Journeying Well
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
By Paul Gibson
University of Louisville BCM
2013
photomas.net/pmaspages/mvapproachroad.htm
Where we left off…
34 Then
the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting,
and the glory of the LORD filled the
tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent
of Meeting because the cloud had settled
upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the
tabernacle.
Exodus 40:34-35 (NIV)
Bob Seger--Against the Wind
“And I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worried about paying or even how much I
owed
Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all of the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searching
Searching for shelter again and again
Against the wind
A little something against the wind
I found myself seeking shelter against the wind.”
Ever Feel Like You’re Journeying Through the
Wilderness?
The Journey towards the promised land continued for the Children of Israel.
Google Maps Approach
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Outlines
Characters
Verses
Themes
A story to highlight themes
A Quick Look at the Torah
• “Torah”—“law,” the narrative to which both
pre-Christ and post-Christ Jews look to find
meaning and instruction as a “people of God”
• Main Character in Torah—Moses
Genesis 1.1-11.32—Creation Narrative
Genesis 12.1-Exodus 18.27—The road to Sinai
Exodus 19.1-Numbers 10.10—The receiving of Law/Instruction
Numbers 11.1-Deuteronomy—The road to the Promised Land
Leviticus--Outline
1-16—Holiness within the Israelite community
1-7—Catalog of Sacrifices
8-10--Office of the Priest
11-15—Focus on Impurities
16—Atonement
17-26—Holiness Code (focus on loving neighbor)
17-24—Holiness Code
25—Jubilee
26-27—Cause and Effect
Leviticus—Key Characters
•
•
•
•
Moses
Aaron
Nadab
Abihu
Leviticus—Key Verses
3 Moses
then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: "'Among those who
approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'" Aaron
remained silent.
Leviticus 10:3 (NIV)
45 I
am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am
holy.
Leviticus 11:45 (NIV)
1 The
LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the LORD your God. 3 You
must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the
land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws
and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. 5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the
man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.
Leviticus 18:1-5 (NIV)
2 "Speak
to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am
holy.
Leviticus 19:2 (NIV)
18 "'Do
not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as
yourself. I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)
Levitcus—Key Themes
• The holiness of God
• How to dwell with a holy God in an unholy
land
• Sacrifices
Leviticus provides instruction to the Israelites so
that they may know how to dwell with a Holy
God.
Numbers--Outline
1.1-10.1—The Wilderness of Sinai
10.11-20.13—Around Kadesh
20.14-36.13—From Kadesh to Moab
Geographical entrance on journey towards the
promised land.
Numbers—Key Characters
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Moses
Aaron
Balaam—Balak
Joshua
Caleb
Miriam
Sihon
Og
Numbers—Key Verses
24 "'
"The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to
you; 26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."'
Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
Numbers 14
12 But
the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as
holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."
Numbers 20:12 (NIV)
17 "I
see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise
out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
Numbers 24:17 (NIV)
23 "But
if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin
will find you out.
Numbers 32:23 (NIV)
Numbers—Key Themes
•
•
•
•
•
Disobedience
Grumbling, punishment, intercession, forgiveness
Salvation through one person (Moses, Caleb, Joshua)
Sojurn Continues
Battle
Disobedience is costly in the pursuit of the promise.
However, due to God’s mercy and commitment, his
promise to Abraham will be fulfilled.
Deuteronomy—Outline
Resembles ancient Near Eastern Treaty
1.1-1.5—Preamble
1.6-3.29—Historical Prologue
4-26—Core/Presentation of the Law
27-31—Legal Material
32-34—Narrative/Prose (Succession
Arrangements)
Deuteronomy—Key Characters
• Moses
• Joshua
Deuteronomy—Key Verses
29 But
if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your
heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29 (NIV)
4 Hear,
O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to
be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and
when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on
your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Deuteronomy 6:4-8 (NIV)
3 He
humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor
your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word
that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)
15 The
LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You
must listen to him.
Deuteronomy 18:15 (NIV)
10 Since
then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 who did
all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt--to Pharaoh and to all
his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed
the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
Deuteronomy 34:10-12 (NIV)
Deuteronomy—Key Themes
• Obedience—If/then
• Fulfillment
• Next Generation
God is forming a binding contract of protection
and provision as long as the Children of Israel
serve and pledge their loyalty to him.
A Closer Look at the Shema
3 Hear,
O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it
may go well with you and that you may
increase greatly in a land flowing with milk
and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your
fathers, promised you. 4 Hear, O Israel: The
LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the
LORD your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your strength. 6
These commandments that I give you today
are to be upon your hearts.
A Closer Look at the Shema
7 Impress
them on your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when you
walk along the road, when you lie down and
when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on
your hands and bind them on your
foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of
your houses and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:3-9 (NIV)
SHEMA (Shə mä´)
Transliteration of Hebrew imperative meaning
“hear” (Deut. 6:4) and applied to 6:4-9 as the
basic statement of the Jewish law. The Shema
became for the people of God a confession of
faith by which they acknowledged the one
true God and His commandments for them.
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary.
Two Commands…
1. Hear, O Israel
2. Love the Lord Your God with all your
1. Heart—labab—inner person
2. Soul—nephesh—whole self
3. Might—medo—force
The Israelites were called to love
God...
• From the deepest part of their being
• With all of their being
• With as much force as possible
Such God-Ordained holistic living does not lend
itself to compartmentalized living.
Heart—Soul—Might
Our intentions are not to be polytheistic; our purpose is to serve one
God—Yhwh.
JOURNEYING WELL
4 Hear,
O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is
one.
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV)
Our actions cannot be compartmentalized; every action provides us with
the opportunity to respond with or without love towards God.
JOURNEYING WELL
5 Love
the LORD your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your
strength. 6 These commandments that I give
you today are to be upon your hearts. 7
Impress them on your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when you
walk along the road, when you lie down and
when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (NIV)
Christ-like change begins in the heart or inner being.
JOURNEYING WELL
33 "This
is the covenant I will make with the house
of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I
will put my law in their minds and write it on
their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be
my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his
neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know
the LORD,' because they will all know me, from
the least of them to the greatest," declares the
LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and
will remember their sins no more."
Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NIV)
We are to live out the Shema “so that it may go well with us in the land
we are going over to possess.”
JOURNEYING WELL
3 Hear,
O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it
may go well with you and that you may
increase greatly in a land flowing with milk
and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your
fathers, promised you.
Deuteronomy 6:3 (NIV)
God continues to provide provision and protection
for his people as long as we serve and pledge
our holistic loyalty to Jesus the Lord.