This post is a study guide under development. It is designed to accompany St. John’s teaching series on the Book of Numbers and includes notes from our preaching team and links to extra resources. The series will run from August to mid-Sept with a month-long break (while we consider some practical pastoral skills) then recommence in mid-October to conclude in time for Advent 2024 (early December).

– Mike Flynn (Vicar)

Our series is:

You can use links in the table of contents below to jump to different parts of these study notes. The notes now also include links to the relevant audio recordings from our worship services.

Why does the Book of Numbers matter?

The Book of Numbers is called ‘In the Wilderness’ in its original language.  Our name comes from the census lists for the army and Levites of the old generation in chapters 1-4 and the new generation in chapter 26. 

In the gospels of the New Testament, Numbers is about Jesus. He is described as the new Israel (Matthew 2:15), who comes through water (1 Corinthians 10:2, Matthew 2:13-17), is tested in the wilderness (40 days, a parallel of 40 years in Numbers. Matthew 4, Luke 4) but, unlike Israel, he does not fail. He is the lawgiver like Moses (Matthew 7:28-29), the lifegiving serpent (John 3:14, referencing Numbers 21:8,9), the water of life (John 4:10, Numbers 20), the greater prophet that Moses and the bread (manna) from heaven (John 6:14, 26-58). He is the gracious glory of God living amongst us (John 1:14-18, Numbers 9:15-23) as well as the greater sacrifice that God brings as an offering for the wrongs of the world (John 1:29, Mark 15:37-39).

No wonder John wrote of Jesus: “For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God, the one and only who is at the Father’s side, has made him known (literally: explained or exposited God. John 1:17,18).”

In the New Testament letters, the book of Numbers is used to warn and encourage God’s people. On the warning side, the apostle Paul expects the new Christians in Corinth to know the book and to apply its lessons to their own lives. He writes: “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11-13). Jude says the false teachers of his day are committing the wrongs found in Numbers (Jude 5, 8, 11). Hebrews uses the example of the Exodus generation in Numbers to warn Christians about failing to enter the heavenly rest through the same disobedience (Hebrews 3:7-4:13).

On the encouragement side, after Jesus’ ascension, the church in the New Testament is associated with the titles and history of God’s people that were also associated with Jesus. So the church is, like ancient Israel, a people scattered amongst the nations following exile (e.g. James 1:1, 1 Peter 1:1). The church is also like the people of God standing on the edge of the promised land in Numbers and Deuteronomy (e.g. Hebrews 3 & 4, Ephesians 1:3-10) and alien wanderers in a wilderness (1 Peter 2:11, Hebrews 13:12-14, Ephesians 2:1-20). Because of the stunning grace of God in Jesus, the church is now the dwelling place of God (Ephesians 2:19-22) and is called to offer spiritual sacrifices as a royal priesthood, a chosen people, a holy nation (1 Peter 2:4-10). These are all ideas that live in the Book of Numbers.

All of this is in keeping with the New Testament teaching that the Old Testament is the word of God for followers of Christ. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. (Romans 15:4). And Jesus’ words, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them… ” (Matthew 5:17-19)

In other words, Numbers is for us but Numbers is also about us. If we do not hear God and obey him in trust we will be like the Exodus generation who missed out on the abundance they had been promised. If we live by faith in God and not fear of the world, we will be like the new generation who in hope and obedience entered the land of promise.

Where does Numbers fit in the Bible?

Genesis – From creation, fall, curse and flood to the promise of redemption

  • Adam & Eve, Cain, Noah, Babel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph

Exodus – From Egypt to Sinai – redemption, rebellion & grace

  • Moses, Pharaoh, Passover, Exodus, Golden Calf, Levites, Worship & Law

Leviticus – At Sinai – law & grace

  • Sacrifices for sin, cleansing, praise. Purity in life. Seven Ceremonies of grace & creation

Numbers – In the wilderness to the edge of the promised land

  • Military, Grumbling, Spies, Rebellion & wandering, Leaders, Plague, Balaam, The settled life 

Deuteronomy – On the plains of Moab – grace & work

  • Warning and encouragement. “I set before you life and death”

How do we get an overview of Numbers?

The mixture of laws and stories in Numbers has presented a challenge for commentators trying to work out the structure of the book. However, there are complementary overviews of Numbers that most of us can hold together. There is a theme in the rebellion and death of the Exodus generation and the encouragement and hope of the new generation who will enter the promised land. This theme ultimately helps make sense of the mix of laws and stories. There are also the travels of the Israelites, the preparations for those travels, the significant places they stop and, of course, the memorable events that happen on their travels. 

