Power Read The Bible In 60 Days With Jeff AndersonНамуна

Day 7

FLYING HIGH

[Scheduled Reading: Numbers 1-17] 

We’re flying through the Bible, aren't we!

In a few days we will have covered the first five books (called the Torah.) Some of this content is Speed 2 & 3 material. It’s easy to get bogged down in these areas, but we want to keep moving. 

So what's going on in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy?

God’s working a plan to route The Seed through the nation of Israel (the twelve tribes of Jacob). From the time of Moses, it will be roughly 1,500 years into the future until this eventual seed (Jesus) takes its place on the cross. 

So while Satan is working feverishly to destroy the “seed” carriers (Israelites), God is building them for survival.

This Israelite nation must be strong, independent, well financed, heavily armed. And they need a government that can sustain order. (Think about the U.S. We need those things, too.) 

To set up this sustaining government, God gives them several things (all “L’s”):

• Label- He called them Israelites. He also called Israel His “firstborn son.” Extremely symbolic isn't it? Don't lose sight of this idea. 
• Land - That's the Promise Land! They wandered in the wilderness for forty years to get in. Once they finally entered, they set up permanent residence. The twelve tribes were counted in a census, and given their respective land allotments (read Numbers).
• Location (of worship)  - While the Israelites wanderedfor forty years, whenever they stopped to set up camp...the tabernacle went up. And that’s where they worshipped. Much detail Bible text is committed to this elaborate tent design and related worship practices.
• Laws- God installed a system of sacrifices and laws to remind them of God’s holiness...of their sin...and of the way things ought to be had man never sinned. So if a young man skinned his knee on a rock and suffered an open cut wound while playing with his kids, he was considered "unclean." In this case, the man didn’t do anything wrong. God just wanted them to understand, “it wasn’t intended to be this way” (skinning knees, that is). These laws were very detailed and often confusing…and sometimes weird. And yes, lots of redundancy. 
• Leader- Yeah, that would be Moses. And eventually Joshua.  
• Levites- This tribe was set apart to run the government, sort of like our congress (without the entertaining election cycles). They managed the tabernacle, administered laws, performed sacrifices, etc. Their work was funded by an elaborate system of gifts and offerings from the other tribes. 

Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, we’ll see this system at work. It functioned on occasion, but broke down most of the time. 

Still God’s primary purpose was intact. Keeping the nation of Israel alive… which meant keeping The Seed alive. 

Okay, time to get some altitude… back to reading.