Bible Survey Archives - Page 11 of 25

Surveying the Text: Luke

Joe Harby on November 2, 2014

Introduction

If Mark is the shortest and punchiest of the gospels, Luke is the most detailed and meticulous. Luke claims to have done very careful research (Luke 1:1-4), and everything about this book bears that claim out.

The Texts

“And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them” (Acts 16:9–10).

Some Background on Luke

It may seem odd, in a message summarizing the gospel of Luke, to have the text be from Acts. But when we consider that we are dealing with the collected works of Luke in two volumes, the picture changes somewhat. In this passage, the gospel has not yet come to Europe. Paul was in Troas, and had a dream. In that dream a Macedonian man appeared to him, and summoned him to come over into Macedonia. At that moment, the narrative of Acts suddenly adds the first person plural—we. Luke joins them there, and it is quite possible that he was the Macedonian man in the dream.

Luke was almost certainly a classically educated Gentile. His preface to the gospel of Luke followed the classical style, and his care shows up in many ways and in many details. An educated guess places the composition of Luke at around 60 A.D. and the book of Acts shortly after that. In Col. 4:14, Paul calls Luke the beloved physician, and says that Luke was with him when he wrote Philemon (Phile. v. 24). Paul wrote both those letters in his first imprisonment in Rome, and this agrees with the last two chapters of Acts. At the end of his life, Paul wrote “only Luke is with me” (2 Tim. 4:11). According to an early prologue to his gospel, Luke lived until he was 84, and died in Boeotia in Greece.

Unique Details

There are a number of details about Christ’s life that we would not know if it were not for Luke. These would include the annunciation (1:26-38), the angels appearing to the shepherds (2:1-20), the visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve (2:41-52). These instances would indicate that one of Luke’s sources was Mary, the mother of the Lord. Other unique details would include the raising of the son of the widow of Nain (7:11-17), the parable of the Good Samaritan (10:30-37), the story of the ten lepers (17:11-19), the story of Zacchaeus (19:1-10), and Jesus before Herod (23:6-16).

Marked Emphases of Luke

Luke contains a number of emphases that we do not find in the other gospels. Note that these are not contradictions or disagreements. But they are emphasized and given to us for a reason.

Luke emphasizes the Lord’s ministry to the outcasts of pious society. Not only did Jesus come for the lepers and other losers (Luke 14:12-24), but also for the rich and compromised—tax collectors, soldiers and courtesans. Zacchaeus was not a homeless bum. Never forget that there is more than one way to be an outcast from pious society. One is to be a meth dealer, of course, but the other is to work for the IRS, or to be a Marine colonel in the Pentagon.

In Luke, we see the marked beginning of the very Christian impetus to elevate the status of women, bring them both privilege and respect. There were the women who financed the ministry (Luke 8:1-3). The women were the last at the cross (Luke 23:55) and the first at the tomb (Luke 24:1). And after His resurrection, the Lord appeared to the women first (Luke 24:5-8).

Luke balances, in a wonderful way, the corporate and the individual. He alternates between crowd scenes and individuals in quite a striking way. For example, right after the feeding of the five thousand, we are told of Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ (Luke 9:10-22). Another thing he does is “zoom in on” an individual in the midst of a huge crowd, as he does in the Zacchaeus story.

If you remember to include the book of Acts, it is easy to see that Luke has a particular emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit empowers individuals to speak God’s words throughout both Luke and Acts. This emphasis on the Spirit is likely the reason that Luke’s two volumes are characterized by songs in a way that the other gospel are not.

The Great Quest

The gospel moves in a very straightforward way, left to right, and in literary form, it is a quest. Jesus has a mission to complete, and the importance of the mission is apparent from His infancy on. The word must be fulfilled, the mission must be completed.

There is a long middle section in Luke that the other gospels do not have (Luke 9:51-19:27). “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,” (Luke 9:51). Of course, in the subsequent chapters, He teaches and He heals as He goes, but He is resolutely determined to make it to Jerusalem. The reason for this is that His death and resurrection are the whole point. He goes there in order to fulfill the will of His Father, the will of the Jews, the will of Judas, the will of Herod, the will of the mob, and, of course, His own will. He does this because He is the appointed one, He is the anointed one.

