FIRST DAY: Read the notes and the references. SECOND DAY: Read Numbers 11:1-3 Fire From the LORD [11:1] Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. [2] When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. [3] So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them. Question 4c Psalm 16:6; [6] The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. Psalm 37:7; [7] Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Philippians 4:11-12; [10] I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. [11] I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. [12] I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. THIRD DAY: Read Numbers 11:4-35 Quail From the LORD [4] The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, If only we had meat to eat! [5] We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. [6] But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna! [7] The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. [8] The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. [9] When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down. [10] Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. [11] He asked the LORD, Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? [12] Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? [13] Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, Give us meat to eat!' [14] I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. [15] If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now if I have found favor in your eyes and do not let me face my own ruin. [16] The LORD said to Moses: Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. [17] I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone. [18] Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you when you wailed, If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt! Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. [19] You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, [20] but for a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, Why did we ever leave Egypt? ' 1
[21] But Moses said, Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!' [22] Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them? [23] The LORD answered Moses, Is the LORD's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you. [24] So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent. [25] Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again. [26] However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. [27] A young man ran and told Moses, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp. [28] Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, Moses, my lord, stop them! [29] But Moses replied, Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them! [30] Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. [31] Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction. [32] All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp. [33] But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. [34] Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food. [35] From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there. FOURTH DAY: Read Numbers 12:1-3 Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses [12:1] Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. [2] Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? they asked. Hasn't he also spoken through us? And the LORD heard this. [3] (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) Question 8a Micah 6:4; [4] I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. FIFTH DAY: Read Numbers 12:4-16 [4] At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you. So the three of them came out. [5] Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, [6] he said, Listen to my words: When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. [7] But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. [8] With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. 2
Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? [9] The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them. [10] When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; [11] and he said to Moses, Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. [12] Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away. [13] So Moses cried out to the LORD, O God, please heal her! [14] The LORD replied to Moses, If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back. [15] So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back. [16] After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran. Question 12c Luke 23:34; [34] Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Hebrews 7:25; [25] Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. SIXTH DAY: Review Numbers 11-12 Fire From the LORD [11:1] Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. [2] When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. [3] So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them. Quail From the LORD [4] The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, If only we had meat to eat! [5] We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. [6] But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna! [7] The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. [8] The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. [9] When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down. [10] Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. [11] He asked the LORD, Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? [12] Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? [13] Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, Give us meat to eat!' [14] I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. [15] If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now if I have found favor in your eyes and do not let me face my own ruin. [16] The LORD said to Moses: Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. [17] I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone. [18] Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you when you wailed, 3
If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt! Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. [19] You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, [20] but for a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, Why did we ever leave Egypt? ' [21] But Moses said, Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!' [22] Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them? [23] The LORD answered Moses, Is the LORD's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you. [24] So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent. [25] Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again. [26] However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. [27] A young man ran and told Moses, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp. [28] Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, Moses, my lord, stop them! [29] But Moses replied, Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them! [30] Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. [31] Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction. [32] All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp. [33] But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. [34] Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food. [35] From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there. Numbers 12 Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses [12:1] Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. [2] Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? they asked. Hasn't he also spoken through us? And the LORD heard this. [3] (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) [4] At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you. So the three of them came out. [5] Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, [6] he said, Listen to my words: When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. [7] But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. [8] With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? [9] The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them. 4
