Scripture Reading: Num. 1:1-4, 42-46; 10:33-36
In this introductory word to the Life-study of Numbers, we will consider the advancement of the divine revelation, a comparison of Numbers and Leviticus, the general sketch of Numbers, the central thought of Numbers, and the sections of Numbers.
In the five books of Moses (the Pentateuch) many seeds of the truth are sown. Every main point of the divine truth is in these books. However, the divine revelation was not given to us once for all but progressively.
In the progress of the divine revelation there is the advancement of the divine revelation. In the first book, Genesis, we have God and His creation. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). At the end of the sixty-six books of the Bible there is a glorious, bright, new city. In the beginning there was only God Himself. Then God accomplished the work of creation, so in addition to God there was the creation, including man. Man fell, but after the fall of man, there was God's redemption. Eventually, at the end of the Bible, there is a city built with the divine Trinity mingled with His redeemed people. Between God's creation at the beginning and the new city at the end, the divine revelation advances progressively book after book.
In Genesis we see God's creation and man's fall. Whereas Genesis begins with God's creation, it ends with the result of man's fall — a dead man in a coffin (50:26).
After the fall of man, God came in to save us with His wonderful redemption. This is what we see in Exodus. In the book of Exodus we have God's salvation and the building of His habitation.
God's habitation is more valuable than His creation. When God created the heavens and the earth, He was homeless. Even though man fell, God would not give up. He still went on to redeem and save fallen man that He might build up His habitation with His redeemed people.
In Leviticus we have the redeemed's worship and living. By the time we reach Leviticus, many of the fallen people have been saved and have become God's redeemed people. Leviticus reveals that these redeemed ones need to worship God and live the life He desires.
In Numbers we see God's redeemed people being formed into His army and their journey in fighting for God. The army is for God's people to fight so that God can gain the ground on earth to build up His kingdom with His habitation.
At this point, I would like to make a comparison between Numbers and Leviticus. Leviticus stresses the redeemed's worship and living. Numbers stresses the redeemed's journey and fighting. In Leviticus God's redeemed were instructed in how to worship God and live a holy life. In Numbers God's redeemed were formed into an army and fought for Him throughout their journey.
In Numbers we can see three things: the formation of an army, the journeys of that army, and the fighting of the army. The formation of the army was for fighting, and the fighting required the army to journey, not to stay in one spot. Always the children of Israel were going on from place to place to gain ground that God might have a people to be built up for His kingdom and His house. For this reason, in Numbers we have the army, the journey, and the fighting.
Although Numbers is a long book, the general sketch is simple. The general sketch of Numbers is that the redeemed and sanctified Israelites were formed into a holy army of God, which was to proceed by following God's leading and was to fight for Him.
Whatever is written in the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, is a type. In particular, in these books we see that the entire nation of Israel was a type of the church. As Israel was formed into an army, so the church should be formed into an army. Concerning this, we should not look at the present situation, at the outward appearance. If we do this, we will be disappointed and wonder where the army is. Although we may have doubts about the existence of a church army, Satan knows that there is such an army. We need to believe that today there is an army formed with all the faithful ones, journeying and fighting all the time that God may have a kingdom with a house.
In a general way, we may say that the central thought of the entire Bible is Christ, for the Bible is focused on Christ as the center. But what is the central thought of the book of Numbers? The central thought of Numbers is that Christ is the meaning of life, the testimony, the center of God's people, and the Leader, the way, and the goal of their journey and fighting.
In Numbers Christ is revealed as the meaning of the life of God's people. It seems that during the forty years in the wilderness, the two million Israelites were doing nothing. They did not engage in industry, commerce, or farming. But day by day they were busy with one thing — the ark of God's testimony (Num. 7:89). The ark of the testimony was the center of the tabernacle, which was called the tabernacle of the testimony (1:50, 53). For forty years the Israelites worked for the keeping of the ark with the tabernacle. The ark with the tabernacle was the meaning of their life. If there had not been an ark, the life of the Israelites would not have had any meaning. Both the ark and the tabernacle were called God's testimony. Since the ark typifies Christ, the meaning of the Israelites' life was to take care of Christ as the testimony of God.