If we look at how the rest of the Bible uses Numbers, it is the themes of Numbers that are applied to people in different times. The details and places of the journey are markers and memory aids for where significant events occurred. So, for example: Psalm 95:8,9 says:

“Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.”

The Psalm applies the theme of hardness of heart to worshippers hundreds of years after the events recalled by the locations, Meribah and Massah.

Here is a link to a helpful cartoon overview of the book of Numbers by The Bible Project team:

What are some of the theological themes in Numbers?

While we cannot apply the circumstances of Numbers to our own lives we can apply the theological and personal themes to ourselves just as later Biblical writers also do. This is because the God we serve is the same God the people in Moses’ day served (2 Corinthians 1:20, 2 Timothy 2:13) and because of the temptations God’s people faced in the we also face (1 Corinthians 10:12-13).

Here are some themes in Numbers:

  • Who God is – the joy and danger of the presence of God in every aspect of life
  • Grace – the persistence and enormous patience of God in pursuing his promises
  • Judgement – the warning that God will give us what we want and that we will live with the consequences of our wrongs
  • Who we are – the wilderness is a place that is not our final home, a place of journey and testing, not completion
  • Discipleship – the rules on purity, vows and worship are Old Testament symbols of things that remain for anyone who is a child of God. We are called to imitate God
  • Boundaries – between the old (rebellious) and new (faithful) generations, the people of God and others, life with order and death with rebellion, God’s holiness and our sin, leaders and followers, wilderness and the promised land, in worship (clean, unclean), what is blessed and what is cursed, intentional wrong (sin with a high hand) and accidental wrong, judgement and forgiveness.
  • Ritual – truths expressed visibly and practically
  • The land – a resting place remains for the people of God. The land was a promise to Abraham as well as the world (Genesis 12:1-3)

For further thought

  1. Numbers is a foreign setting for us but how are its themes (above) relevant now?
  2. Read Hebrews 3:7-4:13. This is one Biblical explanation of some of the events described in Numbers. How could this be relevant to us today?
  3. Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-22. How has Paul applied the example of Numbers to the Corinthian church?
  4. How would you apply those lessons to us today?

Numbers 1 | In the wilderness

Map of the journey

The journey could have taken two weeks (on foot) but instead lasted 40 years owing to the fear-filled rebellion of the generation who had witnessed God’s stunning victories over ancient Egyptian power. It was left to their children to inherit the land God had promised to Abraham.

Diagram of the Tabernacle

In the surrounding cultures, the tent of a King marching with his army was protected by his guard in the centre of a military camp. In Numbers the King (God) can defend himself and the caution is for those who would approach him unprepared or unqualified to do so.

Plan of the camp

The plan of the camp is symbolic. The King, God, sits in the central place, enthroned above the ark in the holy of holies. Around the Tabernacle were the camps of the Levite priests, preventing ordinary Israelites from entering God’s presence without careful preparation. After the Levites are the tribes of Israel in battle order. Outside the camp lived the unclean in a form of quarantine. These were sufferers of skin diseases or discharges.

The book of Numbers begins with a census of the army of the generation of God’s people who came out of Egypt. This is significant given that many years prior the Israelites had been persecuted and oppressed by Egyptian military strength and pursued out of Egypt by Pharaoh’s army (Exodus 14). Now, as a people under God, they can organise their own military and face their enemies.

The marshal setting is also a clue to the type of laws and discipline that follow. If Deuteronomy’s laws look forward to a settled and peaceful existence in the land, the laws of Numbers are designed around the realities of travelling through hostile territory.

The details given in the Book of Numbers (artworks, form of camp organisation, style of oracles and laws and even the boundaries of territories) correspond to details from surrounding cultures of the 15th to 13th centuries BC.

For further thought

  1. Christians are seen as being on a journey in hostile territory (e.g. John 17:16; Romans 12:1,2; Ephesians 6:10-20; Colossians 3:1-17; Hebrews 4:1-11; 1 John 3:1-3) Choose one of the passages just listed and describe from it the battles God’s people face now?
  2. How should we prepare for these battles?
  3. Numbers is written for a nation but the people of God are now scattered amongst the nations (James 1:1, 1 Peter 1:1) how does this change the idea of Christian political or even military action?
  4. In Revelation 21:10, the heavenly Jerusalem is patterned after the military camp and Tabernacle in Numbers as it invades the whole earth. What are the differences between the Israelite invasion of Canaan and the final coming of the Kingdom of God?