As an aside, note that in the book of Acts we have the same kind of quest—Paul sets his face to go to the same city, Jerusalem, with the full expectation that bad things will happen to him there.

Back to the gospel—the Lord explains all of this after the fact to the disciples He met on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27), and then again in His appearance at Bethany (Luke 24:44-47). The story is set in motion as the shining angels sing to the shepherds (Luke 2:9), and the story is completed with shining angels in the tomb (Luke 24:4).

That same story is continued as the Lord’s disciples fan out across the map in order to tell the story. And as the book of Acts is completed, we are heartened to realize that there is no place in the story where the Spirit is taken up into Heaven. That does not happen, and cannot happen. Everywhere the words of this story are spoken, the Spirit rests upon them. Everywhere we tell people that the Lord fulfilled His mission, we are fulfilling ours.

Surveying the Text: Mark

Joe Harby on October 26, 2014

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Introduction

This is the shortest of the four gospels, but Mark uses a number of devices to make it fly by even faster. This is a gospel of now. This is a gospel that is quite effective in presenting us with a sense of vivid immediacy. Mark uses the historical present tense consistently, he uses abrupt transitions, and he uses the phrase and immediately (euthys) 42 times. Story grip is easy while reading Mark. And in this sense, the hand that grips is the hand that saves. So one of our tasks here is to bring this story to life.

The Text

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1).

Some Background on Mark

Let’s begin with the place of John Mark in Scripture. All the manuscripts we have of this book contain the name of Mark in the title. So what do we know of this man from the pages of Scripture? He was a relative of Barnabas—“Aristarchus my fellow prisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas” (Col. 4:10). We also know that he was son of a certain Mary. “And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying” (Acts 12:12).

Although he was probably from the Dispersion (because of the Latin name Marcus), the family at least had a residence in Jerusalem. This also indicates some measure of wealth (along with the servant girl Rhoda). He worked with Paul for a time. “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark” (Acts 12:25). When they left Antioch, “they had also John to their minister” (Acts 13:5). This was on the first recorded missionary journey of Paul.

John Mark was the occasion for a falling out between Paul and Barnabas. “And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work” (Acts 15:37-38). The next verse records a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over this, resulting in them going in different directions. The good news is that Mark was reconciled with Paul later: “Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11). And, “touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him” (Col. 4:10). We are not told who was right in the initial dispute; we are told that it was resolved.

Years later, we know that Mark was with Peter at Rome. “The church that is at Babylon

[probably Rome], elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son” (1 Pet. 5:13). As we can see, the relationship between Peter and Mark was very close. It is likely that Mark’s gospel is his rendition of Peter’s account of the life of Christ.

There are other places where John Mark’s presence is hinted at. A few passages in Scripture maybe applied to our writer, although we cannot be dogmatic about it. It is possible that he was the famous rich, young ruler. This Gospel is the only one to record the fact that when Jesus confronted the wealthy young ruler, he “loved him” (Mark 10:21). If this is Mark, then we may obviously conclude that the rich, young ruler was converted later.

He may also have been the one who fled the night Jesus was arrested. In Mark 14:51-52, we find the odd inclusion of an odd detail — a young man who fled naked at the arrest of Christ. This also may be John Mark. Otherwise, it doesn’t appear to have anything to do with anything. If so, it adds a nice touch to the story—the rich young eventually did give up everything.

And last, it appears that John Mark was at least initially in sympathy with the Judaizers. John Mark left the entourage of Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey at the first opportunity after the gospel was preached to Sergius Paulus, a Gentile (Acts 13:13). This may account for the depth of Paul’s opposition to him (Acts 15:39).

We have just a few details about him from church history as well. The historical accounts concerning John Mark are remarkably consistent, and early. First, his nickname—the prologue of an early Latin version of the Gospel records that Mark’s nickname was “stumpy-fingers.” We can only speculate . . . my thought is that it was a lawn mower accident. As indicated earlier, his main source of information was the apostle Peter. This Gospel is written as a collection of Peter’s accounts of the works and teaching of Christ. We learn this from Papias (c. 60-130), bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia, from Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215), and Irenaeus (c. 115-202), who was from Gaul. The church uniformly received this Gospel as apostolic precisely because of its connection to Peter. The early sources are also uniform in telling us that Mark was the founder of the church at Alexandria, and that he was the first bishop there. He died in 62 AD, and was succeeded there by Annianus.

