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Numbers, Faithfulness of God

The Israelites have been freed from slavery. They have been rescued from the hand of Egypt. God has given them his Law and has pitched his tent among them. They have a righteous leader in Moses who continually points them to God. They are now ready to enter the Promised Land. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

Well, the Israelites manage to mess it all up. Repeatedly. Welcome to the book of Numbers.

Background

The book of Numbers was written, once again, by Moses. It was probably written as the Israelites wandered for forty years and when they camped at Shittim near the end of Moses' life. It records the journey from Mt. Sinai to the banks of the Jordan River; the border of the Promised Land. 

This book gets its name from two censuses that occur within it; one at the beginning and one at the end. Since God commands a count of the people two times, it is called Numbers. As with the last three books this is the Greek name for the book. In Hebrew the name comes from the first words of the text. The Hebrew name for Numbers is "In the Wilderness." More fitting than the Greek name, if I do say so myself.

Themes

WHINING!

The Israelites constantly whine throughout this book. It seems that at every turn they don't have enough food or water and want to go back to being slaves in Egypt. They try to rebel, refuse to enter the Promised Land, and challenge Moses' authority repeatedly.

Another big theme here that started in Exodus and was continued through Leviticus is God's use of Moses as his spokesman. God has only ever spoken to the entire nation once. The rest of the time he has spoken through Moses. In many ways Moses is the first prophet to Israel; he serves as the model of all those to come (including Jesus, in many respects). 

Also continuing from previous books is the theme of God's holiness (though you could accurately say that is a theme of the whole Bible). Here we see what will become the centuries long struggle between Israel and the holy God who lives among them. Israel constantly falls away and God constantly brings them back.

The last big theme in Numbers is another theme that runs throughout all of Scripture; the faithfulness of God. No matter how much Israel whines and complains, no matter how far away they fall, God remains faithful to them. Israel breaks the covenant repeatedly, but God never wavers. Even when, by the terms of the covenant, he has every right to back out God stays true.

Theological Point

God is faithful. He never abandons his people, even when his people have abandoned him. When reading Numbers a lot of times we focus on the whining and complaining. We find it shocking that even after all they have seen God do in front of them the people of Israel still don't obey. What is even more shocking is that God stays with them!

God had every right to destroy this fledgling nation. He had every right to abandon them, but he didn't. God, remembering his promise to Abraham, stayed true to Israel. He guided Israel every step of the way. 

Reading about the Israelites reminds me of me. How much has God done for me? How has my life been blessed and transformed by his divine hand? Yet how often do I whine and complain and rebel against God? Still God is faithful. The Holy Spirit is with us through every challenge, every good and bad day.

Conclusion

The book of Numbers is an excellent example of God's faithfulness. Israel deserved nothing from God. It was nothing that they did that caused God to remain with them. God stayed true to Israel because that is who he is. God is faithful.

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