Rev. David Holwick T Make It Count, #1
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
June 5, 2011
Numbers 1:1-3,41-46
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I. The demise of phone books.
A. Internet has killed them off.
1) Our new one, thrown on the sidewalk, is absolutely dinky.
a) (compare old and new sizes)
2) It would be the passing of an icon.
a) It contains important information but is very boring.
b) You don't take a phone book into the bathroom.
B. Numbers is the phone book of the Bible.
1) Its very name sounds boring - Numbers.
a) Numbers are more boring than those genealogies that go
"Uzziah begat Zedekiah...."
b) In addition to numbers, it has lists of campsites,
repetitive lists of offerings (the single longest
chapter in the Bible) and other mundane stuff.
2) But like a phone book, Numbers is important.
a) For Jews, it is one of the books of Torah, the core
of the Bible.
b) When the Apostle Paul speaks of the Scripture being
inspired, he was referring to Old Testament books
like this.
c) It requires careful study, because there is a lot of
meat here.
3) The book has had other names.
a) "Numbers" is derived from an ancient Greek translation.
1> It alludes to a census that Moses conducts in the
first four chapters.
b) The Jews usually called it "In the Desert."
1> That is more appropriate, because the events in this
book deal with the period when the Jews wandered
in the Wilderness for 40 years.
C. Numbers matter to God.
1) In this book, it refers to the census of fighting men.
2) Later, it is applied to heaven's membership roll.
3) There are some numbers you definitely want to be included in.
II. Numbers contains some big numbers. Too big?
A. The number of military-aged men suggests a big population.
1) It would require two to three million people.
a) This would be a huge population for the ancient world.
b) Many think it is way too large to describe a group that
lives in Egypt and then moves to Israel.
1> They wouldn't be able to find enough food and water.
2> Could they all cross the Red Sea in a single day?
3> Archaeologists would see more evidence of these
people than they do.
2) The Bible itself hints at a smaller population.
a) In Deuteronomy 7;7, Moses describes the people of
Israel as "the fewest of all peoples."
b) And Exodus mentions the Hebrew midwives by name - both
of them. They would have been very busy women!
B. Various solutions have been proposed.
1) The numbers have been corrupted.
a) Parallel passages in the Bible show this happens.
1> 2 Samuel 10:18 speaks of 700 chariots.
2> A parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 19:18 has 7,000.
b) But in this book, multiple numbers would have to be
corrupted to get a "manageable" population number.
2) The numbers have been misunderstood.
a) The word thousand (elep) can also mean a military unit,
and most of them would have less than 1,000 men.
b) So a number like Judah's 74,800 (1:27) would mean
74 units with 800 men.
c) However, the totals show that the number are not
composites like this.
d) Did ancient copyists misunderstand the numbers and
come up with the totals themselves? No evidence.
3) The numbers are symbolic.
a) All of the tribal numbers seem to be rounded.
b) 600,000 would be 12 tribes with 50,000 men each.
c) Have the literal numbers been multiplied ten-fold to
emphasize God's power?
4) The numbers are literal.
a) The addition works.
b) The ancient Hebrew manuscripts are in agreement.
c) The collection of atonement money in Exodus 38 is
enough to cover over 600,000 men.
d) Ultimately, the numbers require supernatural help.
1> They wouldn't find enough food and water - unless
God stepped in and provided it for them.
2> This is exactly what the Bible says he did.
III. Numbers is far more than numbers.
A. It is the story of Israel's rebellion in the desert.
1) It presents the middle of the salvation story.
a) The beginning is the great deliverance from Egypt.
b) The ending is the conquest of the Promised Land.
2) The middle is where many of us are.
a) The excitement of salvation has worn off.
b) You have seen a lot of spiritual failure around you.
1> Perhaps you have failed a lot yourself.
c) But even in the failures, God teaches us and leads us.
1> If we really belong to him, he doesn't give up on us.
B. The Book of Numbers gives a warning to us. 1 Cor 10
1) When God's people disobey, they will be punished.
a) Paul summarizes this lesson in 1 Corinthians 10.
1> Many of his points are drawn from Numbers.
2> He begins with positive experiences.
3> He ends with what they did wrong.
4> His conclusion - don't be like them!
b) Keep in mind that of those 603,550 fighting men counted
in Numbers chapter 1, only two entered the Promised
Land.
1> The rest died in the desert.
2> It is not for nothing that Jesus himself said the
road to heaven is narrow while the road to hell
is broad and popular. Matt 7:13-14
2) But if we follow God, he will provide for us and give us
direction in life.
a) Overall, Numbers challenges us to live a confident life
of faith.
C. Numbers also contains a secret.
1) While it is not explicit, the book points to Christ.
2) Paul sees baptism and communion revealed in the crossing
of the Red Sea and the manna from heaven.
3) He even says the rock that gushed out water for them was
a type of Christ.
IV. God still counts people today.
A. Moses' census became the foundation for church membership.
1) Our church clerk takes a head count every January.
a) Her numbers are not exaggerated.
2) Like the Jews, each member should be a soldier for Christ.
3) Are you numbered with us?
B. There is also a census for heaven. Exodus 32:32
1) Moses speaks of a heavenly list of the redeemed.
a) (This is alluded to in the song "When the Roll Is
Called Up Yonder.)
b) In the New Testament it is called the Book of Life.
1> According to Rev. 20:12, only those recorded in the
Book of Life are allowed into God's Kingdom.
2> The rest will be judged by other books, which
contain a list of their deeds.
3> We can never do enough to be saved, but we have all
done enough to be condemned.
2) How do we get in the Book of Life?
a) Ultimately, God has to write you in it.
b) The Lamb of God - Jesus - is in charge of the Book.
Rev 13:8
c) If you feel a yearning to know God and belong to him,
recognize you are a sinner and the need to be
cleaned, then this could be the sign God has
chosen you.
C. You are more than a number to God.
1) Jesus says God cares about you more than anything else in
his creation.
2) God knows how many hairs are on your head.
3) He wants you to be saved. Are you?
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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