Numbers 2-5

Greetings,

sorry that I have not been posting a lately, the previous couple days I was at a conference and yesterday, I spent my day reading David Platt’s Radical so I’ve just been super behind on my Bible reading. 😭😭😭

I’m done the book though, so if anyone would like to read it as well, let me know!

Today, I am going to head back into Numbers.

I did not find anything particularly profound in chapter 2 with the arrangement of tribes but it was helpful to look up some visuals on what it possibly may have looked like! (from google images)

Just to clarify, the writer of Numbers does not really make it a concern for how precisely the tribes were organized in the written text. Just that 3 of each of the tribes are placed in the N/W/S/E direction.

Numbers 3 expands on this arrangement, adding to it, but not before a small side note in Numbers 3:4 to Leviticus 10:1-2

But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Numbers 3:4

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

Leviticus 10:1-2

One thing that is super interesting about the set-up is if we put together the information we have in Numbers 2-3 and a section of the Exodus 27 text, we realize that the entrance to the tabernacle actually faces towards the East.

“You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side. Its twenty pillars and their twenty bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And likewise for its length on the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, its pillars twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And for the breadth of the court on the west side there shall be hangings for fifty cubits, with ten pillars and ten bases. The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be fifty cubits. The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. On the other side the hangings shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars and with them four bases. All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twined linen and bases of bronze. All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.

Exodus 27:9-19

If you don’t believe me, you can look it up yourself or check out some of the articles here and here.

The big question is whether or not this is something that is significant or if I’m just wasting my time.

Some interesting verses to look at:

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:8

He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:24

And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

Genesis 11:2

Because I’ve yet to provide any context:

• The first verse is from the creation of the garden of Eden, in which we are told was planted “in the east“
• The second verse is after the fall of man, where man is kicked out cherubim are set to guard the entrance “at the east of the garden of Eden”
• The third verse is from just before they build the tower of Babel, in which we are told they came “from the east“

So we can kind of draw a picture of creation to fall to Babel:

That’s a whole lot of east.

Here’s more stuff:

Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city.

Ezekiel 11:23

What is the glory of God?

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Hebrews 1:3

Here’s a map of Jerusalem and that big red circle is the Mt. of Olives which is on the “east side of the city.”

Maybe you don’t believe me and think I’m reaching hard for this and that’s okay but here is a link that I thought pointed out some really cool and interesting things.

(I added this later because after I saw the Zechariah ref. I couldn’t NOT share it so here it is:

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.

Zechariah 14:1-4

end thought here).

Even if you aren’t completely on board the Jewish philosophical points or the conclusions they draw, (which I would admit I’m not completely knowledgeable on so don’t take my word for it), there is a bunch of verses in the middle of the article which use east and the coming of the Lord from the east and it’s fulfillment in Matthew.

Here is another link that kind of pieces together that prophecy and fulfillment.

So, a bit of a side thought but still REALLY cool.

What else stands out from Numbers 3?

Last time we talked a bit about the Levites, how they were given a special privilege and inheritance among the tribes.

This time, God affirms their special place among the tribes even further

“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.”

Numbers 3:11-13

God announces that he is taking the Levites as his firstborn.

Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord.

Numbers 3:45

Does that matter?

Rightly so!

This command shows up a bit later (in Deuteronomy) but being the firstborn is a special privilege, so much so, that God commands that the firstborn receive double in portion in inheritance:

but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.

Deuteronomy 21:17

If we want to tread backwards, we see that special privilege for the firstborn exists even in Genesis when we see Jacob’s desire for Esau’s birthright:

Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Genesis 27:29-34

There’s so much more other stuff with being the firstborn that extends all throughout the Bible, going from Exodus and the redemption of the firstborn all the way to Colossians and even beyond where Paul says:

[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Colossians 1:15

But I’m not going go through all of it today. I just wanted to point out the significance of God declaring the Levites to be his firstborn.

Numbers 4 was an extension of 3, going into depth of the roles of the specific houses of the Levites (which I failed – just to emphasize that I’m the failure, not the word of God, to find anything interesting but I’m sure there’s loads of interesting things I’ve missed. Please nobody call me a heretic just yet)

Just to end off, I’ll leave some of my thoughts with some of the passages I read in Numbers 5:

“Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

Numbers 5:2-4

Nothing super new, it’s just funny how there isn’t really given time periods for how long they are outside the camp for.

I’m pretty sure Leviticus addresses the time periods for the discharges and leprosy but the dead one is only mentioned for priests (correct me if I’m wrong) in Leviticus and doesn’t have a time period.

I’m not going to quote the whole Numbers 5:11-31 about how to test a woman for adultery because it’s too long.

But there is a funny appearance of holy water

And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.

Numbers 5:17

Okay, I think that’s all for today.

Goodbye,

Jason