Audio | Numbers 1| In the Wilderness – Mike Flynn (4th of August 2024)

Numbers 5 | Purity (relationships matter)

(a study by R. Trist)

PREPARE

Reflect on a time when you were wronged in a relationship. What was its impact on you and others?

READ

Numbers 5:1–31

EXPLORE

Right relationships were vital for Israel to live out their calling as God’s holy people. Moses spells out just what this means. Clear but challenging guidelines are given. The first relates to purity within the camp. Potential dangers are highlighted – infectious skin diseases, bodily discharges, and a decaying body (v 2). The remedy is social distancing (v 3) – not a recent invention! The second set of guidelines deals with unethical financial dealings. If you break promises to others you are being unfaithful to me, says the Lord (v 6). Confession followed by generous restitution must occur (v 7). Finally, the importance of faithfulness in marriage (vs 12–31). How quickly jealousy and suspicion arise when trust is eroded. The ceremony described seems strange to us but ultimately ensures that truth prevails. In a world with few rights for women, innocent wives are protected from ‘the inevitable bias of the male-dominated trial’. God alone can be trusted to be fair. He will guarantee justice to be done. If we are to be salt and light in the world, the right relationships among God’s people are vital (Matthew 5:13–16). Supporting marriages to be faithful and encouraging integrity in financial affairs are practical ways in which we can do this. What might this look like in your church community?

Say to the Israelites, ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty.’ – Numbers 5:6

For further thought

  1. The people of God in the New Testament are the temple of the Holy Spirit. What kind of holiness should be ours? (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
  2. What practical acts of restitution are possible for us now? (5:5-10)
  3. What kinds of vows of holiness or ministry could we make now? (Chapter 6)
  4. How should Christians interpret Aaron’s words in Chapter 6:24-26?
  5. Pray for any broken relationships you know of in your church – for truth and grace to prevail.

Audio | Numbers 5 & 6 |Purity – Richard Trist (11th of August 2024)

Numbers 9 to 11 | Journeys

(based on studies by R. Trist)

We will do well to take this part of Numbers is sections. Let’s start with the themes of chapters 9 and 10.

PREPARE

Reflect on your own Christian journey and how God has guided you along the way. What patterns do you see? Looking back, how do you think God has led you? Looking forward, how could you cooperate better with the Lord?

READ

Numbers 9:1–23 & 10:1-13, 33-36

EXPLORE

It is now 12 months since Israel was rescued from the judgement that passed over homes in Egypt (v 1). The time has come to celebrate God’s miraculous deliverance in the Passover festival. Questions arise about participants. Those who have cared for a dying relative (v 7). Foreigners living amongst them. The answers are uncomplicated. The festival can be celebrated a month later (vs 10,11). Foreigners are welcome to join in (v 14). But what about the future? God reassures the people of his continued presence in the cloud covering the tabernacle. The way ahead may be unclear, but he will show them when they should move on and when they should settle (v 17). Note the number of times we read of ‘the Lord’s command’ (vs 18,19,20,23). The key thing for Israel is to trust in God and obey his guidance. Most Christians experience times when they are bewildered by a lack of God’s guidance. We wonder if he has forgotten us. We struggle to hold on. Yet as one commentator notes, ‘Waiting times are not wasted times’. We can use such times to continue to trust in God. He is ever present with us.

For further thought

  1. Ponder this promise: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart … in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight’ (Proverbs 3:5,6).
  2. Why was the celebration of the Passover an event that the Israelites marching through occupied territory had to get right (see Exodus 13:1-16)?
  3. The Lord’s supper is seen in the New Testament as a reflection and fulfilment of the Passover celebration (e.g. Luke 22:7-23), why is it important for us to also make sure our approach to communion is right (see 1 Corinthians 11:17-34)?

God’s final instructions to Moses at Mount Sinai are to make two trumpets. These will declare that God’s army is ready and on the move. They will call leaders together (v 4), coordinate the tribes as they move (vs 5,6), and sound the attack in battle (v 9). What mixed feelings the Israelites must have had as they set out (v 12,13). Excitement and elation, but perhaps also anxiety and fear. Are we ready for this? Will we manage what lies ahead? Moses’ words give reassurance (v 35). The King of kings is in command. Planning and leadership are vital. But what matters most is the God who leads them. Though the journey is hard, Moses knows that God will keep his promise to Abraham, to give his people a land (Genesis 15:18–21).

