Numbers

Numbers 22-24, The Messianic Prophecies of Balaam

The very perplexing figure of Balaam shows that God can use even a wicked pagan priest to speak forth His truth. Unbeknownst to this man, the LORD intended to use him to reinforce His immutable commitment to bless Israel and send the Messiah for our salvation. Balaam’s prophecies show that Jesus is the coming king who will reign supremely over all the nations, crushing all His enemies. They also show that Jesus is the promised seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, who grants the blessing of salvation to all the elect of God.

Numbers 11-36, The Faithful Promises of God

The final section of Numbers weave together threads (topics) of army, land, and law. All of these point us to the faithfulness of God to preserve the people of Israel according to His promise. But that promise fits into the bigger promise of the Savior that goes back to Gen. 3:15 and Gen. 22:18. In the seed of the woman and the seed of Abraham, God will bless all the nations. Israel was a seed of Abraham, and out of Israel will come the one Israelite, the ultimate seed, who will save His people from their sins. This Savior’s mediatorial work is depicted in the man Moses. Moses was a self-sacrificing leader and shepherd for Israel, but he was not their Savior, for he himself was a rebel like them in need of the Savior. The true and ultimate mediator whose work Moses portrayed was the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who truly gave Himself up as a ransom for all who intercedes for His people is our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Numbers 11-25, Rebellion

After a period of arduous obedience, we see another side to the people of Israel. They were rebels at heart. Under the veneer of obedience lurked a wicked heart of rebellion. In this study, we consider the examples of rebellion and focus on one incident of rebellion and the unbelief that fueled that rebelliousness among this people. May we examine our own hearts that we not walk in the same example. May we seek Christ daily who is the perfect and sinless Savior who alone can save us from sin and hell.

Numbers 1-10, Obedience

In these chapters of Numbers, we see a rare period of Israel’s history when they obeyed the LORD. This period lasted a couple of months until they left Sinai and began to grumble and doubt God. In the meantime, we once again see Israel’s shortcomings and the resulting hunger for the true dedicated man of God who will fulfill all the will of God and bring about the salvation of His people.