The Nazirite (6:1-21)
Numbers 6 discusses rules regarding the Nazirites.
The Nazirites were a group of people who were set apart from others and were devoted to special service for God.
They followed special rules.
Don’t cut your hair.
Don’t eat grapes or drink wine.
Don’t touch dead things.
Famous Nazirites in the Bible:
Samuel
Samson
The Priestly Blessing (6:22-27)
The oldest manuscript of the Scriptures that exists today is a small section of Numbers 6.
This section is the blessing that Moses commanded Aaron to give to the people.
“The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
-- Numbers 6:24-26
The Israelites Leave Sinai (10:11-36)
Two years, two months, and twenty days after leaving Egypt, the Israelites left Sinai.
The cloud of smoke lifted up from the Tabernacle and went ahead of the Israelites and they followed it.
Moses tried to convince his father-in-law to go with them.
Israel set out from Sinai and the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them as they followed the cloud of smoke.
They traveled for three days before the cloud stopped.
Fire From the Lord (11:1-3)
Israel complained about their “hardships” within “earshot” of God.
Fire from the LORD began to consume the outskirts of the camp.
The people cried out to Moses.
Moses prayed and the fire died down.
The people named that place “Taberah,” which means “burning.”
Quail from the LORD (11:4-35)
The people complained about God’s manna and wanted the food they claimed they had back in Egypt.
Here, the text refers to these people as “rabble.”
God got angry and Moses got worried.
Moses complained to God about the people, saying, “Did I give them birth?”
Moses asked God to give the people meat.
God said he would give them so much meat that it would come out their nostrils and they would “loath” it.
Moses questioned God’s ability to provide meat.
God said, “Is the arm of the LORD to short?”
Halfway through this story, two guys start prophesying and Joshua tries to stop them, but Moses tells Joshua not to be jealous.
Later, God sent a wind to drive in flocks of quail from the sea, and the people began to gorge themselves on the quail.
God became angry with them and sent a plague upon them and some people died from it.
They named the place “Kibroth Hattaavah,” which means “graves of craving.”
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses (12:1-16)
Aaron and Miriam bad-mouthed Moses because he had married a “Cushite” woman.
They also pointed out that God had spoken through them as well, and not just Moses, and the text says “the LORD heard” them.
Here, the text also says that “Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.”
God told Moses to go get his brother and sister and He appeared to them in the cloud and vindicated Moses.
God made a distinction between Moses and other prophets saying that He spoke to other prophets through dreams and visions, but that He spoke with Moses face to face.
When the cloud lifted, Miriam had leprosy.
Aaron begged Moses for forgiveness, and Moses begged God to heal Miriam.
God told them that she would be “unclean” and have to stay outside the camp for seven days before she could come back.
Exploring Canaan (13:1-25)
Israel traveled to the desert of Paran and Moses sent out twelve spies from each of the twelve tribes to go explore the land of Canaan.
Among the spies were two men named Caleb and Joshua.
Here, Joshua is also listed as “Hoshea.”
The text says that Moses had given the name “Joshua” to Hoshea.
Caleb was from the tribe of Judah, and Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim.
Moses sent them on a mission to go see whether or not the land they were entering was good.
The spies explored the land and spied on its people for forty days.
At the end of their mission, they took a cluster of grapes back with them that was so big that two men had to carry it on a pole.
Report of the Exploration (13:26-33)
The spies reported on all they had seen and how good the land was.
Caleb said they should go up and enter the land.
The other spies disagreed and told the people that the land was filled with giants and that they would all be killed if they tried to go there.
They compared themselves to grasshoppers.
They even said the “Nephilim” from Genesis 6 lived in the land.
The People Rebel (14:1-45)
The people cried out that they would be better off dead in the desert than entering Canaan.
They wanted to replace Moses with a new leader.
Joshua and Caleb pleaded with them not to rebel in fear, but the people wanted to stone them.
“The Glory of the LORD” suddenly appeared and God again told Moses He would kill all the people in His anger and make Moses into a great nation instead.
“How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?”
Moses again interceded for the people to turn away God’s wrath.
“What will the Egyptians say when they hear?”
God decided not to kill the people, but said that none of the people of that generation who had rebelled against Him “these ten times” would ever enter the Promised Land, except for Joshua and Caleb.
God sentenced the Israelites to wander in the desert for forty years until every last person who had seen His miracles in Egypt had died.
The people wept when they heard this and they decided to go up into the land anyway.
Moses warned them not to do so because God would not go with them.
The people went up anyway without Moses and they were defeated by the Canaanites and Amalekites.
