Last year I spent some time preaching through the book of Numbers with an effort at understanding the book as it stands and how we see threads of application under the Gospel.
MP3’s after the jump.
Tag: numbers
Categories
A Bird’s Eye View and Numbers 20-25
One of the funniest, and oddest, perspectives is the bird’s eye view. I personally don’t like getting to that perspective—shooting down the runaway until it almost ends, catapulting into the air, and praying that nothing happens. But the perspective is extremely helpful—in criminal cases, for example.
You know, there goes the criminal, driving down the road and slamming into a telephone pole. Out he comes, running; between garbage cans, through a yard with a barking dog, over another fence. He really thinks he can get away!
Except we’re seeing all of this from the vantage point of a police chopper that has the entire view of the man’s progress and end where the cops have set up their net. If the criminal had this view he’d probably not run as hard to escape. And the cops, oh the cops with the benefit of that point of view do their work confidently.
Let’s take off then, shooting down the runaway of the text and getting some details as we take off and see this perspective.
Categories
You Best Represent: Testing at Meribah
How can one properly represent God? Well, there are several ways in the book of Numbers. The Israelites have been protecting the things of God, they’ve been holding fast the center, they were to lead a purified life in their marriages, their homes, and their business practices; they were to offer sacrifices and remember the Passover: all these things were used to properly represent God to the world. They were to be His people, a Holy Nation of Priests, and so they were to stand.
But here’s a story of another misrepresentation of God.
When looking at the book of Numbers we might notice how the first half of the book is primarily concerned with (the very good) preparation of the Israelites for their journey. The second half of the book, we all know, strikes a darker chord as we witness rebellion, after rebellion, after rebellion. But what are these rebellion stories doing? Why record so many of them? Why record the ones we have?
Categories
Beaten Plates and The Lord’s Fire
When I mention Korah everyone forgets the fire and the plates. You obviously know Korah—guy who led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. They had had enough with this whole Promised Land business, enough of the walking, enough with God’s special priesthood. Korah and some family, with no less than 250 famous men, led the charge rejecting the Apostle and the High Priest of their confession.