment. That day, November 4th, was the anniversary of her mom’s death. Every year since then, she’d woken up on this day and thought of all the pain of that day, and now, there was a chance that the Lord was redeeming that day for her, allowing her to wake up year-after-year and think, “This is the day when the Lord gave me my first grandson.” After hearing that story, I remember looking up at the clock through the tears in my eyes and thinking, “Lord, please get my son here before midnight.”
Then, sure enough, just after 11:00 PM the doctor came in to deliver Michael, and ironically, it was a doctor I personally had never met before. As Lili and I had made the rounds at the clinic leading up to delivery, I remember thinking that any of the doctors we’d met would be great. And now, the doctor on call happened to be the one guy I didn’t know. And he ended up being a man I’ve come to cherish. In fact, I’ll never forget the image of the doctor taking my son just moments after delivery, lifting Michael up in his hands, and praying out loud that the Lord might pour his grace on him and bless him.
Today, Lili and I are ten years into raising our son (and have added three other children). And there are numerous days that we look around and think, “We don’t know what we’re to do next.” There are moments when we feel so inadequate. Most days we have more questions than answers. And even lately as we’ve tried to figure out what’s best for all four of our children, we find ourselves asking God for wisdom because the path ahead is unclear and feels completely out of our control.
And in those moments of fear and anxiety that is continually ratcheted up by the obvious lack of control we have, I will sometimes take time to remind myself of the events of November 4, 2002. It was a day when everything was out of my control. We had no control over when labor would begin. And it began at the perfect time. We had no control over what day our son came into the world. And he came at the perfect time. We had no control over what doctor would be in that room. And it was a doctor who loves the Lord and prayed for my son after his birth before even Lili or I could. As Lili and I began our journey of parenting that day, the Lord gave just a glimpse of his sovereign working. I may have felt out of control, but he was preparing everything to bring about his glorious work. And as I’ve said, there are numerous days I need to be reminded of his grace in preparing the events of that day ten years ago so that I am able to trust and not be crushed by the thought of how out of my control the next ten years feel to me right now.
But November 4, 2002 wasn’t the first time that the Lord showed his kindness and grace to a people as they began a journey, as Lili and I began the journey of raising our children that day. If you look back to the first ten chapters of the book of Numbers, you’ll find ten chapters filled with the Lord’s grace and kindness to the Israelites as he prepared them for the journey of entering and inheriting the promised land. In fact, that’s what Numbers 1:1-10:10 is about. It’s the preparation of the people to go into the promised land.
The book picks up a year after the exodus from Egypt with the people in the wilderness of Sinai (Num 1:1) and when we get to Numbers 10:11 and following you read of the people setting out toward the promised land, leaving the wilderness of Sinai. In between, you have the careful preparation of the people by the Lord for this journey. Perhaps a brief overview of the chapters will help orient us to this first section of the book.
In chapter 1 the Lord calls for a census of the people in order that Moses might see how many men were able to go to war. So, he appoints men to represent each tribe, and they count the number of men twenty years old and upward, and the number comes to 603, 550 (1:46), quite a large crowd. There will be another census later in the book, and it is because of these two episodes in which the people are numbered that we get the name of the book, “Numbers.” Chapter 1 notes as well that the Levites are not counted because the Lord is going to take them to serve the tabernacle.
In chapter 2 the Lord tells them how to arrange the camp, noting what tribes will be on what side of the tabernacle, which sets in the middle of the camp, and he tells them in what order they’ll march when they start moving.
In chapters 3-4 we see the duties of the priests and Levites described, who would be responsible for all the duties of the tabernacle as well as transporting it each time the people moved.
Chapters 5-6 provide for us some laws concerning purity and holiness, including commands to go out of the camp for a bit if you are unclean, how to make restitution to another, a test to implore if a woman is suspected of adultery, and laws concerning one who might take the Nazarite vow (which would include a commitment not to consume alcohol, not to cut one’s hair, and not come into contact with a dead body). One of the most famous Nazarites was Samson, and many of you probably remember of the story of him actually having his hair cut.
Chapters 7-8 note the dedication of the tabernacle and of the Levites to the service of the tabernacle, while chapter 9 provides instruction concerning celebrating the Passover feast as well as how God would note that it’s time for the people to move. He noted this through a cloud so that we read in 9:17, “And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped.”