The Son of God is Here

Mark begins his account with an unambiguous statement of the identity of the one is who preached in the gospel. In this setting, the title “Son of God” meant Deity to Jewish ears (John 5:18). We cannot know what Jesus did unless we affirm who He is. The words the beginning are reminiscent of Genesis, and we are hearing the account of a new creation.

Combine Mark’s use of the immediate with his three-fold testimony of the identity of Jesus—one at the beginning, one in the middle, and one at the end of the gospel. The pitch is set in our first verse. This is the gospel of the Son of God. But there are three

epiphanic moments. At the baptism of Christ, the Father says, “You are my
Son . . .” (Mark 1:11). On the Mount of Transfiguration, the voice from the cloud says the same thing again (Mark 9:7). And then, at the moment of His death, the same testimony is confirmed by the Roman centurion (Mark 15:39).

This is primitive gospel preaching. This is Peter’s recollection. This shows that the scope of Mark’s gospel is exactly parallel to the early apostolic message—a message that began with John the Baptist and concluded with the resurrection (Acts 10:36-43; 13:24-37). This is the message, and everywhere it is preached in power, it has immediate effects. Why wouldn’t it? It is an immediate gospel.

Put it all together. Christ is God and Christ is here, now. Will you follow Him?

Surveying the Text: Matthew

Joe Harby on October 19, 2014

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Introduction

We are now continuing with our plan to work through the Bible, a book at a time. We have considered the first five books of the Scriptures, the Pentateuch, and have now come to the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels. Let us begin, as seems normal, with Matthew.

The Text

“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…” (Matt. 5:1–2).

Background to the Gospels

As you know perfectly well, there are four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew and John were the only two gospel writers who were themselves apostles. Mark got his information (according to early church tradition) from Peter, while Luke tells us that he functioned as a researching historian, getting his information from different eyewitnesses and sources.

The early fathers said that Matthew was the first gospel, while modern scholarship generally thinks that Mark was. A good deal of scholarly consternation has been expended on what is known as the synoptic problem. The first three gospels share many similarities, which is why they are grouped together as the “synoptics.” The word refers to them sharing a “common view” of the life of Christ, with John’s account being very different. But the synoptics are also different from one another in very striking ways. The modern notion is that short means early (and Mark is short), and that Matthew and Luke quarried some material from Mark, and some other material from a source called Q (material that Matthew and Luke share, but which Mark does not). Some folks have even written commentaries on Q, a document that cannot actually be said to exist. Scholarship can be a marvelous thing.

Overview of the Text

The theme of Matthew is the royalty of Jesus Christ; He is a teacher/king. He is repeatedly described as sitting while he teaches (Matt. 5:1; 13:2; 15:29; 21:7; 24:3; 25:31), a prerogative of royalty. The kingdom of God is the kingdom of Jesus (Matt. 13:41). The Lord is given royal titles, like Messiah (Matt. 16:13-20) and Son of David (Matt. 1:1-18; 9:27). The son of man is one who will sit on a throne in order to judge the nations (Matt. 19:28; 25:31). The Lord comes into His reign as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, and His regal status is attested by the worship of the magi at the very beginning of the book.

The authority of this royal figure is well-established in the course of the book, and so it is nothing short of astonishing to see how the book culminates in His crucifixion. That is not what we would have expected, given the build-up. But more on this shortly.
The structure of Matthew is straightforward, consisting of an alternating pattern of narrative and discourse, making up five paired sections in all. Each section has narrative followed by a discourse, and each one ends with the phrase “when Jesus had finished these sayings.” The first section is the early years (1-4) and the Sermon on the Mount (5-7). The second is traveling miracles (8-9) and instruction to the disciples on how to behave during itinerant ministry (10). The third section tells us how Jesus collided with the Jews (11-12) and concludes with His parables about the kingdom (13). The fourth gives us a collection of events (14-17) and instruction on life together in community (18). The last section following this pattern is the journey to Jerusalem (19-23) followed by an apocalyptic description of Jerusalem’s end and the end of the world (24-25). The conclusion of the gospel is a separate description of the Lord’s passion and resurrection (26-28).

