Numbers 1:1-54
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
2 Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;
3 From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.
4 And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.
5 And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.
6 Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
7 Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
8 Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar.
9 Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon.
10 Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
11 Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni.
12 Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
13 Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran.
14 Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel.a
15 Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan.
16 These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.
17 And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names:
18 And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.
19 As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20 And the children of Reuben, Israel's eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
21 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
22 Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
23 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
24 Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
25 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.
26 Of the children of Judah, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
27 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
28 Of the children of Issachar, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
29 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
30 Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
31 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
32 Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
33 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred.
34 Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
35 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
36 Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
37 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
38 Of the children of Dan, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
39 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
40 Of the children of Asher, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
41 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
42 Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
43 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.
44 These are those that were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers.
45 So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;
46 Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
47 But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.
48 For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying,
49 Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:
50 But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.
51 And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
52 And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts.
53 But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony.
54 And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.
The Old Testament Book of Numbers
In the Desert
Numbers
Marion Adams
About the Book of Numbers
The first 5 books in the Bible are called the ‘5 Books of Moses’. The Book of Numbers is the 4th of these books. The *Hebrew name for these books is the ‘Torah’, which means ‘*Law’. These books are very important. They contain God’s instructions about how his people should live.This book is called ‘Numbers’ because there are many lists of numbers in it. There are two *censuses (Numbers 1:1-4; Numbers chapter 26). These record the numbers of male *Israelites who were over 20 years old. These were all the men who could fight in a battle. Also, there is a list of men and boys over one month old from Levi’s *tribe. The men from Levi’s *tribe did not fight. They helped the priests. There are other lists, too (Numbers 7:10-83; Numbers 28:1 to 29:38; 31:32-52). But these lists are not the most important part of the book.
The *Hebrew name for this book is ‘In the *desert’. This name describes well what the book is about. In fact, the words ‘in the *desert’ are in the first sentence of the book in the *Hebrew language.
The book begins two years after the *Israelites had escaped from the country called Egypt. They had been *slaves there. They had made a camp in the Sinai *desert. God had given the *Law to Moses. They were preparing to go to the *Promised Land.
As they travelled, God was with them. He looked after them. He provided food and drink for them. But the *Israelites complained about life in the *desert. They did not trust God. They did not obey God. So God punished them. They wandered in the *desert for nearly 40 years. All the adults who had left Egypt died in the *desert, except Joshua and Caleb.
However, God did not take the *Promised Land away from the *Israelites. He gave it to their children, who had grown up in the *desert. The first *generation, the adults who had left Egypt, did not enter the *Promised Land. But the second *generation, their children, did enter the *Promised Land. God always does what he has promised.
When the book ends, this second *generation had reached the edge of the *Promised Land.
The book does not just record what happened in the *desert. Also, it contains instructions about how the *Israelites should *worship God. There is information about *purification, *sacrifices, and the duties of priests. Also, there are many lists of names and numbers.
The author of the book
Many people believe that Moses wrote the first 5 books in the Bible (the ‘Torah’, which means ‘*Law’). This includes the Book of Numbers. This is the traditional opinion. There are several reasons to believe this.
1. Moses recorded events that happened. He wrote about them. The *Old Testament records many times that he did this (for example, Numbers 33:1-2; also Exodus 17:14; Exodus 24:4; Exodus 34:27).
2. Moses could write well. He had received a good education. He had lived in the palace of the king of Egypt.
3. Moses was the people’s leader. He saw most of the events in the *desert.
4. The *New Testament records that Moses was the author of the ‘Torah’, the first 5 books of the Bible (for example, Matthew 19:8; John 5:46-47; Romans 10:5).
There are other opinions about who wrote the ‘Torah’ (the first 5 books in the Bible). Some writers think that several people wrote it. They think that some of these people were priests. They think that these people wrote it many centuries after Moses’ death. Probably, they would have used information that Moses provided. This information may have been what Moses wrote. It may have come from stories that people told about these events.
But the ‘Torah’ (the first 5 books in the Bible) is an accurate and true account of what the *Israelites did in the *desert. Also, it is an accurate and true record of the laws that God gave to Moses.
The structure of the book
The book is not one complete story with a beginning, middle and end. It contains many stories about events in the *desert. Also it contains lists, instructions, poems and *prophecies.
It may be easier to study this book if we divide it into three parts. This follows the *Israelites on their journey.
1. The *Israelites at the start of their journey (Chapter s 1-10).
2. The *Israelites travel through the *desert (Chapter s 11-20).
3. The *Israelites prepare to enter the *Promised Land (Chapter s 21-36).
The first part describes what happened at Sinai. The second part describes what happened in the *desert. This was near to a place called Kadesh. The third part describes what happened in the region next to the country called Canaan, the *Promised Land.
What does this book teach us about God?
This book teaches us some very important things about God.
