NUMBERS LESSON 14
We will begin this lesson in Numbers 10:1 "And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying,"
This is a break in the past message.
Numbers 10:2 "Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece
shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the
assembly, and for the journeying of the camps."
These trumpets of silver are the same type of trumpet that will
be blown, when the Lord blows the trumpet in the sky, to call us to
heaven. "Silver" means redemption. That trumpet will call us to our
redemption from this earth. These trumpets, in verse 2 above, are for
the redeeming of the people, as well. He assembles them for worship.
He, also, blows those trumpets to cause them to follow Him. Notice,
these trumpets were of one piece. They are not put together. There is
only one redemption, and that is found in Jesus. By two, a thing shall
be established.
Numbers 10:3 "And when they shall blow with them, all the
assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation."
The location that it is blown, shows us the spiritual value of
the blowing of the trumpet. They assembled at the door of the
tabernacle to hear from God. When they blow with both trumpets, all
the people are to gather.
Numbers 10:4 "And if they blow [but] with one [trumpet], then the
princes, [which are] heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather
themselves unto thee."
This blowing of one trumpet is just for the leaders to come. It
is interesting, to me, that all believers in Christ are "princes". We
rule with the King {Jesus} as His subordinates. Matthew 25:21 "His
lord said unto him, Well done, [thou] good and faithful servant: thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many
things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." Revelation 20:6
"Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on
such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God
and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."
Numbers 10:5 "When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on
the east parts shall go forward."
The blowing of the trumpet to move the camp, and the blowing of
the trumpet to assemble, were, undoubtedly, different sounds from the
same trumpet. The camps on the east were the tribes of Judah,
Issachar, and Zebulun. It appears, they have the first place in the
march, as we studied earlier.
Numbers 10:6 "When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the
camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall
blow an alarm for their journeys."
The second blowing of the trumpet for moving the people was
sounded, and those on the south moved. These were made up of the
tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad. If all of the people moved at the
first blow of the trumpet, there would be utter confusion. This is
orderly.
Numbers 10:7 "But when the congregation is to be gathered
together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm."
As we said earlier there was a different sound from the trumpet
for the gathering of the people, and for the alarm. The alarm was a
shrill continuous sound, and the call to assemble was a different tone
and shorter blasts from the trumpet.
Numbers 10:8 "And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with
the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever
throughout your generations."
Aaron and his sons {the priests} were the ones with authority to
blow the trumpets. These silver trumpets were used for religious
purposes. Even in the case of an alarm, it would have come from them.
In the beginning, they had great authority over all aspects of the
lives of the Israelites.
Numbers 10:9 "And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy
that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets;
and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be
saved from your enemies."
When the trumpet was blown for the purpose of war, the priests
blowing it showed God's approval of the battle, and they would not
lose. When God was with them in war, they did not lose.
Numbers 10:10 "Also in the day of your gladness, and in your
solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with
the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of
your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before
your God: I [am] the LORD your God."
These very same trumpets, blown differently, were blown in
remembrance of the holy days. Some people believe that Aaron and his
sons blowing the trumpets for these services symbolized the
broadcasting {preaching} of the gospel by the preachers. It certainly
was part of their services to blow the trumpet, as we see above. The
solemn days, beginnings of months, and burnt offerings were all times
when they focused completely upon God. These were memorable times.
Numbers 10:11 "And it came to pass on the twentieth [day] of the
second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off
the tabernacle of the testimony."
This is the beginning of a march. The signal that it was time to
move, was when the cloud moved. The verse prior to this spoke of the
time of close communion with God. Now, we see they are to move, being
led by the Spirit of God. This was their first time to move after the
tabernacle had been set up. We must remember, that they had already
been instructed in their order of march.
Numbers 10:12 "And the children of Israel took their journeys out
of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of
Paran."
