Numbers

Numbers gets its name from the fact that it records two numberings of Israel (Num 1:1-3; 26:1-4).  The first census was taken the second year after Israel left Egypt and the second was taken thirty-eight years later when they were about to enter the land of Canaan.  These numberings were not of the entire nation but of the men that were able to fight.  Numbers is a historical book that records the wilderness wanderings of the generation that would not take the Promised Land because of unbelief.

Outline:

I. The Old Generation, From Sinai to Kadesh (1-14)

A. The numbering (1-4)

B. The instructing (5-9)

C. The journeying (10-14)

Il. The Transition Era in the Wilderness (15-20)

The longest funeral march in history

Ill. The New Generation, From Kadesh to Moab (21-36)

A. The journeying (21-25)

B. The numbering (26-27)

C. The instructing (28-36)