1. God is with us always, if we are his people. He guides and protects us.
God guided the *Israelites by means of a cloud (Numbers 9:15-23). They carried the *Ark with them wherever they went. The *Ark showed them that God was with them always. He protected them from their enemies (Numbers 10:33-36).
2. God wants us to trust him.
God had chosen Moses as the *Israelites’ leader. But they opposed Moses many times. They complained about the food in the *desert (Numbers 11:4-6). They refused to enter the *Promised Land. They believed that the people there were stronger than them. They did not trust God to help them (Numbers Chapter s 13 and 14).
God loved them. But he had to discipline them (to teach or to control, sometimes by means of a punishment) (Numbers 14:26-35). God disciplines those people whom he loves (Hebrews 12:6).
3. There is only one real God. We must *worship him only.
God never allowed the *Israelites to *worship false gods (Numbers chapter 25).
4. God always *keeps his promises.
God had promised to give to the *Israelites their own land. He rescued them from the *Egyptians. He guided them through the *desert. They arrived at the *Promised Land. But they were afraid to enter it.
However, God did not take back his promise. Instead, he gave the *Promised Land to their children.
5. God is *holy.
God is different from people, whom he made. He is good completely. But all people are *sinful. *Sin is like dirt because it spoils our lives. *Sin makes us dirty inside, in our hearts and minds. In other words, it ruins our thoughts, our attitudes and our behaviour.
The *Israelites washed themselves in special ways before they *worshipped God. They made their bodies clean. They offered *sacrifices. They believed that the blood from these *sacrifices washed their *sins away. So they felt *clean inside their hearts. There were many special rules about how to *worship God. All these rules showed that God is *holy.
But we do not need to follow these special rules still. We do not need to kill animals as *sacrifices. God has given us a new way to come to him. That way is by means of his son, that is, Jesus *Christ. When people killed Jesus on a *cross, he became the *sacrifice for our *sins. This *sacrifice was for all people, for all time. Jesus’ blood washes our *sins away. When we believe in Jesus, God forgives our *sins. Jesus suffered the punishment for our *sins.
Jesus is *holy. When we believe in Jesus, God considers us *holy, too. We can come to God at any time, in any place. God is our friend because of what Jesus did.
Chapter s 1-10: The *Israelites at the start of their journey
The *Israelites had camped near Sinai Mountain. They were preparing to travel to the *Promised Land. Before they left, God told Moses to do four things.1. *Celebrate the *Passover (Numbers 9:1-14).
2. Count the soldiers (Numbers chapter 1).
3. Tell each *tribe where to camp round *God’s Tent (Numbers chapter 2).
4. Give duties to the priests (Numbers Chapter s 3 and 4).
This part of the book describes these four things. But the accounts are not in the order that these things happened. The events in Chapter s 7:1 to 9:15 happened before the events in Chapter s 1 to 6. But all these events happened during a period of less than 50 days (Numbers 1:1; Numbers 10:11).
Chapter 1
God’s command to Moses – Numbers 1:1-4
v1 The *LORD spoke to Moses. Moses was in *God’s Tent. The *Israelites were living in the Sinai *desert. It was the first day of the second month during the second year after they had left the country called Egypt.
The *LORD said, v2 ’Make a *census of all the *Israelites’ *clans and families. Register the name of every man v3 who is 20 years old or more. Register every man who can fight in the army. You and Aaron will count them, group by group. v4 Ask one man from each *tribe to help you. These men must be the leaders of their *clans.’
Verse 1 ‘The *LORD spoke to Moses.’ This is a very important sentence. It appears over 80 times in this book. God had chosen Moses to be the *Israelites’ leader. God spoke to Moses. Then, Moses told the people what God had said. Also, Moses spoke to God on behalf of the people.
*God’s Tent was a very special tent. God had told Moses how to build it (Exodus 25:8-27). The *Israelites took it with them on their journey. In the *desert, it was the place where they *worshipped God. It showed them that God was always among them.
It had two rooms. A curtain separated these rooms. The bigger room was called ‘the *Holy Place’. The smaller room was called ‘the *Most Holy Place’. The *Ark was inside this room. The *Ark contained two pieces of stone. God had written his *Law on these pieces of stone (Exodus 34:1). We shall learn more about *God’s Tent in Numbers 9:15-23.
‘It was the first day of the second month during the second year after they had left the country called Egypt’ (verse 1). This verse tells us clearly when these events happened. It reminds us that we are reading about real people and real events. Many writers say that the people left Egypt during the first half of the 13th century *BC. BC is the period of time before Jesus was born.
Verses 2-3 God told Moses to count all the men who were able to fight. This was the purpose of the *census. Also, it showed that every person mattered to God. Moses’ brother Aaron could help him count.
