May 1, 2023

God Gives Specific Instruction.

Numbers 1 - 2

Ivan Illarramendi
Monday's Devo

May 1, 2023

Monday's Devo

May 1, 2023

Monday's Devo

May 1, 2023

Monday's Devo

May 1, 2023

Big Idea

God's instruction can always be trusted.

Key Verse | Numbers 1:1-2

The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, "Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head."

Numbers 1 - 2

A Census of Israel's Warriors

1 The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. 3 From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. 4 And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. 5 And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; 6 from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7 from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; 8 from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; 9 from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; 10 from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11 from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; 12 from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13 from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; 14 from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; 15 from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.” 16 These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.

17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named, 18 and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19 as the LORD commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.

20 The people of Reuben, Israel's firstborn, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 21 those listed of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

22 Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 23 those listed of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

24 Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 25 those listed of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

26 Of the people of Judah, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 27 those listed of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

28 Of the people of Issachar, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 29 those listed of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

30 Of the people of Zebulun, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 31 those listed of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

32 Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 33 those listed of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

34 Of the people of Manasseh, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 35 those listed of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

36 Of the people of Benjamin, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 37 those listed of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

38 Of the people of Dan, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 39 those listed of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

40 Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 41 those listed of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

42 Of the people of Naphtali, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 43 those listed of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

44 These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers' house. 45 So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel— 46 all those listed were 603,550.

Levites Exempted

47 But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. 48 For the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. 50 But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle. 51 When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. 52 The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and each man by his own standard. 53 But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.” 54 Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.

Arrangement of the Camp

1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers' houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. 3 Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab, 4 his company as listed being 74,600. 5 Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar, 6 his company as listed being 54,400. 7 Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon, 8 his company as listed being 57,400. 9 All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. They shall set out first on the march.

10 On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur, 11 his company as listed being 46,500. 12 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, 13 his company as listed being 59,300. 14 Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of Reuel, 15 his company as listed being 45,650. 16 All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. They shall set out second.

17 Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.

18 On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud, 19 his company as listed being 40,500. 20 And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, 21 his company as listed being 32,200. 22 Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni, 23 his company as listed being 35,400. 24 All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. They shall set out third on the march.

25 On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, 26 his company as listed being 62,700. 27 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran, 28 his company as listed being 41,500. 29 Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan, 30 his company as listed being 53,400. 31 All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. They shall set out last, standard by standard.”

32 These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers' houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were 603,550. 33 But the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded Moses.

34 Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers' house.

S2:081 Numbers 1 - 2

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Numbers 1 - 2

My son is a teenager now; that intro is enough to scare any parent. The more time passes, the more independent he becomes. As a teenager, I remember asking for permission, but not caring to ask or listen to instructions, which is probably why I fear my kids turning 13. Conversations with my dad would go like this:

"Dad, can I go with my friends?"

"Yes, just remember to . . . ." 

At this point, I would stop listening. The moment I began to faithfully follow Christ, I recall how sweet it was to be fully dependent on Him and how easy it was to follow His instructions. At some point, my Christian life hit "teenage" years. I decided I wanted to ask for permission, but no longer cared for instructions. Conversations with God would go like this:

"God, would you help me decide if this is the best direction for me to go?"

Once it was clear for me to proceed, I would say, "Thank you, God," and be on my way.

I would give myself the liberty to do the obvious rather than to seek God's guidance. The instructions in His Word became guidelines to consider. It would have blessed me to hear that following God's specific instructions for my life was a way to build and sustain my dependency on Him. The goal of every Christian is not to be an autonomous person, but to be fully dependent on God. 

In the beginning of Numbers, we read that God's instructions for Israel are specific and purposeful. Moses and the Israelites started by following these instructions carefully . . . until they didn't. In Numbers 20, we see how failure to follow God's specific instructions led to severe consequences (e.g., Moses isn't allowed into the Promised Land). In contrast, we see from David, the dependency and wisdom that comes from following God's instructions. Time and again, we learn that David did as the Lord commanded him (2 Samuel 5:25, 24:19).

We should aspire to build a childlike dependency on God, and His specific instructions provide us a path to do so.

