Who Are We and How Will We Survive?Numbers 1 - 10

400 sermonsSomething different

Numbers?“The Ants Go Marching Two By Two”

Main themes in Numbers

Numbers 1The LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said:

2 “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. 3 You and Aaron are to number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army.

Who are we?How strong are we?

How old and how young?How weak and how strong?Are we growing or dying?

The Hebrew people started as slavesThey have certain skills

But they had not ruled themselves for 400 years

They need to know a few things

Numbers 2The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family.”

3 On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah… 4 His division numbers 74,600. 5 The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them. 7 The tribe of Zebulun will be next10 On the south will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben…

Part of this process is teaching the people of Israel to be orderly

Teaching responsibilityCreating an orderly division of labor

Orderly movement

Numbers 3 5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the Tent of Meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle.

8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death.”

Strict rules about work and worship are implemented and enforced

Orderly assignmentsOrderly service

Reverence for holy things and places

Numbers 5The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. 3 Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”

Dealing with illnessProtecting people from disease

HealthcareAlso…

Rules for restitutionAnd lots of rules about proper worship

Numbers 9The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt. He said, 2 “Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time.

3 Celebrate it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, in accordance with all its rules and regulations.”

Teaching the importance of history and culture

Teaching the importance of celebration

Asking the Hebrews to celebrate their identity in God

“Remember who saved you”

Numbers 10The Lord said to Moses: 2 “Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out. 3 When both are sounded, the whole community is to assemble before you at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Technology for communicationThis was their phone

A simple way to gather for planningFor decision making

An efficient way to communicate quickly

CensusArmy

Duties are delegatedHealth care promoted

Cultural identity in God celebrated

Worship standardized

These first ten chapters so important…Because this group of slaves needs to learn to how to organize themselvesHow to plan and know how to plan

How to orderly and logically prepare for their future

The title “Numbers” leads us to think…

“there is nothing interesting to be learned in this book”The name in Hebrew is…

“In the desert”

While in the desert they need to…Learn who they are

Know their resourcesOrganize (while you are still in the desert)

Plan the explorationPlan the journey to the promised land

Plan how they land would settledCelebrate – while in the desertBe orderly… while in the desert

How does this apply for to us today?If you are wandering in the dessert…

Begin to plan for your futureKnow who you are

Know your resourcesBegin to organize (while in the desert)

Make plans, hope, dream…Celebrate

Be orderly… while you are still in the desert

When we have the opportunity to enter the “promised land”

We have to be readyOrganized

PackedPrepare to step in