Numbers

LeRoy Eims

The fourth book of the Bible takes its name from the double numbering of the people. It covers the period of history from the last days at Mount Sinai (about one year after they were delivered from the bondage of Egypt) to the end of their wanderings in the wilderness, which was their fortieth year.

This book covers a total of about thirty‑nine years. We can trace their journeys in four general stages: the closing days of the encampment at Sinai, then on to Kadesh‑Barnea, followed by the journey to the plains of Moab, and finally their stay in Moab. Very little detail is given of these long and weary years. The greater portion of the record deals with the happenings during the last year.

Two things were primarily responsible for the long period of wandering: their lack of faith and lack of courage. In spite of this, God did use the time to discipline these people. They learned some great lessons that would have a stabilizing influence on them in later years. They learned that in the great crises of life, they could trust God who had so clearly shown them His presence and power. On the opposite side of the coin, they learned that lack of faith has its consequences.

Every day during these wanderings they were dependent upon the goodness of God. The daily provision of manna was a constant reminder of God's care and concern for His people. It never failed them. The same was true in the provision of water. However, in the time of crisis they often forgot these things and did not seem to grasp the truth that the faithfulness of God in the past was for the purpose of giving them hope for the future.

Another important fact that must be noted is that during this time they became established in the institutions by which they were to be governed during their national life. It afforded the opportunity of a wide and extended exposure to the rules and regulations of their religion and civil affairs. They entered the Promised Land well trained in the observance of these laws that God had laid down for them.

Of the many experiences during these years, perhaps the most dramatic was the frightful attack by the fiery serpents. In the midst of these scenes of agony and death, Moses was commanded to raise up on a pole a brazen serpent. To look upon it was to live. The Lord Jesus referred to this incident in John 3:14,15, "And, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life." The brazen serpent was the only means of salvation. The same is true of Christ and our redemption. There is one Christ. There is one Calvary. There is one means of salvation. Jesus said, "... I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6).

Some who doubt the Bible ask how the wilderness could support millions of people for forty years. The scriptures give us a simple and direct answer: by the miraculous help of God. The purpose of these miracles was to preserve the nation and to instill a deep faith into these people who had been nurtured and cradled in Egyptian idolatry for hundreds of years.

They were to be examples to us that God can be trusted during the tough wilderness experiences of life.