This month's memory verse

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

– Philippians 2:3-4

Discussion Questions

1. What specific instructions in God's Word have you been viewing only as guidelines?

2. How have you seen God's faithfulness play out in your life by doing as He commands?

3. When are you most susceptible to failing to follow God's instructions?

4. In what areas of your life do you find yourself seeking permission but not instruction?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning Ivan! Love your idea about going back to teenager hood. Scary to reflect on the number of choices I would have made differently. I like reading about what advice people would give to their younger self. Mine would be about more than life advice. I would also address my younger dead-church-box-checking self. Q1. Commands are better than guidelines. Pre-salvation just about all of God’s Word was guidelines for me. I do a lot better with the commands. My favorite command is also the most frequent one in Scripture, some version of “Fear Not”. That can only happen if I know and trust Him. Q2. In seeking to align my will with His I have seen His faithfulness play out in almost every area from marriage to work to relationships etc. Q3. Satan’s temptations are a constant risk for me. He knows just the point of vulnerability to attack. In recovery we learn the acronym H.A.L.T.; Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. I would add Scared. Those are the weak points. Q4. This is a great question. Probably over eating. Also some areas of spending. I want what I want when I want it. —————————————————————— It interesting to me to imagine what the Israelites might have been thinking and feeling. It hasn’t been that long of a time since they were under slavery in Egypt. Then the plagues, rescue, Red Sea, testing, trial, lots of mistakes, equipping, training and finally they see they promise of God as His presence comes to dwell with them. I really identify with this flow of events. The single strongest element is wrapping my brain around the presence of God. Having spent decades apart from Him I find myself longing for depth and intimacy. But it seems fleeting if not even elusive. What I know is that this state of my spirit is on me and my failings, not on Him. The elements and sequence of this paradigm is unchanged; know-trust-surrender-obey-blessings-joy-peace-rest.
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Hugh Stephenson

So here they and I sit; at our Mount Sinai. Having fulfilled His promise of descendants and blessing we move towards possession of the land. What God knows is that warfare is ahead. The traditional kinetic warfare we all know- but also the depth and challenge of constant spiritual warfare. Satan may seem to be absent but the temptations are ever present. Physical training and conditioning are necessary. Spiritual training and conditioning are vital. Without the latter I stand no chance of victory in the former. Thus the separation and calling of the Levites makes total sense to me. More than any other single element I see the key roles of obedience- which only comes from knowing God so fully that trust and surrender are as natural as breathing.
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Hugh Stephenson

The notes edify- "The people -found and selected in Genesis, -redeemed and delivered in Exodus, and -brought, in Leviticus, into fellowship with their God, -are now, in Numbers, to be taught what life as His people in the wilderness of this world means: a walk of simple faith and of constant conflict. Numbers will thus be the book of discipline." FOUND REDEEMED BROUGHT TAUGHT And soon… FOUGHT "Only true Israelites were allowed to fight Israel's battles. None of the 'mixed multitude' which came from Egypt with Israel were eligible. In discipleship and recovery what we seek is those who deeply desire to leave the “mixed multitude” of modern culture and be trained and equipped in the Army of God. As the song says, “Day after day, night after night I will remember, You're with me in this fight Although the battle, it rages on The war is already won I know the war is already won.” https://youtu.be/yEmt5lUc8y0
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Michael Sisson

LEVITICUS Regrettably, our reading plan this year will not include more than a one podcast overview of Leviticus. In it, the Day of Atonement was briefly touched upon. Consequently, I’d like to take this one opportunity to address one facet of Yom Kippur and where we see it fulfilled in the Passion of Christ. Re: Lev 16:8-10 Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) may be the most important event documented in Leviticus. At its heart is the sacrifice of two goats: the L-rd’s Goat and the Azazel (or “scapegoat”). The first goat was slain, and its blood was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat. However, the second goat had the sin of Israel placed on its head, before it was released into the wilderness. There is virtually universal agreement the L-rd’s Goat is a type of Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus the Christ). However, is the same true of the Azazel? The majority of Christian expositors interpret Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus the Christ) as fulfilling the role of the Azazel, or "scapegoat," of Leviticus 16. The verse typically cited in support of viewing Christ as the fulfillment of the "goat of removal" (or scapegoat) is Ps 103:12. Knowing the writer of Hebrews only compared Messiah Yeshua with the L-rd's Goat (Heb 9:12), and knowing Jewish tradition further states the Azazel was typically released into the wilderness by the hand of a gentile, when I search Yeshua’s Passion week for other parallels with Yom Kippur, Messiah Yeshua's trial before Pilate most closely parallels the details of Lev 16, and Barabbas most closely parallels the Azazel released into the wilderness. I invite you to consider… "Azazel: The Case For Barabbas" OR "Barabbas: Where Does He Fit In The Puzzle?" https://www.evernote.com/shard/s62/sh/9fd90c7a-d506-4469-b0b7-afaf35d17d51/713d76f5fac28b96c6f6bf1b7260bb08 NUMBERS Re: Num 1:51 (NASB1995) “So when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But the >>>layman<<< who comes near shall be put to death. “layman” or “stranger” comes from the same Hebrew root as “strange” fire (see Lev 10:1). Re: Num 1:1-2:34 For a deeper dive into the census of Israel, the exemption of the Levites, and the encampments of the tribes, see the following Hebrew For Christians article: https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/BeMidbar/bemidbar.html
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Michael Scaman

