The Bible in a Year

Old Testament

Numbers 23 to 36
Read this coming week:
Mar 21 Num 23‐24, Ps 74, John 16 Mar 22 Num 25‐26, Ps 75, John 17 Mar
23 Num 27‐28, Ps 76, John 18 Mar 24 Num 29‐30, Ps 77, John 19 Mar 25
Num 31, Ps 78:1‐39, John 20‐21
Mar 26 Num 32, Ps 78:40‐72, Acts 1 Mar 27 Num 33‐34, Ps 79, Acts 2
Mar 28 Num 35‐36, Ps 80, Acts 3

Reading Questions
For next week you’re reading Numbers 23 to 36.
Answer the following:
• What is Balaam’s reoccurring problem?
• How did Phineas save Israel?
• Who chooses Joshua as the next leader of Israel?
• How does the “veto process” work when it comes
to the vows of women in the Israelite camp?
• Why does Moses get angry with the officers after
the defeat of Midian?
• What Moses’ dispute with the tribes of Gad and
Rueben about? How does it get settled?
 • What does God command the Israelites to do
when they take over the land west of the Jordan
River?
• What is the function of a “city of refuge”?

Doing the numbers in Numbers

While the actual numbers in the book of Numbers may
seem at first to be a drab and uninteresting part of the
book, there is a little knowledge to be gained in
crunching the numbers found in the book of Numbers.

There are two censuses taken in the book of Numbers.

The first of these is taken before Israel’s major
excursion in chapter 1, and the second is taken just
before Israel moves into the Promised Land west of the
Jordan River.

Overall, the children of Israel decrease over their 40

year hike across the desert by only about 1,800 people.
However, there is a great amount of fluctuation in some
of ranks of the tribes. The tribe of Simeon decreases by
37,000 men of fighting age, while Mannaseh grows by
20,000 and Benjamin grows by 10,000.

The reasons behind the fluctuations in the populations

of the tribes are not normally given. One can simply
assume that Simeon’s tribe was beset with bad
leadership or something of that nature, while
Mannaseh’s tribe grew through the blessing of God
through the provision of good leadership.

Notwithstanding the great amount of fluctuation in the

tribes of Israel, the level of homeostasis for Israel to
only lose 1,800 members in 40 years spent in the
wilderness does show that God was watching over His
people and making sure that each clan survived to see
the promised land.
Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.