Numbers

Mitchel Modine

Description

The book of Numbers is a misunderstood book of the Bible. It is about a lot more than just numbers. Rather, it is about the people’s journey with God in the desert. The Hebrew title of the book, Bammidbar, means “In the Desert” indicating that the setting is the most important part of the story. The God who delivered his people from Egypt is the same God who will lead them through the wilderness and give them the Promised Land. But as the book of Numbers shows us, often it is through the experience of being in a desert that God fulfils his purpose. It is the same thing for God’s people today. This commentary opens up the value of this often overlooked Old Testament book to those who find themselves or their churches in a barren place but with the presence of the Lord alongside them.
The Asia Bible Commentary Series empowers Christian believers in Asia to read the Bible from within their respective contexts. Holistic in its approach to the text, each exposition of the biblical books combines exegesis and application. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the Body of Christ in Asia by providing pastoral and contextual exposition of every book of the Bible.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 06 mai 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 3
• EAN13: 9781783684151
• Langue: English

Extrait

The book of Numbers must be one of the least read books in the Bible simply because the title “Numbers” unfortunately sounds rather boring. The book is really about the Israelites’ journey through the desert and their journey from slavery to nationhood as the people of God. Dr Modine’s detailed knowledge of the Old Testament is demonstrated in this helpful commentary. He helps to bring this book alive and brings out lessons which we can apply to discipleship today.
Neville Bartle, DMiss
Former missionary to Papua New Guinea
Mitchel Modine brings out the dynamic spirit of the book of Numbers to challenge readers to pause and think deeper in order to capture its truths and their current relevance.
Jason Valeriano Hallig, PhD
Professor, Asia Graduate School of Theology, Philippines

Numbers
Asia Bible Commentary Series
Mitchel Modine
General Editor
Federico G. Villanueva
Old Testament Consulting Editors
Yohanna Katanacho, Tim Meadowcroft, Joseph Shao
New Testament Consulting Editors
Steve Chang, Andrew Spurgeon, Brian Wintle

© 2018 by Mitchel Modine
Published 2018 by Langham Global Library
an imprint of Langham Publishing
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
Published in partnership with Asia Theological Association
ATA
QCC PO Box 1454 – 1154, Manila, Philippines
www.ataasia.com
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-414-4 Print
978-1-78368-415-1 ePub
978-1-78368-416-8 Mobi
978-1-78368-417-5 PDF
Mitchel Modine has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are from the New International Version, copyright © 2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-78368-414-4
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth and works referenced within this publication or guarantee its technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use, or interpretation of its published content.

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB

To Reynaldo “Raning” De Castro (1941–2017), who counted for more than he ever thought he did.
Contents

Cover


Series Preface


Author’s Preface


Acknowledgments


List of Abbreviations


Introduction


PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP ON THE BOOK OF NUMBERS


READING NUMBERS IN ANCIENT AND MODERN ASIAN CONTEXTS


THE DATE OF NUMBERS


Numbers 1:1–10:10 At Mount Sinai


1:1–4:49 PRELIMINARY MATTERS, OR SETTING THE SCENE


The Importance of Symbols in Christianity: Reflections from the Philippine Context


Sacred Fire in Papua New Guinea


5:1–6:27 THE LAWS OF THE LORD ARE PERFECT


Blessing and Cursing in Tribal Societies


7:1–8:26 CONSECRATION OF THE TABERNACLE


9:1–14 PASSOVER CELEBRATION


9:15–23 THE CLOUD COVERING THE TABERNACLE


10:1–10 THE TWO TRUMPETS


Numbers 10:11–21:3 From Mount Sinai to Mount Hor


OVERVIEW


10:11–36 DEPARTURE


11:1–9 THE PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT FOOD


11:10–15 MOSES’ LAMENT


11:16–30 GOD’S RESPONSE


11:31–35 PROVISION OF QUAIL


12:1–16 DISPUTE IN HAZEROTH


Can God Speak through the Buddha?