I am agreeing with Michael Sisson, 'Club MS' seeing eye to eye with each other. On the skip of Leviticus forward to Numbers .... understandable .... to many on first read, Leviticus feels like you just hit a speed bump of tedious confusion to many people as they read the stories in Genesis and Exodus and ten come to a book that is not narrative genre mainly, but thematic on holiness in worship and holiness in living with only two short stories. Many get lost and give up. But Leviticus is important and the center book of the Law for a reasons. You need to change gears not give up. In reality Leviticus is the center book of the 5 because it is thematic and not narrative, the theme being a book on holiness. 1 use of holy in Genesis and about the 7th day not about God directly, 70 uses of holy in Exodus and whopping 90 peaking in Leviticus as God unfolds the idea. At least 5 times in Leviticus it will say 'be holy for I am Holy' quoted also by Peter and Moses in Deuteronomy.... not in Genesis... not in Exodus... not in Numbers... When you read Leviticus think 'thematic book on holiness not mainly story', Numbers is back to narrative and which is quoted more by Jesus and writers of the New Testament? Leviticus or Numbers? Envelop please? Leviticus far more than Numbers!!! Jesus top 2 books quoted form the New Testament are Psalms and Leviticus, kind of a tie depending whether you count allusions or exact quotes. Genesis, Exodus, Levitucs, Deuteronomy in the top 10 for other New Testament writers , alas not Numbers not making the top 10 most quoted books. Book 4 of the Psalms is poetically Numbers and the travels and travails in this world guided by the shepherd king and opens with a psalm 'teach us to NUMBER our days" and written by Moses/ Book 4 of Psalms is poetically Numbers and ends with a Psalm on the unfaithfulness of Israel and man in sin, leaving Book 5 of Psalms to be a story of redemption despite great difficulties to enter a greater promised land in Jesus, poetically Deuteronomy.
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Amy Lowther

1. Nothing. I view God’s word as help to justify life. God’s word helps us approach and see things in positive ways. God’s word can help us understand instructions given to us in daily life for things we complete in daily life. God’s word helps us have healthy values in making great choices in the world He created. 2. Coworkers helping coworkers and friends helping friends are great examples of God’s faithfulness. By following God’s commands of being caring and patient, I have also seen coworkers do a nice job of taking charge of business areas which needed attention. 3. I am susceptible to fail in God’s instructions when I am overwhelmed. 4. Nowhere.
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Sue Bohlin

Thank you, Ivan! It 's easy to race past the names of each tribe's appointed leader because they don't mean anything to us. But can you imagine what it was like for each man to learn that Yahweh had singled him out--by name--in His directions to Moses?! "Holy smokes! Yahweh knows my name?! Yahweh knows ME?!!!!" I would imagine it would be a combination of his blood running cold, and his face burning hot, all at the same time. I pray each of us would have that same, rather shocking moment of realization that God knows each of us. He doesn't just know our name, He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He knows us intimately because He hand-crafted each of us. And as it is recorded in Isaiah 43:1, "I have called you by name--you are MINE." Then we find out from Jesus, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them" . . . which means that if we have turned to Christ in faith, it's because the Father drew us to Him. Just like He called the tribal leaders by name in Numbers 1 and 2, but better. We were called to eternal life and a place in God's forever family!