The same God who brought Israel out of
Egyptian slavery and into the Promised Land leads us today through the
wilderness of this world. So much has changed, yet so much remains the same as
we compare their journey to our own. As we prepare to study Leviticus, Numbers,
and Deuteronomy in Bible class next quarter, let’s get the lay of the land.
Where in the Bible would you find …
Note these familiar words and phrases
located in these three great books of Scripture – Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy.
Le 19:18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor
bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your
neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
Nu 6:24 The Lord bless you, and keep you; 25
The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord
lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.
Nu 32:23 “But if you will not do so, behold,
you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.
Dt 6:4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our
God, the Lord is one! 5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words,
which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall
teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your
house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8
“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on
your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house
and on your gates.
Dt 8:3 “He humbled you and let you be
hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers
know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone,
but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
Leviticus:
Because God is Holy
Leviticus: Facts
Name = “pertaining to the Levites.” But …
Moses as inspired human author. Noted 56
times.
Time duration: roughly a month between the
erection of the tabernacle (Ex 40:17) and the departure from Sinai (Num 10:11).
“Holy” (adj., noun, and verb forms) – 152
times.
Because God is holy, we revere and obey Him.
Leviticus 1-5: Offerings
1: Burnt or whole – for sin in general.
Devotion.
2: Grain – b/c all we have belongs to God.
Honor.
3: Peace – for fellowship with God.
Gratitude.
4: Sin – for unintentional neglect. Gravity
of sin.
5: Guilt – for specific sins. Retribution.
First three voluntary; last two required.
Heb 13:15-16; 1 Pet 2:5; Rom 12:1-2
Leviticus 6-27: Highlights
6-10 Priests; Nadab and Abihu’s strange
fire.
11-15 Diet, childbirth, leprosy, discharges.
16 The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
19:9-18 Love your neighbor as yourself.
20:10-21 Sexual immorality.
23 Sabbath, Passover, Firstfruits, Weeks
(Pentecost), Trumpets, Atonement, Booths.
Numbers:
Decisions Determine Destiny
Num 14:33-34
Numbers: Facts
Named for two censuses (Num 1; 26). But …
Time frame: almost 39 years (c. 1444–1405
BC). From the last twenty days at Mt. Sinai, the wanderings round Kadesh
Barnea, and finally the arrival in the plains of Moab in the 40th year.
Two generations (1-14, 21-36), two journeys
(10-14, 21-27), two instructions (5-9, 28-36).
Numbers: Three Stages
1:1-10:10 Sinai: Preparation to Enter Land
Time: 20 days (Cf. 1:1; 10:11)
10:11-21:35 From Sinai to Moab: Failure
Time: 38 years, 3 months, 10 days
22:1-36:13 Plains of Moab: Preparing 2nd Gen’n
Time: c. 5 months
Numbers: Highlights
6 Nazirite vow; “The LORD bless and keep
you.”
11 Complaint; manna; 70 elders; quail;
plague.
12 Miriam and Aaron; Moses’ uniqueness.
13 Spies’ surveillance and report. Joshua,
Caleb.
16-17 Korah’s rebellion; Aaron’s staff buds.
20 Meribah; Moses strikes the rock.
21 The bronze serpent.
22-25 Balak and Balaam; the talking donkey.
27 Joshua as Moses’ successor.
30 Men, women, and vows.
33 Review of Israel’s journey.
35 Cities of refuge.
Numbers was written for us. 1 Cor
10:1-14
Deuteronomy:
Listen, Remember, Obey, and Teach
Dt 1:3 In the fortieth year, on the first
day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to
all that the LORD had commanded him to give to them …
Deuteronomy: Facts
Name = “second law,” repeated for 2nd gener’n.
Author: Moses (Josh 1:7; Jud 3:4; Matt
19:7–9; Jn 5:45–47), now 120 years old.
Place: plains of Moab due east of Jericho
and the Jordan River. Time frame: about one month.
The book was written at the end of the
forty-year period in the wilderness, c. 1405 BC.
God’s Wilderness Survival Guide
Dt 4:9 “Only give heed to
yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget
the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from
your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your
sons and your grandsons.”
Listen, Remember, Obey, and Teach
Moses’ Three-Part Sermon Series
1:1-4:43 REVIEW
“What God Has Done for Israel”
4:44-26:19 REQUIREMENTS
“What God Expects from Israel”
27:1-34:12 REWARD
“What God Will Do for Israel”
Deuteronomy: Highlights
2-3 Defeat of Sihon and Og; historical
solidarity.
5 Ten Commandments (as in Ex 20, 40 yrs
ago).
6:4-9 Shema (Hear); Teach your children.
7 A Chosen People
9 Not Because of Your Righteousness
13 False Teachers
27-28 Curses and Blessings
29-30 Covenant Renewed; Choose Life!
31 Joshua Commissioned
32 Moses’ Song
33 Moses’ Blessing
34 Moses’ Death
Dangers in Deuteronomy
The Danger of Abundance
The Danger of Complacency
The Danger of Paganism
The Danger of Tolerance
The Danger of Contamination
Possible hymns:
In the Desert of Sorrow and Sin
All the Way My Savior Leads Me
The Rock that is Higher Than I
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
To Canaan’s Land I’m on My Way
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