Finally, in 10:1-10, the Lord provides instructions for alerting the people to gather at the tabernacle. When both are blown, the people gather at the entrance of the tabernacle. When one is blown, only the heads of the tribes should come. And then there are alarms and that they can note through the blowing of the trumpets. So, that gives us an overview of these first ten chapters. And what I want to show us this morning as we look through these chapter is that the blessings that the Lord gives his people in Numbers 1:1-10:10 in preparation for their journey are experienced by us as well, and oftentimes to a greater degree. So, let’s note the blessing God gives them, and then we’ll consider these realities concerning us as well. First, we should note that . . .
The text begins with a reminder that God had fulfilled so many of his promises to Abraham, hadn’t he? He had told Abraham (who didn’t even have a child at the time) that he was going to multiply his offspring, bless them, and bring them into a land of bounty. And as you begin the book of numbers, he’s done it and doing it. The people are indeed blessed. They’re numerous. The count is of 603,550 men who are twenty years and older. What does that mean the total number was? Perhaps four times that many? We don’t know. But God had multiplied them. He had fulfilled his massive promises. And he would bring them into the land.
But Numbers 1:1-10:10 focuses us on something else as well. God accounts for every single detail necessary to bring about his plans. In fact, isn’t that what makes this book hard to read sometimes? It’s the details. After counting the people in chapter 1, we pick up in chapter 2 reading about the arrangement of the tribes. We know where each tribe is so that you could draw it out. And, if you’re talking about millions of people, that’s a necessary detail, isn’t it? How do we even camp in an orderly way? God tells them. He tells them how to march. After ordering the tribes, we read in 1:9, “They shall set out first on the march,” in 1:16, “They shall set out second,” in 1:24, “They shall set out third on the march,” and in 1:31, “They shall set out last, standard by standard.” God not only accounts for the necessary details of their setting down in the camp but also an orderly way for this massive group of people to travel.
How will they know when to move? The Lord accounts for that in chapter 9. He’ll let a cloud settle over the tabernacle, and while it’s there they stay, but when it lifts they set out. But what about the need to summon such a massive group of people? The Lord tells them in 10:1-10 to design some trumpets, and as they are blown, the people respond.
The Lord also accounts for how to move each part of the tabernacle. In chapters 3-4 the Lord divides the Levites into three groups, who each have certain duties. I mean listen to the attention to detail the Lord accounts for. Listen to 4:5-14,
“When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.”
Now, I acknowledge that’s not the most exciting passage in the world. It’s texts like this that lead many to depart from their Bible-reading plan. You start out reading about creation in Genesis, and you’re all motivated. And then you are reading about the color of the cloth that was wrapped around the utensils in the book of Numbers, and you decide to jump to the New Testament.
But I think that we desperately want to know that our God is a God of the details. My guess is that most of us don’t have daily anxiety about God fulfilling his ultimate purposes and plans. We trust that Jesus is coming back. We trust that God will conform us to the image of his Son. We might even trust that he’s prepared good works for us to walk in them. But we struggle to trust that he’s accounted for the details.
Maybe you’re single, trusting that God has a plan for your life, but you’re wondering if somehow God has accounted for where you’re living, the job you have, and the people you encounter each day. If God wants you to be married, did he overlook the fact that there aren’t a whole lot of eligible single people at your workplace? Sure, you trust that he’s called you to walk faithfully in your marriage, but is God really paying attention to the grace that’s going to be needed as your husband or wife disobeys the Lord? Sure, he’s called you to raise your children, taking upon the responsibility of bringing them up in the Lord, but is God paying attention to all that’s going to be needed for the hardships you’re facing now and will face? Is God really taking into account all the little details that are necessary for you to walk in obedience in this life and to persevere amidst what he’s called you to?
Well, let me answer that by asking us this, “Does Numbers 1:1-10:10 give us any indication that God is prone is missing necessary details as he walks along with his people in the task he’s called them to do?” It doesn’t, does it? In fact, it screams that our God overlooks nothing. He knows exactly what faithfulness in your marriage entails. He knows exactly what raising your children entails. He knows exactly what doing your job entails. He knows exactly the nature of the difficulty of your trial. He doesn’t miss anything. And he’s going to withhold no good thing from you. Our God is a God who pays attention to and cares for the details of our lives as we live before him. Isn’t that such a comforting grace? But it doesn’t stop there. We also see that,
If you read through these ten chapters this week, there were at least two phrases that you might have noted that were repeated often. One of them has to do with the Lord speaking to his people. Here’s a sample from the first five chapters alone:
1:1 – “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai . . .”
