In this series, we will be studying the Book of Numbers, one of the most skipped-over books of the Bible. It does contain some census information and statistics, but it is filled with action and drama and epic miracles, and even talking animals!

In Exodus, God rescued His people, the people of Israel, out of Egypt. He brought them to the area of Mt. Sinai, where He gave them the Law and the Tabernacle so that they could worship Him and be close to His presence. That’s where they have been for about a year. God instructs Moses to conduct a census of the people, a numbering of those who survived.

They had come through the wilderness, which was never meant to be their final destination. God’s intention was to bring them into the Promised Land. The wilderness was a place to learn, not to live. It was a place for them to move through, not a place for them to settle in. They lived in tents instead of building houses. It was temporary.

That’s why the book of Numbers is so good for us to read: as Christians, we have been saved from sin and promised heaven. We live in sort of a wilderness in this world which is not our eternal home (we are just passing through). Our faith is being tested here; we’re not in heaven yet; there are promises not yet fulfilled; we are in an “in-between” time.

What we are going to see in Numbers is that an entire generation of Israel never made it through the wilderness; they were buried there because they would not learn to trust God in the wilderness. A generation missed out on the Promised Land because they took their eyes off the Lord and complained their way into oblivion. We're not going to make that mistake! We aren’t going to waste the time the Lord has given us in this wilderness. We are going to be a generation that counts!