A road-trip gone bad. Israel leaves Mt. Sinai only to rebel against God at every step. God responds with short-term severity and long-term generosity as He leads them into the promised land.After centuries of living in foreign lands, the time comes for the Israelites to return to the land God had promised to Abraham. But soon after they set out for Canaan, Israel perpetually complains, sins, and even incites rebellion against Moses and Aaron in God's presence. Eleven days of travel in the wilderness become 40 years as a result of their unbelief, and only their children can enter the Promised Land. Tired and frustrated, Moses strikes a rock to resolve yet another complaint from the Israelites, but sadly disobeys God's instruction to speak to it. He too is prevented from entering the Promised Land.
Even in all this, God still displays His amazing faithfulness and patience. A few individuals, such as Joshua and Caleb, remain faithful and will lead Israel's next generation. Many scriptures use Israel's wilderness stories in the Book of Numbers as examples for us to believe God and trust Him with our lives.
Numbers
Overview of the Old Testament
The Hebrew canon, or Old Testament, refers to the collection of Hebrew (and some Aramaic) books that were recognized as Scripture in ancient Israel. The traditional order we're talking about is referred to as “TaNaK.” The TaNaK is an acronym for the names of the three large subcollections of the Hebrew Bible: Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim. See how the whole order of the Old testament is actually much different than you may think, and is the same order Jesus would have read them in.
Genesis: Part 1
Translated as 'origin' from the Greek word, the Book of Genesis tells us how everything began from humanity's history to the world we know today. One could call this the 'problem statement' for humanity, one the rest of the Bible will be answering. It reveals a dramatic prologue of God's love for us, the tragedies of sin and the human race, and God initiating a brilliant plan to win us back from the clutches of darkness. He does this by passing down a covenant blessing through Abraham and his family, including Isaac, Jacob, and other individuals, in order to bless all the families of the earth. These descendants will become the foundation for the Nation of Israel and Jesus the Messiah who will bring salvation for all of humanity.