For further thought

  1. The New Testament reminds us that we, too, are on a journey and we are not in our final home. We look for the city that is to come (Hebrews 13:14). Like Israel, the way ahead will not be easy, but we have One who has gone ahead. ‘Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…’ (Hebrews 12:1,2). How do Hebrews 12:1-13 & 13:1-17 advise us to do this?
  2. On the last day, God’s people will again be summoned ‘with a loud trumpet call’ and the dead raised ‘imperishable’ (Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:52). Reflect and give thanks.

READ

Numbers 11:1–25 | Leaders

EXPLORE

Being a leader is no easy thing. We see this in Moses’ response to the all-too-familiar complaints of the Israelites. How quickly these people have forgotten all that God has done. They are still looking back to Egypt with rose-coloured glasses (vs 4,5). Moses complains that ‘these people’ are like petulant children, never satisfied (vs 12,13). He feels alone and overwhelmed (v 15). Which of us with leadership responsibilities have not felt the same? Moses’ problem is that he fails to be objective. He thinks that God is displeased with him (v 11). In his despair, he forgets that Israel’s leadership was not his responsibility alone. As one writer observes, ‘The trouble with depression is that it maximises the problems and minimises the resources.’ A lesson for us all. The Lord answers Moses’ prayer. He empowers seventy elders with the spirit to share Moses’ burden (vs 16,17). Joshua’s objection is overruled by Moses who wishes that all God’s people be filled with the Spirit (vs 28,29). His wish is fulfilled at Pentecost as God’s Spirit is poured out with abundance (Acts 2). As for the people, they get what they demand, plus judgment (vs 31–34). Their craving for food leads to their graves in the desert. Not a great beginning for their journey.

For further thought

  1. Whether you need help to do ministry, or food for the table, bring to God your needs. Here are three notes about leadership from the New Testament (Ephesians 4:9-16, Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 5:1-5), what are the joys and challenges of church leadership? How can we support our leaders?
  2. How can we lead well in our own responsibilities?

Audio | Numbers 9 to 11 | Journeys – Jill Firth (18th of August 2024)

Numbers 12 to 16 | Leadership

The readings set for the worship service are; Numbers 12:1-16 and 16:1-14. These are used as an introduction to the theme of challenges to leadership which begins in Exodus and is amplified in Numbers. A more detailed study of the rebellion in Numbers 13 and 14 is provided in the next study.

Moses’ leadership is challenged…

  • In Exodus

  • With greater intensity in Numbers

What does this mean for

  • Our leaders today?
  • Our people today?
  • Our churches today?

For further thought

  1. Here are references to Moses leadership from Exodus and Numbers [Exodus 1:11-15, 5:19-21; 14:10-14; 15:22-25; 16:1-3; 17:1-4; 32:1. Numbers 11:1-15; 12:1,2; 14:1-10; 16:1-3, 41-50; 17:8-13; 20:1-13] In what ways are the challenges to Moses’ leadership more intense in Numbers than in Exodus?
  2. What are the apparent reasons and the true reasons for the leadership challenges in Numbers 11, 12, 14 and 16?
  3. How are similar motives used to criticise or challenge church leaders in our time?
  4. How does this help or hinder the mission of the church?
  5. Reflect on these instructions to church leaders and congregations – 1 Peter 5:1-7; Hebrews 13:13.

Audio | Numbers 12 to 16 | Leadership – Mike Flynn (25th of August 2024)

Numbers 13:26-14:23 | Rebellion

The task of the spies and their field trip reports

The choice: Fear vs. Faith

The consequences

What can we learn from this?

        —the real issue

        —both a warning and a promise

For further thought

  1. In what areas of our life do we find it most difficult to trust God?
  2. What was meant to be the nature of the spies’ mission (13:17-20)? When they gave their report on the promised land, what did they focus on (13:27-29, 31-33)?
  3. What did the Israelites think was the solution to their fears (14:2-4)? 
  4. How do Joshua and Caleb seek to encourage the Israelites (13:30; 14:6-9)?
  5. How does God plan to judge the Israelites and yet still remain faithful to his promises to Abraham? (14:10-12) 
  6. What strikes you about Moses’ appeal on behalf of the Israelites? (14:13-19)?
  7. Who will not enter the promised land and who will not (14:20-35)?
  8. What does this tell us about forgiveness and consequences?
  9. What do you think was the real issue for the spies in spreading their ‘fake news’?
  10. Read Hebrews 3:7-19 and 1 Cor 10:1-13. How do these NT passages apply this incident in Numbers to Christians today? 

