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Bible Commentaries
Numbers 9

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-23

  1. INTRO:
    1. Salvador Dali reports that when he needs a short nap, he puts a tin plate on the floor, then sits on a chair beside it and, holding a spoon over the plate, relaxes into a doze. At the precise moment of the onset of sleep, the spoon slips from his fingers, clatters onto the plate, and he snaps awake. Dali claims that he is completely refreshed by the sleep which occurs between the time the spoon leaves his hand and the time it hits the plate. :-)
    2. A pastor once said, “I am not going to take a vacation this summer; the devil never does!” To which the response was, “Whose example are we following, Jesus’ or the devils?”
    3. “There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it.”
    4. Let’s play catch up: Children of Israel left Egypt; accepted a covenant w/God; rested near Sinai (full year). Now prepared to move on to conquer Canaan: They took a census; organized an army; organized their priests; purified their camp; dedicated certain people & offerings; & now are ready to celebrate their 1st Passover since Egypt.
  2. CHAPTER 9! (CH.9)
    1. 2ND PASSOVER! (1-14)
    2. Commandments to Obey! (1-5)
    3. Passover - the annual reminder, that God had redeemed Israel from bondage & they belonged to Him.
      1. Reminds us of the 1000’s of lambs that gave their life so man would obey God
      2. Reminds us of the Lamb of God who died for the whole world.
      3. Reminded them also that God’s deliverance has meaning in the desert as well as it did in Egypt; as well as it will in the wilderness, & in Canaan.
      4. Redemption by blood is the foundation of all Christian experience!
        1. 1 Cor.5:7 For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
    4. Exceptions to Consider! (6-14)
    5. When you’re not sure of something, stand & wait on the direction from the Lord.
      1. In this case God didn’t want folks to miss out on worshipping Him.
      2. So, He sets up a 2nd chance Passover a month later. :-)
    6. The Legalist makes no exceptions, & the Antichrist makes everything an exception; but the child of God waits on the Lord for his orders.
      1. Each problem in life is an opportunity to learn how to wait on God & discover His will.
      2. Don’t fear exceptions! Our job is to be obedient even if what we do does not always appear to be consistent. (www)
    7. (14) Stranger - We too were once strangers. Eph.2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
    8. Leadings to Follow! (15-23)
    9. Remember playing Red light, Green light as a child?
    10. God would choose which campground they’d stay a next. He decided when they were to march. He would decide when they were to rest.
      1. It was tender love that planned for them to rest for a whole year at Sinai.
      2. The stops of a good man are ordered by the Lord as well as his steps. (George Mueller)
    11. (19) The ultimate test of obedience. Waiting!
      1. However uninviting & sweltering hot the location; However trying to flesh & patience; However boring & wearisome to the impatient; However close their exposure to danger...there was no option but to remain encamped!!!
    12. Sequence: Obeying the Lord(Keep, 2,3,5); Waiting on the Lord(8); Following the Lord(journey/camp).
      1. God has His times & His routes, & we must watch for His leading.
      2. “Never go in front of God, nor lag behind, nor hesitate to strike your tent if He leads on.” F.B.Meyer pg.67
    13. By far the best way to know how to get somewhere is...to have someone who has been there before and knows the way.”
Bibliographical Information
Bell, Brian. "Commentary on Numbers 9". "Bell's Commentary". https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/numbers-9.html. 2017.
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