The book of Numbers recounts the experiences of the children of Israel during their wilderness journey from Egypt to the promised land. Although they reached the land in months, they spent forty years in the wilderness because they refused to enter when they first arrived at the border. This book is called “Numbers”, no doubt because Israel were numbered both at the beginning and end of the forty years, with the number of men over the age of twenty being approximately the same, just over six hundred thousand. However, within the tribes the populations changed greatly, reflecting the faithfulness or faithlessness of individual tribes during various trials in the wilderness. It seems, for example, that the tribe of Simeon played a significant part in Israel’s rebellions, for their number dropped from 59,300 to 22,200. The book contains many examples of both faithfulness and disobedience, and their consequences, from which we can learn.
The book of Numbers recounts the experiences of the children of Israel during their wilderness journey from Egypt to the promised land. Although they reached the land in months, they spent forty years in the wilderness because they refused to enter when they first arrived at the border. This book is called “Numbers”, no doubt because Israel were numbered both at the beginning and end of the forty years, with the number of men over the age of twenty being approximately the same, just over six hundred thousand. However, within the tribes the populations changed greatly, reflecting the faithfulness or faithlessness of individual tribes during various trials in the wilderness. It seems, for example, that the tribe of Simeon played a significant part in Israel’s rebellions, for their number dropped from 59,300 to 22,200. The book contains many examples of both faithfulness and disobedience, and their consequences, from which we can learn.