🎥 Video Lesson
📖 Course Notes
The full course notes for this lesson are available in the official course textbook, Cover to Cover: Old Testament (Village Schools of the Bible, 2022). Please download or view the PDF below to study the material for this lesson.
📖 Download / View Course Notes (PDF)
Cover to Cover: Old Testament — Village Schools of the Bible (2022)
🔴 The Scarlet Thread of Redemption — Jesus Revealed in Numbers
📌 The Rock — Christ Our Source of Life
In Exodus 17, God commanded Moses to strike the rock, and water flowed out. In Numbers 20, God commanded Moses to speak to the rock — but Moses struck it again out of frustration. Paul confirms: “That rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). The rock was only meant to be struck once — picturing Christ dying once for sins, never to be sacrificed again (Hebrews 9:28). Moses’ sin of striking it twice distorted this picture. By barring Moses from the Promised Land, God illustrated that we cannot enter salvation by the works of the Law (Moses) but only through the work of Jesus (Joshua — whose name is the Hebrew form of “Jesus”).
📌 The Bronze Serpent — Jesus Lifted Up
When the Israelites grumbled against God and Moses, He sent venomous snakes among them. When they cried out in repentance, God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole. Anyone who was bitten could look at it and live (Numbers 21:8-9). Jesus declared: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (John 3:14-15). The bronze serpent is one of the most direct and vivid types of Christ’s crucifixion in the entire Old Testament.
📌 The Red Heifer — Dealing with Sin
The Red Heifer (Numbers 19) was a sacrifice for purification from uncleanness. It had to be “without blemish” and sacrificed “outside the camp.” This was a temporary answer to sin. Hebrews 9:13-14 draws a direct comparison: just as the ashes of the red heifer purified the flesh, the blood of Christ — who was sacrificed outside of Jerusalem — purifies the conscience. Jesus is the ultimate and permanent answer to sin’s defilement.
📌 Joshua — A Type of Jesus
Moses (representing the Law) could not lead Israel into the Promised Land. Only Joshua could. Joshua’s name in Hebrew is Yeshua — the same name as Jesus in Greek. This is a critically important gospel picture: the Law cannot save you; only Jesus can bring you into the promised inheritance. (Romans 8:3-4; Galatians 3:24)
📌 The Aaronic Blessing — God’s Face Toward Us
Numbers 6:24-26 contains the beautiful blessing God gave for the priests to pronounce over Israel: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” This blessing is fully realised in Jesus, through whom God’s face shines upon us with grace and peace (2 Corinthians 4:6; Romans 5:1).
📚 Key Scripture
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” — John 3:14-15
📝 Study Questions
- Israel’s great sin in Numbers was refusing to trust God and enter the Promised Land (Numbers 13-14). How does unbelief lead to missing out on what God has for us? Can you identify areas in your own life where fear has prevented you from stepping forward in faith?
- God struck the Israelites with snakes, and then provided a bronze serpent — they simply had to look to be healed. Jesus said this pictures salvation (John 3:14-15). What does this teach us about the simplicity of faith and how we are saved?
- Moses was barred from the Promised Land because he struck the rock a second time, distorting the picture of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice. What does the “once for all” nature of Jesus’ death mean for your confidence before God (Hebrews 10:10-14)?
- Despite Israel’s repeated complaining and rebellion, God continued to provide, protect, and remain present with His people. How does this encourage you when you struggle with doubt, fear, or failure?