NUMBERS

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

In the book of Exodus, the Lord described the birth of a nation.
Exodus and Leviticus detailed the rules and laws for this nation. In
the book of Numbers (the topic for our quarter), we see another
dimension of this nation, that of God’s people on the move.
But not just moving anywhere. They are to go and take possession of
the land promised to them—promised not because of their inherent
holiness, not because of their inherent goodness, but because of God’s
words to their father Abraham centuries earlier: “For all the land which
thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed
for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust
of the earth: so that if a man can number the
dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be
numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the
length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will
giveit unto thee”(Gen. 13:15–17).

“Perhaps the most
important lesson in
Numbers is that
God will fulfill His
promises.”

Directly tied to this promise is another
aspect of this nation, that of the nation as an army, a mighty army of
God, a conquering army that cannot be defeated by external enemies
because the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, is in their midst.
And because of God’spresence, they were not only an army, they were
aholy army and thus wereexpected to act like one, as well.

Unfortunately, that isn’t exactly what happened. This mighty, power-
ful, and conquering army, hovering on the edges of the Promised Land,
was defeated, not bythe Canaanites but from within. Satan knew that as
long as they obeyed the Lord, as long as they trusted in God and lived by
faith and obedience to His commandments, he would be helpless against
them. All he could do, therefore, was use them against themselves.
And it worked. No wonder Ellen White warned: “We have far more to
fear from within than from without. The hindrances to strength and suc-
cess arefar greater from the church itself than from the world.”—Selected
Messages,book 1, p. 122.

2 The Book of Numbers

Hence, it should be obvious that, as a people on the move, as a people
seeking to reach the Promised Land, as a people called out by God, we
can learn from the book of Numbers. We can learn from how God
organized the camp and assigned duties to the priests and the Levites. We
can learn from the festivals and ordinances of the sanctuary service. We
can learn from their cries about returning to Egypt, which they called “a
land that floweth with milk and honey.” We can learn from Miriam’s lep-
rosy, from the twelve spies, from Caleb’s faith, from the intercession of
Moses, from Korah’s rebellion, and even from Balaam’s recalcitrant don-
key.

“These things happened to them as an example, and they have been
written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has
come. Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care
not to fall. Notrial has come to youbut what is human. God is faithful
and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he
will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor.
10:11–13, NAB).These words contain not just a warning but a prom-
ise, as well.

Despite the setbacks, the delays, and the devastating judgments, per-
haps the most important lesson in Numbers is that God will fulfill His
promises.Whether He will fulfill them through us, despite us, or with-
out us at all is, indeed, another question entirely. But they will be ful-
filled, and that’sfor sure.

In the context of the Cross and the New Covenant, the book of
Numbers reveals that God has already made His choice regarding us.
The only question left is, What will be our choice regarding Him?
From 1981 to 1990 the late Frank B. Holbrook was an associate director
of the Biblical Research Institute at the General Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.

3 Got Questions?
Sabbath School
Universityhas answers!
Sabbath School Universityis a
28-minute discussion of the Adult
Sabbath School Bible Study Guide. SSU
discusses the content and strategies to
enrich your Sabbath School with
fellowship, outreach, Bible study,
and missions. Sabbath School leaders,
don’t miss this weekly broadcast on
Hope Channel.
www.hopetv.org