2:1 – “The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying . . .”
3:5 – “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying . . .”
3:40 – “And the Lord said to Moses . . .”
3:44 – “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying . . .”
4:1 – “And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying . . .”
4:17 – “And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying . . .”
5:1 – “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying . . .”
5:5 – “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying . . .”
5:11 – “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying . . .”
And it continues like this throughout the rest of these chapters. In fact, if you peeked ahead to chapter 6, you’ll see it begins the same way. And the people were so dependent on the Lord’s instruction, that when they had a question about what to do when it was time to celebrate the Passover meal but some men were still unclean, Moses responded by saying, “Wait, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you” (9:8). And in the very next verse, the Lord spoke, telling Moses what they should do.
God provided for them by speaking to them. He graciously continued to give instruction. He was not silent. What Israel needed in the wilderness, they had. And if they lacked wisdom about something, God was willing to answer them.
And they obeyed what he said, didn’t they? In fact, this is another recurring theme throughout these chapters. Again, a sample:
1:54 – “Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.”
2:34 – “Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses . . .”
3:51 – “And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.”
4:49 – “According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.”
8:20 – “According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them.”
9:23 – “At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.”
God spoke, they listened. God gave instructions, they obeyed. They lacked wisdom, they asked, and God answered. And what he told them, they obeyed.
It’s almost an enviable picture, isn’t it? Life in the wilderness seems attractive. Oh what I would give to have such a life, we might think to ourselves. But let’s consider ourselves a bit. Has God spoken to us like he has to the Israelites? Indeed he has. In fact, he’s spoken more clearly and more thoroughly. As history progressed, God revealed more and more of his character, purposes, plans, and instructions to his people. In fact, ultimately God the Son took on flesh and lived among his people, teaching them. And when he left, the Spirit came and reminded his apostles of all that he said, leading them into even more truth so that they wrote it down as the Scriptures. God has spoken to us. How foolish would we be to remain ignorant of his Word?
But what about things the Bible doesn’t address? I mean, they Bible doesn’t tell us everything. Some things just require wisdom, don’t they? But listen to what the Lord tells us in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.” The God who gladly gave the Israelites added instruction when they lacked wisdom about how to handle the Passover meal when they were unclean is the same God who tells us, “Ask for me wisdom when you lack it.” He doesn’t begrudgingly give it. He delights in giving it. He gives it generously.
So, do we live this way? Is our life characterized by knowing God’s Word, obeying God’s Word, and then stopping and praying that God will give us wisdom when we don’t know what obedience looks like? It should. If not, we’re missing out on the gracious blessing of a God who delights in instructing and giving wisdom to his people. As then, God now gives us instruction to obey and wisdom when we lack it. Let us be characterized by knowing his Word, asking his for wisdom, and obeying his commands.
We also see that,
In Exodus 32, after Israel had formed a golden calf and worshiped it, sinning against the Lord, the Lord had said to Moses that he’d bring the people into the promised land, but he wasn’t going to give them his presence. Moses responded by pleading with the Lord to give them his presence, saying that he’d rather not go to the promised land if it was without the presence of the Lord. After all, what made Israel distinct from all the people on the earth if it was not that God was present with them?
So, when we get to the book of Numbers, what we find is that God is present right in their midst. The tabernacle is a tent where the Lord allowed his presence to dwell, and listen to this note in Numbers 2:2 about the arrangement of the camp. “The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.” Do you see? If every tribe is facing the tent of meeting on all sides, then that means that the Lord’s presence is right in the middle of the camp. God is with his people.