Korah’s Rebellion (16:1-50)
Moses’ first-cousin, a Levite named Korah, along with three Reubenites named Dathan, Abiram, and On started a rebellion.
250 council members joined them and confronted Moses and Aaron, claiming they had just as much right to be priests as Aaron did.
Moses is like, “Be content with the special role God already gave you.”
Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, but they refused to come, and were like...
“Moses is a slave-master!”
“It’s Moses’ fault that we’re not in the Promised Land yet!”
The rebels tried to make their own offerings to God, and Moses got angry and told God not to accept them.
God told Moses and Aaron to get out of the way so that He could wipe out all of Israel.
Moses says, “Please don’t destroy the innocent along with the guilty!”
Moses declared a test for the people to see who was Israel’s true leader:
“If these men die a natural death then you will know I am not, but if the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up then you will know they were not.”As Moses was speaking, “the ground split open” and “the earth opened its mouth and swallowed” the rebels and they went down into “Sheol” alive.
The other Israelites panicked and moved out of the way, thinking they would also fall into Sheol.
Fire also came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering incense.
God told Moses to use the gold from the censers of the dead men to cover the altar so the people wouldn’t forget what had happened.
The very next day, the people surrounded Moses and accused him of “killing the LORD’s people.”
“The Glory of the LORD” came down in smoke and began slaughtering the people.
Moses had Aaron grab his censer and quickly go out and offer atonement for the people.
The text says, “He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.”
14,700 people died from the plague in addition to the people who had died in Korah’s rebellion.
The Budding of Aaron’s Staff (17:1-13)
God proposed a test for the Israelites to prove to them who the rightful priest was.
Moses asked each of the leaders of the twelve tribes to give him a staff with the name of their leader on it.
God told Moses to put the twelve staffs in front of the Ark of the Covenant, and said to Israel that the man whose staff sprouted was the man that He had chosen.In the morning, Aaron’s staff had not only sprouted, but had also budded, blossomed, and produced almonds.
God told Moses to put Aaron’s staff in front of the Ark as a sign to Israel warning them not to rebel.
This story ends with the Israelites convinced that God is going to kill them all... which is funny because they apparently only decided this after seeing Aaron's staff blossom and not after seeing all of the terrible ways God had already punished them for their rebellion.
Water from the Rock (20:1-13)
Israel arrived in the Desert of Zin
Here Miriam died.
There was no water and the people rebelled against Moses again.
“We’d be better off dying from God’s plagues, or dying in Egypt!”
God told Moses and Aaron to gather the people at a nearby rock.
“Speak to the rock…and it will pour out its water.”
Moses screamed at the people, calling them “marah.”
He then wacked the rock twice with his staff and water came out.
God told Moses and Aaron they had represented Him poorly.
“Neither one of you will enter the Promised Land.”
Edom Denies Israel Passage (20:14-21)
Moses sent a message to the Edomites to let them know that their “brother” Israel planned to pass through their territory.
Edom told them not to come near.
Moses responded that they would stay only on the main highway that went through their land.
Edom again denied them, and sent out an army to block their way.
Israel turned back and stayed away from Edom.
The Death of Aaron(20:22-29)God told Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s son Eleazar, to go up to Mount Hor, and that there Aaron would die.
Aaron “was gathered to his people,” and Eleazar took over as high priest.
The people mourned 30 days.
The Bronze Snake(21:4-9)
Moses led the Israelites through the desert to avoid going through Edom.They spoke against God and Moses.
They wanted to go back to Egypt.
They whined that there wasn’t enough food or water.
God sent poisonous snakes to attack the Israelites.
The Israelites confessed their sins and Moses prayed for them.
God told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole.
Anyone who had been bitten and looked at the bronze snake survived.
In the New Testament, Jesus used the story of the bronze snake to explain his own death.
The Journey to Moab (21:1-3,10-20)
The Israelites moved from place to place:
Hormah
They were raided by Canaanites
Oboth
Iye Abarim
Zered Valley
Alongside the Arnon
On the border between Moab and the Amorites
Beer
Here Israel sang, “Spring up, O well!” and God gave them water.
Mattanah
Nahaliel
Bamoth
Moab
The valley where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland
Defeat of Sihon and Og (21:21-35)
Israel sent a message to Sihon of the Amorites and asked if they could pass through his land.Sihon gathered his army and attacked Israel.
Israel defeated Sihon and claimed his territory, including territory he had previously stolen from the Moabites.
Moses sent spies to the city of Jazer.
Israel then drove out the Amorites that lived there.
Israel then followed the road towards Bashan.
Og, king of Bashan, and his army met Israel at Edrei and declared war on them.
