Christ in Numbers: The Great Physician, Our Guide, Our High Priest

The more I read the Bible, the more I understand that it could not have been written by human hands.  It MUST be entirely the word and work of our powerful God.  Just as Leviticus is a book of the law, so is Numbers.  It was so named because it includes the census of the Jewish people, first as they left their bondage in Egypt, and again 40 years later just before they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land.  In Hebrew, the book is called “Bemidhbar,” translated “in the wilderness.”  I like the Hebrew name because it more accurately describes the entirety of the book, since the two numberings of the people is only a very small portion of the book. 

This book has several themes, but one of its primary emphases is on obedience and blessings versus disobedience and punishment.  I can imagine Moses crying, “You can take the people out of Egypt, but you can’t take Egypt out of the people!”  They had no sooner escaped the oppression of slavery when they began longing to go back:

So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.  (Exodus 1:13-14, New King James Version)

And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”  So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” (Numbers 14:2-4, New King James Version)

Another important theme from Numbers is that of God’s presence among the people.  One of the first things He instructed Moses to do when they escaped Egypt was to erect the tabernacle, the tent that was the house of God.  Once Moses took the first census of all the people, he followed God’s instruction and situated all the people, according to their tribes, on the four sides of the tabernacle.  The tabernacle was situated in the middle of all the people as they wandered through the wilderness for 40 years, just as today, God’s plan is that He be at the center of our lives.

As we read the book of Numbers, it’s easy to get bogged down in all the names of the people, the tribes, and the details of the long, arduous journey in the wilderness.  But if we read carefully and prayerfully, we can see how all the details of this book point to Jesus Christ, even though these events took place around 1400 years before His birth!  For example:

• When the people grumbled again, after being fed with manna, longing to go back to Egypt, God punished them by sending a plague of “fiery serpents” that bit and killed many of the people.  They realized that they had sinned against God by not trusting His servant, Moses, and asked him to plead with God on their behalf.  When he did, God instructed him to make a bronze replica of the serpent, place it on a wooden pole, and lift it high so the people could see it.  When the people looked at the bronze serpent in repentance and in faith, they were healed.  The symbolism here is that Jesus became sin for us; he was placed on a wooden cross which was raised up for people to see.  When we look to Him in repentance and in faith, we are “healed” of our sin.  Jesus said, “‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.’ This he said, signifying what death he should die. ‘I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.’” (John 12:32-33, 46, New King James Version)
• God instructed Moses to position all the people in camps, according to their tribes, on the four sides of the tabernacle, three tribes on each side.  He appointed one tribe on each side to be the leader of that group.  Each of those “leader tribes” carried a standard, or a banner.  The tribes on the east were led by Judah, whose standard was the lion.  The tribes on the south were led by Reuben, whose standard was a man.  The tribes on the west were led by Ephraim, whose standard was the ox.  The tribes on the north were led by Dan, whose standard was the eagle.  (In actuality, there were 13 tribes, not just 12.  The tribes were all descendants of the sons of Abraham, but the descendants of Joseph were divided into two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, Abraham’s grandsons.)  The tribe of Levi (the priestly tribe) was encamped around the tabernacle, in the center of all the other tribes.  When we are introduced to Jesus, it is very interesting to see some of the names He was given – The Lion of Judah, The Son of Man,  The Suffering Servant (an ox was a symbol of service), and  The Son of God (the eagle was a symbol for God).  And the four gospels each present Jesus with a different emphasis:  Matthew, who was from the priestly tribe of Levi, emphasizes Jesus as the Messiah, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah; Mark, Peter’s assistant, emphasizes Jesus as the obedient Servant of God; Luke, a Gentile doctor, emphasizes Jesus as the Son of Man, including His genealogy beginning with Adam, through Abraham to David, and up to Heli, the father of Mary and the father-in-law of Joseph; and finally John emphasized Jesus as the Son of God, stressing his oneness with God the Father, and His miracles, and His seven “I am” statements.  It’s also very interesting to imagine how the arrangement of all these people might have looked from above – the tabernacle in the center and three tribes on each of the four sides.  Might it have looked like a cross?
• After all Moses and Aaron had done to lead the people out of captivity in Egypt, to intercede on their behalf to God, and after God showing Himself through miracles that He allowed Moses to perform, the people were still not happy.  They resented Moses and Aaron and wanted to replace Aaron as high priest.  So, after God had killed the most outspoken of the dissenters by swallowing them up in a sinkhole, and after sending a plague on all those who still dissented, God gave Moses instructions on how to demonstrate to all the people that Aaron was, indeed, to be their high priest.  The prince of each tribe, including Aaron, was to bring a staff (a rod or walking stick), write his name on it, and lay all the staffs in the tabernacle.  God said that He would cause the staff belonging to His chosen leader to sprout buds and bloom.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff, and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house. Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” (Numbers 17:1-5, English Standard Version)

So Moses did as God instructed, and sure enough, the next day only Aaron’s staff had budded and blossomed.  All the other staffs were dead, showing no sign of life at all. 

On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” (Numbers 17:8-10)

We can see Jesus in Aaron’s staff.  There have been, and will continue to be, false prophets and false religions that attempt to usurp the place of Jesus.  But all the leaders of those so-called religions are dead and in their graves.  Only Jesus Christ conquered death and continues to live today.  Just like Aaron’s staff, He continues to grow and produce fruit in the lives of those who love Him and place their trust and faith in Him.  If we place our trust in our own intellect, our heritage, or our own good works, we are being just like the people who grumbled against Aaron.  We are trying to be our own god.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, “Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.” (Matthew 28:5-6a, King James Version)

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16, King James Version)

These are only three of the many illustrations of Jesus Christ in the book of Numbers.  As we study God’s word, isn’t it amazing to see how He speaks to us on each and every page?  Are you as fascinated as I am with the intricacy with which God’s Word is written?

My prayer for you and for myself this week is probably one of the most well-known prayers of the Bible.  It is found in Numbers 6:24-26 (King James Version):  “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”