Lost In Translation: Numbers 11-36
A guide to reading and interpreting Numbers 11-36.
Video transcript of Lost in Translation: Numbers 11-36, created by Church of the City:
Welcome back! This is part two of our conversation about the book of Numbers. If you haven’t watched part one yet, be sure to do that first.
In that first episode, we learned a new reading technique that helped us spot connections to Genesis 1–9 in Numbers. We practiced on the first few chapters of movement one and saw how God was shaping Israel into a new Eden.
Today, we’ll keep practicing this way of reading and uncover what God is doing in the second and third movements of Numbers. Let’s get started!
Remember the Rings
Movement two goes from Numbers 11 to 25. In this movement, it’s important to remember how God arranged Israel’s camp to look like Eden. Remember those three concentric circles?
At the center of their camp was the tabernacle, where God’s presence dwelled. Around that were the Levites, tasked with “working and keeping” it. Around them was an outer ring made up of the twelve tribes. This mirrored the layout of Eden: the Tree of Life at the center, the Garden Adam and Eve worked and kept, and the broader land of Eden beyond all that. Those three circles will be important to understanding the second movement of Numbers.
Every circle of Israel is about to be tested. In fact, there are seven testing stories in this second movement.
Let’s look at just three of them, paying attention to which circle is being tested.
Movement Two: In The Wilderness
Test 1: The Spies and the Outer Ring (Numbers 13–15)
Let’s look at the test found in Numbers 13-15.
Moses sends twelve spies—leaders from each tribe—to scout the land God is giving them. He instructs them to SEE whether the land is GOOD or BAD and to bring back some of its FRUIT. This echoes Genesis 3, where Adam and Eve “saw” that the “fruit” of the tree was “good.”
The spies return with good fruit but bad news.
Ten of the spies report that the land is too dangerous for Israel to live in. The descendants of the Nephilim, the rebellious warriors, are already living in it. Do you hear the echoes of Genesis here? There was already a rebellious creature living in the Garden when Adam arrived too. That creature led Adam and Eve to distrust God.
Two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, are unafraid and urge Israel to trust God. They’re confident that God’s presence and protection will go with them into the new land.
The tribes of Israel are facing a test. A test is an opportunity to trust God or go our own way. Israel fails this test, refusing to enter the land God has provided.
When Adam and Eve failed their test, they were exiled from Eden and sent into the wilderness. What happens when Israel fails theirs? The spies scouted in the land for forty days, and now Israel will spend forty years outside the land, living in the wilderness until their entire rebellious generation dies off— except for Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua.
And we hear the familiar melody of the Genesis flood, when the rebels perished in the forty-day downpour, but a righteous remnant was preserved to enter a new land of abundance.
So, in this story, the outer circle of Israel was tested: the twelve tribes. When they failed their test God responded with both justice and mercy.
Test 2: The Levites and the Middle Ring (Numbers 16–19)
Now, let’s look at a second test, paying attention to which circle it’s affecting. This test is found in Numbers 16-19.
A group of Levites serving as the property management team for the tabernacle wants to be high priests instead. They unleash on Aaron and Moses, even though it was God who gave them their important role and chose Aaron as high priest. This is a test, an opportunity to trust God or go their own way.
Do you hear any notes from Genesis 1-9?
I hear Genesis 4, when God favored Abel over his brother Cain and jealousy festered into rebellion.
Read the rest of the story yourself to find out how God responds. Listen for a few more echoes of the Cain and Abel story and the purifying flood. What is the ground doing in these stories? What sign does God give as a reminder of His justice and mercy? Listen closely.
Now, the first test was for the outer ring of Israel—the twelve tribes. But this second test was for the middle circle of Israel—the Levites. Who do you expect to be tested next?
Test 3: Moses and the Inner Ring (Numbers 20)
The next test comes in Numbers 20. Israel has been in the wilderness for 38 years. Nearly every rebel has died. It’s almost time to enter the promised land.
But there’s a problem. There’s no water, the people are tired of eating manna and quail, and they’re turning on Moses—just as their parents and grandparents did years before.
God gives Moses clear instructions to (1)take his staff, (2)gather the people in front of a rock, (3)speak to that rock, and God will provide water.
Moses takes his staff, just as God instructed. He gathers the people, just as God instructed.