It appears, that the wilderness of Paran was about a three day
journey from the wilderness of Sinai. We, also, must continue to
remember the size of the group moved. There were just under 3 million
people in this march. Notice, the cloud rested. This just means that
it went this far and stopped. Wherever the cloud stopped, was to be
their place to rest.
Numbers 10:13 "And they first took their journey according to the
commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses."
This was a short journey. Perhaps, this was a test to see how
they would handle the march. "According to the commandment" is
speaking of according to the plan He had given Moses for their march.
Numbers 10:14 "In the first [place] went the standard of the
camp of the children of Judah according to their armies: and over his
host [was] Nahshon the son of Amminadab." Numbers 10:15 "And over the
host of the tribe of the children of Issachar [was] Nethaneel the son
of Zuar." Numbers 10:16 "And over the host of the tribe of the
children of Zebulun [was] Eliab the son of Helon."
This is just saying, that the tribe of Judah led the way. They
raised their banner, and their people gathered and marched. The three
tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun had all been camped on the east
side. Each tribe had their own prince, but collectively the tribe of
Judah was their leader. We had mentioned before, that there would have
been total confusion had each tribe not known exactly where to march.
Numbers 10:17 "And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of
Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle."
We remember, that the tribe of Gershon was to take the curtains
and that sort of thing. The tribe of Merari was to take care of the
boards and the heavy items. The tribe of Kohath carried the holy
things. We remember, 6 wagons had been given to the sons of Gershon
and Merari to carry their loads. The tabernacle would be in the very
middle of the march, so it would be protected from strangers. The
tribe of Kohath, hand-carried the holy things. Actually, Kohath,
Gershon, and Merari were all part of the Levitical tribe.
Numbers 10:18 "And the standard of the camp of Reuben set
forward according to their armies: and over his host [was] Elizur the
son of Shedeur." Numbers 10:19 "And over the host of the tribe of the
children of Simeon [was] Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai." Numbers
10:20 "And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad [was]
Eliasaph the son of Deuel."
All of these three tribes: Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, are camped on
the south side. They line up directly behind those from the east side.
Numbers 10:21 "And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the
sanctuary: and [the other] did set up the tabernacle against they
came."
The Kohathites were carrying the holy things. They had no wagons.
They carried everything by hand. On the heavier pieces, they ran rods
down through loops and carried the rods. The tabernacle was carried in
the middle of the march.
Numbers 10:22 "And the standard of the camp of the children of
Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host [was]
Elishama the son of Ammihud." Numbers 10:23 "And over the host of the
tribe of the children of Manasseh [was] Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur."
Numbers 10:24 "And over the host of the tribe of the children of
Benjamin [was] Abidan the son of Gideoni."
The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin were camped in the
west. They were the third group of tribes, but were to march just
after the tabernacle. We got into all of the names of the people
earlier, so we will not dwell on that here.
Numbers 10:25 "And the standard of the camp of the children of
Dan set forward, [which was] the rereward of all the camps throughout
their hosts: and over his host [was] Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai."
Numbers 10:26 "And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher
[was] Pagiel the son of Ocran." Numbers 10:27 "And over the host of
the tribe of the children of Naphtali [was] Ahira the son of Enan."
These three tribes: Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, had all been camped
in the north. They were the last of the groups of tribes in the march.
There were six tribes marching in front of the tabernacle, and 6
tribes marching behind the tabernacle.
Numbers 10:28 "Thus [were] the journeyings of the children of
Israel according to their armies, when they set forward."
This is the way they were to march each time the cloud moved.
They were not to vary the march. God had established each person in
his place. It would be difficult to understand how the small children
and the elderly could keep up with the march, but God had taken all of
that into consideration. The younger people had great respect for the
elderly, and they helped them. It appears from these instructions,
that the boards and curtains were carried between the tribes of the
east and the tribes of the south. The tabernacle was carried in the
middle of the march. This, perhaps, was so that the outside of the
tabernacle could be set up and ready for the holy things, when they
arrived.