The *Promised Land, which was the country called Canaan, was not empty. The people who lived there would fight the *Israelites. So *Israel needed a strong army.
Moses and Aaron had to count everyone group by group. Families were the smallest groups. There were several people in a family. A *clan consisted of several families. A *tribe consisted of several *clans. The nation called *Israel consisted of 12 *tribes.
Verse 4 The *census was a very big responsibility. One leader from each *tribe had to help Moses and Aaron. It is important for leaders to share responsibilities.
God chooses the helpers – Numbers 1:5-19
v5 ‘These are the names of the men who must help you.
Elizur, Shedeur’s son, from Reuben’s *tribe.
v6 Shelumiel, Zurishaddai’s son, from Simeon’s *tribe.
v7 Nahshon, Amminadab’s son, from Judah’s *tribe.
v8 Nethanel, Zuar’s son, from Issachar’s *tribe.
v9 Eliab, Helon’s son, from Zebulun’s *tribe.
v10 Elishama, Ammihud’s son, from the *tribe of Ephraim, Joseph’s son.
Gamaliel, Pedahzur’s son, from the *tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s son.
v11 Abidan, Gideoni’s son, from Benjamin’s *tribe.
v12 Ahiezer, Ammishaddai’s son, from Dan’s *tribe.
v13 Pagiel, Ocran’s son, from Asher’s *tribe.
v14 Eliasaph, Deuel’s son, from Gad’s *tribe.
v15 Ahira, Enan’s son, from Naphtali’s *tribe.’
v16 God chose these men from among the people. They were the leaders of their *ancestors’ *tribes. They were *Israel’s leaders.
v17 Moses, Aaron and these leaders v18 asked the people to meet together that same day. They registered all the people by *clans and families. They recorded the names of all the men who were 20 years old or older. They counted each one. v19 They obeyed the *LORD’s command to Moses. In this way, Moses counted the people when they were in the Sinai *desert.
Verses 4-9 This list reminds us that this is a book about history. These are the names of real people, with their fathers’ names and their *tribes’ names.
The *Israelites’ *ancestors were Jacob’s sons (Genesis 35:23-26). Each of Jacob’s sons started a *tribe. Each son’s name became the name of his *descendants’ *tribe.
In this list, two half *tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, are there on behalf of Joseph’s *tribe. Levi’s *tribe had a special job to do. So Moses counted them separately (Numbers 3:14-39).
Names were very important to the *Israelites. They chose names carefully. If you knew a person’s name, you knew something about their character.
Apart from the names of the *tribes, there are 24 names in this list. Many of these names have one of the *Hebrew names for God inside them. These *Hebrew names are ‘El’ (God), ‘Shaddai’ (All-Powerful) and ‘Zur’ (Rock). For example, Elishama means ‘My God listens’. Zurishaddai means ‘The All-Powerful God is my Rock (security).’ Often, the *Israelites said that God is like a rock. A rock can be a shelter for people. It can provide security. It can protect people. God does these things for his people.
6 of these names, like Abi (My Father) and Ahi (My Brother), also refer to God. God is like a father and a brother to us.
These names show us that God was very important to the *Israelites. They were very aware of him.
The *census of *Israel’s soldiers – Numbers 1:20-46
v20-v46 They counted the men from each *tribe who were 20 years old or older. These men were able to fight in *Israel’s army.
46 500 men from the *tribe of Jacob’s oldest son, Reuben.
59 300 men from Simeon’s *tribe.
45 650 men from Gad’s *tribe.
74 600 men from Judah’s *tribe.
54 400 men from Issachar’s *tribe.
57 400 men from Zebulun’s *tribe.
40 500 men from the *tribe of Ephraim, Joseph’s son.
32 200 men from the *tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s son.
35 400 men from Benjamin’s *tribe.
62 700 men from Dan’s *tribe.
41 500 men from Asher’s *tribe.
53 400 men from Naphtali’s *tribe.
Moses, Aaron and the 12 leaders counted all these men. They registered each man’s name by his *clan and family. The total number of men was 603 550.
Verses 20-46 There were 603 550 strong, healthy men who were 20 years old or older. This number does not include women, girls, boys under 20 years old, old people or ill people. It does not include Levi’s *tribe. Levi’s *tribe were not soldiers. They had a different job to do. So Moses counted them later.
This means that there were between two and five million people in the camp. This was a very large group of people.
God gives a special job to Levi’s *tribe – Numbers 1:47-54
v47 Moses did not count the families in Levi’s *tribe when he registered the other *tribes. v48 The *LORD had said to him, v49 ‘Do not include Levi’s *tribe in this *census of the *Israelites. v50 Instead, Levi’s *tribe must be responsible for *God’s Tent. They must look after everything that is in it. They must take care of it. They must camp round it. And they must carry it whenever you move the *Israelites’ camp. v51 Whenever you leave a place, Levi’s *tribe must take apart *God’s Tent. When you arrive at a new place, Levi’s *tribe must put *God’s Tent together again. If anyone from another *tribe comes near to *God’s Tent, that person will die. v52 All the other *tribes must camp in their own groups, with their own flags. v53 But Levi’s *tribe must camp round *God’s Tent. They must look after it. They must not let people go near to it. If people go near to it, I shall be very angry with the *Israelites.’
v54 The *Israelites did everything that God ordered Moses to do.
