Known also as the fourth book of Moses. This is an outline or summary of the fourth book in the Pentacheuch – The book of Numbers.
When: The time of Moses, 1445-1406 B.C.
Who: Moses.
People & Places:
Moses; Aaron; Joshua; Eleazar; Balaam; Joshua; Miriam; Caleb; Korah
Sinai; Canaan; Kadesh; Moab; Meribah; Jordan
Sound-Bites:
Just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. (Ch.1:19)
“The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.” (Ch.6:24-26)
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth. (Ch.12:3)
“…and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Ch32:23)
The Messianic Link:
He is the pillar of Cloud and Fire (Ch.14:14)
The Star that comes forth from Jacob.(Ch.24:17)
He is typified in the story of the bronze serpent (Ch.21:8-9)
The Water that springs from the Rock (Ch.20)
Summary of The Book:
This book gets its name from the fact that it begins and ends with a census of the people, when the Israelite population is ‘numbered’ and their military strength assessed.
By the time of the second census, 38 years had passed by, and all of the people who had originally left Egypt were no more—with the exception of Joshua and Caleb.
This book is concerned particularly with the grumbling nature of the Israelites; even the manna from heaven that The Lord provided, did not satisfy them!
When they refused to enter the land of the Canaanites out of fear of the natives, thereby disobeying God despite the urgings of Joshua and Caleb, The Lord condemned them to walk the desert until they had all perished. Only Joshua and Caleb out of the entire host would enter the ‘promised land.’
Rebellion against God and Moses by the people led to them being chastised with Fiery Serpents (Ch.21:5-6).
Moses himself finally fell afoul of the Wrath of God by striking the Rock twice at the wilderness of Zin, when he was told just to speak to it. In this act, he did not give The Lord the respect that he was due (Ch.20:12). As promised, he never set foot in the ‘promised land’ though God did allow him to see it before he died. (Deut 34:1-7)
Notes & Quotes:
If anything, this book tells us that The Lord is Holy, and that he is to be taken at his word; no matter how insurmountable the barriers may seem or how strong the opposition may be. When God opens the door, then no man can close it.
Another lesson is perhaps even harder to put into practice—beware of grumbling! The rebellion of Korah (Ch.16:2-3), or Aaron and Miriam (Ch.12:9-10) had drastic consequences for those involved.
Excerpt (with permission) from The Bible Brief – a bible summary book on Amazon
You might also be interested in Leviticus
My question has to do with Numbers chapter 7 verse 1’s commentary by John MacArthur. He claims in the commentary I have that the tabernacle was set up on first day of the first month of the second year and yet it claims that was 11 1/2 months after they left Egypt. Do you have insight on why this is so? What concerns me is why would there be a difference in days. For instance why is the days counted differently?