Israel defeated Og and took his land.
Elsewhere, Og is described as a “giant.”
Balak Summons Balaam(22:1-20)
Israel made camp on the Plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho.
Balak, the king of Moab, feared the Israelite presence in the land.
He sent messengers to Aram to retrieve Balaam son of Beor.
Balaam was a professional “curser.”
Balak wanted Balaam to pronounce a curse upon Israel so that they would be destroyed.
Balaam agreed to do it for a hefty sum of money.
Before Balaam arrived in Moab, God spoke to him and told him to only speak the words God would put into his mouth about Israel.
Balaam in Archaeology
In 1967, an ancient manuscript was found at an excavation site in Jordan that contained the name of “Balaam son of Beor.”
The text described Balaam as one who communicated with the gods at night.
It also says that he had a vision of the god “El.”
Balaam’s Donkey (22:21-41)
As Balaam was traveling along the road, an angel stood ahead of him with a drawn sword.Balaam didn’t see the angel, but his donkey did and walked off the path.
Balaam beat his donkey to get it back on the path.
The angel stood in a different place between two walls of a vineyard.
The donkey stopped walking and pushed up against the wall trying to escape and crushed Balaam’s foot.
Balaam beat his donkey again.
The angel moved to another place where the donkey could not escape from him.
The donkey sat down and refused to move.
Balaam beat his donkey again.
God caused the donkey to speak.
Donkey: What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?
Balaam: You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!
Donkey: Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?
Balaam: No.
The text then says that God caused Balaam to see the angel in the road. Balaam bowed down.
The angel said:
“Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”
The angel then told Balaam to continue on his journey, but to only say what he would tell him to say.
Balaam took his sweet time and Balak was a tad impatient by the time he arrived.
Balak reminded Balaam of the money he had promised him.
Balaam informed him that he would only be able to speak what the LORD would allow him to speak.
The Seven Oracles of Balaam (23:1-24:25)
Balak took Balaam up a mountain to view Israel and put a curse on them.
God spoke and Balaam delivered His messages to Balak.
Balaam’s First Message
“How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?”
Balak took Balaam to another place where he could only see the outskirts of Israel’s camp and told him to curse Israel.
Balaam’s Second Message
“I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.”
Balak told him to neither curse them nor bless them at all.
Balak took Balaam to another place and told him to curse Israel from there.
Balaam’s Third Message
“May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!”
Balak became angry after this third blessing and told Balaam to go home.
Balaam’s Fourth Message
“A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab... Edom will be conquered…but Israel will grow strong.”
Balaam’s Fifth Message
“Amalek was first among the nations, but their end will be utter destruction.”
Balaam’s Sixth Message
“You Kenites will be destroyed when Ashur takes you captive.”
Balaam’s Seventh Message
“Alas! Who can live when God does this? Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus; they will subdue Ashur and Eber, but they too will come to ruin.”
Moab Seduces Israel (25:1-18)
Many of the Israelites went over to the Moabites and “committed themselves to the Baal of Peor.”
The text says “The LORD’s anger burned against them,” and he sent a plague among the people.
God told Moses to command the Israelites to kill everyone who had aligned themselves with Baal and the Moabites.
While Moses and the elders were weeping at the Tabernacle, an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman into the camp in front of everyone.
Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson, grabbed his spear and drove it through both of them and the plague finally stopped.
The text says that 24,000 people died from the plague.
Israel and Midian became enemies over this incident.
The Second Census (26:1-65)
Moses takes another census because so many people died since the last one.
This took place on the Plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from the city of Jericho.
The text says that the people counted in this census were completely different from the people in the last census.
All the people recorded in the first census had died in the desert except for Joshua and Caleb.
Joshua to Succeed Moses (27:12-23)God told Moses to climb a mountain and look out over the Promised Land.
God told Moses to appoint Joshua as the new leader of Israel because Moses would die before Israel entered the Promised Land.
Moses and Eleazar the priest anointed Joshua in the presence of all of Israel.
Vengeance on the Midianites (31:1-54)
God told Moses to order the Israelites in battle against Midian.
Israel fought and killed five Midianite kings.
Israel also killed Balaam son of Beor.
This text says that Balaam was the one who had told the Midianite women to try and seduce the Israelites.
When Israel brought back all the plunder to the Plains of Moab where they had been camping, Moses was angry with them because they had let the women live.
Moses told them to kill all the women who had slept with a man, but not the virgins.
Moses also commanded anyone who had killed a person to stay outside the camp for seven days and go through the purification ceremony.
The rest of the book of Numbers is made up of Moses giving instructions to the people on how to divide up the land once they entered into it.
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