Bible Journaling: The Book of Numbers

Numbers

In this book of Numbers, we read the next part of the story that is developing between God and his people, the Israelites. This book is written for the generation that was wandering the wilderness, searching for the promised land. For a broader view of the book of Numbers, we encourage you to watch this video:

Through the use of 3 steps we will: 
1. Look up  -  (information) -  encounter God through the Scripture 

2. Look in -  (revelation) - contemplate/reflect on our own lives 

3. Look out - (transformation) - respond with creative worship action 

Bible journaling tip #4:

If you have difficulty understanding a specific piece of Scripture… Find the verse in your hard copy, physical Bible and then look up different versions of the Bible on your phone or computer. See where there are differences in wording and jot these down in the margin next to the text. Usually, looking up different translations can help us to understand difficult Scriptures.

LOOK UP:
(information)  -  encounter God through the Scripture 

Author:

It is mostly agreed that this book was written by Moses before the people were ready to enter the promised land. This is a wilderness book. The most important character in this book is not Moses, but God - His gracious and kind character is on display throughout the whole text.

Audience:

Now that the people had a better understanding of what God saved them for, this book was written full of reminders of how far God has brought the Israelites and how important it is to obey God’s commands. In the first part of this series, where we reflected on the history of Bible Journaling, we learned that one of the reasons why people journal about the Bible is to remember the goodness of God. What are your thoughts about the idea to start your own notebook for writing down reminders of God’s goodness - how far he has brought you?

History:

The name Numbers in English comes from the fact that there are two accounts of censuses - where the people were counted - in this book. But the Hebrew name of this book was actually ‘Bemidbar’ which means ‘In the Wilderness’.  

This post gives a good overview of what happens in the book as a whole.

Genre:

This book is a complex combination of different genres: ritual prescriptions, legal requirements, historical narratives, and some poetry too. The historical narrative picks up after the Exodus and tells us about what the Israelites were doing in the wilderness.

LOOK IN:
(revelation)  -  contemplate / reflect on our own lives

Key verse:

Inspiration:

In the modern world, we struggle to identify with the second part of this verse. Prosperity Gospel messages will often leave out the parts about God’s character that are not peaceful. How do you feel about this verse when you read it? Make a list of some of the characteristics of God - then try to really dive into how these are different from what the world sees as good. God is not a people-pleaser. For example: In Matthew 10 Jesus says “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” What does this say about his power and authority?

LOOK OUT:
(transformation)  -  respond with creative worship action

 Drawing prompt:

Draw or paint a wilderness scene. Add some of the visual elements from the book of Numbers: the cloud, the two silver trumpets, quail in the camp, water from the rock, etc. After that, go ahead and add some wilderness elements from your own life. What are areas where you feel like you are wandering around, lost, waiting to enter into God’s promise?

Bible Journey with JournalOwl:

Here are some questions / prompts provided by the JournalOwl community. 

• What was the tribe of Levites to be over according to God? (Numbers 1:50)
• What tribe did the Lord instruct Moses to not number and exempt them for another service? (Numbers 1:47-49)

Follow this link to dive into the book of Numbers with an online Bible Study group. 

Writing prompt:

Fold a page in 2. On the one side write ‘false’, and on the other write ‘true’. In the ‘true’ column, write down the characteristics of God that we see in the book of Numbers. In the other column, write down the lies that you have believed about who God is.

Here are some examples:

Prayer:

God, I want to thank you for the book of Numbers. Thank you for revealing more of your true character to us through this book, and give us wisdom to tie this into what we see about you through your Son, Jesus. Let my response to this text be worship unto you!