Verses 47-54 God did not want Levi’s *tribe to be soldiers. They had a different job. It was a very important job. They had to look after *God’s Tent.
Levi was Jacob’s third son (Genesis 29:34). Levi had three sons. Their names were Gershon, Kohath and Merari (Genesis 46:11). Moses and Aaron were Kohath’s *descendants (Numbers 3:14-24). Aaron was the first *High Priest. The *High Priest had the most important duties in *God’s Tent. Aaron’s sons were priests. They helped Aaron. Men from Levi’s *tribe helped the priests to do their duties. The *High Priest was their leader. They had to carry the parts of *God’s Tent whenever the *Israelites travelled. Men from Levi’s *tribe had to put the parts together again when the *Israelites stopped to camp.
Also, Levi’s *tribe had to look after *God’s Tent. It was the most important place in the camp. God is everywhere. But he was in *God’s Tent in a special way. The priests *worshipped God there. It was a very *holy place. The *Israelites had to respect it. If they came too near to it, they would die.
God is good completely. But every person has *sinned. So, in order to come close to God, the *Israelites had to offer *sacrifices.
But it is different for us. *Christians can be close to God. This is not because we do good things. It is because Jesus, God’s son, suffered the punishment for our *sins on our behalf. Jesus was the perfect *sacrifice. So we do not need to offer *sacrifices of animals. Jesus’ blood takes away all our *sins and makes us *clean inside our hearts. We must confess our *sins to God, so that he will forgive us. We must believe that Jesus died on our behalf. And we must invite him into our lives. We can come and talk to God at any time. God invites us to come close to him! (Hebrews chapter 10).
Only Levi’s *tribe served God in his *holy Tent. They belonged to God in a special way. But, because of Jesus’ *sacrifice, all *Christians belong to God in a special way, like priests (1 Peter 2:5).
But the events in this book happened many centuries before Jesus came. So Levi’s *tribe had to make sure that the *Israelites respected *God’s Tent.
The people did everything that God wanted (verse 54). They obeyed him completely. But they did not obey him afterwards. The rest of the book emphasises this.
Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.Law ~ the rules that God gave to Moses for the *Jews.
census ~ an official list which records the number of people in a particular place.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
desert ~ a dry region, or a region where there is just a little water. A few wild plants are able to grow in some deserts. So people who are travelling can live in these deserts in their tents. And they can lead animals through the desert. The Israelites lived in a desert for nearly 40 years.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
'Promised Land ~ the country that God promised to give to Abraham and his *descendants.worship ~ to give honour to God and to thank him. Sometimes, people worship false gods.'purify/purification ~ to make something or someone clean.
clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.
'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible; the *Jews’ holy book. The writers wrote this before the life of Jesus.'New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus on the earth. It is about the things that Jesus did. And it is about the things that he taught. It is also about the *church and what *Christians should believe.'prophecy/prophecies ~ words and messages from God.Ark ~ a wooden box that contained things that were special to the Israelites. God said that he would meet his people at the Ark. It was a *symbol that God was there in a special way.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
holy ~ what God is like. God’s character: perfect, completely good with nothing bad in it. Separate from sin.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.
Christ ~ a title for Jesus. It means ‘the person whom God anointed’. This means that God chose him to save us from the results of our sins.
anoint ~ to pour oil over a person. This shows that God has chosen that person for a special purpose.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
cross ~ two pieces of wood that someone has fixed together. The Romans fixed people to a cross in order to execute them. (The Romans were people from the city called Rome. They ruled many countries during Jesus’ life on the earth.) Jesus died on a cross. The cross is now the sign of the *Christian *church.
execute ~ to kill a person legally because they are guilty of a crime.
celebrate ~ to do something special or to have a party on an important day or days.
Passover ~ an important holy day for the *Jews. They ate a special meal on this day every year. This was to remember that their families were *slaves in the country called Egypt. And, that God had freed them.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.
Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.
Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
holy ~ what God is like. God’s character: perfect, completely good with nothing bad in it. Separate from sin.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
'Most Holy Place ~ the smaller room in *God’s Tent. The Ark was in that room.Ark ~ a wooden box that contained things that were special to the Israelites. God said that he would meet his people at the Ark. It was a *symbol that God was there in a special way.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
BC ~ the period of time before Jesus was born.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.'High Priest ~ the most important priest.