Audio | Numbers 13 & 14 | Rebellion – Lindsay Wilson (1st of September 2024)

Numbers 17 & 18 | Mediators

Gordon J. Wenham, Exploring the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 1 (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2003), page 104.

  1. Complex Biblical Reality
  2. Who chooses what is best?
  3. Choose have consequences
  4. A call to ministry today?

For further thought

  1. What differences can you discern between leadership and priestly service in the OT and ministry in the NT? 
  2. Explore the roles of Aaron and the Levites as described in these chapters (17 and 18).
  3. How is this a contrast to, or continuation of, the role as exercised in Numbers 16? 
  4. How does the life and unique priesthood of Jesus change our views of ministry in the NT and in the church today?
  5. Some of what we read in Numbers 17 seems fantastical.  What are we to make of this?
  6. What challenges you as you read this part of Numbers? What encourages you?

and/ or

  1. What is signified by Aaron’s staff budding and even blossoming? How would this get rid of the Israelites’ constant grumbling against Moses (17:5, 10) and be ‘a sign to the rebellious’ (17:10)? 
  2. How does chapter 17 build on the challenges to Moses and Aaron which we have seen in chapter 16?
  3. What did the people realise in 17:12–13?
  4. What is the significance of chapter 17 for us today, since there are no longer any OT priests, and we are not Israelites?
  5. What responsibility is given to Aaron, his sons, and the Levites (18:1-5)?
  6. Why could not the Levites also act as priests (18:5-7)? What was the role of the priest (Lev 10:8–11)? Why are there special tasks for the priest alone (18:7)?
  7. What do we see in chapters 17–18 about the holiness of God? What is meant by God being holy? How do you understand holiness?

Audio | Numbers 16 & 17| Mediators – Len Firth (9th of September 2024)

Numbers 20 | Meribah

God is the hero of all our stories

  • Turning the page from one generation to the next

Bitterness is blaming others for our decisions

Reacting badly. Facing bitterness with bitterness

  • Shall we bring water from this rock?

Our wilderness test

  • Deuteronomy 8:1-5. To know what is in our hearts

Our hearts

  • Testing the leaders of God’s people today
  • Testing our wilderness churches today
  • Testing our new generation churches today
  • Testing our culture today

God is the hero of all our stories

For further thought

  1. The Bible is full of fallible people, including its greatest leaders. Is this an encouragement or discouragement to you?
  2. Read Exodus 17:1-7. What are the similarities and differences between the first episode of Meribah and the second in Numbers 20:1-13? Why do the details of obedience matter to the Lord? (see, for example, Exodus 39:32).
  3. Psalm 106:32-33 provides a reflection on Moses’ bitterness in Numbers 20. How do Moses’ actions and words indicate that he did not trust God or hold him as holy (separate/distinct) before God’s people?
  4. In Deuteronomy 8: 1-5 Moses reflects that the wilderness hardship was to test the hearts of his people (including Moses). Is the test for God to know what is in our hearts or for his people? How are our churches and church leaders tested today? How can we ensure that God is the hero of our lives and churches now?

Numbers 22 & 23 | Spiritual Warfare 1

Two mistakes we make about the spiritual world

1.God and us

2.Battleground not a playground

Moab & Midian’s war against Israel

-The humbling of Balaam

-The anger of Balak

-The Kingdom God is establishing that no curse will conquer

Two lessons

1. I will build my church

2. Our greatest spiritual enemy

For further thought

There are many stories people tell of uncanny spiritual experiences and the Bible assumes these powers are behind the world and personal events (for example Ephesians 6:10-20, Colossians 1:13-20)

  1. Discuss how our culture has moved from scepticism about these spiritual realities. How does this compare to the experience of other cultures?
  2. The story of Balaam plays out from chapters 22 to 31 of Numbers, it is worth reading the whole story for the plot-twist-reveal at the end. In Numbers 22, why are Moab and Midian hiring someone to curse Israel?
  3. Who is morally acting like a donkey in chapter 22?
  4. How do Balaam’s blessings intensify in chapters 23-24?
  5. Why do you think Balak is anxious to stop Balaam’s prophecies from continuing (24:10,11)? What actually happens? (see 24:9).
  6. How are God’s people blessed and protected now?