It’s not an exception in the Bible to find the Lord calling his people to a challenging task and then making sure they know that he is present with them. We obviously see it here. But this continues. When Moses dies and Joshua is supposed to lead the people into the land, the Lord says to Joshua, “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” When the Lord calls Gideon to lead the armies of Israel against the Midianites, the Lord says to him in Judges 1:16, “But I will be with you.” When David considered walking through the valley of the shadow of death in Psalm 23:4, he wrote, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” When Israel would face the fires of trial and judgment, the Lord said to them in Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” When Jesus charged his followers to make disciples of all the nations, he said in Matthew 28:20, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
And we are no exception, are we? When I was little, I used to read the stories of the Old Testament and envy the people so much. Wow, what would it be like to have God’s presence dwelling right there in the middle of the camp? Or, let’s ratchet it up a bit. What would it have been like to be one of Jesus’ followers so that you could actually see him, touch him, and walk with him? But do you know what Jesus said to his followers in John 16:7, “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” You see, we are at a point in redemptive history that is better than what Moses experienced. It’s even better than walking around with Jesus. We have God the Spirit indwelling us so that he is with us at all times. What this means is that what you’re laboring in right now that may be pressing on you so hard you feel like you’re going to die; God is with you in that. He’s not only paying attention to the details and accounting for them. He’s not only given you his Word to obey and wisdom as you ask for it. He himself is with you. He’s walking with you in the task. You’re not alone. God is with you. He’s given us himself. Finally, we see that,
You see, God’s presence was a dangerous thing. The question that the Bible asks from the point of Genesis 3 onward is, “How can a holy God dwell amidst an unholy people?” How could God dwell in the camp without the people being destroyed by God’s holy wrath? Well, there were a few things God did.
First, he provided for them some holiness and purity commands. Chapters 5-6 are commandments for how to live and how to handle their guilt when they sinned or were unclean. Even the Nazarites, a group who would take special vows to wholly dedicate themselves to the Lord, were given instructions for how to handle breaking their vows. God gave them pictures of how to handle their unholiness and uncleanness.
Second, he provided for them a people who could come close to the tabernacle and some who might enter it. The night the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, he bought all the firstborn for himself. Instead of the firstborn dying, the Lord allowed a lamb to die and his blood to be spread over the doorpost. Since that day, Israel’s firstborn were his.
But the Lord tells them multiple times in these chapters that he’ll take the tribe of Levi instead of the firstborn. One place we read it is in Numbers 3:12-13, “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.”
Now, the Israelites had a people who might come near the Lord’s presence on their behalf, even handling the things of the tabernacle. But even among the Levites, only Aaron and his sons could serve as priests. Thus we read in 3:9-10, “And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” This kept the people from dying, because they had representatives. In fact, this is reiterated again and again in these chapters. If anyone approaches the tabernacle who is not allowed or in a manner that is not commanded of the Lord, he’ll die. In fact, two of Aaron’s sons die in 3:4 because although they were priests, they did not do what God had authorized.
And finally, the Lord provided offerings (i.e., animals to be sacrificed for his unholy people). Chapter 7 reports each tribe bringing the exact same offering for the tabernacle. It’s repeated again and again in this chapter. And it included, “One bull, one ram, one male lamb, one male goat, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs. So, if you multiple that by twelve, that means that they brought:
12 bulls
12 rams
72 male lambs
72 male goats
24 oxen
60 rams
Why so many animals? The answer is because daily sacrifices of animals had to be made on behalf of the people. If the Lord was going to be able to dwell among his people, it meant that blood would have to be shed. Even the Levites, who represented the people, had to have animals offered as atonement for their sins. So, we read in 8:10-12,“
When you bring the Levites before the LORD, the people of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the LORD. Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the LORD to make atonement for the Levites.”
The people lay their hands on the Levites, who represent them, who lay their hands on the bulls, who represent them, who die. If God was to dwell in their midst, there had to be representatives and sacrifice for sin. But God addressed all of that.
And the same is true for us. How can we as an unholy people dwell with our holy God? God accounted for that by sending his Son to die for our sins, to rise from the dead, and to be our high priest (our representative) before God. In fact, every time we come to the table, we come, remembering everything that Jesus Christ did in order to allow us to dwell with our holy God.
So, this morning, as we come to the table, let us recognize that our God, who accounts for the details of our lives, has given us his Word, delights in giving us wisdom, has given us his presence through the Holy Spirit, and has done everything necessary to allow us to be with him forever. Let that comfort and encourage us as we walk in obedience to him, by his grace. Amen.