Bemidvar Slides (pdf)
BeMidvar Notes (pdf)
Overview of B’midvar (“In the Wilderness”) Numbers 1:1 – 4:20
This week starts a new book of Torah: the Book of Numbers. The name “Numbers” comes from Greek for the census that Yehovah instructs Moses to conduct. The Hebrew name, “B’Midvar”, means “In the Wilderness”, which is much more descriptive of the activities in the whole Book. The root of this word is d’var, meaning “word”; and where was Moses given The Word?? At Sinai…in the wilderness!
We have seen (and will continue to see) a series of starts-and-stops for Israel:
Stopped (in slavery) in Egypt for 215 years Exodus 1-11
Traveling to Sinai Exodus 12-18
Camped at Sinai Exodus 19 – Numbers 10
Traveling to Kadesh Barnea Numbers 10 – 12
Camped at Kadesh Barnea Numbers 13 – 20
Traveling to Moab (with many undocumented stops on the way) Numbers 20 – 21
Camped at Moab Numbers 22 – Deut 34
Moving Across the Jordan River into The Land Book of Joshua
When Israel was camped, Yehovah would give them instructions; and when they traveled they would demonstrate (most times, unsuccessfully) their obedience to those instructions. When they were disobedient, then Yehovah would stop the march and they would camp. It was during those encampments that Yehovah would review those instructions that Israel failed to obey, and He would then give them opportunity to do it right the next time.
The Book of Exodus ended on the 1st day of the 1st month in the 2nd year (Exo 40:2), and the Book of Numbers starts on the 1st day of the 2nd month (Numbers 1:1); so exactly one month had transpired during the Book of Leviticus. Most of Leviticus is “law-giving”, except for the death of Moses’ two sons and the 7-day consecration period for the Priests. Israel stayed encamped at Sinai for the first ten chapters in Numbers before they start to move again; and most of Yehovah’s instructions would be logistical in nature: counting the military-age men, the arrangement of the camp, the order of the march, the duties of the Levites, etc.
Chapter 1 Israel’s Census
Yehovah told Moses to take a census (literally, asah rosh – “lift the head) of the congregation of Israel. He did this earlier (in Exodus 38), but this one is much different from the Exodus census. The Exodus census was not a head-count; there Moses collected a half-shekel from each man 20 years and older for the purpose of financing the construction of the Tabernacle. The men were not counted, but the shekels were. But in this week’s Portion, Yehovah tells Moses to count all the men 20 years and older, by their Tribal affiliations; this is the true census:
Reuben 46,500
Simeon 59,300
Gad 45,650
Judah 74,600
Issachar 54,400
Zebulun 57,400
Ephraim 40,500
Manasseh 32,200
Benjamin 35,400
Dan 62,700
Asher 41,500
Naphtali 53,400
Total 603,550
Notice that the Tribe of Levi is missing from this count…why? Because the purpose of this census was to determine the number of fighting-age men, Levi would have been excluded because they were not to go to war. This is still a hot topic in Israel today with an increasing number of people calling for the chasadim (the religious Jews) to be required to serve two years in the IDF just as all others (male and female) are required to do.
Even though Levi is missing, there are still 12 Tribes listed. Instead of the Tribe of Joseph, his two sons, Manasseh & Ephraim are listed. Joseph received the Blessing of the Firstborn (of the beloved wife, Rachel), even though Reuben was the actual first one born (from Leah); Joseph also received the double portion, which then went to his two sons (Gen 48:1-6). The two boys replaced Joseph and they assumed an equal position among their 11 uncles. Interestingly, this total count is the exact number that was counted back in Exodus 38…although the Exodus count included the Levites.
Chapter 2 The Order of the Camp
When the cloud leading Israel stopped, Israel stopped and set up camp, with the Tabernacle at the center of the camp. The Levites camped immediately around the Tabernacle; one of their primary duties was to protect it and to keep all unauthorized persons from entering it. We’ll see more about this in the next chapter.
The remaining 12 Tribes were camped in groups of three around the four sides of the Tabernacle. Pictured from above, it would look like a cross (see the Power Point slides). The instructions for this camp formation make no mention of anybody camping to the north-west, or the south-east, etc.; so they would be camped in rows no wider that the dimensions of the Tabernacle. Then, factoring in the census of the tribes on each of the sides, we see that Judah (to the east) would have been the most populous camp; Ephraim (to the west) would have been the least populous group; and the remaining tribal groupings to the north and south were roughly the same size. When viewed from above (from the east side), it would form a crucifixion cross!
The flag of the lead Tribe (shown in bold above) would be displayed in front of each group of three around the Tabernacle: the Lion (of the Tribe of Judah) to the east; the face of a man (Reuben) to the south; an ox (Ephraim) to the west; and an eagle (Dan) to the north. In two of the glimpses of Yehovah’s meetings with His Heavenly Council (Ezekiel 1-10 & Revelation 4:7) we see these same four images: a lion, the face of a man, an ox, and an eagle. This is no coincidence (remember…there is no
Hebrew word for “coincidence”!) These four flag symbols also represent the four Gospel accounts:
Mark shows Yeshua as the Suffering Servant, represented by the servant ox
Matthew shows Yeshua as the King of the Jews, represented by the lion (of Judah)
Luke shows Yeshua as the Son of Man, represented by the face of a man
John shows Yeshua as the Son of God, represented by the eagle
The order of the March
When Israel broke camp and started on the move, they marched in a specific order: first, Judah & his group; then Reuben & his group; then the Tabernacle components carried by the Levites; then Ephraim & his group; and lastly, Dan & his group. The Tabernacle (surrounded by the Priests & Levites) was at the center of the camp; it was also at the center of the march, surrounded by the Priests & Levites.