Christ as Israel

Matthew presents the Lord as the true king of the true Israel, coming into His own as the true Israel. Matthew quotes the last part of Hosea 11:1—out of Egypt I called my son (Matt. 2:15). But that entire verse says this: “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, And called my son out of Egypt.” (Hos. 11:1). Christ escaped from Egypt just as Israel had, but the Pharaoh He escaped from was Herod, and He escaped to the old Egypt from a place that had become the new Egypt. And after that, He was baptized in the Jordan (Matt. 3:13), just as Israel was baptized in the cloud and sea (1 Cor. 10:1-2). After His baptism He spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted—just as Israel had spent forty years being tempted. When His days in the wilderness were completed, He invaded Canaan in order to cast out the new Canaanites—demons.

That generation is described as occupied country. A man who has demons cast out of him is described this way: “Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation” (Matt. 12:45). The men in the tombs were possessed by devils (Matt. 8:28), and Mark tells us they were named Legion—a name applied to occupation forces of the Romans. And Mary Magdalene, a type of both the old Israel and the new, had seven devils cast out of her (Mark 16:9).

Stark Contrasts

The Lord’s famous sermon at the beginning of the book is marked by contrasts—wide gates and narrow ones, true prophets and false prophets, and foolish builders and wise ones. Everything always comes down to a point. Believe or don’t. Repent or don’t. Go left or go right. There are no third options.

The Lord comes to earth at the beginning of the book and leaves for Heaven at the end of it. The nativity happened at night, and the whole place was lit up. The crucifixion happens at midday and the sky is darkened. Jesus was worshipped by nobles from a foreign land as an infant in swaddling clothes and mocked by nobles from His own nation as a crucified man stripped naked.

The King as Suffering Servant

Jesus teaches with complete authority, and is in full command of all the circumstances He encounters. He—literally—walked on water. So then, how are we to account for the way the book ends? If that kind of crash happened to anyone else, we would say it was because he got above himself. But that is not possible here, and so something else is going on. This is the deepest wisdom possible.

We are astonished by the end of Matthew to find that Christ was crucified, but when we come to understand that His blood was the blood of the new covenant, we have already learned that it is royal blood. It was also innocent blood. More than all that, it was conquering blood—not conquered blood.

The Lord came down from a royal throne in Heaven in order to live and die here, but He also comes down from various mountains within the gospel itself in order to be stripped naked, flogged, and nailed to a cross. That is true royalty. That is how a king lives and dies—for His people. And because it was true wisdom, the same king lives for His people, down to the present day.

Surveying the Text: Deuteronomy

Joe Harby on September 7, 2014

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Introduction

Remember that the Exodus happened around 1440 B.C., and the book of Deuteronomy was given at the tail end of the forty years in the wilderness, just a short time prior to the invasion of Canaan. This puts it right around 1400 B.C. The name Deuteronomy refers to a “second giving” of the law. In this book, the second bookend of the law is placed at the very end their wilderness experience. The first giving of the law was at Sinai, forty years before, and now they are reminded of the law again on the plains of Moab.

The Text

“For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it” (Dt. 30:11-14).

Summary of the Text

This book emphasizes the exclusive claims of YHWH, the covenant God of Israel. The book anticipates a central location for worship, once Israel takes the land. Speaking of “the land,” that is a word that is mentioned over a hundred times in this book. Their focus is forward-looking. The laws of this book are very much concerned for the poor. The Ten Commandments are repeated over again, in chapter 5. As we noted in our section on Genesis, this book is one of the most frequently quoted books of the Old Testament in the New. Jesus quotes it frequently—if Jesus had a favorite book, wouldn’t you want to read it? Wouldn’t you want to understand it, and love it?

Division

One of the ancient literary structuring devices is used here, and is called a chiasm. A chiasm is a device that folds a piece of writing in half, with the matching parts found either in contrast or in parallel. So then, if I were to mention apples, grapefruit, mangos, oranges, more mangos, larger grapefruit, and redder apples, I have given you a chiasm— with the hinge of the chiasm being the oranges. That center often represents the point of emphasis.