Numbers 10:29 "And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the
Midianite, Moses' father in law, We are journeying unto the place of
which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we
will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel."
Hobab is the brother-in-law of Moses. Raguel and Jethro are the
same person. He is spoken of as Reul in Exodus chapter 2 verse 18.
The name Jethro is, probably, a title, and the name Reul was his name.
Moses is encouraging his brother-in-law to join them on their trip to
the promised land.
Numbers 10:30 "And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will
depart to mine own land, and to my kindred."
This was a terrible decision on the part of Hobab.
Numbers 10:31 "And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch
as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou
mayest be to us instead of eyes."
Moses tries to persuade him to stay. He has, possibly, been with
them for awhile. Moses was saying, that even though God gave them
direct directions of how they were to camp and how they were to march,
they still needed human hands to carry out the wishes of God. "Eyes"
symbolize wisdom. In this particular instance, it is speaking of
someone to watch and see God's wishes are carried out.
Numbers 10:32 "And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall
be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do
unto thee."
This is the same thing as all nations being blessed through
faithful Abraham. The fact that this brother-in-law would be with the
Israelites, would bring him the same blessings as the Israelites.
Numbers 10:33 "And they departed from the mount of the LORD
three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went
before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place
for them."
The ark of the covenant was the dwelling place of God with the
people. God decided where they would camp.
Numbers 10:34 "And the cloud of the LORD [was] upon them by day,
when they went out of the camp."
The presence of God was in the cloud by day, and the fire by
night.
Numbers 10:35 "And it came to pass, when the ark set forward,
that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered;
and let them that hate thee flee before thee."
Every battle that God sent them into, the ark went with them, and
they won the battle with no loss of men. God is all-powerful. There is
no enemy of God that has not been already defeated by the presence of
God.
Numbers 10:36 "And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto
the many thousands of Israel."
The presence of God in the cloud by day and the fire by night,
went ahead of the marchers leading the way. When the tabernacle was
set up in the midst of the people for a time of rest, God entered the
holy of holies and dwelt in the midst of the people.
Numbers 14 Questions
1. How many silver trumpets were to be made?
2. "Silver" means __________.
3. What were these trumpets used for?
4. These trumpets are of _______ piece.
5. By _____, a thing shall be established.
6. Where are the trumpets blown?
7. What does the location of their blowing show us?
8. What is the signal for all the people to assemble?
9. Who are the "princes"?
10. All believers in Christ are __________.
11. Quote Matthew chapter 25 verse 21.
12. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the _________
resurrection.
13. When the trumpet blows, which tribes go first?
14. When the trumpet is blown the second time, which tribes take their
journey?
15. Who were the tribes on this side?
16. What is different about the blowing of the trumpet for gathering,
and the blowing of the trumpet for war?
17. Who actually blow the trumpets?
18. What did the blowing of the trumpet for war, by the priest, show?
19. For what special occasions of worship would the trumpet be blown?
20. What do some people believe the spiritual meaning of Aaron and his
sons blowing the trumpet has?
21. When was the cloud taken up from off the tabernacle of the
testimony?
22. What was the signal to move?
23. They are being led by the ________ of _____.
24. Where did they leave, and where did they go?
25. What does "according to the commandment" mean?
26. What tribe led the way?
27. Who carried the tapestry of the tabernacle?
28. Who carried the boards of the tabernacle?
29. How many wagons did they use to carry the tabernacle?
30. Who carried the holy things?
31. Who were camped in the west?
32. Where was the tabernacle located in the march?
33. Who was Hobab?
34. Reguel and ________ are the same person.
35. Jethro is, probably, a _________.
36. Why does Moses try to persuade Hobab to stay?
37. Who decided where they would camp?
38. Where was the presence of God?
39. Rise up LORD, and let thine ____________ be scattered.
40. When the ark was with them, they _______ the battle.
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