[10] When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; [11] and he said to Moses, Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. [12] Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away. [13] So Moses cried out to the LORD, O God, please heal her! [14] The LORD replied to Moses, If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back. [15] So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back. [16] After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran. The Camp of Israel Chuck Missler observes that "The great discovery which opens the Bible to us is that these 66 books, written by 40 authors over thousands of years, are an integrated message system. Every detail--every number, every place name, every allusion--is there by careful design and is significant". Jesus Himself said "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5:17, 18). This insight unlocks a number of discoveries which otherwise would escape the notice of someone who takes the text less seriously. Let us consider the numbering of the Tribes of Israel? Numbering the People In Numbers chapter 1 we encounter the numbering of the people. Why? Of course, there are valid historical reasons for the inclusion of this detail in the Torah (the five books of Moses). But if we examine these details more closely, some remarkable insights emerge. The Tabernacle When Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai, he also received detailed specifications and instructions for the building of a portable sanctuary, the Tabernacle, or tent of meeting. ( Exodus 25-27, 36-38, 40) The purpose of this unusual facility was to provide a place for God to dwell among His people. The tabernacle was always set up at the center of the Camp. The tribe of Levi was assigned to care for it, and encamped around it. Moses, Aaron, and the priests camped on the east side next to the entrance. The three families of the tribe of Levi (Merari, Kohath, and Gershon), camped on the north, south and west side, respectively. The remaining twelve tribes were grouped into four camps around the Levites. 5
A Baker's Dozen It is helpful to realize that there were really 13 tribes, not "twelve." Jacob had twelve sons, each becoming the founder of one of the twelve tribes. However, Joseph was sold into slavery and subsequently emerged as the prime minister of Egypt ( Genesis 41:37-41). In Egypt, Joseph married Asenath and had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When Jacob and the rest of the family ultimately came to Egypt, Jacob adopted his two grandsons as his own (Genesis 48). With the tribe of Joseph in two parts, there are in fact 13 tribes with Joseph having a "double" portion among his brothers. The twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob) are listed twenty times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament. (Genesis 29, 35, 46, 49; Exodus 1; Numbers 1:1-15, 1:20-43:2; 2:7, 10, 13, 26, 34; Deuteronomy 27, 33; Joshua 13ff; Judges 5; 1 Chronicles 2:1, 2:3-8, 12, 27; Ezekiel 48, Revelation 7) Each time they are listed in a different order. The Levites were exempt from military duties. When the order of military march is given, there are still 12 listed, excluding Levi. How? By dividing Joseph into two: Ephraim and Manasseh. (Levi is thus omitted on four occasions. In a similar manner, Dan is omitted on three occasions, the most notable one in Revelation 7.) The Four "Camps" The twelve remaining tribes, excluding the Levites, were clustered into four "camps." (Numbers 2) Each of these groups, of three tribes each, were to rally around the tribal standard of the lead tribe. Judah's tribal standard was, of course, the lion. Reuben's ensign was a man; Ephraim's the ox; Dan's, ultimately, the eagle. These are detailed in the following diagram. The Mazzeroth It may come as a surprise to many to learn that each of the 12 tribes were associated with one of the constellations of the mazzeroth (the Hebrew zodiac.) We know these by their post-babel names after being corrupted by pagan traditions. By learning the Hebrew names, and the names of the principal stars in the order of their magnitude, we discover they portray the entire redemptive plan of God--from the virgin birth (Virgo) to the triumph of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Leo). The Four Faces It is interesting to note that these four primary tribal standards--the lion, the man, the ox, and the eagle-- are the same as the four faces of the cherubim encircling the throne of God, (Ezekiel 1:10, 10:14, Revelation 4:7 Note: some feel that the seraphim in Isaiah 6 are the same. ) we notice these strange living creatures, somehow associated with the protection of His throne, His holiness, etc. It would seem that the camp of Israel--with the tabernacle in the middle--seems to be a model of the throne of God: His presence in the center, represented by the tabernacle, encircled by the four faces, all surrounded by His people. The Numbering The numbering of the tribes is detailed in Numbers chapter 1. The actual population represented is 6
obviously somewhat larger than these enumerations, since only men over twenty, able to go to war, were counted. Most analysts assume that women, children, and the elderly, would multiply the count by some factor: 3 or whatever. The total camp would thus appear to approximate two million. We can also tally the size of each tribe to total the relative length of each camp as they stretched out in each of the four directions. The plan view is shown below. While the numbers of each tribe may not seem to be very revealing, the totals for each of the four camps are. Cardinal Compass Points Each of the camps, of three tribes each, were to encamp on one of the cardinal compass directions (N, S, E, or W) with respect to the camp of the Levites enclosing the tabernacle. (Numbers 2:3, 10, 18, 25.) We can only guess at how much space was required by the Levites, whether it was 100 m on a side, 1000 m, or whatever. But whatever it was, we'll view that length as a basic unit. To fully appreciate all of the implications, we must adopt a very literal view of the text. Note: copied from ldolphin.org The tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun-- collectively called the Camp of Judah--had to encamp east of the Levites. This poses a technical problem. Notice that if the breadth of their camp was larger than that of the Levites, the excess would be southeast or northeast, not east. Therefore, their camp could only be as wide as the Levites, and they then had to extend eastward to obtain whatever space they required. The camps of Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan had the same constraint on the south, west, and north, respectively. The length of each leg would be proportional to the total in each camp. Aerial View of the Camp of Israel If we assemble what we can from the text, we can imagine what the camp of Israel looked like from above: the tabernacle and the Levites in the center, surrounded by the four faces of the tribal standards, and each of the four camps of Judah, Ephraim, Reuben, and Dan, stretching out in the four cardinal directions. 7