13 Things About Numbers

I don't know about you, but I'm not a math person and the title of this particular book of the Bible usually keeps me from turning to it. However, there are some interesting details in Numbers: Here are some facts concerning the book:

1. This book concerns the journey of the Israelites from Mt. Sinai to the border of Canaan.

2. The English title is based on the lists of numbers found within the book.

3. The Hebrew title, Bemidbar, translates to “In the wilderness…”

4. By reading Numbers you can discover what happened to the Israelites during their thirty-seven year journey through the wilderness.

5. The word “wilderness” is used in the book more than forty times.

6. God remained faithful to the Hebrews even though they disobeyed him again and again.

7. The journey of the Israelites can be compared to a Christian’s own journey through this world where the ultimate goal is arriving in Heaven (3:7-9, 4:8-11).

8. The stories of Balaam and the rebellion at Kadesh show how evil man is.

9. The story of Balaam shows no one can stop God’s plan.

10. At one point Balaam predicts Jesus (24:19)

11. The themes in Numbers are God’s faithfulness, human waywardness, the wilderness, and numbering the people.

12. The large numbers of Israelite adult males created an army of 600,000. Many scholars state this would mean the actual population of Israelites would have had to be in the neighborhood of 2 million people for the army to be that large (2:32, 26:51). How could the 70 people that entered Egypt with Joseph grow that large in just a few generations?

13. Many other scholars say the numbers are wrong….that they were translated incorrectly.

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