In skeletal structure, it looks like this:

A.
B.
C.
B’
A’

In the way this chiasm works, you could read A and A’ as one continuous thought, and do the same for B and B’.

A. retrospective look (1-3)
B. A strong exhortation (4-11)
C. The standards of the covenant (12-26)
B’ The covenant ceremonial (27-30)
A’ A prospective look (31-34)

Things to Note About Deuteronomy

We noted, back in Leviticus, that the second greatest commandment in Scripture, the requirement to love your neighbor as yourself, was found there (Lev. 19:18). The first and greatest commandment is found here in Deuteronomy (Dt. 6:45). The Jews called this section the Shema—“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one . . .” The greatest commandment is to love God with everything available to you. That greatest commandment is found in a passage that is talking about covenant education. This being the case, the way many modern Christians take a lackadaisical approach to their children’s education is just chilling. We are called to love and teach our children, not experiment on them. They are given to you as a solemn charge and responsibility, not as a venue for personal laziness. Educating your children properly will be the hardest thing you ever do. It is also the most blessed, the most fruitful.

And all this relates to another feature of Deuteronomy. Of course, the entire Bible is monotheistic, but the book of Deuteronomy is fiercely so. Deuteronomy requires the Israelites to invade Canaan with a war of annihilation—there was to be absolutely no compromise with the gods of the land (2:34; 3:6; 7:1-6, 23-26; 12:1-3; 13:6-18; 16:21-17:7; 20:16-18).

This book did not prevent Israel from falling into various apostasies during her history, but this book did set the pitch for all the prophetic denunciations of those apostasies, and also set the stage for what has been called the Deuteronomic Histories (Joshua through Kings). The prophets and historians of Israel were shaped by this book, down to and including the apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus.

The ferocity of Deuteronomy against the false gods is interestingly matched by its tenderness to the vulnerable—the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow (15:11; 24:14). The Levites, who would not have an inheritance of land, are sometimes included in this (26:13). Some might see an inconsistency in this juxtaposition of ferocity and tenderness, but we should rather see deep consistency. Compromise with false gods is the very worst thing you can do to the poor.

The book requires true loyalty and dedication on the part of Israel, predicts that they will fall away from their loyalty, but also predicts that God in His absolute covenant faithfulness, will bring them back again—which is what He did through Christ. The book concludes with a charge to Joshua—be strong and courageous (31:23). Joshua takes this to heart, because the book of Joshua begins with a reminder of that same charge (Josh. 1:6, 7, 9, 18).

One last thing to note about the book. The New Testament counterpart to Deuteronomy is the book of Hebrews. Consider the content of the books, the placement of the books, and the context of both books.

Jesus in Deuteronomy

The apostle Paul taught us that Christ is the end of the law (end, purpose, telos) for everyone who believes. As we saw in our treatment of Leviticus, the unbelieving heart sees everything as law—either intolerable demand or as a sign post toward the shining path of self-improvement. The believing heart sees Christ in, through, and underneath everything. And not Christ the Judge either, but rather Christ the Savior. We are talking about Jesus, who saves His people from their sins.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed” (Rom. 10:4-11).

Don’t say that the law is up in Heaven. Why? Because Christ has come down to be with us. Don’t say the law is across the sea, far beyond your reach. Why? Because Christ has risen from the dead. What does this mean? It means that Jesus is your law, your life, your morality, the breath in your lungs. Jesus is everything.

Surveying the Text: Numbers

Joe Harby on August 31, 2014

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Introduction

The dates for Numbers encompass the entire 40 years in the wilderness, following the Exodus in 1440 B.C.—and it extends throughout that 40 year period. The name of the book comes from the fact that it contains the results of two censuses.

To the modern reader, the book can seem like something of a jumble. There are narrative sections, there are random laws, there are census lists, there is the prophetic word given by the pagan prophet Balaam, and though he was a true prophet, he was not a true man. But there is a structure to the whole thing.

The Text

“And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived” (Num. 21:5– 9).

