The Nazarite vow is one of the most serious vows a man or woman can take upon themselves. This chapter gives us the details of this vow but also shows us the spiritual application — even today — in the days without a temple or Aaronic priesthood.
Tag: Numbers
The inner sanctuary items were so holy that the sons of Aaron had to cover them before the Levites could come an carry them away. The chapter goes on to mention the names of the families of Levi who were designated to perform the various tasks of the sanctuary. Chapter 5 seems to take a divergent path with instructions on how a jealous husband can find out whether his wife committed adultery. In chapter 6, that will be a little more clear.
For many, the book of Numbers is the most boring book of the Bible because it seems to focus so much on numbers. God did not put this book in the Bible to bore us but to educate us.
Some have asserted that the huge numbers of people listed in various places in Exodus and Numbers are impossible or unlikely for a number of real-world reasons.
A close reading of the text shows that the Hebrew word אלף ’elef means “thousand,” rather than “clan,” “chief,” or “group.”
Some Jewish and Messianic scholars are feverishly debating whether the word “elef” (Strongs 504 and 505) in Numbers 1 and the counting of the fighting men of the 12 tribes means “clans” or “thousands.” There’s more controversy in Judaism over this one Hebrew word than any other Hebrew word in the Tanak. Richard explains the controversy and gives us some tools on how to wade through all the scholarly debates on this issue. Judges 6 and the book of Chronicles gives us some insight into this controversy as well.
The book of Numbers immediately starts out with a census, with lots of numbers. The book is named very well. If you just think of numbers for the sake of numbers, this chapter is very easy to skip. However, there are some important lessons we can glean from this chapter. First, notice the names of the heads of these families. Many of them have the name of “El” or “Shaddai” in their own names. This shows us that they know.
The borders of the modern state of Israel are a fraction of the territory the LORD granted the long ago. The promises for a much larger area from Genesis to Revelation speak to the wider vision of many nations in the Kingdom of Heaven and how our vision for our own potential may be too narrow.