But then, instead of speaking to the rock as God instructed, he speaks to the people—chastising them and taking credit for the miracle God is about to perform. Then, Moses strikes the rock twice with his staff. Water gushes out, enough for the people and their animals.
This is a test of the innermost circle. Moses is the man who meets with God face to face inside the tabernacle at the center of the camp. Moses fails to trust God’s instructions and chooses to go his own way. God responds with justice and mercy. Moses won’t be allowed to lead Israel into the new land, but mercifully spares his life and provides for him in the wilderness.
In the beginning, God’s commands brought life to a wilderness, transforming it into a garden. When Adam and Eve failed to follow God’s command, their lives were spared, but they were sentenced to life in the wilderness. But even there, God mercifully provided for them.
In the first movement of Numbers, God recreated Israel to be a new Eden. In the second movement, the new Eden is tested and fails at every level, receiving God’s justice and mercy.
As you read the rest of this movement on your own, look for the connections to Genesis 1-9 and the pattern of testing, failure, justice, and mercy.
Now, let’s look at a small sample of movement three of Numbers together.
Movement Three: Preparing to Enter the New Land
In the third movement of Numbers, chapters 26–36, Israel is at the border of the new land, preparing to cross the Jordan into Eden-like abundance on the West side.
A New Census (Numbers 26)
It begins with a census in Numbers 26, pointing again to God’s blessing of humanity to “be fruitful and multiply” in Genesis 1.
The Daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1–11)
Then, in Numbers 27:1-11, we meet the daughters of Zelophehad. Someone has got to start an all-woman band called Daughters of Zelophehad! And I want a t-shirt.
Their father died in the wilderness with the rebel generation. He had no sons, so his daughters ask Moses if they can inherit their father’s portion of the promised land. Look at their faith! They’re certain God is about to give Israel a good land and they want a piece of it!
This has been debated, but some scholars hear notes from Genesis 1 in this story: God created men and women to be his image, to rule and subdue the world together. By granting the daughters’ request, God restores an important part of Eden’s original design: men and women representing God together in a land of abundance.
Joshua: A New Adam (Numbers 27:12–23)
Then, in Numbers 27:12-23, God meets with Moses on a mountain overlooking the promised land he can’t enter. These verses are full of references to Genesis 1–2, but here are just a couple.
Moses calls God “the God who gives breath to all flesh,” which takes us back to God breathing life into Adam. Moses asks God to appoint a new leader who will rule Israel like a shepherd guides his sheep—like Adam and Eve were appointed to rule the beasts on God’s behalf.
Now, we’re going to skip ahead to Numbers 32. But the chapters we’re skipping are packed with more melodies from Genesis 1–9. When you read them on your own, listen closely.
Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh (Numbers 32)
Let’s jump to Numbers 32. As Israel is about to cross the Jordan river into the new land on the West side, two and a half tribes refuse to go. They SEE the land on the east side of the Jordan and say it’s GOOD for their flocks. You recognize that music by now, right?
Moses is furious. He compares these tribes to the rebellious spies from Numbers 13. He warns that they’re about to bring down their whole generation just like those men did.
So these tribes strike a compromise. They agree to cross over with the rest of Israel, help them settle in the new land, and then return to live on the East side of the Jordan. Is this compromise a good thing? What does God think about it? In the book of Numbers, we don’t get a clear answer.
Five hundred years later, we do. In 2 Kings we read about Assyria’s invasion of Israel. The first tribes to fall are the ones that stayed East of the Jordan—the ones closest to Assyria. This invasion is described as a purifying flood, a downpour of justice on God’s rebellious people.
But God is still committed to living with His people in Eden abundance here on earth. So, a remnant is mercifully spared and the story continues.
Recap
So, today we’ve learned how to listen for the music of Genesis 1-9 as we read the book of Numbers. This revealed what God was doing in all three movements of the book.
In movement one, God recreated Israel as a new Eden.
In the second movement, every circle of this new Eden community was tested and failed. God responded with purifying justice and merciful provision.
In the final movement, God once again recreated Israel to be a new Eden in a new land. God blessed Israel to be fruitful and multiply. God restored His original design for Eden—men and women ruling creation together. God provided a new and faithful shepherd to guide his people like sheep to new pastures. God lead his people away from danger and death to abundance and life.
And that’s the book of Numbers. Thank you for joining me. See you next time.
