the ruminations of aaron eberline

“Rise up, O Lord!
And let Your enemies be scattered,
And let those who hate You flee before You.”

– Numbers 10:35

The Israelites are setting out in Numbers chapter 10 to claim the land that God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What an amazing site it must have been to hear the ring of a silver trumpet and then the orchestration of the multiple millions began as the Israelites set out and follow God. The image that is given in Numbers chapters 9 and 10 is one of dependance. The only time that the Israelites moved the camp was when God raised the cloud up from the Tabernacle.

I have never looked at the journey of the Israelites in such a structured way. I had thought that when the Israelites moved about in the wilderness that it was more of a random wandering. It was truthfully a relationship that was one of a Father leading His children.

Before the departure of the Israelites they celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month two years after their departure from Egypt. It was their time to remember what God had done in delivering them from their bondage in Egypt. I think that the passover was a passionate time of remembrance because in Numbers 9:6-10 God gives instruction for people who become unclean because of a dead person. These men wanted to bring their offering to the Lord but they were unclean. This is contrasted to a man who is clean and doesn’t observe the Passover. The clean man will be cut off from his people. The Passover celebration seems a little foreign to me today. What significance does it hold for the church today? I think the Passover is a marker that points me to Jesus Christ and His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. There is a lot of foreshadowing of the Messiah in the story of the Israelites freedom from their bondage. Just as the Egyptians held the Israelites in bondage so too my sin held me in bondage. I was under the wrath of God for the sins that I committed. There was not way for me to find freedom until Jesus Christ died on the cross. His blood is the lambs blood placed upon me just as the blood was places on the lintel and doorposts of the Israelites. I am very thankful for the provision that God blessed the world with through the death of Jesus Christ.

In chapter 10 God instructs Moses to create two trumpets of silver which were blown at various and different times such as when the Israelites were heading to war so that “[they] may be remembered before the Lord [their] God, and be saved from your enemies” Numbers 10:9b. I see many similarities in my daily life to the blowing of these trumpets. These trumpets blown for feast, assembly, and war were an integral part of the Israelites daily lives. I look upon these trumpets as one way that the Israelites were communicating and showing dependance on God. My trumpet is prayer. When I go to God in prayer it is my reaching out seeking to be remembered by God and seeking assistance. Seeing how much just a trumpet played a role for a nation I am convinced that my prayer life is even of greater importance.

Lord, I pray that you will instill a desire to include you in all areas of my life and that I will seek you in prayer. This journey I am on is one where I am following you and unsure where I am headed but I trust that you are faithful. I am thankful for your help.