Numbers 1-9
We are actually going to pick up some of last week’s reading due to beginning the book of Numbers last week. Today, I want to discuss some aspects of these first few chapters of Numbers that seem confusing. First, we see God direct a census for the purpose of organizing the people. The tribe of the Levites was set aside to serve as priests, and they were further “divided into family groups for purposes of assigning the jobs of ministry.” Just as we discussed last week in the book of James that God calls us to remain unspotted or unstained from the world, the issue of cleanness and uncleanness was central to God’s directives. The issue of clean vs. unclean was not necessarily a matter of sin for the Israelites. For example, women who had delivered a baby were considered unclean for a one week period of time. What God declared unclean was primarily to serve as reminders of “their humanness in the presence of a pure and holy God.” Further, in these first few chapters of Numbers, specific attention is given to vows, particularly marriage vows and the Nazirite vow. The instructions and consequences seem a little odd, just keep in mind that the purpose was about faithfulness. Nazirites were individuals who were called to a period of faithfulness for a specific purpose. The term Nazirite means “to consecrate,” “to separate.” Their purpose was different from that of the Levites and their consecration was typically only for a short period of time, rather than a lifelong commitment. As we continue through our Old Testament reading, we will read examples of Nazirites who were called to a lifelong vow. While we can’t specifically apply the calling of Nazirites to us today, we can learn important principles of faithfulness. In both the marriage vow and the Nazirite vow, the expectation was complete commitment. Again, don’t get lost in the specifics, but draw wisdom from the principles.
We are actually going to pick up some of last week’s reading due to beginning the book of Numbers last week. Today, I want to discuss some aspects of these first few chapters of Numbers that seem confusing. First, we see God direct a census for the purpose of organizing the people. The tribe of the Levites was set aside to serve as priests, and they were further “divided into family groups for purposes of assigning the jobs of ministry.” Just as we discussed last week in the book of James that God calls us to remain unspotted or unstained from the world, the issue of cleanness and uncleanness was central to God’s directives. The issue of clean vs. unclean was not necessarily a matter of sin for the Israelites. For example, women who had delivered a baby were considered unclean for a one week period of time. What God declared unclean was primarily to serve as reminders of “their humanness in the presence of a pure and holy God.” Further, in these first few chapters of Numbers, specific attention is given to vows, particularly marriage vows and the Nazirite vow. The instructions and consequences seem a little odd, just keep in mind that the purpose was about faithfulness. Nazirites were individuals who were called to a period of faithfulness for a specific purpose. The term Nazirite means “to consecrate,” “to separate.” Their purpose was different from that of the Levites and their consecration was typically only for a short period of time, rather than a lifelong commitment. As we continue through our Old Testament reading, we will read examples of Nazirites who were called to a lifelong vow. While we can’t specifically apply the calling of Nazirites to us today, we can learn important principles of faithfulness. In both the marriage vow and the Nazirite vow, the expectation was complete commitment. Again, don’t get lost in the specifics, but draw wisdom from the principles.
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