Christ in the Book of Numbers

Paul gives us some insight into the exegetical thinking of his day in chapter 10 of his first letter to the Corinthian church. The apostolic belief when reading through an Old Testament book like Numbers was that Christ was ever-present with his people, nourishing, safeguarding, upholding, and as necessary, judging them throughout their sojourning.

And the glory of the LORD appeared to them, and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle." - Numbers 20:6b-8

Paul later says that as Israel wandered through the wilderness, they "all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:3-4).

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. - Numbers 21:4-9

Paul again tells us that in their sin against the LORD, the people of Israel were actually testing Christ - "We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer" (1 Corinthians 10:9-10, see also John 3:14, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.")

While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. - Numbers 25:1-9

In relation to this particular instance in Israel's history, Paul says, "We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day" (1 Corinthians 10:8). Paul interpreted the idolatry recorded in Numbers 25 not simply as a transgression of God's commands, but more significantly, as an act of marital infidelity with the covenant Lord - namely, Christ the bridegroom. These events are tied back into the Lord's Supper and our dining with Christ at his table in the future wedding feast as the blessed Church.

Paul says all that was recorded in the book of Numbers, concerning the interactions between Israel and Christ, were "written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). Let us not desire evil as they did, but flee from idolatry, that we might partake of this meal spread before us at the Lord's table.

SDG

The 144,000 and the Great Multitude

A thought-provoking subject of conversation is always found in the topic of the "end times" - when will Christ return, what happens to the church with respect to the rapture, the tribulation, the millennium, and is there any distinction between Israel and the church? So many little subtopics in this one, controversial subject - I do not have time to address each and every one. But I would like to put a thought in your head concerning the supposed distinction between the 144,000 (the tribes of the sons of Israel) and the great multitude that no one could number from Revelation 7.

Many have probably heard this as a distinction between the tribes of Israel and the Gentile church. And then later, they would say that the tribes of Israel would reclaim the promised land, while the Gentile church is raptured up to heaven before the tribulation. Here is why I do not think that this is the case.

Christ explicitly tells the disciples in Mark 13:24 that believers would suffer, and only after that suffering had taken place would they see the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven to gather up his elect from the ends of the earth (Mark 13:26-27). The context of gathering up the elect from the ends of the earth should point us to the interpretation of all believers - not just Gentile or Jew specifically, but the universal church holistically.

But more importantly, back to Revelation 7 where this supposed distinction can now be reconciled. First, John says that an angel declared with a loud voice that no eternal judgment (not to be mistaken with suffering in the world) would occur until the servants of God had been sealed (Revelation 7:3). These next two parts are very important - then, John hears the "number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel" (Rev. 7:4). After the hearing with the ears now comes the seeing with the eyes - John looks and sees "a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes, and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb..." (Rev. 7:9). What I am saying is that the number of the elect that John hears is the very same as what he gazes upon a verse later. The Old Testament list of the sons of the tribes of Israel is the same as the great multitude - the New Testament fulfillment of the true Israel of God, the blessed Church.

There is another example in Revelation of this hearing and seeing phenomenon experienced by John. To reinforce my argument, I will discuss it as well. In Revelation 5:5, John first hears the title of "the Lion of the tribe of Judah", but when he looks to the throne, he sees "a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain..." (Rev. 5:6). So the title of the one whom John hears is the exact same person he looks upon - Jesus Christ, the Lion and the Lamb. The dichotomy again has to do with an Old Testament title and the New Testament fulfillment.

SDG

The Profound Mystery of Marriage

In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul provides some clarity on what Christian marriage should look like, and then, he unveils the ancient mystery hidden for ages - that marriage between husband and wife is a picture representing the covenant bond between Christ and the Church.

Paul's premise is easy to miss if we do not look closely. This idea of the wife's submission to the husband and the husband's sacrificial disposition towards his wife is not new instruction. It is a reversal of the curse given to the woman in the Garden of Eden back in Genesis 3. Notice what God says to Eve, "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you" (Genesis 3:16b). These same verbs "to desire" and "to rule over" are used in Genesis 4 when God speaks to Cain about sin, "Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it" (Genesis 4:7b). What we should glean from this is that, like sin crouching at the door to have dominion over Cain, the wife in her curse seeks to have dominion over the husband. And in the same breath, like God's direction to Cain to master and have dominion over sin, so the husband in his curse now seeks to master and have dominion over his wife. This obviously is contrary to the nature of marriage that God originally designed for his creatures. What Paul now proclaims is that the wife is to submit to the headship of the husband, giving respect and encouragement to him. On the other hand, the husband now is to live sacrificially for his wife, willingly devoting himself to her and her sanctification by "the washing of the water with the Word" (Ephesians 5:26). Here is the incredible antithesis to our curse - a sign that sin's sway now retreats with Christ's coming, that God is renewing all things and restoring them to their original purpose.

Finally, the profound mystery is now revealed by Paul - all he has spoken of concerning the marriage covenant between husband and wife is a reflection of Christ's covenant bond to the Church. The Church submits to the headship of Christ, her Bridegroom, while Christ loves her as himself and gives himself for her.The unity in flesh that the husband and wife experience in marriage reflects the mystic union that the Church experiences in the Spirit with Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:17).

SDG