Chapter 3 The Census of the Levites
Here all the Levites are counted: 22,000 of them. The purpose of this count is, obviously, different from the counting of the rest of the Tribes for military purposes. At the Exodus, Yehovah claimed all the Firstborn as His because His instruction to apply the blood of the Lamb to the doorpost saved them from the fate of all those who didn’t. But all of Israel (including the firstborn) had committed spiritual adultery against Him at the Golden Calf, and it was the Levites who stepped up to purge the leaders of the revolt from the camp (Exodus 32:25-28). So now we are seeing the transfer of the Right of the Firstborn to the Levites. The Tribal census counted 22,237 firstborn, but there were only 22,000 Levites to take their place (redeem them) as Yehovah’s “new” Firstborn. So the 237 actual Firstborn who had no Levite to take his place were required to “buy a Levite” for 5 shekels each. (I told you this was mostly logistical stuff here!!). But we see here the beginning of the spiritual concept of silver representing redemption…pointing to Yeshua’s betrayal for 30 pieces of silver leading to the redemption of Mankind.
We see that Aaron and the Priests camped immediately to the East of the Tabernacle, guarding its entrance. The rest of the Levites camped on the other three sides: Gershon camped to the West; Kohath camped to the South; and Merari camped to the North.
Chapter 4 The Duties of the Kohathites
Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Yehovah gave to Aaron (a Kohathite) all of the other Levites to assist him and the Priests with the Tabernacle duties. This week’s Portion ends with the duties of the Kohathites. Of the three sons of Levi, they had the best assignment: to pack and carry all of the Holy Objects inside the Tabernacle: the Ark of the Covenant & Mercy Seat, the Altar of Incense, the Menorah, the Table of Shewbread, the Brazen Altar, and the Brazen Laver…and all of the utensils that went along with each item. But there is a problem here…do you see it? Only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place, yet Moses expected the Kohathites to pack up the Ark and Mercy Seat. Doing that would result in their instant death…just ask Nadav & Avihu (Lev 10:1-2)! So the solution to this problem was to have Aaron, the High Priest, go into the Most Holy Place to cover the Ark & Mercy Seat with the veil that separated them from the Holy Place. Then the Kohathites could secure those items for proper travel, and not die. We see in II Samuel 6 that Uzzah died when he reached out to steady the unprotected Ark to keep it from falling. When David had the Ark & Mercy Seat moved from the Land of the Philistines to the City of David, everything was done the wrong way…and the result of this disobedience was death. If you Google “carrying the Ark of the Covenant”, most of the images would show the uncovered Ark being carried on the shoulders of the Levites. Only a few images show it correctly covered with the blue veil.
Next week’s Portion continues this chapter with the duties of the other two sons, Gershon & Merari.
The Haftarah Reading (Hosea 2:1-22)
In the Haftarah reading, the Prophet Hosea reminds us of God’s promise to Abram: that his descendants would be more than could be counted…unlike the Torah Portion, where Moses counted 603,550 males age 20 & above. Had he counted everyone, the number could have been as many as 3 million people (men, women, and children). The Haftarah continues with God’s promise to reunite the whole House of Israel, and only He will be their God. We read from Hosea 1:10-11 & 14-20:
“Nevertheless, the people of Israel will number as many as the grains of sand by the sea, which cannot be measured or counted; so that the time will come when, instead of being told, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said to them, ‘You are the children of the living God.’ Then the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together; they will appoint for themselves one leader; and they will go up out of the land; for that will be the great day of Jezreel …. “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. “And it shall be, in that day,” says the Lord, that you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master,’ for I will take from her mouth the names of the ba’als, and they shall be remembered by their name no more. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the air, and with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, to make them lie down safely. I will betroth you to me forever; yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in grace and in compassion; I will betroth you to me in faithfulness, and you will know Adonai.”
The Brit Chadashah Reading (Revelation 4:2 & 6-8)
God’s instructions were for Israel to move when their covering cloud moved, and to stop when it stopped. This week’s Portion describes the arrangement of their camp: the Tabernacle in the center; the Priests & Levites camped closest around it; and the remaining 12 Tribes camped beyond. They were placed in groups of three on each of the four sides of the Tabernacle, gathered around the banner of each head Tribe. Standing at the center of the camp and looking all around, you would see the images on the four banners: to the east – a lion (for the Tribe of Judah), to the south, the face of a man (the Tribe of Reuben), to the west, an ox (the Tribe of Ephraim) and to the north, a flying eagle with a serpent in its mouth (the Tribe of Dan).
As we read in the Brit Chadashah of John’s vision of the Throne Room in Heaven, we see these very same images. If you allow me to get a little mystical, I would suggest that the Camp of Israel around the Tabernacle is an exact pattern of God’s Heavenly Council Room. We read from Revelation 4:2, 6-8:
“Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne….. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”