Audio | Numbers 22 & 23| Spiritual Warfare 1 – Mike Flynn (20th of Ocotber 2024)

Numbers 24 & 25 | Spiritual Warfare 2

The shock of warfare

The plot twist of Balaam

The religion of Canaan – seductive but vicious

  • false belief
  • faithless lives

The sacrifice of Phineas

  • A strategy that eventually destroyed Israel

The warning of Numbers to us

  • Their mission, our mission

For further thought

  1. These stories from Numbers are as shocking as descriptions of warfare often are and they are meant to be. Why are these stories often used to criticise trust in God? What do these criticisms miss about the context of Numbers or the nature of God’s goodness, justice and holiness?
  2. In 31:15,16 we learn of Balaam’s deceit. How did this method of undermining Israel reappear throughout its history and ultimately lead to Israel’s destruction?
  3. In Numbers 25 the new generation is put to the test – how does the action of Phineas limit destruction in the camp and give the nation hope for the future?
  4. If the Lord is God of the world as it is, how does he use even warfare for his good ends?

Audio | Numbers 24 & 25| Spiritual Warfare 2 – Mike Flynn (3rd of November 2024)

Numbers 27 & 36 | Justice, Women, Eternity

The death of the old generation and the birth of the new

The issue in 27:1–11?

The significance of land

Zelophehad’s daughters

A further issue in 36:1-13

Why is the story split into two?

What do these passages mean for us?

—the value of women

—the importance of fairness—valuing our inheritance as the people of God

For further thought

  1. What was the specific problem in Numbers 27:1-11 and how was it solved?
  2. Since Israel at that time had no land, why would Zelophehad’s daughters raise the issue of inheritance?
  3. What is the nature of the Christian’s inheritance?
  4. What appears to be the motivation of Zelophehad’s daughters? Are they champions of women’s rights? Of justice? Of self-interest? Are they good models for us or not?
  5. What potential problem was raised in chapter 36 by this solution given in chapter 27? 
  6. What do we learn about the 5 daughters in chapter 36?
  7. Do these two passages tell us anything about the way forward for the new generation?

Audio | Numbers 27 & 36 | Justice, Women, Eternity – Lindsay Wilson (10th of November 2024)

Numbers 28 & 29 | The shape of life

Rest & reverence

  • The point of work is rest

The rituals of Numbers teach us that:

  1. Life is a whole
  2. Life requires sacrifice
  3. Life is longing for unseen things
  • Ephesians 1
  • Hebrews 12

For further thought

Numbers 28 & 29 outline for the new generation the minimal responsibilities of the priests and people in the annual rhythm of worship. Q: What do the offerings imply about the state of the land and nation? Q: How does the rhythm of worship over a year unite the people’s lives with the works of God in creation and redemption? Q: Hebrews 10 and 12 compare the laws of Moses with the work of Jesus Christ – can you make a list of the differences? Article 34 in the Anglican prayer book balances the truth that rituals are no longer required to save us with the truth that God is a God of order (1 Corinthians 14:26-33) and we need rituals to encourage our walk with God (e.g. Acts 16:13, 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Revelation 1:10). Q: What are your rituals in life? How do they help or hinder your awareness of the life God has given you in Christ?

Audio | Numbers 28 & 29 | The shape of life – Mike Flynn (17th of November 2024)

Psalm 119 | Your Law is Perfect – a reprise of the book of Numbers.

What have I learnt from Numbers?

Lessons in mercy and judgement

Lessons in blessing and curse

Lessons in reverence and justice

Your law is perfect

For your prayers

An ancient form of bible study was to: 1. Understand the Text. 2. Adore God for what you have learnt. 3. Confess the wrongs the text has highlighted in your life. 4. Ask God for the grace to make up what is lacking. (Text, Adore, Confess, Ask – TACA)

Considering all we have learnt from the book of Numbers – write prayers together using this format based around the headings in the talk outline above. Make sure to use those prayers in individual quiet times in the coming week.

Audio | Psalm 119 | your Law is Perfect. Numbers reprise – Mike Flynn (24th of November 2024)