13:1–24 SENDING THE SPIES


13:25–14:10 THE SPIES REPORT BACK


14:11–45 MOSES TURNS BACK GOD’S WRATH


15:1–21 INSTRUCTIONS FOR OFFERINGS


15:22–29 ATONEMENT FOR UNINTENTIONAL SINS


15:30–31 PUNISHMENT FOR INTENTIONAL SINS


15:32–36 THE STONING OF A SABBATH BREAKER


Sabbath Observance


15:37–41 FRINGES ON THE GARMENTS


16:1–17:28 THE REBELLION OF KORAH AND ITS AFTERMATH


18:1–32 THE LORD’S CHARGE TO AARON


19:1–10 The Ritual of the Red Heifer


The Red Heifer and Eschatology


19:11–22 Dealing with Corpses


20:1 MIRIAM DIES


20:2–13 THE PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT WATER AND MOSES SINS


20:14–21 THE EDOMITES DENY SAFE PASSAGE


20:22–29 AARON DIES AT MOUNT HOR


21:1–3 THE BATTLE OF HORMAH


Numbers 21:4–36:13 From Mount Hor to the Plains Of Moab


21:4–9 THE PLAGUE OF SNAKES


21:10–20 JOURNEY FROM OBOTH TO MOUNT PISGAH


21:21–32 BATTLE AGAINST KING SIHON OF THE AMORITES


21:33–35 BATTLE AGAINST KING OG OF BASHAN


22:1–24:25 BALAK AND BALAAM


Balaam the Shaman


Can God Speak through a Pig?


25:1–18 A SIN, A SPEAR, AND A SCOURGE


26:1–65 THE SECOND CENSUS


27:1–11 THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD, PART ONE


27:12–23 MOSES LOOKS TO THE FUTURE


28:1–29:40 RULES FOR OFFERINGS


30:1–16 VOWS


31:1–54 REVENGE AGAINST THE MIDIANITES


32:1–42 THE TRANSJORDANIAN TRIBES


33:1–49 RECAPITULATING THE JOURNEY


33:50–35:34 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROMISED LAND ENTRY


36:1–12 THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD, PART TWO


Marriage of Daughters in Nagaland, India


36:13 THE ENDING THAT DOES NOT END


Bibliography


About Asia Theological Association


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Series Preface
In recent years, we have witnessed one of the greatest shifts in the history of world Christianity. It used to be that the majority of Christians lived in the West, but Christians are now evenly distributed around the globe. This shift has implications for the task of interpreting the Bible from within our respective contexts, which is in line with the growing realization that every theology is contextual. Thus, the questions that we bring into our reading of the Bible will be shaped by our present realities as well as our historical and social locations. There is a need therefore to interpret the Bible for our own contexts.
The Asia Bible Commentary (ABC) series addresses this need. In line with the mission of the Asia Theological Association Publications, we have gathered evangelical Bible scholars working among Asians to write commentaries on each book of the Bible. The mission is to “produce resources that are biblical, pastoral, contextual, missional, and prophetic for pastors, Christian leaders, cross-cultural workers, and students in Asia.” Although the Bible can be studied for different reasons, we believe that it is given primarily for the edification of the Body of Christ (2 Tim 3:16–17). The ABC series is designed to help pastors in their sermon preparation, cell group leaders or lay leaders in their Bible study groups, Christian students in their study of the Bible, and Christians in general in their efforts to apply the Bible in their respective contexts.
Each commentary begins with an introduction that provides general information about the book’s author and original context, summarizes the main message or theme of the book, and outlines its potential relevance to a particular Asian context. The introduction is followed by an exposition that combines exegesis and application. Here, we seek to speak to and empower Christians in Asia by using our own stories, parables, poems, and other cultural resources as we expound the Bible.
The Bible is actually Asian in that it comes from ancient West Asia, and there are many similarities between the world of the Bible and traditional Asian cultures. But there are also many differences that we need to explore in some depth. That is why the commentaries also include articles or topics in which we bring specific issues in Asian church, social, and religious contexts into dialogue with relevant issues in the Bible. We do not seek to resolve every tension that emerges but rather to allow the text to illumine the context and vice versa, acknowledging that we do not have all the answers to every mystery.
May the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writers of the