Summary of the Text

The two census lists are given prior to two invasions, one abortive and one more effectual. The results of the censuses are roughly the same—around 600,000 fighting men. The people traveled first from Egypt to Sinai, and from Sinai to Kadesh. To invade Canaan from the south would be more natural, and Kadesh was that place. But the people gave way to fear in response to the negative report of the ten spies, and then when they attempted to invade, they were ignominiously defeated. But by the end of the book, they are poised to invade Canaan from the east, across the Jordan, from the plains of Moab. The first travel narrative is found in 9:15-14:45 and the second is found in 20:1-22.

Leadership

One theme of this book has to do with leadership, and challenges to that leadership that arose. You would think that someone who had wrecked Egypt, divided the Red Sea, and drowned Pharaoh, would have a secure spot as a leader. But not so with Moses (16-17). Selfish ambition always blindly takes what the grace of God has given as a starting point.

While Korah’s rebellion was a big deal, there were also challenges to the leadership of Moses that were a little closer to home. Numbers 12 tells us that Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of a “Cushite woman” he had married. This is a bit obscure, but Josephus tells us the back story, and it might even be true. When Moses was still a prince of Egypt, he once besieged a city in Ethiopia named Saba. The queen of that city fell in love with Moses from the city wall, and offered to surrender the city if he married her, which he did. If that were the case, and this woman belatedly showed up in the Israelite camp in the wilderness one day, one can easily imagine how it would disrupt the organizational flow chart, and not to Miriam’s liking.

Purification

Certain things would defile an Israelite ritually, things like childbirth, or a woman’s period, or touching a dead body. They were not moral issues, but they were still designed to teach us holiness. This, not that. Here, not there. Think of them as a gigantic audio/ visual aid. We needed this kind of help (over centuries) to teach us the concept of holiness, walking us toward the concept of ethical holiness, toward the idea of righteousness.

In the sacrifice of the heifer, the priest would burn (among a few other things) the fat of the heifer and some cedar wood (Num. 19:5-6). This made the priest unclean (Num. 19:7). Then a man who was clean (Num. 19:9) would gather up the ashes, and place them outside the camp in a cleanplace, where it would be used by the Israelites in the waters of cleansing. Now soap can be manufactured from wood ash and animal tallow. So the manufacture of soap made you unclean, but the use of it made you clean. Remember what I said about germs. Ritual cleansing also resulted in better hygiene. Cleanliness is next to godliness.

This is the lesson pointed out in Hebrews. “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:13–14).

Balaam and the Star

Numbers also contains the Balaam story. The New Testament tells us that Balaam was an unrighteous man (2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11; Rev. 2:14), and the Israelites killed Balaam when they invaded (Josh 13:22). Piecing the story together, Balaam was a true prophet, but not a true man. He refused to prophesy against Israel, but was apparently the one who gave the king of Moab the shrewd but ungodly advice to use sex against Israel as a weapon. This resulted in the great apostasy at Baal-Peor.

At the same time, we should look carefully at Balaam’s prophecy. “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: There shall come a Star out of Jacob, And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite the corners of Moab, And destroy all the children of Sheth” (Num. 24:17). We should at least consider the possibility that the Magi who came from the east were informed, at least in part, by Balaam’s prophecy. Here is a star prophesied by a non-Hebrew prophet, and they came in response to it.

Jesus in Numbers

Even though God commanded that the bronze serpent be made, and those who looked to it in the time of Moses were acting in true faith, the serpent eventually became a snare. It had acquired the name Nehushtan, and Hezekiah rightly had it destroyed (1 Kings 18:4). Nevertheless, it was a type of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up” (John 3:14).

The people were afflicted (because of their grumbling) with the poison of “fiery serpents.” The word here is related to the word seraph, or seraphim. From this, and the description of the heavenly seraphim (Is. 6:2-3), I take these as some kind of poisonous winged serpent—small dragons. An image of one of these serpents was cast in bronze and impaled on a pole. Anyone who looked on their affliction there was healed of their affliction here.

That Christ uses this image to describe Himself on the cross is simply astonishing. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21). When we look at Christ on the cross, we are looking at the crucifixion of all accusation. What is our snake bite? Is it not accusation? Is it not the sting of the law? Is it not the fact that we are guilty? So look there—there is your guilt, there is your condemnation, there is your poison. Look there and be free.