This Christ, who is the meaning of the life of God's people, is God's testimony. In the Old Testament, the testimony refers to the law. The two tablets on which the law was inscribed were called the testimony (Exo. 25:21) and were placed in the ark. Because the testimony was put into the ark, the ark was called the ark of the testimony.
A law is always a testimony of the one who made it. In keeping with this principle, the law of God is a testimony of what God is; it tells us what kind of God our God is. The law tells us that God is love and light and that He is holy and righteous. Love, light, holiness, and righteousness are four of the divine attributes. The law, as a portrait of what God is, typifies Christ as the embodiment of God in all His divine attributes. In Christ we see that God is love and light and that He is holy and righteous. Thus, the New Testament tells us that Christ is the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9). For Christ to be the embodiment of God means that He is the portrait of God, and as such He is the testimony of what God is. Because Christ is the testimony of what God is, He is called "the faithful and true Witness" (Rev. 3:14; 1:5). As God's Witness, Christ bears God's testimony to show us what kind of God He is.
God's people should not only take Christ as the meaning of life but also live a life of testifying Christ. When God's people have this kind of living, Christ becomes their testimony. In Numbers we see Christ as the testimony of God's people.
Christ is also the center of God's people. This is portrayed by the way the children of Israel were encamped around the tabernacle with three tribes on each side. The four camps, each composed of three tribes, and the three families of the tribe of Levi all took the tabernacle with the ark as the center. The children of Israel thus took Christ as the meaning of life, the testimony, and the center. This shows us that as the church today we should take Christ as our meaning of life, our testimony, and our center.
The book of Numbers reveals that this Christ, who is the meaning of our life, our testimony, and our center, is One who is moving, acting, and always proceeding onward. In His proceeding onward, He is our Leader (Matt. 23:10), our way (John 14:6), and our goal (Phil. 3:12-14). To take the lead is to proceed on the way. Today we are taking Christ as our Leader, and we are following Him. He is leading us on His way and toward His goal, both of which are actually Himself. Worldly people have neither a way nor a goal, but we have Christ not only as our Leader but also as our way and our goal.
In the New Testament there is a revelation of Christ in all these aspects, but it is not given there in detail. If we had only the New Testament and not the Old Testament with all its types, we could not see Christ in such a detailed and fine portrait. For a complete view of Christ as the meaning of life, the testimony, the center, and the Leader, the way, and the goal, we need the portrait in the book of Numbers.
For the journey of God's redeemed people and for their fighting, Christ is the meaning of life, the testimony, the center, and the Leader, the way, and the goal. If Christ were not all this to us, there would not be a way for God to gain the ground on earth to build up His kingdom with His house, which eventually will consummate in the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem will be the consummation of God's kingdom and God's house.
The entire Bible shows us one thing — that God's intention is to have a people formed into an army to take Christ as their meaning of life, testimony, center, Leader, way, and goal and to proceed on and fight for God that He may gain the ground on earth and have a people built up as His kingdom and His house, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem.
The book of Numbers has three sections: being formed into an army (1:1—9:14), journeying (9:15—20:29; 21:4-20; 33:1-49), and fighting (21:1-3; 21:21—32:42; 33:50—36:13).
The fulfillment of God's intention to gain a people and to have them formed into an army was not a simple matter. This army was formed with twelve tribes. It is wonderful that Jacob had exactly twelve sons, who became twelve tribes. Among these twelve tribes, Levi was consecrated to God for the service of the tabernacle. As a result, there was the shortage of one tribe. However, this shortage was made up by Joseph's receiving a double portion through his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who filled the gap to keep the number of tribes at twelve. Furthermore, within the consecrated tribe of Levi was the house of Aaron, the priestly house. Levi had three sons who encamped around three sides of the tabernacle. Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons encamped at the front of the tabernacle. Such a camping of the children of Israel in array was marvelous.
Before the children of Israel were formed into an army, the whole earth had been taken over by God's enemy. But in Numbers we see that one race, the race of Israel, was saved, sanctified, and formed and arranged into an army. This was a shame to the enemy.
No human mind could have written a book such as Numbers. There are many other records of the formation of armies, but there is none like the record in Numbers. Only God could write such a record and provide the persons needed to form such an army. The persons in this army take Christ as their everything — their meaning of life, their testimony, their center, and their Leader, their way, and their goal.
