Numbers 9:1-23

The Old Testament Book of Numbers

In the Desert

Numbers

Marion Adams

Chapter 9

The *Passover – Numbers 9:1-14

v1 The *LORD spoke to Moses in the *desert called Sinai. It was the second year after the *Israelites had left the country called Egypt. It was the first month during that year. The *LORD said, v2 ‘Tell the people to *celebrate the *Passover this month, at the proper time. v3 The proper time is during the evening of the 14^th day. Follow all the rules.’

v4-5 Moses told the people what the *LORD had said. And they obeyed the *LORD’s instructions. They *celebrated the *Passover in the *desert called Sinai. They *celebrated it during the evening of the 14^th day.

v6 But some of the people had touched a dead body. They could not *celebrate the *Passover on that day, because they were *unclean. They said to Moses and Aaron, v7 ‘We have touched a dead body. So we are *unclean. But we would like to *celebrate the *Passover at the proper time. And we would like to offer *sacrifices to the *LORD with the other *Israelites.’

v8 Moses said, ‘Wait here. I shall find out what the *LORD orders you to do.’

v9 Then, the *LORD told Moses v10 to give these instructions to the *Israelites.

‘If anyone has touched a dead body, still they may *celebrate my *Passover. Although they are *unclean, still they may *celebrate the *Passover. Also, if anyone is away on a journey, still they may *celebrate the *Passover. These rules are for the *Israelites and for their *descendants. v11 They must *celebrate it one month later, during the evening of the 14^th day. They must eat the young sheep with thin bread and bitter herbs (plants that people use to give flavour). The bread must not have *yeast in it. v12 No food must remain until the next morning. They must not break any of the sheep’s bones. Follow all these rules.

v13 But every *clean person in the camp must *celebrate the *Passover. If any person refuses, that person cannot belong to my people any longer. That person did not offer *sacrifices to me at the proper time. So he or she must suffer the punishment for that *sin.

v14 Foreigners can *celebrate my *Passover too if they are living among you. But they must follow these rules. These rules are for everyone.’

Verses 1-5 This passage refers to events during the month before the *census (Numbers 1:1). It is about the second *Passover. There is a description of the first *Passover in Exodus chapter 12. Exodus Chapter s 7 to 11 describe the events that happened before the *Passover. We shall examine these events first. It will help us to understand why the *Passover was so important.

The *Israelites had been *slaves in the country called Egypt. Moses had asked the king to let them leave that country. But the king had refused. So God let 10 bad things happen in Egypt (see note on Numbers 3:11-13). Finally, God let all the *Egyptians’ *first-born sons die. This had happened during the night of the first *Passover.

God had spoken to Moses and Aaron. He had given instructions to them for the *Israelites. He had wanted each family to kill and to eat a young sheep. He had told them to eat the meat with thin bread and bitter herbs (plants that people use to give flavour). The bitter taste would remind them of their bad life in Egypt. There was no *yeast in the bread, because they could not wait for it to rise. They were ready to leave immediately.

God had told them to put some of the sheep’s blood round their doors. That night, God had allowed all the *Egyptians’ *first-born sons to die. But he had promised to ‘pass over’ the houses that had blood on them. So the *Israelites’ *first-born sons did not die. That same night, the king had let the *Israelites leave the country.

This passage describes the second *Passover. The *Israelites *celebrated it regularly every year after this. Today, *Jewish people all over the world *celebrate the *Passover still. It is very important for them to remember how God rescued them.

Verses 6-14 God expected all the *Israelites to *celebrate the *Passover. But there was a problem with three groups of people.

1. *Unclean people. *Unclean people could not eat meat from *sacrifices (Leviticus 7:19-21).

2. People who were away from the camp.

3. People who were not *Israelites. This referred to people who had left Egypt with the *Israelites.

Moses did not answer these people immediately. Instead, he waited for God’s decision. God told him what to do. God wanted everyone to *celebrate the *Passover. So he allowed the first two groups of people to *celebrate it one month later.

Nobody could make an excuse not to *celebrate the *Passover. If someone refused, they would not belong to God’s people. They were not an *Israelite! In the *Old Testament, this *Hebrew word for ‘cannot belong’ (verse 13) meant sometimes that the person or people died (for example, Genesis 9:11; Isaiah 29:20). Sometimes it meant that people killed them. Sometimes it meant that they could not continue to live among the *Israelites. So the *Israelites sent them away. This was to punish them, because they had not obeyed God’s commands (for example Genesis 17:14; Leviticus 7:20-27 and 19:8). So people who refused to *celebrate the *Passover were guilty of a serious crime. They received a serious punishment, perhaps death. They did not deserve to live with God’s people.

God allowed foreigners in the camp to *celebrate the *Passover too. They wanted to *worship him, so he allowed them to. They became his people, like the *Israelites. But before they could *celebrate the *Passover they had to follow all the rules of the *Jewish religion. This included circumcision (to cut off the end part of skin from the male sex part. For *Jews this showed that the man agreed to obey God) – Exodus 12:48.

The cloud that covered *God’s Tent – Numbers 9:15-23

v15-16 A cloud covered *God’s Tent during the day that the people set it up. And the cloud continued to cover *God’s Tent. At night, the cloud seemed to have fire in it. v17 Whenever the cloud rose away from *God’s Tent, the *Israelites set out. They camped wherever the cloud stopped. v18 The *Israelites set out at the *LORD’s command. They stopped and they set up the camp again at his command, too. They stayed in a place for the period of time that the cloud remained over *God’s Tent. v19 When the cloud remained over *God’s Tent for a long period of time, still the *Israelites obeyed the *LORD. They did not move the camp.

v20-22 The cloud could remain there during one night, a few days, a month or a year. But the *Israelites stayed in that place until the cloud moved. Then they set out whether it was day or night. They did these things at the *LORD’s command. v23 They set up the camp at the *LORD’s command. They moved at the *LORD’s command. They obeyed the commands that the *LORD had given to Moses.

Verses 15-23 When the *Israelites had escaped from the country called Egypt, God had guided them through the *desert (Exodus 13:21-22). They could not see him because a cloud and fire hid him. When they set up *God’s Tent, God came to guide them again. Again, the cloud and the fire hid him. They set up *God’s Tent on the first day of the second year. They were preparing to travel to the *Promised Land.

The priests and Levi’s *tribe camped near to *God’s Tent. Probably, some of them watched the cloud in the day and the night. Then, they could tell the other *Israelites when the cloud moved.

Again, this passage emphasises that the people obeyed God. They did not decide when to move the camp. God decided. He was with them always. He guided them and he protected them. But not all the *Israelites realised this. That is why they complained often to Moses. However, they stayed under the cloud. It gave to them shelter from the sun during the day. And it gave to them heat during the night.

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.
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.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
celebrate ~ to do something special or to have a party on an important day or days.
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.

Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.

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.
yeast ~ a substance that people use to make bread. It makes the bread rise.
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.
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.
census ~ an official list which records the number of people in a particular place.'first-born ~ the first child to be born to a mother; the oldest child in a family. The word can refer to animals as well as people.
Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.
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.

Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.

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.

'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible; the *Jews’ holy book. The writers wrote this before the life of Jesus.
Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
worship ~ to give honour to God and to thank him. Sometimes, people worship false gods.'Promised Land ~ the country that God promised to give to Abraham and his *descendants.